and we now know the identities of all six americans killed in that suicide bombing in afghanistan, among the dead a history-making air force officer. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." good morning, everyone, it is wednesday, december 23rd. christmas eve eve i'm shiba russell. donald trump is on the defense, taking to twitter to explain his use of a word that many find offensive. he uttered that word at a rally on monday night when describing hillary clinton's 2008 primary loss to barack obama. here's what the republican front-runner said on twitter yesterday, quote, once again, main stream media is dishonest, adding that the word he used is not vulgar. he went on to say, quote, it is

a shame that the biased media is able to so incorrectly define a word for the public when they know that the definition is wrong. he also said it's a word often used in politics. members of clinton's camp chose to respond obliquely. communications director tweeted, quote, we are not responding to trump but everyone who understands the humiliation this degrading language inflicts on all women should. and another member of clinton's communications staff and former msnbc anchor karen finney added quote, resorting to disgusting sexist slurs is not leadership, mr. trump. and while clinton herself didn't weigh in on that specific attack, at a town hall in iowa yesterday, she did speak at length about bullying after this question from a 10-year-old girl. >> what are you going to do about all the bullying? not just because of just people who want to be mean, but mental and physical and diseases that

people have that they're able to live with every day. >> can you tell me a little bit more about why that's on your mind? >> i have asthma. and occasionally i've heard people talking behind my back about not wanting to be near me because i have asthma. i mean, people, it's not contagious. [ applause ] >> that was really brave. i know it's sort of odd coming from a person running for president, but i really do think we need more love and kindness in our country. i think we are not treating each other with the respect, and t the -- [ applause ] and the care that we should show

toward each other. and, that's why it's important to stand up to bullies wherever they are. and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. because that is not who we are as americans. >> meanwhile, democratic challenger bernie sanders came to clinton's defense during a speech last night in iowa. jabbing at trump about his rant on clinton's bathroom break during last weekend's democratic debate. >> donald trump is very upset, it's very hard for him to deal with, i don't know what his relationship with women has been in his life, but he has discovered that women go to the bathroom. and it's been very upsetting for him. and this is what i quote. i was there at the debate we had on saturday night.

but i got to be honest with you, i got to be honest with you, got to lay it out on the table, i also went to the bathroom. this is the quote. i mean this is the pathology, this is the guy who is leading in the republican polls. this is what he said. quote, i know where she went. it's disgusting. this is hillary clinton going to the bathroom. this is the issue. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. no, it's too disgusting. don't say it. it's disgusting. this is a guy who wants to be president of the united states. >> but some of clinton's opponents on the right accused trump of giving clinton more fodder. here's what jeb bush had to say about her feud with trump yesterday. >> she's great at being the victim. you know, this will enhance her victimology status. this is what -- this is what she loves doing. trump is not going to be president, because he says these

things. it turns people off. i think for crying out loud we're two days before christmas. lighten up, man. >> "the washington post" has retracted a political cartoon over the way it depicted a presidential candidate's children. pulitzer prize winning artist tweeted out this cartoon of ted cruz as an organ grinder. and his two daughters as apparent monkeys. the caption ted cruz uses his kids as political props. she wrote that the senator had waived the unspoken rule of leaving candidates' kids out of cartoons. once he included them in this ad that aired in iowa during "saturday night live." cruz tweeted the paper should stick with attacking him and that his daughters are off limits. marco rubio chimed in calling the cartoon disgusting despite the fact that the two senators have locked horns on the campaign trail. the paper's editor wrote it has generally been the policy of our editorial section to leave children out of it. i failed to look at this cartoon before it was published. i understand why ann thought an

exception to the policy was warranted in this case, but i do not agree. it wasn't long after the cruz campaign began fund-raising off of the cartoon, including it in a blast e-mail. a top hillary clinton aide says bernie sanders is likely to edge the democratic front-runner in donations this quarter. clinton campaign manager robby muck wrote in a fund-raising e-mail, quote, bernie sanders campaign is on track to outraise us this month this on the heels of a political report in which top clinton donors say sanders will raise more when disclosures are filed january 30th. just before voting in iowa begins. venture capitalist, and clinton fund-raiser alan pat pricof said people are feeling complacent and more reluctant to contribute because they don't take bernie sanders that seriously. the sanders campaigned poured cold water on the entire thing saying they quote have no idea if we will raise more money this quarter but probably not. and clinton was asked what she would say to people disappointed in the democratic establishment,

who might not vote next fall. >> i respect people who have strong political feelings. i wish more americans had strong political feelings. i wish more americans would turn out to caucus, turn out for primaries, turn out to vote in the general election. but i don't have any sympathy for people who then decide that they are going to pass after they've expressed themselves because whoever the alternative is is not pure enough. negative advertising, perfected by the republicans, is aimed at doing one of two things. convincing voters that a candidate you might kind of think is okay really isn't. you know, turning that person into a sort of alien. or so discouraging people by the negativity of the campaign that folks say, i don't want anything to do with these politicians. i -- voting disencourages them.

i'm not going to vote. i'm being very high-minded about it. that thrills the koch brothers. i mean they do high fives when they see polling like that. >> last night fox business network announced their criteria for making the main stage in the next republican debate. to make the cut, fox says candidates must place in the top six nationally, or place in the top five in iowa or new hampshire. all polling data will be based on the five most recent polls recognized by fox news. and according to calculations, by politico, only six candidates are likely to qualify for the main event on january 14th. and according to politico, calculations based on national and state polling available as of yesterday, the prime-time debate stage would look like this, six candidates here. donald trump, ted cruz, marco rubio, ben carson, jeb bush, and chris christie. that would mean john kasich, carly fiorina and rand paul would be out of the main event and into the undercard debate. with just 40 days until the iowa caucuses more than $111

million has been spent in the 2016 presidential race so far. a third of that spending in support of jeb bush, the campaign and allies of the former florida governor topped the list of spenders with $38 million marco rubio has spent the second most at a little less than $18 million. while hillary clinton is the top democrat, spending about $12 million. one of the smallest advertisers is the campaign's loudest voice. donald trump spending just $217,000. by comparison, ad spending has more than tripled since the 2012 presidential race which accounted for just $35 million at this point last campaign cycle. prominent evangelist franklin graham says he has lost faith in the republican party, renouncing his membership over last week's spending bill. the son of billy graham wrote on facebook, after all of the appalling facts revealed this year about planned parenthood, our representatives in washington had a chance to put a stop to this, but they didn't. graham compared planned

parenthood to nazis and wrote, quote, that should have been all that was needed to turn off the faucet for their funding. nothing was done to trim this 2,000 page $1.1 trillion budget. he said it was why he has resigned from the gop. though graham was recently spoken favorably of donald trump. we are learning much more this morning about the u.s. service members killed in a suicide attack in afghanistan on monday. the air force has identified all six americans who died when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle drove into the group and detonated a bomb. among them major aid draina vorderbruggen, she was the first openly gay female officer to be killed in combat. her wife will continue to raise their young son. she spent years working to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. yesterday marked the five-year anniversary of its repeal. and staff sergeant louis bonacasa was on his fourth combat tour. his family told nbc news that he wanted to enlist in the marines at age 17. but his mother convinced him to wait and join the air force after he graduated.

>> he just want to serve and take care of his country. he loved his country. he died doing his job. he died doing what he loved. he was a man's man. he took care of business. >> the u.s. airmen also killed in the attack include staff sergeant peter taub, staff sergeant chester mcbride, technical sergeant nypd detective joseph lemm, and staff sergeant michael cinco. iraqi forces are pushing to win back control of ramadi from the hands of isis militants. yesterday iraqi troops along with american trained counterterrorism forces made advances in the city. according to the ap at least one u.s. military spokesman says the capture of the city by government troops is inevitable. "the new york times" reports that isis has lost 14% of the territory they have held since january. the most significant losses have been in northern syria. isis still has a strong grip in the major cities of raqqah, in syria, and mosul in iraq. and right now turkey is taking

steps to secure its border with syria. officials are building a concrete wall and reportedly installing razor wire in an effort to stop the flow of supplies to isis. the international organization for migration says that more than 1 million migrants and refugees have crossed into europe this year. officials say this year saw the highest migration flow since world war ii. sergeant bowe bergdahl was arained in a short military hearing yesterday. he deferred entering a plea on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. the judge also gave permission to postpone a decision over whether bergdahl will face a jury or a judge alone in this case. bergdahl was held by the taliban for five years after he walked off a military base in afghanistan back in 2009. still ahead here on "way too early," president obama is on vacation, but the pressure is on with spectators watching and cameras rolling the president sets up for a 40-foot chip shot on the 18th. and wait until you see how this one ends. plus a mystery in the sky

over the western u.s. last night. airport officials say it flew too high to be an aircraft. this morning, mystery solved. those stories, plus bill karins with an update on some severe weather we're watching when "way too early" comes right back. especially, the pizza! about football is here... up your game with two large two-topping pizzas for only $7.77 each. better ingredients. better pizza.

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especially, the pizza! about football is here... up your game with two large two-topping pizzas for only $7.77 each. better ingredients. better pizza. papajohns.com authorities in the dallas area are investigating bomb threats targeting christmas eve services at two churches. police believe the letters came from the same suspect or suspects. pastoral officials at saint andrew presbyterian and denton bible church say they still plan to hold services despite the threat, though police will have additional security at both locations. and the state of virginia will no longer recognize concealed handgun permits for more than two dozen states. democratic attorney general mark herring says the state will revoke reciprocity agreements with 25 states that have gun laws he says are too lax.

the attorney general says the out-of-state agreements make it way too easy for guns to end up in the wrong hands. and that virginia does not accept lower standards from other states. this new policy takes effect on february 1st. and we're following some developing news right now overnight on a massive rescue going on in china. two people are dead so far but 70 are still missing after a massive landslide. one bright spot in otherwise bleak story here, one man was pulled alive from the rubble some 60 hours later. he was reportedly coherent but his legs appeared to be crushed. twitter was buzzing last night over what many thought was a shooting star in the skies over nevada and california. but, yeah, not actually a shooting star here. military officials say the streaking fireball was caused by debris from a russian rocket retenoring the earth's atmosphere. in other words, it's space junk. nevertheless, a nice little light show to see. time now for sports, and another big moment for the undefeated panthers. carolina wrapped up an nfl best

ten players pick to the pro bowl, including a third selection for quarterback cam newton, and five first time selections. seattle, arizona and new england each had seven players selected. among those panthers pro bowl picks is carolina cornerback josh norman who shares the honor with giants receiver odell beckham jr. those two have been in the headlines all week long after multiple clashes is sunday's match-up. those led to a one game suspension for beckham and now panthers head coach ron rivera has addressed reports that his players taunted the giants receiver with baseball bats and slurs before the game. rivera denied any wrongdoing and said the team will no longer be using the bats as pregame props. >> i'm going to end up hearing it so to avoid the situation set of circumstances let's just eliminate it. so that's what we're going to do, i mean, again it's, you know, the no fun league for a reason. >> now, the ice, and if you ask

the florida panthers, what -- what he wants for christmas he might say my two front teeth. well he better ask for a few extra after taking a high stick to the face last night against the senators and losing four of his front teeth. as it turns out jagr took to twitter asking old saint nick to do him the favor. oh, my goodness. hopefully -- oh, that's so mean, bill. hopefully he's not on the naughty list. man. not great timing there at all. it is no secret that president obama is an avid golfer reportedly having somewhere around 250 rounds under his belt this year. well the president hit the lincs while on vacation with the first family in hawaii yesterday. and sunk a shot fit for a pro off the fringe of the 18th green obama sent a 40 foot chip shot dancing into the pin for a birdie. onlookers cheered the impressive strike. as the commander in chief hamed it up for the cameras. >> did i say 250 rounds this

year? that's like almost impossible. there's not even that many good weather days. >> rack up all the vacations, right? >> i guess playing multiple rounds in one day. >> it can be done -- >> that's a lot of golf. >> the weather's perfect, too. if i could get away with it, i would, too. >> 250 holes. >> that would be a little easier. all right let's talk about the horrible weather out there as we go throughout the next 48 hours. a lot of travel problems, there's a huge issue with fog this morning. chicago, new york, philadelphia, d.c. give yourself extra time. but the real danger is the possibility of tornados today. and unfortunately, it's going to continue from this morning right through this afternoon pit will peak sometime this afternoon to early this evening. there is a tornado watch already issued this morning we haven't had any tornadoes. we are watching a few of those strong storms just to the northeast of the dallas-ft. worth complex. so here's the area of concern. it's huge, by the way. it goes all the way from chicago down to new orleans and mobile and everywhere in between. this area of orange is the enhanced risk. that's where we expect the more

widespread storms to be. the best chance of tornadoes is going to be areas from little rock to memphis, out just northern louisiana, northern half of mississippi. and by the time it gets to nashville, i think it's more of a wind damage threat late today. that even could knock out power, too. here you are trying to get ready for the holidays and dealing with, you know, safety issues for you and your family this afternoon. we'll watch that carefully today. also rainy weather in addition to the fog in the northeast today. how about the record highs tomorrow. 76 in d.c. 72 in new york. and finally, christmas day, a little cooler -- a little cooler and also a little calmer, too. there won't be as much severe weather around. >> that's good news. >> yes. >> and we'll hope for the best. >> yeah. tornado -- who wants to deal with a tornado, you know, two days before christmas. >> i know. all right, bill, thank you. still ahead here the alleged smuggling operation that could have one actor out of millions. and it's a good thing this world class skier is as fast as he is, because one second slower he may have been taken out by a drone! .

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now let's get a check on the morning's other headlines with louis burgdorf. >> good morning, shiba. the actor who starred in the movie franchise about the hunt for rare treasure is now being asked to return one. listen to this tweet from the ap. nicolas cage has agreed to give

back a dinosaur skull prosecutors say was stolen from mongolia. the national treasure actor bought the 70 million-year-old tyrannosaurus skull from a beverly hills gallery for $276,000 back in 2007. he reportedly outfitted fellow movie star leonardo dicaprio but the department of homeland security says the skull was illegally smuggled from mongolia where exporting dinosaur fossils has been criminalized since 1924. neither cage nor the gallery have been accused of any wrongdoing. a little winter sports here. close call on the slopes for world champion skier yesterday. the austrian was almost wiped out by a drone while competing at the alpine skiing world cup in italy. the drone was carrying a broadcast camera. as you can see it missed a four-time defending champion by a matter of seconds. now hershel didn't even find out about the near-collision until the end of the run. he still managed to finish second and reclaim the overall world cup lead.

and finally, season's greetings from your senator, shiba. "the new york times" reached out to all 100 senators and asked for their holiday cards this year. and they got -- what they got ran the gamut. we all know a great family photo is a must for the holiday card. florida senator and presidential candidate marco rubio and his family delivered as did ron johnson of wisconsin whose picture gradeling a sleeping grandchild, so cute. and ben sass of nebraska gets extra points for including the family cat in his card. but the winner, definitely comes from senator dianne feinstein, whose yorkshire terrier stole the show and the whole front of her holiday card this year. happy holidays to you, shiba. and i'm looking forward to a big 2016. >> animals always win, louis. >> yes, they do. definitely. >> hands down. definitely. >> he has the cute factor. that's what it is. >> yes, it is. that and babies. happy holidays to you, as well. and to everyone out there, merry christmas. that will do it for me and "way too early." coming up on "morning joe,"

hillary clinton throws a subtle jab after that personal attack from donald trump. she didn't say any names but her message was clear. plus, 1 million and counting. a major milestone in the number of refugees pouring into europe. and later on, presidential candidate mike huckabee. we asked the baptist preacher why he's trailing just about all of his republican rivals among iowa evangelicals. a group he once dominated. that and much more coming up next on "morning joe." ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet?

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. donald trump is very upset. very hard for him to deal with. i don't know what his relationship has been with women in his life but he has discovered that women go to the bathroom. it's been very upsetting for him. this is what i quote and i was there at the debate we had on saturday