good morning and thanks for joining us on this wednesday, december 30th. i'm robert lowe. al and sarah have the day off. coming up in this half hour of news 4 today.... torrential rains in missouri and illinois pushed already swollen river and streams to levels that had been un-heard of in parts of the two states. and record flooding is projected in some towns along the mississippi river while a number of deaths have been blamed on flooding. the latest on the devestation in just a minute. and the food bank of siouxland is usually the one giving to those in need. but yesterday, they received a donation to help them further their cause. we'll take you to the special ceremony in juju a little bit. and later....gettin g your driver's licse when you turn 16 is considered a rite of passage. but for one girl from wisconsin, it was a huge deal. she took her test in the family r-v. we'll share her story with you. but first, here's t.j.

with monday & tuesday's winter storm finally out of siouxland, the white stuff is returning briefly here for our wednesday. a disturbance is moving just to the south of siouxland giving many places a quick inch or less. the snow will mainly be light in nature but it will create some slick spots on the roads with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early this morning with clouds sticking with us for most of the day. wx timer @ :40 >> winter flooding has caused havoc roughout parts of the midwest and southeast. the high waters have forced people to leave their homes, wiped out roads and claimed lives. nbc's dan scheneman has more from missiouri.

residents in the town of union hoped sandbags would save their community. when waters spilled over a levee in west alton...people were told to evacuate. rising waters have left some people stranded.....on e man had to be rescued from the roof of his home. (chandler vonderahe :20- :23) "the water started coming up pretty quick and before i knew it i was overwhelmed. i had to call the fire department to come bail me out." this has been the wettest december on record in st. louis and missouri is now under a state of emergency.... governor jay nixon has called in the national guard...he warned residents that the threat is far from over. (gov. jay nixon/(d)misso uri:40-:52 ) "now that the rain has moved out, the threat has changed but it is not by any means over, especially for communities along the rising mississippi river and its tributaries here in the saint louis region." there are also dangerously high waters in the southeast...fa st moving rivers have taken out several roads in georgia.....whil e in alabama....up to 14 inches of rain fell in some areas. some 14 million americans face

dan scheneman nbc news. >> people in garland texas are beginning the clean up process in hopes of returning to normalcy after devastating tornados blew througugnorth tetes last weekend. officials are saying more than 200 hundred homes were left uninhabitable by the e-f-4 tornado, which packed winds in excess of 200 miles per hour, hit garland. more than 700 homes were damaged in all. at least eight other tornados touched down in the dallas, texas area last saturday. the storm claimeded eight lives in garland --- the youngest victim just one-uear-old. at least three others were killed in other area cities. winter made it's return to a part of the country some people might not associate with snow....southe rn california. the higher elevations in mt. laguna saw about two inches of snow s sck to the ground yesterday. temperatures were cold enough for the snow to stick around and give children a chance to go sledding. laguna is about six thousand feet above sea level so it can snow heavily on the mountain during the winter months. it's

for people in the area. turning our attention overseas, iraq's government says it will take two to three more weeks to clear ramadi from remaining isis fighters. the city was declared liberated on monday. elise labott has the details this morning from iraq.

first time since 2012. located near the eastern city of manbij, it chokes off a key supply route from isis headquarters in raqqa but despite the battlefield loses, one retired general warns isis is growing as a worldwide threat. (brig. gen. mark kimmitt (ret.), fmr. asst. secy of state): "while they may not be doing ground military offenses, they're still controlling the social media, they're still attracting a significant number of recruits, and i think their new ststtegy for inspiring attacks worldwide is proving very effective for them."

texas prosecutors say that they plan to charge ethan couch, the so-called affluenza teen, as an adult when he is turned over to u-s marshals. 17-year old couch was serving probation for killing four people in a drunk-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense. during his trial a psychologist said that couch was unable to tell the difference between right and wrong due to his wealthy upbringing. authorities say they believe couch and his mother, tonya couch fled the country in late november. the two were detained inuerto vallarta mexico on monday.

several charges after police say she crashed into another vehicle on purpose. melissa ebert from cherokee was charged with atteteted murder for a head-on collision in le mars, iowa in september. three people ended up with serious injuries. she also faces her second owi offense and a charge of serious injury by motor vehicle. a federal appeals court is upholding lengthy prison terms for two sioux city brothers convicted in the armed robbery of two drug dealers. the 8th u.s. circuit court of appeals upheld a life sentence issued to 24- year-old jamal dean. the court also upheld a 30-year term for his older brother, levon dean jr. in a separate case, jamal dean has also received a 25- year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attemptetemurder in the april 2013 shooting of a sioux city police officer. the brothers traveled together from nebraska to iowa and conspired to rob local drug dealers on two occasions in april 2013. after each attack, the brothers returned to nebraska.

without a place to stay after a fire yesterdrd morning in sloan, iowa. smoke filled the air as the sloan fire department made their way to prairie apartments. two women jumped from a second-story window. both were transported to mercy medical center with non-life threatening injuries. sloan's fire chief says everyone else made it out with no injuries. "volunteer departments man power is always an issue you never know whose g gna be around when you need the help. if you're available when the pager goes off you come. initially when sloan pulled up here to this fire we had three people. once we dealt with injuries we primarily started pulling hose getting ready waiting for other departments to help us," said sloan fire chief, lee blanchere the church across the street opened its doors to residents and officers while the red cross and other emergency crews also offered assistance. the building was destroyed and a second apartment building had smoke damage.

late christmas gift yesterday. union pacific made a ten thousand dollar donation. a check presentation was held at the food bank warehouse yesterday afternoon. the food bank of siouxland's executive director said the donation will go a long way to help the food bank reach its goal. . "having a gift of this size is realal exciting, because we can acquire 13 pounds of food with one dollar, so a $10,000 donation gives us the power and ability to really feed a lot of people in our community and that's wonderful news." said linda scheid, executive director of the food bank of siouxland. this year, the food bank of siouxland distributed nearly 2 million pounds of food. opening christmas gifts is always an exciting time. but one boy was not impressed with his present this year. we'll share his story with you after the break. ben: and i'll have your complete forecast next! >

wx timim @ 2:45 th monday & tuesday's winter ststm finally out of siouxland, the white stuff ii returning briefly here for our wednesday. a disturbance is moving just to the south of siouxland giving many places a quick inch or less. the snow will mainly be light in nature but it will create some slick spots on the roads with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early

day. new year's eve will be much more pleasant with partly cloudy skies. the negative...the cold temperatures will be felt across the region. highs will barely make it to the 20 degree mark and that will last right into new year's day. a bit of a warming trend will take place over the weekend with most towns climbing close to freezing. i hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!!

>> a nine-year-old boy in

devastated after he opened his christmas gift. he thought he was getting a brand new playstation game...but that wasn't what he found inside. erica ricci has his story.

(kristin lundy,y,boy's stepmother): "he's crying and he's upset and he's in the playroom by himself and he just wants to be alone so at that point i was crushed." so the lundys went to the saugus target tonight to try and make things right. it's the store they say santa's elves got the console since they can't make electronics in the north pole. after talking with the manger inside, the lundy's returned. (kristin lundy, boy's stepmother): "they not only gave us a new game system but ey also fave us a $1$1 gift card as well as an additional game the original game that was supposed to be in the box, but couldn't have been any kinder" (reporter's question): "did they say anything about what might have happened, if they'd looked into it, if they had any answers?" (brian lundy, boy's father): "they said it happens occasionally and they just go with it, but that was it. we're the only ones that brought something backckith a wooden block." as far as scott's concerned, a rogue elf is to blame. but this family won't let him get away with it. (brian lundy, boy's father): "we're all gonna sit down and write a letter to santa claus about this naughty elf" >> that was erica ricci reporting. still to come this morning.... cracking down on dangerous drivers. sioux city police team up with others to try and keep those impared offhe

december is national drunk and drugged driving awareness month. it's the time of year when many people celebrate the holidays together. but, t tt means more people e e behind theheheel impaired. one group is cracking down to prevent deadly situations. ktiv's tiffany lane went along for a ride.

asap unit, is made up of a supervisor and three officers. "the benefits of having the asap unit is that anytime an officer on patrol stops a driver thehe think might be impaired, rather than tie that officer up for three officers to process that drunk driver, the members of my unit will take over that case and go through the drunk driving process and we're able to put that patrol officer back on general patrol." asap supervisor sergeant steve ten napel says members of the unit also become good witnesses and experts in drunk driving prosecution. su "since 2014, there have been 10 traffic fatalities in sioux city. a third of those were caused by impaired drivers." mercy medical center's reality education alcohol program or reap partners with the asap unit to prevent those fatalities. "it's proven that education is a better deterrant for people that have been convicted of drunk driving

so this was our example of trying to educate these people by providing them with some reality type experiences." the reap program started in 1993 and during that time taught more than 2,800 people the dangers of driving impaired. and, keeping the streets safe for others on the road. in sioux city, tiffany lane, ktiv news 4.>> in 2013, the sioux city police department made 584 owi arrests. in 2014, there was a drop to 540 arrests. and so far in 2015 ere have been just over 490. tonight on ktiv news 4, more on keeping dangerous drivers off the roads. tiffany rides along with a specialized unit of the sioux city police department to show us the steps it takes ot put a suspected impaired driver behind bars. we've got lingering snow in most parts of siouxland this morning. t.j.'s in next to tell us when the snow will leave.

a big part of growing up. and one wisconsin girl took her test to the next level. next. 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,

and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock.

>>

the white stuff is returning briefly here for our wednesday. a disturbance is moving just to the south of siouxland giving many places a quick inch or less. the snow will mainly be light in nature but it will create some slick spots on the roads with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early this morning with clouds sticking with us for most of the day. new year's eve will be much more pleasant with partly cloudy skies. the negative...the cold temperatures will be felt across the region. highs will barely make it to the 20 degree mark and that will last right into new year's day. a bit of a warming trend will take place over the weekend with most towns climbing close to freezing. i hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!! happy new year's everyone! >> it's been a rite of passage for

decades-- turning sixteen and getting a driver's license. but for one teen, she didn't take her driving test in her mom's mini-van or dad's sedan like most... meredith barack explains why her recent trip to the d-m-v was a pretty big deal.

challenge you would only recieve from your dad... (sot: alexa horkan, 16- year-old) "he's always kind of pushing me to do things i don't really think i can do" but 16-year-old alexa horkan was up for it. (nats) "i said yes to it" taking her driver's exam in the family's 31-foot r-v, that is. (sot: tim and mary horkan, parents) "as the date approached, there were questions that surfaced that led me to believe that she may or may not be in on that idea." sure enough, she got behind the wheel of the r-v and it was off to the d-m-v. (sot: alexa horkan, 16- year-old) "i had the mindset of, it's one time and i'll either make the memory and if i fail again" luckily, it only took her one try. alexa credits a lot of parallel park the r-v. (sot: alexa horkan, 16- year-old) have to do on the test" (sot: tim and mary horkan, parents) "i was happy that she and an even happier newly-licensed driver. (sot: alexa horkan, 16- year-old) "i was just beyond

cruising around in this bad boy any time soon. (sot: alexa horkan, 16- year-old) "that was probably just a one time thing. make the memory and now i'll hopefully get a car (laughs) a regular car." >> it's . time for a break. but we're back in just a moment with more news and weather for you on news-4 today. first though.. here's a look at some of the events on the

joining us on this wednesday morning. i'm robert lowe. al and sarah have the day off.

news 4 today the campaigns are taking advantage of the week between christmas and the new years. the goal is to meet as many voters as they can, as donald trump announces plans to spend $2 million per week on advertising. the latest from washington in just a minute. marco rubio travels across iowa this week...including a stop right here in sioux city. see what he had to say about his voting record. and, some fire-rescue teams are using a new method to stop excess bleeding and save the lives of head trauma victims. we'll tell you all abou this new method but first here's t.j.....

>> candidates will take advantage candidates will take advantage of the week between christmas and new years to meet as many voters as possible. the top candidates on the republican side have many events scheduled and plan to hit multiple states. edward lawrence has the latest this morning from washington

(sot donald trump, presidential candidate :09 - :21) "so i'm going to be doing big ads in ia, nh, sc and they're going to be very substantial and i think they're very well done, i've seen the first 2 or 3 of them, i've very proud of them." some experts worry this may be the wrong move. (sot matt lewis, the daily caller :25 - :36) "it's also a little bit risky. what if they look conventional? i mean - why? if it ain't broke, don't fix it! the notion that donald trump would start running a conventional campaign should concern him a little bit." a new rasmussen poll shows trump and clinton in a toss up if the election were today. that maybe why he's now attacking hillary clinton through her husband.. former president bill clinton... calling him the sexist one. meanwhile senator marco rubio picked up an endorsement in key primary state south carolina from congressman trey gowdy. (sot sen marco rubio, (r) presidential candidate :56 - 1:04) "candidates i think as we get down the stretch here, some of them get a little desperate and a little nasty in their attacks and that's fine, we're going to continue to campaign on what i'm going to do when i'm president."

the republican field shrank. former new york governor george pataki dropped out.. he had less than one percent of republican edward lawrence in washington, now back to you. >> democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton plans to stump for support in siouxland next week. yesterday, she was back on the campaign trail for the first time since taking a break over she held two town hall meetings in new hampshire. tuesday she will be in sioux city for an event at 2:15 p.m. the location hasn't been announced yet. republican pennsylvania senator rick santorum has a campaign stop planned for today in holstein, iowa. the presidential candidate will speak at leonard limousin and angus farm at noon. the event is open to the public. candidate ted cruz plans to hit the road in iowa starting on monday. he's holding a bus tour of 36 counties in six days. on tuesday, january 5th he's making stops in cherokee and sioux. the next day he'll be in lyon, osceola, dickinson,

and, on thursday, january 7th he'll be in buena vista, pocahontas, humboldt and kossuth counties. last night, u.s. senator marco rubio made a stop in sioux city. ktiv's tommie clark attended his town hall meeting and shows us his approach to the presidential campaign.

various topics, but his stance on unifying voters led the rally. "a president of all americans, including the ones that don't vote for me. every single day i will work hard for everyone, even the ones who hate me, even the ones who say nasty things about me on twitter, even the ones who will never vote fo rme no matter what we do because in the end we are all americans," said presidential candidate and florida sen. marco rubio. "senator rubio reminded supporters how critical the caucus is in iowa. the iowa primary is just a little over a month away. tommie clark...ktiv news 4." >> students from two siouxland schools played during a bowl game yesterday. marching band members from gehlen catholic in le mars, iowa and yankton, south dakota's high school performed

athletic bowl game. the students performed with 3,000 other students from 26 high schools from around the country. the baylor bears and north carolina tar heels played yesterday at the citrus stadium in orlando. baylor won 49 to 38. monday's storm left many hawkeye fans stranded at the des moines, iowa airport but yesterday they were on their way. the storm dropped about 6-inches of snow in des moines and airlines had to canceled a total of 26 flights on monday. and, nine flights today. flights are now running on schedule and fans are ready to cheer the hawkeyes to victory. it turns out gravity still works. a confetti tossing test was performed in times square yesterday morning in advance of the massive new year's eve party. the testing of the confetti goes to show how much preparation goes into pulling off one of the biggest celebrations in the world. also on the mind of new york city officials is security for the big night. police commissioner bill bratton says 6,000

square thursday night. workers in times square will test the most famous ball of them all later today. the test will ensure that the ball will fall and not fail when it descends the flagpole to ring in 2016. this year's ball features over 2-thousand sparkling waterford crystals and weighs over 10-thousand pounds. and about a million revelers are expected to pack times square on thursday to celebrate the new year and to watch it drop. people involved in a bad car accident often suffer severe head trauma. coming up in healthbeat four, we'll show you a new drug that can help save their lives. ben: and i'll have your complete forecast next!

eve will be much more pleasant with partly cloudy skies. the

cold temperatures will be felt across the region. highs will barely make it to the 20 degree mark and that will last right into new year's day. a bit of a warming trend will take place over the weekend with most towns climbing close to freezing. i hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!! happy new year's everyone!

if you're ever involved in something like a bad wreck -- chances are you'll have a serious head injury. and a new drug might increase your chances of living. first responders in plano, texas are part of a clinical trial using a drug called t-x-a in a revolutionary new way. chris jose has more in today's healthbeat four.

do see people on their worse day." captain jack sides trains paramedics.. he's in charge of explaining how txa can help patients with severe trauma. (sot: jack sides, plano fire-rescue) "this would be a person we have a high suspicion had a traumatic brain injury. they've have an altered mentation. they won't be with it. they maybe semi conscious or unconscious." doctor gary white is trauma director at texas health presbyterian in plano where txa is already used to treat patients. (nats) q: "can it possibly save a life?" a: "oh yeah, we've had that here. we've already seen it here." according to white.. txa stops excessive bleeding. in cases of trauma, the drug stabilizes a clot. and it has little or no side effects. (sot: dr. gary white, trauma director) "this drug hopefully will allow us to get ahead of the game as far as bleeding in the brain." so far, it's only a clinical trial. the drug is on board all of plano's ems trucks... in cases where it's needed most. (sot: jack sides, plano fire-rescue) a car wreck, a blow to the head, a fall. >> paramedics have used t- x-a on 8

injuries since october. for patients to qualify, they must have a realistic chance of survival, not pregnant, and at least 18 years old. coming up next on news 4 today... iowa is finally lifting its ban on bird exhibitions. we'll have the details. and toys 'r' us is closing its flagship store in new york city. we'll tell you why, after the break.

iowa will lift its ban on bird exhibitions on friday. it imposed the restrictions in may as bird flu spread through the state's turkey and chicken farms. the state agriculture department says no new cases of bird flu have been confirmed in iowa since june.

the s&p 500 is back in the black for the year, thanks to a broad wall street rally led by gains in technology and health care companies. the dow rose 193 points to close at 17,721. the nasdaq added 67 points and the s&p 500 gained 22 points. the gains erase two days of losses that were spurred by worries over falling oil and lower commodities prices.

price of u.s. crude oil has rebounded with a 2 point 9 percent gain. if you plan to put your home up for sale in 2016, some simple steps can increase your chances of selling. with more on that story and other business news, here's kaitlyn kinney.... thanks robert. there are several things you can do to make your home sell faster! first step, depersonalize . take down the family pictures and replace them with faceless, fancy-free photos or art... potential buyers will be able to picture themselves living there and not you. clean and declutter... so the space looks bigger. if your house is empty, consider staging the rooms. update the kitchen and bathrooms if needed... and give the front door a fresh coat of paint... or install a new one. be sure to check for cracks in any structural areas... odds are it'll cost less to fix them now than later. and remember, first impressions matter a lot... so add some curb appeal by freshening flowers and taking down tacky lawn ornaments. if you got married over the

married in the new year, you may be wondering if you should say "i do" to joint accounts. according to kiplinger- dot-com, it makes sense for newlyweds to have a mix of individual and joint accounts... but make sure they're smart moves. if you open a joint credit card, both spouses are responsible for the full balance of the account, and one person behaving badly will affect both credit scores. as for bank accounts, many couples choose to open a joint account for shared expenses... while keeping individual accounts for personal spending. with the allure of free two-day shipping just before christmas... amazon says more than three million new members signed up for its prime service in the third week of december alone. new subscribers to "prime" get a free month trial of the service. no telling how many of those new members will continue the service after that trial period. amazon says there are "tens of millions" of prime members.. but have not given a more exact number. after 15 years, toys r us will be closing its doors at its

the flagship location will close at 5 tonight. the store has been popular with tourists, who stop to take photos beside a giant lego empire state building and wait in line to ride a 60-foot tall indoor ferris wheel. rumors began circulating back in march that the times square location would close when reports said the retailer would not be renewing its lease. toys r us has not yet identified a new flagship store, but say they're actively searching for space in midtown manhattan. and that's a look at your consumer and business news. robert? thanks, kaitlyn. when we come back this morning, we'll have the top headlines in siouxland. plus, a glee star has been arrested. and the rock making

>> if you're just joining us,

headlines in siouxland. marco rubio made a stop in sioux city yesterday. the town hall style meeting took place at the holiday inn on gordon drive. rubio chose to center the event on his policy strategies and less on his competition. some of his supporters say they were glad that he didn't criticize the other presidential candidates. others said they appreciate his down-to- earth attitude and philosophy. rubio also reminded people how important the iowa caucus is and encouraged them to participate. a fire left over a dozen people homeless last night in sloan, iowa. the fire department was called to the prairie apartments yesterday morning. two women jumped from a second-story window to escape the flames. they were later transported to mercy medical center with non-life threatening injuries. no other injuries were reported. the building was completely destroyed and a second one had smoke damage. investigators are still trying to find the cause of the fire.

and drugged driving awareness month. with the new year's holiday approaching, the sioux city police department is taking extra precuations to keep drunk drivers off the road. one unit of the department is known as the alochol safety program, made up of a supervisor and three officers. this group specializes in recognizing drunk and drugged driving. asap also teams up with mercy medical center's reality education alcohol program to help prevent fatalities. and the foodbank of siouxland received a special donation yesterday. union pacifice gave them ten thousand dollars. the presentation was held at the food bank warehouse yesterday afternoon. a former glee star is under arrest. and russel crow goes on a twitter rant. plus the rock is returning to wrestle mania. mary maloney has it all in today's hollywood minute.

tipped off and reportedly found thousands of images. this isn't the first time salling has been in trouble with the law. in 2013, an ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit in which she claimed he committed sexual battery. actor russell crowe launched a twitter rant at 'virgin australia'. crowe was slamming the airline after being told his children's hoverboards were not permitted on the flight. 'virgin australia' responded back with a several tweets explaining why its hoverboard ban exists and that most major u.s. airlineshave similar bans. nat pop and the rock is getting ready for his return... to wrestlemania! the people's champ made the big announcement on instagram. fans can catch the rock's return to the ring in spring. for hollywood minute, i'm mary moloney. >> coming up in our third half hour.... we'll head in to the kitchen to make a healthy snack in today's centsable health. and iowa's basketball team was playing number-1 michigan state -- and the football team gets to 'talk the talk' at the rose bowl media day. we'll have the

good morning and thanks for joining us on this wednesday, december 30th. i'm robert lowe. al and sarah have the day off. coming up in this half hour of news 4 today.... torrential rains in missouri and illinois pushed already swollen river and streams to levels that had been un-heard of in parts of the two states. and record flooding is projected in some towns along the missiippi river while at least deaths have been blamed on flooding. the latest on the devestation in just a minute. and the food bank of siouxland is usually the one giving to those in need. but yesterday, they received a donation to help them further their cause. we'll take you to the special ceremony in just a little bit. and in today's centsable health, we'll show you a healthy snack you can make for your new year's eve party tomorrow night. but first, here's t.j.

the white stuff is returning briefly here for our wednesday. a disturbance is moving just to the south of siouxland giving many places a quick inch or less. the snow will mainly be light in nature but it will create some slick spots on the roads with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early this morning with clouds sticking with us for most of the day. >> winter flooding has caused havoc throughout parts of the midwest and southeast. the high waters have forced people to leave their homes, wiped out roads and claimed lives. nbc's dan scheneman has more from missiouri.

hoped sandbags would save their community. when waters spilled over a levee in west alton...people were told to evacuate. rising waters have left some people stranded.....on e man had to be rescued from the roof of his home. (chandler vonderahe :20- :23) "the water started coming up pretty quick and before i knew it i was overwhelmed. i had to call the fire department to come bail me out." this has been the wettest louis and missouri is now under a state of emergency.... governor jay nixon has called in the national guard...he warned residents that the threat is far from over. (gov. jay nixon/(d)misso uri:40-:52 ) "now that the rain has moved out, the threat has changed but it is not by any means over, especially for communities along the rising mississippi river and its tributaries here in the saint louis region." there are also dangerously high waters in the southeast...fa st moving rivers have taken out several roads in georgia.....whil e in alabama....up to 14 inches of rain fell in some areas. some 14 million americans face flood watches. dan scheneman nbc

people in garland texas are beginning the clean up process in hopes of returning to normalcy after devastating tornados blew through north texas last weekend. officials are saying more than 200 hundred homes were left uninhabitable by the e-f-4 tornado, which packed winds in excess of 200 miles per hour, hit garland. more than 700 homes were damaged in all. at least eight other tornados touched down in the dallas, texas area last saturday. the storm claimed eight lives in garland --- the youngest victim just one-year-old. at least three others were killed in other area cities. winter made it's return to a part of the country some people might not associate with snow....southe rn california. the higher elevations in mt. laguna saw about two inches of snow stick to the ground yesterday. temperatures were cold enough for the snow to stick around and give children a chance to go sledding. laguna is about six thousand feet above sea level so it can snow heavily on the mountain during the winter months. it's also a popular skiing location

turning our attention overseas, iraq's government says it will take two to three more weeks to clear ramadi from remaining isis fighters. the city was declared liberated on monday. elise labott has the details this morning from iraq.

entirely by the end of next year. today the coalition boasted 10 isis leaders have been killed in recent airstrikes including -charaffe el- mouadan -who had direct contacts with the suspected ringleaders of the paris attacks days before the siege and was believed to be to be planning more attacks against the west (col. steve warren / spokesman, operation inherent resolve): "without leaders to be able to facilitate the activities, your ability to conduct activities goes down. we haven't severed the head of the snake yet. and it's still got fangs. we have to be clear about that. there's much more fighting to do." in syria the coalition now has helped secure a hydroelectric dam from isis's grip for the first time since 2012. located near the eastern city of manbij, it chokes off a key supply route from isis headquarters

loses, one retired general warns isis is growing as a worldwide threat. (brig. gen. mark kimmitt (ret.), fmr. asst. secy of state): "while they may not be doing ground military offenses, they're still controlling the social media, they're still attracting a significant number of recruits, and i think their new strategy for inspiring attacks worldwide is proving very effective for them." >> texas prosecutors say that they plan to charge ethan couch, the so-called affluenza teen, as an adult when he is turned over to u-s marshals. 17-year old couch was serving probation for killing four people in a drunk-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense. during his trial a psychologist said that couch was unable to tell the difference between right and wrong due to his wealthy upbringing. authorities say they believe couch and his mother, tonya couch fled the country in late november. the two were detained in puerto vallarta mexico on monday. authorities say they plan to charge ethan couch as an adult and charge his mother with "hindering apprehension." a northwest iowa woman faces

police say she crashed into another vehicle on purpose. melissa ebert from cherokee was charged with attempted murder for a head-on september. three people ended up with serious injuries. she also faces her second owi offense and a charge of serious injury by motor vehicle. a federal appeals court is upholding lengthy prison terms for two sioux city brothers convicted in the armed robbery of two drug dealers. the 8th u.s. circuit court of appeals upheld a life sentence issued to 24- year-old jamal dean. the court also upheld a 30-year term for his older brother, levon dean jr. in a separate case, jamal dean has also received a 25- year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted murder in the april 2013 shooting of a sioux city police officer. the brothers traveled together from nebraska to iowa and conspired to rob local drug dealers on two occasions in april 2013. after each attack, the brothers returned to nebraska. at least 15 people left without

after a fire yesterday morning in sloan, iowa. smoke filled the air as the sloan, iowa fire department made their way to prairie apartments. two women jumped from a second-story window. both were transported to mercy medical center with non-life threatening injuries. sloan's fire chief says everyone else made it out with no injuries. "volunteer departments man power is always an issue you never know whose gonna be around when you need the help. if you're available when the pager goes off you come. initially when sloan pulled up here to this fire we had three people. once we dealt with injuries we primarily started pulling hose getting ready waiting for other departments to help us," said sloan fire chief, lee blanchere the church across the street opened its doors to residents and officers while the red cross and other emergency crews also offered assistance. the building was destroyed and a second apartment building had smoke damage.

late christmas gift yesterday. union pacific made a ten thousand dollar donation. a check presentation was held at the food bank warehouse yesterday afternoon. the food bank of siouxland's executive director said the donation will go a long way to help the food bank reach its goal. "having a gift of this size is really exciting, because we can acquire 13 pounds of food with one dollar, so a $10,000 donation gives us the power and ability to really feed a lot of people in our community and that's wonderful news." said linda scheid, executive director of the food bank of siouxland. this year, the food bank of siouxland distributed nearly 2 million pounds of food. when we come back... planning a new years eve party? you won't want to miss a healthy alternative as we head into the kitchen for this week's centsable health. and i'll have your complete

do you think when you are president you'll be paid as much

this is one of the jobs where they have to pay you the same. but there are so many examples where that doesn't happen. i'm going to do everything i can to make sure every woman in every job gets paid the same... ...as the men who are doing that job. i'm hillary clinton

>

eve will be much more pleasant with partly cloudy skies. the negative...the cold temperatures will be felt across the region. highs will barely make it to the 20 degree mark and that will last right into new year's day. a bit of a warming trend will take place over the weekend with most towns climbing close to freezing. i hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!! happy new year's everyone!

are you looking for a healthy snack to make for your new year's eve party tomorrow? ktiv's sheila brummer show us how to make turkey meatballs in today's centsable health.

use barbecue sauce, you can use an asian style sauce, so that is really why i chose chicken in this recipe." s- "this is only 10 calories per serving, that's pretty good." w- "yeah the sauces usually aren't so bad, so this one's really great, i'm going to show you how to make these meatballs. i kept the meatballs about as basic and simple as they can be, and then you can bake these, put them in your crockpot, add your sauce, and keep them warm throughout your party. they're a nice high protein, satisfying snack. and then like i said, you can have these in 2016 for lunch, dinner, as a snack, just gets more protein in there. so i have a pound of ground chicken right here, like i said, you can also use ground turkey, just

you're using ground turkey breast. so you want just that white meat. we are going to add an egg white, adds a little binder, some bread crumbs, again as a binder, and then some chives, and if you don't like chives, you can use parsley, basil, you can really use anything you like, i just like something green when i'm making a meatball, i just think it makes it look fresher." s- "and you always say what, people eat with our eyes, first." w- "you eat with your eyes first, so i do like it to look pretty while i'm making it, but not a necessary ingredient for this, and one tip too if you are making any kind of meatball or meatloaf, if you like it to be a little fluffier, you can stir it with a fork, instead of kind of getting your hands in there and working it too hard, because it kind of keeps the air incorporated and it doesn't pack it as tightly." s- "and could you add more stuffing to it, like more bread crumbs or...would oatmeal even work, i don't know..." w- "if you put it through a food processor, it probably would, and yes you can season these however you like. i'm going to use my favorite tool for this time of year, which is just a little mini scoop, it just makes the perfect little meatballs. so i'm going to take these and shape them and then bake these at about 400 for 20 minutes or so. and if you are using ground turkey breast, which i have found can be really sticky on your hands, you can spray your hands first with some non-stick spray..." s- "oh, that's a good idea." w- "and then you can roll these out on your sheet-" s- "or have whitney come out and do it, so it doesn't get messy, right?" w-

new year's that i can't come make your meatballs for you. but, it's really simple, and that way you don't have to make these on the stove top and be tending to each individual meatball, you can just make these all at once, throw them in your crockpot, throw whatever sauce you want on there, and then you're good to go for that-" s- "when do you put the sauce on, like after you're done cooking?" w- "after these are done cooking, then you take these out of the oven, so you're going to bring these out of the oven very plain, and then put the sauce on." s- "alright, thank you so much, whitney. happy new year to you." w- "thank you." s- "if you'd like more information about today's centsable health, go to k-t-i- v.com and look for the news link." iowa faced michigan state in a big ten battle. michigan came into the game undefeated. we'll have the details from that game, next. and briar cliff is hosting a holiday tournament. we'll have the highlights from their game against jammison,

proud of their teams. ktiv's brad pautsch has more in

forest city, iowa. mustangs up 20 at the half -- second half, lauren lemkuhl drops in one of morningside's 11 three's -- the lead is 46. then, allison bachman goes takes the 'drive thru' lane for 2 more -- the lead is up to fifty. 13 different mustangs scored -- erin schleicher drops in the jumper -- the only question was, would morningside break the century mark? the answer -- yes -- rachelle housh with another bucket. morningside whips waldorf, 100 to 55. for more go to ktiv.com. i'm brad pautsch with the sports fource morning wrap. >> and, one of the biggest hawkeye

a good time in iowa city last night. chief meterologist ron demers enjoying his christmas break from ktiv. he took some of his family to tonight's iowa/michigan state game. there's ron with his son patrick, his mother maryilyn and his sister carol and nephew josh. they have all been lifelong hawkeye fans! we've got some lingering snow showers this morning in siouxland. when will the snow leave? t.j.'s in next to tell us. plus...cracking down on dangerous drivers. sioux city police team up with others to try and keep those impared off the streets this holiday

praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress than any other member. cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in.

with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early this morning with clouds sticking with us for most of the day. new year's eve will be much more pleasant with partly cloudy skies. the negative...the cold temperatures will be felt across the region. highs will barely make it to the 20 degree mark and that will last right into new year's day. a bit of a warming trend will take place over the weekend with most towns climbing close to freezing. i hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!! happy new year's everyone! >> december is national drunk and drugged driving awareness month. it's the time of year when many people celebrate the holidays together. but, that means more people are

one group is cracking down to prevent deadly situations. ktiv's tiffany lane went along for a ride.

of my unit will take over that case and go through the drunk driving process and we're able to put that patrol officer back on general patrol." asap supervisor sergeant steve ten napel says members of the unit also become good witnesses and experts in drunk driving prosecution. su "since 2014, there have been 10 traffic fatalities in sioux city. a third of those were caused by impaired drivers." mercy medical center's reality education alcohol program or reap partners with the asap unit to prevent those fatalities. "it's proven that education is a better deterrant for people that have been convicted of drunk driving than trying to scare them and so this was our example of trying to educate these people by providing them with some reality type experiences." the reap program started in 1993 and during that time taught more than 2,800 people the dangers of driving impaired. and, keeping the streets safe

in sioux city, tiffany lane, ktiv news 4.>> in 2013, the sioux city police department made 584 owi arrests. in 2014, there was a drop to 540 arrests. and so far in 2015 there have been just over 490. tonight on ktiv news 4, more on keeping dangerous drivers off the roads. tiffany rides along with a specialized unit of the sioux city police department to show us the steps it takes to put a suspected impaired driver behind bars. it's . time for a break. we're back with our fourth half hour of news 4 today. first though.. here's a look at some of the events on the ktiv-dot-com community calendar. welcome back and thanks for

wednesday morning. i'm robert lowe. al and sarah have the day off. coming up in this half hour of news 4 today the campaigns are taking advantage of the week between christmas and the new years. the goal is to meet as many voters as they can, as donald trump announces plans to spend $2 million per week on advertising. the latest from

marco rubio travels across iowa this week...including a stop right here in sioux city. see what he had to say about his voting record. and, some fire-rescue teams are using a new method to stop excess bleeding and save the lives of head trauma victims. we'll tell you all about this new method but first here's tj....

between christmas and new years to meet as many voters as possible. the top candidates on the republican side have many events scheduled and plan to hit multiple states. edward lawrence has the latest from washington.

i've very proud of them." some experts worry this may be the wrong move. (sot matt lewis, the daily caller :25 - :36) "it's also a little bit risky. what if they look conventional? i mean - why? if it ain't broke, don't fix it! the notion that donald trump would start running a conventional campaign should concern him a little bit." a new rasmussen poll shows trump and clinton in a toss up if the election were today. that maybe why he's now attacking hillary clinton through her husband.. former president bill clinton... calling him the sexist one. meanwhile senator marco rubio picked up an endorsement in key primary state south carolina from congressman trey gowdy. (sot sen marco rubio, (r) presidential candidate :56 - 1:04) "candidates i think as we get down the stretch here, some of them get a little desperate and a little nasty in their attacks and that's fine, we're going to continue to campaign on what i'm going to do when i'm president." rubio also defended his voting record in the senate. the republican field shrank. former new york governor george pataki dropped out.. he had less than one percent of republican voters in the latest polls. i'm edward lawrence in washington, now back to you. >> democratic presidential

support in siouxland next week. yesterday, she was back on the campaign trail for the first time since taking a break over christmas. she held two town hall meetings in new hampshire. tuesday she will be in sioux city for an event at 2:15 p.m. the location hasn't been announced yet. republican pennsylvania senator rick santorum has a campaign stop planned for today in holstein, iowa. the presidential candidate will speak at leonard limousin and angus farm at noon. the event is open to the public. candidate ted cruz plans to hit the road in iowa starting on monday. he's holding a bus tour of 36 counties in six days. on tuesday, january 5th he's making stops in cherokee and sioux. the next day he'll be in lyon, osceola, dickinson, emmet, paloalto and clay. and, on thursday, january 7th he'll be in buena vista, pocahontas, and humboldt. last night, u.s. senator marco rubio made a stop in sioux city. ktiv's tommie clark attended his town hall meeting and shows us his approach to the presidential campaign.

senator, marco rubio, as he took the stage tuesday evening. his town hall centered on his policy strategies and less on his competition." "if we're going to win this election we don't just need to unify republican party and the conservative movement, we do, we need everybody that we have already to come out, but we better bring some new people. the people that clean these hotel rooms, the people that park cars, the people that mow lawns, the people that work with their hands every day," said presidential candidate and florida sen. marco rubio. rubio emphasized re-embracing voters. "i like his policy that we are all americans and that we can do anything we want to do just like he is doing if you really want to do it and i agree with that all the way," said former teacher, george c. zeitner. and his lack of criticism towards other candidates took the spotlight. "he spent time talking about what he would do, not how bad the other guys are and i really appreciated that," said financial advisor, dave delapp. rubio answered questions from iowans in the audience on various topics, but his stance on unifying voters led the rally. "a president of all americans, including the ones that don't vote for me. every single day i will work hard for everyone, even the ones who hate me, even the ones who say nasty things about me on twitter, even the ones who will never vote fo rme no matter what we do because in the end we are all americans," said presidential candidate and florida sen. marco rubio. "senator rubio reminded supporters how critical the

the iowa primary is just a little over a month away. tommie clark...ktiv news 4." >> students from two siouxland schools played during a bowl game yesterday. marching band members from gehlen catholic in le mars, iowa and yankton, south dakota's high school performed during halftime at the russell athletic bowl game. the students performed with 3,000 other students from 26 high schools from around the country. the baylor bears and north carolina tar heels played this afternoon at the citrus stadium in orlando. baylor won 49 to 38.

fans stranded at the des moines, iowa airport but yesterday they were on their way. the storm dropped about 6-inches of snow in des moines and airlines had to canceled a total of 26 flights on monday. and, nine flights yesterday. flights are now running on schedule and fans are ready to cheer the hawkeyes to victory. it turns out gravity still works. a confetti tossing test was performed in times square yesterday morning in advance of the massive new year's eve party. the testing of the confetti goes to show how much preparation goes into pulling off one of the biggest celebrations in the world. also on the mind of new york city officials is security for the big night. police commissioner bill bratton says 6,000 police officers will be in times square thursday night. workers in times square will test the most famous ball of them all later today. the test will ensure that the ball will fall and not fail when it descends the flagpole to ring in 2016. this year's ball features over 2-thousand

weighs over 10-thousand pounds. and about a million revelers are expected to pack times square on thursday to celebrate the new year and to watch it drop. up next, it's mascot to the rescue! one nba mascot saved the day with his expert bat-catching skills. that's coming up in what's trending. and i'll have your complete forecast next! >

wx timer @ 1:30 with monday & tuesday's winter storm finally out of siouxland, the white stuff is returning briefly here for our wednesday. a disturbance is moving just to the south of siouxland giving many places a quick inch or less. the snow will mainly be light in nature but it will create some slick spots on the roads with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early this morning with clouds sticking with us for most of the

eve will be much more pleasant with partly cloudy skies. the negative...the cold temperatures will be felt across the region. highs will barely make it to the 20 degree mark and that will last right into new year's day. a bit of a warming trend will take place over the weekend with most towns climbing close to freezing. i hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!! happy new year's everyone! >> the coyote is the mascot san

not the one it needs... unless a bat made its way into the around the court prior to tip-off of the timberwolves-spurs game monday night. the coyote came to the rescue, dressed as the dark night himself, bat- man. the caped coyote quickly corralled the

before handing it off to authorities for release. rob kardashian was recently hospitalized. we'll tell you why, coming up. plus...the movie 'joy' premiered in london yesterday. we'll have the details from the

er the paris attacks, senators came together for a top-secret briefing on the terrorist threat... marco rubio was missing - fundraising in california instead. two weeks later, terrorists struck again in san bernardino... and where was marco? fundraising again in new orleans. over the last 3 years, rubio has missed important national security hearings and missed more total votes than any other senator. politics first: that's the rubio way. right to rise usa

last night jimmy fallon performed a special tribute to star wars with some of the movie's actors. here's a clip. on the show tonight, will ferrell, alicia vikander, and twenty one pilots. last night jimmy fallon performed a special tribute to star wars with some of the movie's actors.

ferrell, alicia vikander, and twenty one pilots. you can catch the tonight show with jimmy fallon right here on ktiv at 10:35 after news 4. television reality star rob kardashian was hospitalized after falling ill over the weekend-- according to t-m-z, doctors have diagnosed the 28-year-old with diabetes-- a condition kardashian was unaware he had. kardashian has struggled with depression and weight gain over recent years. unlike the rest of his family on "keeping up with the kardashian's," he's avoided the public eye for the past two years. actress jennifer lawrence and director david o. russell reunite for the third time in the new movie 'joy.' russell also directed lawrence in her 2012 oscar-winning role in 'silver linings playbook' and in 2014's 'american hustle.'

story of joy mangano, the new york inventor of the miracle mop who overcame an early divorce and life as a single mother to become a successful 1990s businesswoma n. the movie also reunites russell and lawrence with bradley cooper and robert de niro for a third time. speaking in london recently, lawrence said she could relate to her character in 'joy.' she also confirmed reports that she could be playing de niro's mother in russell's next project. wednesday tj- pop singer ellie goulding- 28 rob- basketball player lebron james- 30 tj- golfer tiger woods- 39 rob- from the jackass series dave

tj- today show host matt lauer- 57 rob- former today show host meredith vieira- 61 tj- from the monkees rock singer michael nesmith- 72 rob- baseball player sandy koufax- 79 >

the white stuff is returning briefly here for our wednesday. a disturbance is moving just to the south of siouxland giving many places a quick inch or less. the snow will mainly be light in nature but it will create some slick spots on the roads with the surfaces cold after yesterday. the snow will exit early this morning with clouds sticking with us for most of the day.

we're wrapping things up on this wednesday morning. after the break, we'll have a rundown of the top stories in siouxland. and we've got some pictures of a rare whale siting you won't want to miss.

here's a look at the top headlines in siouxland. marco rubio made a stop in sioux city yesterday. the town hall style meeting took place at the holiday inn on gordon drive. rubio chose to center the event on his policy strategies and less on his competition. some of his supporters say they didn't criticize the other presidential candidates. others said they appreciate his down-to- earth attitude and philosophy. rubio also reminded people how important the iowa caucus is and encouraged them to participate. a fire left over a dozen people homeless last night in sloan, iowa. the fire department was called to the prairie apartments yesterday morning. two women jumped from a second-story window to escape the flames. they were later transported to mercy medical center with non-life threatening injuries. no other injuries were reported.

destroyed and a second one had smoke damage. investigators are still trying to find the cause of the fire. and december is national drunk and drugged driving awareness month. with the new year's holiday approaching, the sioux city police department is taking extra precuations to keep drunk drivers off the road. one unit of the department is known as alochol safety program. or asap. it's made up of a supervisor and three officers. this group specializes in recognizing drunk and drugged driving. asap also teams up with mercy medical center's reality education alcohol program to help prevent fatalities. and the foodbank of siouxland received a special donation yesterday. union pacifice gave them ten thousand dollars. the presentation was held at the food bank warehouse yesterday afternoon.

finally this morning, a 50 foot humpback whale splashing around monday is big news in the nation's smallest state. rhode island harbormaster ed hughes said he heard a colossal splash when he was making his rounds monday morning. hughes said the whale was about halfway up the bay when he saw it splashing around for about 45 minutes. humpbacks aren't supposed to be lingering around there this time of year. like many new englanders, the humpback heads for warmer climates once the mercury begins to drop every year.