we're tracking the storm's potential impact as it barrels towards the east but let's start with morgan chesky joining us now from grapevine, texas. morgan, good evening. >> reporter: yeah, lester, good evening tonight in texas, the race is on to restore power after this morning was interrupted by the sound of tornado sirens this rare december twister wreaking absolute havoc, gutting homes and businesses caught in its path this storm just one of several that wreaked so much danger across the south. [ siren >> reporter: tonight, a wild winter system's brutal wrath barrels east its multipronged path of destruction stretching from snow slammed dakotas to tornado ravaged texas, leaving roughly 14 million americans across the upper midwest and great plains under winter alerts in fort worth today, a heart-stopping scene a funnel appearing to touch down amid widespread tornado watches and warnings in texas, arkansas, and oklahoma a tornado threat forcing travelers to shelter in place at dallas-fort worth airport. in suburban grapevine -- >> we ran to the bathroom, we got on the floor, and i starting

causing death and widespread destruction from dozens of tornados that swept through seven states morgan chesky is in louisiana. and morgan, the experts are still surveying how many tornadoes there were >> reporter: yeah, lester, they absolutely are that number only expected to rise in the days ahead we do know what was an ef-2 tornado that struck this colona neighborhood that tonight leaves families looking for anything they can salvage tonight, the deadly storm system that decimated parts of the south is on the move severe thunderstorms and at least one confirmed tornado in florida. just hours after tornadoes tore through louisiana where they killed at least three people >> they're going to certify somewhere between 10 and 15 tornadoes. >> reporter: this massive twister slamming new orleans neighborhoods. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: and the city's outlying suburbs. >> i'm watching my roof come up and it goes, ch, ch, ch, ch, boom! >> reporter: homes flattened cars flipped the trail of destruction isolated but devastating families losing everything just days before the holidays >> this was my

morgan chesky has the breaking details >> reporter: tonight, just hours before the pandemic era border restriction known as title 42 was set to be lifted and with record number of migrants crossing the border surging, the supreme court stepping in. chief justice john roberts responding to a request from republican officials issuing a stay for now which will keep title 42 in place temporarily. it comes with el paso, texas, under a state of emergency with thousands of migrants crossing the border into the u.s. every day. many of them released on to the streets where they have been sleeping outside the mayor making the emergency declaration this weekend saying city resources are overwhelmed. migrant shelters already packed. >> w we need morore hohousing. we w will contininue to neneed more hohousing. ththat's been n the biggest thing. >> reporter: there were expectations the lifting of title 42 would have sent the number of illegal border crossings soaring higher the texas governor who blames biden administration policies for the ongoing migrant influx with this warning. >> if the courts

we get the latest from nbc's morgan chesky. >> reporter: this morning a deep arctic freeze crippling much of the country. the swirling powerful storm causing dangerously cold temperatures from the northern plains down to the south. >> it's cold, but when it's negative 20 it's not level. >> reporter: a news anchor in montana with a frigid show and tell, dousing clothes in water that moments later were frozen solid, letting him turn a shirt into a frozen airplane. in chicago and kansas city conditions felt like 30 below zero, with a dangerous wind chill. in bismarck, north dakota, a bone-crunching 55 below. perhaps the biggest shock, hitting the usually mild south with rare hard freeze warnings triggered along the gulf coast. >> i don't want to lose one person due to this cold. if we don't take it seriously, we will lose loved ones. >> reporter: in dallas, some freezing temps at the airport could hit 30-year lows, escalating fears that cold could cripple the state's power grid like last winter, that freeze leading to at least 250 deaths. the governor reassuring residents. >> the grid i

lester. >> morgan chesky, thank you. >>> and the freezing temperatures in texas just mentioned couldot worse this week. as much of the country faces a dangerous cold wave and a massive new winter storm. bill karins is tracking it all. bill, what are we looking at? >> millions of people are changing their travel plans. let's fast forward to the worst of the storm. wisconsin and missouri on thursday. snowstorm breaks out. high winds pick up thursday night. this storm really intensify into a blizzard by friday morning. chicago, detroit, indianapolis, lower great lakes the worst of it, northeast heavy rain, gusty winds friday morning and afternoon. then a flash freeze friday night as the temperatures plummet. everywhere you see in purple is heavy snow but areas of tennessee and arkansas have a chance of a little bit of snow out of this and about the cold, 72 hours below freezing likely in dallas. by christmas eve morning all of this cold air arrives on the east coast with a freeze possible even in central florida. lester. >> doesn't look good. thank you. >>> that severe weather likely to

joining us now from mission, texas, nbc news correspondent morgan chesky. morgan, where do things stand this morning? >> reporter: and that is a great question. a lot of people are looking for the answer. we do know that with record crossings here illegally on the rio grande on the rise, everyone wants to have something done. but as of right now no compromise is yet to be seen on either side. now it's title 42 likely lasting through at least christmas. some fear only delaying an inevitable mile gration boom. turned away at the texas border. the national guard blocking migrants from entering the united states. one official telling them to try an official port of entry instead. it's a snapshot of el paso understand a state of emergency, amid a growing border crisis. >> the biden administration has no plan on how to deal with this situation at the border once title 42 goes away. >> reporter: in response to the supreme court's pause of title 42, the biden administration asking the high courts to delay its expiration until after christmas. ultimately, it wants th

with us now to start off our coverage this hour is juan vanegas and morgan chesky. what's going on in el paso this morning as the future of title 42 is up in the air? >> reporter: good morning. the sun rose not that long ago. it's still early. some of the migrants are still sleeping here on the street. this is an area where a lot of of them have come to find help, food, clothing. it's eaier for them to get here and find some of the transportation. there's already transportation in place to take a lot of the migrants here to cities like chicago, new york, that's so they have that option. but many of them have relatives or friends in other ciies where they are trying to get to. you can see a lot of them are sleeping. there's a group over here that just woke up. this is very cold and this is where they have been sleeping. i'm asking him how it was. they are a little shy. i'm asking if they have gotten any help since they declared the state of emergency. they have been to shelters. they are told the shelters are full. they are not sure because they can't see that. they

morgan chesky joins us from mission, texas.en in the future? >> reporter: they are centerly aware of the potential consequences of title 42 expiring just after christmas. there is a heavy presence here. i'll step out of the way. this is just one of several of the border patrol boats that have been going up and down this area patrolling, in addition to border patrol personnel on the shoreline keeping ab eye out for anyone who may be attempting to cross. we were told several spotters were seen across the river earlier today, but right now the main concern that we have been hearing is from the groups that offer relief to the mite dprantss. they are afraid that so many could come across. their resources that are already stretched thin could run out. that's something we have been hearing not just here in the valley, but also in el paso. and also in the del rio pass area. this was a major hot spot of illegal crossings. now the third busiest part of the border where illegal crossings take place following the eagle pass. so right now t

joining us now from texas, morgan chesky. this is, morgan, an awful story.reporter: yeah, well we're continuing to learn new details. but just an absolutely heart breaking ordeal for the family of little athena strand. we know she was initially reported missing last wednesday and authorities say there was a fedex truck that was spotted near that home. this launched a massive search, an amber alert was issued that ended friday when her body was found. authority were able to track down that driver. he is in custody in texas jail and confessed to the killing. he has yet to share why. >> it hurts our hearts to know that that child died. >> reporter: this morning, the family of athena strand, grappling with a nightmare. their 7-year-old daughter kidnapped from her home and killed. athena's mother taking to facebook to share her grief, writing in part, we feel like we failed you. no one deserves what happened to you, but especially you. investigators say the suspect, a delivery driver, was dropping off a package at the time of athena's disappearance. her body foun

dangerous situation as the east braces for the storm's next act we have it all covered starting with morgan chesky in louisiana. >> reporter: tonight a huge tornado churning across new orleans >> there you can see a very large tornado oh, now we've got the power flashes. get to your safe place right now. >> reporter: the twister striking the lower ninth ward and parts of st. bernard parish damage unknown at this hour it's part of a deadly tornado outbreak devastating parts of the state. twisters tearing across roadways and ripping off roofs. in new iberia, police confirming two tornados touched down. authorities there helping people trapped inside debris. >> we do have several units from several agencies on scene. they are rescuing people who are trapped. >> reporter: more than 7,000 homes losing power. others no longer standing authorities say at least three people are dead, including an 8-year-old boy >> that whole trailer park is gone >> reporter: in keithville, families left picking up the pieces the governor telling nbc he is investigating whether mobile alerts went out to this rural neighbor

>> reporter: much of the northeast bracing for its bout with the deadly december storm system morgan chesky, kelowna, louisiana. >> as the storm churns east, millions are still in its past angie lassman is here with what we need to know. >> we round out the workweek still dealing with the storm system that as we started the week was on the west coast now it's tracked across entire united states and impacting folks in the northeast with rain and snow you can kind of see the transition line from boston, hartford and philadelphia. it's rain we're dealing with as we look to the interior parts of the northeast, it's the snow. let's talk about those things we will see the e whether w winter alerts u as up as far as the rainfall amounts, near boston, we could see near two inches of rain we'll be dealing with maybe two feet of snow in the infeterior areas. >>> new thisthis. >>morning. congress has passed a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. it buys time for a full year funding measure. they have reached agreement on a framework for that bill. the senate has also sent a military p

let's start with morgan chesky is in grapevine, texas, this morning, where one of those tornados hit.n see the damage, morgan. good morning. >> reporter: yeahg morning. the damage is extensive and within the last few minutes we are hearing new reports from louisiana that dozens of people are injured and at least two people are dead as a result of these terrifying overnight twisters. here in texas, damage extensive. some buildings gutted or reduced to nothing but bricks. all from a massive storm system that marches on. this morning a dual winter threat. snow piling up in the plains. >> i am in a tornado. >> reporter: and rare december tornadoes in the south. late tuesday, major destruction in northern louisiana. a tornado ripping through this community in caddo parish. homes left in pieces as search and rescue teams look for possible victims. nearby in kaetsville, a child's body found near his mother's. both killed as the storm swept through. a possible tornado leading to extensive damage. police say about 20 people were injured. one family in the small town of wayne, oklahoma, rushed

morgan chesky is at the jail where the driver is being held. a horrific story, morgan.rities say when she went missing last wednesday, a a fedex truck was spotted near her home. this launched a massive search and an amber alert. her body was found two days later. that driver confessed and is inside this texas jail but has yet to reveal why. >> it hurts our hearts to know that that child died. >> reporter: this morning the family of athena strand grappling with a nightmare. their 7-year-old daughter kidnapped from her home and killed. athena's mother taking to facebook to share her grief, writing in part, we feel like we failed you. no one deserves what happened to you, but especially you. investigators say the suspect, a delivery driver, was dropping off a package at the time of athena's disappearance. her body found two days later about ten miles from her home outside fort worth, texas. after a 31-year-old tanner horner confessed to the crime. athena's stepmother was home at the time and contacted police after she spent an hour looking for the child. with the help of f

nbc news correspondent morgan chesky has the latest. >> reporter: an urgent deadline this morning that could impact migrants seeking asylum at the u.s. border. the supreme court's chief justice john roberts placing a temporary hold on title 42, a covid pandemic era restrictions that makes it easier for the government to turn away people attempting to enter the country, the high court giving the biden administration until 5:00 p.m. tonight to respond to the decision. before the supreme court's order, the white house was looking for an additional $3.5 billion in funding to help prepare for the anticipated influx of immigrants. >> if republicans in congress are serious, if they want to help the men and women at the dhs, they certainly will assist and get this funding to us. >> reporter: the department of homeland security also responding to the supreme court, writing in a statement, "we urge congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management." this week, el paso, texas, declared a state of emergency. the texas national guard deployed 400 ad

>> morgan chesky there in a tent city set up in mexico. thank you. >>> we've got a lot more to get to including, guys, the green bay packers keeping their playoff hopes alive after a big win over the rams on "monday night football." >> seven straight prior to that. second down and goal. here is jones out on the edge. touchdown! >> there he goes. aaron jones with a touchdown catch in the third quarter, packers go on to win that one 24-12. green bay now has an outside chance to make the postseason. the rams say good-bye to that dream for this year at least. >> 13.5% chance. >> is that what the oddsmakers are saying? >> yeah. >> all right. you have aaron rodgers. >>> we turn back to the weather now. we are looking at the bitter cold. some a lot of folks are getting ready to head out. >> that's right. 100% chance of bitter cold. i want to talk about that because if you are headed from the east coast to texas, dallas waking up to temperatures in the teens friday morning into the upper midwest already starting to see that bitter cold. today thou

ahead, that brutal blast of arctic air with temperatures plunging fast in a lot of places nbc's morgan cheskyallas for us >> reporter: yeah, craig, good morning. it is 11 degrees here in dallas. windchill of negative 5. that has a lot of people saying this right here. coming up, when and where this massive winter system that in some cases bringing windchills as low as 50 degrees below zero is expected to hit next. stick around. >>> plus, the final dash for gifts with christmas just two short days away. and if you are still shopping where you can find last-minute bargains and what you need to know if you are waiting on packages to arrive in the storm. we will have that in a bit first, this is "today" on nbc. ti i haveve somethingng for you. ♪ hi ♪ i haveve somethingng for you t. ♪ ♪ ♪ just annnnounced in n time for r the holidaday, get t 1.9 % aprr for 5 yeyears on allll 20-2 just annnnounced in n time for r the holidaday, gmc c sierra lilight duty c crew cab momod. just annnnounced in n time for r the holidaday, vivisit your l local dealeler . just annnnounced in n time for r the holidaday, ♪

joins me from moscow, idaho is nbc news correspondent morgan chesky, so morgan, why the apparent reversaln some confusion about the use of word target and it was exacerbated by the fact that a prosecutor here had said that this may have been a targeted attack on the house location and not necessarily an individual itself. i had a chance to speak to a spokesman for idaho state police, and i asked him pointblank, is the word targeted accurate? he said that they do believe this was a targeted attack, but it is too early in this investigation to say whether or not the target was the home, itself, or specific individuals inside. however, he added they are continuing to gather evidence, speak to people, and they believe pertinent to this investigation, and in hopes of learning more. katy? >> morgan, i'm sorry, i'm a little confused and i'm wondering if you can get more from them, targeting the home, not targeting the people? i don't get it. >> reporter: right, it is certainly a question that a lot of people are asking here in moscow. it was inferred rather that it may have been a specific locat

joining us now with more is morgan chesky live from grapevine, texas. what are people there waking up to? >> reporter: they are waking up to the full extent of the damage that yesterday's tornadoes left behind. i'm standing in front of what's left of just one of the business that was damaged yesterday. in addition to several homes. the damage just as tornadoes so often do, hitting one business or home and leaving the next untouched as it tore through this part of north texas. just a couple hours to the north, the tornado damage this now confirmed as an ef-2 twister, and that left several people in need of rescue. but the main concern right now is these folks in louisiana, where we do know that the terrifying ordeal of overnight twisters came true leaving dozens injured. at least two people dead. search and rescue crews are looking for survivors and some of these hard-hit rural areas. but as you can imagine, it is a shock for a lot of people. december tornadoes not unheard of, but definitely uncommon. and the speed with which these storms struck left a l

morgan chesky is in san antonio live for us right now. morgan, good to see you. we're all waiting to hear directly from brittney, but what do we know at this point about how she's adjusting back here in the u.s. >> reporter: yeah, vicky, really a lot of encouraging news on that front we do know that brittney's agent spoke to espn and shared a lot of optimistic updates about the status of the wnba star. she's staying with her wife at nearby fort sam houston, continuing that process of recovery we do know that in addition to that light workout that took place with the trademark dunk happening in chuck taylor sneakers, that a special delivery arrived over the weekend, texas barbecue for brittney and her wife to share with family and friends who are visiting her, as she continues to readjust to life back in america. one would think that, you know, she would be taking some time alone to kind of get back to normal but that's hardly the case i want you to hear what her attorney had to say about her arrival back home. >> i'm in touch with cherelle and with lindsey, her a

>> reporter: authorities have never revealed why the attack was targeted, lating telling nbc's morgan chesky it's possible the house, not necessarily the individuals living there, was targeted. >> the investigation we have not come to a conclusion whether it was the individuals involved or one individual, multiple individuals, or the location. >> my name is stacey chapin. i'm nathan's mom. >> reporter: a month of unspeakables came for families and friend of the victims attempting to seek closure with kimmers still on the loose. >> make sure you spend as much time as possible with those people because time is precious and it's something you can't get back. >> reporter: frustrations with the pace of the investigation growing by the day. >> it will be a cold case if we don't do something within the next week or two. >> reporter: but police say they have information to work with, and new leads every day. >> we want more than just an arrest. we want a conviction. >> nbc's erin mclaughlin reporting there. just a nightmare of a month for those families, and still no real leads in the case. jonathan

let's bring in nbc correspondent morgan chesky, and so many people are trying to get in at the borderit like? >> i think you nailed. it i think frustration and confusion are the two key words here. as everyone watches and waits to see what happens to title 42. we're here in mission, texas, in the rio grande valley, where this used to be a hot spot of people coming across and in recent months and years we have seen added infrastructure and increased personnel from border patrol, from texas dps arrive here and as a result, we've seen numbers go up in areas like eagle pass, texas, and into the far west in el paso, texas. that city of course, still under a state of emergency, because of that surge in illegal crossings there. with this date, expiration of title 42 now being pushed back until after christmas, everyone is just watching and waiting. we have had a chance to hear from those in shelters who have helped the migrants and they say right now, they are concerned that not only are they already short on resources, but if and when title 42 does expire, they would be unable to help as ma

. >> morgan chesky has more. what is the latest on brittney griner's condition?er: encouraging news. her agent has spoken to espn, and described brittney griners a being upbeat and in good spirits and they wanted her to have initial time to reacclimate but from all account these is engaging inasmuch as possible and enjoying the fact that she can speak eng -- english at this point, and nearly a year in captivity, nine, ten months in captivity and hearing mostly russian. do you know a special delivery of san antonio barbecue arrived yesterday that brittney griner shared with friends and family who are visiting her at fort sam houston and right now, all accounts are that following this light workout, she is in good spirit, of course she dropped that trademark dunk, and so that is optimistic news, although she is keeping it close to the vest as to whether or not she will return to the wnba. >> let's play a little bit of the reference you made to her wanting to talk. this is roger carston, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, he's the one we see in the

. >>> let me turn to morgan chesky live for us in texas.re learning more about brittney griner's condition after she landed of course in texas, has been adjusting to life back home, as you saw the first tv interview since brittney griner has returned to the u.s. talk us through it. >> reporter: optimistic news so far. brittney griner and her wife are standing near here, and underwent an evaluation at the medical center behind me. early reports suggest so far, so good. her agent did speak to espn saying in addition to having that live workout with the trademark dunk, a special delivery of barbecue arrived for brittney griner to check in with family and friends, and share with them. after she arrived back home. she has come a long way. the ten months in russian captivity. we know she was not always in good health. here is what her attorney had to say about a recent ailment. take a listen. >> she has signs of flu, nothing suspicious of outstanding, just the flu, honestly. but when you are in jail, it's a bit more worrying. >> reporter: troubli

it was a residents or victims targeted in this entire incident -- here is what they told nbc's morgan chesky. >> was it one individual? multiple individuals? or the location -- we have not made that determination yet. >> while they were not clear what the case does involve, authorities have been clear about what it does not. let me go through some of those for you. victims were not gagged or tied. this was not about reports of a skin dog that happened weeks before, also not connected. deceased animals on a property, not connected. related to two other stabbing incidents in neighboring states? also not connected. and then, an argument between people, to people, that involved a folding knife are not connected. they are very clear about what's not involved. that is why they cautioned that crowd sourced information is sometimes not right. let me show you some of the numbers they have so far. one private facebook group has more than 32,000 members. read it formed 27,000 members. idaho murders on tiktok, 94 million. yasmin, the concern here is from the family specifically because as evidence start

nbc news correspondent morgan chesky has details. >> reporter: at the university of idaho.of ethan, kaley, zana and madison, be a light. >> and as friends an family of the four students lost came together to grieve. the father of caylee sharing her daughter was with her best friend in their final moments. >> they came together and in the end they died together. in the same room, in the same bed. >> while thousands pack the school football stadium for the memorial, other schools across the state held similar vigils for the four friends found stabbed to death at this off-campus house over two weeks ago. one criminal profiler say the attacker might have been in the very crowd. >> it won't be surprising if the killer would show up at some of these public events. simply to observe, if you will, the outcome of his crime. >> reporter: early in the investigation, police described the attack as targeted. but didn't disclose their basis for that conclusion. now it is possible the house not necessarily any of the individuals was the killer's focus. >> is there anything investigators t

nbc's morgan chesky with more. good morning. >> reporter: sheinelle, good morning.h illegal crossings here on the rio grande breaking records both sides agree something needs to be done. as of right now, that compromise has yet to be seen. now with title 42 likely lasting through christmas, many fear it's only delaying an inevitable migration boom. turned away at the texas border. the national guard blocking migrants from entering the united states. one official telling them to try an official port of entry instead. a snapshot of el paso under a state of emergency amid a growing border crisis. >> the biden administration has no plan on how to deal with this situation at the border once title 42 goes away. >> reporter: in response to the supreme court's pause of title 42 the biden administration asking the high court to delay its expiration until after christmas. but ultimately it wants the court to reject efforts by republican-led states to keep the pandemic-era policy in place permanently. in a tuesday filing, the white house acknowledging the end of title 42 will

later telling nbc's morgan chesky it's possible the house, not necessarily the individuals living theregation we have not really come to conclusion whether it was the individuals involved or one individual, multiple individuals or the location. >> my name stacy chapin. i'm ethan's mom. >> reporter: a month of unspeakable pain for families and friends of the victims attempting to seek closure with a killer still on the loose. >> make sure that you spend as much time as possible with those people because time is precious, and it's something you can't get back. >> reporter: frustrations with the pace of the investigation growing by the day. >> it's going to be a cold case if we don't do something within the next week or two. >> reporter: police say they have information to work with and new leads every day. >> we want more than just an arrest. he want a conviction. >> reporter: and back to those allegations reportedly being made by steven goncalves. fox news is reporting that the coroner declined to comment. we have been unable to confirm them and have been unable to reach him, craig. >> t