morgan radford reports on the challenges going into this year's new year's weekend. >> reporter: tonight, millions of americans, scrambling to clear the streets. >> unless you have to go out, don't bother going out. it makes live easier for us. >> reporter: in upstate new york, plows clearing up to eight inches of snow. after the first major storm of the season clobbered the northeast. >> it's coming down pretty hard. it's very difficult to see. >> reporter: almost 100,000 people in maine without power which officials say may not come back for days. parts of that state saw more than two feet of snow. more than a foot in parts of new hampshire. tonight responders trying to prevent this. the aftermath of a forceful 24 hours. here in new hampshire, you can see melting snow still covering the streets. this is something quickly turn to ice as soon as the temperature drops. dangerous streets, under harsh conditions. >> such low visibility, that it's very, very hard to even tell what lanes you're supposed to be driving in. >> reporter: residents hoping to end the year with a different type of b

morgan radford, nbc, new york. >> catalyst after christmas sales. just ahead, sarah michelle gel lar's ''80s mixup that has the enter in et in an uproar. how one generous man is putting his wrapped up air miles to good use. we're rapidly losing credibility as handymen. mom washed our clothes. one wash with tide pods and we're right back where we started. we look like catalogue models! who trusts a clean handyman anyway? we can't look this good! dinge is the dirt the bargain detergent can't get to. tide pods can. hey, searching for a great used yeah! you got it. just say show me millions of used cars for sale at the all new carfax.com. i don't want one that's had a big wreck just say, show me cars with no accidents reported pretty cool i like it that's the power of carfax® find the cars you want, avoid the ones you don't plus you get a free carfax® report with every listing start your used car search at carfax.com achoo! snap achoo! snap achoo! achoo! snap snap achoo! achoo! feel a cold coming on? zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a sn

nbc's morgan radford has been reading into the details and she has our report tonight. >> reporter: ason. an estimated $1 trillion spent on gifts, selling out in stores. but the reality is, there's some things you just don't like. >> we got finding nemo, instead of finding dory. so sometimes santa makes mistakes. >> reporter: 10% of gifts are returned every year, valued at a whopping $60 billion. >> i'm too old to wear this kind of stuff. it's like leggings with all this stuff. i didn't like it. >> reporter: if you are in the return line, beware. lots of stores have new rules. you have just two weeks to return drones to places like target and walmart. kohl's, a january 31st deadline for top shelf electronics, and in some stores, you need to bring your receipt and your i.d. >> loose return policies mean that people will do this buy and return, maybe wear something once and return it, that's actually fraudulent behavior. >> reporter: while we're talking about returns, why not donate, places like give back box, allow you to take any of your old holiday boxes, print a free shipping label,

>> morgan radford. >>> with the snow moving out, the cold is moving in. that's going to be the big problem for millions this coming week. meteorologist rafael miranda joins us with more. >> that's right. another wave of the polar vortex moving in. our travel nightmare continues. snow moving into chicago. but the big story over the next few days will be the extreme dangerous cold. it is returning. even right now that arctic blast moving to the dakotas. take a look at the current windchills anywhere from 21 below in minneapolis and north dakota feeling the worst. the cold advances east over the next couple of days. tomorrow morning waking up to windchills to near 40 below in minneapolis. 45 below in bismarck. these, believe it or not, are the high temperatures on sunday. could be the coldest game ever played at soldier field. high temperature of 7 in chicago. eight below zero is the high temperature in cedar rapids, and monday morning heading back to work and school how about a windchill of 27 below in the windy city. >> rafael miranda, thank you. >>> anoth

morgan radford nbc news, new york. >>> overseas tonight authorities arrested three people, including the nephew of the alleged berlin christmas market attacker. they're suspected of belonging to a terrorist cell and having contact with this man, anis amari. who was alleged to have killed 12 people and wounded dozens more before going on the run. he later died in a shootout with police in italy. >>> in the war against one of the world's most vicious terror groups, the nigerian president is claiming victory over boko haram. the militant islamic group responsible for kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls just a couple of years ago. today the nigerian army says it's freed nearly 2,000 captives but as nbc news explains, most of those girls remain missing. ♪ holy night >> reporter: hope for a peaceful christmas renewed tonight as nigeria claims to have finally crushed the islamist extremist group boko haram. the president saying the militants are on the run. driven from their last enclave in the sambisi forest, their hostages freed. for seven years, they've murdered and terrorized in their

morgan radford, nbc news, concord, new hampshire. >>> a frantic search is under way for a small plane that vanished shortly after takeoff from cleveland. officials fear it may have plunged into lake erie last night with six people on board. nbc's ron mott has the latest. >> reporter: a race against time and frigid waters of lake erie as the coast guard leads the search for a missing plane with six people aboard, feared lost. >> reporter: officials say they're picking up a faint emergency signal activated after a crash. >> there's several faint hits, but we have not received a strong hit of a steady elt signal. >> reporter: the plane took off from burke lake front airport with light snow falling and strong winds gusting to 36 miles an hour. it made two turns toward the north before disappearing from radar. john t. fleming, ceo of a columbus ohio beverage company was piloting. he was joined by his wife suzanne, their two teen sons, and two others. an adult and child. neighbors of both families expressed hope. >> let's hope a miracle happens. >> reporter: rough conditions hampered the se

>> morgan radford, thank you. >>> with just two days left in 2016, security is tightening coast to coast and around the world, as we get ready to ring in the new year. after the terror attacks this year in cities, including orlando, nice, and most recently berlin, law enforcement is on high alert and making an unprecedented show of force here in new york. nbc's stephanie gosk has details. >> reporter: the confetti and the rain poured in times square today as the city gets ready for its annual bash and its annual massive security operation. >> people will be safe this new year's eve because we're there, along with our law enforcement partners. >> reporter: in times square, a record 7,000 uniformed and undercover police, including hundreds of heavily armed counterterrorism officers, will hit the streets. and in the wake of the attack at the berlin christmas market, killing a dozen, and nice over the summer, leaving 86 dead, sand trucks and other vehicles will be used to block off new york streets. in chicago, fences and concrete barricades went up today amid concerns about isis-inspired at

. >>> good morning, i'm morgan radford, we begin with breaking news overnight and tragedy on a holiday flight to syria where a russian military plane went down in the black sea, 92 passengers and crew were aboard. rescue teams say they have begun recovering bodies and some of these mising are the same military band that performed on "today" during the olympics. >>> thousands gathered to hear pope francis's christmas wish for the world. he called for peace in syria and peace between israelis and palestinians. >>> palestinian's queen elizabeth did not attend church with the royal family, a statement said that she is still recovering from a bad cold but she will celebrate later today. >>> winter storms are bringing traffic to a stand still out west, more than 50 miles of interstate were brought to a complete stand still overnight because of heavy rain and snow and multiple crashes. more rough weather is in store on this christmas day, blizzard warnings are in effect in the dakotas and an ice storm is impacting minnesota. there could even be severe thunderstorms in kansas and oklahoma. her

thank you, morgan radford in new jersey. latest on that massive certainly operation for victims of that russian military plane crash, what investigators believe at this point likely led to that crash. oh, that's lovely... so graceful. the corkscrew spin, flawless... ...his signature move, the flying dutchman. poetry in motion. and there it is, the "baby bird". breathtaking. a sumo wrestler figure skating? surprising. what's not surprising? how much money heather saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, and your symptoms have left you with the same view, it may be time for a different perspective. if other treatments haven't worked well enough, ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works by focusing right in the gi-tract to help control damaging inflammation and is clinically proven to begin helping many patients achieve both symptom relief as well as remi

standing in one of the purples spots is morgan radford, concord, new hampshire. what's going on? >> reporter: it's a heavy snow. we're expected to see up to a foot of snow in places you just heard, in parts of new england like new hampshire and vermont. we're with the people on the front lines. these are the types of trucks. they've already been deployed throughout the city of concord and all throughout new england. we're going to go for a ride-along in a little bit. to give you a sense of scale, last year this time there was only 4 inches of snow. that snow didn't even begin until december. this time around, we're seeing up to 15 inches of snow. that's just in the last two months alone. now we're expected to see another foot just overnight. hallie? >> morgan radford, holding it down for us in snowy new england. >>> we want to get a check of our microsoft pulse question. the obama administration plans to punish russia over suspected election meddling. donald trump says, we ought to get on with our lives. what do you think, should we or should russia get punished? 88% of you do be

morgan radford is live for us outside of a mall in garden city, new york, where a fight broke out yesterday. morgan, good to have you with us this morning. what's bhieehind the chaos we'r seeing? how did this all come to head? >> reporter: that's what investigators try to find out, ayman. these events were not related but all odd it happened the day after christmas when shoppers were going to return the christmas items and tried to get new deals on the after-christmas day sales. the skirmishes at aurora happened across the country and behind me here in new york. take a listen. post-christmas mayhem. striking malls all across the country. in this new jersey mall, pandemonium when a person shouted gun after a chair fight. >> we took shelter in some kinds of store. >> reporter: 5,000 shoppers trying to escape what they believed was a life-threatening ordeal, abandoning meals in the food court. in ohio, police responded to reports of shots fired at beach wood place mall. >> we had a sort of stampede through saks. >> officers used pepper spray to disperse a large crowd fighting and confirmed the

morgan radford shows us where temperatures are dropping and the snow is piling up. >> reporter: residents desperately digging their way out of almost three feet of snow. >> yesterday i did my driveway three times and i woke up to another foot of snow this morning just to do it all over again. >> reporter: in parts of ohio another nature landing a one/two punch. freezing temperatures and whiteout conditions. >> it's a young person's weather. >> reporter: and a nightmare for commuters. tens of millions under a winter weather advisory with more than 30 inches of snow falling near clear land and buffalo, another 6 inches expected off the great lakes. that storm system coming from the west where in portland an entire neighborhood was left in the dark after this tree snapped bringing down a power line. for hours when another high voltage line ripped. first responders ex courting them to safety. cities and towns across the northern plains feeling well below sfloe. still not enough to stop these tail faters in north dakota or shoppers in show. >> i get excited. i love it. >> reporter: where some

morgan radford is live in garden city, new york, where violence broke out yesterday, what's behind all of this, morgan, or do we know? >> reporter: that's what we're trying to find out, crg. in fact, investigators are still looking into whether or not these incidents are, in fact, connected. so far, there's no evidence that suggests that they are, but what we do know is that dozens of shoppers were injured. they were innocent bystanders. this happens as fights and even false reports of gun violence broke out in malls across the country even behind me here in new york. post-christmas mayhestking malls across the country. in this new jersey mall, pandemonium when a person with a gun in response to a chair being slammed after a fight. >> just run and run. we took a shot through in some kind of store. >> 5,000 shoppers trying to escape what they believed was a life-threatening ordeal. abandoning meals in the food court. in ohio, police responded to shots fired at beachwood place mall. >> we had a sort of stampede through saks. >> reporter: a juvenile taken into custody for assaulting a pol

nbc's morgan radford 30 miles northwest of where we sit in manhattan. the snow's been falling for a few hours. good morning. >> reporter: craig, good morning. 150 million americans across the country waking up to this. this snow, this ice. it's also this dangerously cold windchill that's sweeping the country. some places seeing temperatures dip 30 degrees below zero. a winter whiteout. blankets of snow barreling across the great plains sending sheets of ice and howling winds through america's heartland. slamming the northeast this morning. >> this is brutally cold. >> i don't know if you ever could be ready. >> i hate winter. >> reporter: out west, neighbors in wyoming race against the clock to clear snow-covered streets. >> even though it's 9 degrees out now, the temperatures are still supposed to keep dropping. >> reporter: hoping to avoid accident like this in minnesota where icy roads caused hundreds of crashes in less than 24 hours and sent this tractor-trailer sliding off the highway. a similar scene in utah. bumper-to-bumper traffic at a standsti

nbc's morgan radford is in chicago where they're expecting up to ten inches of snow. you obviously drew the short straw. how cold is it there. we're expecting to see up to 12 inches of snow in the surrounding areas just outside of chicago. we're here in a winter storm advisory in effect at 6:00 p.m. that snow expected to strike at 5:00 p.m. local time. stephanie this is part of a larger storm system that started out west and is now moving its way here to the midwest and to the northeast. we're expecting to see about eight inches of snow where you are near new york city, also boston has to be leery of what's come up ahead of monday. listen to how some of the people around the country are now reacting. >> well i came to warn my co-worker that the roads were bad so i parked over here and i took off, i slid into the side so then i got stuck. >> the roads are basically just ice and so we're really worried about the ice part. the snow is all right but the ice is scary. >> reporter: self know, as we speak, 27 million people are now under a winter storm advisory, more expecte

morgan radford is following this winter weather in suffern, new york. >> the temperature is in the 20s here. earlier today it was snowing, then that snow turned into freezing rain and began to coat the roadways here. that's part of what we are seeing happen throughout the country. it's caused major accidents like the one in baltimore. that was a multivehicle crash. first responders are removing cars from the side of the highway. that has people here in the northeast extremely alert. take a listen. >> you just have to go really slow. when you come to a stop sign, it's not the normal procedure. you've got to start slowing down way before you normally would do so in normal driving conditions. >> i think the got cold earlier and took some people by surprise. we're ready for it. i have a four-wheel drive so no problem. >> hundreds of flights have also been canceled throughout the country. this is as major airways had to close down their runways because of icy roads. 150 million americans still under a winter weather advisory. >> morgan radford, thank you. >>> president obama at a news confe

that was morgan radford reporting. now a check on your weather with nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. it is a mess in some places. >> it is, especially for maine, lots of heavy snow falling right now at a rate of one to four inches per hour. that's intense. at the height of the storm it was going six inches per hour. we still also have lake effect snow coming in. i want to let you know we have advisories all the way from syracuse, jamestown, and into erie, pennsylvania. this lake effect snow event is one of a couple we're going to be seeing this week. let's talk about maine right now. your winter storm warning continues. so we're still watching out for dangerous conditions. travel not advised for northern vermont and northern new hampshire and snow totals are still coming in. we've already seen 20 inches in some parts of maine, just mind boggling. early snow and then the lake effect snow comes in and those bands will be intense, so we could see several inches plus as it comes through. then by tomorrow the new clip is

let's go to morgan radford. what is it like right now?nelle, you can see people already beginning to pack the square just behind me. and that's ahead of a 7:00 p.m. public memorial service that's being held this evening. and that will be the final public memorial service in the entire island. now, fidel castro's ashes have been traveling from havana here to santiago and cuba. this is the area where he was from. an hour and a half away. people here are really beginning to discuss his legacy and what thatacy legacy meant to them. take a listen to what one woman said. >> anything changes, probably because of the new presidency of the states. i think in cuba, everything would remain the same. >> reporter: she's effectively saying she doesn't think things are going to change significantly, because fidel castro's legacy was so strong here, the country will remain loyal to those things. i want to show you just behind me where you see these flags, that's where those ashes are currently. that's where people are coming to say goodbye. this is the f

>> morgan radford, thank you. we'll continue to follow this 50-car-pileup. what a scene in maryland causing a deadly accident around the country. hang with us this afternoon. >>> president obama vows retaliation against russia for the alleged hacking. what form will that take? former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul, joins us next. >> our goal continues to be to send a clear message to russia or others not to do this to us. because we can do stuff to you. ♪ ♪ see ya next year. this season, start a new tradition. experience the power of infiniti now, with leases starting at $319 a month. infiniti. empower the drive. g new cars. you're smart. you already knew that. but it's also great for finding the perfect used car. you'll see what a fair price is, and you can connect with a truecar certified dealer. now you're even smarter. this is truecar. ways wins. especially in my business. with slow internet from the phone company, you can't keep up. you're stuck, watching spinning wheels and progress bars until someone else scoops your story. switch to comcas

let's go to nbc's morgan radford. that's where she is. it's cold as you promised. >> reporter: it is cold but it's warmer at the american airlines terminal at o'hare. 3,000 flights across the country have been canceled or delayed. more than half coming out of chicago. look at this board. you can see from springfield, missouri, st. louis, omaha, louisville, all these have been completely canceled or at least delayed. we've been catching up with passengers here in the airport to find out how they're going to get home. >> my first flight got canceled so i had to rebook last night in wisconsin. we were at a family reunion. so now it's like i'm hoping to make the 5:15 flight. >> i'm going home now. i'm going to st. louis and i was supposed to leave this morning at 6:00, then at 10:00. now i'm on a 2:55. >> because both flights got cancelled? >> they did. >> how has the experience been? >> annoying. >> reporter: well, outside, richard, it's not much better. lots of delays on the road. in fact, about 300 trucks have been sent out to salt these r

nbc's morgan radford outside of walmart in new jersey. what's the situation where you are?gle. >> the holiday numbers are up big. the headline estimate, $1 trillion. that's lots of people out there, spending money, boosting the economy. it's up about 4% since last year. november sales alone were up 5%. a lot were bulk online shoppers. they had about a billion in spending. that's up 16%, frankly, more than any of us expected to see, and they had the benefit of being online procrastinators. they were able to get free shipping, last-minute deals. today, of course, the day after christmas, is the day that a lot of people are returning those items that grandma got that they we weren't really feeling this year. make sure to call the individual retailers because each store has its own return policy. and especially when it comes to those specialty items like drones or television sets. they can have a different return policy than even the rest of the items inside the store. secondly, make sure you bring your id as well as your receipt, and adjust your expectations. be clear that you

nbc's morgan radford outside of walmart in new jersey. what's it like now?ave been out here since early this morning. finally people are starting to trickle in. we expect to see a lot more people as the day continues. that's because holiday sales up big this year. estimated number, $1 trillion, that's up 4% from last year. even if you just look at november sales alone, that was also up 5%. craig as you can imagine, lots of people didn't want to wait in lines like this, so they went online shopping. the bulk of those online shoppers, that was about a billion dollars spent just this holiday season alone. that was up 16% compared to last year. a lot of those online shoppers this year they were procrastinators, so of course they got the benefit of a lot of decreased prices. they even got some of that free shipping. today is the big day if you want to return those items. you're not feeling, don't like the way it looks. a few tips if you are headed out to the stores today. one, be sure to call the store ahead of time. it actually will save you some of that time be

morg morgan radford takes a look at this santa glow. >> santa is here, he's headed your way maybe by ski or sleigh. it is that time of year, yeah, christmas is heere and the whole world is ready to spread a little cheer. >> at the vatican, the pope with a message of hope. >> in england, the queen sent a message of love for the young and the old. >> acts of goodness can be bigger than we can imagine. in bethelhem of a mass. >> i am being away from my family but i am serving my country at the same time. it is rough because it is my first holiday from home. >> and in sri lanke, the world's tallest tree. >> in austria, the sun is shining bright. >> it does not feel like christmas. >> while german enjoys some lake side delate. >> this christmas is tracking the skies, some is finding more than a christmas surprise. >> new york city is the most popular tourist destination of all the united states especially for those international travelers and back to half a million people right here at the 30 rocker fella. that's to see our tree part of the season. >> morgan, thank you very much. now to w

. >> nbc's morgan radford from concord, new hampshire. >> reporter: overnight a flash of light and then a rare burst of thunder snow. the last winter storm of 2016 arriving with force. the nor'easter quickly piling up snow across new england. this morning more than 7 million people are under winter storm advisories. in massachusetts, crews using new liquid deicer edeicers. getting a head start before roads completely freeze over. up to 18 inches expected when it's all said and done. in vermont, an ice skater's paradise and a skier's too. one resort said it got more snow thursday than all of last year. and in new hampshire. chad jakewith had been plowing the winding roads for 19 years. what do you recommend to people traveling on them? >> go slow, take your time. >> reporter: but for skiers, this storm's been a long time coming. >> beyond excited. i'm shaking right now. >> reporter: how did it compare to last year? >> oh, last year sucked. >> reporter: ending the year with a literal bang. >>> despite the storm, they are getting ready to party in time's square. wreeler show you what you c

nbc's morgan radford, 2,000 flights cancelled over the weekend.> reporter: that's right, things are a little better now. look at this. there are no lines here at the american terminal at chicago international here. a lot of these passengers we spoke to. some of whom have said it is difficult to rebook for later flights. take a listen. >> a lot of delays. took a while to get here. >> my first flight got cancelled so i had to rebook for r a different airline. >> reporter: how has this experience of getting cancelled and rebooked. >> we have been watching those numbers of cancellations climbed throughout the day. they started just shy of 200 and now they're just above 300. these are departure as and arrivals. the airlines are responding. united airlines say they'll waive any rescheduling fees and other airlines are offering full refunds. thomas. >> morgan, thank you very much. a phoenix officer is stepping into make a mom and her little boy this christmas one to remember and how they're going to be at home for the holidays, thanks to some angels on p

. >> nbc's morgan radford, thank you for that report. folks celebrating new year's eve tomorrow night. if you are heading to times square new york, bundle up, bonnie schneider is tracking the forecast. bonnie. >> we have lake effects snow coming in and a second clipper, that'll move through over the weekend bringing light additional snow. unfortunately, more snow on top of that. plenty of rain coming through los angeles today causing airport delays so we are watching that in southern california. we are looking for more rain in southern arizona as well. some mountain snow as well going forward. the road parades looks good in pasadena. how about times square ? what can we expect when the ball drops? >> 40 degrees and mostly cloudy. a good looking forecast to start out the new year and temperatures looking pretty good for today. we'll be watching cooler air coming through across the northern tier and the country is working its way through the east. not a bad looking forecast for the new year. >> meteorologist bonnie schneider. >> thank you,

sara. >> morgan radford, morgan, thank you. >>> well, cyber security remains a focus in washington, on wall street and around the world. for more on the new relationship between incoming president trump and putin of russia and the yuds, joining usz is the co-founder of crowd strike which first connected russia to the dnc hack last summer. i'd love to get to china to begin because as important as russia and putin and trump's relationship is, the relationship between the u.s. and china is also front saerntd rig -- and center right now. i did a documentary years ago on the stealing of corporate secrets by the chinese with the help of crowd strike as well. is that still a big issue? because the trump administration certainly seems to want to make it one. >> we've seen activity curtailed over the last year actually. when the agreement was signed between china and the u.s., we've seen industrial espionage actually drop a bit. it doesn't mean all espionage activity has dropped. if you're in the defense industrial base you're still subject to those attacks. but in terms of stealing intellectua

morgan radford takes a look at the fall of an american institution. >> reporter: once a place to getur friends, when you couldn't drive, you got dropped off there. it was just a place to hang out. >> but that place is increed chris fading. >> the mall is no longer the cool, interesting, fun, hip things to do. it's just not. >> reporter: the '90s mall rats culture. >> the easter bunny is at the mall. >> reporter: now it looks much like a time capsule. today many american malls have slowed to a crawl. shopped till their dropped. by people like new mom alley newsom, but now, allealley's ba it. >> do you ever miss it, going to the mall, the whole experience? >> not really. it just depends. if i have to roll up to the mall and get the baby in and out of the car and shopping bags, that's a lot. >> the day we showed up at the door, so did -- >> this is for you. >> we have got bed, bath and beyond. pampers. >> almost 10% of all retail sales are done online, contributing to the growing number of so-called dead malls across the country. some now overgrown, frozen in time. haunting images of th

nbc's morgan radford is at o'hare airport in chicago. morgan, we see some people behind you.he line not snaking too bad but that one image there. so what's the latest? >> reporter: that's right, actually gotten better, tamron. it's been a chaotic monday across america's airports. we've seen hundreds of flights cancelled. the reality of it is half of the flights are coming out of chicago but it's also kind of a relief for the weekend travelers who are facing thousands of cancellations over the weekend. a lot of them telling me, look, it's been complicated trying to buy entirely new tickets off of different airline or trying to get rescheduled and described a process that really isn't easy and really isn't cheap. let's take a listen. >> a lot of delays. took a while to get here. >> my first flight got cancelled. so i had to rebook last night. >> my original flight was cancelled so i had to rebook with a different airline. >> reporter: how has this entire experience been? >> expensive. >> reporter: thankfully, a lot of the flights are showing back up on the board here. let's tak

morgan radford is following this winter weather in new york. what is the latest there? >> the temperature is in the 20s here in suffern, new york. it started snowing earlier this morning then turned into freezing rain. that's what we are seeing happen throughout the northeast and eastern seaboard. in baltimore there was a multicar crash. first responders are removing vehicles from the side of the highway there. that has people throughout the northeast alert today, especially if they are getting on the roads. >> you have to go really slow. when you come to a stop sign, it's not the normal procedure. you've got to start slowing down way before would you normally do so in normal driving conditions. >> i think it got cold earlier and took people by surprise. we're ready for it. i have a four-wheel drive. it's no problem. >> there have been hundreds of flights canceled throughout the country and major airports had to close down their runways as more than 150 million americans remain under a winter weather advisory. >> morgan, thank you. >> uber and state of california could

>> thank you to nbc's morgan radford, keeping an eye on the mall mads in. >>> music fans in shot todayver the news of george michael's death. fans are leaving tributes at his home in england where he died on christmas. his publicist set george michael passed away from heart failure peacefully. chris witherspoon joins me. i don't know where as to start with this. there's so many to talk about, but start with george michael, his impact really went well beyond just music. >> totally. this is shocking, stunning the whole music community. it's really just at a loss for words right now. it's incredible he died on christmas day. think about the hit "last christmas" with wham. i was thinking how he so break the barriers and cross into mainstream popularity. he wasn't just a white music artist. he had the number one hot album on the r&b charts with "faith." i was thinking when i was a little kid listening to george michael's music, hearing my mother and grandmother play it. he's been referenced most recently in key and peelle's new movie, george michael a this artist that's so -- he pushed barr

nbc's morgan radford is in new york city's times square. morgan, what is the situation like there? >> reporter: well, melissa, there's mixed emotions here in times square where the streets are packed with tourists, many telling me they have been thinking about the attack in germany. take a listen. heavy guns and police barricades. not the type of holiday ornaments you would expect to see around the christmas tree. >> we have seen some of the cops carrying what look like either ak-47s or assault rifles. >> just a little extra alert. keep an extra eye on your kids and bags. >> reporter: this attack on a berlin marketplace left 12 people dead, a fresh reminder to major cities across the world on holiday alert. in london, more police patrolling the palace. >> the policemen are everywhere. >> reporter: while australian authorities charged four suspects for allegedly plotting a christmas day attack. >> it is a time of happiness, and joy. these terrorists sought to disrupt it. they have been thwarted. they are in custody. >> reporter: here at home, it's as much about prevention as it is r

nbc's morgan radford is there. and morgan, can you set the scene where you are?re in santiago. [ speaking spanish ] this is where fidel castro made one of his first revolutionary speeches after the revolution. this is also the area of the island where he's from. he's from an hour and a half away. his ashes have been traveling from havana to here in the eastern part of the island. but what's interesting to see as we followed his ashes all throughout the island. we followed it for 20 hours in the caravan. and you see the emotion shift across the island. there's this interesting tug-of-war internally about who fidel castro's legacy belongs to more. in havana, that's where he became more of an established political figure. but here in the east, this is where he was from. this is where his father in a large farm. that's what we're seeing as the emotion shifts. we saw people in havana celebrating his life. in santiago de cuba we are seeing them mourn his death. take a listen. >> it's his country and history. he's as big as that. the world has lost a brilliant mind and

morgan radford joining us live from concord, new hampshire. how much snow do we have up there and what's it doing to the roads? >> reporter: well, steve, here in new hampshire, we've seen up to 17 inches of snow in places like maine, up to 25 and maybe more than 100,000 people who are still without power. you can see here some of the sidewalks, people have been plowing the sidewalks into the streets but the experts are saying it's time to be especially careful if you're going to hit the roads going to the new year destination. because it's not just the packed snow on the roads, steve, it's the layer of ice that comes on top, especially as these temperatures are dropping, especially into the evening but one thing people have been warning about is even though that this falling snow is expected to taper off later in the morning, they say that this falling snow is not so much of an issue as the wind but the wind gusts up to 75 miles per hour and that kicks up a lot of this snow so people are still going to feel the after-effects of the possible no

morgan radford is in new york. it's been snowing there, gosh, since earlier this morning. i talked to you on the "today" show this morning. how are people preparing? >> reporter: well, people are preparing. they're salting the streets, shoveling in front of their businesses and homes. it's about 29 degrees out here. as you mentioned, snowing earlier today. and that snow then turned into freezing rain, and it's been coating the streets. and that's part of the problem that we have seen happen in major cities along the east coast, where they have been feeling this snow and ice. and this wind chill that's become dangerously cold. traffic accidents in baltimore, 55 vehicles involved in a crash. 40 still currently on the southbound side of the highway, trying be removed. that's why people here, especially in places in the northeast, people are on high alert, prepared for the snow that still might be coming. take a listen. >> common sense. you just have to be smart about everything. make sure that you are equipped in your cars, make sure you do have a shovel, and scraper in the c

nbc's morgan radford, thank you very much. >>> up next, rex tiller son, the leading candidate for secretary close ties to russian president vladimir putin. are his previous business deals a glaring conflict of interest if he gets the state department nod? that's up for discussion in the daily debate coming up next. [ gears stopping ] when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. try this. but just one aleve has the strength to stop pain for 12 hours. tylenol and advil can quit after 6. so live your whole day, not part... with 12 hour aleve. they are the natural borns enemy of the way things are. yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care, they become something beautiful. >>> it depends what that relationship is. they're intimate friends. this is getting blown out of proportions. >> that was kellyanne conway commenting on president-elect trump's leading candidate for secretary of state. this had many lawmakers expressing major concerns. i am joined by elise jordan and former adviser for senator rand paul's campaign. >> elise. the president-elect tru

. >> morgan radford in concord, new hampshire. thank you very much. snk jo >>> joining me now, bonnie schneider. talk about the storm. what's on your radar? >> the lake effect snow and the wind this afternoon. you can see the snow coming in now to cleveland, buffalo. we have colder air over the warmer waters of the great lakes. that kicks up the intense snow bands. that's something i'm concerned with throughout the day. heavy snow into northern maine. watch for lake effect snow going forward. let's look at what we can expect over the weekend. there is another storm coming through. a fast moving clipper system that will bring only additional lighter snow. we have airport delays due to rain in los angeles and strong wind in newark. 30 miles per hour wind gusts now. in california, the rain has been pretty tremendous, i would say, for southern california standards. we are looking at rain for san diego and more storms expected there. through the weekend an unsettled weather pattern emerging with rounds of rain. mountain snow in the southwest. moisture out