♪ only you tonight, that major southern storm turns deadly. millions remain under winter weather alerts as snow and ice pummel the region, jamming roads, closing airports and knocking out power to thousands. >> we're completely shut down. it's unbelievable. >> we are. >> the latest on where the monster storm is headed. china warns the u.s. of grave consequences after the dramatic arrest of a top chinese executive. will this doom the already shaky trade truce? she was just 16 when she was convicted of murder. should she have to spend more than 50 years behind bars? cbd oil, it's the newest health craze, but what do we really know about the product, and what

makes it different from its cousin marijuana? and for the first time scientists are able to listen in on mars. what could the breakthrough tell us about the secrets the red planet holds? >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with kate snow. >> good evening. across the south and mid-atlantic tonight, concerns about freezing rain and snowy roads as temperatures hover around freezing in many places. we've already seen more than a foot of snow in parts of north carolina, and that storm system affecting 18 million people in seven states has now been blamed for at least four deaths. we begin tonight in north carolina. >> reporter: tonight monster storm dumping heavy snow and freezing rain has turned deadly. three people died in a south carolina home due to carbon monoxide poisoning and in atlanta had a man killed when a tree

fell on his car. the south is crippled. >> i'm a littler in rouse. >> american airlines cancelled 1,100 flights for today and more than 300 for tomorrow. residents across the region being warned to stay home. >> don't put your life and the lives of first responders at risk by getting out on roads covered with snow and ice. >> reporter: a state of emergency declared in north carolina and virginia with some areas expecting up to two feet. north carolina has been getting pounded with snow, leaving treacherous road conditions and snowplows have been working around the clock. more than 500 crashes reported in the state just today. >> absolutely worse than i thought. >> reporter: snow bringing greensboro to a stand till. >> we are getting more snow in one day than we normally get the entire year. >> reporter: across the carolinas, roughly half a million people are expected to lose power, and the new concern, that the snow left behind will turn to ice overnight.

tam tammy leitner, nbc news, greensboro, north carolina. >> let's turn to dylan dreyer for the forecast. good evening. >> good evening. this historic snow storm will wind up overnight. there's still wrap-around moisture tonight and tomorrow morning, rain and snow extending down to south carolina as well, and then will continue to pull away on monday. then eventually we can begin to clean up this mess with, again, up to a foot of snow or more in some of these areas. additional snowfall in the mountains of eastern tennessee and western north carolina, we're looking at one to three inches i would say on average. or for additional rainfall, only about a quarter of an inch to half an inch and then this whole thing will pull away. temperatures don't get too cold on the back side of this storm, so that should help with some melting of all of that snow as well. kate in. >> dylan, thanks. another help wanted sign out at the white house. the president searching for a replace.for his outgoing chief of staff and needing congress to approve his picks for attorney

general and u.n. ambassador. our white house correspondent kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: a year-end challenge for president trump. his vacancy rate. >> people leave. people leave. >> the hurdle ahead, senate confirmation for two high-profile picks. >> he deserves overwhelming bipartisan support. she's been a supporter for a long time and she's really excellent. >> reporter: today the path for heather nauert, state department folks person and fox news alum hit a snag from senator marco rubio could not say she is qualified to be u.n. ambassador. >> the thing you're asking me does she have detailed knowledge of foreign policy at a level that would allow her to be successful at the united nations, i don't know. >> reporter: a second act for william barr who already served as attorney general 25 years ago under bush. his past legal positions and future oversight of the mueller russia investigation are his confirmation tests. >> protecting the

integrity of special counsel mueller. i think that's going to be kind of a litmus test. >> i was right. i'm concerned that he's been a big supporter of the patriot act which lowered the standard for spying on americans. >> reporter: no senate confirmation required to fill this weekend's sudden west wing opening. >> john kelly will be leaving. >> reporter: but today the president's economic adviser could not explain a critical fact about the chief of staff's exit. >> did kelly resign, or was he forced how the in the. >> i don't know to be perfectly honest. i think it was very amicable. >> reporter: and new tonight sources tell me the president is expected to name a new chief of staff by year's end. that is a change because mr. trump said only yesterday that he expected some kind of announcement within a couple of days. one top advisers who had been in discussions for the job, nick ayers also, not be taking that post and lynn stead go to an outstudy political action committee. the president wants a long-term commitment and ayers made clear

he wanted to take his young family back home to georgia. kate? >> the time line shifting had a little bit. kelly, thank you. overseas oppose marches took place in central london ahead of a key vote on tuesday on britain's plan to leave the european union. both pro and anti-breast yiks groups took to the streets though it appears the anti-brexit march esoutnumbered the supporters. the marchers were largely peaceful with three arrests reported. >> a strong warning from china today following the arrest one of the country's most powerful executives. the u.s. accuses her of violating trade restrictions with iran, but the chinese government is vowing grave consequence if she isn't released. janice mackey frayer has the latest from beijing. >> reporter: tonight china is condemning the arrest of a top executive with tech giant huawei summoning the u.s. ambassador to drop its warrant against meng who remains in a vancouver

jail, beijing calling her arrest unreasonable and nasty and calling for grave consequences. >> china could do many things that will cripple the u.s. economy. >> reporter: the u.s. argues her wealth is a flight risk, that she's had seven passports in 11 years. prosecutors want to extra dial the her to the u.s. to stand charges on trial of fraud, that snow allegedly covered up deals through a subsidiary to evade u.s. sanctions against iran. in her sworn affidavit she says she's innocent, and in china fury at what's widely seen as a competitive swipe at huawei, a source of national pride here, the timing of it awkward. meng's arrest came the same day that president trump and china's president xi jing jinping struck a truce in their trade wars. >> it's raised hackles in china, and i think it will make the negotiations much more difficult. they must be seen to act. they can't be seen to be doing nothing about this. >> the dispute could implode a trade truce

that's barely a week old and hobble talks to avert an all-out trade war. the next move belongs to a canadian judge who is set to rule on bail tomorrow. kate? >> janice mackey frayer, thank you. now to a story that has legal experts in a heated debate. sentoya brown was just 16 when she was convicted of murder. her lawyers say she was too young to face a life sentence, but the tennessee supreme court has just ruled that she will have to spend at least five decades behind bars. nbc's matt bradley looks at case. >> i just grabbed a gun and i shot him. >> reporter: tried as an adult. sentoya brown was convicted of murder at just 16. she killed 43-year-old johnny allen after he said he offered to pay her for sex. brown said she feared the older man was going to kill her and prosecutors called her a murder saying she robbed her victim and her friend spoke against brown at a may clemency hearing. >> johnny was lived and he is missed dearly. >> i am completely

different person. if you let me out, i will never go back to being that person. >> reporter: her dream of freedom now denied as the tennessee supreme court ruled thursday that brown will become eligible for parole after her 69th birthday. brown said she suffered years of child trafficking, neglect, abuse and rape before the murder. psychiatrist william burnett has known brown since her arrest and insists teenagers shouldn't be judged like adults. >> i think it's callous in itself. i think it is not taking the whole picture into consideration. >> prison officials say brown is a model prisoner. she's now a college grad. celebrities and others have championed brown's case which is still before a court and tennessee's governor that could grant her clemency before he leaves office. brown owes attorney says he's hopeful and prayerful that happens. >> i'm not saying i don't deserve anything. i'm asking for mercy. >> until then she can only wait. matt bradley, nbc

news. new revelations expected this week in the caves american diplomats who fell seriously ill on the job. some believe they have been targeted with a mysterious weapon. the team of doctors who treated the first victims in havana are promising new details in the coming days. in an exclusive interview nbc's andrea mitchell spoke with one of the mothers. >> your head is splitting, and it's horrible. >> reporter: those are the symptoms that cat earn weern, a 31-year-old diplomat stationed in china, began to feel after hearing strange sounds in her apartment. alarmly similar to what 26 u.s. diplomats and spies reported half a world away in havana beginning inning 2016. >> the united states government still not sure who or what is responsible for those health asnooks when katherine told her she had been sick after hearing the strange sound, laura an air force veteran jumped on a plane to china.

>> i saw a shell of our doubter? >> reporter: what do you mean a shell? >> she lost a lot of weight. there was no brightness in her eyes. >> reporter: soon laura began coming down with similar symptoms. >> you're in a fog. it's as if everything is moving in slow motion, and when it leaves you are completely exhausted. >> reporter: laura says the dogs also began acting strangely. >> they would be shivering under the bed when we returned to the apartment. they would vomit blood. >> reporter: three months after arriving laura couldn't take it anymore and headed home to the u.s. katherine was medevacked out of china three weekses later. >> just like with the havana diplomats, doctors have diagnosed katherine with traumatic brain injury, similar to concussion but with no blow to the head. >> the state department took quick and desaves action evacuating is a others from china who reported similar symptoms and as cases mount laura is sounding an alarm. >> i do not believe

that our military rrm, our diplomats around the world or here at home are safe because this weapon system is creating half hock. >> reporter: laura who has also been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury is calling on the state department to do more. >> our whole lives are uprooted, and instead of being helped, it's -- it's an atrocity. >> reporter: what would you like them to do? >> find out what this thing is and hold those accountable. >> reporter: andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >> tonight the country is mourning the loss of one of its heroes, wilfred defor you was one of the surviving members of the tuskegee airmen and served as a technician with the all-black aviator group during world war ii. they painted the details of the aircraft and that's how they got the nickname red tail. he was 104 years old.

which now most of us have seen pictures from the surface of mars with its rocky red landscape and now thanks to nasa's insight lander we connection appearance mars in a whole new way. stove patterson explains. >> reporter: for generations we have been captain rated by the image of mars. the red planet stirring wonder in films like "the martian" and with those little green men in "mars attack." but what about the way mars sounds? what you just heard was the first ever audio of martian winds moving over solar panels on nasa's insight lander picked up by its seismometer, that bronze object in the front. nasa raised it a few octaves because the original low pitch is barely audible to humans. listen again with the recording speeded up by nasa. the spacecraft giving us a whole new window on mars. >> touchdown confirmed. >> reporter: after it landed a couple of

weeks ago on a two-year mission to explore the pan et's deep interior, scientists on the team are predict bly geeked. >> really sounds other worldly, and that's exactly what it is. >> reporter: even the inside lander itself is excited, tweeting i'm feeling the good vibrations left in the wake of your martian winds. those good vibes expanding our understanding of the universe, something now on bars that we can both see and hear. steve patterson, nbc news, planet earth. >> very cool. >> still ahead tonight, a reality check on the new cbd oil health craze. what is it and can it really help you? also the inspiring story of a rising star in the nfl and his you're headed down the highway when the guy in front slams on his brakes out of nowhere. you do, too, but not in time. hey, no big deal. you've got a good record and liberty mutual won't hold a grudge by raising your rates over one mistake. you hear that, karen? liberty mutual doesn't hold grudges.

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cbd-infused lattes, beauty products, baked gods and each dog treats, a and the cbd frenzy grows, so does the confusion. does cbd work? >> yes. it works for anxiety. it works for pain. it works for any inflammatory condition. >> no. we don't know any of that. if you go in with this expectation with all of society saying this is going to cure you of whatever ails you, it often will. >> reporter: don't tell that to laura froman. 12 years ago she was thrown off of a horse and suffered bone-crippling pain until she tried a surprising treatment. >> the cbd worked, and it was absolutely miracle. seriously. >> reporter: now laura has turned her farm into a hemp empire, making and selling everything from cbd lotions to chocolates. in colorado, dr. joe cohen has stopped delivering babies. instead prescribing cbd to patients with an array of illnesses. >> you need to take this twice a day every day. >> reporter: earlier this year, the fda approve the first and

only cbd medication, a treatment for two rare forms of epilepsy. there's no proof that cbd works for anything other than seizures, yet you're prescribing anything from pain control alzheimer's. >> there is no proof from a traditional medical perspective. there's plenty of proof from seeing patients and sewing their results. >> reporter: cbd supplements are not tested, approved or regulated by the fda, but cbd fans are not waiting for proof. >> i couldn't be doing what i'm doing today without cbd. it's changed my life. >> reporter: a phenomenon growing faefrlt than the science. >> dr. john is with us. are there any dangers in taking this stuff? >> cbd can interfere with other drugs you're taking causing possible dangerous interaction with some like blood thinners hand making other blood thinkers less effective and some types of birth control so check with your doctor and pharmacist to prevent these interactions. very important. >> reporter: how do you know what you've been taking? >> you don't because

there's been reports of fake cbd oil being sold online and in stores so ask the seller from the lab that tested the cbd oil for purity. >> thanks so much. we're back in a moment with a great holiday tradition involving a college hoops team in only half the story? at t. rowe price our experts go beyond the numbers to examine investment opportunities firsthand. like e-commerce spurring cardboard demand. the pursuit of allergy-free peanuts. and mobile payment reaching new markets. this is strategic investing. because your investments deserve the full story. t.rowe price. invest with confidence. breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on.

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hard, but for one man the path to football fame was real against all odds. born in nigeria, he was the victim of human traffickers and then found himself homeless in england before making his way to the nfl. jeff bennett his has story. >> reporter: carolina panthers defensive end effe obata plays like his life depends it on. >> every play win or lose it's like life or death for me. >> reporter: it makes sense given what he's been through. >> long and hard. took a long route to the nfl, took the unconventional route. >> reporter: effe was born in nigeria and at so years old was the victim of human trafficking. he and his sister left homeless on the streets of london before bouncing around foster homes. four years ago while struggling to put his life together effe discovered football. >> what was it about american football that caught your attention? >> an outlet, anger and from us twrags where my life was and

the lack of prove depression, so, you know, that physicality kind of give me the outlet. >> reporter: effe's rare combination of speed and power caught the attention of nfl scouts. last year the 26-year-old was assigned to carolina through the international pathway player program which develops foreign players who show potential. effe's raw talent made an instant impression on the planthers coach juan rivera. >> it was an honor to tell him, listen, dude, you've earned this. congratulations, let's go make something happen. >> reporter: how has the team reacted to him? >> i think they have reacted tremendously well. even guys who are competing for playing team with him are cheering for him. he practices hard and takes it very seriously. >> you know who this goes. >> reporter:? effe earned the game ball in his impressive nfl disability. not bad for a novice who until four years ago hardly knew the rules of the game. >> every day i'm still trying to get better and trying to close the gap between me and

some of the other guys that have been doing this for years. honestly i'm just grateful. >> reporter: a success story in the become making. >> you guys are my family. i love you, man. >> reporter: driven by grit and grace. jeff bennett, nbc news, charlotte, north carolina. >> that's good stuff on "nbc nightly news." lester holt is tomorrow. i'll have a story on the founder of the popular head space app. i'm kate snow. for all of us here at nbc news, have a great night.

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