i'm chris jansing. the holiday weekend saw political turmoil between the united states and one of its closest allies, valley. israel. a vote to condemn israeli settlements has brought tension between president obama and president netanyahu. while president-elect trump is sending clear signals he would have handled this situation differently and setting expectation fots are the u.s./israel relationship going forward. >> reporter: new fallout after a flash point in u.s./israeli relations. west bank settlements, seen as a slap to israel, one the u.s. chose not to block with its veto. israel furious. now accusing the u.s. of orchestrating the resolution itself. >> we have proof. i don't believe it, we know it, and we'll share it with it incoming administration through appropriate channels. >> the ambassador echoing the'ses of prime minister netten gnaw hue. >> friends don't take friends to the security council. >> reporter: egypt pushed the issue insisting friday, we did not draft or introduce this resolution. do you not believe, do you not tru the u.s. government when they deny having anything to do with this? >> ben rosen is an expert at fiction. >> reporter: donald trump tweeting, the big loss for israel in the united nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. slamming the u.n. as just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. the escalating tension underscoring netanyahu's chilly relationship with president obama and his warm one with president-elect trump. previewing potential changes in his diplomatic alliance and a break in some ways with decades of u.s. policy. >> we will move the american embassy to the eternal capital of the jewish people, jerusalem. >> mr. trump seems to be a different kind of a president. will he want to really play the role of a responsible president once he's in office? or does he want to keep shaking things up? >> that was hallie jackson reporting. as for israel's claim of evidence the u.s. was behind friday's resolution, the ambassador said if the trump administration wants to share with the american public, then welcome to do it. president obama is starting to frame things in the the past tense, visiting men and women in uniform. the outgoing president along with the first lady met with u.s. marines on sunday on the hawaiian island of oy wahu. he used his remarks to look back at his time in office and pledge his own service to veterans in years to come. >> so i just want all of you to know that it has been the privilege of my life to serve as your commander in chief. although this will be my last time addressing you as president, i want you to know that as a citizen, my gratitude will remain and our commitment to standing by you every step of the way, that won't stop. >> as you know the constitution prevented president obama from running for a third term. but in a new interview, he says he is confident he would have won. speaking with his long-time adviser david axelrod, obama said congressional republicans set out to make his vision for america seem like a fantasy. but he said their political success was not a rejection of the society he pushed for. >> what i would argue is that the culture actually did shift. that the majority does buy into the notion of a one america that is tolerant and diverse and open and full of energy and dynamism. and the problem is, it doesn't always manifest itself in politics, right? i am confident in this vision because i'm confident that if i had run again and articulated it, i think i could have mobilized a majority of the american people to rally behind it. >> now president-elect trump was not about to let the president have the last word tweeting, "president obama said that he thinks he would have won against me. he should say that. but i say no way. jobs leaving, isis, obamacare, et cetera. president obama also said, don't expect to hear from him for a while after january 20th. >> i have to be quiet for a while. and i don't mean politically, i mean internally. i have to still myself. you have to get back in tune with your center and process what's happened before you make a bunch of good decisions. now, that doesn't mean that if a year from now or a year and a half from n or two years from now there is an issue of such moment, such import, that isn't just a debate about a particular tax bill or, you know, a particular policy, but goes to some foundational issues about our democracy, that i might not weigh in. i'm still a citizen. and that carries with it duties and obligations. >> let's talk weather. we're carefully watching a storm system sweeping east ward this hour. it brought a white christmas to the northern plains on sunday with fierce blizzard conditions that threatened holiday travel plans. according to the national weather service, blizzard warnings were in full effect in eastern montana and parts of north and south dakota with winter storm warnings issued in minnesota, wyoming, and parts of nebraska. in arizona, authorities rescued a woman at the northern room of the grand canyon early saturday who had gone missing after her vehicle became stuck in snow and she left to find help on foot. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: in arizona, an out of control situation near the grand canyon, now an incredible survival story. >> if i don't find shelter, i'm not going to make it another night. >> reporter: from her hospital room karen kline speaking publicly for the first time after being rescued. she hiked for 30 hours over 26 frigid miles to find help when her family's car got stuck in the blinding snow. >> i pulled a muscle in my leg and one of my shoes got packed with snow, so i had a sock. in order to move my leg i had to physically pick it up to move it forward. so it could only move ten steps at a time. >> unbelievable story. we'll have more on the wither in just a bit with meteorologist bobby schneider. for now west to hawaii, japan's prime minister is set to visit pearl harbor with president obama today, marking the first time in decades one of the country's prime ministers has visited the historic site. shinzo abe arrived in hawaii yesterday for a trip intended to show a strong alliance between his country and the united states. following his arrival, mr. abe visited the national memorial cemetery of the pacific which honors those who died while serving in the u.s. armed forces. while the prime minister's visit to pearl harbor has been widely reported as a first ever since world war ii ended, he actually will be the fourth prime minister to do so. that includes a visit by his grandfather who also served as prime minister. japanese officials are characterizing mr. abe's visit to the site as the first by a sitting prime minister with a u.s. president. this trip comes seven months after president obama became the first sitting president to visit a park dedicated to the 140,000 people killed by the hiroshima atomic bomb. russian state-run media reporting a black box from that crashed military jet has now been recovered. while russian officials are downplaying the possibility of terror, instead focusing on pilot error or technical problem, no one is ready to say just what doomed the flight carrying 92 people. >> reporter: on the black sea, a national priority to recover the plane wreckage and bodies of the country's beloved red army choir. ♪ a symbol of national identity and pride known around the world. early sunday, 64 members of the choir, accompanied by tv crews and the russian doctor known for humanitarian work, were on their way to syria to perform for russian troops. their plane, a russian-built tuvolev 154, a workhorse of the soviet union, now mostly on flown by the military. the plane involved built in 1983. the pilot experienced with 1,900 hours in the tupolev. the plane took off from a military air field, stopped for fuelling in sochi before taking off again for syria. a mile off the coast the plane suddenly went down in the black sea. no warnings, no distress calls. because it was a military plane leaving from a secured base, moscow is downplaying the possibility of terrorism. >> translator: so we think that the reason for the crash could be a technical fault or pilot error. >> reporter: terrorists have hit russia before, bringing down this passenger plane over egypt in 2015. the clues to this crash may be in the plane's black boxes, now 200 feet underwater. did the plane suddenly break apart? was there bad fuel or a sudden explosion? >> one of the early things that they're going to look for is what's the size of the debris field? that will tell them if the airplane came apart in flight. >> reporter: with russia in mourning, vladimir putin is promising to get answers. >> that was tom costello reporting. new development in the colombia plane crash in november that killed 71, including most of a brazilian soccer team. errors made by the pilot, airline, and bolivian regulators are to blame for that deadly crash according to aviation authorities. the plane didn't refuel in route, did not report engine failures caused by lack of fuel until it was too late. authorities say the plane was over its weight limit by nearly 900 pounds and flying at an altitude it was not certified for. the ceo and co-owner of the charter company, as well as air traffic controllers, are currently facing criminal charges for that crash. a high-profile member of the afghan military is now at the center of a diplomatic challenge between that country and the united states. afghan officials are disputing claims made by captain romani, the first female fixed wing pilot in the afghan air force. she says she feels threatened by male colleagues and she's seeking asylum in the u.s. the afghan military accuses her of lying adding she could face disciplinary action if she doesn't return. the 25-year-old captain who has been training in florida and texas was honored by michelle obama in 2015 with the annual women of courage award. still ahead, a look at the incredible sports women of the year. ezekiel elliott puts on a clinic monday night. on the ground and dak prescott gets it done in the air with some help from dez bryant. that and a check on weather when we come right back. welcome back. ten anglers were rescued from lake superior yesterday after the ice they were fishing on broke away from shore. thet reportedly walked onto the ice 300 feet offshore and the wind pushed the ice out. the ashland fire department responded with a four-person ice angel sled crew. they battled four-foot waves to reach the fishermen but in the end everyone made it back just fine. let's get a check on weather with nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. good morning. >> good morning. we're looking at things a little bit more calm today than yesterday and potentially ramping up for a nor'easter by the time we get to thursday. first what's happening right now, rain moving across the northeast mixing with a little bit of freezing rain at times. we saw that last night. so be careful on the roads early this morning, especially into maine, new hampshire, and vermont. take a look at the rest of the forecast for the northeast and the great lakes. we're watching for the rain to move out throughout much of the morning. then lake-effect snow. this will be light amounts, maybe a dusting to 1 inch on the high side 2 inches but not a major event. major event taking place in the west. in the northwest the showers will continue all the way across much of the region. we're look at heavy snowfall developing. a lot of snow. potentially up to 2 feet in the cascades are you can see pockets where you have the areas in pink, a foot or more. . we're expecting that into the wasatch and rockies going forward. -- a big snow storm coming through. good news for the ski resorts but for travelers across the country it could pose challenges. incredible warmth, so many records shattered yesterday. all the way from areas into the great lakes like buffalo down through tampa, florida. temperatures have been so warm. this unseasonable warmth, the jet stream well to the north, will persist at least for the next couple of days. so looking at high temperatures, we're so mild. 64 today in dallas. even above normal into florida in the low 80s. so people that are vacationing there probably pick the right spot. washington, d.c., you're well above average with rain in the forecast right at 67. it does turn a little colder as we look towards boise, high temperature is 29. eventually that cold air will work its way to the east. but not in the short-term. not at least for today heading into tomorrow. we are expecting mild weather persisting through atlanta with temperatures in the 60s and staying comfortable or more seasonable in new york at 41. 40 for boston. this pattern that we're seeing for these final days of december will not last. i am expecting it to get colder as we go into january. and potentially even as we go into the end of the week, end of the year, we could see a nor'easter developing that may bring us some snow into interior new england and more of a wintry mix to the north, places like hartford. in new york i think we'll see more of a rain event. get ready, storms ramp up, it's becoming that time of the year. >> bonnie schneider, thank you. still ahead, ezekiel elliott reportedly got pendants for himself and quarterback dak prescott. look at those. number 214. combining their jersey numbers and the dallas area code. when we come back, we'll talk about the rookie's incredible "monday night football" performances. hey there, hi. why do people have eyebrows? why do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble) no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think... try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. ♪ welcome back. let's get to some sports. u.s. gymnast simone biles can add yet another award to her mantel following her captivating performance at the summer olympics. the associated press has named biles their female athlete of the year. she got 31 of a possible 59 votes. capturing four gold medals and one brothers during the games in rio, she is the most-decorated u.s. gym national weather service in history. katie ledecky, 20 votes for her. serena williams and breanna stewart tied for third with four votes each. the ap will announce their male athlete of the year later today. turning to the nfl and "monday night football" game sha thoed two of the league's best doing what they do best. cowboys hosting lions. it's close early, 7-7. dak prescott does what any reasonable person would do, hands it off on ezekiel elliott, 55 yards for the score. second quarter, detroit tied it 14-14. zach finds the end zone. then things start getting interesting. 21-14 lions. and then it's the dez bryant show. >> -- the nfl prior to this year. prescott. toward the end zone. bodies tangled. flag down. catch made by dez bryant for a touchdown and it stands. >> an incredible grab in spite of pass interference. then ezekiel elliott scores again on the ground. dez bryant, he's not done yet. watch this. >> -- really nice job of using plays like that selectively -- oh, boy. bryant's going to throw and witten's wide open. scott linehan with a great haul -- >> bryant hooks up with witten for the td then gets his third td of the game on this pass. so he becomes the fifth player in nfl history to catch two, throw one, cowboys roll 42-21, dak prescott ties ben roethlisberger's rookie win record at 13. college bowl games last night, start with the st. petersburg bowl and 6-6 miami of ohio going up against 5-7 mississippi state. a defensive stalemate in the first. in the second miami up 16-7. mississippi state cuts it to within 2 on a qw keeper. then a kicker's duel. the bulldogs boot a 36-yard field goal, pull ahead 17-16. but miami of ohio isn't done yet, driving for one last kick with the cowbells of mississippi state out in full force. >> they've done it again, mississippi state! special teams have come through! >> that wild ending at the st. petersburg bowl has mississippi winning 17-16. the s.e.c. not as lucky in the independence bowl. willie geist will not want to watch this one, sorry my friend. his vanderbilt commodores taking on nc state. vandy draws first blood going up 3. the wolfpack score early and often. interception leads to nc state's first td of the night. then wide receiver jalen samuels does it again, going 55 yards for his second score of the game. when all is said and done he ends up with three touchdown catches on the night. but vandy mounts a comeback cutting it to 28-17. then the dagger. heinz goes the distance on a breakaway kickoff return, going yes, 100 yards. nc state just too much for vanderbilt. 41-17. finally, let's have a little nba basketball. the lowly brooklyn nets, 7-22, looking to stop the hornets who are on a three-game winning streak. it's back and forth the whole second half. hornets come storming back. center cody zeller with the put-back gives charlotte a 1-point lead with 2.3 seconds to go. >> it's foye. long three. got it! oh, my. >> randy foye with the buzzer-beater in brooklyn, nets celebrate a 120-118 win. still ahead, another tweet, another potential market mover from donald trump. we'll get a live report on the president-elect's impact on stocks. then later, shakeups in the the trump inner circle as he finalizes his senior staff. in conversations that i've had with people around the country, even some people who disagreed with me, they would say the vision, the direction, that you point towards, is the right one. >> president obama makes a bold prediction about what might 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clean. i'll only use an oral-b! the #1 brand used by dentists worldwide. oral-b. brush like a pro. welcome back. i'm chris jansing. it is the bottom of the hour. winter weather creating messy travel conditions for millions of americans heading home and returning to work following the holiday weekend. heavy snow and gusty winds created blizzard conditions for people across the northern great plains on christmas day. that system now heading east through new england and parts of the mid-atlantic bringing a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider will have the latest on the storm in just a bet. russian state-run media reports searchers have recovered a flight recorder from the debris of a crashed military jet. 92 people died when the tu-154 went down in the black sea. mourners have been bringing flowers to sochi's seaport while teams carry on the grim task of searching for wreckage and the bodies of those on board. president-elect grump lashing out at the u.n. after a controversial vote calling on israel to halt settlements. he tweeted, the united nations has such great potential but right now it's just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. we'll have more on that in just a bit. trump is defending his charitable others days after he said he had instructed his attorney to begin the process of closing it. he says, "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president." but the trump foundation which last month paid fines for self-dealing and earlier paid a fine for donating to a political campaign is still under investigation from the new york state general's office. last night trump tweeted, i gave millions of dollars to the donald j. trump foundation, raised to receive millions more, all of which is given to charity and media won't report." he went on to type, "the trump foundation unlike most foundations never paid fees, rents, salaries or any expenses, 100% of the money goes to wonderful charities." but "the washington post" reports that the trump foundation's largest-ever gift, which was about $265,000, was actually used to renovate a fountain outside the windows of trump's plaza hotel. trump has yet to formally announce his plans for his businesses which of course hold the potential for even more complicated entanglements. with 24 days until the inauguration, president-elect trump has selected steven miller, his incoming senior white house adviser for policy, to write his inaugural address. miller worked for attorney general jeff sessions in the senate and frequently spoke himself at trump rallies. he authored the candidate's acceptance speech at the republican national convention which did strike some dark undertones. but the president-elect had an optimistic look at global affairs last night on twitter writing, "the world was gloomy before i won, there was no hope, now the market is up nearly 10%. christmas spending is over $1 trillion. ." as for holiday spending trump might be referring to a projection from auditing and accounting firm delight which forecast in september the total 2016 holiday sales were expected to exceed $1 trillion. that would represent a 3.6% to 4% increase in holiday sales from november through january. the politico report on trump's speech suggests that the transition is considering having him bypass traditional congressional luncheons following the swearing-in. but instead the new president would wade into the crowd or join the parade. and it suggested that trump's use of a teleprompter is still under discussion. meantime, president obama making it abundantly clear he believes if he had run for a third term, he would have won. in an interview with david axelrod the outgoing president said republicans' rise was not a rejection of the society he pushed for. >> what i would argue is that the culture actually did shift. that the majority does buy into the notion of a one america that is tolerant and diverse and open and full of energy and dynamism. and the problem is it doesn't always manifest itself in politics, right? i am confident in this vision because i'm confident that if i had run again and articulated it, i think i could have mobilized a majority of the american people to rally behind it. >> president-elect trump responded in kind tweeting, "president obama said that he thinks he would have won against me, he should say that, but i say no way. jobs leaving, isis, obamacare, et cetera." and one other thing to note, while president obama pushed hard for hillary clinton on the campaign trail, in the days after her surprising loss he had this to say about his party's failure to hold on to his coalition in states like iowa. >> i believe that we have better ideas. but i also believe that good ideas don't matter if people don't hear them. and one of the issues the democrats have to be clear on is that given population distribution across the country, we have to compete everywhere. we have to show up everywhere. we have to work at a grassroots level. something that's been a running thread in my career. i won iowa not because the demographics dictated that i would win iowa. it was i spent 87 days going to every small town and fair and fish fry and vfw hall. and there were some counties where i might have lost, but maybe i lost by 20 points instead of 50 points. with an unexpected staff shakeup and a controversial statement from a frequent surrogate, president-elect trump's administration could be as turbulent as the campaign. on saturday, christmas eve, the incoming white house communications director jason miller backed out of the job. just two days after being announced. miller says the holidays reminded him he wants to spend more time with his family and his wife, who is expecting their second child. trump's new york cochair, carl paladino, made what many are denouncing as lewd and racist comments about the first family. palladino wrote a wish list for 2017 in the local newspaper stating he would like to see president obama catch mad cow disease and die, buried in a field next to adviser valerie jarrett. he also said he would like for first lady michelle obama, and this is a quote, "to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of zimbabwe with a gorilla." palladino, who spoke on trump's behalf at new york rallies, has a history of controversial comments and contended in august president obama is a muslim, which of course is patently false. palladino has defended his remarks. trump's deputy communications director told the "albany times union," "carl's comments are absolutely rep rehensible and serve no place in our public discourse." chicago has been no stranger to violence and over the holiday weekend 12 were slain, marking a grim end to a year marred by gun violence. nbc's ron mott reports. >> reporter: christmas night, unseasonably mild. >> i'm going to need another ambulance. >> reporter: with another round of unrelenting gun violence in chicago. >> sounded like i was in a war zone. it wasn't a normal gun. 15, 20, 25 shots. >> reporter: us a this south side home, seven shot, two dead, brothers. a holiday weekend with at least 43 people struck by bullets, 12 losing their lives. >> this is the sickening reality. it shows yet again that our penalties for carrying and using guns here in chicago are just not an effective depterrent against repeat gun offenders. >> reporter: the area has been besieged by shell casings and death. 143 shooting victims, 763 homicides, both stark increases from a year ago. more murders than new york and los angeles combined. >> police officer kep vin mccarthy -- >> reporter: in the next two years mayor recaahm emanuel, un fire for the continued violence, pledged to hire nearly 1,000 new police officers, targeting the 1,400 mostly documented gang members authorities say are responsible for much of the bloodshed. >> if you pick up a gun and shoot somebody, you should go to prison, period. >> reporter: the strategy comes too late to save 11-year-old tevon tanner from being caught in the crossfire. >> i heard them hitting the porch. >> reporter: he was shot in august while playing and endured eight surgeries since. no arrests made, his mother demanding justice. >> you shot my baby for no reason and still living life like it's no big deal. >> that was ron mott reporting. this morning the number of people shot in chicago over the weekend has risen, now it stands at 53. compare chicago's violent year to new york city. new york homicides down 4% from last year, nearly half as many murders. as the season comes to a close retail season slogs on with shoppers running to stores in droves to return items or maybe hit up big sales. nancy hunger ford joins us from london. revisit that tweet from donald trump and his claim about the markets. >> that's right, donald trump was busy over the christmas holiday tweeting away the day after christmas, taking credit for the stock market rally. and potentially a retail shopping boon. he did tweet, the world was gloomy before i won, there was no hope, now the market is up nearly 10% and christmas spending is over a trillion dollars." on the markets he is likely referring to the run-up we've seen in the dow jones and s&p 500. now up about 9% and 6% respectively. on the retail front that data is more murky. he could be referring to a report from delight university press expecting those sales to exceed $1 trillion. other reports show holiday spending actually slowing. the npd says all in the sixth week of the holiday 2016 season, sales were 5% lower than the sixth week of the holiday period in 2015. we've also heard from the national federation of retail showing that overall november and december sales together are making up a smaller portion of overall holiday spending throughout the year. that's because the discounts are coming nice and early. to get the overall picture we have to see just how many of those shoppers are hitting the return line. elsewhere it's a quiet day for global trading with many major markets still on holiday. but some individual movers, especially when you look at toshiba shares in japan falling about 12%, chris. this after warning that they may take a $7 billion loss tied to a recent acquisition of a u.s. nuclear power company. watch out for any developments on that one. >> nancy, thank you so much, live from london. still ahead, things fall apart between the u.s. and one of our closest allies in the middle east. first, remembering george michael. tributes pour in for the master of pop from all around the world. hey there, starting your search for the ri am!used car? you got it. just say show me millions of used cars for sale at the all new carfax.com. but, i don' want one that's had a bunch of owners just say, show me cars with only one owner pretty cool it's perfect. 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 my advice for looking get your beauty sleep. and use aveeno® absolutely ageless® night cream with active naturals® blackberry complex. younger looking skin can start today. absolutely ageless® from aveeno®. today fans continued to mourn george michael who died of heart failure sunday at his home in england. the pop icon sold more than 100 million albums throughout a nearly four-decade career. nbc news peter alexander has more. ♪ if i could touch your body >> reporter: the tight jeans, the leather, though the looks. george michael commanded the stage. he burst onto the scene in the mid-'80s. half of the pop sensation wham! the exclamation point punctuating their teen idol image. ♪ wake me up before you go-go ♪ don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo ♪ >> reporter: hits including an anthem that still fills our play lists. and this holiday season seems bittersweet. ♪ ♪ last christmas i gave you my heart ♪ >> reporter: the late '80s michael ventured off on his own, becoming a musical force. ♪ i gotta have faith >> reporter: the smash album "faith" selling more than 25 million copies, earning him a grammy. michael became a celebrated voice of social reform, challenging taboos. ♪ i want your sex ♪ freedom >> reporter: his song could fill you with energy. and break your heart. ♪ i'm never going to dance again the way i danced with you ♪ >> reporter: in 1998, his career seemed to derail. arrested for exposing himself to an undercover officer in a beverly hills public restroom. it prompted him to acknowledge his own sexuality. >> i have a relationship with a man. i have not been in a relationship with a woman for almost ten years. >> reporter: michael, who had run-ins with the law over drugs and battled depression, would step back from the limelight, never regaining his past success. while many struggles played out in public, his generosity and philanthropy largely remained private. since his death those grieving shared stories of the time and money michael spent fighting aids, children's cancer, and other causes. still, it was his first love, music that moves us to this day. ♪ but losing everything is like the sun going down on me ♪ >> what a beautiful voice. we're learning a lot about what a philanthropist he was. let's check weather. meteorologist bonnie schneider. >> hi, chris. luckily no airport delays right now. you can see it's nice to see green on the map. we did not have this yesterday. many people traveling this week. let's take a look at where we have trouble spots. across new england, especially into northern maine, this is where we have a little bit of wintry precipitation. we had more of it last night. so the roads might be icy, be careful on your walkway and driveway. you may have a light layer of ice coming through. rain across parts of west virginia and into much of eastern pennsylvania at this time. but overall these showers will be pushing out so you are going to see improvements in the the forecast, which is really good news. we'll start to see some major improvements going forward. let's talk about what's next. lake-effect snow behind the system. the rain moving out later this morning. the lake-effect snow we're forecasting should be light. we're looking at maybe a dusting to 1 inch, possibly 2 inches in spots. overall this isn't going to be a major lake-effect snow event. i'm sure we'll have many in the winter to come. looking at the precipitation across much of the northwest, the showers are continuing for asset, through portland, and into medford. it's really the snow that's a big newsmaker. we're looking at rain amounts that will be heavy at times. be careful out there if you're driving because in idaho we're expecting downpours. check out the snowfall totals that are coming in for the higher elevations. some of us will get over 2 feet. in the cascades, mt. ranier, and further east looking at substantial snow into montana and into idaho from this system. snow and ice in the northeast and northwest, but the rest of the country is talking about how warm it is. there's warmth coming up from the gulf with the jet stream way to the north really just enveloping much of the country. yesterday record highs as far north as buffalo. we're looking at another warm day in tampa. likely records will be shattered into georgia, alabama. i'm expecting really warm numbers up to 70 degrees almost in atlanta. 47 for st. louis. brisk today in chicago. that's an exception right at 32. but look, by wednesday you're back up to 44. the low fros in the northeast. mild across much of the plains including texas. even though it is so warm and we're shattering record wet know winter is here and it's a matter of time before it starts getting really cold. >> thank you so much. when we come back, two presidents, one prime minister, and fading hope for a two-state solution in israel. relations between the u.s. and israel have cratered in recent years. the u.n. vote late last week has brought that relationship even lower. now israel is waging some counter diplomacy, recalling certain ambassadors, confronting envoys, leveling accusations against the obama administration. kind of set the stage for us because this disagreement that we've had between the u.s. and israel, particularly between benjamin netanyahu and barack obama, is nothing new. but does this change the equation significantly? >> it certainly changed perhaps the degree of respect the two men have for one another because a lot of this has become personal. you talked about the history between these two men. it's certainly been a tumultuous one the last couple of years with the prime minister coming here and lobbying against the iran deal, all sorts of stuff. interestingly it came to a head over the past week with the showdown at the united nations. and in particular these new accusations that are coming out by the israeli government that the obama administration actually orchestrated this u.n. security council resolution. that resolution was in essence condemning israel's building of illegal settlements on occupied palestinian lands, something the international community says is a violation of international law. israel not happy with that and more importantly saying that the united states not just abstained from the vote which allowed it to pass but actually was behind the scenes working and lobbying and trying to make that resolution essentially get passed at united nations. that's been a sharp accusation coming out of the government in israel. more importantly as well, you mentioned that they recalled the ambassadors of 14 other countries. those countries that voted in favor of the resolution, they recalled them to israel, in some cases canceling the visit of the ukrainian prime minister, his country sits on the united nations security council. it gives a sense how israel is reacting to this resolution. you mentioned president donald trump, he's been critical of the vote and the united nations allows this resolution to pass. >> let's talk about the palestinian reaction. they're threatening all sorts of legal action, including maybe some lawsuits filed on behalf of palestinians who were displaced by these settlements. >> that's right. the palestinians see this as a major victory, not only that it is allowing the international community to condemn the settlements but it says it opens the door for them now to take this basis, this legal basis established and re-established over the years, and use that in courts like the international criminal court and other internarnlg bodies to try and seek justice for palestinians. because for them the issue of israeli settlements not just about building jewish communities, it's about palestinian dispossession, as a result they want to take some legal measure. they want products and all companies that are working with these illegal settlements now to be banned. so they think this could strengthen their hand with the issue of boycott divestment and sanctions against israel. israel says that is anti-semitic and delegitimatizes the country and that's something they're going to fight vociferously. when we return a look at the stories making headlines in the days to come. ♪ what's not to like about the rockefeller plaza christmas tree as a million people every day testify to? before we toss it "morning joe," japan's prime minister shinzo abe will join president obama on a visit to pearl harbor marking the first time in decades one of the country's prime ministers has visited the historic site. mr. abe is also using the trip to show the strong alliance between his country and the u.s. ahead of president-elect trump's inauguration. meantime, here in new york city, officials continue their preparations to ring in the new year. the famous waterford crystal triangles are going to be installed on the new year's eve ball in times square a little bit later this week. the ball will be covered with over 2,600 crystal triangles. it's beautiful. when you live in new york city, it's one of those things where you wonder why people would actually come to and stand arou and hours and hours, just to watch a ball drop. it's a happening. that's going to do it for us on this tuesday. i'm chris jansing. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ tuesday, december the 27th. that's a live look at times square where chris jansing will not be on december the 31st >> impressively not be. >> i'm willie geist, joe and mika earning some well-earned time off with their family.

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