trump's wild new comments on hillary clinton. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2 can 30 out west. this is "way too early." and good morning, everyone. it is tuesday, december 22nd, i'm shiba russell. in the latest sign of increasing violence in afghanistan, six american service members have been killed by a suicide bomber. their convoy was on foot patrol when a suicide bomber drove into the group on a motorcycle and detonated his suicide vest. this all happened near bagram airfield just north of kabul. at least two other american service members were injured. the taliban is claiming responsibility. one of the six americans killed has been identified as new york police detective joseph lemm.

45 years old. according to police commissioner bill bratton, lemm was a 15-year veteran of the department, who had been deployed to afghanistan and iraq three times. this morning, he's being hailed as a hero cop, who a decade ago chased down a stabbing suspect in new york city while off duty. a recent pentagon report warned that violence in afghanistan has increased and that efforts to train and conduct counterterrorism operations have grown tougher. yesterday's suicide attack came as taliban fighters and afghan forces battled for control in helmand province. the associated press reports that districts across the region have been threatened by a taliban takeover in recent months. we are learning more this morning about the woman who authorities say intentionally mowed down pedestrians on a busy stretch of las vegas boulevard, killing one and injuring at least 35 others. energy's morgan radford has all the details. behind the wheel, 24-year-old lakeisha holloway with her 3-year-old daughter in the car. >> the video obviously shows

intention. her exiting the roadway onto the sidewalk, and then obviously plowing through the pedestrians on the sidewalk. >> reporter: holloway swerved onto the sidewalk not once, but twice, gaining speed for a quarter of a mile, injuring more than 30, and leaving one dead, a 32-year-old mother of three, from arizona. >> we haven't determined to exact fact what the motive was. we believe that she -- she had some dissociation with the father of her child. we don't know the exact percipient event that caused her to snap. >> reporter: holloway fled the scene, parked at a nearby casino, left her daughter in the car and then asked to call nieb one one. >> we have her in custody. >> reporter: authorities say she was homeless, living out of her car for the past week and not for the first time. she was homeless in high school in oregon but overcame that. >> i was scared out of my mind. >> reporter: seen here in a 2012 promotional video for a job training program. >> being homeless and on my own

taught me how to stand on my own two feet. >> reporter: in las vegas, standing in front of the paris casino, posing just steps away from the scene of the crime. >> she didn't appear to be distressed due to her actions. >> reporter: investigators do not believe this was terrorism. but they haven't ruled it out. >> that was morgan radford reporting. holloway is expected to appear in court this morning for a formal bail hearing. now to politics. the war of words between presidential front-runners donald trump and hillary clinton escalated yesterday. at times, descending in off-color language after the clinton campaign stood by a claim she made during saturday's democratic debate about trump's rhetoric being used in isis propaganda videos. it is a charge trump denied and for which he demanded an apology. but a clinton campaign spokesman replied, quote, hell no. hillary clinton will not be apologizing to donald trump for correctly pointing out how his hateful rhetoric only helps isis recruit more terrorists.

and then last night at his rally in michigan, the republican front-runner let loose on his democratic counterpart, remarking on everything from her 2008 loss to barack obama to her late return to the podium after a commercial break in the last democratic debate. we want to warn you the following includes words some may find offensive. >> donald trump is on video, and isis is using him on the video to recruit. and it turned out to be a lie. she's a liar. no it turned out to be a lie. turned out to be a lie. and the last person that she wants to run against is me. believe me. believe me. so hillary's going to get beaten but i haven't started with hillary yet. what happened to her? i'm watching the debate, and she disappeared. where did she go? where did she go? i thought she quit.

i thought she gave up. where did she go? where did hillary go? they had to start the debate without her. phase two. i -- i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. no, it's too disgusting. don't say it. it's disgusting. let's not go. we want to be very, very straight up, okay? i may win, i may not win. hillary, that's not a president. that's not -- she's not taking us -- everything that's been involved in hillary has been losses. you take a look. even her race to obama, she was going to beat obama. i don't know who'd be worse. i don't know. how does it get worse? but she was going to beat, she was favored to win, and she got shlonged. she lost. >> that word is trending on twitter today. trump also saved some choice words for the media during last night's rally. here's what he had to say about the press during a riff about

russia's president. >> they say, you know, he's killed reporters. i don't like that. i'm totally against that. by the way, i hate some of these people but i'd never kill them. i hate them. no, i think -- these people. honestly, i'll be honest. i'll be honest. i would never kill them. i would never do that. let's see. no, i wouldn't. i would never kill them. but i do hate them. and some of them are such lying, disgusting people. it's true. it's true. it's true. but i would never kill them. and anybody that does, i think, would be despicable. >> meanwhile, the republican presidential primary is now just a 13-horse race, after senator lindsey graham announced yesterday that he's suspending his campaign for the white house. >> well, my campaign, i'm going to suspend my campaign. i'm not going to suspend my desire to help the country. my campaign has come to a point

where i need to think about getting out and helping somebody else. here's what i predict, again. i think the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes time to articulate how to destroy isil. this is an election for the heart and soul of the republican party. this is no longer about 2016. this is about who are we as a party? where do we want to go? and where do we take the country? >> graham has struggled to break through in the crowd of republican field and barely registered in most polls. his announcement came on the same day as the deadline to remove his name from the south carolina ballot, thereby avoiding the potential for a loss in his home state. graham went on to say that he doesn't intend to endorse just yet. but did note that marco rubio and jeb bush are two candidates who get it when it comes to foreign policy. bush returned the compliment on twitter saying, quote, nobody is more clear-eyed about isis than graham. and here's what senator rubio had to say when asked yesterday if he would seek graham's endorsement.

>> well, look, i want everybody's support. anyone i can get to jump on board, we'd love to have their support. it's probably premature to ask for that. he just got out of the race today. let's give him some time to get through the holidays. we'd love the support of as many people as possible and certainly lind si is someone who supports national security as strongly as he does is someone whose support we welcome. >> now to the campaign of dr. ben carson, which raised huge sums this fall. but, is now under scrutiny for spending that money faster than it came in. internal campaign document obtained by "the wall street journal" show a political operation hemorrhaging cash. in october, carson's team raised $8.8 million and spent $9.5 million. this is carson's poll numbers have dropped double din its since early november, both nationally and in iowa. the carson campaign says the spending can be attributed to prepaying for future expenses. a grand jury has decided there will be no indictment in the death of sandra bland. the chicago woman was pulled over for failing to signal a lane change this summer.

she was then arrested. accused of assaulting the officer. three days later she ended up dead in her jail cell. authorities say she committed suicide by hanging, a finding her family has always disputed. but after hearing more than eight hours of evidence, a texas grand jury decided not to indict any jail workers. the grand jury will reconvene in january to decide the fate of that arresting officer. and sergeant bowe bergdahl is headed to court today for arraignment. last week the army announced that he would face a general cart martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. bergdahl disappeared from his afghan post back in 2009 and was held by the taliban for five years. if convicted he could face life in prison. in an interview with npr, president obama accused donald trump of exploiting fear among blue collar men. the president said that the combination of demographic and economic changes has caused anxiety that trump has used to his own advantage. >> the fact that wages and

incomes have been flat-lining for some time, and that particularly blue collar men have had a lot of trouble in this new economy, where they're no longer getting the same bargain that they got when they were going to a factory and able to support their families on a single paycheck, you combine those things, and it means that there's going to be potential anger, frustration, fear. some of it justified, but just misdirected. and, you know, i think somebody like mr. trump's taking advantage of that. i mean that's what he's exploiting during the course of his campaign. >> do you feel over seven years that you've come to understand why it is that some ordinary people in america believe or fear that you are trying to change the country in some way that they cannot accept? >> well, look, if what you're

asking me, steve, is are there certain circumstances where i'm being the first african-american president that might not have confronted a previous president? absolutely. i, you know -- >> i don't know if that's all of it. >> well, i'm sure that's not all of it. >> that's not all i'm asking. >> well, you're asking a pretty broad question. if you're referring to specific strains in the republican party that suggest that somehow i'm different, i'm muslim, i'm disloyal to the country, et cetera, what i'd say there is that yeah, that's probably pretty specific to me. and who i am, and my background, and that in some ways i may represent change that worries them.

>> well, with all of that said, the president did acknowledge there are people who object to his own policies for quote, perfectly good reasons. still ahead here on "way too early," some unfinished business concerning odell beckham from sunday night. remember that? and they were dancing in detroit. highlights from monday night football. and we'll talk about where matthew stafford got his moves. and if you're looking for a white christmas you may need to head to the northwest, because that's where all the snow seems to be. bill karins has more on what "usa today" is calling a winter summerland, when "way too early" comes right back.

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have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. anti-flu? go antiviral with tamiflu. ♪ [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ [ birds squawking ] my mom makes airplane engines that can talk.

[ birds squawking ] ♪ my mom makes hospitals you can hold in your hand. ♪ my mom can print amazing things right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] my mom makes trains that are friends with trees. [ train whistle blows ] ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ it was a big day, humanitarian, for tesla ceo elon musk when a spacex falcon 9 rocket blasted eleven communication satellites to

orbit. the 23-story rocket lifted off with the main stage successfully returning about ten minutes later to a landing site six miles south of its launch pad. hear all the cheering in the distance there? musk celebrated with a tweet saying there and back again. the company says it intends to try to reuse the first stage booster in its nine engines. doing so would help reduce the cost of space travel. let's turn to business now where u.s. stocks rallied as investors shrugged off weak oil prices. cnbc's nancy hulgrave joins us live from london. nancy, what do you make of this? >> well, you know, a lot of investors here have been holding out for what they call a santa claus rally and we see equities traditionally turn higher toward the end of the year. they have a little bit of a reason to believe for a few more days here. that's because we did get an upsick across all three major

markets. the dow jones closing up more than 100 points yesterday. there was a bit of a roller coaster ride and that's largely tied to the price of oil as you mention there, oil hitting new lows in yesterday's session. but managed to recover closing up just slightly by the end of the close. nevertheless, the futures pointing to the open today in the u.s. they're still calling for a lower session on wall street. so not convinced yet that we'll see that rally. now one of the moves to the downside yesterday was chipotle. shares there hitting a 52-week low and this came after the cdc said it was investigating at least five new cases of a potential e. coli outbreak. that is in kansas, north dakota and oklahoma, where people became ill, and this is a great concern to chipotle which has already warned they could see a drop of up to 8% in sales due to the ongoing chipotle incident. keep in mind these incidents took place over a month ago and chipotle insists it is not still a concern in existing restaurants. they will not be closing any stores. >> nancy hulgrave, thank you so much, live from london. time now for sports.

the saints hosting the lions on monday night football. to new orleans, despite becoming just the fourth quarterback in league history to eclipse 60,000 yards passing, drew brees and the saints' late surge weren't enough to tackle detroit last night. instead, qb matthew stafford threw for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns leading the lions to a 35-27 victory. and after showing after his arm in the game, stafford puts his dance skills on display afterward showcasing his best impression of ray lewis' trademark moves. i would say not bad. well done. now to other news from around the league, the nfl has suspended new york giants star receiver odell beckham jr. one game for his actions in sunday's match-up against the panthers. beckham drew three flags for personal fouls during an ongoing battle with carolina cornerback josh norman, which included a vicious cheap shot that many argue should have been grounds for an ejection. things really got heated. beckham's suspension means the

giants, who need to win their final two games for any chance to reach the playoffs, won't have their biggest offensive weapon on sunday against the vikings. one game suspension. let's turn now overseas, international soccer's governing body has officially brought the hammer down on two of the sports' most powerful figures. an ethics committee has banned fip fa president sepp blatter and his would-be success european soccer head michel platini for eight years. the funishment follows an investigation into an alleged disloyal payment of $2 million from blatter to platini. fifa's embattled president was apologetic in a news conference yesterday but said he would continue to fight. >> i am sorry that i am as president of fifa this punching ball and i'm sorry for football. i'm sorry for the federation and national football association i'm serving on for more than 40 years. i'm sorry for that. i'm sorry for the 400 plus fifa

team members working in fifa. i'm sorry about that. i am now suspended eight years. suspended eight years. but i will fight. i will fight for me and i will fight for fifa. >> both men have announced they will appeal the ruling. let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. the first full day of winter. >> that's right. >> is here. >> it's like christmas in july. >> winter summerland "usa today" calling it. >> everyone likes that. >> i like that. >> i wish i coined that. >> and nice christmas tie by the way. >> oh. one of two people in the studio liked it. the other person does not. good morning, everyone. heavy rains the story this morning. got to show you the pictures from the west because if you want it to feel like winter a little bit you have to head to the west. these are pictures coming to us from another snoqualmie pass. at one point the highway shut down due to avalanche concerns. other areas of california have also picked up some significant

snow. this is where we desperately need it where the drought is so bad. in the sierra we're happy, too. let's take you to areas of the rain this morning. heavy rain is greeting you this morning. panama city up through areas of georgia, upstate south carolina. charlotte's getting drenched. raleigh shortly through greensboro and d.c. has a light rain. now that's going to start working towards philadelphia and new york city as we go through the peak of the rush hour. for today's forecast the heavy rain is going to be exiting the southeast but look out tomorrow. it's like a spring day. 60s and 70s and we will see severe storms. about 35 million people, shiba, are under the risk of severe weather. i mean this is like a huge area of country. maybe even a few tornadoes as we go throughout wednesday afternoon. so, you know, we have to keep an eye on that. severe weather this time of year is pretty rare but it's going to happen. >> very grinchy. all right, bill, thank you. still ahead here, another clinton may be hitting the campaign trail in the coming months. plus the moment r. kelly walked off an interview with the huffington post. the question he didn't want to answer when "way too early" comes right back.

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r&b star r. kelly stopped by huffington post live to promote his new album the buffet but the interview quickly went south when the reported continued to press him on questions regarding the sexual abuse allegations that have dogged him for years. >> your personal life has started to interfere with the way that people consume your

lyrics -- about that. >> you're here to get ratings and i understand that. i respect that. but you won't be getting them off me if you're going to interrogate me. >> i'm not interrogate you -- >> talk about something positive. >> multiple accusations against you, against young women in chicago -- >> i love all of my fans -- >> -- from purchasing your music. >> i love them all. i'm not going to allow you to do that. but i love you -- >> okay. i have a video question for you from a van -- >> no video questions for me because this interview is over. >> okay well mr. kelly thank you very much -- >> not sure if you heard anything in between there. i didn't. the entertainer then thanked the interviewer, told her she was beautiful, yeah, and walked off. now let's get a check on the morning's other headlines with louis burgdorf. you wouldn't walk away from me, would you? >> i wouldn't walk away. but r. kelly, he was out. now hillary clinton's 2016 just got a little bit brighter. yesterday chelsea clinton announced she's expecting her second child. the soon-to-be mother of two took to twitter saying quote

next summer charlotte is going to be a big sister. it didn't take long before grandma and grandpa joined in as well. the former secretary of state said she couldn't be happier. and now bill clinton also tweeted, christmas came early, congrats to them on the new baby. and finally, shiba, he's known for his terse news conferences and no-nonsense approach, but patriots head coach bill belichick's christmas spirit is undeniable this season. ♪ >> have yourself a merry little christmas. let your heart be light. from now on our trouble will be out of sight. and have yourself a merry little christmas now.

end on a high note. >> a sad, sad christmas carol there, shiba. i'll leave you with that. >> all right, louis. it did seem heartfelt, i might add. thank you. that does it for "way too early." coming up on "morning joe," the back and forth between donald trump and hillary clinton gets ugly, as trump launches some crude attacks against the democratic front-runner. we'll play you exactly what he said during a campaign rally in michigan last night. plus, republican presidential candidate chris christie joining the discussion live from the campaign trail in new hampshire. "morning joe" just moments away.

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they said, you know, he's killed reporters. i don't like that. i am totally against that. i would never kill them. i think, no, these people, honestly, i'll be honest. i'll be honest. i would never kill them. i would never do that. let's see,