matt bradley, nbc news. >>> in california, governor brown ordered a crucial dna test that offers a death row inmate one final chance at freedom. kevin cooper was convicted decades ago in the murder of four people in the los angeles suburbs. gadi schwartz has the very latest. >> reporter: from san quentin state prison, death row inmate kevin cooper has been claiming innocence for decades. speaking out in a phone interview earlier this year. >> they planted evidence. they destroyed evidence. they lied about evidence. >> reporter: cooper is on death row for murdering four people in 1983. >> all were found hacked and stabbed to death in this house in the horse country of chino hills. >> reporter: now a last minute order from governor brown allowing for new dna testing on the hatchet and a t-shirt his lawyers say was tampered with. >> i never wore that shirt, i never saw that shirt. >> reporter: but prosecutors say the evidence was solid. cooper, an escaped convict, had a history of violence and theamin no doubt d again. in my mind tr: bhath the case continues to draw the scrutiny of former j

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> with millions of americans flying over these holidays, u.s.officials tonight are going increasingly concerned that our airports could face an illegal drone disruption like the one that shut down a major airport last week. nbc's pete williams now on the push to protect the skies. >> reporter: after struggling with dozens of drone sightings, by shutting down operations twice, gatwick airport south of london finally brought in a system to detect drones designed by an israeli company, according to british media. the challenge of keeping drones and planes apart is growing more difficult, and even accidentally bumping into a plane could be disastrous. >> a larger format drone 10 to 15 pounds can do a significant amount of damage to an airplane if it were close to the ground, it could result in loss of the airplane. >> reporter: even more worrisome is the prospect of an intentional attack. isis terrorists overseas have been ushoss h been slow to respond. to the drone threat and only recently gave the federal government authority to disable drones tha

matt bradley has the latest. >> this world is something else, for real. i do not understand this. >> reporter: at an indiana middle school, a crisis averted, thanks to an early tip. dennis intermediate school locked its doors. >> within three to five minutes, there was at least five to eight officers heading in the school. >> reporter: police confronted and later exchanged gunfire with a 14-year-old boy before he could target students and teachers. officials saying the tipster saved lives. >> had they not made that call, there is no doubt in my mind that we would be having a much different conversation here right now. >> reporter: richmond police say they can't release the shooter's name, but many credit their rapid response and the school's active shooter training for avoiding a massacre. new figures from the cdc show gun deaths have spiked to their highest level in two decades with nearly 40,000 killed in 2017. 60% of those gun deaths are suicides. >> this is only going to continue until concrete action is taken so that guns do not fall into the hands o

nbc's matt bradley explains. >> reporter: it's the softer side of one of history's harder criminals.oaquin el chapo guzman sobbed in court thursday after a surprise visit from his 7-year-old twin daughters. >> it's interesting to see this other facet of this drug lord, that he has emotions, he still has these emotions for his family. he hasn't lost that. >> reporter: el chapo's tears flowed just as his trial wrapped up its sixth week in a brooklyn courtroom. his wife, emma coronel present nearly every day. the 29-year-old american born former beauty queen told telemundo about standing by her man. >> translator: i think it's what any wife would do, she said, being by their husband's side in rough times like the ones he's going through right now. >> reporter: last week jurors heard frel chapo himself in interviews taken while he was a fugitive, explaining he first entered the drug trade at age 15 while growing up in a poor farm town. the way to -- to have the means to buy food to survive is to sow poppy, marijuana, he said. but if el chapo showed his mushy side, prosecutors showed the

here's nbc's matt bradley. >> reporter: tonight a look inside kevin spacey's defense strategy. lawyers for the two-time oscar winner are building their case before his arraignment next month on indecent assault and battery charges. nbc boston obtained audio from a preliminary hearing last week, in which spacey's attorney questions a police trooper who interviewed the accuser a year after the alleged incident. >> he also never verbalized according to anything in your report, he never verbalized the word "stop it, i don't give consent to this, i need you to stop." nothing like that, correct? >> that's correct. >> reporter: spacey hasn't entered a plea. the charges come more than a year after a former local news anchor accuses the actor of groping her then 18-year-old son in a bar in 2016. >> shame on you for what you did to my son. >> reporter: spacey's lawyers cast doubt on the claim, saying the two men exchanged phone numbers, even smoked a cigarette together, and questioned whether a video from that night shows any assault. >> what the video shows is a person's hand made conta

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> in california, governor jerry brown ordered a crucial dna test that offers a death row inmate one final chance at freedom. kevin cooper was convicted decades ago in the murder of four people in the los angeles suburbs. nbc's gadi schwartz has the story. >> reporter: from san quentin state prison, death row inmate kevin cooper has been claiming innocence for decades. speaking out in a phone interview earlier this year. >> they planted evidence. they destroyed evidence. they lied about evidence. >> reporter: cooper is on death row for murdering four people in 1983. >> all were found hacked and stabbed to death in this house amid the horse country of the sch chino hills. >> on christmas eve, a last minute order from governor jerry brown allowing for new dna testing on key pieces of evidence including a hatchet and a t-shirt hayes lawyers say was tampered with. >> i know i never had that shirt. >> reporter: the prosecutors say the evidence was solid. cooper, an escaped convict, had a history of violence, and the case has been re-examined again numerou appeals. >

>> matt bradley, thank you. >>> the frilt that jet crash o h tonight, describing those harrowing moments and how he's lucky to be alive. >> reporter: former navy fighter pilot matt remembers every moment from last wednesday. day nd looking forward to having a good flight and my airplane didn't want to the fly anymore. >> the civilian contractor was piloting a jet during military exercises when something went very wrong. he tried to make it back to the runway but quickly realized he couldn't and didn't want to hurt anyone down below. >> buildings over there, boats right there. that looks pretty open. i just kept on flying until i didn't real have any more options left and pulled the ejection handle. >> reporter: he shot out of cockpit and plunged straight into the ocean. >> we heard this loud boom and saw the pilot eject from the plane. >> reporter: with his parachute still attached he got lucky again. mack ladner, a guide on a nearby parasailing boat, trained in water rescue jumped in to untalesk for a better more qualified person to be right there. >> reporter: he had topy to be here. o

nbc's matt bradley has their message. >> reporter: the family of a new jersey high school wrestler is speaking out about what they call the shocking pre-match ultimatum. in a statement, the family of andrew johnson express the gratitude for the overwhelming show of support for their son, arguing that he was under duress and visibly shaken after a referee gave him 90 seconds to either forfeit his match or cut his hair. the johnson family's attorney now saying the ref, alan maloney, showed up late to the match. and when he did evaluate andrew, he failed to raise any issues with the length of his hair or the need to wear a head covering. johnson won, but that hasn't stopped the angry outpouring on social media. chance the rapper labelling the incident bogus. and olympic wrestler jordan burroughs saying it's sickening. >> in high school as you're establishing who you are, creating an identity, i know as a young black man how much my hair meant to me. >> reporter: new jersey sports officials say they've opened a civil rights investigation and have sidelined maloney. a new jersey paper repo

matt bradley takes a look at theirur ending frndship. >> reporter: some called them the odd couple. former presidents, former rivals who personal and political s.ifferences to become frie >> i've always liked him i think he's -- extraordinary american saying i cherished every opportunity i had to learn and half with him. i just loved him. >> people, think, well, you run again each other you're enemies, political enemies. well, we we friends before he beat me, before he ran against each other and we' iends after. >> the two weren't always close. we didn't invite that term slick willy. we didn't invite it. >> i'm not going to tell you rea my lips. >> reporter: the 1992 campaign was bitter. the press probed clinton's private life. bush felt maligned by the media. >> it was a bruising election finton, and it was a loss for president bush so they both had to overcome those memories which weren't happy memories of either o them. >> reporter: when clinton arrived in the oval office a letter for bush awaited him i wish you great happiness here, the letter says. your success now is our count

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> this morning, paris is surveying the damage left behind by the city's most destructive riots in decades. authorities there arrested more than 400 people and doused more than 200 fires. french president emmanuel macron rushed home from the g-20 summit to try to calm the growing unrest. nbc's sarah harman is live from london with the latest on this. sarah, good morning. what started all this? >> reporter: phillip, good morning. these protests started three weeks ago over a new fuel tax, a tax the french president says is necessary to combat climate change, but it's not just about the gas tax anymore. many of these protesters are angry about rising prices and the high cost of living. this weekend, it essentially became an urban riot. protesters smashing windows, throwing rocks at police, vandalizing the arch de triomphe. police used tear gas and water cannons on the protesters. president emmanuel macron rushed home from the g-20 to deal with it and is considering imposing a state of emergency that hasn't happened since the terror attacks. he was elected last ye

nbc's matt bradley looks at case. >> i just grabbed a gun and i shot him. r >>orter: tried as an adult. sentoya bro was convicted of murder at just 16. she killed 43-year-old johnny allen after he said he offered to pay her for sex. brown said she feared the older man was ergoing to kill and prosecutors called her a murder saying she robbed her victim and her friend spoke against brown at a may clemency hearing. and he is missed d dearly. >> i am completely different person. evf you let me out, i will n go back to being that person. >> reporter: her dream of freedom now denie as the tennessee supreme court ruled thursday that brown will become elible for parole after her 69th birthday. brown said she suffed years of child trafficking, t, ne abuse and rape before the murder. psychiatrist william burnett has known brown since her arrest and insists teegers shouldn't be judged like adults. >> i think it's callous in itself. i think it is not taking the whole picture into n. consideratio >> prison officials say brown is a model prisoner. she's now a college gra

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> new revelations expected this week in the caves american diplomats who felleriously ill on the job. some believe they have been targeted with a mysterious weapon. the team of doctors who treated the first victims in havana are promising new details in the coming days. in an exclusive interview nbc's andrea mitchell spoke with one of the mothers. >> your head is splitting, and it's horrible. >> reporter: those are the symptoms that cat earn weern, a 31-year-old diplomat stationed in china, began to feel after hearing strange sounds in her apartment. alarmly similar to what 26 u.s. diplomats and spies reported half a world away in havana beginning inning 2016. >> the united states government still not sure who or what is responsible for those health asnooks when katherine told her she had been sick after hearing the strange sound, laura an air force veteran jumped on a plane to china. >> i saw a shell of our doubter? >> reporter: what do you mean a shell? >> she lost a lot of weight. there was no brightness in her eyes. >> reporter: soon laura began coming down

matt bradley this in times square. thank you. >>> know, issue on new year's eve, and all year long. drunk driving linked to 29 deaths each day in this country. starting today utah is taking a controversial step to try and change that. as kathy park reports, it's not the first time the state has made had a mold move to try to stop people from drinking and driving. >> reporter: one day before new year's eve, and utah's already buzzing with the strictest dui law in the country. >> in the state of utah we take it seriously, and if you're going to drink here don't drive here. >> reporter: nationally drivers are considered legally drunk at .08%, but cross into utah now, and that number drops to .05. that means it doesn't take much to be considered drunk. under the new law, it's estimated a woman weighing 120 pounds will leech .05 after little more than one drink which can be 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wipe or 1.5 ounces of liquor. for a 160-pound man, it's just about two drinks >> we're hoping to see better decisions made on the front end of a night where somebody is choosing to co

matt bradley, nbc news, new york. >>> up next, look mcfly for less.ke brings back its self-lacing shoes with a major perk. and a miracle on the gridiron. the play of the year gets the call of the year. you're watching "early today." hey. i heard you're moving into a new apartment. yeah, it's pretty stressful. this music is supposed to relax me, though. ♪ maybe you'd mellow out a bit if you got geico to help you with your renters insurance. oh, geico helps with renters insurance? good to know. yeah, and they could save you a lot of money. wow, suddenly i feel so relieved. you guys are fired. get to know geico and see how much you could save on renters insurance. i am not for just treating my symptoms... (ah-choo) i am for shortening colds when i'm sick. with zicam. zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines... ...zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam. oral or nasal. huseventy five percent off andthe entire store, with last minute gifts from three, four, and five dollars! you still have time for last mi

matt bradley has more. >> reporter: it was 24 minutes that changed one family forever. and we had no warning. >> reporter: the mother of 23-year-old andrew blackkentonight. >> we know that h walked into a gun shop at 11 o. 2. they ran a background check on him. the credit card receipt from the gun was 11:26, and somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 that afternoon, he shot himself. >> reporter: andrew's parents say a wait time of 24 hours rather than 24 minutes could have saved his life. so they tucked a political call to action into his obituary. we ask that you work for legislation that imposes a reasonable waiting period between firearm purchase and possession to guard against impulsive acts of violence. nine states and washington, d.c. require a mandatory waiting period. vermont isn't one of them. >> it was way too easy for this 23-year-old kid to go down and buy a gun. if nothing but 24 hours to just cool down and realize that wasn't the answer. >> reporter: andrew's parents pleading for change before another family shares their grief. matt bradley, nbc news. >>> british

nbc news' matt bradley is in times square. matt, i hear it's very loud and that i have to yell.c. some practicing setting up for the night. we're starting to hear some of the musical acts coming out. and katy, i know you're jealous i get to be standing here all night in the rain and the cold while you have to sit in a heated studio. i'm sorry about that. but here, people are actually pretty happy. i've been walking around talking to people in the crowd. they are all super psyched to be out here. a lot of them have been watching this since they were kids. they made big journeys from all over the country. and it won't surprise you that there's almost no native new yorkers here. but the big news for security is that this year, the nypd is going to be lofting several drones over times square. that's the new thing. they're going to be basically tethered to the ground or to buildings and they'll be circulating around here. those will join some 1200 surveillance cameras across the city that police will be able to tap into when and if they need to see what's going on in times square or

for more of what's happening, i'm joined by foreign correspondent matt bradley who joins me in the studio. matt, good to see you. this was a parliamentary vote. >> it was supposed to be a parliamentary vote. it was supposed to be one that i think may thought at one point she might be able to win. now i think she she's it's impossible to do that. she says they might meet again and come back with a new deal and put it before parliament sometime in january. but the clock is ticking. march 29 is when europe is supposed to leave the u.k. whether they have a deal or not -- >> so you're making certain decisions. it's just a little over a month away. that's the time you have to make a deal and pay for things. here's the deal. britain has been ordered to get out of the e.u. so may is trying to make some version of that that will feel softer, that will maintain some kind of trade with the e.u. and that's what this was supposed to be a vote on. >> it was supposed to be, basically. may, before the referendum, she wasn't even in favor of brexit, and now she's in charge for steering britain through bre

inco nbc's matt bradley. thank you.le is the typical anchor for this hour and you know how she likes to end the news. for today, pitcher brady singer decided to give his parents something incredible this christmas. we saw their heart-warming reaction after singer's tweet went viral on tuesday night. watch. >> i am paying off the loan from the bank. also, i paid off all of your debt as well. what! now instead of trying to save money every week to replace the savings account you drained -- you can spend it on yourselves. your giving hearts helped to shape my tiny dream into reality. i love you both more than you could ever imagine and will never forget what you -- >> amazing. amazing for that family. incredibly emotional as he paid off all of their debt, their mortgage, everything they owed on their credit cards. the true meaning of christmas, giving back to the ones you love the most. it is not over for me. i have one more hour to go. coming up, we will talk about how the government is closed for the holidays. the shutdo

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> a waveis finally ov in france. the manhunt for cherif chekatti ended gunfire. as officers moved in to symptom him he opened fire. that's when police shot and killed him. reporter: french police say a nationwide manhunt for a terrorist isover. cherif chekatt killed in a shootout with police notar from the christmas market where investigators say he launched his deadly rampage. chlice say att, a lifelong criminal turned isis supporter, was hiding out in a warehouse, that they spotted him by helicopter with thermal imaging. when he came out, police confronted tm. he fired ay fired back killing him. in the end police found chekatt in his oldor neigod. police may have set a trap to flush him out. hours earlier they searched the same area. police have cordoned off andre searching this neighborhood about a mile from where the attack took place. he francere's been criticism that chekatt, who had been on a terrorist watch list, was able the carry out his attack in the first place. >>> leading the news, ade familr lopment in

he's only 16 years old. >> matt bradley, thank you for that. >> and we'll be right back.ligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. >>> more on the breaking news. the president and first lady visiting the troops in iraq. hans nichols is at the white house. i understand, are we getting some video finally? >> we are waiting for that video to play out. remember, the president is up and away. air force one has left iraq. the president was on the ground for about three hours. so what we -- we will hear the president's first comments when he's addressing those troops for about 20 minutes. that's what we expect to get played out, if all the technical challenges can be surmounted. as you well know, whenever you do a trip like this, logistical challenges, technical challenges. it's great difficulty for the pool to actually get the material, that's the group of reporters that travels with the president, back into position and get that -- get those images and the sound

after that, have to decide if closing shop makes more sense than liquidation. >> matt bradley, thankou. >>> an under sea earthquake shook the philippines today. the quake hit off the coast sending people rushing outside to safety. it hit at 11:30 in the morning local time along the dangerous ring of fire. at first, there were fierce of a tsunami i the philippines and indonesia along the area, but the warning luckily was later canceled. >>> 9 11service is back in operation. the system operated by centurylink w thursday morning. it was not up and running until friday night. police from coast to coast were directing people to call ations landlines instead of 911. >>> the olnation's topge football teams are facing off hoday in the pair of semifinal games to determi is headed ro the championship. you have numbewo clemson and number three notre dame meeting in the cotton bowl. clemson is the heavy favorite. t crimsoe faces off with oklahoma in the orange bowl tonight. >>> let's talk about the weather. maria larosa is back with the >>> the sun is coming up. we're looking at a beautiful sky

nbc's matt bradley explains. >> this new year's eve, the famous ball won't be the only thing over times square.rk new yoity police will have drones keeping eyes on the skies of hundreds of thousands below. >> it's the first time that we'll be using it at a large scale event. >> police areairing those with more than 1,000 surveillance cameras along with bomb sniffing dogs, helicopters, snipers, and 200 vehles and thousands of uniformed officers, many taking up positions at hotels around the square. >> the i bottom lines this, people will be safe on monday and they should feel safe too. it's going to be one of the most well policed, best protected events at one of the safestth venues i entire world. >> that's reassuring for cameron. >> are you excited? are you worried? >> we're excite >> i'm excited. i'm not worried about anything. i'm just here to have a good time and this is my first time ever seeing the ball drop. so i'm very, very excid. >> i lov watching the ball drop from my house. you can watch the ball drop here on nbc 4. lester holt will be part of a o gr journalists pushing the

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> british prime m minister there is in the political battle of her life, as she transitions her nation out of the european uniowh to do with the once volatile irish border. and fears that brexit could reignite tensions there. >> reporter: angry and humiliated, theresa may confronting european leaders after anailing to win a deal sheell at home. a brexit deal to take britain out of europe. the deal breaker is here in ireland, what erill be the new land bordetween the u.k. and european tunion. once ias a ilbattleground, u peace in northern ireland made it open free. the violence here claim claimed 3,000 plus lives, there is a real fear here, that a british brexit from the european union dcould bring a h border, militarized with britain by checkpoints. >> you put up physical tinfrastructure t people can protest at, or god forbid someone can attack, the genie gets out of the bottle real quick. >> the borde here is invisible. i'm now crossing from ireland into the u.k., easy. and that's the way people want it to stay. >> i've been across the border five times toda

we get more from matt bradley. >>> this new year's eve the famous ball won't be the only thing over timequare. new york city police keeping eye oz on the skies on what could be hundreds of thousands of revellers below. >> with the drone this is the first time year going to be using it a large-scale event. >>> along with bombs, helicopters and snipers, and thousands of uniformed officers. >> the bottom line is thi this people will be safe monday and they should feel safe too. one of the most well policed, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the world. >> reporter: are you excited? were aides? >> i'm excited. i'm not worried about anything. and this have my first time ever seeing the ball drop so i'm viu excited. >> reporter: in just a few hours the very first revellers are getting ready for a very long night. >> thank you. >>> at midnight capitol hill will ring in the new year with no deal to end the shutdown. now law maker aren't scrambling to find a fix and instead pointing the finger at each other. and president trump digging in and comparing his demands for a border w

here's matt bradley. >> reporter: tonight a look inside kevin spacey's defense strategy. lawyers for the two-time oscar winner are building their case before his arraignment next month. nbc boston obtained audio fm a preliminary hearing last week, in which spacy's attorney questionsice trooper who interviewed the accuser a year after the aeged cident. >> he never verbalized the word stop it, i don't give conse to this, i need you to stop. nothing like that, correct? >> that's correct. >> spa hasn't entered a plea. the charges come more than a year after a news anchor accused her of groping then 18-year-old son in a bar. >> shame on you for what you did to my son. >> the two men exchanged phone numbers, even smoked a cigarette together. and questioned whether a video from that night shows any assault many. >> what video shows is a person's hand madent t with the shirt, correct? >> yes. >> okay. >> not any?ody pa >> correct. >> it's only one of more than a dozen accusations dating back to the 1980s against spacy, the actor appears to defend himself, channeling his "house of

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> just ahead, the sounds of the red planet. the wind on mars for the first time ever. we will listen in next. .not hur thanks to you, st. jude children's research hospital is changing how the world treats and defeats childhood cancer. we freely share our science to help find cures and save kids with cancer everywhere. and no family pays st. jude for anything... because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. visit stjude.org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo. new listerine® ready! tabs™ aren't gum, mints, or marbles. seriously, what is this? if you guessed they're tabs that turn into liquid as you chew, so you can swish and clean your whole mouth instantly, then you were correct. and that was a really good guess. nice job. she pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. but once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. i use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. you are free to go. tide and downy together. wow, that's an pretty great, huh?low. if you

nbc's matt bradley looks at what the s does and how they are hoping to stop it. >> shes just -- you know, she's just a free spirit, kind girl. >> reporter: it's been more than a monthnc this man's 18-year-old daughter owe olivia died. >> we watched her g weaker and weaker and that's the worst exweerns can you have as a pirnt. >> reporter: olivi veloped complications after contracting a dirs at the university of land where the number of infected students stands at 40 leaving an entire campus on edge. >> there's only one dcase being fatal, and it's kf worrying that people are greg. >> reporter: another outbreak kd 11 children in a pediatric center in nufnlg the virus itself is common, but it rarely lea to dead. the ovadenus can cause the common cold, pink eye and for those with weak immune systems deadly pneumonia. >> for the majority of us it's not a problem. we get over it because we've got immunity to it. >> reporter: olivia's family had been taking medicine for krohn's diseas which may have weakened her immune system. th doctor says the best way to avoid the disease is take simple prek

matt bradley, nbc news. >>> thousands of people who opened up their wallets for a homeless man one gofun have gotten their money back. the crowdfunding site issued refundsust in time for christmas. the scam raised over $400,000 thanks to 14,000 donors. investigators alleged it was ndoked up by katelyn mcclure and her then boyfr mark d'amico. the couple went viral after thei tried to money for johnny bobbitt, who authorities say posed as a homeless hrman. all aris faing theft and conspiracy charges and could face up to ten yrs in jail if found guilty. >>> bonnie schneider is here with our holiday fomocast. >> gooing and merry christmas. we are looking at a clipper system that hasn't brought tno much to make it a white christmas for many. some in the great lakes are waking up to a dusting of snow or a little more 'sthan. raining in st. louis further to the west. if you're traveling today, it should be fine. we've got lots of sunshine out there with temperatures that are pretty seasonable for this time of year. there is some snow, and that's across the rockies where we'll see some snow accu

matt bradley with the answer hits the game winning three. cal wins it 89-83.on. >> fc hosting the portland timbers. 39th minute, license agreements with a good slide tackle and good bounce. josef martinez will bury1- ame franco escobar puts the nail in the coffin. your final 2-0. this abc 7 sports report is sponsored by river rock casino. i think we covered everything, football, baseball, hockey, soccer. we hit it all. >> badminton? >> there you go. >> maybe not everything. i stand corrected. >> i was impressed. how are you supposed to remember all the names? there are some -- >> you write it down and take notes. that's what you have to do sometimes. >> that's it for tonight, everything. for all of us here, thanks for joining it. have not just a wonderful night, a glorious evening. we'll see you on faeb and twitter and all ♪ ♪ connecting people... ...uniting the world. ♪♪ hundred roads named "park" in the u.s. it's america's most popular street name. but allstate agents know that's where the similarity stops. if you're on park street in reno, nevada, the high

. >> matt bradley takes a closer look at the bizarre occurrence that captivated new yorkers as speculation about the cause went viral. >> reporter: a mysterious blue light flooding the new york skyline and lighting up social media. >> ishat an explosion in. >> reporter: people in the area expressing shock and awe. >> i was thinking it was the end of the world. >> it was some sort of ufo or something. >> reporter: an electrical fire causing the glown the sky and power outages on the ground. >> it did start with th re. the fire affected some transformers and that caused a dip in power for this surrounding area. >> reporter: the blackout causing travel chaos at laguardia airport as the faaro issued aund stop for all flights. >> they temporarily stoed letting aircraft land in new york. >> reporter: authorities ruling out possible causes. >> this apars to be just an equipment malfunction. there isot to be any terrorist activity epinvolved. >>ter: "am i tripping?" "someone cal the ghost busttus." it was cd for all to see. >> the utility said it's restored all major lines and is looking into the

matt bradley now with the details. >> reporter: today an emergency meeting to discuss personnel matters in the new jersey towne whe a teen-age wrestler was forced to cut his dread locks before a match. video of the referee demanding andrew johnson cut his dreadsr forfeit the match went viral last week, sparking accusations of racism. johnson won the match but lost his hair because the ref said it violated rooules. the fxpilyssed gratitude or the overwhelming show of support for their son sayings h wa under duress and visibly shaken when given 90 seconds to the is hair or forfeit match. the family says the referee rejected the head covering andrew was wearing and issued ultimatum. new jersey sports officials say th a've opened civil rights investigation, sidelining maloney, who has p hadvious brushes with controversy. alnew jersey paper reported in 2016 hed a fellow ref a racial slur. he hasn't respond to nbc news' comment. >> mattey reported there. in addition to tonight's school board meeting, tomorrow will be the next wrestling match and everyo will watch t see whether he wrestles und

matt bradley is at la guardia airport, with some answers. round 9:15 p.m., an explosion at a con edison power plant not far from here, caused massive delays at the airport. it caused chaos on the subways and problems for the con edison plant. this explosion is what caused that brilliant blue light that lasted for several minutes over the entire skyline. you could see it as far away as manhattan. it caused power outages on the ground here in new york, and delays here at la guardia. the faa went so far as to issue a ground stop for all flights for quite a period of time last night. as you can imagine, that caused lots of confusion. it made for a sensation on social media, with new yorkers speculating wildly as to the cause and cracking some good jokes. the nypd even tweeted that we can assure you that aliens have not landed in the bronx. kind of an only here in new york thing. you can see, the con edison released a statement saying no one has been injured. they restored power to the power lines. and they opened an investigation on what caused t

here is matt bradley. >> reporter: this new year's eve the famous ball won't be the only thing over timee. drones will be in the sky. >> this is first time we'll be using it. >> reporter: police are pairing those with more than a thousands surveillance cameras. along with bomb sniffing dogs, helicopters, snipers and 200 blockers vehicles. thousands of uniform officers. many taking up position in hotels around the square. >> people will be safe on monday and they should feel safe too. it will be one of the most well police, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world. that's reassuring. >> are you excited or worried? >> we're excited. >> i'm excited. i'm not worried about anything. i'm just here to have a good time. this is my first time seeing the ball drop. i'm very excited. >> let's give you a live look flp was there was a test run. the ball slid down the pole. nbc lester holt will be among a group of journalists pushing the button for the big new year's eve show. the overall theme is harmony and unity. >> our theme on the ball is the gift of harmony. that's w

matt bradley has more. >> reporter: moments before his match, andrew johnson had a choice -- cut hisnson's hair length and headgear were against the rules according to the referee. johnson ended up winning his match but lost his dreadlocks. johnson's mother writing on facebook, hardest thing i've ever seen. he's good now, but that was brutal emotionally and physically. now the new jersey state interscholastic state athletic is opening an investigation. social media is blowing up with many calling the ref's move racist. chance the rapper labeling it bogus. benjamin watson saying this entire scene reconciliation of the bias so many fight daily. ava writing, to watch this young man's ordeal wrecked me. wrestler jordan borros calling it sickening. >> in high school as you're growing and developing, establishing who you are, creating an identity. i know as a young, black man, how much my hair meant to me. >> reporter: starting t the #drewfan. >> this ridiculous discriminatory way. >> reporter: it's not the refr gee ee's first brush with controversy. a reporter say he called a fellow ref a

we get more now from nbc's matt bradley. >> reporter: this new year's eve, the famous ball won't be the only thing over times square. new york city police will launch drones, keeping eyes in the skies on what could be hundreds of thousands of revellers below. >> with the drone, this is the first time we're going to be using it as a large scale event. >> reporter: police are pairing those with more than a thousand surveillance cameras. along with bomb-sniffing dogs, helicopters, snipers, and 200 blocker vehicles, and thousands of uniformed officers, many taking up positions in hotels around the square. >> and the bottom line is this. people will be safe on monday, and they should feel safe too. it's going to be one of the most well policed, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world. >> reporter: that's reassuring for cameron greg from yorktown. are you excited? >> i'm excited. i'm not worried about anything. i'm just here to have a good time, and this is my first time ever seeing a ball drop. so i'm very, very excited. >> very exciting. a live look at new york

. >> matt bradley reports, for a short time overnight, there was wild speculation to the cause and it went viral. >> reporter: a mysterious blue light flooding the new york city skyline, and lighting up social media. >> con ed facility, we have a transformer down. >> an explosion? >> reporter: people in the area expressing shock and awe. >> i was thinking it was the end of the world. >> thought it was a ufo or something. >> reporter: power outages on the ground. >> it did start with a fire, and the fire affected some transformers, and that caused a dip in power for this surrounding area. >> reporter: the blackout causing travel chaos at laguardia airport as the faa had a ground stop for all flights. >> they temporarily stop in new york. >> reporter: authorities ruling out possible causes. >> this appears to be just an equipment malfunction. it does not appear to be any terrorism or suspicious activity involved. >> reporter: but not before the phenomenon sparked reaction online. saquon barkley of the new york giants tweeting, am i tripping? others joking, these gender reveal parties ar

matt bradley -- >> who's here! >> walk us through that. exciting people with news i'm telling you is news. this isn't boring. it is massively important. it's got the people of great britain up in arms. why should it matter to -- >> did they tell you to sell this? >> no. i believe it. if they bring in brexit, i'm like, ugh. and then realize the implications. we need to pay attention. why? >> a lot of my british friends, i live in london, they tell me that wake me up when it's over. even british people with more on the line. they have a lot more on the line saying this is just so mystifying, byzantine. a little twist of the dial we are not paying attention but it's super important and for people all over the world and really part and parcel with that rise of populism we are seeing everywhere and that's the same thing. in britain the elites are against brexit. and the public is still -- >> the elites are in favor of keeping the trading relationship that they have with the european union. >> more or less, yes. against brexit. brexit has to mea

matt bradley is here with more on that. >> good morning. sears was all set for the chopping block when it's chairman submitted a bid late friday to save the company but as of this morning the terms of the bid remain unclear and so too does the store's fate. >>> back from the dead, sears, the iconic american retailer got a new lease on life friday afternoon thanks to the chairman's 11th hour bid valued at $4.4 billion to save the company from liquidation. in a statement released friday. an affiliate said their bid provides the best path forward for the company and the best option to save tens of thousands of jobs. sears has nearly 50,000 employees. if the deal is accepted, it could save the company. >> sears was the first everything store. sears was the first retailer that had everything in the same way that amazon does. >> even in today's ruthless world of retail, the 125-year-old brand still stands out. >> he believed in sears. he believed he could revive it and i think he has viewed this bid as his last effort to do so. >> but his bid may

. >> matt bradley, thank you. >>> time for the >>> we have a lot going on out window. a lot of rain and at 6:26 this morning we are now officially the wettest yearn here d.c. breaking a record from 1889. more rain on the way throughout .he day today and tomorr expect showers throughout the day. flood watches in effect until tomorrow morning. if you're headed out to wreath across america, mild but showers throughout the day. >>> and that's your latest forecast. >> dylan, thank you. still to come, a mega church pastor defending himself after buying his wife a $200,000 suv. >>> and a terrifyingue iss for >>> we're back on saturday morning with the weekly download. look back at the week that was. >> the headlines was dominated by the sentencing for the president's personal lawyer and the missing colorado mom. there were other stories we covered as well starting with the oval office showdown like none we havepoeen before. tical pot shots. an extraordinary moment played out on national tv. president trump and democratic congressional leaders bickering in the oval officeith c

matt bradley is outside memorial sloane in new york. we reporter: good morning, kristen.insburg will be here for the next couple days. w surgert well. there were no real complications. that could change at any minute because we are talking about an 85-year-d and with surgery like this, there is never a low-risk or no-risk surgery. the justice had a pulmonary olobectomy. tw nodules were removed from her lungs. they were malignant. it is important to note. doctors say they fou no evidence of any other diseases anywhere else in her body and they areo not going be recommending further treatment. this was discovered really by accident because last month the justice nd broke a couple of her ribs. they found these nodules doing a routine investigation and trying to repair her ribs. in many ways, it wasucky she fell. so in the next couple days, we will hope that the justice recovers from surgery. she is kind have become a pop icon. that is why we see all of the well wishing pouring in she has pivotal decisions on the supreme court. beyond that, people a paying attention to her. n

nbc's matt bradley is outside the prada store in new york city with more. matt, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter. earlier this week a lawyer, who was just walking by this prada retail display behind me snapped a few photos of this store front, and the social media post that she made calling for the store's boycott went viral. known for being fashion forward, today prada faces accusations of being racially backward. >> racism has no place in new york city. >> reporter: after a social media backlash the more than 100-year-old italian label pulled products that included wallets, earrings and key chains depicting a monkey with bright red lips. >> they might as well have been selling nooses and swastikas. >> it's so off the mark for a brand or a company that is around the world and should be at the forefront of social equalities. >> reporter: the backlash began with a facebook post showing pictures of the figurines in one of its new york boutiques. history cannot continue to repeat itself she wrote. black america deserves better and we demand better