nbc's kristen welker is in tahoe city with our report tonight. >> reporter: good evening, lester. this powerful winter storm surge is on, bringing blizzard-like to some areas and arctic, frigid air to others. but it has brought tragedy here to lake tahoe where a missing snowboarder has been found dead, a casualty of this forbidding weather. for two days, search teams combed the lake tahoe wilderness in nearly whiteout conditions, looking for 25-year-old chante willis. she was last seen snowboarding with friends on tuesday. this morning, a crushing discovery. her body found in a tree well. her family inconsolable. >> chante is our life. she's our life. >> reporter: rescue crews say the blinding snow made finding her nearly impossible. >> the weather did not cooperate with us at all. it was our -- it fought us every step of the way. >> reporter: the storm continued wreaking havoc as it headed east. arizona becoming the new ground zero as the arctic air and steady snow closed 180 miles of i-40. plows were out early near flagstaff working to clear the roads. brandon sergeant slept in

we'll begin our coverage in highland, california, with nbc's kristen welker. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. residents are still cleaning up and digging out after that last storm system. this community, like other parts of the west, spent the day bracing for the worst. heavy rain pounded southern california's already saturated streets, this after a week of wet weather that caused mudslides, so damaging about 100 residents had to be evacuated in the highland area. some homes completely destroyed. >> never seen it do anything like this before. >> reporter: maria ledford worries this latest system could cause the huge hill next to her house to collapse. >> i'm afraid. everyone here is keeping their fingers crossed and their toes. hoping that we won't get too much more rain. >> reporter: crews shored up homes like the ledfords, placing 150,000 sandbags throughout the area. and they cleaned out the debris from storm basins. some parts are expected to get as much as three inches of rain. >> the biggest concern right now is keeping the debris basins

kristen welker, nbc news, compton, california. >> by the way, you can read more about voices of destinycan hear more of that good gospel music on our new "making a difference" website. you'll see a link that takes you right there on the website of this broadcast, nightly.msnbc.com. >>> for us, for now, that's our broadcast for a monday. thank you very much for being with us as we start off a new week. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . >>> six months after the shocking killing of a community leader, police say they have their man. good evening. i'm tom sinkovitz. >> i'm jessica aguirre. an arrest in the murder that stunned the community. david lewis was gunned down at the hills dale shopping center in san mateo in june. tonight they say they know who pulled the trigger. jean elle is at headquar

>> kristen welker, thanks. >>> when our broadcast continues in just a moment on a thursday night, why a rock star who died 40 years ago got his day in court just today. >>> and later, some kids introduced to the world in a documentary about education are feeling a bit like movie stars themselves right about now. >>> jim morrison died almost 40 years ago, but he remains a rock legend. the front man for the doors. he was famous for his music and his lifestyle. he got sideways with the law more than once, including his 1969 arrest in miami on charges of indecent exposure and public intoxication. but tonight, that part of this legend has been forgiven. our report from nbc's mark potter. ♪ >> reporter: with a song that would become a classic, jim morrison and the doors exploded onto the music scene in the mid 1960s. ♪ come on, baby, light my fire >> reporter: they sold millions of albums around the world but also found trouble with the law. >> i want to see some action out there. >> reporter: as dramatized in the movie "the doors" a drunken morrison shouted obscenities during a 1969 concer

nbc's kristen welker reports. >> reporter: the hernandez family never imagined they would spend christmasike this. instead of opening up presents, they are cleaning up the mountains of mud that swallowed their homes after this week's storm. >> we have lost so much. my kids' graduation pictures, their diplomas. this is our house, and now we have none of it. >> reporter: as we first saw on thursday, a river of mud and water surged into their highland house without warning. they barely made it out alive. the sight of their damaged property was almost too much to take. >> i can't look inside. i didn't want to look inside. >> reporter: nearly 100 highland residents still can't go home and dozens of communities are in recovery mode after the historic storm pounded southern california and the west coast for nearly a week. the relentless rain turned streets into muddy rivers, shut down beaches and destroyed homes. now residents are bracing for another storm system that is expected to hit tonight. >> this is what we're going to do christmas. we're going to shore up this house and hope for the best

>> kristen welker in salt lake for us tonight. thanks. >>> now we head overseas to the big story there. anybody who saw the look of abject horror on the face of prince charles' wife, camilla, will not be surprised to learn there's fallout tonight over the attack on their rolls-royce as they rolled through london. british police say they will investigate how it is thousands of furious demonstrators got so close to the next king of england and his wife. stephanie gosk is live tonight in london. hey, stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. a major criminal investigation has been launched into what is being called the worst security failure in this country in a decade. just moments before the attack, the royal couple were doing what they normally do. waving and smiling, windows open. until a violent group of protestors who, moments before smashed shop windows, surrounded the vintage rolls-royce. >> off with their heads! >> reporter: when the crowd turned, photographer matt dunham was there. dunham captured what has

kristen welker has the latest on the cleanup. >> reporter: on the night before christmas, a massive cleanup is under way in laguna beach, after the record-setting storm wednesday wiped out the beach and left 20 homes and nearly 50 businesses saturated in mud and debris. >> that's what took us the longest. >> reporter: today, officials declared the mess a state of emergency, as dozens took refuge in local hotels, which in the spirit of the season, are not charging flood victims. >> it didn't feel like christmas, so we didn't think about the holiday season at all. it was just about helping people. >> it looked a lot nicer before. >> reporter: carter pike is being hailed a hero of the storm. the 20-year-old rescued his neighbors who were trapped in rising waters. all while watching his car, his prized possession, get swallowed up by the flood. >> if one of those kids had been hurt, it's something i could never live with. >> reporter: usually a hub of holiday shopping, the downtown area is now a reminder of how much damage was done. store owners working feverishly to reopen. >> i think in my me

kristen welker, nbc news, los angeles. >>> more news tonight regarding the biggest ponzi scheme in u.s. history. the one involving bernie madoff whose victims lost billions. tonight, they all learned they are getting a big chunk of it back. the estate of one man, one of the biggest investors who was swindzled by bernie madoff, has agreed to turn over $7.2 billion to the victim's fund. this investor died back in 2009. his widow says the settlement with the victim's trust fund honors what her husband would have wanted. >>> there's a lot of news about the weather to report tonight as we head into the weekend. first, be happy we're not living in denmark. they're dealing with a storm across europe that's paralyzed traffic, not just on the ground, about 800 flights have been canceled across the continent. in this country, something to worry about on both coasts. a monster storm in the western part of the country and the rumors of a nor'easter coming here to the east. which is why we need weather channel meteorologist chris warren from atlanta tonight as we head into this weekend. what can yo

welker for the touchdown, 45-3. the jets are 9-3. worst loss since 1986. for the dallas cowboys and turned into a more iconic broadcaster. he was parts of the greatest team in the history of sports broadcasting, the monday night football crew, the original one. he passed away today in new mexico at the age of 72. when the game was over he would always utter this song. >> turn out the lights, the party is over. they say that all good things must end. >> when you aheard that song, pack it in. don meredith, again, passes at the age of 72. word rumbling around the nfl, alex smith will start at quarterback sunday. smith not effective. smith healthy from a shoulder injury he susspained about a month ago. he had his chance, he will never start again for the 49ers. mike singletary says why not, let's go back to smith. nothing official from the 49ers but that's the word. this kid had to replace mike shanahan. started out winning his first 6 games and then fell in the tank. they are 3-9. he was a part of a illegal videotaping of a 49er practing, so he was fired toda

it is amazing to me the effort that welker people -- wealthy people go through it to put together a great financial legacies for their children but they are not thinking about the environmental legacy, the peace legacy, the education system, the entire country that they are leaving behind. and i think the theory is that if you are rich enough you can live in a gated community and let those social problems, leave those behind, but it never works that way. so i think we also have to get back to the culture in which i grew up, that sacrifice for your family and a sacrifice for your country pays off and a long term. and that requires of voices from all segments of our society to make that case. tavis: the other issue you raised is that the notion -- the notion that most americans do not see us as a country advancing ford anymore. -- forward anymore. i raiderettes newsome report the other day that suggested something start a week -- i read a rasmussen reports that suggested that almost half of americans think our best days are behind us. i just came back from china, and that is not the feeling

they were scorched, brady to wes welker, one of four touchdown passes brady threw on the night.new england rolls 45-3 and is tied for best record in the league. one of the guys who put monday night football on the map died last night. for 9 seasons in the 60s, he was quarterback of the dallas cowboys. it was as a broadcaster on monday night football along with howard and frank. he passed. he was 7 #. stanford quarterback, one of four finalists invited to new york on saturday for the heisman trophy ceremony, cam newton of auburn and running back la michael james of oregon. second straight year stanford had somebody back in the final four. >> so nice to see andrew luck win. that would be great. joe, thanks very much. >>> be sure to join the ktvu morning news beginning at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. they'll have the latest on tonight's natural gas explosion in oakland. >> coverage continues online at www.ktvu.com. for all of us here at ktvu, thanks for watching the newscast, good night. >> good night. the next, you start one feeling a bit off.ne. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip f

it's wes welker. drives his way forward for the touchdown. pats lead 31-3. rexbefuddled.picked off by devon mccourty. ensuing patriots, first and goal. brady to hernandez, for a touchdown. tom brady, 326 yards, 4 touchdowns. pats win, 45-3. >>> that is your espn news update. i'm don bell. back to you in new york. >> what an ugly game. >>> one more amazing catch to show you this morning. a california man reeled in a 405-pound tuna. that's the biggest yellow fin caught in more than 30 years. the amateur angler is making a lot of sushi fans very happy. look at the size of that thing. >>> coming up next remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on this pearl harbor day. >>> plus, the new numbers out this morning. the latest math and science scores from american students. [ superhero ] is he coming today? [ alien head 1 ] he had a fever last night. [ alien head 2 ] yeah! [ robotasaurus ] well, his mom gave him new triaminic fever reducer syrup. from the brand recommended by pediatricians. [ alien head 1 ] how do you know? [ alien head 2 ] yeah! [ robotasaurus ] the sam

they were scorched, brady to wes welker, one of four touchdown passes brady threw on the night. england rolls 45-3 and is tied for best record in the league. one of the guys who put monday night football on the map died last night. for 9 seasons in the 60s, he was quarterback of the dallas cowboys. it was as a broadcaster on monday night football along with howard and frank. he passed. he was 7 #. stanford quarterback, one of four finalists invited to new york on saturday for the heisman trophy ceremony, cam newton of auburn and running back la michael james of oregon. second straight year stanford had somebody back in the final four. >> so nice to see andrew luck win. that would be great. joe, thanks very much. >>> be sure to join the ktvu morning news beginning at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. they'll have the latest on tonight's natural gas explosion in oakland. >> coverage continues online at www.ktvu.com. for all of us here at ktvu, thanks for watching the newscast, good night. >> good night.

but first nbc's kristen welker is in salt lake city with the latest. >> reporter: elizabeth smart smiled when that guilty verdict was read. she is calling this moment a victory and says she is proof there is life after a painful past. >> i am so thrilled to be here, i'm so thrilled with the verdict. >> reporter: it was the verdict elizabeth smart has waited more than eight years to hear. guilty. >> i am so thrilled to stand before the people of america today and give hope to other victims who have not spoken out about what's happened to them. >> reporter: the jury made up of seven men and five women deliberated for about five hours, their ruling means brian david mitchell will go to prison and not a mental hospital for abducting smart and holding her for nine months when she was just 14 years old. hiding her for most of that time in the foothills of utah. >> this is an exceptionally victorious day for us all, as mothers, as women, as daughters, that we can go forward and these things don't have to happen to us. >> there's only one hero in this story and that's elizabeth. i want to commen

nbc's kristen welker reports. >> reporter: the images seem never-ending.en, each face a mystery. police say they all have one thing in common, a connection to suspected serial killer lonny franklin, dubbed the grim sleeper. >> these people are not suspects. we don't even know if they're victims. >> reporter: 57-year-old franklin, an ex-auto mechanic, is charged with killing ten women, predominantly working-class african-americans. detectives say he started his spree in 1985. killing seven people in his south los angeles neighborhood, and then more than 15 years later, he came back. the case was dubbed the grim sleeper for the apparent time gap in the killing spree. franklin was arrested in 2010, when advanced dna testing linked him to the crime. police say these pictures suggest there may be more victims. >> i just think it's absurd to think that he just stopped one day and then started up another day 14, 13 years later. >> reporter: according to investigators, these photos were found inside franklin's home, taken from undeveloped film and videotapes. poli

>> kristen welker, thank you. >>> it took eight years for elizabeth to hear friday's verdict. be known this morning as juror number 7. thank you both for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and carly, let me start with you. i mean, this has been quite a day for you and the prosecution team. so tell me how you're feeling this morning. >> well, obviously we feel very pleased and very satisfied with the outcome. i had a trial team that expended an extraordinary amount of effort and worked very hard to reach this result, so we're very pleased and satisfied by the jury's verdict. >> and carlie, jurors yesterday mentioned that elizabeth's testimony, particularly her attention to detail, obviously helped them render this verdict. how important was that testimony in your view? >> i don't think you can overstate the importance of elizabeth's testimony. she is a young woman of extraordinary courage and determination, and she had an amazing ability to recall the horrific details of that nine-month captivity, and was able to recount that for the jury in a very clear and candid way.

kristin welker, nbc news, los angeles. >>> just in time for the holiday, greater concerns about al qaeda. why is the fbi telling local authorities to be on the look out for any signs owe of trouble? >>> also coming up, the earth moved and so did frightened residents of an apartment complex. >>> and why your boss should encourage you to watch funny videos while at work. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. progresso. oh yes hi. can you please put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. i'm bob kearn, president of coit cleaning services. these pictures are the history of my family and they're also the history of coit. we've been in business for 60 years and our greatest asset has always been our people

first, kristen welker has details. good morning. >> good morning to you.s become a real case of t the -- she said she said blaming each other for going on the attack. >> dawn holland, tight-lipped as she left a palm springs doctor's office wednesday, her arm still bandaged after she left after a scuffle with lindsay lohan. earlier, she was speaking out and told tmz that earlier, lohan, a patient at the center went out drinking and missed curfew and got out of control when holland confronted her. >> she grabbed my wrist and snatched it down and twisted my arm and hand. i went to the emergency room and found i had a severe sprain to my arm and hand. >> reporter: the betty ford center fired holland saying she violated patient confidentiality and the attorney general's office was contacted. now, her lawyer is firing back calling the termination unlawful. when a patient attacks a caregiver, the patient waives a large part of their privacy. officials at the clinic declined comment but observers say holland's willingness to grant an interview right away raises qu

for "today," kristen welker, compton, california. >> what a great story. >> that is a great story.r the local news. >>> good morning. we get a bit of a christmas surprise this 40r7b imorning. the sun is out. wind winds picking up ahead of a front that could drop up to two inches in the south and east bay areas as of tomorrow. we should see clearing as you head into the second heart of your sunday. tuesday, the rain returns on wednesday. have a great christmas eve, garvin is back with more news in a minute and a half. verizon 4glte. stream hd video and rule the air on the fastest 4g network in america. >>> yes virginia, there is a santa claus and he is delivering free parking to parts of san francisco. on christmas day, meters will be shut off which means drivers don't have to carry around spare change. street sweeping will not be enforced. the port will be the only place where drivers still need to feed the meters. service starts at 8:00 am instead of 6:00. in oakland the city kocouncil approved another hike bringing the fine for an expired meter to $58. there is more local news fo

>> kristen welker, thank you. good morning, celeste, thank you for joining us. i imagine you're ee're replayi experiences with her over the last few days. >> our last conversation was on friday, december 12th. i'm sorry, december 10th. and she called to speak to my son about christmas. >> and that was two days before she went missing. you have said that you're confident she's okay, but also it's not her personality to just up and disappear and not contact you or your mother, even her friends. >> no. she would never act like this. she was always in contact with somebody at all times, specifically my mother. >> and your mother received a text message from debbie a couple of days or so earlier in the month before she disappeared and the text message, she said in case there's ever an emergency with me, contact boo griffi griffith. have you been able to discern anything from that text? >> no. i'm disregarding the text because it could mean anything. there's more to that text. and it just doesn't make any sense. it could mean that that's a contact number because we do

>> kristen welker, thank you very much. beautiful animals.that one. >>> still ahead, we're going to catch up with robert deniro. ♪ daisy, do a dollop our family-owned company makes daisy... with 100% natural farm-fresh cream. no artificial ingredients. no preservatives. and no added hormones. ♪ daisy, do-do a dollop and no added hormones. a $100 cream. flabbergasted when we creamed a $500 cream! for under $30 regenerist micro-sculpting cream hydrates better than 23 of america's most expensive luxury creams. fantastic. phenomenal. regenerist. ♪ ♪ you can find your feet and you can find your way ♪ ♪ you can find yourself in bed at the end of the day ♪ ♪ you can find some fun on a tropical isthmus ♪ ♪but you'll never find my... ♪ you can find it in your heart to be patient with me ♪ ♪ you can find a new star for the top of the tree ♪ ♪ i don't mean to be coy and i don't mean to be vicious ♪ ♪ but you'll never find my christmas ♪ >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am lisa robinson. let's g

kristen welker has the latest for us. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: family members say lindsay lohan has been making real progress, she's been at the betty ford center now for nearly three months and earned enough privileges that she's allowed to leave for short periods of time. bu but if these latest allegations are true, it could be a devastating blow for the actress. lindsay lohan is just two weeks shy of freedom. she's set to leave rehab on january 3, but now her future is uncertain, after an altercation with a betty ford center worker that allegedly got physical. the staffer decided to speak out. >> she was very angry and out of control. >> reporter: in a taped interview, dawn holland hold tmz.com that lohan started trouble on december 12 after missing curfew. >> what happened was that lindsay and two other patients had snuck out, went drinking, trying to sneak back in and they got caught. >> reporter: lohan then refused a breathalyzer test, but called 911 herself eventually handing holland the phone and that's

we're going to talk to the grandfather in a moment, but first npc kristen welker has more. >> reporter first time ever, arizona authorities are releasing a telephone conversation that was taped about a year ago. they say on that call you can hear baby gabriel's mother admit to killing her own son. they also claim she recanted the claim just a few days later. it's been nearly a year and substituteer still no sign of this blue-eyed baby, gabriel, 8 months old in this picture. now police are releasing a chilling phone conversation recorded about the same time he disappeared. >> i suffocated him and he turned blue. i threw him in a trashcan. >> reporter: police say that's the voice of gabriel's mother, elizabeth johnson, her disturbing words, police believe were recorded during a phone call johnson had with the boy's father, logan mcquery. according to police on the call, johnson says she killed her son out of revenge from mcquery's relationships with other women. the two in a bitter custody battle. but he seems doubtful. >> i killed him this morning. >> no, you didn't. >> reporter: police