it's thursday, december 24th, 2015. this is the "cbs morning news." deadly storms rip through the south and midwest, threatening nearly 4 million people. there is extensive damage, as rescue crews search for missing residents through the night. >> i'm hoping i still got a house but if i ain't, i still got my life. thank god for that. the severe weather is causing delays and headaches as holiday travelers scramble to get home. and demonstrators in minnesota protesting last montnts police shooting of a black man causes major delays at the minneapolis/st. paul airport. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green.

dead this morning as violent weather sweeps across the midwest and south. tornadoes slammed into several mississippi communities, killing at least four people, including a 7-year-old boy. at least 40 people are hurt and two are missing. a massive tornado hurled debris across traffic on i-55 in mississippi. the powerful winds flipped a semi on to its side. at least 22 tornadoes were reported across six states. the national storm prediction center called the weather particularly dangerous. omar villafranca shows us the widespread destruction. >> reporter: a large tornado plowed through northern mississippi wednesday afternoon near the town of clarksdale. the tornado was apparently on the ground for ten minutes, damaging homes and blowing a tractor-trailer off the road. the storm moved toward nearby comeau, wrecking houses and out buildings. >> several tornadoes spread

some into illinois and eastern parts of iowa and indiana. >> reporter: drivers could barely make their way along the highway 12 in southern missour the storm pelted the area with hail. witnesses in highland, arkansas, say storms there rolled in without warning. >> it snapped off a pine tree by my truck and i just slammed my seat belt on and thank lord let me survive this. >> reporter: in polk county, arkansas, an n -year-old woman died after a tree fell onto her house. forecasters say the risk for long track tornadoes continues. >> this urgent vigilance for everybody in the severe weather threat area. nighttime tornadoes, very dangerous. >> reporter: the threat diminishes thursday and the focus turns to recororhigh temperatures expected on thehe east coast. omar villafranca, cbs news. meteorologist eric fisher of our boston station wbz says the christmas eve forecast shows more severe weather. >> after our tornado outbreak, unfortunately, turning deadly,

weather across the southeast here on christmas eve day. the storms extending from the western florida panhandle right on up to the atlanta area through charlotte and raleigh. the severe threat is a little bit lower but quite a few thunderstorms and chance of flash flooding and local heavy rainfall. we are looking at very stormy pattern and unusually warm air. temperatures 30 degrees above average in the northeast and mid-atlantic corridors. 70s for many. and 80s in florida and breaking numerous record highs on christmas eve and more warm temps in the southeast on christmas day. in fact, right at midnight, maybe santa making his arrival. 63 in new york city and 69 charlotte and 70 in atlanta and miami at 77 and warm across the board. then as we look to the end of this weekend where everyone is starting to travel and head home, a major winter storm gets started in the southern plains and starts to move up to the midwest with ice and snow and heavy rain to east of it and this will be very disruptive to start next week. i'm meteorologist eric fisher for cbs news. the storm are snarling travel on this busy holiday get-away day.

of flight delays and cancellations on the east coast as a record number of travelers took to the skies and the roads. don champion is at new york's laguardia airport. n, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the travel website reports there were more than 9,600 flights and delays and over a 1,000 flight cancellations nationwide yesterday. here at laguardia, you can see behind me right now, there are already dozens and dozens of people lined up at ticket counter tickets here to make sure they are on one of the first flights out of here. instead of being nestled in their beds, scores of travelers are waking up at airports across the country this morning, hoping to make it to their loved ones on christmas eve. >> we going to jamaica. supposedly. >> reporter: today's holiday rush includes many passengers

had their flights either delayed or cancelled because of heavy rain or fog in the northeast. while bob and diane risinger took it in stride. >> i'm a retired pilot so we understand weather and plane delays. >> reporter: shea and her husband, whose flight to ohio was rebooked three times, say they have had enough! >> we are going to try to get our money back and maybe go next weekend. >> reporter: over the next few days, many airlines are shifting the timing of flights, adding red eyes and using bigger planes to get people to their destination. >> big thing is just give myself some extra time. >> reporter: 38 million people are expected to fly during the christmas and new year's holidays. so definitity pack a lot of patience this year if you're flying out of town today. by the wayayif you're going to be taking gifts as a carry-on with4you, we are told because of enhanced security measures, it's best that you leave them unwrapped. >> very good advice, don champion at laguardia airport in new york, thank you. cbs news has confirmed the obama administration is planning raids to deport hundreds of

illegally since last year. the nationwide roundup will target adults and children already ordered to leave by a judge. many are fleeing violence in central america. it could begin as soon as january. minnesota officials are slamming protesters who caused major delays at the minneapolis/st. paul airport. >> reporter: hundreds of black lives matter demonstrators flooded the airport wednesday. they are demanding the release of video of the recent fatal police shooting of a black man. another group linked hands and blocked a road leading to a terminal. about 500 demonstrators shut down part of the nation's largest mall nearby. police arrested 15 peoeoe at both protests. >the latest national poll shows donald trump dominating the republican field. 39% of republicans and republican leaning voters say that they support the billionaire real estate mogul.

with 18%. he is followed by ben carson a a marco rubio, both have 10%. major garrett shows us how the latest campaign controversy has united the gop rivals. >> it's not complicated. don't make fun of a 5-year-old girl. and a 7-year-old. >> reporter: that is ted cruz responding to this online "the washington post" editorial cartoooodepicting his two daughters as trained monkeys. the cartoon came after cruz's daughters appeared in this campaign ad. >> the grinch who lost her e-mails. >> reporter: poking fun at hillary clinton's e-mail woes. >> i'll use my own server and no one will be wiser. >> reporter: at first the cartoonist said cruz using his daughters to deliver a political attack made them fair game. the post then retracted the cartoon saying it's generally the policy of our editorial section to leave children out of it. >> folks want to attack me, knock yourself out. that is part of the process. i signed up for that. that's fine. but my girls didn't sign up for it. >> reporter: marco rubio called

donald trump bad. jeb bush -- a big mistake. with republicans talking about impropriety in politics donald trump says hillary clinton is the front-ruruer and she was interviewed by "the des moines register. >> not the first time he has demonstrated pension for sexism. >> reporter: earlier this week, trump used this yiddish vulgarity to describe hillary clinton's 2008 defeat. >> she was favored to win and she got -- she lost. >> reporter: trump said the word is not vulgar and often used to mean beaten badly. he called reporting on the flap, dishonest. >> i don't know that he has any boundaries at all. >> reporter: a new quinnipiac national poll found clinton ahead d trump 47% to % and effectively tied with marco rubio and ted cruz. that survey alsoound 50% of voters said they w/uld be embarrassed to have trump as president. major garrett, cbs news,

at least 15 civilians have died across iraq wednesday following a series of bomb attacks. the explosions occurred as iraqi forces gained ground in an offensive to recapture the city of ramadi. isis took over control of the city in may. and the remains of six american service members killed in afghanistan monday have returned to the united states. the bodies arrived wednesday at the new castle air national guard base in delaware. all six were killed by a suicide bomber. the taliban claimed responsibility. coming up on the "morning news." let it stream. is morning, the beatles music catalog hits streaming servivis for the first time. details in "moneywatch." this is the "cbs morning news." "moneywatch." this is the "cbs morning news."l i can think about is getting relief. only nicorette mini has a patented fast-dissolving formula. it starts to relieve sudden cravings fast. i never know when i'll need relief. that's why i only choose nicorette mini.

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"the san jose mercury news" reports a southwest airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in oakland, california, four hours after it had left the airport. flight 2447 developed landing - gear problems after taking off for chicago on wednesday. 139 passengers and crew were on board. after circling for four hours to burn off the fuel, the pilot landed the plane safely. "the guardian" newspaper of london says the british government is investigating where a british muslim family of 11 was prevented from boarding a flight in london for los angeles. u.s. authorities did not provide an explanation. the family planned to visi disneyland. the airline told the family it would not refund the $13,000 they paid for tickets. "the new york times" says the typical american adult lives st 18 miles from hisisr her mother. the proximity is, in part, based on education. those with college degrees are more likely to live farther from

of job opportunities in distant places. on the c c "moneywatch," the beatats now available on streaming and a hotel cyberhacking. hena daniels is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, hena. >> good morning. high prices for oil surged a third consecutive day. that drove wall street stocks higher for a third day. the dow closed 185 points higher on wednesday. the s&p 500 was up 25 points. and the nasdaq gained 44 points. stock markets will have a shortened training session today ahead of the christmas holiday. hyatt hotel says hackers breached its computer system and may have obtained customers' credit card numbers and other sensitive information. hyatt said the malware was discovered last month and did not say why it waited three weeks to report the problem. hyatt is the latest of several major hotel chains to have been hacked this year. the beatles said, "let it be." starting this morning, their

the most popular streaming services around the world. she loves you it's been a hard day's night help >> i love that song! the beatles were hold out to the digital era out of concern that selling individual songs would devalue their valuable song catalog. google is said to be testing a new system for its e-mail service that does not require a password. users would enter their e-mail address when logging on to their google account. a notification would then appear on their mobile device asking whether they are trying to sign n in from another device. when they click yes, they are in the system. this is expected to be yet another big year for giving gift cards. a survey by the national retail federation estimates about 75% americans will buy at least one gift card this year. the service says americans spend $12 billion annually on gift cards. the reason?

>> of course! always the right size, the right color. and best of all, you can buy them late on christmas eve! >> exactly right! >> hena daniels at the new york stock exchange, thanks a lot, hena. up next. sweeping apology. giants wide receiver odell beckham jr. says he is sorry for dropping the ball after some rough play sunday.reatment. i am ready. because today there's harvoni. a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. harvoni is proven to cure up to 99% of patients... ...who've had no prior treatment. it's the one and only cure that's one pill, once a day for 12 weeee. certain patients... ...can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. with harvoni, there's no interferon and there are no complex regimens. tell your doctor if you have other liver or kidney problems, hiv, or other medical conditions, and about all the medicines you take

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the country. in sports, the new york giants star receiver odell beckham jr. is going to have to serve that one-game suspension. the league denied beckham's appeal. he was suspended on monday for his conduct sunday against the carolina panthers, including a diving helmet-to-helmet hit. beckham says he owes some people an apology. in a statement, beckham said, i am responsible for my behavior. people expect better from me, and i expect better from myself. beckham will miss sunday's game against minnesota. > and dirk nowitzki moved into sixth place on the nba's career scoring list. nowitzki hit this jumper to move past shaquille o'neal. he then made the go ahead basket

the plplers who appear in the nba has put its weight behind some television commercials calling for an end to gun violence. the ads will begin playing on christmas. the ads speak about the effect of gun violence in their life. the ads contain no policy recommendations but they were paid for by a group who supports stricter gun control measures. still ahead, legal strategy. robert dear, the suspect in the deadly planned parenthood shooting, wants to fire his lawyers. details ahead. so when the flu hits, call your doctor right away and up the ante with antiviral tamiflu. prescription tamiflu is an antiviral that attacks the flu virus at its s srce and helps stop it from spreading in the body. tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu

whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu, tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash,h, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk. of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. anti-flu? go antiviral with tamiflu. want to do something special this holiday season? support i have a dream foundation. help a child achieve the dream of a higher education. cbs cares. organ donation can truly provide a second chance at life. find out how you can help someone in need be a real survivor. go to donatelife.net. cbs cares. want to do something special this christmas? support i have a dream foundation. help a child achieve the dream of a higher education.

>here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. well, here is another took

violent storms left at least seven people dead in the midwest and south. more than 20 tornadoes were reported across six states. at least 40 people are injured in mississippi alone. e storms destroyed homes and snarled traffic on a busy get-away day. at least 31 people are dead and more than a hundred were injured in a fire at a hospital in saudi arabia this morning. the blaze broke out in the intensive care unit and the maternity ward. cause of the fire is under investigation. the gunman who admitted to killing three people in a planned parenthood clinic in colorado springs wants to be his own lawyer when he goes on trial. robert dear told a judge on wednesday that h hhas a right to represent himself. dear is awaiaing a mental competency evaluation. officials in brazil are asking couples to hold off on plans to become pregnant. it follows a staggering rise of

microcephaly. there have been more than 2,400 0 cases in the past year. experts believe the cause is a mosquito-born virus. and finally, a high wattage christmas in springfield, new york. you got to see this. there are 23,000 lights on the so-called chchstmas house. volunteer firefighter jim josiac has decorated his front yard like this the last seven years he also collects food donations for local pantries. this year, he has gotten more than 1,300 pounds of food as a donation. ybe a little money for the electric bill? coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," an outlook for the holiday shopping season. is it going well or not? i'm anne-marie green. and this is the "cbs morning news." here's a little healthy advice. eat well,

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want to do something special this holiday season? support i have a dream foundation. help a child achieve the dream of a higher education. cbs cares. organ donation can truly provide a second chance at life. find out how you can help someone in need be a real survivor. go to donatelife.net. cbs cares. want to do something special this christmas? support i have a dream foundation. help a child achieve the dream of a aigher education.

well, between the interest rate hike and auto recalls, business news captured major headlines thisisear. jill wagner looks back at the top financial stories of 2015. faulty takata r bags caused the recall of 20 million vehicles in the u.s. alone and at least eight people have been killed worldwide and nearly a hundred injured from the air bags spraying shrapnel. >> terrifying. i thought i was going to bleed out. >> reporter: volkswagen admitted to using special software in 11 million vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. the ceo apologized tha the scscdal led to a steep drop in volkswagen sales. >> we will make sure that something like this never happens again. >> reporter: cyberattacks shook up the corporate world. hackers broke inin anthem health insurers that runs blulu

three suspts charged in a giant hacking scheme that targeted at least a does -- dozen corporations. >> the data breaches at these firms were breathtaking in scope and in size. >> reporter: the new york stock exchange said it was not a cybebettack that halted trading over the summer. a technical glitch shut down the exchange for nearly four hours. the shutdown was followed by a meltdown. the stock market had some of its sharpest declines in history, when instability in foreign economies spooked wall street. >> i've never seen the dow down a thousand points in one move. >> reporter: by the end of the year, the dow was nearly where it started. unemployment edged down to 5%. and the more robust job market led the federal reserve to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. oil prices plunged. that gave consumers a break at the pump, where gas prices flipped to around $2 a gallon. apple launched its smartwatch. >> the most advanced timepiece

>> reporter: in a pair of megagargers, drugmakers pfizer and allergan announced plans to join forces. and dow chemical agreed to merge with dupont, creating the second biggest chemical country in the world. chipotle stock took a tumble to restaurant chain scrambled to contain a ecoli outbreak. mark zuckerberg and his wife welcomed a baby girl and they promised to donate the bulk of their $45 billion fortune to charity. a holiday gift to remember. jill wagner, cbs news, new york. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," an effort by food companies to swap out artificial ingredients in their food. we will have the details. plus, dr. david agus has his health predictions for 2016. and a look how the holiday shopping season is shaping up as we buy our last-minute presents. that is the "cbs morning news" for this thursday.

have a great day.