but the story of this woman in wisconsin who provided hospice care and shelter to babies in their final days. really powerful journalism. you can find that and the other top stories on today.com. and of course, you can see your own top moments on instagram. here's "today's". lot of babies, some sports, we love that. and yours, carson. big year for you. family photos, the boys and an emmy win. it is a pretty big deal. >>> tamron, right here, top left, your top moment, obama state dinner. come on, again, no big deal. and our edward r. murrow, our most accomplished broadcaster of all. the "today" puppy. the very top moment, the two puppies meeting. >>> in a year of online harassment, partisan tweets, this is the top hashtag. i want to end on that note. #love. third year running, love is on top above everything else. >> that's all you need. you were saying for 2017 -- >> 2016, all the mean tweets, all the trolling is out. it is so last year. love rises to the top. >> ronan, thank you very much. >>> speaking of turning the page on 2016, don't forget to catch new year's eve with mr. car

water. and in wisconsin, a dramatic rescue. ten anglers left stranded after the ice sheet they were on broke away, responders deploying an ice angel rescue boat to bring them back to shore. the forecast at airports -- anything but merry the day after christmas. nearly 400 u.s. flights canceled monday. more than 3,500 delayed. passengers left stranded, laying on mats, waiting for answers. but for those who made it home, a winter wonderland for kids and dogs alike. road travel could be treacherous today in the pacific northwest and the dakotas. we could see some trouble spots in the eastern half of the country, from texas all the way up into maine. tamron, carson, back to you. >> ron, thank you so much. we'll have more on the forecast -- including near-record warmth on the east coast in just a bit. >>> but now to a huge sinkhole threatening nearly two dozen homes in michigan. state of emergency has now been declared as engineers rush to save part of a neighborhood that has seen this type of damage before. here's nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: this morning, a suburban detroit neigh

players evacuated from the plane after it slid off the runway in the snow in wisconsin. snow that's making travel tricky. from iowa where drivers struggling to stay on the highway, to spokane, washington, where more than 20 vehicles involved in a pile-up. amazing through no one was hurt. drivers in northern california, meanwhi meanwhile, hoping to avoid a similar fate. putting chains on their tires. in the southern part of the state, rain is causing problems in los angeles. >> and it's more traffic. >> reporter: a record 103 million people expected to travel this holiday season. with nearly 94 million hitting the roads. >> now we are sitting still. >> reporter: at the airport so f far, a mixed bag. >> i'm glad we have a lot of leeway because there is no way if i was here two hours early, i don't think i would make a flight. >> as you can see, there are no lines. no lines at all. >> reporter: in newark, new jersey on friday, getting to the airport was a headache for some. when an air train got stuck. one passenger tweeting, hundreds stranded. send help. for other flyers, potential ll

" hits theaters. >> here's an act of kindness caught on police dash cam video. watch as this wisconsin officer pulled over a college student for a speeding ticket. then when asked why he was in a rush the student said he was late for a preparation and needed a friend's help to tie his tie. looks what happens next. >> i was going to my good friend's house how to tie ties and i don't know how to. >> where's your tie? >> while i do this, why don't you grab your proof of insurance and your driver's license quick. >> there. you should be able to adjust it. >> thank you so much. probably not the best knot but it will work. >> it will work. it was a lot better than what i was going to do, that's for sure. >> with all the incidents that we're normally seeing with dash cam videos, this is a nice, refreshing one with the officer taking a little time out of his day to give a life lesson to this man. the guy ultimately got off with just a warning. he got lucky. >> now he knows how to tie ties and he has an amazing story. >> and the video to prove it. >> you're right. >>> we're going to bring you y

: through it all some electors facing pressure to try and change their vote. one member in wisconsin told the associated press he's received smd 50,000 e-mail from people. still a new poll out this morning shows that more people believe that electors should vote for the person who won the state as opposed to the 34% believe they should not be bound to vote for the winning candidate. >> hally, how does it go down today? how does the voting take place? >> reporter: so when you break it down, 538 electors are heading to usually the state capitols across the country to cast their vote. 29 states do have laws that require electors to vote for whomever won their state. but there is nothing in the constitution that explicitly requires that they do so. one elector in texas, for example, has publicly said he will break with his state not cast his vote for donald trump but historically that break is really rare. since 1948, it's only happened with nine people. so you can tell how sort of unprecedented that would be. ultimately on january 6, it's the vice president who presides over congress to

theatrics here at trump tower. donald trump in wisconsin feeling festive. >> we are going to say merry christmas again. merry christmas. >> reporter: highlighting his pick for secretary of state, exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson. >> people are looking at this resume and honestly they have never seen a resume like this before. >> reporter: but some republican senators remain skeptical, including john mccain, questioning the friendship between tillerson and russian president vladimir putin. >> he was given an award by vladimir putin. i was sanctioned by vladimir putin. that concerns me a great deal. >> reporter: but trump is casting those global relationships as an asset, not a liability. >> you know, rex is friendly with many of the leaders in the world that we don't get along with, and some people don't like that. they don't want him to be friendly. that's why i'm doing the deal with rex. >> reporter: if tillerson is confirmed, it guarantees that trump's four most influential departments will be led by white men, the first time that's happened since george h.w. bush's first cabinet i

tillerson, trump took a victory lap and made his argument before a packed wisconsin crowd. >> rex is one of the greatest and most skilled global business leaders of our time, made some of the greatest deals. you know, rex is friendly with many of the leaders in the world, that we don't get along with and some people don't like that. they don't want them to be friendly. that's why they do the deal with rex, because i like what this is all about. >> he also hailed tillerson as the anecdote to the problems plaguing washington. >> rex will be a fierce advocate for americans around the world and has the insights and talents necessary to help reverse years of foreign policy blunders and disasters. >> but this sets up what could be a bruising fight after they say skepticism regarding tillerson's ties with russia. here the head of the senate foreign relations committee. >> i would say most committee members will want to understand, who is the relationship to russia, how do you see the u.s. role in the world. and so i'm sure there will be tough questioning. i would imagine someone of his stature

kick up the big lake effect snow machine. anywhere from nine to 12 ifnche of snow in wisconsin. picking up to a foot and a fat and a half. we are looking at another big storm that's going to cause you havoc for the eastern half of the country into this weekend. and another blast of cold air that will go as far south as dallas. we'll look at that in the next half hour. >> al, thank you. >> flight from houston to germ me was diverted to jfk here in new york after someone called in a bomb threat mid flight. the plane landed safely. was directed to a remote area of the airport. more than 500 passengers were taken by shuttle to the terminal. the plane was searched by the joint terrorist task force but nothing suspicious was found. >> an investigation under way in bakers field california this morning after police shot and killed an unarmed 73-year-old man. police were responding to a call about a man with a gun. when they arrived on the scene, a witness pointed to a man standing in the driveway. according to police, one officer fired several rounds killing that man. he was identified

michigan. at lambeau field in wisconsin, crews feverishly cleared the field for the green bay packers game. but in buffalo, the bills and pittsburgh steelers had to play in the snow. it wasn't just snow in parts of the pacific northwest. ice had traffic at a standstill. >> i've been driving truck for 21 years and this is one of the worst ice storms i've seen coming down the gorge. >> reporter: and in minnesota, reports of almost 900 crashes and more than 400 vehicle spin-outs since saturday. back in the northeast, snow mixed with freezing rain made for a dicey commute. take a look. that's the way to get around this morning on cross-country skis. the siberian express up next. here in the northeast we'll see temperatures that don't get out of the teens. some places in the midwest could see windchills of minus 30 degrees. >> not nice. thank you very much. >>> to politics now. china said today it is seriously concerned about president-elect donald trump's latest comments on taiwan. speaking on fox news sunday, mr. trump suggested he's willing to use the one china policy as a bargaining ch

noon. wisconsin is under way. >> we will not be frightened by having to jump through all these legal hoops. we say what is donald trump frightened up? >> president-elect donald trump is fighting recounts in all three states. former ambassador to china jon huntsman and admiral james. >> more than four. who knows how many final lists? >> also today. >> mad dog. >> former announcement of general james mattis plus dr. ben carson has decided to accept the offer of hud secretary. that could be announced today. mr. trump continues tweeting out his foreign policy defending a call from taiwan's president that angered china. >> the waters seem like a tempest in a tea pot. >> warning american businesses that move jobs overseas, they may be making a very expensive mistake. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> 5:45. a uc berkeley student is at the hospital recovering from sexual assault. police say the assault happened over a week ago. the student was leaving a b.a.r.t. station in downtown berkeley when a man attacked her. he had the intent to rape, but the student managed to fight back and ge

pennsylvania and is losing votes in wisconsin recount. just a stein scam to raise money. >>> also breaking this morning for the first time in history, a japanese leader will visit the u.s. naval base in honolulu to commemorate the pearl harbor attacks. this will mark the reconciliation between the two enemies turned allies. >>> we now go to politics overseas where the trump phenomenon seems to have hit a bump in austria as the right candidate loses his fight to lead that country as a major shift in italy, as the prime minister minister in that country prepares to resign following a referendum. bill neely joins us now from vienna. what can you tell us about these two seismic political shifts in europe? >> reporter: good morning, ayman. good morning, frances. italy's prime minister, matteo renzi, was known as demolition man as he would sweep away italy's old politics and kick-start the economy. he's been demolished by this referendum and kicked out of office. he'll resign later today. he lost big time, 60/40. it was really a howl of protest from italian voters against italy's stagnant econom

and into parts of wisconsin, we could see about 2 to 3 inches of snowfall on the colder side of that storm. but we need to focus on the flashflood watches and scattered flood warnings along the gulf coast. this whole storm system is pumping in moisture from the dpoem, so we are going to see the rains thick across eastern texas today, moving through louisiana, and we're already seeing much-needed rain in atlanta and into the southeast where we could see a few inches of rain to at least help a >>> well, no rain in the bay area. we're expecting a mostly clear sunday with sunny skies and slightly cooler temperatures that are right now in the 50s. 56 degrees for the peninsula. san francisco looking at about 48 degrees and our highs should be climbing into the 50s within the 60s. right now still chilly out there. 30s in napa and santa rosa. >>> that's your >>> that's your latest forecast. >> straight ahead, the high and loos of the week with dylan, including the newlyweds whose life together began unexpectedly with a dance in the middle of a state highway. >>> and one man, his parrot, and

presidential ballots in wisconsin begins today. it was requested by jill stein. donald trump won wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes but is expected to emerge the winner after the recount. the president-elect is headed to indiana and ohio state, to kick off what they're calling a thank you victory tour. >>> and golf's biggest star is making his return today tiger woods will be playing in the hero world champion. it's his first following two back surgeries. you can watch it on our sister network, the golf channel, and this weekend here on nbc. >>> this hour, we start with a kidnapping of a california mother. police are revealing more about alleged abductors who held her for three weeks. gadi schwartz has been following this for us this morning. good morning. >> reporter: this morning, we have new details of the two women who kidnapped sherri papini. and we have new questions about the possible motive of this horrific crime. one week after mother of two sherri was found chained and beaten on the side of this northern california road, authorities released new clues about the two wo

states that flipped for president-elect trump. pennsylvania, wisconsin, a couple of others where now recounts, michigan, where recounts are under way. the rally gets under way tonight. he wants to go back and thank his supporters and lay out to some degree what he wants to do after inauguration day. speaking of after inauguration day, yes, he does still have a cabinet to fill. lots of people in and out of trump tower. not as many today, but since he's not there doing the interviews. it looks like he is considering a number of people including sarah palin who reached out to the campaign, apparently interested in being secretary of veterans affairs, secretary of state still up in the air with mitt romney and rudy giuliani confirmed among four people he's considering. a spokesperson for the team says don't expect major announcements on cabinet positions before next week. back to you. >> thank you very much, tracie. this is the hottest ticket in town, the warriors tickets which can cost thousands of dollars and oakland city council members can get them for free. that fact is sparking