d... leaving behind a mess just ebfore the holiday. this year's hottest gift.. smartphones and tablets. a new study reveialing the harm they could have on your kids. and.. a valley family's celebrating a special christmas homecoming. probably the best christmas present we could get a homeward bound story.. right here in las vegas. but first breaking news. a flood warning is issued fro lancaster county, south carolina. you can see the storm causing the mess in our doppler radar in our right. it's already dropped at least ten inches in some parts of alabama. a las vegas family is reunited

for the first time in six years. action news reporter marissa kynaston tells us how the marks family-- found willie. sot david marks, willie's owner he's got a story to tell, but all i can say is he's glad to be home its a story you'd normally only see-- in christmas movies-- nats- 'take a a treat' sot alison marks i would have loved to know where he's been all this time willie-- lost from home-- for six years. sot david marks april 3 2009 the marks were vacationing up north in pioche. sot david marks i was out in the mountains when willie-- suddenly ran off. sot david marks willie didn't come back david and alison desperately searched all day-- sot alison marks there was just nothing we could do about it and all night. sot david marks i had no sign of where he was at sot alison marks we were expecting him somehow to come out of the woods and run towards us like we never left him, but i knew it was impossible six years

never heard a word until last week-- sot david marks they you, we never thought we'd see him again willie had somehow traveled nearly 300 miles-- until he was picked up by another family. but willie was brought back home to alison and david-- the same way he had left them-- by running. sot a shelter was able to find the marks through willies microchip-- sot and now-- they're calling it a miracle-- sot david marks it was like he never left to be reunited-- for the holidays. sot david marks it's a good christmas present, probably the best christmas present we could get, oh that's for sure, that's for sure that was marissa kynaston reporting. right now meteorologist carlo falco's in the weather center keeping an eye on what i want this year.. a white christmas. carlo, where do i need to go to

. a stormy christmas is in store for las vegas with the action starting tonight. an upper level low pressure system will dive towards the city from the pacific northwest bringing a ton of wind and very cold air along with it. there won't be too much rain or snow associated with this low as it will dump most out over tahoe and the sierra in california but a few rain showers and even some very light and brief snow showers could move through the las vegas valley late tonight. the best shot for rain showers will be up in the mountains but a few drips and drops may make their way down from the higher elevations after around 10 tonight. now to the southeast.. where a storm moving east is

rain across alabama. officials in enter-price.. a town near the florida panhandle.. is reporting a foot of rain in 24 hours. in the heartland at least eleven people are confiremd dead after tornadoes tore through at least seven states. abc's elizabeth hur reports the damage in tennessee and mississippi is so extensive.. the governors have declared a state of emergency. liz intro: authorities say.. they are actually still in the process of assessing all the damages.. but in some areas.. what they have seen was enough to determine.. that help from the state level will be necessary. liz pkg: ((nat)) the tornadoes.. so powerful.. homes were demolished.. tractor trailers flipped and debris tossed for miles.. ((sot)) atman: "just rumbling thunder with lightning striking and then you see it and that's when it was really really intense." from tennessee.. to mississippi.. ((sot)) gwendolyn jones: "it lasted..

train and it was gone." at least two dozen reported tornadoes touched down.. cutting a path of destruction? and leaving so many.. homeless. ((sot)) weather pkg ms holly springs damage/reax "it's devastating. it kind of crushes you here at christmas." ((sot)) kathy swopshire/ church damaged: "it's very heartbreaking.. i don't even have the words to mississippi.. state officials vowing to help everyone.. now beginning the process of recovering and rebuilding.. ((sot)) phil bryant: mississppi governor tba elizabeth tag: and move.. the same storm system that wreaked havoc in the south.. is now triggering dangerous flash flooding in parts of alabama and georgia.. eh, abc news, ny. action news is getting new information on today's officer- involved shooting at a mall in charlotte, north carolina police say an off-duty officer shot and killed an armed man. they say that officer ran toward the sound of gunshots. when the armed man allegedly pointed a gun in his

the officer fired his own gun. the gunman died at the scene. protest "black lives matter" protesters filled the roads around chicago's magnificent mile today.. disrupting holiday shoppers. the group is demanding chicago mayor rahm emanuel resign for his handling of the laquan mcdonald police shooting case... an officer shot the 17-year old 16 times last year. well i'm. . for one i'm a young person and the people who are majority being killed are young people, millenials. and so i stand in the gap right now for people like laquan mcdonald, sandra bland, and also rekia boyd because we cannot forget our black women that are being killed as well. chicago police officer jason van dyke is charged with first-degree murder in mcdonald's death. dash cam video showed mcdonald with a knife. it also showed the teen walking away from van dyke. now to your red, white and blue 2016 political coverage. republican candidates are turning against the washington post. the newspaper posted this cartoon online.. showing ted cruz's two daughters as trained monkeys.

the candidate's new christmas themed ad. in the clip cruz and his girls an attack aimed at democratic candidate hillary clinton. "i know just what i'll do, she said with a snicker. i will use my own server and nobody will be the wiser." cruz's gop rivals are backing him up. on twitter, marco rubio called the cartoon "disgusting." both donald trump and jeb bush defended cruz on fox news. the washington post took down the ad.. saying the cartoon was posted without an editors approval. police were called into action last night after an unusually feathered call. an angry oregon man dumped a flock of chickens inside the "oregon department of revenue office".. in eugene. now the chickens are spending christmas in a new home.. a local shelter already full of cats and dogs. yes this time of year definitely in our cattery and our kennel we're full.

well local reporters stopped by the accused chicken-dumpers home. but 66-year-old louis adler wasn't feeling chatty. people gathered in saint peter's basilica today for the pope's traditional christmas vigil mass. pope francis' homily focused on the theme of love and mercy. he called on followers to reject extravagance and wealth...encouraging people to live simply... with compassion. move over black friday. the best shopping deals may be happening right now. retail wars are on. and stores are dropping prices left and right. plus.. on the roads... and in the air... more than 100-million americans are traveling for the holidays. the extra efforst airlines are taking to get you home for christmas. ad lib santa tracker

nasdaq is up three pionts. sp500 is down three points. it's a good day for local

drops less than a percent. the stores are rolling out the red carpet for you last minute shoppers. average price cuts this year on many items from clothing to jewelry are higher than last year, according to market track the discounting wars are particularly being waged online. in fact some of the season's hottest products are now selling up to 40 percent below black friday prices. crude oil prices rise again.. closing today at $38.10 a barrel. holiday travelers are paying $2.06 for a gallon of regular, according to triple-a. that's a slight jump from a few days ago when prices hit an even two-dollars. in las vegas.. drivers are paying about $2.54. that's tonight's 'financial focus.' let's go to bryan scofield and 'weather first.' . a stormy christmas is in store for las vegas with the action starting tonight. an upper level low pressure

city from the pacific northwest bringing a ton of wind and very cold air along with it. there won't be too much rain or snow associated with this low as it will dump most out over tahoe and the sierra in california but a few rain showers and even some very light and brief snow showers could move through the las vegas valley late tonight. the best shot for rain showers will be up in the mountains but a few drips and drops may make their way down from the higher elevations after around 10 tonight. the shot for snow will be very brief, and there won't be any accumulation in the valley. there may be a few particularly determined snowflakes that could live for a couple minutes on grassy surfaces but that's

quickly once the shower has passed. behind the showers will be some breezy winds and much cooler temperatures. highs on christmas will only be in the upper 40s with about 50 for the warmest areas in the valley. cooler weather is coming for saturday with the main core of cold air associated with the upper level low directly overhead for then. high pressure will start to push in from the west and will drastically kick up the winds saturday making for a very blustery and raw day. winds could gust to 45mph in the las vegas valley and wind advisories are possible in the valley. high wind warnings are expected for the colorado river valley and from searchlight southwestward. temperatures moderate to start next week,

normal for this time of year. new year's eve looks sunny if not a bit chilly. expect highs to be right around 55 and mostly sunny skies. holiday travelers.. pack your patience. here's a live look at mccarran airport.. a busy place this christmas eve. airlines are trying to keep up with more travelers.. an estimated three-percent jump from last year.. adding more flights.. even red-eyes to keep people moving. it's even worse in chicago.. an 8 percent jump in traffic at passengers there are waiting more than two hours for incoming flights. here's the plus side to more people traveling by air:

road. moving in to a consumer alert from contact 13. fiat-chrysler is recalling nearly 450-thousand s-u-v's that could catch fire. the automaker says the vanity mirror in jeep grand cherokees and dodge durangos from 20-11 and 20-12 can overheat.. a definite fire hazard. they're also recalling 2015 jeep compass' and patriots because a clamp may be out of place and may allow power steering fluid to leak. thankfully no injuries or accidents have been reported. coming up later.. in tonight's abc primetime lineup on channel 13: at 8:00 it's two hours of charlie brown. then at ten it's the great christmas light fight. then on action news.. live at 11.. a rough admission from fed-ex... your christmas packages won't make it by christmas! the extra steps the company's taking.. hoping to make it up to you. plus.. a christmas grinch caught

flashy gadgets are on every kids wish list. but there's a downfall to placing a new smartphone under your tree. even the new tablets labeled "educational" are having a negative effect your kids.. and you!

those newfangled electronic toys sure look flashy under the

but could they have a downside for your developing child? with more, here's abc news senior medical contributor dr. timothy johnson. script: electronic toys? they beep and glow at you from every store window in town? many even claim educational benefits for your child. kids love them. but parents may do well to books and traditional toys instead? and the reason is language development.

26 young children and their parents? finding that playtime with traditional toys and books promoted rich communicative interactions between parents and infants, while sessions with electronic toys resulted in far less verbal communication, and conversations that were less meaningful. and believe it or not, parents themselves also spoke less frequently when they and their tots used electronic toys? which means fewer words for the children to recognize and learn. this was a small study? and it's true that some electronic toys are educational. but all in all, it looks like toys that don't speak for carlo has another look at your forecast in just a bit.

the son of a polish immigrant who grew up in a brooklyn tenement. he went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began -- fighting injustice and inequality, speaking truth to power. he moved to vermont,

in congress, he stood up for working families and for principle, opposing the iraq war, supporting veterans. now he's taking on wall street and a corrupt political system funded by over a million contributions, tackling climate change to create clean-energy jobs, fighting for living wages, equal pay, and tuition-free public colleges. people are sick and tired of establishment politics, and they want real change! [ cheers and applause ] bernie sanders -- husband, father, grandfather, an honest leader building a movement with you to give us a future to believe in.

that's action news for now.. but we hope to see you again later tonight for action news.. live at 11. thank you for joining us. "inside edition" is next.

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cheerleader stricken by a