a dangerous tornado outbreak slams mississippi, tennessee and arkansas. the last minute rush for holiday shoppers. morning. hillary clinton fires back at donald trump over his vulgar slur. while ted cruz blasts a political cartoon that depicts his daughter. and the panic 911 call over an elf on the shelf. "early today" starts right now. good morning on this christmas eve. we begin with breaking news. at least seven people confirmed dead following extreme weather in much of the southern part of the country. storms which the national weather service called a particularly dangerous situation, the first such

in a year and a half. >> reporter: a rare sight for december. a massive funnel cloud in mississippi. the south and midwest on edge and under the gun. >> tornado emergency continues for the cell that has been tracking through north mississippi this afternoon. >> roofs ripped from homes. the same system throwing cars off the roadway near mississippi. numerous tornado watches and states. >> we're looking still at that tornado activity especially across parts of tennessee and mississippi. and there are 72 million who will still see the chance of severe weather overnight. >> reporter: in arkansas, rains and high winds pushed a tree on to a house killing an 18-year-old woman. >> you only hear about these stories. you don't expect to be in them. the storms brought heavy rains

making driving tough for truckers and holiday travellers alike. and in the nation's busiest airports, weather added to the wait as millions make their way home for the holiday. meteorologist schneider will join us shortly. it is crunch time with a record holiday rush on the roads and in the air with 100 million americans traveling more than 50 miles from home for the holidays this year. last minute shoppers are facing christmas. >> reporter: from coast to volume. froms to post offices, roads to airports, take a look at the crush of passengers at chicago o'hare. arriving and departing flights delayed. >> just made sure i got here early enough to get through security. >> reporter: more weather delays on the east coast. flights cancelled.

snow. that's really good for me. >> reporter: out on the road 91 million americans trying to merge into the traffic on the get away. we found the mcdonald's on connecticut turnpike flipping far more burgers. >> a normal day, 1600 but today 5,000 or more. >> reporter: for the malls, this is do or die time with warm weather taking a big bite out of seasonal sales, retailers have been marking down to drive up customer traffic. >> i tend to be a late shopper. >> reporter: at this best buy in miami, she has been selling lots of wearable technology. >> i feel like they're simply trying to get their shopping done at this point and looking to come in, get great deals and be in and out. >> reporter: it's also the season to ship. the postal service processing 545 million packages. and dale had 200 to deliver.

the busiest time of the year. and plenty of stores are staying open late tonight including target, walmart and toys' r us. activists stormed the largest mall in the country as part of the black lives matter protest before moving on to one of the biggest airports. >> reporter: tense moments that minneapolis saint paul airport as black lives matters supporters tried to occupy one of the terminal buildings. police were seen taking several people into custody and security check points were closed for some 45 minutes while outside the demonstration caused traffic chaos on an already hectic travel day. the protests started at the mall of america on one of the busiest

despite a court order, hundreds protested the november shooting death of 24-year-old jamar clark who authorities say was unarmed. continue. many of the malls' stores closed and when security prevented protesters from entering, many boarded public transit and headed for the airport. the protest comes a year after some 1,500 people shut down part of the mall. angered over police involvement in the deaths of unarmed black men in ferguson, missouri and new york. donald trump is heading to the christmas holiday with a commanding lead. a new poll has him getting 39% of support among republican voters. that's a whopping 21% lead over ted cruz. ben carson, mark rubio and chris

there doesn't seem to be let up in the escalating verbal feud. nbc's hallie jackson has more. >> reporter: after donald trump's crude "s" word describing hillary clinton's loss to barack obama. she's using three b words to describe trump's campaign. >> bigotry, bluster, bullying. >> reporter: clinton arguing it shows trump's sexism and trump arguing he's been misinterpreted. mad at the media. ted cruz is also. not because of words, but a an editorial cartoon in the daughters as monkeys after he put them in a campaign ad spoofing christmas stories. >> i'll use my own server and no one will be the wiser. >> reporter: the cartoonist argues that made the kids fair

hillary kids, anybody's kids. live kids alone. >> reporter: the paper pulled the cartoon after they backed it up with words of their own. this comes as cruz capped a six day swing through states that vote march first, building momentum off three c words. crowds, in bigger numbers, more cash in the bank than any other gop candidate and a confidence of turning out conservatives in iowa and the south. that seems like your strategy to draft behind trump. >> they have been trying to get me to play political pundant. and to attack donald trump. and i'm not interested in throwing rocks at anybody in this race. >> reporter: that's prompting words of warning that he may want not a detaunt but a dual.

cruzility will -- will have to denounce trump's language. meteorologist bonny schneider is here with more on that severe weather outbreak. >> we can see possibility of tornadoes, heavy rain, damaging wind and flooding. something to keep a close watch on as so many people are traveling. to the west snow developing. we have seen it over idaho yesterday. more of that is in the forecast for today. be very careful in the mountain passes when you are driving because the roads could get a little dicy. notice southern california looking fantastic for christmas eve. you will need the umbrella handy in the bay area. we have rain in the forecast for san francisco. 33 for denver. getting colder christmas day. the cold air coming into focus for christmas. 16 is the high temperature in billings. we are definitely going to see snow in the northern tier of the country.

a warmhristmas there. something to definitely keep track of. watch out for cold weather as we high of 65 with mostly sunny skies. overall looking fantastic in the southwest. we are looking at pretty good conditions for christmas. it's just not a white christmas in many locations. thanks. what did one girl do when her elf fell off the shelf? she called 911. 7-year-old isabella accidently knocked over the elf and worried called 911. and her mom woke up to see her daughter shoeing the police out the door.

didn't ruin christmas. and just ahead, daily fantasy sports illegal and santa clause is officially on the move at this hour. here is a look at norad santa tracker. you can watch santa's progress

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to represent himself in court. this is after he took issue with with his attorney's suggestion that he was not competent to stand trial. and fantasy sports betting is considered illegal gambling under state law because it involves playing a game of chance or skill for money. this comes after new york's attorney general called for draftkings and fandual to cease operations in their state. and check out this surveillance video that showed a smash and grab in south florida. they rammed their truck into a store and proceeded to steal $8,000 worth of jeans. they even made off with a mannequin. police are still hunting for the

and at the san diego zoo, christmas came early for polar bears. the snow was created just for them. americans are projected to spend almost $26 billion on gift cards this holiday season, most of which are purchased in the four days leading up to christmas. nearly 75 peace corps of american american -- 75% of americans say they will purchase at least one gift card for the holidays. fed ex saying it has been operating around the clock to accommodate surging volume for some retailers and is performing like it should. the agency is expecting 400,000 more drones registered. reg ilgz registration is free.

will face a hefty fine. in an effort to halt illnesses, chipotle has halted its food preparation. onions will be dipped in boiled water. and raw chicken will be maurnated in resealable plastic bags instead of bowls. many changes will be implemented in the coming weeks. just ahead, a college football bowl season is here. plus, an announcer is not letting anything get in the way of his christmas spirit. >> we wish you a merry christmas. we wish you a merry christmas. and a happy new year. just head around the corner to walgreens when you're searching for that perfect little something. walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets, and photo gifts,

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this morning on "today" new mexico governor is apologizing after police were called to a rowdy holiday party she was hosting at a hotel. full details ahead on "today." let's get you caught up on the latest in sports. >> college football bowl season is here. the boise state broncos took on the northern illinois huskies in the san diego county credit union poinsettia bowl. and they served up a lump of coal. boise state wins 55-7. and the godaddy bowl.

the battle of the birds and it second half. brooklyn. nets facing the dallas the nets down three. and fabbious young hits the three sending it into over time. and dirk nowitzki gets the bucket to take a one-point lead. the mavs win 119-118. and several nba stars, including stephen curry and carmelo anthony are lending their voices to a campaign to end gun violence. >> i heard about a shooting involving a 3-year-old girl this summer. my daughter, riley is that age. >> a gun should never be an option. >> we can all make a difference. >> this spot directed by spike lee and made in support for

busy holiday schedule. and jack edwards didn't let a hockey play get in the way of his christmas spirit. we wish you a merry christmas we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year i love the holidays! >> perhaps not your normal play by play but what better way to ring in the holidays than with some carolling. turns out the vatican not a huge fan of the new "star wars" movie. and jerry seinfeld has a special festivus message. that's up next. olay regenerist renews from within, plumping surface cells for a dramatic transformation without the need for fillers your concert tee might show your age...

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just one reason more of us are surviving cancer than dying from it. give now to the american cancer society. in entertainment news. a surprise twist to the annual kardashian christmas card. only the younger generation is featured. and kim and kanye's daughter, north. yesterday was festivus. so, jerry seinfeld took to instagram. >> happy festivus. here's the metal pole and here's

everything. official vatican spokesperson says the review likely won't have effect on the pontiff as pope francis doesn't watch movies. >> a lot of people laughing at the review. >> pretty positive. most people love it. >> my kids loved it as did their parents. >> you're watching "early today." coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad... ...you need new theraflu expressmax. theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax.

leading the news on nbcnews.com, dalene bowden fired

lunch. she was placed on leave and the school district. her firing sparked out rage on social media. the district says it's been in opportunity for her to return to employment. during the holiday season, the christmas lights show has been elevated to high art. neighborhoods where decorating for the holidays takes on a whole new meaning. >> reporter: every town has one. a neighbor or neighborhood where the christmas lights have to be seen to be believed. in brooklyn, it's diker heights. bungalows and houses decked to the e x. 30 years at this and she can't stop. >> let's put that there, let's go buy that. and it becomes --

safe to stroll. what does it make you feel like? >> you're happy. you're smiling. how can you not smile when you see all this decoration. nobody does this. >> reporter: well, maybe not exactly. there's a house in tracy, california, fitted out like it's a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and a guy in las vegas whose house turns into a juke box, topping the charts, metallica. >> reporter: daylight in december is hard to come by, so from ancient times people have done their best with candles and greenery. electricity allowing multitudes of people to connect with their inner clark grizwall. if your light count has reached the hundreds of thousands, these days you're just getting started.

sure is worth it. harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> brings out the kid in all of us. >> also for the neighborhood. >> celebrating birthdays on this christmas eve. one direction member lewis tomlinson turns 24. ryan seacrest and ricky martin turns 44. >> have a wonderful holiday. one is dead -- the other injured. details ahead. deadly twister. an intense twister crosses right over an interstate. the damage it caused plus where this happened.

rejoice. today you can stream many of the beatles iconic songs. we'll tell you which streaming services are offering the deal. wake up bump good morning. thanks for waking up with us. time for weather. >>here's what you