the u.s. embassy in n bebeing has issued a terror warning to americans and staff. staff.the british and french embasses are also urging extra vigilance after threats were made against beijing's shopping district during the holidays.beijing police have increased their presence at large and medium-sized malls -- but did not say whether the move was related to the warnings. severe weather yesterday took a deadly turn in ththsouthernrn united states. states.a storm system is being blamed for seven deaths in mississippi -- arkansas and tennessee.in northern mississippi -- a massive tornado was on the ground for ten minutes.and in arkansas -- straight l le winds knocked a large tree onto a house -- killing a young woman.severe weather is not expected today -- but forecasters are turning their focus to the east coast where record-gh temperatures are expepeed. the corridor only had to deal with strong winds and rain yesterday -- but it was a different story near the quad cities.a tornado was spotted southeast ofofdavenport -- in

saw debris in the air but so far -- there are no reports of major damageor injuries. weather across the country yesterday is causininproblems at airportststoday. today.major airports on wednesday had to cancel more than 400-flights.a number of flights also had to be delayed until today.about 38-million people are expected to fly throroh the next week.k.another 91-million are expected to travel by road. burgalries are common around this time of year but there are ways you can protect yourself. yourself.cbs 2 reporter stephanie johnson is here with some tips like you said kevin, home break ins are common for the holiday season.to avoid being a victim you should avoid placing your ristmas tree by a window.it's nice for decorations but and it's also an invitation for thief. but if you do have your tree next to a window make sure people cannot see the gifts underneath it. sergeant hamblin also advises for your home to always look

if you happen to go away for the holidays, you're going to leave to visit grandma's house for a couple o odaysysake sure you got your lights on a timers. put a radio on a timer as well, a tv do something that will give the appearnace of the lived in look. look.and when you are getting ready to throw away your boxes, turn the boxes inside out..that way people cannot see the image on the box. stephanie johnsoso.cbs 2 nns police in marion, marion,say someone is trying to scam people looking for rose bowl tickets. tickets.they say somebody os driving a white hyundai sonata with washington state license plates sellili fake tickets.if you see a car mathing that description, you are asked to call the marion police department. cedar rapids police are also warning about a rose bowl scam. scam.the departmeme tells cbs 2 news they've gotten reports of counterfeit tickets.they're purchased through craigslist with the seller meeting buyers at a local movie theater. police say you should only buy

business or from someone you trust. an appeals court has ruled against iowa's largest health insurance provider. provider.the court says wellmark blue cross and blue shield improperly refused to pay y claimsmsor life-saving drugs for patients with hemophilia.the court said wellmark looked for reasons to deny millions of dollars in claims.a judge will now figure out how much the company will have to reimbursesehe iowa city pharmacist who filed the lawsuit.wellmark plans to appeal. well-care is taking legal action against iowa. iowa.they're one of the four companies orginally picked to oversee iowa's medicaid program state officials terminated well-care's contract after some of its former executives were convicted ofraud.well-care says it properly informed the statatbefore ititas selected to help manage the new four- point-two-billion dollar program.the company is asking the state to reverse its decision. an eastern iowa beef mer is rerelling 200 pounds s beef sticks over listeria concerns. concerns.the iowa department

products are from the edgewood locker in edgewood.the beef sticks ha cheese in them and were packaged decemberer5th - - - d come in 8 ounce or 2 pound packages.they were sold either at directly at the edgewood locker or at greenwood grocery in farely.so far -- no illnesses have been reportrt.anyone w w bought the beef sticks should return them or throw them away. the university of iowa and u-n- i have been named among the best public colleges for value. kiplger's has the u-i as the 57th best value --with u-n-i just one spot behind at 58th. both schools got high marks for their four-year graduation rates -- and total cost per- year. coming up on the cbs 2 news at noon - reasonsnshy ou should take down your christmas tree before too long after the holidays.

on average, it takes three hundred americans working for a solid year, to make as much money as one top ceo. it's called the wage gap. and the republicans will make it worse byowering taxes for those at the top and letting corporations write their own rules. hillary clinton will work to close the wage gap. equal pay for women to raise incomes for families, a higher minimum wage, lower taxexefor the middle class. she gets the job done for us.

every year -- christmas tes are to responsible fororore an 200 hundred fires around the united states. the cedar rapids fire department says you should think about turning off of your tree's lights when you go to bed -- and frequently checking your tree. you should also throw it out if branches easily break off. fire officials say the older a tree is the more dangerous it becomes. justin checks in now with your

main weather- your planner shows wh's head for the next hoursa&- now a live look outside courtesy of our weatherfirst skycama&- a bit of fog in the area this morninga&-temperatures around the areaa&- taking a look at regional temperatates we see highs are mild all around iowa - the regional satellite/radar is keeping conditions quiet - let's move ahead in time by taking a look at the midwest

closer view with our 'predictor' forecast we see mainly quiet conditions - today's forecast features clear skies & cooler temperatures- tonight's forecast has us looking for mainly clear & chilly conditions- the next three days s sw more dry and cool weathth- our 7 day forecast doeoebring more cool weather to the area

the corridor has been working hard through the holidays to make sure every child has prests under the tree this christmas. but as cbs 2 news reporter joy howe shows us, another group that needs some love, is getting some holiday help as well. when athena and joel sheets came into last hope animal rescue...((nat t p))they said they saw a puppy on the rescue's facebook page they wanted to help - and pulled out their own money. nats: clip 0098vi so how much do you have? 125 dollars. oh my gosh! 21216.28.15 the lunteers herereouldn't believe it, the

make any animal-lover, pause. girl athena - 21.38.25.21 we have o own dog, and if he got sick like this, i bet anybody would donate money for him. so we thought we should do this for him, too." 21.38.35.26 boy joel 21.39.08 so other people can have a great christmas, and have a dog in their life 21.38.15.14 mom 21.3.335 i'm very proud of them, very proud. the puppy is obi-wan - appropriately named, along with his brothers luke skywalker, and han solo, rescued from texas. these two, are doing just fine. obi-wan we're hoping that the force will be wiwi obi wan i guess! 21.15.51.05 is still fighitng. 21.12.23.10 we will take cases that cost thousands of dollars and we know that money will never get recouped, but it's all for the imals and the animals life. so whatever we can do, we're going to do it." 21.12.34.05animals from all over the world come here- like barclay, from egpyt, when he was covered in third-degree burns, after someone threw acid on him.now, he's on his way to having a new family by

amazing organizationat one point, last he feared after christmas, they'd have e shsh dodo here and move. but people in the community got wind, and stepped up to donate. jeanne butz from our animals, and our family, we're big animal lovers 21.10.01.21 not just money, either...i mean, who wouldn't love this for christmas? 21.23.37.2they told us, it's because they see it. i really appreciate everything that last hope does 21.10.01.21 the love for anals here, goes beyond the scars. it doesn't discriminate what you look like - or even, how old you are. this christmas, last hope, has an everlasting message - give some love, and watch it come back around. last hopdid get the money they neeeefor the down payment to stay in their building, but they need the money to pay it off to stay there permanently. you can stop by and help.we have a link to their weite on our weweite, cbs 2 iowa dot com. still ahead on the cbs 2 news at noon - why rolling stone magazine is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by

praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress than any other member. cracked the gridlock wiwi john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare.

a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in. sanders: i'm berere sanders and i approve this message.. at least 25 people are dead after a hospital fire in saudi arabia. arabia.saudi civil defense officials say the fire broke out earlthis morning.nearly 125-people were hurt and sent to other hospitals and clinics in the area.investigators are working to figure out the cause.

prostests are expected today over police ootings. shootings.a protest yesterday shut down terminals at the minneapolis saint paul international airport -- forcing flight delays.the demonstration started at the mall of america -- but moved to the airport when officers closos mall entrances.s.a black lives matter activist says the mall was a decoy to disrupt the airport.the protesters are calling for video to be released in the police shooting death of jamar clark. 9 blacaclives matttt protesters were arrested in los angeles after staging a demonstration in the middle of a freeway -- bringing traffic to a stand-still wednesday. that area is expecting a record 3-point-5 million travelers to pass through l-a-x this holiday season -- with more than 200-thousand yesterday alone. rolling stone magazine is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by formerer university of virirnia fraternity members. members.the men are suing the magazine over its now-debunked article about a rape at their frat house.rolling stone retracted the story after no evidence was found that t e rape actually happened.but the

should be tossed because the article didn't mention anyone by name.right now -- there are three seperate lawsuits against the rolling stone over the story.. the illinois attorney general is calling daily fantasy sports betting illegal gambling. gambling.a legal opinion issued last night proposes that fan-duel and draft-kings stop accepting bets in the state. fantasy sports are specifically defined as legal in federal law that prohibits other forms of on-line gambling.but states can regulate or ban those formsf gambling.a lawyer for draft-kings said the company will take action in court to allow fantasy sports betting to continue in illinois. coming up on the cbs 2 news at noon - what you can do to clean up your finances as we get ready to rn the calelear

it's time for to your finances. every week our friends from tryon investments join us to answer your questions on money. today we are talking about investment resolutions for

a7`ay attention to yielda7trim concentrated holdingsa7review mutual fund feesa7stop looking for the bottom ininila7ignore sensationalisma7stop buying golda7stop panicking and take a deep breatha7ask your advisor how they are paid

justin has your weather to go next...but first here's a look

markets. that does it for us here on the cbs 2 news at noon.our next newscast is this afternoon live at five.and you can see us right back here to dad: i'm on it. culligan man: dude. don't do it yourself. dad: no? culligan man: no.

you get better water, and rvice you can actually count on. dad: hey, culligan man. culligan man: hey! dad: this is great! praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress than any other member. cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future toelieve in. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. you get better water, and service you can actually count on. dad: hey, culligan man. culligan man: hey! dad: this is great! culligan man: i know. anncr: leave it to the experts. with a culligan whole-house water softening system,