christmas eve. more on those stories in just a moment. but first, a state of emergency is in effect tonight in new york state following the deadly blizzard that dropped more than four feet of snow in buffalo. president biden spoke with new york governor kathy hochul to offer federal assistance as the death toll has risen to at least 27 in the buffalo area and at least 55 nationwide. drinn place across several parts of erie county, new york, and at the nation s airports chaos, while thousands of cancellations and delays leaving some travelers stranded. and it s ot over yet with even more snow and cold in the fo cbs nancy chen starts us off tonight from new york. reporter: as snow continues to fall,s this unrelenting storm is being called once in a generation, breaking records in western new york with winds reaching nearly 80 miles per hour.