carolina mall sending shoppers running for cover. and pope francis shares his message at the vatican. and santa takes advantage of the unseasonably warm weather here at home. >> richard lui. we start with the latest of the weather in the south tornados left a path of destructions. emergency crews continue to search for those missing. mark potter is in mississippi with the latest. >> a devastating scene just been christmas. preliminary reports of at least two dozen tornados, including a possible ef 3 believed to have miles.

seven lost, including a 7-year-old boy. powerful winds flipped this semi. >> i already knew it was bad. >> 22-year-old hillary hid under a mattress. >> every house just about around us is gone. this is -- it is still standing but it is not going to make it. >> search teams night and day going house to house looking for victims. >> out here just going through the mess and the trees and just the disaster. >> the governor declared a state of emergency in seven counties. >> families have lost loved ones. funerals will be planned. this should be a joyous, holiday season. >> 18-year-old michaela was killed shielding her sister,

water cascading over this collapsed road. so many now spending this holiday rebuilding homes and coping with heartbreaking loss. >> mark potter reporting. meanwhile up north strong winds knocking out power to michigan and canada. and some places may not get power back until after the holiday weekend. and a police officer shooting and killing a man in north carolina as people run for their lives. >> gunfire on christmas eve causing chaos at the upscale northlake mall in charlotte, north carolina. >> i heard six gunshots and it sounded like fire crackers to me. and then i saw people turning around and running towards me and trampling each other. >> it started with an argument of two groups of people inside

an officer working off duty heard gunshots and intervened. when he encountered one of the men with a gun he opened fire. natalia was at children's place with her twins and became separated from them. >> people went running and went through the store and they rushed through the twins and grabbed the twins and were gone. >> a terrible ordeal these shoppers hadn't bargained for. new protests on the streets of chicago yesterday. an incident caught on video that sparked an up roar. for the first time we're hearing the police dispatch calls as a taser was repeatedly requested for. minutes later laquan mcdonald was dead. >> they marched in the heart of

resignation of mayor imemanuel over the city's handling of the shooting death of the laquan mcdonald. protesters blocked streets and targeted an apple store trying to prevent shoppers from shopping. on christmas eve, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, shut down. van dyke's attorney said he feared for his life. through a freedom of information act request nbc's chicago station obtained audio records from the night mcdonald was shot revealing a taser was ". the dispatcher repeatedly asked

>> anyone close yet? >> four minutes after the initial request for a taser, gunshots. whether an officer with a taser arrived at the scene before mcdonald was shot is unclear. mcdonald later died. officer van dike is scheduled to be arraigned next week on murder charges. it may be the holiday season but that doesn't mean presidential candidates are taking time off. nbc's halle jackson reports. >> reporter: don't feel guilty about your last minute christmas shopping. even presidential candidates are procrastinate procrastinating. >> normally i'm much better organized. but a little busy. >> jeb bush browsing board games.

try to have a monopoly of real estate. >> reporter: and taking shots at hillary clinton on christmas've. >> i haven't gone after hillary yet. and there is a lot to go after. the job he's done is horrible. >> cautioning clinton to be careful after she said this to des moines register. >> this isn't the first time he's demonstrated a pension for sexism. >> reporter: and he's under fire now for what some call his lie of the year. and determining three quarters of his comments are not true. that's also not hurting. >> he's the only candidate i've seen in i don't know how many cycles that's a been able to get away with what he gets away with. the electorate constantly forgives him for the things he saysthank you. >> reporter: trump making plenty of nice but on christmas quiet

spending time with families, sending greets to supporters. >> happyolidays. >> and in rand paul's case, lighthearted swipes at his rivals. at least most of them. i have no drooechbsgrievances against carson because i have not heard a word he said in either debate. >> the pontiff calling for peace. last night pope francis led mass at saint peter's basilica:. security around the vatican has been tighter than usual with

at home meanwhile, many are taking advantage of the warmer weather. in virginia there is santa and his helpers water skiing on the potomac. skpp and in florida, hundreds of surfing santas took part in charity. and the christmas spirit is not just for people anymore. mocha the miniature horse and her owner are ringing in the new year. the pair reminding people of the new meaning of christmas. while the weather in new york city was a bit balmy yesterday. record breaking warmth will continue to grip much of the central and eastern states and this weekend. and it is a whole different story in the west with the snow. i-90 was closed in the pass due to danger of avalanches and heavy snow weighing down trees.

either have to bundle up right now. >> that's true. or an umbrella because of all the rain. and we're seeing flooding danger in alabama, georgia, mississippi and into arkansas. and if that's not enough we're preparing for a major snow storm. this is going to ramp up by saturday night. blizzard watch. we could see two feet of snow. blowing and drifting know. winter storm warnings in colorado. wyoming. up to a foot or more in some areas. and south dakota into minnesota. look out cold for christmas day.

but for saturday it is actually getting colder and that is spreading's ward ing spreading's ward eastward. mild temperatures across northern and central california. sunshine in the northwest with rain in seattle but things are changing as that snow storm ramping up. it is going to be really active straight through tuesday. >> the west would not mind the snow. thank you bonny. >> just ahead, breaking news from nigeria. scores dead in a gas plant explosion. and the here's a little healthy advice. eat well, live well, and take of what makes you, you.

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breaking news out of africa, more than one 00hundred reportedly dead. lining up to buy cooking gas for the holiday when a gas tanking truck caught fire. one witness saying the fire exploded like a bomb. 36 years after they were held hostage, u.s. victims of the iran hostage crisis will receive compensation from the federal government. fantasy sports companies fan duel and draft kings are suing illinois to declare their games legal. this comes a day of the state's attorney general outlawed them as gambling. both companies have said they will continue to operate in illinois pending the outcome of the lawsuits.

the christmas eve show when it spewed lava followed by a tower of smoke and ash 6500 feet into the sky. the volcano has erupted three times since wednesday. no evacuations have been ordered. bristol palin gave birth to her second child on wednesday. she named her newborn child sailor grace. and her mom followed up with a tweet saying oh perfect love. the best gift ever. and warm weather and new trends in online shopping meant big bargains for those procrastinators out there. here is olivia stearns. >> reporter: the race was on. retailers hoping last minute shoppers would finally come to their stores. >> i have to now or it won't get

>> after a season where more and more americans are choosing to buy online. >> about two million americans estimated to be picking up at least one last present on christmas eve. 17% of americans had not even started a week ago. and the procrastination has paid off. >> we're actually seeing huge retailers, gap, old navy, ann tailor putting 50% off signs in their windows and really attracting customers. >> reporter: and then there is always the gift card. don't forget. >> thank you for that. just ahead a pair of tropical bowl games. and that thrilling christmas eve addition of thursday night football goes into overtime.

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this morning on today, cardinal timothy dolan sits down with matt and savannah with a christmas preview of his historic message and a look back at the pope's visit to the u.s. and in football. the raiders and the chargers.

raiders take the lead and go up three after converting the two point conversion. but with a minute remaining, they tie it up and force the overtime. in the extra. seth roberts makes the grab there. setting up this 31 yarder. and the raiders win. and in western michigan taking on middle tennessee in the bahamas bowl. and on offensive bonanza. western michigan went on to win 45-31 for their first bowl victory. and san diego state plays

here the opening kickoff for the score setting the tone for this one. and carson disagreealy and his long time girlfriend make it official. 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, and it's all just a hop, skip, and a bark away. most stores open 'til 10pm on christmas day. enough pressure in here for ya? i'm gonna take mucinex sinus-max.

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time girlfriend siri pinter in a wedding ceremony yesterday. "star wars" is heading for $1 billion at the box office faster than any film in history. it's brought in over $760 million globally since opening and expected to reach the billion dollar mark by the week's end. and california governor jerry brown pardoned the actor for his late 1990s conviction. while mostly a symbolic move to remove it from the actor's record. >> and in the post civil war era the hateful eight. jennifer lawrence is inventor of

and the will smith is out in concussion. which movie do you need to see? >> i'm looking forward to enjoy. i think it is going to be great. >> i actually -- i'm richard lui and this is "early today." coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all l y. 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.

whatcha doin? just prepping for my boss's party in a couple weeks. what are those? crest whitestrips. they whiten way better than paste. crest 3d white whitestrips whiten 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste. someone's making quite an impression. this holiday season, select crest whitestrs are buy one, get one free. everyone's favorite jolly old elf is known by many names. santa claus, cris kringle, father christmas and good ole

and the real st. nick is is a far cry from the santa we know. >> everybody know's santa's real name is saint nick. but you may be surprised to learn the real saint nicholas was born here in turkey almost 1800 years ago. his statue still stands in the center of town where he served as bishop and acted like a saint. his present day successor is revered here too. once a year he holds mass in the church where his famous predecessor was buried. >> and there is an icon of saint nicholas in every greek orthodox church? >> yes of course. >> the stories are fun the bishop says, and they would be even more fun if i was a child

>> how did it go from the real saint to a fairy tale figure and all the reindeer? well, much of that happened in america. a poem described saint nick as jolly and plump, flying in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. cartoonists came up with the image and ads like this one helped lock in it. of course coca-cola has a bigger advertising budget than the orthodox church. >> and do you try and tell people that's not the guy? that has nothing to do with saint nick? >> exactly he says. i've been doing that for 30 years now. but without much success. because it seems people like

richard engel was describing for us the history behind santa claus. it's very interesting. >> it was really fascinating. >> and not just in turkey. saint nick does not like santa claus. >> no. >> and happy birthdays.