team are sticking together to lift each other's spirits in honor of friend and teammate austin roberts. coaches say that it hasn't be easy for the boys emotionally, but they are depending on one another to help ease the pain. "they're together in this and nobody else knows what they're going through other than each other. and it's created d little bit of a bond in our already tight family. they've seen the support that's come from the state, the country, the world...through messages and things like that," said gress. bria: austin was a kind help others and able to get along anyone. at 10, we'll bring teammates and coaches who share more insight of who austin roberts was as an athlete and friend. live in studio, bria bell abc 9 news. jenna: thanan bria. austin r rert's autopsy was performed earlier today at the iowa state medical examiner's office. however,

from their office the results are pending further investigation. earlier this week the clay county medical examiner said that roberts likely died of natural causes. jenna: those wishing to donate to austin robert's memorial fund can do so by visiting a gofundme page that's been set up for his family. since it started on monday the page has already raised more than 43 thousand dollar so far over 800 people have donated to the fund from all over the midwest. funds have also been setup locally at some spencer businesses. for more information ont& how you can help, just head to our website at siouxlandmatters dot com. jenna: and austin's funeral is planned for 10:30 monday morning at spencer high school gym. there will also be a visitation held sunday at 3:00pm at the same location with the family present from 3:00 to 5:00pm that day. jenna: sioux city's first female fire fighter has passed away at the age of 63. jeanne (genie) vakulskas died in

sioux city fire and rescue from 19-85 until 20-07. visitation is this evening at myer brothers morningside chapel ending at 8 o'ock tomorrow at 10:30 am the funeral will be held at st. joseph's catholic church. jenna: wewee learning more today about discovery in rural nebraska. revealed remains of two people were found in a out truck near pierce. jenna: authorities got the call after a vehicle was spotted on fire in a field about 10 miles outside of town around three yesterday afternoon. after they got the fire out, investigators say they discovered the remains of two people in the cab of the charred pick-up truck. now, investigators say they're working to determine their identities and cause of death. pierce county sheriff rick eberhart says, "the scene was processed and now its a current investigation and anan autopsy will be e performed sometime today on the two sets of remains that

vehicle." jenna: press release from earlier today, the nebraska state patrol believes that the deaths may have been n murder suicide. authorities say they are waiting on the results of the autopsies to positively identify the bodies and determine an exact cause of death. jenna: authorities in soutsioux city and sioux city were busy today with a high speed chase. police in south sioux city initiated the chase around 11 am this morning and chased this black chevy suburban down dakota avenue at speeds reachg 60 miles per hour. the chase then crossed over into sioux city where the vehicle swiped another car before stopping in the area of 3rd and jenning streets where the driver fled on foot. it's unclear at this time if authorities have made any arrests in connection to the chase. jenna: a lawyer representing three iowa counties being sued for high nitrate levelsn iowa rivers is asking that part of the lawsuit to be dismissed. drainage districts in buena vista, sac

named as defendanan in the lawsuit by des moines water works, who claim the water draining from agricultural land violate the federal clean water act by causing a spike in nitrate levels in the raccoon and des moines rivers. a lawyer representing the counties says that eight of the ten cocots should be smissed because these drainage districts don't have authority to regulate the actions of private landowners jenna: while donald trump is calling for an apology from hillary clinton, critics say he is the one who needs to say sorry after unleashing his fiercest attack yet on c cnton... using a derogatoto term to describe how she lost the 2008 primary. meanwhile, a new poll shows another gop candidate-- ted cruz-- gaining ground on trump. abc's bazi kanani is in washington with the latest. "(nats supporters) on the trail in iowa today, hillary clinton again says donald tmp's lauage is helping

(sot - clinton) it plays into the hands of violent jihadist... the democratic frontrunner refusing to respond directly to trump's latest attack involving a sexually derogatory term to describe how she was beaten by barack obama in 2008. on the trail in iowa today, hillary clinton ignores donald trump to focus on the issues. (sot - clinton) we can do ?this if we stop fighting each other, insulting each other. the democratic frontrunner refusing to respond to trump's latest

sexuallylyerogatory term to describe how she was beaten by barack obama in 2008. (sot - trump) she got (beep). she lost, i mean she lost. trump's fury... sparked by an unsupported claim clinton made in her last debate. trump... now mocking that claim. (sot - trump) donald trump is on video and isis is using the video to recruit. a new quinnipiac university poll shows trump may need to take aim at someone else: ted cruz is catching up... now just four points behind trump nationally. the texas senator still careful not to criticize his g-o-p rival... when asked about trump's disparaging slam on clinton. (sot - cruz) i don't need to be another political pundit. i am gonna let donald trump speak for himself. i am gonna speak for myself. but carly fiorina has a warning for trump. in a radio interview, saying she also has been called derogatory names. (sot -fiorina) we cannot have candidates who insult women beat hillary [linton. " jenna: christmas came early for hundreds of siouxland parents today as they got hundreds of siouxland parents today as they got to pick out gifts for their kids... for free. it was distribution day at the salvation army for their operation toys drive. people lined up in shifts to come in and pick out toys for their children. they also got to take home food baskets and a new coat, hat and mittens. one volunteer says she loves experiencing this sort of generosity. "i've been doing this for over 20 years and i look forward to thihievery year. i'm not a member of the salvation army, but it gives me a warm heart to see these kids get toys that they normally

hear from one mom who got to pick out toys for coming up at six. abc9 and mgaars are proud to partner to help bring in donations for operation toys each year. jenna: an anonymous donor is helping holidays for several siouxland families after he idea. take the three- thousand dollars cash he gave us... and give it out to people who might need a little help. so, last week, we drove arou with the woodbury county sheriff's office... handing out in envelopes containing two hundred dollars each. the reactions were priceless and we know the money went to some folks who could really use some good cheer this holiday season. woman says, " greatful, very greatful. we have four kids here and jeez, this is wonerful, guys, thank you." young mom says, "we've been struggling with bills and having to see if we're going to have enough to buy presents for each

reactions coming up in our full "operation secret santa" story tonight at 10. jenna: davenport, iowa has a new tool in the fight against behind by geese. it's called the davenport's parks and recreation employees built the remote controlled device themselves. they use it to scare geese away from places like golf courses and ball fields. basically, anywhere the city needs to prevent waste. daveveort parks and have already noticed away a little bit and out here at red hawk golf course guys bring it out and as soon as they see it they just kind of take off." parks and rec says the migrator idea origniated in urbandale, iowa, they say it doesn't hurt the birds. if you're worried about keeping your healthy new year's resolution...you

research says that it might be easier than you think. we'll explain why after this. fred: (fred) cooler weather will bring rain and snow chances this week, while a bigger storm is possible next week. see you after the break for details! " " fred: jenna:

fred, what can we expect tonight? (fred) mostly cloudy skies and a few showers late. fred: (fred) the port neal welding company skycam hd shows mostly cloudy skies from the ho chunk centre in downtown sioux city. the high today was 47 and the low 28. sioux city has 44 degrees, with a dew point of 32 indicating more moisture in the air than previous days and the promise of a warmer overnight low. local temperatures are in the 30s and 40s, and with winds out of the south at 10 to 20 miles per hour, most windndhills in the 30s. the northeast is an exception. the satellite and radar shows only disorganized rain and snow to our west, but that is about to change. low pressure will be developing over colorado tonight, and by 5 am tomorrow morng, we will see rain showers. rain will continue through the morning and into the afternoon, with cool air on the

system changing some of the rain over to snow. only a dusting of snow is expected, and with highs above freezing, most of it will probably melt. then, our active weather pattern continues thursday, as another disturbance brings us a chance of light snow. another disturbance will have snow in western nebraska by friday morning, and this piece of energy will provide siouxland a chance of rain and snow friday. your forecast for tonight is for a low of 35 with rain late. tomorrow, look for rain and snow plus breezy winds. the high will be 38. the 7-day shows yet another chance of mixed precipitation saturday, before we get a break sunday. monday, we have another chance of snow. this system may be more substantial, with the potential for accumulating snow. cooler

arrive next week. fred: tim: jenna: skycam hd shows mostly cloudy skies from the ho chunk centre in downtown sioux city. the high today was 47 and the low 28. sioux city has 44 degrees, with a dew point of 32 indicating more moisture in the air than previous days and the promise of a warmer overnight low. local temperatures are in the 30s and 40s, and with winds out of the south at 10 to 20 miles per hour, most wind chills in the 30s. the northeast is an exception. the satellite and radar shows only disorganized rain and snow to our west, but that is about to change. low pressure will be developing over colorado tonight, and by 5 am tomorrow morning, we will see rain showers. rain will continue through the morning and into

cool air on the western edge of the system changing some of the rara over to snow. only a dusting of snow is expected, and with highs above freezing, most of it will pbably melt. then, our active weather pattern continues thursday, as another disturbabae brings us a chance of light snow. another disturbance will have snow in western nebraska by friday morning, and this piece of energy will provide siouxland a chance of rain and snow friday. your fofocast for tonighis for a low of 35 with rain late. tomorrow, look for rain and snow plus breezy winds. the high will be 38. the 7-day shows yet another chance of mixed precipitation saturday, before we get a break sunday. monday, we have another chance of snow. this system may be more substantial, with the potential for accumulating snow. cooler temperatures will arrive next week. fred: tim: jenna: (jenna) thanks, fred. (fred) you bet. jenna: with the new year approaching... you

approaching... you may be thinking about how to get a head start on your health resolutions. now, a newly published report suggests taking those steps.. may be easier than you think. with more, here's abc's dr. mothy johnson. " that christmas dinner... a few short weeks after the thanksgiving meal. add in the new year's champagne and all of the other seasonal gooes... and it is hard to deny that this is theseason of indulgence. but with all of this decadence, you m m not have given much thought to your heart health. fortunately, getting back on track might come down to seven simple steps. together, they are linked to a reduction in heart risk of 60 percent... or more.

quitting smoking... achiving a healthy b-m-i... exercising... eating a healthy diet... keeping total cholesterol low... maintaining a healthy blood pressure... and managing blood sugar levels. but as simple as these steps may be... sticking to them may require a discipipned approach. so as you put down that champagne glass and draw up that list of resolutions... consider a few of these changes. and make this new year the start... of a healthier heart. with this medical minute, i'm dr. timothy johnson.n. " jenna: while the weather here doesn't look like it will be two bad for christmas travel , the same can't be said for those headed out west. we'll explain, when we come back.

expectrecord-breaker for holiday travel... especially o othe roads. and while we might not see much severe weather here, heavy rain, snow, and severe weather striking much of the country. abc's brandi hitt reports. " nats a wet and soggy start... to a busy holiday travel week. sot -- (no name given) // "you just have to more than 100 million travelers e pected to hit the road -- the most ever. nats and severe weather isn't helping. fog may have lead to chain-reaction crashes on interstate 49 in arkansas... killing at least three people. nats

slow-going in n e snow. so much has fallen in washington state... rescue teams have been searching for missing skier -- monty busbee -- since saturday. sot -- alan labissoniere, king county search and rescue dangerous winds... are overturning semi trucks in southern california... and taking out trees in oregon. this one -- narrowly missing jeannie harwood. sot -- jeannie harwood, tree smashed car more than 38 million travelers are also expected to fly through january 3rd. the busiest airports -- atlanta los angeles and chicago... where weather could cause flight delays wednesday. sot -- mark mancuso, accuweather senior meteorologist meantime -- historic heat -- in the northeast. 77 degrees forecasted in washington d-c christmas eve. 72 thursday in new york city. ((on camera tag)) and tomorrow is expected to be the busiest travel day on the road. families are taking advavaage of lower gagaprices... below two dollars a gallon in most states. brandi hitt -- abc news -- los angeles

if you're hoping to try and squeeze in a couple more online gifts for christmas you may be in luck because it might not be too late. we'll have the details after this.

staying with us.. if you are still looking to ship your christmas gifts and get them where they need to go on time.. the good news for procrastinators? believe it or not.. it's still not too late.. but as abc's elizabeth hur reports, be prepared to dig a little deeper into your wallet. " calling all procrastinators.. rushing to get those presents in the mail to make sure those pretty little boxes arrive in time.. for christmas... ((sot)) melody hahm, yahoo finance "the national retail federation as of today announced that only 10 percent of americans are actually done with their holiday shopping." so not only do you have plenty of company.. you still have time..

day!! and one-day shipping is tomorrow.. but fair warning.. it will cost you. ((sot)) melody hahm, yahoo finance "the us postal service or even fedex or ups, you are going to definitely s sticker shock." we're talking two to three times the price of regular shipping.. so how about considering.. amazon prime now.. ((sot)) melody hahm, yahoo finance "which is an app and you can actually place an order on christmas eve on the 24th at say 10pm and if you pay 7:50 in addition to your amazon prime membership you can get that gift that same night, within an hour." but that membership does cost you 99- dollars a year.. if you don't mind a little driving.. there are some free options.. like ship to store.. buy online and pick it up at the customer service desk.. and if you don't feel like walking in? curbside is for you.. it's new and you simply order on your phone from many retailers.. including target..

nats: we have your items right here. liz hur tag: and that's not all.. there's also deliv.. think uber but for deliveries.. they actually offer same-day delivery options for just 5 dollars.. there's a catch though.. it's only available in 17 markets for now.. eh, abc news, ny . " tim: fred's back next with a final check of our forecast. stay with us. jenna:

tonight is for a low tomorrow, look for breezy winds. the high will be 38. the 7-day shows yet mixed precipitation saturday, before we get a break sunday. monday, we have another chance of snow. this system may be more substantial, with the potential for accumulating snow. cooler temperatures will arrive next week.