Tonight, brutal, cold and blinding snow slamming the Great Lakes as this winter storm cripples the year-end travel rush.

Punishing winds, snapping trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands with no heat, and whipping up huge waves on Lake Erie.

Parts of the region, look at that, already buried under a foot of snow.

Cars covered in ice. Pl planes navigating near whiteout conditions, and the bitter cold only just beginning.

Also tonight, questions over whether the CIA conducted a covert drone strike after President Trump revealed the first known U.S. attack on Venezuelan soil.

Hospitals and doctor's offices on overdrive tonight as a strain, some call superflu,

spreads across the country.

Why, we haven't even hit the peak yet, the horrific scene on one of California's most dangerous mountains,

three hikers dead, and a treacherous recovery happening tonight as crews fight against intense win.

JFK's granddaughter and mother of two dies at 35 after a battle with cancer that touched the nation, the heartbreaking tributes honoring her tonight.

And meet the 104-year-old veteran who brought a hockey arena to its feet with his star-spangled saxophone solo.

Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Good evening. I'm Hallie Jackson,

in for Tom, and we are coming on the air tonight with millions of Americans facing an icy end to the year and a dangerous mix of record-breaking wind and blinding snow.

Look at this video out of Buffalo, where Hurricane Force gusts hit 79 miles an hour.

That's a 40-year record. This surge so intense, it whipped up these huge waves on Lake Erie,

leaving cars, you see it there, encased in ice. And this is what it looks like from above.

Planes pushing through near whiteout conditions as flight delays pile up coast to coast.

On the roads, a total mess with crews now racing to get the power and the

heat back on for thousands in the bitter cold. A brutal reminder that winter is only just beginning.

Maggie Vespa is tracking it all from Chicago. Tonight, millions of Americans facing an icy end to 2025.

Cruise racing to restore power in Buffalo after damaging winds and heavy lake-effect snow

left hundreds of thousands across the Midwest and East Coast without heat.

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