>> president barack obama says the united states military and allied forces are hitting the islamic state group harder than ever. obama met today with his nationon security cococil at the pentagon,n,art of a week-long push to explain his strategy against the islamic state group. he just finished speaking about it at a pentagon news briefing you may just have seen here on ktiv. obama will get a briefing at the

ter in the week. the latest reported terror attack in the paris area never happened. french prosecutors say a pre-school teacher made up his story about being stabbed in his classroom today by a masked assailant who invoked the islamic state group. the teacher's claim set off a manhunt in a suburb north of paris. that teacher is now being questioned. france is still under a state of emergency after lastonth's attacks in paris that left 130 people dead. a few weeks later, isis urged its followers to attack teachers in france. > weather ad-lib it'll be a rainy and windy morning commute for most siouxlanders with some isolated areas of mixed precipitation too, so be sure to watch out for a few slick spots on area roads. the rain will move east of the viewing area by around lunchtime which will leave us cloudy, breezy and cool this afternoon with steady temperatures in the 30s. clouds will remain in place overnight, b b we should stay dry with the e eception of little patchy fog and drizzlin some places. most of tuesday will also be dry

of our next weather system that could bring a light late day mix out west, but the main threat for that and light snow will be tomorrow night and wednesday morning. some places in northern/western siouxland could see up to an inch or two of it while the rest of us get a mere snow dusting by the time it moves out late wednesday morning. the rest of the week near 30. see graphics. >>

trump in a presidential election today, she would win. and win pretty handily. that's the finding of a new nbc news - wall street journal poll. it shows that in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, the democratic clinton would beat t t republican trump 50- percent to 40-percent. the polls shows clinton would also beat texas senator ted cruz, 48- percent to 45-percent. but---when pitted against florida senator marco rubio, clinton would lose. the survey found rubio would beat her 48-percent to 45-percent. and ben n rson would edge clinton out, too... 47- percent to 46 percent. a shake-up in the polls shows a new republican presidential candidate emerging as a top contender to take on donald trump in iowa. cnn's kim hutcherson has that story.

percent. on saturday, the des moines register and bloomberg politics released their own poll showing cruz ahead of trump 31 21 percent. the sudden surge comes just a week after the new york times released audio of cruz speaking at a private fundraiser, where he questioned trump and ben carson's judgment to lead america. in a taped one-on-one interview with cnn's jake tapper today, trump responded to those comment. (donald trumum (r) presidential candidate) "i was against going judgment. i was for bombing the oil long before anybody else thought about it. that's good judgment. i have good judgment, i have great judgment. i would say i have far better judgment than ted." the once cordial relationship appears to be entering a new (donald trump/ (r) presidential candidate) "i i ke him. he's been so nice to memei can say anything and he'd say, 'i agree, i agre' but i think the time will come to an end pretty soon it sounds like." the two will face off tuesday in las vegas for the last presidential debate of 2015. >>

branstad. as of today, he has been in office longer than any other governor in the history of the united states, past or present. branstad is in his sixth term over two separate stints as governor of iowa. today is is 7,642nd day of service as governor, just shy of 21 years total. he's moved ahead of george clinton, who was governor of new york from 1777 to 1795, and again from 1801 to 1804. governor branstad is marking the occasion with a celebration in des moines tonight. we'll be there! watch for live coverage tonight on news four. the investigation continues into a weekend house fire that claimed the life of a woman and injured a man in denison, iowa. authorities say 37-year- old wendy waldemar died of injuries suffered in the fire saturday morning. it happened in the 15- hundred block of 1st avenue north. 56-year-old craig streck

there's no word yet on what started it. the fire remains under investigation by the denison police department, denison fire department and iowa state fire marshal's office. santa was in town sunday to hel give a boost to a home where families can stay while their children are hospitalized in sioux city. the ronald mcdonald house on nebraska street has helped siouxland families for more than 20 years. it helps make e using one less thing for people to have to worry about when they've already got enough on their minds while their children go through treatment. the annual santa brunch was held at minerva's on sunday. ktiv's tommie clark was there.

executive director, christy batien. kii also got to ee santa... sasata claus laughing. .and tell them him their christmas wish list. then families could go get some brunch. "the money donated at sunday's event comes right back to the community to fund the ronald mcdonald house here in sioux city." funds will go to the organization's core program-- the house itself. the money will help families who stay there when their kids are in the hospital by providing them with food and the comfort of a home. "families come in and they're able to find that rest and that's exactly what it was designed to do was totohelp keep families together while their child is sick and getting that medical attention. ya know statistics show keeping families together while you're going through that makes the families stronger afterwards and that's really our goal is to keep the family together," said ronald mcdonald house of siouxland executive director, christy batien. organizers say families can stay in the house as long as they need to while their kids receive medical attention. they say it's all about the families and...every dollar counts. in sioux city...tommie clark...ktiv news 4. >> for more information on the ronald mcdonald house or if you'd likekeo donate

hollywood is getting ready for what could be the largest movie premiere in history. the latest in the star wars franchise: the force awakens premieres in los angeles tonight. this is a view of the massive tent on hollywood boulevard where stars will walk the red carpet to the t-c-l chinese theater. if you are in the movie or are close to someone who is, you can see it there tonight. the rest of us will have to waiti untifriday, when it opens in theaters nationwide. it's a soggy day in siouxland. how long will we need to keep the umbrella handy? and is there any snow in the forecast? ben will be back with all the answers, after this. currently and degrees

anncr: when the attacks come here... ...the person behind this desk will have to protect your family. will he be impulsive and reckless, like donald trump? will he have vot

counter-terrorism surveillance, like ted cruz? will he have skipped crucial national security hearings and votes just to campaign, like marco rubio? 27 generals and admirals support sh. because jeb has the experience and knowledge to protect your family. right to rise usus is responsible

it's mid- december.

watch out for a few slick spots on area roads. the rain will move east of the viewing area by around

which will leave us cloudy, breezy and cool this afternoon with steady temperatures in the 30s. clouds will remain in place overnight, but we should stay dry with the exception of a little patchy fog and drizzle in some places. most of tuesday will also be dry ahead of our next weather system that could bring a light late day mix out west, but the main threat for that and light snow will be tomorrow night and wednesday morning. some places in northern/western siouxland could see up to an inch or two of it while the rest of us get a mere snow dusting by the time it moves out late wednesday morning. theheest of the week will be dry and cold with highs near 30. see graphics.

> we'll run down today's farm and financial market numbers when we return... and--- how are we feeling about the economy this holiday season? will we spend more.... or less... than past years? a new cnbc survey gives new w insight...

he's a rock.

weekly decline since summer, stocks are heading lower again today in midday trading. today is the busiest day of the year for the united states postal service. the u-s-p-s estimates more than 15-and-a-half billion pieces of mail will be sent this holiday season. if you want to make sure it gets there by christmas, postal officials say make sure and get it in the mail by next monday. a new "cnbc all-america survey" gives insit into consumer spending and outlook this holiday season. steve liesman goes over the highlights.

improving, a 5-point drop from a year ago. the poll of 800 americans nationwide finds just 13% planning to spend more this year compared to last. on the plus side for consumers are lower inflation and gas prices. only 59 percent of respondents said prices will go up next year, the second-lowest percentage in the nine-year history of the survey. data like that has some economists actually upbeat on the consumer. (sot: john silvia, wells fargo chief economist) "the dollar being stronger, means that imported goods are a little bit cheaper, the price ofof gasoline being a little bit lower onon sustained basis also means that real incomes are going up as well and what we see is the american consumer particularly in services, a little more tourism, and little more travel involved." so it could be that more spending this year ends up in gifts for experiences, like something 25% of survey repsondents saididhey want to receive... but which only about 5% are giving. evidence that online traffic could be peaking. 38% their top two places to shop.... the same percentage as last year. so the dollar amount spent strongly... but not so much the

that was steve liesman reporting. still ahead, sweating it out, in character! just in time for the new star wars movie... the newest fitness movement involves training....

here's a live look at west lake okoboji from our okoboji skycam... the music boosters for pender public schools held the annual sounds of the seasons concert last night. about sixty third through twelfth grade students in choir and band performed. the dinner and concert is a fundraiser for the pender music department. through ticket sales and donations, they raised more than 35-hundred dollars. it's a fun evening of music and ktiv's sarah te slaa had the honor of serving as emcee for the second year. new yorkers are well known for some pretty crazy workout trends. now, just in time for the new star wars movie, lessons in becoming a jedi knight. cnn's clare sebastian has the story.

character. practicing moves just like the lightsaber battles from the movies though perhaps not quite to that level yet... today's instructor daniel reiser...a special education teacher -- has been doing this for 8 years. (daniel reiser, instructor, new york jedi) "where's the fun of just simply watching something, i mean you look at say a football fan - a lot of them are never gonna be an nfl player but they're gonna go in the back yard and throw that football around - it's the same thing but instead of footballs we have lightsabers. it's a way of becoming part of something that we truly love" by day these jedi's in training are... a legal assistant ---- to a kitchen designer... by night - they are united -- by one thing. (russ briggeman) "its a visceral gut feeling, it just feels satisfying to pick up one of these and all of a sudden you are a jedi star wars has inspired a type of fandom that goes way beyond a

fans like these have to experience it...and to really understand why...so do i. luckily i've been practicing my in-jokes (clare sebastian, reporter) "you don't have a reallylyad feeling about th" (luke skywalker) "i've got a bad feeling about this" (daniel reiser, instructor, new york jedi) "i always have a really bad feeling about this - that still doesn't stop me." (clare sebastian, reporter) "one, two, three, four five" whatever your skill level...this group has one core philosophy (daniel reiser, instructor, new york jedi) "once a jedi, always a jedi (clare sebastian, reporter) "so i thinini've finally seen the light as to what it takes to be a true star wars fan. so really...there's only one thing left to say" (whole room) "jedi! may the force be with you!" clare sebastian, cnn, in a galaxy somewhere in manhattan. >> a great holiday event for siouxland veterans... still to come on around siouxland.

around siouxland. the holidays can be a tough time of the year especially for veterans. to help community there's a special event coming up, here to tell usus peterson with support siouxland soldiers. sarah thanks so much for being here. thanks for having me. the holiday for our heroes by support siouxland soldiers is coming up tuesday december 15th, tell us a little bit about that. this is a fun event. it's our 8th annual event and we're very excited. it's open to all veterans and their family members. it'll be from 5:30 to 7:30 on tuesday evening at the red cross. it's a fun

thank all of our veterans and their families for what they've done to serve and sacrifice for our freedom. it'll be a great event, there's a lot involved. tell us some of the things that will be going on, it's a day full of stuff. you can come and go. it starts at 5:30. each family will receive a box of groceries, there will be a big meal. santa claus and his elves will be there handing out toys for the military kids. we have some other agency partners that are going to be providing coats, boots, and hats. we have some local businesses that are going to provide free haircuts, back massages. there's a lot going on that evening and we're pretty excited. for people who don't know, give us so background about support siouxland soldiers. support siouxland. soldiers started as a care package program back in 2007 when we had a large deployment of siouxland troops to iraq. we kept

started to come home and creating these events at the home front to provide a little bit of help for those in need here back at home. you help about 2,000 veterans and their families each year, pretty amazing stuff you 5:30 to 7:30 at the red cross in sioux city. sarah, thanks for being here. thanks for having me. siouxland. >> santa was on the run sunday in venezuela. hundreds of people dressed as santa claus, fairies, elves and reindeers took part in the colorful santa run. ere was a five-k walaland a seven-k race. the run was organized by "tribu", an organization known for holding thematic races across the country. santa races are popular in many countries, but this was the first year for venezuela. meanwhile in ukraine, it was a race of santa babies!

was. parents used toys to help urge the crawling infants to reach the finish line. there were four age groups between the ages of five months and one year. only one child actually crossed the finish line, but every baby went xome with a "mind training" game as a prize. the fun-race aimed to raise awareness of physical development of children by parents.