Bitter Chill Grips Nations on Eve of 2015

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AirAsia Recovery Hampered  Bad weather in the region is holding up recovery efforts in the AirAsia crash and each minute that passes will only make a somber duty tougher. After four days, searchers have pulled seven bodies from the waters, among them four men and three women, including a flight attendant still in her uniform. NBC’s Katy Tur has the latest from Surabaya, Indonesia.     Learn More

Cold Grips Nation  Millions of New Year’s Eve revelers will need to bundle up tonight as temperatures drop below freezing in 80 percent of the country. Out West, the weather has become deadly. Heavy winds killed at least two in Northern California and two others on Catalina Island. And in Southern California and Las Vegas, a sight some will never forget — snowfall on the final day of 2014.     Learn More

Shooting Tragedy  An Idaho family is dealing with a terrible tragedy this New Year’s Eve after a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother inside a Walmart with a gun she carried in her purse. The sheriff’s department says surveillance video should answer questions about whether the safety was on, but some in the community are outraged and asking a different question: How could this have happened?     Learn More

A Cry for Help  Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen from Ohio, said she was feeling isolated and depressed. Each day was getting ‘worse,’ she said on her tumblr account. Today, news of her suicide has struck a chord. In a note she left behind, the teen said her parents didn’t understand her. Her death has triggered an online plea for compassion.     Learn More

Words to Ban  Lake Superior State University has come out with its annual list of words to ban — words that are pet peeves of theirs from our everyday conversations. We couldn’t help but weigh in on some of the words topping the list, like “polar vortex” and “cra-cra.”     Learn More

In Memoriam  We’ve lost so many this year who were giants in their fields and simply made our lives richer. On this last day in 2014, we bid farewell to them and remember the defining moments they shared with all of us.     Learn More