across the middle of the country. it results from an intense low pressure system and it's reeking havoc. chicago's willis tower even played lightning rod to the storm. from canceled flights to an uprooted tree, the witch is making her presence felt. she is not done just yet. bill karins will have more in just a few minutes. and we have breaking news overnight to tell you about. the u.s. and its allies are taking the fight toisis. right now, iraqi kurdish fighters are pushing to retake the strategic town of sinjar, according to the associated press. it sits rightci between the islamic state's two biggest strong hold..

line, getting it back. isis took it in august i of last year, causing thousands of people to flee mountains. we'll update as more information becomes available. surveillance video captured apt deadly house explosion in new jersey. you canje see the roof being blown right off the family homes. 15 people were injured, two of them critically with severe burns, one dead. and a preliminary investigation found no evidence the blast was gasas related, though several people s reported smelling gas. republican candidates are back on the campaign trail this morning, defending their stances from the debate. and now there'sde new focus on how they lead their party.

ben carson was p warning people of secular progressives. >> they don't care whether you agree with them or not, as long as you sit down and keep your mouth shut. >> meanwhile, ohio governor, john kasich is continuing his theme from the debate, saying republicans needsa to be less extreme if they want to beat the b democrats in 2016. but neither kasich or carson can count on this man, charles koch, at least not yet. he says he's unlikely to support anyone in the primaries but is likely to help a republican in the general election. tracie, donald trump is once again defending his policy on immigration. >> reporter: exactly but not giving agr n lot of specifics on how he would humanely deport 11 million people. he said and i'm quoting, it's a management thing and ben carson not being specific on the

comment hec threw out that china is involved in syria. nothing confirmed. asked where that information came from and he said he'd have toav refer reporters to other people and left it at that. let's talk about ted cruz and marco rubio. now it looks like they may be headed towards a face off. cruz last night in new hampshire talking about immigration and thatnd plan that he participated in that eventually failed on capital hill and he calls out marco rubio, saying where were you when we were trying to come up with a immigration plan? and rubio calls russia's leader, vladimir putin a gangster. and jeb bush who held his own on that debate is focusing on donald trump and the syrian refugees.

aug not always a lot of specifics. >> tracie potts live for us in washington d.c. new details from that deadly plane crash in hoyowa and new video. moments before it crashed into an apartment building on tuesday. all nine people on the jet were killed. seven were kimembers of a florida real estate firm. >> i just -- it's just not real yet. >> the ntsb is looking at the voice recorder and weather data to determine what caused the crash. a team is helping to identify the victims.

recover from flight 93 in 9/11. amidst all the racial tensions over the last week, 19-year-old hunter m. park was taken into custody 9 miles south of the store, row porting on yik yak i'm going to stand my ground and kill every black person i see. security was increased on campus. meanwhile, the influence of protests may be spreading. in new york at ithica college calling on their c president to shut down. a brush fire started yesterday evening in simi valley. firere crews say it's now fully contained thanks to the quick work of firefighters aided by helicopters.

andeded meteorologist here with the other weather concern we're talking bouptabout, the witch of november. >> allve of the reports are right where they were supposed to be. iowa and missouri. and 126 reports of wind damage and that's where they'll do clean up of branchs and debris. and the des moines airport, one was spotted but no significant tornados. the stortom system itself is still cranking over the top of central wisconsin and the winds are just howling right now. so, rainfall is steady right now in eastern portions of ohio, headed for western pennsylvania, it's notlv a pretty morning for areas of minnesota and wisconsin. and the winds are what's going to be g dangerous today. des moines, south bend, grand

advisories, eery, pittsburgh, all the way back to the dakotas and the strongest winds right now are located through iowa. look at these gusts, still up to almost 50 mile-per-hour wind gusts. that's your national weather, now ahe closer look at your day ahead.d. well, you can see the cloudy, kind of dreary windy conditions that will be blowing through the great lakes today. the leaves will be blowing all over the place. as we recover from the storm system yesterday, iowa, nebraska and kansas will be dry. so, shannon, the severe portion of the storm is over but still impressive winds today. thank you. we're going to show you ahead what one dad bought his 7-year-old daughter for $77 million. bate for wait for that. plus an nbc news investigation. one died after authorities

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pointing a laser at a plane or helicopter is a federal crime and that's what workers at a restaurant in brooklyn, new york just found out when they pointed a laser at choppers last night. it nearly blinded dennis and his pilot. >> we're talking about a helicopter that weighs two ton and imagine that coming down on your house because the pileotpilot's vision is impaired. >> one was arrested. san francisco was on high alert when a gunman pointed his rifle at a hospital. the gunman was shot dead. earlier in the day, the suspect

had robbed a sporting good store and stole a rifle and ammunition ammunition. this shows two women twerking and groping a man standing in line. well, that guy called police after he repeatedly asked them to stop. she was charge would third degree sexual abuse. they're still searching for the second woman. and now into an investigation on how a man died in police custody. officers tased him up to 20 times while on the ground and while restrained in the back of a police car and now 2 ask1/2 years later, a video shedding light. >> reporter: it started at a hotel complex in virginia where they found this man unarmed and hallucinating but cooperative. >> we're going to take you to

the emergency room. >> reporter: they took him to a local er for treatment. and this footage shows lambert suddenly kicking out the police squad window and then in front of the er tasing him repeatedly as he lay on the ground. officers never took lambert inside for treatment. instead, they bound his legs and tased him again after restraining him back in a police car. each taz carries 50,000 volts. >> the taser company logs for these officers showed they discharged their taser 20 times in half an hour last night. we don't know how many hit lambert. >> reporter: by the time lambert arrived at the jail he was

unresponsive. medics took him back to the hospital where he was announced dead on arrival. now his younger sister is suing police for up to $25 million. >> he was not a citizen to them and then they tied his legs up. where was he going to go? >> reporter: the police department denies all the claims saying the taser use was appropriate and necessary because he damaged property and was a danger. former atf agent gymjim cavanaugh. >> it's excessive force through excessive use of a taser of a prisoner restrained already. >> reporter: they listed the death as acute cocaine intoxication. >> today there is a hearing.

criminal investigation remains open. the toy industry is expecting its stronger year in a decade. they're expecting annual toy sales to tries nearly $20 billions this year. now to a toy of another sort. this 12 caret rare blue diamond is the highest price ever paid at auction for any gem stone. and it was purchased for 7-year-old daughter and promptly renamed the blue moon of josephine. and the day before he purchased this 16 caret pink diamond ring for over $28 millions, also for his 7-year-old daughter. this was renamed sweet josephine. i had my little pony. i don't know.

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this morning on "today" the latest in the hacking of america series. can your personal information be

held for ransom online? the steps you can take from keeping hackers from locking up your personal files. and fantasy sports sites signalled that their new york customers should keep playing. comcast is among investors in fandue fanduel and the former attorney general said its flawed. and their investigation into russian athletes use substances at the olympic games. and steph curry led the team with 28 and golden state remains 9-0 with a win over the grizzlies and speaking of hot,

the indiana pacers have won five of their last six games. and the pacers beat the home town celtics. and in orlando, game tied a second 1/2 on the clock and a 18 footer to lift the magic to a win over the lakers. can't top a buzzer beater. just ahead, we have huge, huge "star wars" news about princess leah. plus, adel's "hello" is already a blockbuster. wait till you hear what the superstar hasr has 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

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well, welcome back. the big wind story is in the great lakes today and it will still get pretty gusty. and in friday will have a very windy day, temperatures in the sgicht 50s and the only other big story is in the northwest. and now to interentertainment news, members of the cast of "willy wonka" reunite and the river of chocolate wasn't really chocolate.

and princess leah will now be known as general leah. and kate hudson showed off her dance moves. and that's a take on the nene the name of the character she plays in the movie. in a british radio interview, adel says she wants to take up acting. she enjoys making the video for her new song, "hello" so much she wants to continue doing it. and hillary's so old when she hears 2016, she yells bingo. she thought the email scandal meant they were doere hey peter. (unenthusiastic) oh... ha ha ha! joanne? is that you? it's me...

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leading the news in u.s.a. today, target accused of trivializing mental illness with ocd sweater. store is getting criticism for the sweater that says obsessive christmas disorder. they say quote we never want to disappointment any of our guests. this morning, president obama will present the nation's highest military award, the medal of honor to captain grow vurg. he was serving in 2012 when his security detail came under attack. >> i was always going to join the military. >> what motivated you to join

i felt it was my duty as an american to wear the uniform. that morning we were going to prevengsal security meeting. so, we're walking down this road that we have walked many times prior. >> when did you notice something was wrong? >> i felt weird. you've been there, you step up and it's just that day doesn't feel right. i knew something was really wrong when we saw motorcycles coming toward us. and to my left, there's a guy walk backwards, i took off. i grab him by the chest, the vest. >> he had a suicide vest on? >> all i could think was got to get him away from the rest of the guys. detonates. i remember waking up and laying

my fibula, it's sticking out and i'm like, oh, i must have stepped on an iud and i told them stop. i still have a good leg and that's when i saw major griffon and major kennedy, they were all killed in action. so, he put me in the truck and said we got this. >> did you find yourself thinking about the other guys that were -- >> all the time. i wear this bracelet with their names. and when i got the call that i was getting a medal of honor, it was mixed emotions. this belongs to the guys that never make it home and their families. >> congratulations and thank you to him.

today." ppppy cattle markets continue... plus, turkey producers continue to work through tight supplies this holiday season. in agribusiness... i think what the producers today have to really concentrate on is make sure that they put on their merchandising. and these college students are getting help sorting out their careers from their housing situation. agday-brought to you by the dependable, long lasting chevy silverado. good morning i'm clinton griffiths. cattle markets seeing strength during trade at the cme wednesday. the rebound follows limit down trading following tuesday's usda supply demand reports. usda says beef production is expected to climb nearly 5 percent (4.8) in 2016...to 24 point 91 billion pounds. that news pushing live cattle futures for december to

fresh lows--down to 128 per hundred tuesday...before seeing