i want to bring in steve paterson following this story out of california. what stood out to you from that briefing? >> they either made it out or didn't make it out, which is a very definitive line here. people were calling hospitals because they hoped their loved ones had self-transported and checked in or were treated and released. to hear there is a department offive line between who made it out and who didn't this may be a mass casualty event, that number may be more consistent than we were first thinking. >> steve paterson, thank you. i know you'll continue following this story. that does it for me this hour. my colleague richard lui will pick things up after the break with more on this breaking story. you're watching msnbc. coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the only brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. ...one of many pieces in my i havlife.hma... so when my

steve paterson, nbc news los angeles. >>> there is sad news on this christmas eve. word of two deadly fires claiming the lives of children who were unable to escape. their families left in a state of shock and mourning. nbc's morgan rad ford has more. >> reporter: three children trapped and killed in a house fire minutes before christmas eve. flames broke out in a gary, indiana apartment where a 2, 4, and 5-year-old were pronounced dead. >> i seen the flames. i heard the kids "help. it hurts." >> reporter: their mom and adult male rushed to the hospital. >> we're still going through the debris and checking out probably causes. >> reporter: hours later in pennsylvania, another fire. this time in a single-family home killing a 5-month-old baby on the second floor and the grandmother and uncle lifeless at the bottom of the stairs. >> for the firefighters it's going to be tough. we're going to get some emotional assistance for them. >> reporter: while authorities search for clues, a fresh reminder of a dangerous reality. nearly 47,000 fires happen during the holiday sea

steve paterson, nbc news. >> frightful indeed. >>> today russia has declared a national day of mourning 92 victims believed to have been killed in a plane crash on christmas day. the military jet was en route to syria when it went down in the black sea. pilot error or technical fault is likely the cause of sunday's crash. lucy kafanov has the details. >> reporter: the news sinking in at first light. a christmas day tragedy. the russians scrambling helicopters, ships, divers, and drones to scour the black sea, but there were no survivors. instead, recovering bodies and debris discovered less than a mile from the coast, pieces of a puzzle which may help explain why the russian military plane crashed, killing all 92 people onboard. departing from sochi, the plane was bound for syria, but minutes after taking off it disappeared from radar, plunging into the sea in near perfect weather. some of russia's best perform es lost their lives. 64 members of the world famous ensemble, the official choir of the russian armed forces, who were supposed to entertain troops in syria for a new year's cele

authorities fearing here that death toll could reach as high as 406789 steve paterson has been following that for us. we expect a briefing potentially here in the next hour or two. what are they looking for in these coming hours that's so important? i know they are looking at hospitals and trying to find potential victims or survivors. >> right now it's important to say we are in a very sensitive phase in this. this is what we would probably consider the recovery phase. in other words, investigators are still waiting to go on scene because fire crews are poking around in the ruins there looking for victims, looking for people who may still have been trapped in the structure. 50 to 100 people are at this party last night. 11:30 the fire breaks out. nine confirmed dead. many of those in the second floor of that structure when the roof caves in. 25 unaccounted for. that doesn't mean that's missing or that is the number of dead. that's just a number that is a list that was generated by investigators to try to match and find how many people are actually in that structure. nine dead, 25u7b acc

steve paterson with more on why we lost so many idols. ♪ purple rain >> reporter: 2016, the year we lostany famous figures, including a number of beloved icons. ♪ ground control to major tom ♪ >> reporter: said good-bye to david bowie after the new year. lost prince in the spring. >> i am the greatest. >> reporter: mourned muhammad ali in the summer. ♪ hallelujah >> reporter: and look back at the life of leonard cohen in the fall. now with the back-to-back deaths of george michael and carrie fisher and debbie reynolds on the heels of the loss of tv dad alan thicke. grieving fans fed up. tweeting enough 2016. >> in living color on nbc. >> reporter: seven decades after televisions brought celebrity culture and dawn of rock 'n' roll in the living roomins, we feel a loss of people we grew up with. >> more dcelebrity deaths. >> reporter: studying celebrity death culture. >> what made 2016 different is the caliber of celebrity dying was the a-list. >> reporter: in a year where screens filled with violence and heated political rhetoric. >> would you tell the boys to come in and straighten their

steve paterson has more on george michael's life and his career. eve, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the 53-year-old died at his home in england. police called to the scene shortly before 2:00 p.m. sunday said, quote, the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. his long time manager told the hollywood reporter that michael died from heart failure in his bed and his publicist said the singer, quote, passed away peacefully. this morning tributes are pouring in for a music legend behind some of the most recognizable songs ever written. ♪ freedom ♪ >> music made an entire generation move. ♪ ♪ baby the catchy melodies with social commentary. ♪ i'm never going to dance again ♪ >> by unforgettable hooks. ♪ i don't need your freedom and turned george michael from teen pop singer into an international icon. a career spanning four decades spawning 10 number one singles, sell more than 20 million albums in the u.s. alone. ♪ michael rose to fame as one half of the pop group wham!. with songs like freedom, careless whisper, and