Winners. And the fallout comes quick. The pageants tv partner cutting ties with the organization overnight. All that, plus remembering legendary sportscaster dick enberg. Rossen returns the seasons toughest to find toys to deserving kids. What do you think of this . Its awesome. And making spirits bright. With the home alone soundtrack like youve never heard it before, today friday, december 22nd, 2017. From nbc news, this is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Deck the halls with boughs of holly fa la la la la la la la la tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la la la la la don we now our gay apparel fa la la la la la la la la yuletide carol fa la la la la la la la la and good morning, everybody. Welcome to today. Great job. We hope that got you in the spirit. We have a bunch of angels on our plaza, as we say good morning. Three days till christmas. Now, were in the mood, right . You kids were amazing. Were you nervous . No. They were terrific. Its fun to be outside at the top of the show. Were in the spirit. And everyone is talking about one thing if your traveling, and thats the weather. Cross country storms to tell you about. We have our Team Standing by. Well start with al. Hes in his father man cave over there. Good morning. Thanks very much, guys. Were starting off from texas to lexington. We have flash flood watches for 9 Million People. Winter weather advisories from michigan to en can see showers and thunderstorms from an angelo moving into memphis. We have snow from chicago to upstate new york and new england. Its a twoprong issue. We have showers to the south, snow developing in the north. I40, i20, going to look at problems. Dallasft. Worth and the houston airport, problems, as well. Moving into tomorrow, rain, fog, low ceiling for buffalo. I90 is going to be a mess. And stretching from boston, la guardia all the way down into d. C. And atlanta, along i85, i95. Wet weather and hazardous travel, as well. Rainfall amounts are going to be heavy down south. Travel for air and roads is going to be a mess from Central Arkansas all the way into virginia and west virginia. Upwards of six to seven inches of rain possible. And you look into saturday night snowfall amounts. Fo t buffalo into new england. And icing is going to be a big problem, as well, especially throughout parts, much of new england, from portland, all the way down into worcester. And were looking at a quarter of an inch of ice to half an inch in some places. That could bring down power lines and roads will be a mess. Lets find out what the airports are looking like. Lets go to ron mott at ohares international airport. Ron, how is it looking . Reporter al, good morning to you. Its looking better than here at dallas. At love field, there was an emergency alarm that sounded at that airport. They had to evacuate the terminal. Anyone who had been through security will have to go through again. We understand that normal operations are resuming. Officials arent saying if this was a prank or an actual fire event. Back here in chicago, theyre expecting the busiest travel day in the air here. 225,000 passengers expected to flow through admed at midway another 07,000. 107. 3 million americans are expected to travel to see friends or on holiday. Orlando, florida, the number one travel destination. Most of you are driving. Nine out of ten getting on the road. Al mentioned the highway conditions out there. 6 or so will fly. The other 3 taking trains and other methods of travel. We always have holiday tips. Number one, pack your patience because it is the busy season. Pad your schedules, especially if youre flying. Weve seen the lines get thick out of the blue here. It is the Holiday Season. Good advice, ron. Thank you so much. The airport isnt the only place you will find large crowds. Stores will be packed, too. Jo ling kent lastminute shopping rush. How is it going . Reporter its happening offline at brick and mortar scores and online. This has been the season of online shopping. 60 of all americans say they are done with their holiday shopping. Thats according to the National Retail federation. That means 40 are out there looking for that perfect gift. Where can you find some of the best sales . Lets look at target. 50 off Christmas Trees if youre looking to decorate. 30 off sweaters. At macys, 50 to 70 off. A lot of the gifts are wrapped. Amazon, about 40 off amazon fire hd. 29 off the xbox one. Amazon prime delivery happening there. At best buy, 150 off an apple macbook. Thats a Good Discount at this late in the game. And then, headpho headphones. At walmart, 36 off a dream house playset. And 90 off a laptop. We have to look at lastminute shipping, as well. So many of us online shopping. Today is the last day for twoday shipping for amazon prime. If youve got that, take advantage of it. Prime now members have until midnight on Christmas Eve, which is the ultimate lastminute play. And then, toys r us, you can receive in time for christmas if you order online by noon on Christmas Eve. And you can get select instore pickup, which is a good tip there. And best buy, they might ensure delivery for christmas if ordered by noon on Christmas Eve with sameday delivery. The real trick this Holiday Season is all about ordering online and picking up in store. Before you do that, you want to make sure theyve stock. So far this retail season has been a really good one for retailers across the board. Back to you guys. Jo, thank you so much. A little bit of a different holiday rush in washington to tell you about. Before heading home, Congress Passed the temporary spending bill. It keeps the government funded into the new year. But the deal has critics on both sides of the aisle. We go to Kristen Welker with more on that. Reporter good morning to you. President trump is leending the year on a high note. Getting his tax bill passed and working with congress to avert a government shutdown. In a few hours, he will take off for maralago in florida. Still, theres a lot of Unfinished Business when the new year begins. This morning, a christmas crisis averted. The motion is agreed to. Reporter after the senate voted to keep the government open for four more weeks. Its a political punt, allowing congress to put difficult issues until next month. I voted for this to keep the government going. This is not the way to govern. Reporter republican senator, ted cruz, whose home state of texas was hit hard by hurricane harvey, expressing his disappointment that lawmakers didnt address the issue of Disaster Relief funding. Theres hundreds of thousands of people in texas and in florida and in puerto rico who are still hurting from hurricanes harvey, irma and maria. Reporter the house approving their version of the bill earlier in the day, without any democratic votes. The motion is adopted without objection. T reporter House Democrats say the bill fails to address issues such as d. R. E. A. M. Ers and funding for Children Health care. They dont need us to keep the government open. Reporter the bill fds government until january 19th. It keeps c. H. I. P. Going until march. And gives the Defense Department 4. 7 million in emergency funding. The president visited Wounded Warriors at walter reed on thursday, ignored shouting questions on his way to the white house. All of it as the Vice President made a surprise trip to afghanistan to rally troops ahead of the holiday. Let me say from the first family, my family, from families all across america, Merry Christmas. [ applause ] reporter pences trip comes before President Trump has visited an active combat zone and four months after the president announced a surge of several thousand more u. S. Troops in afghanistan. I believe victory is closer than ever before. Reporter a Senior Administration official tells me it is likely the president will sign his tax bill into law today before he leaves for hold end of the year news conferences. At this point, theres no such event on the president s schedule. Reporters will likely rye to ask questions when he leaves the white house in a few hours. We know how you do. Thank you so much. Were hearing from reality winner, the former nsa contractor jailed, accused of making off with topsecret governme documents from a government facility. Shes speaking out in a rare jailhouse interview. Kerry sanders has that story. Reporter really winner has been held here in this jail for more than six months, as you noted, for taking those demea allegedly taking those documents and sharing them. Now, for the first time, shes speaking with a reporter. But as youll see, the government shut down that interview almost as soon as it began. Reporter this morning, new details are surfacing about reality winner, the former contractor in jail, awaiting trial for allegedly leaking classified information. Winner is accused of stuffing a top secret report about Russian Election meddling in her pantty hose. Her family believes she is a patriot. Reporter winners family and friends describe her as intense, focused and concerned about the state of the world. They believe that the document that she leaked is one that American Voters deserve to see. Reporter recently, she was able to talk to winner at georgias Lincoln County detention center. The two separated by glass, speaking on a jail phone. She was serious, eager to talk, eager to tell her story. Reporter after less than six minutes, a guard realized that she was a reporter and e interview. She never lied about being a reporter. Winner listed her as a friend who could visit. And no one asked when they checked her i. D. We never got to talk about how she feels about the consequences or her motivations. Reporter fluent in several middle eastern languages, winner served as a translater in the air force. She turned 26 just weeks ago. In her room, a pikachu bedspread since her arrest. According to the article, winner referred to donald trump as an orange fascist. And according to Court Documents three months before she was arrested winner messaged her sister writing, i have to take a polygraph where theyre going to ask if i ever platted against the government with the hash tag, gonna fail. Her sister said it was a joke. Winners mother says whats happening to her unfair. She feels like shes being treated as a political prisoner. She does feel very powerless and hopeless in this. Reporter i spoke to reality winners mother at length last night. She says she and realitys older sister will have a christmas visit with reality at the jail here this weekend. And like that reporter who talked on the phone through the window, every word and everything they say will be recorded by the government. Savannah . All right, kerry, thank you. Now, to a story thats got the attention of millions of iphone users. A apple has been hit with a massive lawsuit days after admitting it slows down older models as they age. Heres nbcs gadi schwartz. Reporter today in california an iphone bombshell. One man filing a class action complaint, saying that apple slowed down older phones with older of newer, pricier models. Its a well thoughtout plan by apple to make sure that the consumers come back and buy the latest and greatest phone. Reporter apple acknowledging it did reduce processor speeds of iphone 6 and 7s in updates. Users posting results that showed significant performance dropoffs for older phones with previous lithiumion batteries as soon as the latest ios was installed. Apple claims i s it was trying improve customer experience. Featuring a prevention of shutdown to prolong the phones life. But experts say that kind of throttling means the phone might not respond like it used to. Complicated apps like games or photos and youre deep with work in the phone, they will see the phone is limited because reporter a new iphone battery costs 80, cheaper than the new iphone that runs 1,000. But replacing the battery involves bringing it into the store. Apple says they have pushed updates that were never asked for and reduced the speed and the value of their phones. When you have to save and struggle to buy a piece of equipment, then you only learn that the folks who sold you that equipment are downgrading it on you, its betrayal. Reporter for today, gadi schwartz, nbc news, los angeles. Now, to sad news. Dick enberg whose hall of fame career spans 60 years has died. Miguel almaguer looks back at his remarkable life. It was believed that dick enberg died at home. He covered so many sports from wimbledon to the super bowl to the as a mplaybyplay man, he provided fans a front row seat to some of the biggest moments in history. This morning family, friends and fans are mourning the loss of an american broadcasti ining icon,k enberg. A fixture in the Southern California landscape through the 1960s and 70s. Enberg broke on to the National Scene as a game show host. Later joining nbc, where he became the networks lead playbyplay voice for the nfl and major league baseball. Fumbled the ball. And denver has recovered. Oh, my. Reporter enberg was known for his enthusiastic signature call, oh, my, when describing big plays. He was incredibly versatile, covering a wide array of sports for decades. Enberg called 28 wimbledon tournaments, 8 ncaa basketball title games, multiple a 1982 world series, big golf and boxing events, too. He also spent 42 seasons in the booth, calling nfl games, including eight super bowls for nbc. Enberg, sharing memories with today back in 1996. I was at the practice session for the bears, watching and trying to get notes. As i was standing, someone snuck up behind me and lifted me off of my feet. There was a loud pop. I looked back and saw walter payton. He said, i got you back in place. I said, no, you just broke my glasses. Reporter during the sk60s, enberg was the voice of the bruins dynasty when the team won games under john wooden. And in 1968, when houston snapped the bruins winning streak. Overnight, condolences pouring in over social john ireland the radio voice of the lakers tweeting, if there was a mt. Rushmore of l. A. Sports announcers, dick enberg is on it. Definition of a gentleman. A gentleman and a giant in broadcasting. Enbergs golden voice now silent, but will never be forgotten. At his very first job, a custodian at the Michigan Radio station, enberg earned 1 an hour. He managed to double his salary when he started working onair as the weekend sports guy. He retired two years ago calling games for the San Diego Padres when he was 80 years old. Back to you guys. What a career. Classic. What a voice. What a voice. Nice man. Hell be missed. Mr. Roker, you want to take a look at the weather. We have snow through the Pacific Northwest and sunshine into the gulf and southeast. Well get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. Good morning. Temperatures are in the 30s for the area this morning. 39 degrees washington. 34 lorton. 34 degrees in gaithersburg. As we go through the day though, look at this snow to the north. Its going to stay to the north f youre traveling, keep that in mind. Well be dry locally. Built as we go through the day to day, cloudy skies, showers dont get here until later on. Temperatures will be in the 50s th look at your extended forecast. Coming up, were going to take a look at christmas day. We need that. It will be kind of interesting. Thats al speak for snow. Al, thank you. Coming up the alleged sexist and vulgar emails that has miss americas ceo under fire. Plus, a holy undertaking. With christmas just three days away, well take you inside the largest search of its kind for evidence supporting the bible. First, this is today on nbc. It feels good to be back. Still ahead, hes back at it armed with the seasons hottest toys. Pulling off more christmas surprises for deserving kids. Why oprah make the holidays a treat with kelloggs rice krispies. Good morning. It is 7 26 on this friday, december 22 nlnd and im chris lawrence. Good news for government workers in our area. Congress avoided another shutdown. This provides less than a movement the deal will keep the government open through january 19th. It may be the most wonderful time of the year. One thing that isnt so wonderful, sitting in holiday traffic or waiting in lines at the airport. Take a look at these lines. Out at reagan national, if youre flying out today, make sure you arrive at least two hours early for your flight. Well, lets take you to east of nutley street. Its a crash on the right side. Good news is, take a look at cameras, rescue is packing up. Theyre about to reopen all lanes. There is your traffic jam right there, eastbound on 66 heading to 495. Also a structure fire in vienna at nutley. Only one left lane was getting by. Thats the very latest from the wtop traffic center. Back to you. A check of your forecast is next. It all starts with a wish. The final days of wish list are here. Hurry in and sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down and a complimentary first months payment. I want the warm coat again this morning. The clouds are around. Theyll be with us today. We do stay dry until tonight. Most of the area about the mid to upper 30s this morning. Later this afternoon, mid 50s. Rain doesnt get here until tonight and tomorrow. Especially in the afternoon. Then by sunday, we are cooler. Colder on monday. There is a chance we could some overnight rainsnow mix. Very briefly gone by monday. Thank you. We have another local news upcoming up in 25 minutes. Pretty, pretty, pretty. Back now, 7 30, friday morning, three days till christmas. We are in the spirit. That happens to be our top story, too. Theres a travel rush going on. And some of the rough weather may slow you down. Winter storm warning. As a Record Number of americans are hitting the roads, rails and sky today, more than 50 Million People are under weather advisories. Crosscountry storms bringing snow, flash floods and fog. The snow is moving