reporter: total devastation in texas after a deadly weekend. but the threat for the storms is not over yet. welcome to "happening now." i'm gregg jarrett in for jon scott. reporter: hundreds of home destroyed and hundreds of thousands left without power as massive tornadoes tore through the dallas area.

the governor of the state offering words of support to people who lost everything. >> texas is doing everything we can to help you piece your lives back together, to help you better deal with the challenges you are facing right now. reporter: will car is live with the latest. reporter: the government declaring a state of emergency after nine reported tornado touches down. there is devastation everywhere. there was a chimney tossed here and a tornado tore the roofs off of many homes. 450 home were damaged across is this region. 100 here in rowlett are total

losses. in this neighborhood alone, nobody was killed. >> there is no other way to us it, it's the grace of god. reporter: many resident giving credit to sirens for notifying them of the ef4 tornado that had maximum wind gusts up to 180 miles per hour. in garland, sick people were killed when they were tossed off an overpass. one woman was on the phone with her husband when the tornado hit. >> she started creeping. i tried to call her back and i couldn't. something inside of me died, you know, i feel like a part of me

died with her. reporter: a gut-wrenching loss. 11 people here killed over the weekend. 29 people killed throughout the region the past week. >> one of the hardest hit cities in northern texas is garland, texas where 8 people have died. hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed. joining us on the telephone, the garland police department. you were quoted as saying it is total devastation. we have no doubt about that given the pictures we have seen. but if you would, describe more of what garland has endured. our apartment community was demolished. cars were destroyed.

it was worth it. we plan for the worst, this is the worst and we'll recover. we partner up with the best people in the state and we have support from everyone around us. we'll recover and get back on our feet and get back to our normal routine. >> this came the day after christmas for many people just the worst time, right? >> it is of course. this is the time for family, kid are enjoying the holiday season along with people who travel from out of state, out of town. the fact this happened the day after with so many people, families together, it's a devastating thing. it's a hard thing to deal with. however, we are working day after day, minute by minute to make sure everyone can get back to normal.

>> 8 people killed, 15 injured. we are talking about in 16 different structures, homes, businesses that were damaged or completely destroyed. these pictures we are showing, i don't know if you can see them, but it's heart wrenching. how are the spirits right now of the people of garland? >> the spirits are -- it's no doubt that everyone is feeling the pain of what occurred here. but the spirits are high. people are positive about the recovery of the situation. we are providing so much help to anyone that needs it. the red cross is providing so much assistance as well, providing shelter for those they need. people are going back to work. it's -- we are focusing on the task at hand. and our number one priority is to get people back on their feet and get the city, get the spirits of the city high.

gregg: your police department must be working nonstop in a variety of capacities. >> the primary responsibility, the response emergency calls. we have officers responding to those calls. the damage sites, there are unknown hazards. we don't want anyone to be hurt until all the hazards are secured. we are allowing limited access to rest don't their homes. the community has demolished there. >> is everybody accounted for, lieutenant? >> as of right now we have other people that have gone missing. but i don't have the current information more so than what i'm talking right now. gregg: you say the red cross is

there and other organizations are providing help and supplies. is there anything else garland needs? >> the outpouring of support we are getting non-profit organizations and churches and businesses is amazing. we are being overwhelmed with all the generosity and donations given to our first responders as well as those directly affected by this storm. you will be holding a news conference 1:30 eastern time. >> we are asking the media to meet us over at the high school so we can have them given access to the tornado trek area. >> all right. thank you so much for being with us. the best of luck to you and everybody there in garland, texas. our thoughts and prayers are with you.

>> blizzard-like conditions leading to a state of emergency in oklahoma and new mexico. both governors mobilizing the national guard to help people stranded in the storms. highway officials saying highways are impassible and tens of thousands are without power. freezing rain and sleet is expected for north central texas and northern missouri. gregg: as firefighters battle a wildfire on the southern california coastline, their focus is shifting. they are concerned about the potential for landslides. it could affect the railroad track. ventura county wildfires about 75% contained now.

it scorched more than 1,200 acres. full containment expected by tomorrow. >> overseas, british prime minister david cameron sent hundreds of troops to combat flooding. cameron is vowing to do everything to protect people and their property to combat flooding. fortunately no deaths or serious injuries have been reported. gregg: in vienna, a major security meeting there. police are talking about the situation internally before holding a meeting with railway and public transportation officials. they say they are stepping up surveillance of places where crowds are expected including transportation hubs. repolice say they got -- vienna

police say they got the warning last week. an examination that led to other investigation and brought quote no concrete results at least so far. iraqi forces retake a strategic government complex. this video showing iraqi troops raising the iraqi flag. an iraqi military spokesman taking it further saying ramadi fist free of militants from the islamic state. john, how are you today? >> whether or not a madly has been fully liberated depends upon whom you ask. we are being told the remaining pockets of isis militants in the northern and eastern sections of the city. though a it in commander said they are putting if you weak resistance.

as we know, iraq's military has retaken that central government complex and that's bent main objective. earlier today iraqi forces video came in showing them celebrating outside that central government complex the city as iraq's flag was raised over the building. iraqi troops launched the offensive to retake ramadi back in november. and the push in central ramadi with help from u.s. airstrikes intensified over the weekend. it's been a difficult bloody fight. colonel steve warren called this quote unquote a significant plirchlt and proud moment for iraq. he tweeted out pictures of all of s. drone flag being raised over the government complex. it's strategically important. ramadi is the capital of the anbar province it's 70 miles west of baghdad.

anbar province has largely been controlled by isis it's symbolic because when isis took control back in may you may remember u.s. defense secretary ash carter questioned the iraqi military's quote will to fight. so this is a major loss for isis. it's crucial to remain in control of ramadi and we are being told it could take weeks clear out those booby trapped homes and buildings it's a long process ahead and not over just yet. leah, back to you. reporter: jonathon huddy from jerusalem. thank you, john. we'll have more on these new developments a bit later on "happening now" when we talk to a major lieutenant general who

says retaking mosul may take some time. gregg: more information in the refugee crisis with japan as syrian refugees apply for status. but japan only approving 11 of them. the last five years the percentage of applicants grants refugee status has been below 1%. but japan blamed all of this on the small number of screening officers who are overwhelmed by the volume of applications. if. reporter: ""star wars":"the force awakens"" has become a phenom done. we'll talk with our political panel but we want to know with you agree with the independent senator from vermont.

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>> many of trump supporters are working class people, and they are angry. they are angry because they are working longer hours for lower wages. they are angry because their jobs have gone to other countries. lea: talking. political poaching. he is making a play for trump supporters saying they should back his candidates i instead. we have a national courtent from the post, and the author of "clinton inc." nice to see you both. i'll start with you. you think this is a fight bernie and dears wants, why? >> totally.

donald trump made it clear if you attack he will attack back. bernie sanders had a lot of people coming and and lot of enthusiasm and that has begun to fade a way a lot. by attacking donald trump you insure he attacks you back. and he needs it because donald trump attacking him makes him look better to democrats in flue hampshire and iowa so this is a fight he's itching to have. lea: some of these supporters of trump are saying he just wants to make a play for the his supporters. >> i think it's less than poaching trump supporters but in

the internet world it's known as trolling trump. the world view of the typical trump supporter is so different from the typical sanders supporter. the actual prospect of change their minds is pretty limited. for instance, one of bernie sanders' biggest policy ideas is free college tuition. he would do that with a massive expansion of government. this is not something that while they might like to see college costs go down. i don't think this is the solution a lot of trump supporters would be advocating. >> donald trump taking a advantage of some of this attention. he's been tweeting about it. he says strange, but i see whacko bernie sanders allies coming over to me because i'm lowering taxes while he will double and triple them, a disaster. he also says many of the great jobs many of the people want are

long gone. shifted to other countries. sad, til fix. what do you make of this? >> there probably are some issues on which bernie sanders and donald trump agree. donald trump has been all over the place on healthcare and in the past has supported a single-payer system. but donald trump is not one to pass up a moment in the sun. attacked he wants attention in the sun himself and he would want to draw a contrast. bernie sanders i think karen is right, he's trolling. he does want the attention. but donald trump revolutionized this race in a way bernie sanders those would ref newsize the race. bernie sanders has become sort of a dud. donald trump altered the way the race is going to go, but on the

democratic side it looks like hillary clinton will win, it doesn't look like bernie sanders will start the revolution he came to ignite. lea: it seems like donald trump is going to capitalize on the attention either way whether it's hillary clinton or bernie sanders. >> if if you follow donald trump's twitter account he's feeding the attention machine all the time. but it's working for him. i think it's just as unlikely he could poach any of bernie sanders he voters either. they will not come aboard a candidate that's talking about deporting 11 to 14 million people. lea: thank you both for joining us. gregg: iraqi forces score a major victory against isis as they take back ramadi from the terrorists. this is more than just a

psychological win. it could also help them retake control of the bigger city of mosul. the taliban steps up attacks across the country. what the u.s. is doing to help the afghan forces.

lea: fallout from the take back ramadi from isis in iraq. ramadi is hugely important because it's the capital of anbar province and the birthplace of the sunni awakening movement.

joining us is general bob scales. the u.s. coalition forces have trained 16,000 forces the past year. the effort has been supported by 30 airstrikes. is the u.s.-led coalition $support in iraq starting to work when it comes to defeating isis? >> that's a great question. my sources tell me they reequipped these forces with weapons that are effective. mainly the at-4 anti-take that stopped the truck bombs. with embedded forward air controller they are able to drop bombs closer to advancing forces. this is the a-team for the iraqi forces. this is their aunter terrorism forces. you saw the forces with the black uniforms.

that's the cts. the total force is investing, the city was 8,000 to 9,000. this is the super bowl team. the real question is what are they going to do next. hold ramadi and march on mosul to strike on isis. in iraq lit take a much, much larger effort. >> mosul is the center of gravity. iraq's prime minister he mosul will be next thank their sights. mosul is around 2.5 million people during normal times. >> here is the thing. you are not going invest mosul with a division and counter terrorism forces. remember over 200 miles, that's about the same distance from kuwait to baghdad. you recall from your own experience how did was to get

two american divisions to travel that far. now you are asking the iraqi army to travel that same distance. in term of magnitude i would say you will need 5, 6, 7 times the number of soldiers. >> most of the gains made in iraq have been from kurdish forces and shiite militias. it's a strategic victory. >> the real thing is the psychology of warfare. the iraqi army has been losing. now they have a sort of psychological bellwether. maybe even a tipping point in the car that gives the iraqi people a sense of hope they can restore their country and defeat isis, and most importantly among

the soldiers and leaders. maybe it's that catalyst and spark that transformed the iraqi army. but it's a very, very difficult military task. it's a throng way from ramadi to mosul. probably won't even begin until they cleared ramadi in the suburbs and opened the road to mosul and started the advance. that will take many, many months. lea: there is new violence in afghanistan with a deadly car bombing in kabul. it's raising fears afghanistan may soon fall. we are hearing american military officials saying the white house is considering a pentagon proposal to maintain a base in afghanistan. what does this tell us? >> the problem as general john

campbell, the commander in afghanistan said, the united states is only able to put its finger the dike. at the very time that not only is the taliban resurgent in afghanistan, but isis is in 30 different provinces in afghanistan. and the afghan army in many ways is sort of a state of disarray. so conditions are not good on the ground in afghanistan. the american forces are strong enough to help with the counter offensive. in helmand province the taliban is on the rise. the final thing that's so interesting is they are not taking a time out for the winter season. over the last 14 years, the taliban has only fought between april and october. now all of a sudden the attacks in december and january, this is a dangerous precedent for the years ahead.

lea: nice to see you general scales. gregg: donald trump and nick the latest druft-up over sex -- the latest dust-up over sexism. stocks ending the year with a whimper. can the problems that may 2015 a slack luster year persist into 2016? [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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lea: it's been a lackluster year for u.s. stocks and perhaps your bottom line. investors usually plan on the santa claus rally toanlds the year, but maybe not this year. reporter: when we talk about your bottom line, looking at our 401ks and iras, this could be the down year we haven't seen since the financial crisis. we have had low commodity prices. oil sold off. a strong u.s. dollar that hurt some of our big multi-national companies, and corporate profits that have been hit. we saw oral at $34 and change. it's down almost 30% this year.

while we have a great week last week, maybe a little bit after santa claus rally. the dow is looking down 2%. maybe our first losing years since 2008. the nasdaq has been a real winner. in the nazdaq you have amazon and netflix and that brings you to the big movers. they have added to their prime members. north fliks another -- netflix another winner. apple shareholders are disappointed. also fact they are trying to deal with customer service and chevron a great example. indianapolis one of the reasons why we see stpt dow jones trim a average, for example. that's why we are seeing them under pressure.

some of the analysts and investors talk about next year and the possibility for growth and not worrying about china. right now the first rate hikes we have seen in a decade. lea: thank you, nicole. gregg: as we have been reporting, hillary clinton about to send her husband out on the campaign trail come january. and she has accused trump of sexism as she raises issues about gender equality. but trump firing back and seeming to intimate the form president's history of infidelity is. he demonstrates a pen channel for sexism, so inappropriate.

tammy bruce, and alan colmes. gregg: alan, trump attacking clinton's infidelity, and penchant for sexism. is it fair game? and is it hypocritical? >> it's hypocritical on a number of levels. he has made a number of sexist remarks. there are questions about his own past. there are questions about when he ended his marriage what was going on. i don't think he would be the best messenger. he has 65% disapproval with women. he's not the best messenger. he can't win that argument. gregg: hillary clinton did broach the subject.

she accused donald trump of sexism. >> like the cold war mutually destruction. you can be a jerk and be a good president. but if you are willing and able to betray peept closest to you you are willing and able to betray the american people. it tells you about distraction. but i think donald trump is correct. i think hillary is -- she is the hypocritical one in the sense of her role in dealing with man today lewinsky, her role in defending her husband. if the american people don't remember it now, they will by the end of this. >> if you are going to attack a woman cheated upon, you will develop sympathy for that woman. i think donald trump is making a

huge mistake and it will come back to haunt him. gregg: the coverage of donald trump in particular. you think he's using the media, and the free media coverage. given his standing in the polls, and give on of the things he says that's people regard as outrageous. wouldn't it be irresponsible for the media not to cover it? >> of course they have to cover it. it gets much more air time and the other candidates. and it's hypocritical that he bashes the media. the media created donald trump, he would be nothing without the media. gregg: you think it's the chicken or the egg? >> i think it might be a little bit of both. donald trump, the media needs hip. you have a bunch of young people

running legacy media, they don't want to work. they can point a camera at trump. trump isn't having to spend money on his campaign. i think donald trump is interesting. it's clear, at the same time the media makes him more interesting, it's a vicious circle. hillary doesn't get as much coverage because there is substance in dealing with her corruption. that means you have to do research. then they wait for judicial watch. this is about what's easiest to cover. >> the media fact checks tore asks him tough questions. >> he brags about. he loves to brag and loves to bully. the media doesn't cover hillary clinton talking about policy as much as it talks about covering donald trump, talking about

personalities. >> we are not talking about republican policy either. >> let's talk about bullies. this is finally someone is pushing back against a media which bullies only the republicans, only conservatives, and we have had enough. so the media is finding out way it's like. gregg: alan colmes, tammy bruce, thank you for being with us. lea: all sports come with a risk of injury, especially contact sports like high school football. who is ultimately responsible for keeping athletes safe in our legal panel looks at some recent sports lawsuits next. "star wars: the force awakens" breaking new records at the box office and making movie history. the stunning numbers still ahead.

gregg: new information on a pair of losses due to high school sports. the parents are filing a wrongful death suit against the city after hire son collapsed after high school practice. this after a group of athletes in pennsylvania file a lawsuit over the way they were treated for concussions. let's talk about it with two former prosecutors and defense attorneys. the lawyers representing the family obviously have to prove negligence. explain that. >> what that means is they have to prove that first they had a duty, and second they breached that duty if it wasn't for the actions that constitutioned the duty that the injured parties would still be alive.

gregg: so the schools failed to some do something they should have done and having done that -- had they done that he would still be alive today? >> exactly. gregg: there is a problem of causation, isn't there? because the medical examiner could determine this 16-year-old -- was his picture -- had a preexisting condition and it wasn't caught by the routine physical exams. >> part of negligence is proving the person who supposedly breached their duty, that their breach of duty was a proximate cause of the injuries. here the proximate cause of death was a heart condition. proving that ems or lack of medical equipment or negligent was an uphill battle. >> you can argue this is a tragic occurrence.

but it was a unique and separate occurrence because of his preexisting injury. how do the plaintiffs get around that. >> this is not an injury sustained on by this one boy and this one instance. these kind of injuries and deaths have happened all across the country. so this is something the school should have been on notice that obviously playing tackle football like this is a dangerous sport, and they should have had all the appropriate medical equipment on hand if something like this should happen. that's where they are at fault. gregg: there is another lawsuit representing a bunch of high school kid who were wanting a class action lawsuit for injuries sustained as a result of a concussion. that was inevitable, wasn't it? since the nfl sued successfully in a structured settlement over concussions. >> not on the nfl, but the ncaa. what's interesting is this type

of lawsuit was brought by the same attorney who successfully sued the ncaa which is college football, which brought by the same attorney in illinois. unfortunately a judge rejected the lawsuit against the high school saying that the high school association has done everything they dock to help prevent the injuries. it's interesting to see the pennsylvania student will be successful given illinois' decision. gregg: i live in new york. my kids' high school adopt strict protocols for concussion in all of the sporting activity. if the same was not happening down in pennsylvania how does that effect liability? >> if they don't have protocols and procedures in place they will be liable for their injuries.

obviously they are on notice this is a serious type of sport and it could result in serious injuries, and any kind of a concussion or head injury needs to be taken seriously and they need to follow proper protocols. gregg: they are so young, i don't know how you would determine dangs. the damages man fefght in all sorts of symptoms don't happen for years. so that would be a tough one. thank you for being with us. good to see you. lea: the new "star wars" movie has hit a major milestone. the latest on the box office phenomenon next. >> i have seen it twice tonight. 7:00 and 10:00.

lea: "star wars: the force awakens" smashing box office records take in $12 billion in four days. jonathan hunt is live in l.a. disney is getting a return on its investment with this one. >> it cost disney $4 billion to buy the "star wars" franchise. but 12 days into the release of "the force awake's" they have made that back. j.j. abrams brilliantly honoring the legacy of george lucas.

>> we'll finish what we started. reporter: the box office receipts are only one part of the "star wars" money-making machine. experts predict the sale of toys to bring in another $3 billion as the geeks line their bedroom shelves with "star wars" merchandise. >> it's a way to be totally immersed in a different world. >> our parents' generation grew up with it, and now the next generation. >> i'm extremely excited. reporter: it's not just "star wars" nerds who like this movie. it hasn't broken the $12 billion mark in four days without

appealing to new fans as well. a record 153 million were taken here in the u.s. over the christmas weekend. the worldwide opening now rolling out and "star wars" is set to become the biggest force in the history of movies. but disney has to live you have to the stats all over again with filming underway on the next "star wars" movie. lea: hans some lo solo once saiy casual. where is your costume? >> i'm not a "star warsman" fan but i will drips as dorie once "finding nemo" sequel comes out. gregg: some of the actors have and since the 1977 "star wars."

lea: i think those buns cannot get enough play.

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expedia, technology connecting you to what matters. >> that's going to do it for us. >> we'll see you in an hour. "outnumbered" starts right now. >> that is fox news alert. destruction is spreading. nearly 50 people are dead after a devastating outbreak of severe weather across seven different states. tornadoes in texas, massive flooding in missouri and many are now bracing for blizzards. this is "outnumbered." i'm melissa francis. here today is jedediah bila, democratic strategist and fox news contributor, julie roginsky. nationally incident indicated radio show host of america now and fox news contributor, meghan mccain. you have too many titles in there, too hard to get through. today's #