wall street isn't showing any jitters ahahd of an expected federal reserve announcement of anannterest rate hike. stocks have e en higher today, ahead of the anticipated move that would actually be a vote of confidence in the u.s. economy. investors will pay close attention to what the fed says about its future plans on interest rate policy. here's what the markets are doing right now... the interest rate announcement from the fed is expected one hour from now. national security, or the lack thereof, is still what's being talked about the day after the last republican presidential debate of the year. and the party leadership is okay with that. more from nbc's chris clackum.

trump and bush. (sot: jeb bush/ (r) presidential candidate) "this is a tough business." (sot: donald trump/ (r) presidential candidate) "oh yea, you're a tough guy, jeb, i know." (sot: jeb bush/ (r) presidential candidate) "and we need to have a leader that is progressive." (sot: donald t tmp/ (r) presidential candidate) "you're real tough." (sot: jeb bush/ (r) presidential candidate "you're never gonna be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency." but national security is where even the second tier of the gop field found common ground.. (sot: dr. ben carson/ (r) presidential candidate : 21- :26 "there will be boots on the ground, and they'll be over here if we don't get them out now." (sot: john kasich/ (r) presidential candidate :26- :33 "we need to have a coalition that will stand for nothing less than the total destruction of isis." all of which was just fine with republican leadership.. assessing the debate on the morning tv shows wednesday. (sot/ reince priebus / chairman, republican nat'l committee :39 - :48 ) "i do think that people are afraid. we're afraid. i'm afraid i'm sure you are all concerned about where we are at in this

in his reaction wednesday morning.. jeb bush was still debating strategy on security issues. (sot/ jeb bush / gop presidential candidate :54- 1:00) "the idea you can prey on people's fears is not who we are as a nation, it is not who we are as a party" while frontrunner donald trump stuck to a hardline approach. (sot: donald trump/ (r) presidential candidate 1:05-1:07 "it was a great debate, i really enjoyed it." many of the candidates head to iowa for the holidays where the caucuses are now just 46 days away. chris clackum, nbc news. >> > weather ad-lib . the wind will continue to be brisk both tonight and tomorrow as aa few peeks of sun return, but a brighter day will be had on friday as temperatures remain near 30 degrees. we'll be much closer to 40 over the weekend with some decent sunshine before clouds retrn, but mild weather sticks around early next week. in the meantime, safe travels this morning! see graphics. >> authorities continue to

authorities continue to investigate a house fire sparked by a propane tank explosion late monday night in newcastle, nebraska. one firefighter was taken to a sioux city h hpital after battling the fire, but the injuries were not consnsered life- threatening. the homeowner, samuel livingsten, was in the house at the time of the explosion, but he escaped unharmed. the nebraska fire marshal is investigating. an arizona sheriff says the sole survivor of a medical helicopter crash carrying three crew members was seriously injured and is hospitalized in n itical condition. pin-'all county sheriff paul babeu says search aircraft spotted the crashed helicopter last night in extremely rugged terrain. the company operating the aircraft says it was carrying a pilot, a paramedic and a nurse. the sheriff says the survivor was able to use a light to signal a search helicopter.

injuries when a southwest airlines flight suddenly veered into a ditch just moments after landing at nasasille international airport last night. nbc's tom costello reports.

suffering minor injuries... mostly bumps and bruises according to the nashville fire department. taylor kennedy: it was scary, it was really scary, but we were on the ground. tuesday's incident comes just days after another southwest flight made an emergency landing in san antonio, texas. that aircraft landed safely after part of the wing appeared to be at, what the airline calls, an "irregular angle" this, with jususone week to go before the chrisisas rush -- when millions americans are eeected to fly home fofothe holidays. >> that was tom costello reporting. overnight, recovery crews arrived on the scene and began moving the aircraft. a spokesperson for the nashville international arport says the incident did not cause any delays, and all runways are open and operational. students are heading back to clasasa day after an emailed threat triggered a shutdown of the vast los angeles unified school district. school buses were rolling this morning and parents were dropping off children at campuses in the nation'second- largest school district. the decision yesterday to close the district with 640,000 students came after a school board member received an email threatening a large-scale attack. new york city schools received a

but officials there concluded that it was a hoax. they did not cancel classes. any more snow on the way? stay tuned for the forecast from meterologist ben dorenbach coming up neht on news four at noon. here's the live view from our skycam in spencer, iowa, where it's and degrees this

it's time for a tested and proven leader who won't try to contain isis. jeb bush has a plan... to destroy tm. and keep america safe. jeb bush: the united states should not delay in leading a global coalition to take out isis with overwhelming force. announcer: tested and proven leaderters. jeb bush. right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. ben, parts of siouxland have seen some snow..

both tonight and tomorrow as a few peeks of sun return, but a brighter day will be had on friday as temperatures remain near 30 degrees. we'll be much closer to 40 over the weekend with some decent sunshine before clouds return, but mild weather sticks around early next week. in the meantime, safe travels this morning! see graphics. >>

turns out the the world's largest collection of star wars memorabilia is not in

it's in petaluma, california. bob redell had to get through stormtrooper security to check it out.

(nats) qui gon jin. (sot: steve sansweet, rancho obi-wan) "this who steve rescued from the set of episode one while head of fan relations for lucasfilm. (sot: steve sansweet, rancho obi-wan) "the only unburned part of the cape." the ..death.. star: not (nats) steve: cardboard death towers to fill in spaces. reporter: wait that's just regular cardboard?d?teve: it's not what it is, it's what it looks like. that's the secret of special effects. like those dinosaur bones on the desert planet of tattooine: paper mache remnants from a 1975 disney movie. (sot: steve sansweet, rancho obi-wan) "that we all have watched numerous times - huh hum - our dinosaur is missing." "we have original stormtrooper boots" it was steve reported on the original star wars for the wall street journal that he smelled a winner and fell head over heels. (sot: steve sansweet, rancho obi-wan) "don't forget, i was buying this stuff in the 70's"!" 80's and 90's before anyone else. (nats) now what used d be a 9000 square foot chicken farm not far from skywalker ranch: steve calls rancho obi wan: a non profit museum open for tours. (reporter stand up: bob redell) "the guinness book of world records calls this the

why'd they make that cockpit so cramped!? steve won't say how much all of this memorabilia is worth. however"!" (sot: steve sansweet, rancho obi-wan) "80 plus percent o othe items i have in collection i couldn't get back what i paid for retail. look, i'm 70 years old. i still feel like i'm 12 when i play with this stuff." >> some good news and not-so-good news about farmland values... and it's been a busy harvest season at this four- generation family farm. they're all ready for christmas... and so is the nation's number one seller of christmas trees!

farmland values in iowa have dropped by nearly 4 percent this year, marking a second straight t ar of dececne. an iowa state university survey says farmland values dropped to a statewide average of $7,633 an acre. that's down from the peak two years ago of $8,716 per acre. an isu economics professor says farmland value may not rebound soon because of declining farm income and stagnant commodity prices. but he says the decline was less severe than expected and farmland values are still almost 14 4 percent hihier than they were in 2011.

>> stocks are gaining some ground ahead of today's expected interest rate announcement from the federal reserve. if you haven't done so already, it's time to deck

holiday spirit. that includes picking out the perfect tree. one retailer has made a market in christmas trees and become the number one seller of the christmas staple along the way. courtney reagan reports.

christmas trees in the country last year we sold about 2 point 8 million trees, which is a lot of trees and we expect to surpass 3 million trees this year" (reporter stand up: courtney reagan) "it takes just 2 days or less between the time that trees are harvested here in the blue ridge mountains at sexton farms before they're available at home depot stores between north carolina and florida." and live christmas trees are just part of home depot's quest to capitalize on all things festive... in the past decade, its holiday merchandise assortment has grown five-fold to more than 45-hundred products. ...and while home depot's big season is the spring, holiday merchandise is critical to success in the fourth quarter. (sot: kelie charles, home depot holiday merchant) "...in 2014 for example we outpaced the company's fourth qtr comps we can move the needle for the entire company in terms of sales and profit" a holiday wish home depot is "pining" for this season, too. >> still ahead on news four at noon... caught on camera!

couple's missing dog.... the only connection they had to their young daughters, lost to terminal illness. get the kleenex ready! paris: there's a lot to do on a dairy farm. nobody's gonna do it for you. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known friend of family farms. bernie cannot be bought out by big money. bernie's opinion cannot be purchased. it's time for our next president to get in there, roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves,

take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. here's a live look a awest lake okoboji from our okoboji skycam... the happy reunion between a couple and their beloved lost dog is all caught on camera. the nbc affiliate in lexington, kentucky was

cooper about their special four-legged friend when their prayers were answered. patrick price has the story.

see him." nats "hi buddy (crying)" in tears, the coopers were whole again as a family. s/jason cooper/radar' s owner :50-:57 "i had hope, but i was afraid. this is the most amazing thing. i just can't believe it." s/carolyn cooper/radar' s owner :58-1:02 "i guess somebody had the right place in their heart and put him back over there." but this dog isn't just a service dog or a family pet. . radada was a lifeline for madeline and h h sister phia - both suffering from a terminal genetic disorder. s/jason cooper/radar' s owner 1:12-1:15 "watching over our daughters. watching over madeline before she passed away." then they moved to kentucky to start a new life after their two daughters passed away. radar was the only physical memory left. s/carolyn cooper/radar' s owner 1:23-1:27 "he's one of the only souls who has the same memories and experiences we do." just in time for radar's yearly christmas tree ornament and his own presents under the tree. he says "this eveneng, i'm home for chririmas. for good." >> that was patrick price with the story from kentucky. still ahead... hundreds of

wishes. we offff low cost photos with santa; we can do 8x10, wallet size, and 4x6 for a very minimal cost. we have mrs. santa's kitchen where there's delicious cookies and hot chocolate. we have santa's fabulous gift shop where nothing is more than $10 and most things are under $5 so you can get some great bargains. one of my favorite things is the craft area. the crafts are free so kids can come in and glitter and glue and cut and paste. they have a lot of fun and they take something home for the family tree or grandma's refrigerator. always good to have those. this is also a fundraiser? it is a fundraiser. the event is sponsored by unity point st. lukes' partner, that's our auxiliary organization. this year we are sponsored by gooseman law. we are raising money for children's miracle network. we also provide

every year. we support other programs at st. luke's such as the junior volunteers, pet therapy, caring clowns, and much more. this is a really good cause. when can people g gvisit santa? we are e open satururys at 10 to 4, sundays noon to 4, tuesday and thursday evenings from 6 to 8 pm. our last day is tuesday december 22nd. you've still got some time but come on in and enjoy santa's house. santa's house is at the howard johnson hotel atrium at 707 historic 4th street. diane thanks so much for being here. thank you for having me. thanks for joining us for around siouxlala. >> sydney's famous bondi beach was a sea of red and white on tuesday. 320 people dressed up in santa costumes and rode the waves. the surfing santas set a guinness world record for the largest surf lesson. they beat the previous record of 250 surfers. the event was organized by a non-profit surfing group that raiseseswareness for mental