. . good morning, everyone. right now on "first look," severe weather slams the south, killing four people, flipping cars, damaging homes and knocking out power to thousands. it is not over yet. that weather system could mean major delays and cancellations for millions of travelers trying to get home for the holidays. sony has a change of heart saying it will release the film that has caused so much trouble. plus, a health scare for former president george h.w. bush. viral video of a homeless man helping others in need and a controversial nativity scene. why the owner is being ordered to take it down. good morning. thanks so much for joining us on this christmas eve. we do have breaking news overnight to tell you about.

tensions are flairing in st. louis, missouri, this, as another 18-year-old black teen has been shot and killed by a police officer. it happened in berkley, a town just outside of ferguson. say spokesman says the officer approached the teen and another male during a routine check near a gas station. that's when police say the teen pulled out and pointed a handgun at the officer. police say the officer fearing for his life fired several shots and fatally wounded the teen. his male companion fled the scene. police recovered the teen's handgun and at this time are not revealing his identity. we will continue to bring you more details as the story developing it is a state of emergency in some parts of mississippi right now. a rare december tornado touched down there, at least four people are dead. thousands still without power. the storm system could impact half the nation's population over the next 24 hours. nbc's kurt gregory has more. rare december tornadoes, tore through southern

mississippi. ripping roofs from businesses and pulling walls from their foundations. in the town of columbia, thousands were left without power. two dozen homes damaged. vehicles thrown on to their sides. >> reports of debris falling out of the sky off to the north and east of columbia. weather chaser, brandon clement. >> the trees were all completely snapped. buildings completely destroyed. ambulances flipped on top of another car. in louisiana, much of the same. downed trees and debris from damaged homes strewn across yards. as the massive system marched eastward, it brought torrential rain to the panhandle of florida. more than 6 inches fell in tallahassee. and, as the front moves to the north and east, it's promising to make christmas eve travel a nightmare. on tuesday, the flight aware misery map showed growing problems at airports in many cities, delays at those airports are only expected to get worses athe storm moves through.

as much as 6 inches of snow is expected in chicago for christmas eve. adding the windy city to the list of those expecting a white christmas this year. but getting where you are going the day before by air or road may prove slow-going. kurt gregory, nbc news. speaking of the weather outside, let's go right to meteorologist, dominica davis to see how the forecast is shaping up for this christmas eve. please tell us good news. >> the good news is, this is the last day of all this terrible weather. we can finally stop talking about it. >> i am going to start with those storm reports. yesterday, severe weather was concentrated down from louisiana to georgia. that's where all our storm reports came in. they were over 14 reports of tornadoes that did span from louisiana over to georgia. a lot of damage with that wind and hail reports. that's over today. the threat is diminishing. we have a tornado threat in

northern florida until 7:00 in the morning. the focus is the northeast. that's where the gusty winds are going to shift for today. the i-95 corridor all the way back to the great lakes, still dealing with some lake effect snow from chicago on east. that's where you are going to have your travel troubles for today. temperatures are very mild. betty, 56 for the high today in new york. 59 in philadelphia and even the low 60s in d.c. so that is some unusually warm christmas weather. >> it doesn't look like we are going to have a white christmas any time soon. former president, george h.w. bush, remains in a houston hospital this morning just as a precaution. he was taken to the hospital after experiencing a shortness of breath last night. president obama has sent well wishes to the 90-year-old former president. push spent nearly two months in that same hospital this time last year for bronchitis-related cough and other health issues after criticism from washington and hollywood, sony

pictures will release the interview at a limited number of theaters tomorrow. more than 200 theaters are expected to show the controversial comedy. this comes despite threats from hackers with possible links to north korea. tracie potts is live in washington for us. she has been following this. what does this mean for sony that it has done an about face here. >> it may mean they can recoup some of the $100 million they were expect the to lose after they canceled the release. president obama chided them for that. now, the white house says that he welcomes the chance for americans to get out to see the movie and make up their own minds to exercise their free speech. hello, north korea! >> reporter: sony says the interview will debut in more than 200 independent theaters at some s tickets sold out in an hour. >> i was willing to go on christmas and say, we are not going to stand up for this bullying and childish behavior.

>> reporter: moostvy is about a fictional flot to kill north korea's leader. hackers reference 9/11 and demanded it be pulled. >> threatening the blow of american families at sin aplex's around the u.s. >> reporter: he is representing the states that sponsored terror. the state department still wasn't say if the u.s. is behind north korea's massive output in north korea. sony is bracing for another cyberattack but says, it is proud to stand up for free speech. the film stars james franco and seth rogan tweeted, victory and freedom has prevailed. the interview will appear in less than a tenth of theaters that were supposed to screen the film. some of the theaters are planning extra security tomorrow. >> in case you can't get to the theater and see the film or you don't want to do that on christmas day, it looks like sony is trying to work on

getting it on the internet, streaming it or putting it on video on demand on some cable systems. >> i have a feeling demand is going to be high to see this one in light of everything. thank you, tracy. here in new york city, a show of solidarity across the city's skyline for the two police officers killed. the christmas tree at rockefeller center was one of several landmarks to dim their lights at five minutes, the empire state building and one world trade center did the same at the request of mayor bill diblasio. joe biden and his wife will attend the funeral services. stephanie goff has the latest on the attempts to deescalate tensions between the mayor, his police force and protesters. >> reporter: new york city stopped at 2:47 to mark the moment officers wenjin lui and officer raphael ramos were gunned down.

officer lui's tearful widow thanked supporters. >> this is a difficult time for both families. >> reporter: mayor called for an end of protests until after the funerals are held. >> some law enforcement officials link those protests to saturday's rampage. the detectives say 28-year-old suspect, ismaaiyl brinsley had video of this demonstration. new york's police commissioner with matt lauer. >> it is quite obvious that it was a direct spinoff of this issue of these demonstrations. >> reporter: brinsley also had a long criminal record and a history of mental illness before he killed the officers and himself, he first shot his ex-girlfriend. organizers say they are not to blame and they are back on the streets. eugene helped stop the organizations. >> to stop now would only feed

into their narrative that these protests contributed to violence or protests, which is untrue. >> reporter: what is undeniably true is that two officers died senselessly. the city is left wondering how to keep it from happening again. nine minutes past the hour. let's get down to business with cnbc's meg terrell. the dow looks to march even higher today after it closed above 2000. the economy showed grew more than expected. the dow went from 17,000 to 18,000 in less than six months. a short day of trading today. the markets clothes at 1:00 p.m. fedex and ups are reportedly capping express holiday delivers after packages allowed some retailers to go over their limits. 2 million packages didn't make it on time because of late online orders and bad weather. facebook has inked a deal with the nfl to run short video clips

in users news feeds, including game highlights, news and other content followed by adds for verizon wireless. still ahead, we are keeping an eye on santa's location this morning. plus, what a homeless man in california does after receiving $100 from a stranger. the cutest stocking stuffer ever. look at these quadruplets. they are adorable. born premature back in september. thanks to staff at university of colorado hospital. they are doing just fine this holiday season.

13 minutes past the hour. gay men can now donate blood so long as they have object stained with sex with other men for a yeefrmt it is the latest attempt by the fda to lift a ban that went into the effect at the start of the aids epidemic in the early '80s. illinois is the first state to legalize medical marijuana

for children. they must get two doctors to sign off that they will help treat their health decision. sdwr. >> a self-described social experiment prankster thought he was going to catch a homeless person buying alcohol with money he dpaf him. the man goes into the liquor store and comes out with food and goes from park to park and shares it with other homeless people. the video has gotten 10 million hits since it was posted on monday. cincinnati, a zombie inspired nativity scene. it is pitting town officials against a homeowner. it was brought to its attention by two anonymous residents that were offended by it. it is a question on the minds of so many kids this morning. where is santa? well, starting tonight, volunteers at norad will be tracking his every step and so can you by going to their website at noradsanta.com.

trailblazers took on the thunder in a thrill to the finish. he gets a good look. he popped it. a challenge. willard knocks it down. >> damion lillard hits his seventh three-pointer of the night to force overtime. in the closing seconds, serk ibaka and lamarcus aldridge get tangled up under the basket. what went wrong? they are both ejected. blazers win it. 11th ranked wichita state escapes a near upset with a one-point win over hawaii, 80-79. oregon quarterback and this year's heisman winner, marcus mariota, the a.p. college football player of the year. he received 49 of the 54 votes submitted by the a.p. top 25 media panel.

this year's nfl pro bowl selection was dominated by the afc champion, denver broncos with 9 players selected. peyton manning was picked for the 14th time. the nfc east, the dallas cowboys, my favorite, were second with six selections. ♪ jingle bell, jingle bell rock ♪ ♪ jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring ♪ >> colts players showed off their musical chops caroling for children at children's hospital. the st. louis blues had a little fun spoofing home alone with their mascot, louie. take a look. >> i feel like we're forgetting something. kevin? >> no, i'm right here. >> louie?

♪ >> you can't leave louie, no. this can be the most wonderful time of the year, as we know. when you are missing someone in your life, the holidays can turn into a really tough time. that is why there is a place to go for families of our fallin military. nbc's janet shamlian shows us how snowfall express works. >> merry christmas. look at here, jason. >> you can't buy a ticket for this flight or a dozen others like it. this is the snowball express. it's just touched down in texas. >> we love the welcome every year. >> hundreds of children and mostly moms are invited for four days of holiday fun. they are the sons, daughters, and spouses of fallin military heroes. >> it's bitter-sweet, because you know why you are here. >> for jennifer stratten, it has been five years since she lost

her husband, mark, in afghanistan. she comes here every year from virginia with her children, who are now 7, 10, and 12. >> friendships develop and i get to know more and more of the widows. so you feel like you are coming home every time for christmas, which is very nice. >> as for volunteers, there is a cast of thousands. >> would you like a pork chop patty or a hotdog? >> the most significant expression of support comes from the people of ft. worth. moms and dads that load up their own children and wait by the side of the road to cheer on 50 busloads of military families as they drive by. >> i am here to tell them that we love them and we support them. >> it's a mess of undertaking, the flights, the hotel rooms, the activities and the food. it is all donated. no one pays a dime. >> we are here for the kids. we want to remember what they sacrificed for us. >> for the parents, it is a shoulder to lean on.

>> it has been 15 months, a long 15 months. we are grateful to be here. >> reporter: it is mostly all about fun. new memories in the making. janet shamlian, nbc news, ft. worth. what a great program. all right. so just ahead, details on a vandalism at the florida state capital. republican senator, rand paul, has some fun with fessty vus. the rock goes back in time. fanny pack and all just in time for christmas.

here is your christmas eve edition of scrambled politics. 6.4 million americans have enrolled for individual insurance plans for 2014 through healthcare.gov. the put the administration on track to outpace its goal of 9.1 million signups by february. michael grim has pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion. now, top house democrat nancy pelosi is calling on john boehner to act. congressman grimm is finally admitting the truth to his constituents. clearly, speaker boehner must insist that congressman grimm re-sign immediately. senator elizabeth warren is blasting the new policy about blood donations from gay men.

the fda must commit to building a bigger, safer, blood supply through risk-based screening and have courage to set policies based on science a satanic temple display in the lob by of the florida state capital building was vandalized yesterday. susan henrik told the police she couldn't take it anymore. she began ripping apart the display. she has been charged with criminal mischief. republican rand paul had some fun celebrating festivus. he took to twitter and aired some of his own grievances. one of his many tweets wos this picture of rick san ftorum. we all know having a fashion forward campaign is important to success. he had a picture of a shirt with a rand paul 2016 logo. of course, everyone has to be themselves. i have my own style. one of his later tweets was this

one where he was holding up a puppies. politics doesn't involve enough puppies. people like puppies. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. from boston, i'm joined by politico reporter, kevin robishard. i see you don't have any puppies with you. we will talk about some good news. the dow passed a record 18,000 yesterday for the first time ever. gas prices are down. the president's approval hits what, a 2014 high. is this a turn-around movement? >> it is too early to say that. the white house has done this before. it is a little too early to say that. clearly, a lot of things are going well. americans are now approving and saying the economy is headed in the right direction for the first time in a very long time. consumer confidence is as high as that is been since the bush

administration. clearly a lot of things are going well. whether it turns into political benefits for the president is an open question. how much he can gain considered the mid-terms have already happened. >> we reported earlier that nancy pelosi wants speaker boehner to insist that republican congressman, michael gram re-sign after pleading guilty of felony tax evasion. what are the real chances of that happening. >> the republican party has tried to get rid of grim in the past. when he was first indicted. the nrcc cut off all of his funding. they weren't giving him any more money. he won re-election anyway. boehner could insist he wants grim to re-sign. boehner and grim talked i wouldn't be surprised if that's what boehner actually told him. grimm has shown no indication that he is going to re-sign or that he could somehow be forced out of office unless the full house votes to expel him, which would be something that would take a long time to accomplish. >> why aren't we hearing more

from republicans that actually oppose a convicted felon representing their party in congress? >> right now, it is probably largely because they are just not in session right now. grimm probably negotiated when he was going to get indicted, when he was going to plead and negotiated it for the week of christmas. that was a smart thing on his part. the fact is that most members of congress aren't in washington, d.c. so reporters can't walk up to them and ask them, do you think michael grimm should re-sign? i guarantee you, quite a few would say yes. >> it is the holiday. thanks for joining us on christmas eve. >> yep. good to be on. >> happy holidays to you z. >> now, for some entertainment news. forbes has released the top ten most overpaid actors in hollywood. topping the list for a second year in a row is, drum roll, please, adam sandler. johnny depp, ben stiller, rounding out the top five, ryan reynolds and tom hanks.

really? >> helena bottom carter and tim burton are no more. they separated and say they will continue to be friends and co-parents to their two children. duane "the rock" johnson tweeted out this picture to get everyone in the holiday spirit, fanny pack and all. i'm betty nguyen. reminder, ""morning jomorning j coming up at the top of the hour.

don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. and now, save without settling. get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just $110... ...or 4 lines for just $140. and get a $150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. only on verizon.

for many children, survival depends on meals. >> the pack back problem is to feed the children when they go home. >> find out more about childhood hunger and what you can do about it at mbs.com. good morning, severe weather slams the south killing four people. flipping cars, damaging homes and knocking out power to thousands. it is not over yet. that weather system could mean major delays and cancellations for millions trying to get home for the holidays. sony has a change of heart saying it will release the film that has caused so much trouble. plus, a health scare for former president, george h.w. bush. viral video of a homeless man helping others in need. a controversial nativity scene. why the owner is being ordered to take it down. good morning, everybody. thanks so much for joining us on this christmas eve. i'm betty nguyen. we have