we get details on this tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's the kind of threat the fbi and the airlines take very seriously. saturday january 24th -- >> southwest 2492. >> southwest 2492 is here. >> sir, this is fbi. i need to confirm that flight deck is secure. over. >> affirmative, flight deck is secured. >> reporter: southwest 2492 and delta 1156 both intercepted by f-16s and diverted to atlanta after bomb threats posted on twitter by so federal authorities tell us they believe this is the work of holksters and involves a five-year maximum prison term and a quarter-million-dollar fine and the fbi is working the case. >> tom costello, thanks. >>> the latest isis hostage deadline is looming with two lives in the balance. the terrorist group claimed it would kill a japanese journalist and jordanian military pilot if this demand wasn't met. it wants a jordanian prison -- jordan said it is willing to give her up in exchange for its pilot. no word though so far on whether isis will accept this deal. >>> we now know the cause of a devastating fire that killed four children

for more on this we turn now to tom costello who covers aviation for us. he joins us from washington tonight. tom, so clearly weather is really hampering this search not only for remains but for the wreckage. once they get to the wreckage, what are they looking for? what do investigators want to find? >> they want to find the tail section very quickly. that's where they'll find the cockpit voice and data recorders, the so-called black boxes. the flight data recorder has about 1,000 different pieces of data, everything from the plane performance, pitch, altitude, heading, speed, all that, couple that with the cockpit voice recorder and you hear the conversations between the pilots. what actions did they take and why? what were they saying to each other? did they have a concern about engine performance, about air speed, about weather? all of that will be coupled with the flight data recorder. and then they want to look at the engines themselves. is there any evidence from the engines that maybe they suffered cataclysmic damage, from ice or hail. all of that

that's where we find nbc's tom costello tonight. hey, tom, good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian. can you imagine this? look at this. this is laguardia airport. it's essentially a ghost town tonight. 80 to 90% of flights in and around new york in boston and philly canceled. that's going to go to 100% later tonight into tomorrow. the airlines don't want their planes sitting on a ramp in a blizzard. so they're moving all those planes out now. for airports, airlines and their passengers, this monday has been all about getting ahead of the storm. 6,500 flights into and out of the northeast today and tomorrow canceled. on flight radar 24, air traffic over the northeast thinned out dramatically as the day progressed. in pittsburgh, michelle johnson was trying to get to boston. >> three re-scheduled canceled flights is difficult to wonder when you're going to get home in three feet of snow. >> reporter: the flights that did fly were mostly full. our flight into laguardia just a few minutes delayed, but it's likely to be one of the last into new york as the airlines proactively cancel fli

>> tom costello at lga, laguardia airport in new york. tom, thanks. >>> and now what everybody got wrong. predictions of doom and destruction and the worst blizzard in the history of new york led officials of making the costly decision for shutting down the subway for the first time in its 110-year history. today the national weather service tried to explain why so many people looked out their windows this morning to find the forecast had been wrong. our report on that tonight from nbc's kate snow. >> reporter: in new york city and new jersey it wasn't the storm people were expecting. >> supposed to be the worst in 20 years. and it wasn't. >> reporter: in new jersey, a meteorologist with the national weather service apologized to decisionmakers and the public writing, you made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn't. once again, i'm sorry. >> the storm in general was less destructive than predicted. >> reporter: the director of the national weather service this afternoon acknowledged that 10 million to 15 mill

for more on this we turn now to tom costello who covers aviation for us. tom, careerly weather is hampering the search not only for remains but the wreckage. once they get to the wreckage what are they looking for? >> they want to find the tail section very quickly. that's where they'll find the cockpit voice and data recorders, the so-called black boxes. the flight data recorder has about 1,000 different pieces of data everything from the plane performance, heading, speed, all of that and couple that with the cockpit voice recorder and you hear the conversations between the pilots. what actions did they take and why? what were they saying to each other? did they have a concern about engine performance, about air speed, about weather? all of that will be coupled with the flight data recorder. and then they want to look at the engines themselves. is there any evidence from the engines that maybe they suffered cataclysmic damage from ice or hail. >> tom costello following it all from washington thank you. >>> now to our other major story, just as millions of

tonight it is all resumed normal operations. >> tom costello in the safety of washington, d.c. tonight. tom, thanks. >>> over the better part of these last three weeks we have witnessed the test of human skill and endurance really unlike any other on a mountain unlike any other. and tonight we have witnessed the culmination of all of it. two men have completed what's been roundly described as the most difficult free climb in the world. nbc's miguel almaguer is right there at the very top of el capitan in yosemite forest tonight. >> reporter: brian, good evening. this is the moment that has been so many years in the making. we were here live when kevin -- when tommy caldwell and kevin jorgensen came up the mountain, were greeted after climbing 3,000 feet up el capitan. they gave their wives hugs, they popped champagne. they are still hugging family at this moment. my colleague hallie jackson has been following their journey for the last several weeks. >> reporter: it's a moment seven years in the making, but 19 days ago no one knew if it would happen. after tommy caldwell and ke

>> tom costello at laguardia airport. tom, thanks. and now what everybody got wrong. predictions of doom and destruction and the worst blew york led officials of making the costly decision for shutting down the subway for the first time in its 110-year history. today the national weather service tried to explain why so many people looked out their windows this morning to find the forecast had been wrong. our report on that tonight from our nbc's kate snow. >> reporter: in new york city, and new jersey, it wasn't the storm people were expecting. >> supposed to be the worst in 20 years. and it wasn't. >> reporter: in new jersey, a meteorologist with the national weather service apologized to decision-makers and the public writing, you made a lot of tough decisions, expecting us to get it right, and we didn't. once again, i'm sorry. >> the storm in general was less destructive than predicted. >> reporter: the director of the national weather service this afternoon acknowledged that 10 million to 15 million people were inconvenienced because of his agency's forecast. >> w

otherwise, guns don't fly, brian. >> tom costello at the airport for us tonight. tom, thanks. >>> late word from the supreme court in washington. they've agreed to hear a case brought by three oklahoma death row inmates. this concerns the drug combination that is used in lethal injections. and it comes after a botched execution in oklahoma just last year. the inmates here are arguing the sedative being used by the state does not produce a deep enough sleep, therefore, inflicting unnecessary pain. and that would violate the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. >>> when we learned last night of the death of the king of saudi arabia, the "new york times" said he represented the muslim establishment. he was a hugely powerful figure, and tonight our chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports on how his influence can be felt right now across this country. >> reporter: one of the richest, most powerful men in the world, king abdullah of saudi arabia, was laid to rest today in a pauper's grave according to saudi tradition. a symbol that in death all

>> tom costello outside that metro stop in d.c. tonight. tom, thanks. >>> investigators are blaming speed and, quote, driver behavior for a deadly pileup on an icy michigan highway a few days back. car after car, truck after truck slammed into one another creating a twisted mess that shut that highway down for two days. now, for the first time we are hearing the calls for help from those trapped inside it. we get our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> oh, my god! there's more coming at me. i'm trying to get out of the way. >> reporter: a deadly winter whiteout chain reaction along a stretch of the i-94 in michigan. >> okay. i want you to shut up and i want you to listen to me very carefully. i'm at the 95 yard line interstate 94. eastbound side is completely shut down. >> reporter: panicked drivers inundate 911 with emergency calls. >> i'm in an accident on i-94. i'm like under a semi. >> reporter: while several vehicles catch fire. one, a semi loaded with 40,000 pounds of fireworks, explodes. operators dispatch rescue crews, and c

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> and we are back in a moment with a surprising possible downside to those beautiful long lashes we hear advertised so often. >>> the man hailed as a hero when canada suffered a terrorist attack on parliament has been rewarded for his bravery with the job of a lifetime. kevin vickers will be canada's new ambassador to ireland. vickers was sergeant at arms, a 30-year mounted police veteran. he was applauded by parliament and the prime minister after bringing down the gunman that awful day. >>> women have been warned efforts to lengthen their eyelashes may be doing their eyes a disservice in the end. eyelashes have a job of shielding the eyes from wind and dust. a new study says longer lashes can often serve to funnel and redirect more air and thus dust into the eye. >>> australia has been dealing with a huge outbreak of wildfires, especially in victoria, south australia. homes have been destroyed, thousands of acres burned. and now an effort to help the marsupials who've been caught in the fires. koalas are being rescued and brought to animal hospita

that's where we find nbc's tom costello tonight. hey, tom, good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian. can you imagine this? look at this this is laguardia airport. it's essentially a ghost town tonight. 80 bank account to 90% of flights 234 and around new york in boston and philly canceled. that's going later tonight into tomorrow. the airlines don't want their planes sitting on a ramp in a blizzard. so they're moving all those planes out now. for airports airlines and their passengers this monday has been all about getting ahead of the storm. 6,500 flights into and out of the northeast today and tomorrow canceled. on flight radar 24 air traffic over the northeast thinned out dramatically as the day progressed. in pittsburgh michelle johnson was trying to get to boston. >> three re-scheduled canceled flights is difficult to wonder when you're going to get home in three feet of snow. >> reporter: the flights that did fly were mostly full. our flight into laguardia just a few minutes delayed, but it's likely to be one of the last into new york as the airlines proactively cancel flights

that's where we find nbc's tom costello tonight. hey, tom, good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian. can you imagine this? look at this, this is laguardia airport. it's essentially a ghost town tonight. 80 to 90% of flights 234 and around new york in boston and philly canceled. that's going later tonight into tomorrow. the airlines don't want their planes sitting on a ramp in a blizzard. so they're moving all those planes out now. for airports, airlines and their passengers, this monday has been all about getting ahead of the storm. 6,500 flights into and out of the northeast today and tomorrow canceled. on flight radar 24, air traffic over the northeast thinned out dramatically as the day progressed. in pittsburgh, michelle johnson was trying to get to boston. >> three re-scheduled canceled flights is difficult to wonder when you're going to get home in three feet of snow. >> reporter: the flights that did fly were mostly full. our flight into laguardia just a few minutes delayed, but it's likely to be one of the last into new york as the airlines proactively cancel flights into and

we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: commercials promise almost a luxurious customer experience. but it wasn't anything close to that for the passengers onboard flight 183. moments after boarding their plane for a 16-hour flight to san francisco, thick fog closed the abu dhabi airport. for the next 12 hours they sat, waiting. >> every half an hour to 45 minutes we were told that same announcement, that we would be leaving soon. >> reporter: it dragged on hour after hour. >> we hadn't eaten in a while. you know, no one anticipated being on a flight this long. parents were really concerned about running out of things like diapers and baby food. >> reporter: with hours ticking by, some passengers took to twitter. 183 on runway for nine hours. terrible service and crew won't serve food. >> we hit a point where the entire cabin crew was switched out, but not a single passenger was allowed to get off the plane. >> reporter: if it had happened in the u.s., the airline would have been required to return to the gate after three to four hours. but no such laws in abu d

we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: from coast to coast it's the talk at the tank. 46% of the country's stations are now selling gas for $2 or less. >> the price is so low, it's unbelievable. >> that commute was really hurting my pocket. happy i can take $2 a gallon now. >> reporter: put simply the bottom has fallen out of the oil market now sell are for under $50 a barrel, a 5 1/2-year low. it means the typical family will likely save $500 to $700 per car this year. blame it on the oil glut with saudi arabia refusing to turn off the spigot. the lower prices have pulled down oil company stocks, hurting 401(k) and retirement accounts. >> analysts and traders alike think that saudi is playing a game of chicken with the u.s. they're willing to see oil prices go down to $10, $20 a barrel, and they can sustain it more than we can. >> reporter: saudi arabia can afford to force prices even lower. it costs the saudis only $10 to $17 to produce a barrel of oil. it costs russia $15 to $25. but it costs the u.s. $50 to $75 to produce a barrel from the new oil shale f

watching the air for us tonight, tom costello at laguardia. tom, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. a deserted laguardia. many airlines are right now flying planes into the new york airports even though the concourses are closed. empty to all pedestrians. what does that mean? the planes are coming in empty. the hope is in 12 hours a lot of this red here that says canceled will be turning to green. in the big apple today, the big digout started early, at the three major airports. not a minute too soon for hundreds of passengers stranded at jfk overnight. after first sitting for five hours on a virgin atlantic flight that never left for london. >> i'm able to leave the tunnel because all the roads are closed. i'm able to go through security. we have to sleep on the floor at jfk overnight. >> reporter: at laguardia roughly 50 people spent the night and most of the day waiting. >> it is a bit stressful. i feel like i'm trapped. i can't get back there, and cast go back through. >> reporter: nationwide, 78,500 flights canceled. the air space t

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> for so many of us around the country, 2015 came in like a bucket of cold water. most of the country is gripped in a deep freeze right now with nasty weather pounding the west and more of it on the way to many other parts of the nation. there's almost nowhere to hide from it. and that includes southern california. our report tonight from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: at the rose parade in pasadena, the floats were covered in flowers while the people were covered in blankets. the temperature, 33, just one degree higher than the parade's record low. why many even brought their own fire pits. >> i was like, okay, i don't want to think about it. let me just add another log. >> reporter: despite the cold temperatures thousands of spectators showed up early, even camped out overnight so they could get the best seats possible along the parade routes. the mood is far different in du boise, wyoming. it could be days before it's safe enough to enter a row of historic buildings devoured by flames. firefighters faced temps that were 25 degrees below zero. >> ha

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> and we are back in a moment with a surprising possible downside to those beautiful long lashes we hear advertised so often. shes we hear advertised so often. (woman) caring for someone with alzheimer's means i am a lot of things. i am his guardian. i am his voice. so i asked about adding once-daily namenda xr® to his current treatment for moderate to severe alzheimer's. it works differently. when added to another alzheimer's treatment, like aricept® it may improve overall function... and cognition. and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. (man) namenda xr doesn't change how the disease progresses. it shouldn't be taken by anyone allergic to memantine, or who's had a bad reaction to namenda xr or its ingredients. before starting treatment, tell their doctor if they have, or ever had a seizure disorder difficulty passing urine, liver, kidney, or bladder problems, and about medications they're taking. certain medications, changes in diet, or medical conditions may affect the amount of namenda xr in the body... and may increase side effec

we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: from coast to coast it's the talk at the tank. 46% of the country's stations are now selling gas for $2 or less. >> the price is so low, unbelievable. >> that commute was really hurting my pocket. hopefully i can take this $2 a gallon now. >> reporter: the bottom has fallen out of the oil market now selling for under $50 a barrel, a 5 1/2-year low. the typical familiar will save $500 to $700 per car this year. blame it on the oil glut with saudi arabia refusing to turn off the spigot. the lower prices have pulled down oil company stocks, hurting 401(k) and retirement accounts. >> analysts and traders alike think that saudi is playing a game of chicken with the u.s. they're willing to see oil prices go down to $10, $20 a barrel and they can sustain it more than we can. >> reporter: saudi arabia can afford to force prices even lower. it costs the saudis only $10 to $17 to produce a barrel of oil. it costs russia $15 to $25. but it costs the u.s. $50 to $75 to produce a barrel from the new oil shale fields. now the very job

tom costello was talking about from la guardia. right now 123 flights are canceld out of reagan nation. dullis cancelled 32 flights. >>> ten minutes before the hour now let's get a look at the roads this morning. we know many of you will try to head out the door in the next litt while here. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell live near national harbor. good morning, chuck. >> good morning. it's been a long drive down into southern maryland. made it almost to charlotte hall hugsville. head southbound and it was sw covered at the time. bu in pretty good shape. route 5 once you get to southern parts of prince george's county and route 5 to charles county there are slippery spots. we watched two cars spin out north of huesville. be careful. it's not a lot of snow. the road crews have been out laying down chemical. it's hard for them to plow it. in most locations it's an inch to inch and a half. there's not a lot of plowing to be done. they are laying down the chemical see the tire strips going down the road. keep your speeds down and

tom costello nbc news washington. >>> and we are back in a moment with a surprising possible downside to those beautiful long lashes we hear advertised so often. (woman) caring for someone with alzheimer's means i am a lot of things. i am his guardian. i am his voice. so i asked about adding once-daily namenda xr® to his current treatment for moderate to severe alzheimer's. it works differently. when added to another alzheimer's treatment, like aricept® it may improve overall function... and cognition. and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. (man) namenda xr doesn't change how the disease progresses. it shouldn't be taken by anyone allergic to memantine, or who's had a bad reaction to namenda xr or its ingredients. before starting treatment, tell their doctor if they have, or ever had a seizure disorder difficulty passing urine, liver, kidney, or bladder problems, and about medications they're taking. certain medications, changes in diet, or medical conditions may affect the amount of namenda xr in the body... and may increase side effects. the most common side effects..

tonight it is all resumed normal operations. >> tom costello in the safety of washington, d.c. tonight. tom, thanks. >>> over the better part of these last three weeks we have witnessed the test of human skill and endurance really unlike any other on a mountain unlike any other. and tonight we have witnessed the culmination of all of it. two men have completed what's been roundly described as the most difficult free climb in the world. nbc's miguel almaguer is right there at the very top of el capitan in yosemite forest tonight. miguel good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. this is the moment that has been so many years in the making. we were here live when kevin -- when tommy caldwell and kevin jorgeson came up the mountain, were greeted after climbing 3,000 feet up el capitan. they gave their wives hugs, they popped champagne. they are still hugging family at this moment. my colleague hallie jackson has been following their journey for the last several weeks. >> reporter: it's a moment seven years in the making, but 19 days ago no one knew if it would happen. after t

otherwise guns don't fly, brian. >> tom costello at the airport for us tonight. tom, thanks. >>> late word from the supreme court in washington. they've agreed to hear a case brought by three oklahoma death row inmates. this concerns the drug combination that is used in lethal injections. and it comes after a botched execution in oklahoma just last year. the inmates here are arguing the sedative being used by the state does not produce a deep enough sleep therefore inflicting unnecessary pain. and that would violate the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. >>> when we learned last night of the death of the king of saudi arabia, the "new york times" said he represented the muslim establishment. he was a hugely powerful figure, and tonight our chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports on how his influence can be felt right now across this country. >> reporter: one of the richest, most powerful men in the world, king abdullah of saudi arabia, was laid to rest today in a pauper's grave according to saudi tradition. a symbol that in death all ar

tom costello nbc news washington. >>> two promising young american athletes have lost their lives in an avalanche at an austrian resort. 20-year-old ronnie berlack. top prospects for the u.s. ski team. they were part of a group of six who ventured off into some fresh powder. the other four in the group managed to escape alive. >>> rough day here in new york on wall street as the falling price of oil now below $50 a barrel sent energy stocks tumbling as a result. the dow finished down 331, nasdaq s&p down as well. >>> still ahead for us on this monday evening, the controversy surrounding a potential oscar contender and the question did a big new movie re-write american history? tonight, we'll hear from someone who was there during a landmark moment in u.s. history. >>> also the wish that took off on the web. why so many families are now sharing pictures of their best friends. i make a lot of purchases for my business. and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the

>> tom costello in d.c. tonight. tom, thanks. >>> investigators are blaming speed and, quote, driver behavior for a deadly pileup on an icy michigan highway a few days back. car after car, truck after truck slammed into one another, creating a twisted mess that shut that highway down for two days. now, for the first time, we are hearing the calls for help from those trapped inside it. we get our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> oh, my god! there's more coming at me. >> reporter: a deadly winter whiteout chain reaction along a stretch of the i-94 in michigan. >> i want you to shut up and i want you to listen to me very carefully. i'm at the 95 yard line, interstate 94. eastbound side is completely shut down. >> reporter: panicked drivers inundate 911 with emergency calls. >> i'm in an accident on i-94. i'm under a semi. >> reporter: while several vehicles catch fire. one, a semi loaded with 40,000 pounds of fireworks explodes. operators dispatch rescue crews, and calm frightened drivers. >> you're not hurt

we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: from coast to coast it's the talk at the tank. 46% of the country's stations are now selling gas for $2 or less. >> the price is so low, unbelievable. >> that commute would really hurt my pocket. hopefully i can take this $2 a gallon now. >> reporter: now selling at $50 a barrel a 5 1/2-year low. the typical familiar will save 500 to $700 a year. blame it on the oil glut with saudi arabia refusing to turn off the spigot. the lower prices have pulled down oil company stocks hurting 401(k) and retirement accounts. >> analysts and traders alike think that saudi is playing a xwam of chicken with the u.s. they're willing to see oil prices go down to 10 $20 a barrel and they can sustain it more than we can. >> reporter: saudi arabia can afford to force prices even lower. it cost the saudis only 10 to $17 to produce a barrel of oil. it costs russia 15 to $25. but it costs the u.s. 50 to $75 to produce a barrel from the new oil shale fields. now the very jobs created in the american boom are on the line. >> at this point tense o

tonight it is all resumed normal operations. >> tom costello in the safety of washington, d.c. tonight. tom, thanks. >>> over the better part of these last three weeks we have witnessed the test of human skill and endurance really unlike any other on a mountain unlike any other. and tonight we have witnessed the culmination of all of it. two men have completed what's been roundly described as the most difficult free climb in the world. nbc's miguel almaguer is right there at the very top of el capitan in yosemite forest tonight. >> reporter: brian, good evening. this is the moment that has been so many years in the making. we were here live when kevin -- when tommy caldwell and kevin jorgensen came up the mountain were greeted after climbing 3,000 feet up el capitan. they gave their wives hugs they popped champagne. they are still hugging family at this moment. my colleague hallie jackson has been following their journey for the last several weeks. >> reporter: it's a moment seven years in the making but 19 days ago no one knew if it would happen. after tommy caldwell and kevin

tom costello at washington national for us. tom, thanks. >>> the latest isis hostage deadline is looming with two lives in the balance. the terrorist group claimed it would kill a japanese journalist and jordanian military pilot if this demand wasn't met. it wants a jordanian prisoner jordan said it is willing to give her up in exchange for its pilot. no word though so far on whether isis will accept this deal. >>> we now know the cause of a devastating fire that killed four children and their grandparents at a mansion in annapolis, maryland last week. fire officials say it was the family christmas tree ignited. it had dried out after the holidays. electrical fire spread quickly from there, which is why it was burning so hot and so fast when first responders arrived. >>> still ahead for us tonight, an amazing moment today, eruption of applause in the courtroom. an extraordinary apology to a brave group of citizens who helped change history. >>> later, the puppy who was a runaway winner a year ago returns tonight to defend the c

we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: for many americans it's suddenly getting cheaper to make the payments on their biggest investment. a year ago a 30-year mortgage loan averaged 4.5%. today it's down to 3.81%, even lower for 15-year loans. california mortgage broker is swamped with re-fi applications. >> rates have dropped a half a percent in the last 60 days, and everybody's running to take advantage of it. >> reporter: the lower rates mean bill and jerry grimes should save enough to renovate a bathroom. they just refinanced in december, now they're re-fi-ing again. >> amazing. i didn't expect this to happen at this time and this quickly. >> reporter: when should you refinance? experts say if interest rates are at least half a percentage point lower than rate you're currently paying. it may be smart to do the math. a family with a 30-year $300,000 mortgage at 4.5% pays about $1,367 a month. but at 3.8% that monthly payment drops by $150. total savings over the life of the loan $22,575. and market analysts believe interest rates will stay low or could go even

metro system is under scrutiny. >> tom costello in d.c. tonight. tom, thanks. investigators are blaming speed and, quote, driver behavior for a deadly pileup on an icy michigan highway a few days back. car after car, truck after truck slammed into one another, creating a twisted mess that shut that highway down for two days. now, for the first time we are hearing the calls for help from those trapped inside it. we get our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> oh my god! >> reporter: a deadly winter whiteout chain reaction along a stretch of the i-94 in michigan. >> i want you to shut up and i want you to listen to me very carefully. i'm at the 95 yard line, interstate 94. eastbound side is completely shut down. >> reporter: panicked drivers inundate 911 with emergency calls. >> i'm in an accident on i-94. i'm under a semi. >> reporter: while several vehicles catch fire. one, a semi loaded with 40,000 pounds of fireworks explodes. operators dispatch rescue crews, and calm frightened drivers. >> you're not hurt and that's all we care about, okay? everything

we get details on this tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's the kind of threat the fbi and the airlines take very seriously. saturday january 24th -- >> southwest 2492. >> southwest 2492 is here. >> sir, this is fbi. i need to confirm that flight deck is secure. over. >> affirmative, flight deck is secured. >> reporter: southwest 2492 and delta 1156 both intercepted by f-16s and diverted to atlanta after bomb threats posted on twitter by someone claiming to represent isis. on sunday delta flight 1061 los angeles to orlando diverted to dallas after someone tweeted, we are isis we are here. gulf channel producer onboard the flight saw the tweet while still in the air. >> so to see that and to see someone say, you know we are isis we are here we're on the plane. i mean that was absolutely terrifying because you don't really know what your looking for. you don't know if someone looks suspicious or not. >> reporter: law enforcement sources say it's happened at least 20 times since saturday involving the nation's biggest airline. >> delta 1156 southwest 2492 request all fligh

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> for so many of us around the country, 2015 came in like a bucket of cold water. most of the country is gripped in a deep freeze right now with nasty weather pounding the west and more of it on the way to many other parts of the nation. there's almost nowhere to hide from it. and that includes southern california. our report tonight from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: at the rose parade in pasadena, the floats were covered in flowers while the people were covered in blankets. the temperature, 33, just one degree higher than the parade's record low. why many even brought their own fire pits. >> i was like, okay, i don't want to think about it. let me just have another log. >> reporter: despite the cold temperatures thousands of spectators showed up early, even camped out overnight so they could get the best seats possible along the parade routes. the mood is far different in du boise, wyoming. it could be days before it's safe enough to enter a row of devoured by flames. firefighters faced temps that were 25 degrees below zero. >> had problems with fr

otherwise guns don't fly, brian. >> tom costello at the airport for us tonight. tom, thanks. >>> late word from the supreme court in washington. they've agreed to hear a case brought by three oklahoma death row inmates. this concerns the drug combination that is used in lethal injections. and it comes after a botched execution in oklahoma just last year. the inmates here are arguing the sedative being used by the state does not produce a deep enough sleep therefore inflicting unnecessary pain. and that would violate the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. >>> when we learned last night of the death of the king of saudi arabia the "new york times" said he represented the muslim establishment. it was a hugely powerful figure and tonight our chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports on how his influence can be felt right now across this country. >> reporter: one of the richest, most powerful men in the world, king abdullah of saudi arabia was laid to rest today in a pauper's grave according to saudi tradition. a symbol that in death all are e

tom costello nbc news washington. >>> for so many of us around the country, 2015 came in like a bucket of cold water. most of the country is gripped in a deep freeze right now with nasty weather pounding the west and more of it on the way to many other parts of the nation. there's almost nowhere to hide from it. and that includes southern california. our report tonight from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: at the rose parade in pasadena the floats were covered in flowers while the people were covered in blankets. the temperature, 33 just one degree higher than the parade's record low. why many even brought their own fire pits. >> i was like okay i don't want to think about it. let me just have another log. >> reporter: despite the cold temperatures thousands of spectators showed up early, even camped out overnight so they could get the best seats possible along the parade routes. the mood is far different in du boise, wyoming. firefighters faced temps that were 25 degrees below zero. >> had problems with frozen nozzles. and as you can see around us we have a lot of ice. >> reporter: other

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following this in washington is tom costello. tom, who do the investigators think they are looking for? >> they believe at this point it's a hoax and we have probably one or several pranksters involved here and there may also be a copycats involved. they do not believe that this is a real threat to aviation. in other words, they don't believe it's a terrorist per se but listen any time you are putting planes in a situation where they are making urgent landings and bringing out, of course the police and s.w.a.t. teams and k-9 units and isolating planes and checking planes, et cetera you run a risk there might be an accident and run a risk of some passenger maybe having a cardiac case or something like that under the stress and dur he is. we're actually told that while our own investigative unit has counted somewhere in the neighborhood of two dozen of these tweeted out bomb threats over the course of the past two weeks, there may be even more than that. this is clearly a priority for the fbi. the challenge for the fbi is tracking

so far, not one bomb has been found, but nbc's tom costello tells us federal officers are taking the threat very seriously. >> reporter: the radio traffic between the tower and pilots anything but usual. >> this is fbi. just doing a check. >> the flight deck is secure. passengers are pretty well behaved. starting to get a little bit antsy. >> reporter: it's happened nearly two dozen times over the past two weeks. bomb threats posted on twitter. by someone claiming to represent isis. on january 17th, delta flight 1803 atlanta to raleigh. >> dogs sniffing us coming on and off the plane. yeah. a little crazy. >> reporter: on sunday jetblue 1006 long beach to seattle. then delta 4741 phoenix to seattle. then delta 1061 los angeles to orlando, diverted to dallas after someone tweeted, we are isis. we are here. onboard, this woman saw the tweet in the air to see that and see someone say, we are isis. we are here we're on the plane, that was absolutely terrifying because you don't really know what you're looking for. if someone looks suspicious or not. >> reporter: once on the ground to the

back to you. >> thank you, tom costello. i don't think you'll see people in the airport for the next couple of days. >>> and we'll monitoring the weather and we'll have another complete update for you in 30 minutes. in the meantime send us your photos and video but be safe about it. tweet us with the hash tag blizzard 15. >>> and pat's coach bill belichick offers up a scientific offer of deflate-gate. but does it make sense to bill nye the science guy. and here is what it looks look on the ground from the ground. (kids laughing) you know i tried one of those bargain paper towels but i had to use so many sheets per spill the roll just disappeared. i knew i should've bought bounty bounty is 2x more absorbent and strong when wet. just look how much longer bounty lasts versus one of those bargain brand towels. and that's a good deal. bounty. the long lasting picker upper and now try new bounty nfl prints. available at walmart. shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even pia

back to you. >> tom costello thank you. >>> as tom just said flight delays are quickly piling up. flightaware.com, in our area 64 flights have been grounded out of reagan national, 7 flies delayed. 3 out of dulles and 21 cancels. 6 delays at bwi marshall and 17 cancellations. and to find out where the storm is let's check in with tom kierein. >>> right now we have a battle going on between rain and snow and the battle line is right through the metro area as we look at the storm team four radar, area this green is rain, area in white is snow. and it's snowing just north of washington into montgomery county and northern fairfax county and loudoun county. that area of snow is beginning to stick now in much of fairfax county and loudoun county. and some lighter amounts where you see the darker gray that is in montgomery county, northwest washington and into frederick county virginia. and maryland. i'm back at 6:51 with the storm total forecast. >>> we're working for you on the roads to make sure you know what your commute will look like this morning. amelia segal is live in the storm

there was no fire on the train. >> tom costello reporting there. washington's metro system has a checkered safety past from back in 2009 nine people were killed, sfenlt were injured when one train slammed into another. >> help wanted. not many people responding. the upcoming police academy class for the san jose police department could be one of the smallest ever. nbc's bay area's robert honda shows us how the top brass and the rank and file are dealing with the latest blow. the san jose police department has fallen under 900 active officers and it's clear from today's numbers that help is not coming any time soon. today, nbc bay area has learned only 25 recruits have been offered spots in the upcoming police academy. 14 have resigned or retired in december. another 24 are slated to retire this month. >> recruitment efforts, officers are working hard however, in the end, the final number is what counts. those numbers, we need to improve. >> but the police union points out historically many recruits reject the offer, drop out, or graduate and then q

nbc's tom costello tells us why. >> reporter: for many americans it's suddenly getting cheaper to make the payments on their biggest investment. a year ago, a 30-year mortgage loan averaged 4.5%. today it's down to 3.81% even lower for 15-year loans. california mortgage brokers jeffzorson is swamped with rephi applications. >> rates drop add half percent in the last 60 days and everybody's running to take advantage of it. >> reporter: the lower rates mean bill and gerry grimes should save enough to renovate a bathroom. they just refinanced in december now refiing again. >> just been amazing. i didn't expect this to happen at this time, and this quickly. >> reporter: when should be refinance? experts say if interest rates are least half a percentage point lower than the rate you're currently paying it may be smart to do the math. a family way 30-year $300,000 mortgage at 4.5% pays about $1,367 a month, but at 3.8% that monthly payment drops by $150. total savings over the life of the loan $22,575, and market analysts believe interest rates will stay low or go lower over the coming month

nbc's tom costello has more from reagan national. >> reporte good day from reagan national airport. kind of a rainy day here with a few flurries but we are seeing already major operations affected at airports up and down the east coast. more than 2,000 flights cancelled today alone, and another 2,000 already cancelled pro akctively for tomorrow. boston and philly today, tomorrow listen to this newark airport already 80% of flights cancelled pro actively, because united airlines decided to avoid that airport if they can. not going to fly into or out of newark because of the snow and the storm that's coming. you can expect the same thing is likely at newark -- sorry, laguardia as well as at jfk airport. it's going to be a very tough period of air travel for the next 48 hours, 72 hours. keeping in mind of course the ripple naect will stretch across the entire country with planes out of position and people missing flights. amtrak also a big story. we've got about 720,000 people who ride the northeast corridor every day, amtrak says it's watching k5i678 ging carefully its 475 miles of tr

tom costello has more on the investigation. >> hi, joy. good day to you. for most part the metro system has been functioning normally although with some delays here and there. in all, 84 people taken to area hospitals, three in critical condition yesterday and tragically one passenger did die after the train tunnel and then the train filled with smoke, trapping passengers for nearly an hour. >> please stay calm. >> reporter: panic on the subway. a train conductor urging passengers in a smoke-filled subway car to stay calm. but for hundreds of passengers that was impossible. choking on smoke so thick they could barely see. it happened at washington's l'enfant metro station just as the evening rush hour was getting underway. a subway car stuck on the tracks. >> no electricity or visibility or nothing. >> reporter: so much smoke in the tunnel the passengers stayed in their cars, struggling to breathe. by the time firefighters arrived, some passengers were unconscious and others having seizures. >> once i got out, i can taste blood in my lungs, it was nasty. >

thank you very much tom costello. well, it is considered the longest and most difficult rock climb in the world. just a few hours from now two climbers are set to make history. you're looking at live pictures now of the dawn wall the 3,000-foot-tall granite wall of yosemite's el capitan, where two friends are inching closer to being first to ever free climb to the top. they've been inching upward with no tools or assistance other than their own hands and feet. the ropes you see are for safety, not to help pull them up. joining me now by phone is nbcnews.com reporter jim who spent the last few hours hiking up the other side. what can you see from your vantage point? >> from where i'm standing, it is a stunningly beautiful day. i'm looking over the edge into yosemite valley. from my perspective, there's no sign of the climbers but what they're doing here is really, really an epic feat. tommy caldwell and kevin jorger son are two of the best climbers on want planet. this is probably the most difficult climb they've ever

. >> tom costello joins us from the washington newsroom. they have to take this seriously, but it does appear that this is some sort of horrific joke, some prankster breaking the law and potentially causing real harm. >> incidentally we have omitted part of the tweet. there was more explicit language but we opted to not show all of that. these were direct threats against specific planes and they were saying what they plan to do to the planes. we believe by our count, we have almost two dozen flights already, two dozen over the course of two weeks by someone else's county heard earlier today there could be as many as 50. it is clearly a problem. the federal authorities tell us all indications are that this is a prank, a hoax. and then a copycat or series of copycats. they do not at this point believe this is a terrorist action. however, they have to take this extraordinarily seriously as you see by the videos. you have individuals who have to be taken off the planes and plane parked on an isolated location and bring in the fbi and local poli

for today, tom costello nbc news, washington. >> we did look around. gasÑi prices remain pretty low in the bay area. about $2.70. in oakland you'll get that for $2.65. and in san jose, a penny cheaper at $2.64 per gallon. >>> the flu shot may not be as effective this year. but experts are still saying get the vaccine anyway. the shot does not work as well this year because a strain of the flu virus mutated. this does not mean it's any more dangerous, just that there is less protection against this certain strain. >> this does not mean that you don't need to get a flu shot. it just means that it's not going to provide the same level of protection. but it will provide some protection. >> doctors say that this year's vaccine still protects against other strains of the flu that sickened lots of people last year. whether you receive the shot or not, medical experts say you should always practice good hygiene to avoid all types of germs. the good old wash your hands. >>> coming up next new names emerge as possible head coaching candidates for the 49ers and

we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: for many americans it's suddenly getting cheaper to make the payments on their biggest investment. a year ago a 30-year mortgage loan averaged 4.5%. today it's down to 3.81%, even lower for 15-year loans. california mortgage broker is swamped with re-fi applications. >> rates have dropped a half a percent in the last 60 days, and everybody's running to take advantage of it. >> reporter: the lower rates mean bill and jerry grimes should save enough to renovate a bathroom. they just refinanced in december, now they're re-fi-ing again. >> it's just been amazing. i didn't expect this to happen at this time and this quickly. >> reporter: when should you refinance? experts say if interest rates are at least half a percentage point lower than rate you're currently paying. it may be smart to do the math. a family with a 30-year $300,000 mortgage at 4.5% pays about $1367 a month. but at 3.8% that monthly payment drops by $150. total savings over the life of the loan $22,575. and market analysts believe interest rates will stay low or

. >> tom costello covers aviation and space for the news. is this a card failure in the computer? >> yes. you just heard from the man who runs the space program for nasa and he is stressing that it appears they have some anomalies and that is nasa speak that we have problems with sensors for a false alarm. they are not sure. they are keeping the crew on the russian section and they have the air latch closed not letting the americans back to the american section yet. they hope to and expect to do that probably they think by dinnertime or evening. the space station operates on gmt, not on east coast time not on russian time on gmt. so you are looking at file video. but nasa is stressing everybody on board the station is safe and it was out of an abundance of caution that they removed all six crew members, three russians and two americans and one italian over to the russian side because of the alarms which suggested there might be an ammonia leak. and that is one of three emergency scenarios that could force at band onment of the space -- the abandonment of the space station. a toxic

nbc's tom costello is at laguardia airport here in new york. tom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. good morning, west coast. when was the last time you ever saw a new york airport look like this? laguardia airport completely empty. no flight operations today at laguardia. no flight operations at newark. none at jfk, at philly, at boston. the truth of the matter is not much is moving today in the northeast. on the ground at what are normally bustling east airports, largely deserted. at jfk airport hundreds of passengers stranded after being stuck on the ramp on the plane for hours. among them, alexis dehasse. >> we then got ushered back into the area, in the terminal, and just left really to our own devices. >> reporter: thousands of flights in the northeast canceled, from pittsburgh -- >> i would rather be in the south. >> reporter: -- to newark where gina was trying to get to germany. >> airlines canceled all of our flights. i rebooked with united however i'm having issues checking in. >> reporter: laguardia's airport was a ghost town

here is nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: if you are looking for the cheapest gas, look no further than the midwest. 90% of the stations in missouri are selling regular for under $2 a gallon. nationwide gas prices are down $1.08 from where they were a year ago today. >> a gallon for regular, $2.23. remember just a month ago, we were at $2.76. >> reporter: how staggering? in 38 states motorists can find gas for less than $2 a gallon. for oil and gas analysts it is uncharted territory. >> the aspect we never witnessed before is gas prices plunging as the economy is chugging. >> reporter: what stunned global market is saudi arabia's decision to pump the oil to drive out iran and russia and the u.s. >> this seems to be the beginning of the end for opec. what we are seeing is the weaker members of opec venezuela and nigeria and libya all want saudi arabia and kuwait to turn off the spigot. >> reporter: the lower pump prices could cushion the impact in the five states that raised taxes on january 1st. pennsylvania up nearly 10 cents a gallon. in florida, up a fraction of a penny. up a penny i