It was a christmas for the record books. And after all was said and done, it may not be the presents under the tree but the view outside of your window after Mother Nature pounded parts of the country with a wintry mix of snow and ice, making for beautiful White Christmas in some areas while threatening others with an arctic blast rarely seen. Erie, pennsylvania shattered its old record when they received over a foot of the white stuff. The usually wet pacific northwest, areas like portland, oregon and seattle got their own blanket of white, stranding some drivers. Chicago saw a mix of ice and snow making for brisk holiday festivities, while leaving airports almost unscathed. And the snow band continued throughout the midwest. Here you can see incredible time lapse video coming off Lake Superior with the water temperature warmer than the frigid air, while the northeast getting the brunt of the storm. A blizzard warning was in effect. Bands of snow producing 1 with strong winds blowing gusts of up to 55 miles per hour. And it does not look to be letting up any time soon with the wintry setup looking to produce a mess of ice and snow in parts of the south and northeast. Who is at fault . None other than meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. Your fault, my friend. Oh, no maybe i can get credit if some people were happy they had a White Christmas. The day after, were look at lakeeffect snow. A different part of the northeast, not necessarily the coastal areas into boston, new york. Were looking at the lakeeffect areas you. Saw the shot of the steam coming in off the warmer waters of the lake. Cold arctic area passing over the lake. It gathers the moisture. And once the air comes back over the land, it dumps hever snow. We could be looking at 3 feet of snow at ooh time. Blinding li ining lakeeffect b possible. Our numbers are going to be in the negative as we go through much of the morning in the upper midwest and northern plains. So very uncoor arctic blast. Well talk more about the temperatures coming up. All right, bonnie, thank you. This morning, President Trump sat his maralago estate, spending the Christmas Holiday with family and friends after speaking to the country alongside first lady melania trump, delivering a holiday message just as americans were celebrating. But the president s florida trip hasnt been devoid of work as he looks to jumpstart his own legislative agenda when he gets back to d. C. As his own lawyer predicts, a speedy end to the growing russia probe. Well go to Edward Lawrence on capitol hill. Good morning, edward. Good morning. The president tweeting out that its time to get back to work today. His First Priority will be to come up with an infrastructure rebuilding plan for america. Thats what the president says he is going to do when he gets back, the first thing in january. Now he believes the democrats will be on board for this. Well have to wait and see what happens. Now meanwhile, President Trump set aside some of his harsh language that hes had on twitter in recent months. And give a first holiday message with the first lady. At this time of year, we see the best of america and the soul of the american people. This christmas season, we celebrate our blessings as americans, and we pray for peace all over the world. God bless you, god bless america, and have a very, very Merry Christmas and happy new year. Still, the president not backing off the fbi this past weekend. He is pushing the idea that the clintons gave a Large Campaign contribution to fbi Deputy DirectorAndrew Mccabes wife while the fbi was looking into Hillary Clintons personal email accounts. The president trying to deflect from russia probe there. Going forward, the president s attorney told the wall street journal in a new report out that he stands by his prediction that in fact the russia probe will end very soon. However, he gave no timetable related to that. The white house chief of staff has said that this russia probe is a distraction for them. Phillip . Now while the president may not have any Public Events on his calendar this week, we certainly know where he will be, in and around his maralago resort there in florida. And as mr. Trump ends 2017, the wall street journal crunching the numbers on just how frequently he has visited one of his namesake properties. All told, the president has spent nearly 1 3 of his first year in office at trumpowned properties. According to the journal, of more than the 100 days trump spent on one of his properties, nearly 40 have been to his golf course in new jersey. Another 40 have been spent at his maralago resort in florida. With his air travel to the Palm Beach Club costing the government around 6 million this year alone. The president is expected to spend the next seven days at that very florida resort. The identity of the man who left manure at the home of treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin sparking a bomb scare may have been revealed. L. A. Psychologist robby strong gave aol. Com information would indicate he was the likely culprit behind a gift wrapped box of horseman newer outside of mnuchins l. A. Home. Strong al. Com the thing i live by is the rule of transparence circumstances and i was exercising my First Amendment rights. Strong continued, if corporations are free speech, then so is horse expletive. The secret service says it has interviewed someone claiming responsibility. However, it declined to interview the person in question. Moscow, russian officials have movered to bard Opposition LeaderAlexei Navalny from running for president against Vladimir Putin because of what thaw say was a conviction in a fraud case which was widely seen as a political retribution. Navalny is now calling for a by cot of next years vote, which if putin wins would usher him into his fourth term in office. Just this last year navalny waged a campaign in opposition of putin. He is the seriously challenged putin during his time in office. A topless protest at the vatican tried to steal baby jesus from the nativity in saint peters square. Got pretty violent there. A woman from the activist group. Guards detained her before she could make off with the jesus figurine. It happened two hours before pope francis delivered his message to about 50,000 people in the square. Lets check in now with meteorologist Bonnie Schneider one more time to tell us how cold its going to be. Its going to be so cold, richard and phillip. Were looking at the arctic blast where the windchill factor will not only be below zero, but in some places 30 degrees below zero. All this cold air is working its way to the east. Were going to feel it throughout the end of the year of the next few days as you look toward chicago, boston, new york city, philadelphia. The temperatures are going to be much colder than they are now, and its going to feel even colder than that due to the windchill. Make sure youre bundled up. Thats a look at the big story of the temperatures are so cold this morning with lakeeffect snow into parts of the great lakes, including western new york. And as you head south, not as bad in texas. Highs will be in the mid50s in san antonio and houston. So as we wrap up 2017, we are looking at a very cold next few days to make sure you are prepared for it. Phillip . Thank you, bonnie. A holiday tradition in slovene i cant takes a Christmas Tree to a rather unusual place. Hundreds of people watch from the shoreline as divers sank a fully lit Christmas Tree into a lake. 15 divers brave the near freezing water as they carry torches across the pristine lake. The ceremonial sinking was followed by a Fireworks Show over the water. Go figure. Just ahead, a look at the biggest news stories of 2017. Plus, a firsthand look of what its like to spend christmas 220 miles above the earth. Youre watching early today. One we can all think about. T. With diamond crystals. Removes rough, hard skin effortlessly. For touchably smooth feet. Salon quality results you can see. And feel immediately. New amope pedi perfect soft feet kit. Perfect for that special someone on your list. Exclusively at walmart. Amope. Love every step. When you have a cold, stuff happens. { sneezing ] shut down cold symptoms fast [ coughing ] with maximum strength alka seltzer plus liquid gels. Kohls intimates stockup with 25 to 40 off all bras. 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This year is the 18th december in a row that women and men have spent the holidays on the iss. Nasa shared this video with us looking back at past christmas celebrations. A lot of us have to be or working every christmas. You and i were talking about that. But not as far as those folks. Something completely different. They actually brought that stuff up in space with them. The Christmas Trees and the crazy hats that they look kind of strange because theyre standing straight up. Because the whole no gravity things. Good stuff. 2017 was a turbulent year for full of news stories. A year marred by violence, conflict. There was a wave of natural disasters that saw people pull together in order to pull through themselves. Lets go to nbcs Cynthia Mcfadden who is going to look back at the year thatas us. Reporter 2017, a year of tremendous change and disruption. It began with the peaceful transfer of power. I, donald john donald trump, do solemnly swear this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. Reporter donald trump became president of a deeply divided nation. A country that couldnt even agree on how many people were there that day. Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the national mall. Reporter but our year of unrest is just getting started. By february, many believe we might be on the brink of war after north korea lobbed a missile over the sea of japan. The first Global Crisis for President Trump. They will be met with fire and fury. Reporter by the end of the year, the North Koreans successfully tested a missile that could reach anywhere in the u. S. Terrorists continued to wage their war. Cars and trucks becoming a preferred weapon. Beginning in march on londons westminster bridge. The new calling card for a lowtech terror strike. Reporter as the year went on, more deadly attacks in london, sweden, spain, and new york. This is an nbc news special report. Reporter in april, the u. S. Response to a different kind of terror, a chemical attack on civilians. The u. S. Military forces have just waged a launch of cruise missiles in a launch on syria. There is no collusion between me and my campaign and the russians. The russians did not affect the vote. Reporter but when President Trump fired his fbi director they did not see this coming at the fbi. Reporter special counsel is appointed. He is still at work. In this violent year, no place seems sacred. Not a pop teenaged girls screaming in terror. Reporter not congressional baseball fraction. Steve scalise, a congressman in leadership was among those who were shot. Reporter not a Country Music concert in las vegas. A storm of gunfire rain do you think on an innocent crowd. Not even a church in merle, texas. It was rapidfire, it was boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Reporter but killing even more people than guns this year, americas opioid epidemic. He said you have a nickname for the street. Morgue avenue. In 47 minutes there was already nine deaths on the street. Reporter hundreds of white nationalists carrying weapons, confederate flags and nazi symbols clashed with counter protesters. Reporter in august, deep racial divisions exploded on the streets of charlottesville as White Supremacists marched to protest the removal of confederate statues thinking driver came plowing into a crowd of people went flying in every direction. The president unfilter and defiant. I think there is blame on both sides it. And i have no doubt about it, and you dont have any doubt about it either. Reporter nature show herd ugly side this year. Harveys eye cut right through here. Reporter in august, Hurricane Harvey made landfall, drenching texas. We have nothing nothing left. Reporter i remember marks jose and maria came next, to make this one of the most intense hurricane seasons on the books. Parts of puerto rico still without power. Another storm named harvey erupted in october. Sexual harassment allegations spanning almost three decades from actresses ashley judd and rose mcgowan to young female assistants looking to start careers in hollywood. Reporter Harvey Weinsteins dramatic fall unleashes an avalanche of shocking charges against powerful men. Thousands of women posting me too, and everyone wondering whos next. What an amazing moment right now for t reporter but there was some good news this year. The Houston Astros won the world series. The stock market soared. We are watching the dow, which just hit 23,000 for the first time. Reporter but the real bright spot came in total darkness. It didnt matter where you were. The reactions seemed universal. Reporter a rare total eclipse of the sun. It was just the most spectacular thing ive ever seen in my life. Reporter giving all of awes reason to look up and hope for a better 2018. Cynthia mcfadden, nbc news, new york. Its all we can do. Hope for the better. Cynthia was working hard on that one. That was a lot of stuff to cover. The stock market is the one that stands out for me. A lot of things are going to bleed over into next year too. Puerto rico. Still a third of the people there without power. Good point. All right. Just ahead, why singer lorde is scrapping her concert in israel. Plus, a christmas fireworks display in cuba that goes horribly wrong. Youre watching weland you look amazinglyes youcomfortable. When your vneck looks more like a uneck. Thats when you know, its halfwashed. Add downy to keep your collars from stretching. Unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth and. Strengthen fibers. So, next time dont halfwash it. Downy and its done. 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Central cuba, according to state media. The parrandas festival draws thousands of cubans and tourists to see the elaborate fireworks contest between two of the towns neighborhoods. Some of the victims are in investigation. You can see some of the fireworks kind of moving sideways. All right. Leading the news on this day, pop star lorde is cancelling her concert in israel amid growing calls for a boycott. Proponents of the boycott divestment and sanctions movement urged lorde to scrap that show, citing israels human rights statement. In a statement, lorde said she spoke to many people who held different views and decided cancels was right. Reaction was mixed with israels cultural minister saying she hoped lorde would be free from political expectations while the concert promoter said we forgive her. A man tells police he beat it because it gave him too much money. I hate when that happens, right . Police say this guy, 23yearold, he was seen on Surveillance Video punching the wells fargo touch screen machine. And he later called the bank, though, to apologize. He said he was angry that the machine was giving him too much cash, and so naturally he punches it, right . Officials say although that whaling is going to cost 5,000 to fix the machine and he has been charged with criminal mischief. I guess now he knows what to do with all that cash. Im glad he wasnt at a corner store and he got an extra dollar or something. It would have been an ugly situation. Something very shady than. The first instance in the history of mankind that anybody gets angry for more money. You gave me too much money just mandalay bay ahead, in her christmas message, the queen welcomes prince harrys american fiancee with open arms. We have that. Youre watching early today. Treatments have gotten better, so. Im hoping for good years ahead. Thats thanks to Research Funded by the american cancer society. 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Really getting cold across the country. Phillip . Fargo and international falls. I dont know how youre going to deal, guys. Just ahead, prince harry and Meghan Markle make their debut with the royal family. Details on their unprecedented Christmas Day appearance, when we come back. Uh oh. A painful sore throat . Not now. Take cepacol instamax. This will provide fast relief. Look unlike regular cough drops it contains 2 max strength pain relievers and cools in seconds. Dual power in one lozenge. Bye bye sore throat. Knock out sore throat fast. Take cepacol instamax. Kohls intimates stockup with 25 to 40 off all bras. Kohls has the biggest assortment from the best brands. So now is the best time to stock up for the new year. At kohls intimates stockup sale, going on now. Kohls. On news4 today, its time to give everything back. You didnt want that stuff anyway. What you need to know before heading out to the stores today. All i got for christmas was a meal and youre not getting that back. Its a cold start. There ainto n all right everybody. A lot of people waking up this morning. The winds were whipping up. Were starting in storm team 4 center. A lot of people say the power knocked out. Boy, it was bitter out there. All three airports yesterday gusted over 40 miles per hour. Yesterday, thats not going to go anywhere any time soon. Prepare to be cold for some time to time. Outside then, take a look at our radar and satellite picture on max 1. Can we look at that . Do we have video of what happened in bethesda . Lets take a peek at this, shall we . This is the cold flow thats in place. Its snowing down across parts of the deep south. That snow is not going to be affecting us in any large way. Our friends and neighbors from culpepper, across the southern tip of st. Marys county. Not expecting any accumulation. But nonetheless, the hey thats a snowflake could be heard. Theres going to be