severe storms and tornados leave extensive damage in dallas, texas. we'll have the very latest on the dough strux and deaths there. a huge, uncontained bush fire in australia. and later, pope francis prepares to hold the feast of the holy family. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell, "cnn newsroom" starts right now.

and a good day to you. we start this hour covering the severe weather that is sweeping across the united states and sending people running from their homes. >> this car is in the kitchen. >> your daughter's car is in the kitchen here, in the back of your house. >> right now. >> and the car in the driveway is in the alley. but her car is in the kitchen, and it was in the garage. >> terrifying evening in dallas, texas. at least eight people dead in the dallas metro area, following a line of powerful storms that went through the city. then in the state of california, it is fire that forced people to evacuate, due to a fast-moving wildfire that has burned nearly 500 hectares, some 1200 acres. and in the state of alabama, it's flooding. there are fears that some rivers could overflow their levees. in the past week, at least 17

deaths in tennessee, alabama, and arkansas. >> my mom had grabbed me and her boyfriend and put us in the restroom. and about the lasted about 10 to 20 seconds. went outside, it was complete darkness. around 7:30, around like 7:27, 7:15, it was complete darkness. we went around looking to see if anybody needed help. there was a family across the hall from us. the windows were shattered. the doors messed up. and we heard her, but me and my mom's boyfriend went and took the doors off to help her kids to get out. >> just to think that he was sleeping when that happened. there is a lot to cover. let's get straight to meteorologist derek van dam, where do we start? >> the danger with these nocturnal tornados, the tornados

that happen after dark, so many people are sleeping, so they can't heed the warnings that a tornado is about to hit their home or their community. that man was extremely fortunate enough to be able to hear the roar of a tornado approaching. and that was enough to jostle him awake and take his family to safety. now i want to show you some of the video of this particular tornado that moved through the dallas, texas vicinity. remember, it was not directly through the city center, but what's incredible about this is that some of the tweets that i saw from the meteorologists covering this in texas said that the width of this particular tornado was roughly a kilometer and a half, nearly one mile wide. you can imagine the path of destruction through a very populated area like dallas county, which is the second-most populated county in all of texas. you can see the flashes of electricity. that's the electrical poles being knocked over by the fury of the tornado, illuminating the

background, allowing for people to actually see for a brief moment. nature's fury with a tornado in the background. scary stuff. let's zoom into this region to show what happened. we had six reported tornados, several wind damage reports as well and large hail. of course the national weather service still has to assess the complete extent of this damage, determine on the fujita scale, which is the measurement tool they use for how destructive the tornado actually was. they'll determine, was this an ef 3, an ef 4, or a higher echelon tornado, an ef 5 that moved through the suburbs of dallas-ft. worth. an extremely complex weather system moving through the central u.s. at the moment. we industrial ongoing severe weather threats into sunday and monday once again, slowly shifting eastward. eastern texas, that means houston, even in the new orleans

area. we are wrapping in cold air on the backside. that is enough to change it from rain to the frozen variety. that's going to create travel nightmares and headaches, especially for all the holiday makers. and on top of that we have moisture-laden air, that the potential for flooding exists once again. we talked about alabama and the flooding that they received. well, this time it's st. louis. and the destinations around that particular area. here's a look at the latest weather warnings across the united states. winter storms from iowa, blizzard threats, a full-on blizzard expected across the texas panhandle, stretching west ward into the eastern sections of new mexico. and there's the rainfall totals. george, another 10 inches of rain on top of an already saturated environment means flooding will happen once again. >> you know, people, i'm sure, were hoping for a break, but it looks like the severe weather

threat continues. >> and the timing couldn't be worse. >> we'll stay in touch with you. from the damage you saw there, you can tell that many of the victims of those storms are now homeless. if you'd like to help out, can you go to our website at cnn.com/impact. you can get information there on what you can do. now on to wildfires in two continents. first in california where a dutch tourist shot video where she managed to escape a fire with her family. goodness. that family just attended the christmas day basketball game between two los angeles nba teams when they found themselves trapped in the wildfire. the sylla marr fire has burned

nearly 60 hectares. >> reporter: within hours it turned into an inferno in the hills of ventura county, colorado. hundreds jumping into the sky and on land to deal with the burning brush. it crowed down a section of one of the most picturesque highways. it closed down 101, a workhorse of a highway. >> these homes are right along the sea shore. i mean, if you step out the back yard, your feet are wet. but this fire just happened to blow down right at the sylamar area. there was a field bed long enough to carry toward those homes. we fortunate, we recognized the threat immediately and deployed engines and successfully defended those structures. >> reporter: the fire burned hundreds of acres which lies

between santa barbara and malibu, population nearly 850,000. evacuations have been ordered. as the fire burns closer and closer to homes and structures. and a worse scenario looms. ventura county is home to an oil field. it's conceivable the fire could make its way there. >> if you look up on the hillside you can see a lot of smoke. whether we open something up is still a dynamic situation and it could change, even if we do open up the roadways, it's still not a contained fire. so i just want to caution is that any openings that do happen is subject to being closed again if the fire changes direction. >> reporter: firefighters are working to head off disaster. unfortunately, after the worst drought in 100 years, this is a scene that is sure to be repeated far too many times in 2016. >> that was cnn correspondent sara sidner reporting for us. and in australia, firefighters are working to fully contain bush fires in

victoria state. the fires had been subdued, but not before destroying nearly 100 homes. parts of great ocean road, a popular scene eck highway were also shut down. emergency officials say dry conditions could cause more fires. and for more on these fires, i'm joined by cnn producer, joel lobby, and joel from australia, you can obviously tell us what's happening there. >> the late east terminology that they are using is that this blaze is subdued but not contained yet. what we can read into is that they have some sort of control over the flames. there isn't enough wind to make it a threat to anymore homes for the time being. but new year's eve, new year's day, that is the time period of most concern to them. because temperatures in australia, temperatures in victoria, i should say, are going to be hitting the mid to high 30s celsius, over 100 degrees fahrenheit, and that coupled with potentially stronger winds could really fan this blaze out.

they're talking that some of these flames may not even be put out until late january, early february, which is extraordinary. and we have 116 homes already destroyed. that beautiful landscape is totally scorched in areas. and you're talking about route 101 in california. you've got the sea on one side and mountains on the other. picture this in australia, and you have almost a carbon copy. it's a very similar situation to what you saw in california in australia. >> 116 homes destroyed. but for those people whose homes are no more, what happens with them now? >> this is the worst part about a bush fire. we should say thankfully, no one has lost their life. it is important to stress that, because in the past, bush fires have proven fatal in australia. but this is a really heartbreaking situation, taking the locals of lawn and y river

to properties that were once gorgeous, overlooking the sea, and now nothing more than charred ruins. have a listen to what they said. they were absolutely traumatized. >> understandably, just really wanted to sort of look and take it in and really all you can do is try and support them. we won't be letting people back in. we won't be able to if it's not safe to. >> hmm, and as you can hear, george, it just isn't safe at the moment. even to be let in that area, the flames may have been subdued, but, again, not under control. and until firefighters say it is safe to go back in, there's no telling how long that could be. they've even canceled a music fist val which usually attracts 15,000 to 20,000 people a year. they've had to move that well

away, an hour away from where it's usually held because the threat is so potent right now. >> they have planning. they prepare for these things. joel lobby, thank you for your reporting there. now on to northern china where a thick, lingering haze has caused several car crashes. pileups involving dozens of trucks caused a huge backup on saturday. firefighters had to save people who were trapped inside their vehicles. a few people were even sent to hospitals. no word yet on the extent of those injuries. you're watching "cnn newsroom," and still to come in just a few minutes, we will take you live to italy where pope francis is celebrating the feast of the holy family inside the vat can. plus, iraqi forces make a gain in their fight against isis. stay with us. this is "cnn newsroom"

especially, the pizza! about football is here... up your game with two large two-topping pizzas for only $7.77 each. better ingredients. better pizza. papajohns.com and welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. it is a busy holiday schedule for pope francis. at this hour, he is in vatican

city, celebrating the feast of the holy family. the mass is devoted to the holy family of jesus, mary and joseph, held at st. peter's basilica. john allen joins us. so the pope, he is there. very important moment. the family is a very important issue to him. what should we be looking for? >> reporter: well, good morning, george, happy holidays to you from a gorgeous, slightly chilly rome. pope francis, as you said, is celebrating this mass for the holy family. this is part of a special jubilee year of mercy that the pope has called for. he's actually asked catholic basilicas all across the world where they have holy doors to conduct their own masses for families, and all of this underscores how important the family is as a theme to pope francis. he's convened two extraordinary

summits of catholic bishops from around the world called synods where they've wrestled with very tough questions, whether divorced and civilly remarried catholics should be able to receive communion, the right tone in talking about gay and lesbian relationships. people living outside of marriage. sometime very soon, pope francis is expected to issue a major document, perhaps as early as february, dealing with all of that. we don't expect him to wade into all that this morning. we expect this will be a very pastoral message, a positive treatment of the beauty of the family and the important of families praying together and so on. so it's kind of a chance, george, for the pope to catch his breath and go pos touitive before he has to make some very, very tough decisions, george. >> i'd like to switch now to talk about the climate of the world we live in right now, given the threats of terrorism, the threats across europe and the united states and elsewhere

around the world. what is the vatican doing to basically keep people safe? anything exceptional? >> yeah, there was a report, actually, out of austria yesterday, about possible terrorist strikes in major european cities that has had an echo here in vatican city. the vatican has taken additional measures, technically in light of the paris attacks. they've deployed additional security personnel around st. peter's square, the metal scans to get into the basilica have become more string gent, which has to some extent lengthened the lines to get into major papal events. they are taking it seriously, but they also insist that pope francis is not going to be slowed down by any of this. and certainly, all indications are that this is a pope that is not allowing fears for his personal security to get in his way. recently, he took a trip to the central african republic. the first time in recent memory

that a apope has visited an active war zone. one way or another he was going to get there. this is a pope who is cognizant of the realities around the world but at the same time does not intend to allow that to get in his way. >> the pope's schedule goes on, and today he celebrates an important moment, john allen, thank you so much for your insight there in rome. iraqi forces are gaining ground against isis fighters in the strategic city of ramadi. after intense fighting there, government troops now control areas near the city's center. they've defused a lot of booby traps and rescued 120 families who were trapped in the fighting there. meanwhile, an iraqi air force strike on the city has killed one major isis commander. for the very latest on the fight for ramadi, let's turn to robin creel who joins us live from london. what's the very latest on the

fight there in ramadi? i understand that they are trying to secure another district there. >> reporter: yes, we believe that they have secured another district, the al huz district. they're about 500 meters away from this crucial isis-controlled government compound that when they gain control of that is when we believe they will really start advancing and securing other parts of the city. but that's really the main focus and has been the main focus of this push. they have killed one isis fighter, a high-level isis militant in an airstrike. they've also, according to iraqi security forces, jo joint comma they've captured a fighter named abu bakr, not to be confused with abu bakr baghdadi. they have been able to get

intelligence on the number of fighters still waiting it out. we have heard there were 300 to 500 isis fighters willing to fight to the death. >> while you're speaking we see images as they try to secure that city. but as the fighting continues, there are civilians in the middle of this. talk to us about the civilians caught up in the crossfire. how are they faring, given what's happening. >> reporter: as you see in the video, heavy fighting which would be extremely dangerous for civilian families. many who were not allowed to leave, inevitably to be used as human shields. they were given opportunities to leave. the allied forces, the security forces dropped leaflets on the sunday before this surge began and were asked to leave, but many were prevented from leaving by isis to be used as human shields. some lucky families have been

allowed safe passage by the iraqi forces. they were asked to raise white flags outside their homes and granted safe passage. about 120 families have been rescued so far. but given the fierce clashes, it looks inevitable that there will be some civilian toll as well in this fight. >> robyn kriel, thank you. rebels in northern syria have captured a major dam from isis fighters. it sits 14 miles from the isis stronghold of raqqah. it is a major power-generation point and part of the key supply line into the strategic city. >> everybody's been focussed on that supply route between mosul and raqqah. this cuts off the supply line from turkey down into raqqah. this is critical. and that dam control, it's the

major generating capability and controls the water of the euphrates river. this will be a big blow to isis and is yet one more step in what the coalition has to do to isolate them so they can finally kick them out of iraq and syria. everybody's been focussed on what's going on in ramadi, what has to happen in mosul, but this is also a key piece of the puzzle. >> could be a key blow to their so-called capital. the same group of rebels is claiming other victories in northern syria as well. they say they took over more than eight villages since friday night. there is a new audio message, purportedly from abu bakr al baghdadi that surfaced on isis-affiliated social media over the weekend. the last reporting from the shadowy commander is always way back in may. cnn has the latest on this new

message. >> reporter: it's 24 minutes left, and it's called "wait", because we along with you are waiting. it speaks to judgment day from the koran. but it seems to follow the standard dissemination for isis videos. it has a morale boost for isis fighters, and baghdadi makes a big recruitment pitch. the second big focus is on the israel israel israeli/palestinian conflict. he says isis will surround

israel. there have been arrests of people trying to join isis or spread isis propaganda, but the numbers are fairly small. what's interesting about this message is what's not in it. he makes no reference to attacks in paris or the downing of the plane. it opens up some questions about when this message was recorded. still ahead, an update on severe flooding and damage across southern states of the u.s. plus heavy rain in england on boxing day, forcing hundreds of people from their homes. live from atlanta this hour, you are watching cnn worldwide.

a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom." great to have you with us this day. i'm george howell, the headlines we are following. at least eight people are dead after a powerful storm system swept through the state of texas. officials believe at least five people, five of those killed were struck by a tornado while inside their vehicles. rain driven by powerful winds is expect the to turn to snow later on sunday. iraqi forces say they are now firmly in control of a key part of the city of ramadi. troops have been fighting isis forces there in brutal combat efforts since many days and have dismantled a large number of bobby trbo booby traps there.

rebels in northern syria say they have captured a strategic dam from isis fighters. it sits 14 miles up the y euphrates river from raqqah. and at the vatican, poep francis is celebrating the feast of the holy family. the theme of the family has been a major priority of pope francis who has devoted the last two synods of bishops to t. several states are dealing with the aftermath of severe flooding during the christmas holiday. some states hit record level of rainfall and led to floods and damage to homes and caused at least 17 deaths. cnn correspondent nick valencia has more. >> reporter: over the course of the last few days, portions of the southeastern united states have been absolutely battered by

a string of storms. mississippi, alabama, tennessee, and georgia all hit hard in portions of their state. the bad news is more storms could be yet to come. severe weather batters several southern states. heavy rains hammer parts of alabama. the water made some roads impassable. rescue crews helping residents trapped in their homes. >> the damage was done, was confined to approximately one square mile. we have three structures, three houses that collapsed. we transported one person from the scene. there were two others that were removed from the structure. but we reported no injuries. >> reporter: alabama's governor declared a state of emergency because of widespread flooding, at least 117 homes overcome by water. in georgia, the rain damaged roads and made driving treacherous. and in mississippi, flood warnings and relentless rain add

more misery to areas already devastated by tornados that killed at least eight people in the state. many roads are flooded. and some people are dealing with rising water in their homes. in rend, mississippi, victor and theresa watched that is home of ten years was overtaken by water. >> the trailer just floated away. garbage can, everything, gone. >> it happened so fast. >> reporter: the couple and their 9-year-old son now homeless and staying with relatives. >> it's discouraging. we lost everything. my child, he didn't get none of his chas eristmas items. >> reporter: the storm prediction center says the thre severe threat has dropped. the storm has called more misery in parts of england. hundreds of homes had to be

evacuated. martha fairley has a look at some of the worst-hit areas. >> reporter: the boxing day deluge had been predicted, but there was nothing homeowners could do to stop the rising water. at one point, 15,000 homes were left without electricity. the water side restaurant which had stood for over 200 years, another casualty of the rising river levels. and in radcliff, a gas main exploded. in lancashire the roads flooded. some families who were evacuated returned this evening to assess damage and salvage possessions. but the cleanup here will take months. >> this is the first time we've been in this state.

robert's been here 50 years. hugh et has been here 20 years and never, this is totally unprecedented. >> reporter: efforts to keep the waters at bay were seemingly futile and the army was drafted in. >> believe' be we've been going to the houses and asking people to leave, helping them to evacuate their property or registering whether they say they want to leave. and taking their information. >> there we go. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: the force of the floodwaters swept away the red rocks foot bridge on the river darwin. while in dell, homeowners attempted to bail out their properties as the river levels continued to rise. parts of manchester city central

were submerged. the m-62 motor way were shut after a sinkhole appeared. with it continuing to fall this evening, residents are wondering when it will all end. martha fairley, itv news, lancashire. and more flooding to tell you about. four latin american countries are reeling from the worst flooding from years. more than 100,000 people have evacuated in uruguay, argentina and brazil. heavy rains caused rivers to surge past their banks. authorities say it is part of the el nino weather pattern. they are trying to free up millions of dollars in relief funds. in china, on saturday, this was the scene, a memorial held for victims. more than 70 people missing are

now feared dead. it's been a week since a landslide swallowed buildings there. russia has been in the international spotlight for much of 2015, and some of our cnn correspondents sat down to discuss that nation's role over the past year. >> russia literally acts with impunity on a global stage and gets people wagging their fingers at them. i mean, there's nothing that's stopping any of it. and either the west, the u.s. actually needs to step it up or say, you know what? we're getting out. >> we're done. >> there are a lot of potential challenges that could come with not only russia intervening in syria right now and continuing to -- >> flex its muscles?

>> and also continue the anti-american rhetoric. the ukraine conflict could flare up at any moment. >> but it's also at the responsibility of a weak, aging regime. its demographics aren't doing well, economy isn't doing particularly well, who's reaching out to foreign adventures. >> but it's worked. look at them. >> it's really worked. putin has, for better or for worse, you can make that argument, but he has certainly commanded the world's attention. there's no question that he has kind of filled a void that america has pulled back from. and with a pretty negative impact, i think, from what we've seen in ukraine and now in syria and elsewhere. >> putin operates without transparency. he doesn't have congress to worry about or the media asking him uncomfortable questions. >> no checks and balances. >> just when you look at all the

problems he faces they can't operate, it's a different set of cards. >> there's no shared language almost. >> one day he will no longer be the president of russia. >> for the time being, there's a guy with apparently limitless power who likes to throw something in the works. >> but it works. >> unexpected consequences. >> there is nothing that's stopping any of t and either, you know, the werks the u.s. actually needs to step it up or say, you know what? we're getting out. you can't do this in between thing anymore. >> as someone from a former colony, i find that very worrying. the expectation that a super power is the police of the world comes with a lot of expectation of what the return is going to be. >> if america is not going to be the police of the world, don't be the police of the world, and

stop promising people. >> obama's made it clear he doesn't want to be the police of the world. >> then don't set red lines. >> the middle eastern dream of non-american intervention has finally happened and they're not happy about it, frankly. >> great deal of work from those correspondents. police in serbia have arrested at least 79 people on corruption charges in the country's biggest anti-corruption investigation to happen in decades. among those arrested, a former serbian cabinet minister. those detained had embezzled a combination of $70 million since 2004. serbian authorities hope the crackdown might help the country's case for joining the european union. you're watching "cnn newsroom." still ahead, with the first u.s. democratic primary coming,

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as the first u.s. democratic primary approaches, hillary clinton is getting ready to use the one advantage that none of her democratic rivals can replicate. that is someone who has been at the white house before, her husband, bill clinton, will soon join her campaign trail. >> starting in january, i will have my not-so-secret weapon. [cheers and applause] . >> reporter: when bill clinton was a did tcandidate running fo white house, he said you get two for the price of one. now the only candidate having a

spouse nwho has been in the whie house -- >> and she's the best-qualified person for the times. >> she sure is. >> thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: but the last time he stumped for his wife, the results were mixed. in 2008, amid a tight race with barack obama, bill clinton played a prominent role, campaigning for hillary in early key primary states. but along with the large and enthusiastic crowds came a series of verbal miss miscues. >> give me a break. this is the biggest fairy tale i've ever seen. >> reporter: and days later, an off the cuff comment suggesting that skin color was a key factor in winning the primary there. >> jesse jackson won in '84 and '88. >> reporter: questions arose whether he was doing more harm

than good, and though he remained on the trail through the later primaries, he was tightly guarded, kept on script and away from the media. but how do you say no to a man who was revered among democrats and whose pen chant for delivering a memorable line cannot be understated. >> i always give a one-word answer. arithmetic. >> reporter: a lot has changed since bill clinton's successful run when hillary was kritded for standing by her man as charges of infidelity dogged him. this time, hillary is the candidate, bill is the spouse and chelsea is a mom. >> it's a little more complicated with him because people still call former presidents "mr. president". >> right. >> i have to really work on this. >> the first president lady

would be -- >> the first dude, the first mate, the first gentleman. >> does the first lady typically pick out a new china pattern? >> typically, yes. >> will bill do that while you're actually in china? will he be selecting it? >> bill clinton has not been invisible during his wife's run. he's attended a handful of it campaign events and quietly raising money for the campaign. but now, as we enter the final stretch to iowa and the primaries, you can expect to see the former president back in the spotlight. joe johns, cnn, washington. republican presidential candidate donald trump took to twitter to criticize clinton's campaign move, tweeted, quote, hillary clinton has announced that she is letting her husband out to campaign, but he's demonstrated a pen chant for sexism, so inappropriate. he has used the same of him in a

recent interview. just ahead here on "cnn newsroom," the search for biblical wine. >> on top of 4,000 lease iters wine. >> we'll see the process behind recreating the wine that jesus drank. the story ahead.

wine lovers get ready for this story. the bible is full of references to wine. jesus himself is said to have made wine out of water. and winemakers near the birthplace of jesus are trying to recreate what he drank. here's oren lieberman. >> reporter: christmas in bethlehem, a celebration of the birth of christ, the beginning of the new testament. at a monetary nearby, they craft a key component of man owe a biblical story, wine as made during the time of esus. >> we are concentrating on making the wine. >> and the history comes with it? >> the history comes with it,

and hopefully god is happy with our work. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the wine making process has come a long way since biblical times, with stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. i've never sat on 4,000 liters of wine before. tradition and history part of every bottle. >> when you say jesus drank from this wine, it means a huge thing, so you have to, you have to continue on making this wine better and better every year. >> reporter: this was the first winery in the region to return to making wine from only local grapes, the same as used thousands of years ago. >> it grows only here in our country. >> reporter: we poured tasting, i admit, not the first or last tasting on this story. then a sniff. smells good. swirl. fresh, ripe.

sip. and enjoy. and has that fresh, ripe taste to match. at a university, researchers traced the genetic vine to discover which grapes are native to the holy land. >> when finding an archaeological finding of seed occurs, 99% of the time it's burned. the seeds are actually charred. this is the reason that they were preserved. >> reporter: you can see the right seed is burned, it's darker and a little more shrivelled. and on the left is a modern-day, fresh, merlot seaed. >> exactly. >> reporter: harvey feldstein shows us his grapes.

there were heavy restrictions on grapes for hundreds of years under the ottoman empire. >> you can still find a few edible berries. >> reporter: the grapes that survived were table grapes. so the wine from this grape could be the wine that jesus drank. >> exactly. >> reporter: there's a tremendous sweetness to it, but it's overripe now. the for instanrench have a word describes the place where the wine is from. what does that mean here? >> a sense of the wine. >> reporter: a sense of people, place, and crucially, of history. there is tremendous marketing potential here, a wine from biblical times, a wine that jesus drank, being bottled once again. oren lieberman, cnn, the holy land. four police officers a -- f officers, a day on the job can

bring many moments. one had a story with what ended up in his squad car. >> suddenly i felt something hit the left side of my face. then i felt scratching on the back of my head and picking. >> that's the guy involved. an owl was responsible. after the officer nearly crashed the car trying to stop, the owl refused to leave the scene of the crime for a solid 45 minutes. but eventually, he flew out of the window, and the officer and his cruiser both escaped with minor injuries. at least, it seems like everyone got a hoot out of what happened there. sorry. thanks for joining us. i'm george howell at the cnn center in atlanta. i'll be back after the break with more news from around the world. you're watching cnn, the world's news leader.

floods, tornados, wildfires and more. we are following the mayhem caused by extreme weather and untold damage in the united states and beyond. are two clintons more p persuasive than one? donald trump lashes out against hillary's campaign companion. and what would jesus drink? from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome. to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell, "cnn newsroom" starts right now.

and a good day to you. we start with the extreme weather around the world this day from tornados to flooding and wildfires. in australia, fire officials say a mammoth bush fire might keep burning into the new year. four latin-american countries are reeling from the worst flooding they've seen in years. more than 100,000 people have evacuated their homes in pair g -- uruguay and argentina and brazil. and in california, people are evacuating from this fire. in the southern state of alabama, there are fears that some rivers may overflow their levees. and in texas, eight deaths are now eye triattributed to a storm credited for at least one

tornad tornado. there has been significant damage reported in the dallas metro area. one family described how they were simply lucky to get out of their home alive. >> this car is in the kitchen. her car's in the garage. it's in the kitchen. >> in the back of your house. >> right now. >> and my uncle's car was in the driveway, it's out around to the alley. but her car was in the kitchen, and it was in the garage. >> from texas to northern england, floods are causing misery there. david cameron will convene a cabinet meeting to discuss the situation. flood warnings are in effect and hundreds of homes have been evacuated. itn's martha fairley has a look at some of the worst-hit arias. >> reporter: the boxing day deluge was predicted but there was nothing homeowners could do to stop the rising water. at one point, 15,000 homes were without power.

a building that had stood tall for over 200 years on the banks of the river, another casualties of the rising river levels. and in radcliff, a gas main exploded. in lancashire water flooded the main road, cutting the village in two and flooding homes and businesses. some returned home this evening to salvage possessions and assess the damage, but the cleanup will take months >> this is the first time we've been in this state. robert's been here 50 years, hewett shackleton, 50 years. >> reporter: efforts to keep the rising water at bay were presumably futile. and emergency services and the army were drafted in. >> we've been knocking on doors,

asking people to leave, telling them of the situation and registering their response to help them evacuate or registering whether they say they don't want to leave and taking their information. >> there we go. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: the force of the floodwaters swept away the rid rocks flood bridge on the river darwin. while, in dell, the river continued to rise. parts of manchester city center were flooded as the river burst its banks. a month's worth of rain has already come down over the course of one day, and with it continuing to fall this evening, residents are wondering when it will all end.

martha fairley. several states are dealing with the aftermath of severe flooding during the christmas holiday. some states even hit record levels of rainfall leading to flooding which damaged hundreds of homes and caused at least 17 deaths. nick valencia has more. >> reporter: over the course of the past few days, portions of the southern u.s. have been battered by a string of storms, mississippi, tennessee, alabama and georgia all hit hard. the bad news is, more storms could be yet to come. severe weather battered several southern states. heavy rain battered parts of alabama. the water maid some roads impassable. rescue crews helping residents trapped in their homes. >> the damage was confined to approximately one square mile. we have three structures, three houses that collapsed. we transported one person from

the scene. there were two others that were removed from the structures but reported no injuries. >> reporter: alabama's governor has declared a state of emergency from flooding. at least 117 homes overcome by water. and in georgia, water flooded roads and made driving treacherous. in mississippi, flooding adds more misery to areas devastated by tornados that killed at least eight people in the state. many roads are flooded and some people are dealing with rising water in their homes. in rend, mississippi, victor and tamika watched as their home of ten years was overtaken by water. >> the lawnmower, the trailer, the garbage can, everything gone. >> reporter: the couple and their 9-year-old son homeless and staying with relatives. >> it's discouraging, we lost

everything. and my child, he didn't get none of his christmas items. >> reporter: the risk for violent weather has dropped dramatically, but the threat is still out there. nick valencia, cnn, atlanta. >> of get a sense of the destruction and the path. where do we start? >> the calamity is across the world. and the united states has its fair share at the moment. and there was a tornado in dallas that was particularly bad late saturday evening, about 6:45 local time. it's considered a knonocturnal tornado. not only can you not see it, but sometimes people are sleeping, so you can't heed the warnings. it brought a lot of nightmares to reality. some storm spotters spotted this and took this footage that's behind my.

look at the power lines and the electricity getting snapped from the strength and the fury of the tornado just illuminating in the background thayer. you can see just how wide the tornado is. almost a mile wide, according to reports that i've been looking around twitter and the national weather service coming out of that area. and it has been an extremely active night, and i hate to say this, but it doesn't look as if it's over for eastern texas, not particularly dallas, but i'm talking houston, into louisiana region. more on that in a second. boxing day, we saw six reported tornados, one lone tornado in oklahoma as well. the national weather service still has to assess the damage, once that first glimpse of sun starts to peek its head over the horizon early on sunday morning. then we'll start to see the extent of the damage that took place. this is the radar. that's the actual tornado super cell that moved through the dallas ft. worth metro area. fortunately, it didn't make its

way through the actual city center, but nonetheless, it still went through an extremely populated part of that region, dallas county being the second most populated area of texas. let me try and break it for you to show you what's happening next. severe storms slide ever so slightly to the east. the cold air behind it changing the precipitation from rain to frozen variety. a full-blown blizzard expected across the panhandle of texas and oklahoma. houston, shreveport, little rock, jackson, new orleans, you're notice firing line four the potential of tornados, damaging winds and large hail. so take the necessary precaution now. prepare yourself for later on sunday evening when we get the heating from the sun, that's

when we see the storms develop. we've extended the watch into michigan and wisconsin, for freezing rain. and there's our blizzard warning, texas and oklahoma. get this, we could have three to five-foot snowdrifts by the time this though is said and done. on top of that we have a saturated environment. we've been talking about flooding. there is more rain to come, localized ten hinches on the ground. st. louis, look out, you've got the possibility of heavy rainfall and flooding as well. there's the setup going into monday. people heading back to work perhaps or sell greating a little extra long for the holidays, people will want to pay attention to the forecast. >> and especially at night. i remember covering a tornado at night when you can't see it. and the best thing you can see, you can see when the tornado hits the power lines, you can

hear the sirens, but you don't now where that thing is. >> it only illuminates the tornado for a brief second and goes back to its darkness. >> thankfully, when people can get out of the way and keep in touch with people like you who are tracking it. and obviously, from the damage you saw, many of the victims from these storms are now homeless. if you'd like to help, go to our website, cnn.com/impact to get information on what can you do. turning now wildfires on two different continents, first in california wherele sylmar fire has burned about 1200 hectares and is now 60% contained. sara sidner has the story. >> reporter: the holiday interrupted by a ferocious brush fire. within hours it turned into an inferno in the hills of ventura county, california. hundreds jumping into action in

sky and land to deal with a terrible combination, drought-stricken land, strong winds and bring tttle burning b. it closed down one of the most picturesque highways in the state. and 101, a workhorse of a highway. >> these homes are right along the sea shore. if you step out the back yard, your feet are wet. but this fire just happened to burn right down the sylmar area. there was a fuel bed long enough to carry toward those homes. we fortunate to recognize the threat immediately and deployed engines into that area and successfully defended those structures. >> reporter: the fire burning hundreds of acres which lies between santa barbara and malibu. population nearly 850,000. evacuations have been ordered as the fire burns closer and closer to homes and structures. and an even worse scenario

looms. >> ventura county is home to an oil field. it is conceivable the fire could make its way there. >> you can see a lot of smoke. whether we open something up, it's still a dynamic situation. and it could change, even if we do open up the roadways is that it's still not a contained fire. so i just want to caution is that any openings that do happen, that is subject to being closed again if the fire changes direction. >> reporter: firefighters are working to head off disaster, unfortunately, after the worst drought in 100 years, this is a scene sure to be repeated far too many times in 2016. >> that was cnn's sara sidner reporting for us. and now to australia where crews are working to fully contain brush fires that destroyed at least 100 homes in victoria state. the fire has also shut down part of the great ocean road, a popular scenic highway. officials are warning that dry conditions could make the

situation with the fires worse and cause more fires. for more on this, let's bring in cnn producer joel lobby. you are from australia and can give us a sense of what's happening. what's the latest? >> the latest is that the fire authorities are saying that the fire is subdued, but not under control. so what they're looking at at the moment is containing, building containment lines around these towns south of lawn, a very popular tourist area. they're trying to make sure the flames don't spread. new year's eve and new year's day, they're expecting over 100 degrees fahrenheit. these are conditions that if the winds whip up, this is just, could be a catastrophic fire condition. and the blaze is already big enough. i just want to let you know that the intensity of the blaze as well, the emergency management commissioner who is essentially heading up the operation to stop

this blaze said the other day that the run of this blaze and its intensity would have surely cost lives in the past, which found extraordinary, because everybody was able to clear out. we've had massive home losses, but a few years ago, without these management preparations that we've got now, the outcome could have been much worse. so we're looking, now, at planning, preparing, hopefully new year's eve, new year's day, the conditions are a little bit calm calmer than what they're hoping for. >> you have 116 homes that have been lost, what about the people who don't have homes? >> this is the worst part of the bush fire. you get out alive only to find out that everything you own is now gone. what the fire crews were doing yesterday was taking people on tours of the fire-devastated areas, because it's unsafe to go back there. we heard from the emergency commissioners as well and the

people handling the situation out there, just how traumatizing this loss is on people who have lost everything. >> choked up about it, understandably. just really wanted to just sort of look and take it in and really all you can do is try and support them. we won't be letting people back in. we won't be able to if it's not safe to. >> and that just goes back, george, to what i was saying earlier, that this blaze could flare up at any moment. the amount of land that it has scorched is huge at this stage. and we can only hope that the conditions are more favorable in the days to come. and the way that they're looking at it now, two-thirds of the town still remain standing, and they want to keep it that way. >> joel labi, thank you. >> you're watching "cnn newsroom." and still ahead, iraqi forces score a victory against isis.

ahead, we'll have the latest in the fight for ramadi. plus our cnn correspondents sit down to discuss russia's role this year on the international stage and the impact around the world. this is cnn. discover card. hi! so it says here i can redeem my cashback bonus for cash. do i need to have a certain amount? nope, you can redeem your cashback for any amount, any time. that's great. yeah, you can use it for a statement credit or even get the cash. nice. i could use that extra cash for a last-minute gift.

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. the world may be hearing from

the isis leader, abu bakr al baghdadi for the first time since may. a message appeared over the weekend. meanwhile, rebels in northern syria have capture add major dam from the terror group. the dam is about 22 kilometers or 14 miles from raqqah, making it a significant tactical victory. isis forces are closing in on isis positions in the middle of ramadi. they have been in the middle of a battle for the city. more than 100 families have been rescued. meanwhile, an airstrike has killed an isis commander. let's go to robyn kriel who joins us from london. what is the latest in this effort to retake all of ramadi? >> reporter: well, we know in

addition to that airstrike that killed a fairly high-level commander, that iraqi forces on the ground in ramadi are slowly edging toward taking the city center have captured one high-level commander on the ground alive. they say his name is abu bakr, not to be confused with abu bakr al baghdadi, the leader. they say that he is providing intelligence. we understood there were 300 to 500 foreign fighters in ramadi who are allegedly supposed to be fighting to the death. but we do know that they have suffered some losses. 20 on the first day when the initial onslaught was launched by the iraqi forces when they crossed over that bridge and took several districts from the city and moving north toward the crucial city center. they're about half a kilometer, we understand from this crucial

city center where the government compound used to be, where now isis's stronghold is. >> and, as these forces continue their push again to retake all of the city, obviously, there are people, civilians who are caught in the crossfire, and what do we know about helping and secure these families? >> reporter: it wasn't an operation over in a matter of hours. even though it was just a few blocks that they have to retake. they are controlling about three quarters of the city at the moment. so about 30% still in the isis militants' hands, but the reason it's taking so long to secure the city is because of both the bob e booby traps. isis has had a long time to prepare the city. but also because of civilians. isis prevented a number of civilians, at least 10,000, we

understand, from leavinleaving. so those people will be caught in the crossfire. they have rescued about 120 families thus far. they're allowing them safe passage out of the city, out of the isis stronghold, but they do believe there are still many, many more inside and are asking families to raise white flags outside of their homes so that the iraqi forces do not believe it would be an isis home. that it would be civilians. >> making progress, but nonetheless, a kpri cased situation that they're dealing with. robyn kriel joining us live from london. thank you for your reporting. and a step toward a potential peace. the united nations hopes to convene syria as warring parties for talks as pledged in a security resolution that was adopted over a week ago. syria has been embroiled in a civil war for now almost five years. the u.n. special envoy for syria says he hopes the assad

government, the rebel opposition and countries supporting either side are willing to come together. the peace talks are now set for january 25th, to be held in geneva. now to russia's role in the fight against isis and the syria peace process. it has changed the whole foreign policy dynamic, and now it puts russia and its president, vladimir putin, once again on the international stage. some of our correspondents sat down to talk about that nation's role over the past year. listen. >> russia, literally acts with impugn its on a global stage and gets people wagging their fingers at them. i mean, there's nothing that's stopping any of it. either the west, the u.s. actually needs to step it up or say, you know what? we're getting out. >> we're done. ♪ >> there are a lot of potential

challenges that could come with not only russia intervening in syria right now and continuing to -- >> flex its muscles. >> flex its muscles but continue the anti-american rhetoric, but the ukraine conflict could flare up at any moment, but it's at the expense of a weak, aging regime. it's sad, because you are seeing a population's demographics aren't doing particularly well, whose economy isn't doing well, reaching out trying to assume a certain relevance. >> but it's worked. it's really worked. putin has, for better or for worse, you can make that argument, but he has certainly commanded the world's attention. there's no question that he has kind of filled a void that america has pulled back from. and with a pretty negative impact, i think, from what we've seen in ukraine and now in syria and elsewhere. >> putin operates without

transparency. he doesn't have congress to worry about, the media asking him uncomfortable questions. >> no checks and balances. >> he just does what he wants the next day. >> when you look at obama with all the problems he faces, they can't operate. >> there's no shared language almost. >> one day he may no longer be the president of russia. >> for the time being, there's a guy with apparently limitless power who likes to throw something in the works. >> it's relevance, again. there is nothing that's stopping any of it. and either, you know, the west, the u.s. actually needs to step it up. or say, you know what? we're getting out. >> year' done. >> you can't do this in between thing anymore. >> i find that narrative very worrying. because the expectation that a super power should be the police of the world comes with a lot of expectations of what the return is going to be. >> if america is not going to be

the police of the world, then don't be the police of the world. stop promising or inadvertently promising -- >> president obama has made it clear he doesn't want to be the police offer t the world. >> then you can't set red lines. >> the middle eastern dream of non-american intervention in the region has finally happened, and they're not particularly happy about it, frankly. >> a great dieal of insight fro correspondents who have covered it. and hillary clinton looks to cement her lead with a very unique advantage. detailings ahead, plus, we takeu to rome for the final mass of 2015 as pope francis celebrates the holy family. this broadcast continues live around the world on cnn worldwide.

a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom." good to have you with us. i'm george howell. the headlines we following for you this hour. at least eight people are dead after a powerful storm system swept through the state of texas. officials believe at least five people, five of those killed were struck by a tornado while inside their vehicle. rain driven by powerful winds is expected to turn to snow later on sunday. hopes are dimming in shenzhen, china for the more than 70 people missing from last week's landslide. the death toll is now at seven. this memorial you see here was held in their honor. buildings were crushed last sunday when a massive pile of

construction debris gave out. officials there blame the disaster on safety violations. beginning january 1st, china will officially end its decades old, controversial one-child policy. lawmakers approve add new law, allowing couples to have two children. the change comes in ponce to that country's aging population. and at the vatican pope francis has wrapped up his homily for the last sunday mass of 2015, the feast of the holy family. and in fact, family has been a major theme for the pope with the last two synods of bishops in that theme. let's go to john allen. good to have you there on what seems to be a beautiful, but you say chilly day in rome. john, let's talk about the issue of the family, a very important issue to the pope. so what should we be looking for here? >> reporter: well, hello, there,

george, happy holidays to you. you're right. pope francis this morning celebrated the mass for the church's traditional feast of the hole owe family, meaning gee ju -- jesus, mary and joseph. he talked this morning about the family as the place where one learns mercy, learns how to forgive. he said let us not lose faith in the family, and he told the families fathered with him in st. peter's basilica that the church and the world need you today more than ever. as you say, this theme of the family is incredibly important for pope francis, having called these two very tumultuous synods on the family, the right kind of language to deal with gay and

lesbian relationships, what to do about people living outside of marriage. and we expect him to issue an apos tollic exhortation. he didn't get into any of that today. this mass was a chance for the pope to catch his breath, offer an upbeat message about the family, ahead of having to make some very tough decisions, george. >> john allen, live for us in rome. thank you so much for the insight in what's happening there in rome today. as it goes with the bible, there are many references to wine. jesus himself said that he is said to have made wine out of water, and winemakers near the birthplace of jesus are now trying to recreate what he drank. here's our oren liebermann with the story. >> reporter: christmas in bethlehem, a celebration of the birth of christ, the beginning

of the new testament. at a monastery nearby they craft a key component of many a biblical story, wine as made in the time of jesus. >> we are concentrate being on making the wine. >> reporter: and the history comes with it? >> the history comes with it, and hopefully, god is happy with our work. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the wine making process has come a long way since biblical times with stainless steel tanks and oak barrels which i would describe as epic. i've never sat on top of 4,000 lea liters of wine before. >> when you say jesus drank from this wine, so it means it's a huge thing. so you have to, you have to continue on making this wine better and better every year. >> reporter: this was the first winery in the region to return to make being wine from only local grapes, the same used thousands of years ago.

>> the grape grows only here in our country. >> reporter: we poured tasting. i admit, not the first or last tasting on this story. then a sniff. smells good. smells fresh, ripe. swirl. sip. and enjoy. and has that fresh, ripe, taste to match. at one university, researchers trace the genetic vine to uncover which grapes are native to the holy land, testing ancient seeds preserved in archaeological digs. >> when finding, an archeological finding of seeds occurs, 99% of the time it's burned. the seeds are actually charred. this is the reason that they were preserved. >> reporter: can you see the ripe seed and the burned one is shrivelled. and the left, on the left is a

modern-day, fresh, merlot seed. >> exactly. >> reporter: up the coast, a winemaker shows us his vineyards. there were heavy restrictions on wine making in the holy land for hundreds of years under the ottoman empire. >> you can still find a few edible berries. >> reporter: the grapes that survive were table grapes. and so the wine from this grape could be the wine that jesus drank. >> exactly. >> reporter: turning them into wine is still a new idea. there's a tremendous sweetness to it, but's overripe now. the frifrns have a word that describes the place where the wine is from. what does that mean here? >> the sense of the wine. >> reporter: a sense of people, place, and crucially, of history. there is tremendous marketing potential here. a wine from biblical times, a

wine that jesus drank being bottled once again. oren liebermann, cnn, the holy la land. still ahead, with the first u.s. democratic primary getting closer, hillary clinton looks to cement her lead with her not so secret weapon. ahead, a look at some controversies that made our top ten list. improved crest 3d white brilliance removes 5 times more stains than the red box. try the whole collection for a smile that gets you noticed.

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at first u.s. democratic primary election approaches, hillary clinton is starting to

use one advantage that none of her democratic rivals can replicate. it's a person who's been down this road once before, her husband, the former president bill clinton. he is now set to join her on the campaign trail, and joe johns explains the impact that could have. >> starting in january, i will have my not so secret weapon. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: when bill clinton was a candidate running for the white house, he told voters you get two for the price of one. now the only former president to have a spouse running for office is getting ready to join her as she makes her second run. >> i have noticed in my studies of history, i've noticed that most successful presidents are those who get elected in a time that they're suited. >> yes! >> and she's the best qualified person for the times. >> she sure is. [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. >> reporter: but the last time the former president stumped for

his wife, the results were mixed. >> i highly recommend it. >> reporter: in 2008, amid a tight race with barack obama, bill clinton played a prominent role, campaigning for hillary in early key primary states. but along with the large and enthusiastic crowds came a series of verbal miscues. including a harsh assessment of obama. >> give my a break. this whole thing is the biggest fairy tale i've ever seen. >> reporter: and days late ir, an off the cuff comment suggesting that skin color was a key factor in winning the primary there. questions quickly arose whether bill clinton was doing more harm than good. and though he remained on the trail, he was tightly guarded, kept on script and away from the media. but how do you say no to the man who was revered among democrats, popular among all americans and

whose penchant for delivering a memorable line cannot be understated. >> what new ideas did we bring to washington? i always bring a one-word answer. arithmetic. >> reporter: a lot has changed since bill clinton's successful run more than two decades ago when hillary was credited withstanding by her man as charges of infidelity dogged him. this time, hillary is the candidate, bill is the spouse, and chelsea is a mom. >> now it's a little bit more complicated with him, because people still call former presidents, "mr. president". >> right. >> so i have to really -- >> i know what they can call you. the first president lady would be a nice thing. the first lady. >> the first dude, first mate, first gentleman. i'm just not sure about it. >> does the first lady typically pick out a new china pattern? >> typically. yes. >> will bill do that while you're actually in china?

will he be selecting it? >> reporter: bill clinton has not been invisible during his wife's run. he's attended a handful of campaign events and quietly raising money for the campaign. but now as we enter the final stretch to iowa and the primaries, you can expect to seat former president back in the spotlight. joe johns, cnn, washington. republican candidate donald trump chiming in on this, tweeting his disapproval of this clinton campaign move, saying hillary clinton has announce thad she is letting her husband out on the campaign, but he's demonstrated a penchant for sexism, so inappropriate, he says. trump made a point of emphasiz emphasizing penchant for sexism after the same was said of him. both found a spot on the top ten of political stories. we'll tell you who landed at number one as cnn news continues. gotta take a sick day tomorrow.

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♪ you just heard a snippet there the british group wrote for the latest james bond movie "specter". but it wasn't used. they haven't said why. a vocalist tweeted about it and the theme song was ultimately recorded by sam smith. it hit number one in the u.k. and has since been nominated for a golden globe. in 2015, u.s. politics ran the gamut from the comical to the outrageous with plenty of surprises in between. and of the many significant political developments, our chief washington correspondent jake tapper has a top ten for the year. >> number ten, after a quarter century in congress, speaker of the house john boehner declared

he was done, pushed out by the tea partiers. >> i leave with no regrets, no burdens. >> after initially balking paul ryan finally accepted the gafflgafflvel. >> we need to make some changes, starting with how the house does business. >> number nine. same-sex marriage was made legal. but in some places such as kim davis, she spent five days in jail over the issue. number eight, an anti-abortion group released videos they say showed planned parenthood staffers selling fetal tissue for profit. and the funding debate was on. >> planned parenthood must be defunded. >> i will defend planned

parenthood. >> and this man opened fire. planned parenthood blamed heated political rhetoric for the attack. number seven, the obama administration negotiated with iran, ending sanctions in exchange for promises of an iran free of nuclear weapons. israel's prime minister was vehemently opposed. >> it paves iran's path to the bomb. >> president obama vowed to veto now attempt to block the deal. but john kerry was adamant. number six, hillary clinton defended her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state. >> everything i did was permitted. >> a fbi investigation into the matter not withstanding, her chief democratic opponent said

he was tired of hearing about it. >> it's you and your attorneys who decided what to return and what to delete. >> number five, nine african-americans including a state senator were gunned down at this south carolina church by a 21 year old white supremacist. >> the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding reverend pink any. >> was it time for the flag to be removed from the state capital? debate was passionate. and in the end, flag was history. number four, millions fled parts of the middle east into europe. president obama vowed to take in up to 10,000 syrian refugees. >> those countries that can must do more to accommodate refugees. >> but when at least one of the paris terrorists was linked to the masses entering europe, 31

u.s. governors vowed to shut their doors. >> embedded in that group are people out to destroys us. >> then donald trump said all muslims should be banned from entering the u.s. number three, the black lives matter movement became ever present in politics. thousands rallied in baltimore and chicago after a young black man in each city died during police confrontations. after shocking video emerged of freddie frgray's arrest. and la kwan mcdonald's, protests emerged. and number two, isis emerged from the jv squad to be a force. president obama was forced to revise his message.

>> >> the threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it. and the number one political story, the donald. redefining what it means to be a republican presidential candidate. >> when mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. >> his blunt, some say bigoted behavior was met with outrage and a seemingly unstoppable rise in republican primary poll numbers. >> and frankly, i'm the most solid person up here. >> will he win the white house next we're, or will america say "you're fired"? >> that as jake tapper with the political top ten. and now to a recap on our top story this hour. the extreme weather around the world this day from tornados to flooding and even wildfires. in australia, the fire, a mammoth bush fire might keep burning into the new year. four latin-american countries

are reeling from the worst flooding they've seen in years. more than 100,000 people have evacuated their homes in uruguay, argentina and in brazil. and in the united states, the state of california, people are being forced to evacuate after what you see there. a very fast-moving wildfire that has burned nearly 500 hectares or some 1200 acres since friday. in the southern state of alabama, there are fears that some rivers may overflow their levees. and in texas, it's deaths are now eattributed to a very stron storm system, a system that created at least one powerful tornado. a lot more happening around the world. we will of course follow the latest developments here on cnn. and with that, we thank you for watching this hour. i'm george howell at the cnn center in atlanta, for our viewers in the united states, "new day" is next. and foret the rest of our viewe "the best of quest" starts next

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♪ big, big strong tornado. >> breaking overnight. deadly tornadoes rip through parts of texas, killing at least eight people, destroying buildings and tearing up neighborhoods. in chicago, another controversial police shooting. this time, the department is apologizing for accidentally killing a 55 yeverl-year-old wo >> she had nothing to do with this. she was just answering the door for the police. and