dozens were injured as tornados rip through the region. we'll bring you the latest from one of the hardest hit communities. plus marco rubio does a sit down for a reporter. it doesn't go well. why the presidential candidate is being compared to a robot programmed with talking points. later, stores are being roll rolleding out deep discounts to lure in the shoppers.

good morning. we begin this morning with breaking news. seven people confirmed dead following a day and night of severe storms and tornado damage throughout the southeast and midwest. the national weather service declared what they called a particularly dangerous situation for much of the day yesterday. here a scene from arkansas where one was killed. her 18-month-old child was with her and taken to the hospital. >> christmas around the corner and the loss of the family they sustain is tragic. >> everything was moving sideways and just the sound of the wind and i just, i jumped and i ran.

>> here's what's left of the post office in tennessee. two people died in that state. >> fortunately, it's not widespread. basically, it's on highway 5. it's about a 45 minute drive from memphis. there's trees down everywhere. the roof is gone and the house next door is a total loss.

several injuries out here in holly springs. one boy was picked up as his vehicle was tossed. as far as we know, nobody was killed in these homes on highway 7. a devastating tornado. it was on the ground for at least 150 miles and it hit here before 5:00 local time. >> just devastating. mike sigh dell reporting from mississippi for us. thanks, mike. arkansas captured this video. listen to that hail coming down. it's pelting cars and homes all around her. so far, reports of 14 tornados alone in mississippi. let's bring in bonnie schneider and bonnie, we probably won't know for sure whether it's confirmed damage by daylight but a violent string of storms. >> absolutely. that long track of tornado for the amount of time on the ground and the distance it covered. unfortuna

unfortunately, the threat for severe weather continues this morning. such a busy travel day with it being christmas evil. this shows we have a brand new tornado up. this goes until 10:00 local time. it covered some of interstate 75 into macon, dothan, alabama. this shows us we still run the risk for damaging storms. you can see the first of lightning as the radar loop played. millions traveling today, christmas eve. to the west we have rain and mountain snow. this has caused problems in

iowa. we saw yesterday christmas eve we still see the threat. we want to talk about temperatures. then christmas day big changes ahead. 16 degrees. contrast that to 70 in washington d.c. 66 in new york city. really warm and steamy across the southeast. in the meantime it's important to know over the weekend we're going to be tracking a winter storm and this is going to be a big story. >> bonnie, thank you so much. as bonnie just mentioned it's

been unseasonably warm up and down the seaboard. we bring in sarah whose up for us early in new york city. good morning, sarah. >> oh good morning. santa may need to shed a few layers before tonight. we have already broken the record for warmest christmas eve ever. the previous record was 63. we are already at 64 degrees at midnight. it's going to get warmer up to 74 degrees today. we're not just talking new york city. boston going to see the mid-60s. for some people they have to wear short sleeves in december. for others it doesn't feel quiet like christmas. hard to get motivated to finish the last minute errands. here in new york we have to deal with patchy fog and

thunderstorms. airlines are hoping that's mild and they'll be able to get back on track following the cancellations and delays we saw yesterday across the board at all the area airports. right now all major airports running on schedule. >> thank you so much. let's turn now to politics. new national poll shows a potentially troubling trend for hillary clinton. rubio has flipped his numbers after trailing clinton 124 points this spring and donald trump has narrowed the gap over

the last months moving from 24 points behind to two points now. that comes as clinton reacts to trump's word many find offensive. the democratic front runner said she wasn't surprised to hear from trump said but doesn't intend on taking the bait. >> i don't respond to him personally. he has to answer for what he says. and others will make the larger point about his language. it's not the first time he's demonstrated sexism.

>> here's what the republican front runner had to say about clinton and the word she used to refer to her last night. >> to me it means beaten badly. that's what happened to hillary clinton. that's a reference to getting beaten. when i said it, nobody in the audience thought anything about it. they clapped and didn't view that as being a horrible thing. i really haven't gone after hillary yet and there's a lot to go after. she's very susceptible. the job she's done is horrible. you don't get worse. i think that's going to be frankly easier in some cases than some of the people i'm currently running against. so i'm fine with hillary. i think that the last person and i know this for a fact, the last person that she wants to be running against is me. >> senator ted cruz is making political hay out after a retracted washington postcard too. it depicted him as an oregon grinder and his daughters as

monkeys. meanwhile, the cartoonist that drew it stood by the inclusion of his children. they decided to pull it. here's cruz yesterday on the trail. >> i appreciate number one the media yesterday decides the right thing to do is to target my girls to attack a 5-year-old and 7-year-old and now coming back and yet turning another attack. thank you for that. let me suggest a very simple rule. leaf the kids alone. leave my kids alone, leave marco's kids alone. leave hillary's kids and grand kids alone. kids should be off limits and the washington post should know that. i tell you, it has been gratifying to see a number of the other candidates stand up and say that common sense proposition. marco has said that, jeb bush said that, trump said that. really, this should be bipartisan. you should see democrats expressi expressiexpres

expressing the same sentiment. for all of us, keep the kids out of it. cruz shot back with a photo of hillary walking two dogs. >> i don't think the republican party needs galvanizing. when senator cruz talks about disploiting the kids, the washington post dismissed the rule you don't go after the

kids. i understand the rational of the person who created the animation but i believe you're leaving yourself open for that kind of criticism which of course, ted cruz immediately did. as a matter of fact he used it to try and raise some funds. >> he's still trailing donald

trump by double digits. what ultimately stops donald trump in 2016? >> one would think his humor would do it, his ethnic positions would do, one would think many of the other things he said that were completely outrageous would do it but no one has found that magic formula. >> your income describes santa's reindeer being pulled so hard by trump they crash. >> they're hoping that donald trump will be the republican nominee. it's a long time before the election and there's so much that can go on. so i hate to use this expression. it's one we're not suppose to use when we're doing the news but only time will tell. >> bob, thank you so much. good to see you. still ahead iraqi troops are waging war on isis looking to

retake control of the key city. will the new offense do anything to stop the terror threat here at home? first, new reports saban carson shapes up his staff in poll numbers. halley jackson has more on that. we'll be right back. here's a little healthy advice. eat well, live well, and take of what makes you, you. right down to your skin with aveeno® aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion with the goodness of active naturals® oat and 5 vital nutrients for healthier looking skin in just one day. healthy skin equals beautiful skin. and for shower softness, add the body wash, too! aveeno® naturally beautiful results®

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(whispers) now hide-and-seek time can also be catch-up-on-my-shows time. here i come! can't find you anywhere! don't settle for u-verse. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. after considering he's made major changes ben carson released a statement he has 100% confidence in his current team. let's see what he had to say in the first interviews with the associated press. >> i do have concerns about everything. everything is on the table.

we're constantly looking at everything. looking to see if there are ways to improve things. i recognize nothing is perfect. everything is on the table. every single thing. >> and carson was quoted in the washington post saying something very adding every job is on the table. hours after those interviews he said i have 100% confidence in my campaign team. my team remains in place and will continue to execute our campaign plan. let's bring in halley jackson. what happened in the time between the first interviews and the apparent walk back? >> right. what happened in that space? apparently a flurry of phone calls is what went down. what we understand from the associated press and our pals at the washington post, ben carson

was doing these interviews. without his campaign manager even being aware of it. once the campaign manager and senior staff found out, the phone calls went out. quiet a day yesterday. at the same time it said we are refining some operational practices and streamlining some staff assignments to match the tasks ahead. there is going to be at least a little bit of a shake up in the carson campaign. all this coming as carson continues to slip in resent polls. he had a lot of momentum and seems to be losing steam it seems ted cruz has overtaken him

in that state. we'll see what happens as we get past the holidays here. >> i want to get your take on another story. this one about senator marco rubio. he describes the session with rubio this way. it's like watching a computer algorithm designed. he said a lot but at the same time said nothing. it's like someone pointed him towards the doors and pushed play. that account comes as rubio beats that accusation he isn't committing enough energy. i know you've been spending a lot of time with rubio on the trail. does this candidate sound anything like the candidate you encountered? >> it's a criticism we don't often hear about. he comes on the debate stages

and speaks on the crowds and part of his message is about the good communicator. you say why do you like him? i've heard a lot of folks say he's effective at getting the message across and he likes him and that's what the president needs. this editorial very harsh. nobody wants to be described as a robot and algorithm of talking points. it's not something you necessarily hear from the rubio supporters on the trail. some see it as a disciplined candidate. like immigration and like national security and the fight against isis. as far as rubio committing energy on the campaign trail, this is something that's dogged him now for weeks. the perception he's not getting out and campaigning. we're going to see him on the trail a lot in the coming weeks and let's not forget he's putting a lot of add money out there. he's getting advertisements and

sending his message and getting people to know him. >> so between the candidates now, who has the best ground game out there? >> in iowa? >> yeah. >> our reporting shows that ted cruz is very strong organizationally and not to underestimate donald trump's gain either. when you talk about cruz, iowa is a place where his campaign has gone all in. they have volunteers coming in and people out door knocking and checking information and doing a lot of data collection which is something we've saw in the last week. those two candidates seem to have a good game in place. let's see if it pans out come february 1st. >> it will be interesting to see if cruz can hold on to that in south carolina and new hampshire as well. thank you so much. coming up. for all those prodrast naters out there, there's still about 17 hours left to get your christmas shopping done. we'll have a live report on the

mad dash at the malls nationwide. now the taliban is making major gains in afghanistan. we'll talk to a former navy intelligence operator who knows both battlegrounds well. keep it here on msnbc. what? wow... yeah! okay... guys, i'll be writing a new language for machines so planes, trains, even hospitals can work better. oh! sorry, i was trying to put it away... got it on the cake. so you're going to work on a train? not on a train...on "trains"! you're not gonna develop stuff anymore? no i am... do you know what ge is?

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soy sauce and you got some fortune cookies. have a good one. ah, these small new york apartments... protect your belongings. let geico help you with renters insurance. the remains of six u.s. servicemen killed in afghanistan have been brought home to the united states. the caskets were transferred from a plane to a caravan. defense secretary ash carter attended the ceremony. a memorial also took place and several service members kneeled at the photographs. the six service members were killed when a suicide bomber drove into the group and detonated a bomb. meanwhile, the taliban assaults

the providence. they sent reinforcements to the area. the country's defense minister fleed for more military support and japan's government is refusing to comment about claims that a japanese journalist is being held for ransom. two were murdered by syria in isis by january. a british muslim family said american officials prevented them from flying to disney land for a vacation. why? kelly is live in london. kelly, good morning. >> dara, good morning to you. this was suppose to be the trip of a lifetime for this family. they have really tefs in california. as soon as their visas were approved they splashed out on flights for 11 of them only to be turned away at the gate. the happiest place on earth at christmas time. a child's dream that ended in

tears for this family. his brother and nine children were ready to fly from london to los angeles last week. they said their visas that were approved six weeks ago were revoked. >> they had tears in their eyes. that's something they were planning for months. they had a count down on their phones. >> it comes in the wake of the san bernardino shootings and donald trump. >> donald trump is calling for a total and complete shut down for muslims entering the united states. >> cause toms and boarder patrol wouldn't comment. they said the religion and race is not determining factors. under the u.s. immigration law, there are multiple reasons for denying entry. a personal trainer and gym

owner, says his family spent $16,000 saving for months to pay for the flights. >> i'm devastated. i'm a law abiding citizen. i treat everybody equal. why does it happen to me and my family? >> he says the children are still dereaming of a disney christmas. >> he still doesn't know why he was denied. he would like to know why in hopes of fixing the problem and rescheduling the trip. others are coming forward with similar stories including one who preaches against radicalization who has a u.s. business visa says he was turned away at the gate last week again with no explanation. >> nbc -- thank you so much. >> many shopper s avoiding the holiday rush bishoping online. what christmas gifts may not be under the tree by tomorrow. we'll be right back. just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda®...

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it is crunch time for christmas shoppers and if you're one of those waiting until the last minute to do your shopping, you're not alone. 17% of americans haven't started their christmas shopping last week and many of them choosing the internet over a trip to the mall. brick and mortar retailers are pulling out all the stops including slashing prices and extending hours to get shoppers in their doors. for more on what americans are spending and what it means for their economy, let's turn to scott. >> look at this. it is, let me remind you, 4:30 in the morning, we are in the parking of a kohl's, they will close at 6:00 today. there are shoppers here, cars in

the parking lot, some coming here because they put things off, others are here for the deals, deals, deals. >> the reason we came was because we heard -- was on sale right now. i see a lot of people in there and they're saying how everybody's coming in getting stuff and saying there's a coupon for this and coupon for that. there's sales going on that are getting people to come this early in the morning. >> this is a little bit horrible. i started at least on black friday, so yeah, it lasts about a whole month. he planned everything online. not so much for me. >> what do they got here? a down jacket regularly $100. now $39.99. sleep wear girls and boys now $9.99. star wars t-shirt originally $34, $14.99. that's still for a t-shirt. i guess because it's star wars.

in all seriousness, what this speaks to is a difficult holiday retail season for the brick and mortar retailers. we know about the warm weather in the east. rain and snow in the west that may be keeping people shopping online. that's where all the growth is going to be. you can shop online without having to bundle up and go out at 4:30 in the morning. >>. >> that will come. >> all right. cnbc, thank you so much. if you're planning to do last minute shopping online, good luck trying to find some of the season's hottest toys. 10-15% higher this year than last year. that's according to the rates prevalent in the toy category. joining us for more and hopefully a plan b, naggal retail reporter for the washington post sarah. what do you make of this online

trend and is this here to stay now? >> it's abslightly here to stay. this is a fundamental shift on how we're shopping and i think one of the most noteworthy things is a shift to mobile. for a long time we've been using our smart phones largely to just check store hours and read a customer review. we weren't going in for the kill and making a purchase. we've been seeing that shift this year and that's something retailers are going to have to adapt to going forward. >> what does this mean for the brick and mortar stores? >> it's a challenge for them. at the end of the day we are seeing people ping-ponging back and forth between channels. there's been less momentum in the stores this year. overall, most shoppers still do like to touch and feel some goods and they use both channels. they sometimes do some browsing online and go to the store and make a purchase. >> is it too late to do last minute holiday shopping online

now? >> we really have reached that point where it's risky if you want to get it under the tree tomorrow except from a select few retailers that offer same day delivery. you're going to have to be like the folks at kohl's bundling up. >> does amazon do the deal where they promise to have you it to you 6:00? >> yeah, in certain markets, amazon can get things to you quickly. it's best to check based on your individual city. >> i have a feeling a lot of people will be tooling around in their cars getting those last minute gift cards and presents. thank you so much from the washington post. still ahead, we are learning new details about last month's paris terror attacks. that's up next on msnbc. here's a little healthy advice. eat well, live well, and take of what makes you, you. right down to your skin with aveeno®

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continue to push for isis. the city felt the terror group back in may. now air strikes are advancing. according to the ap, the progress has been slowed by snipers, road side bombs and booby trapped buildings. outside a wave of attacks killed 15 civilians yesterday in and around baghdad at least five bombs went off in commercial areas. no group has claimed responsibility. overnight, a ninth person has been arrested following november 13th attacks in paris. the man only identified as abdul seems to be in contact with the terror suspects before the attack. the investigators learned the master behind behind the attack hitting bush's in the outskirts of paris for four days following the attacks. it's also reported one of the attack suspects was stopped by police in the hours following

the attack. >> something that should be known, isis has taken major disastrous losses in iraq. up in kurdistan they made an offensive to the kurdish line. we killed 187 out of 500 of their fighters.

isis tends to strike out some other part of the world. >> in afghanistan government forces are struggling to fight off the taliban. do you think we'll see a number also? >> we're going to have to see some sort of report down there. what's happening is usually for the winter season the taliban tried to do a major attack and take a large piece of land and settle in for the winter and wait and prepare to do it again for spring. we're going to have to see forces get on this and flow with

air power and try to push them out. >> seems like there's a lot of similarities here. isis is building little nests in afghanistan which is similar to what you just said about the taliban. >> isis and afghanistan is a funny little animal. they are pocketed up in the most remote providence in afghanistan. we've been looking for al qaeda. >> that would be great if they would start taking each other out and we wouldn't have to worry about it. there's new reports saying isis is starting to build in so moll

i can't. >> they have been dominated by the al qaeda group. they've been there for well over 15 years. so what's happening here is there are diseffected members who are breaking off from that. these are the guys who want no rules whatsoever in what they can do to the civilian population. we have actually been operating for years now carrying out missions and rescuings and navy sales tried to snatch leadership and we had the keneans actually invade them. with the holiday season under

way are there any extra measures put in place or should we look for anything extra in order to make sure we stay safe? >> law enforcement is at its highest level. i've been working in new york state with law enforcement and they are on maximum alert. >> let's follow up on that. >> i grade it as an a. people don't seem to understand the intelligence community and law enforcement do a good job. the san bernardino shooters, for example, two individuals isolated and you cannot predict

that until they do what they did which is come out on the street and start a gun battle in a place you can't predict and law enforcement shut it down quickly. despite what people think is going on with isis, we have taken back 25%. we have struck 17,000 targets and killed them against isis targets in the last year. the thing about isis is when they go on these defenses, they only have one way they behave, offensively when you see them doing these in kurdistan, that's a sign of weakness. they are actually taking it and not liking what's being dished out to them. >> we've spoken about iraq and

afghanistan, what's going to happen in syria? where does assad stand in all this is he going to step down? >> syria is a competely different dynamic. you have to separate isis held territory from assad held territory which is the west, western coast where they have russian support right now. also, in the north you have to free syrian army and some of the other islamicly backed militias which separates this other country into three parts and right now, the focus is on smashing isis. i think the president has got a reality check and all he can do right now is allow assad to stay where he is which is not capable of protejecting a lot of power. isis aa threat to all of islam. allowing them to breakout and

win damascus or taking the country like that, completely out of the question. he has a strict base of power and no matter how much discriminate the russians do, they're not going to be able to change very much. >> thank you so much for your input. thank you so much. up next, from a big mall to a busy airport, protesters from black lives matter are descending on very public places. we'll show you what happened in minneapolis where several arrest were made. we'll be right back. proud of you, son. ge! a manufacturer. well that's why i dug this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it. it meant a lot to him... yes, ge makes powerful machines. but i'll be writing the code that will allow those machines to share information with each other. i'll be changing the way the world works. (interrupting) you can't pick it up, can you?

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police in minnesota marched

into a mall disrupted activities. >> tense moments at the minneapolis st. paul airport as black lives matter supporters try to occupy one of the terminal buildings. police were seen taking several people into custody and security checkpoints were closed for some 45 minutes. while outside the demonstration caused chaos on an already hectic travel day. the protests started at the mall of america on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. despite a court order barring group leaders, hundreds protested the november shooting death by police of 24-year-old jamaal clark, who authorities say was unarmed.

federal and state investigations into his death continue. many of the mall stores closed. many boarded public transport and headed for the airport. this march comes a year after some 1,500 people shut down part of the mall. angered over police involvement in the deaths of unarmed black men in ferguson, missouri and new york. an airport spokesperson says normal operations have resumed. >> that was kevin tibbles reporting. now to a political story people are talking about. new mexico's governor has been in the spotlight as a possible vice presidential running mate but blake mccoy reports on what happened after a staff holiday party that has her under new scrutiny. >> new mexico's governor dodging questions that has her under

attack. workers say the party two weeks ago carried over into a hotel room. guests complained. >> they're still not quieting down. >> that was the 911 call from the hotel's front desk. then dispatch got another call. >> governor susannah martinez personally demanding to know which hotel guests complained and demanding officers to be called off. >> i'm wondering who they are. they can tell you but you won't tell me? >> an initial apology was made. >> i should never have talked to central dispatch the way i did and i own it. >> but the officer is heard on the recording saying she seemed

inebriated. in the new tape she also seems to refute her own public denials that bottles had been thrown from a hotel balcony. her office clarified it was snowballs, not bottles being thrown. no glass was ever found. for critics the episode provides further evidence the popular republican governor can't be trusted. a holiday party that has turned into a political hangover. >> that does it for me this hour. i'm dara brown. erica hill picks things up in just a few minutes. have a great christmas holiday. just about anywhere you can use splenda®... ...no calorie sweetener. splenda® lets you experience... ...the joy of sugar... ...without all the calories. think sugar, say splenda®

good morning.

funnel clouds. at the end of eight years, there are going to be a whole lot of newspaper reporters and editors and journalists that have checked themselves into therapy. >> ted cruz fires back a day after "the washington post" pulls a cartoon featuring his daughter. >> seven people are confirmed dead following a day and night of severe storms and tornado damage throughout the southeast and into the midwest. the national weather service has declared a particularly dangerous situation in an area spanning four states, arkansas, mississippi, louisiana and tennessee for much of the day yesterday. that is the first such warning anywhere in the country in a year and a half. yesterday an 18-year-old woman was killed after storm that blew

over a tree that hit her home. her 18-month-old tried was with her and was taken to the hospital. >> christmas is around the corner and just the loss to this family that they sustained from the storm this morning is just tragic. >> everything was just moving sideways and just the sound of the wind. i jumped and i ran. >> you only hear about these stories. you don't expect you to be in them. >> we want to bring in the weather channel as mike seidel from holly springs, mississippi. that scene behind you devastating. >> fortunately it's not widespread. it's out here on highway 7. we're just off interstate 22. it's about a 45-minute drive from memphis. it's a very rural area outside of raleigh springs. look behind me here.

this house is basically a total loss. part of the side of the wall, this brick side, has been blown over here, the house next door is a total loss. at least 11 injuries out here in holly springs. so as far as we know, nobody was killed in any of these homes out here on highway 7. certainly a very devastating afternoon. the tornado came in from the south and west. this is that long track tornado. it was on the ground for at least 150 miles. it hit here just before 5:00 local time. >> down the road in clarks dada. this was the scene. home after home leveled. mark potter reports. >> people throughout the south and midwest following a brutal night of deadly storms and

tornadoes. this area in batesville, mississippi killed a 7-year-old boy. >> we spoke with the uncle of that 7-year-old who said they got to a car to try to take shelter and that's when the tornado hit. >> the area was left devastated. >> that is tornado damage if i've ever seen it. >> look at this, a tornado caught on camera. >> another large and dangerous twister moved through southwest, mississippi, ravaging more than a dozen homes. >> the house is totally gone. >> i'm in shock right now. i'm surprised i'm even standing. >> a tree fell on this house killing an 18 yoorld woman. drivers were blinded by rain, pummelled with hail, some the size of golf balls. these cars and trucks now a

makeshift junk yard. under a tornado warning late wednesday, downtown nashville was desserted. wnbc anchor michael gargiulo among them. and this 2-year-old spent the evening in the closet under the stairs sleeping through it all. >> it is of course christmas eve. many americans have plenty of travel ahead of them today. more than a thousand flight cancellations yesterday alone. joining us live from laguardia is stephanie gosk. hopefully the situation a little better today there, steph. >> definitely. the sun has come out. it is unseasonably warm. this bizarre, wet weather is the perfect recipe from fog. thissar suffers from fog all the time anyway and it really

struggled yesterday. airports across the country had difficulty turning the two most popular days to travel into probably the two most painful and it put hundreds of thousands of holiday plans in jeopardy. the winter storms are playing scrooge. more than 5,400 flights were delayed across the country wednesday, sending christmas from merry to miserable for many customers. >> the flights are delayed. hopefully it not out. we're praying we can get out so we can get home for christmas. >> priceless family holiday time is in danger. >> i don't want to miss christmas with my kids. >> we have dogs we have to get home and care for so i'm hoping

we can get home tonight. >> the fog is kind of scary but let's see what happens. >> so atlanta airport was the worst. less than a third of the flights were on time. today here at laguardia where the weather is pretty good is this knock-on effect so you can probably continue to see delays. obviously the airports got hit with the extreme weather and they're dealing with problems, too. so it's messy all over. >> still, it's slightly better than yesterday so we'll take it. let's bring in meteorologist bonnie schneider for a look at whether this weather will calm down a bit. >> right now in the southeast, stephanie was talking about atlanta. look at the lightning coming through atlanta. you've seen incredible rainfalls. the weather is threatening and

severe in alabama. there still is a tornado watch. this is in effect until 10 a.m. local time. you can see strong thunderstorms working their way across the alabama/georgia border, towards macon. tough go of it on i-85 if you're driving through alabama. this is the risk area. it's a little bit less than yesterday. it's nothing to ignore. we could see flooding downpours. even into washington, d.c. look for rain. the risk for tornadoes is not as high but it's still there. now, looking at your travel weather, this is where we're watching for a storm to develop out west. right now rain and mountain snow making it very difficult in mountains passes. we saw more of that will continue for today. then to the south right along the gulf coast, including new

orleans, we are looking at heavy fog. be really careful if you're driving on i-10 through southern louisiana. through atlanta we still run the risk for storms. this is something to keep in mind as we head to the northeast. one thing to mention, of course with this busy christmas eve, are the record high temperatures likely to be set today and tomorrow. we're expecting temperatures to get very close if not shatter the record highs in d.c. and 70s. look at the forecast for boston, 70 degrees at christmas eve. these are all places where we could see records broken today and likely so. and into christmas, the record highs into the 60s and 70s, well, we could see more records broken and even in portland, maine, up to 55.

we've already seen temperatures at 70 degrees. already overnight. >> bonnie schneider, thank you. >> senator ted cruz is making political hey out of a retracted cartoon. the editorial page editor ultimately decided to pull the cartoon. here's cruz yesterday on the trail. >> i appreciate that, number one, the media yesterday decide the right thing to do is to target my girls, attack a 5-year-old and 7-year-old and coming back and turning -- thank you for that sentiment. let me suggest a very simple rule everybody ought to follow. loaf my kids-- leave my kids al leave marco's kids alone, leave

hillary's kids alone. it's been gratifying to see others stand up. marco said that, bush has said that, trump has said that. this should be bipartisan. up should see hillary expressing the same sentiment. for all of us, we need to keep the kid out. >> cruz then posted a cartoon of his own showing hillary clinton walking two dogs labeled "the washington post" and the "new york times." hallie jackson reports that he is asking for emergency donations. the cartoon is arguing kids were fair play because they were in a christmas sort of campaign ad spoofing christmas errors that

aired on "saturday night live." an adviser to the campaign said they've been doing pretty well but wouldn't put a dollar figure on it. when "the washington post" airs a cartoon like this, there's no counting how much damage there is. it allows ted cruz to do two things that benefit him. look at how he pivoted to putting out an attack against clinton here, spoofing this editorial he's benefiting off of. >> as you bring up hillary clinton, hillary clinton now speaking up directly for the first time as we look at the back and forth between her and

donald trump. she reacted to a word trump used but said she isn't taking the bait. >> up know, i don't respond to him personally because he thrives on that kind of exchange. i think he has to answer for what he says and i assume that others will, you know, make the larger point about his language. it's not the first time he's demonstrated a penchant for sexism. i'm not sure again anybody's surprised. he just keeps pushing the envelope. >> here's what the republican front-runner had to say about clinton and the word he used. >> to me it always maneans to g

beaten badly. that's what happened with hillary clinton, she got beaten badly. when i said it, nobody in the audience thought anything about it. they clapped. they didn't view that as being a horrible thing. and i really haven't gone after hillary yet and there is a lot to go after. i mean, look, the job she's done is horrible. i mean, you don't get worse. i think that's going to be frankly easier in some cases than some of the people i'm currently running against. so i'm fine with hillary. i think that the last person, and know this for a fact, the last person that she wants to be running against is me. when you look at the front-runner feud, who seems to be benefiting more? >> both of them. that's not a cop-out answer, i promise. for donald trump, when he goes after hillary clinton and issues these warnings, his supporters

like this, they like -- folks don't seem to mind. they like that he's not politically correct. clinton size he has very so it working for him in his base area. for clinton, she's galvanizing her base, which is women, democratic women, and she's talking for donald trump's penchant for sexism. each of them are sort of fighting with each other but speaking directly to the people who support them. it's a benefit to both of them frankly. we'll see how it it plays out if the two do end up in a head-to-today matchup in the general. >> hallie jackson, always nice to see you. thanks. joining us washington editor of the "examiner." thanks.

in the head to head, it's very interesting when you look at the matchup between hillary clinton and donald trump. does this end up as a few feud that's finally starting, does it affect them. >> i think the reason hillary focusing on donald trump, right now he's still kind of known as a celebrity than necessarily associated with the republican party. what hillary clinton, who is looking forward toward the general election is thinking, is she wants to define the republican party as the party of trump so that even if trump doesn't emerge as the nominee, whoever does emerge as the nominee will be tainted by this association with trump. >> how is the republican party dealing with the very real possibility, at least today on the 24th that donald trump could be the nominee? >> i think that there still is hope that ultimately he won't be

the nominee. so even though their people kind of are talking about what happens if he is the nominee, people look at it and say, look, he's ahead in national polls but national polls aren't typically predictive of the ultimate nominee. he's losing in iowa. if he loses in iowa, does that take the sheen of of him since so much is built around the idea that he's a winner. what happens if he loses? >> there's more focus on new hampshire. you wrote after lindsey graham dropped out of the race that could bring back an endorsement from john mccain. >> in new hampshire, it's a state he won twice and he endorsed mitt romney in 2012 and that helped mitt romney.

he's sometimes referred to as the president of new hampshire because he spent so much time there. he really knows the town hall format and so forth. if he wanted to endorse someone now because he wasn't able to when lindsey graham was in the race because that's his buddy. so now i think that could potentially boost another candidate there. >> we will be watching. nice to see you this morning, phillip klein. thanks for coming in. >> still ahead, isis under pressure in iraq but the terror group is now looking for new land in somalia. what it could mean for the u.s. fight in terrorism and the threats at home. the future belongs to the fast. and to help you accelerate, we've created a new company... one totally focused on what's next for your business. the true partnership where people,technology and ideas push everyone forward.

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welcome back to "msnbc live." i'm erica hill.

troops continue to push in ramadi towards isis. the progress has been slowed by snipers, roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings. there was a wave of attacks that reportedly killed 15 civilians yesterday. in and around baghdad, at least five bombs have gone off. this morning the wall street journal report the u.s. attempted to use back channels to limit violence and force president bashar al assad from power. they identified alawites officers of the regime for change. give us a sense, when we talk about what's happening in ramadi

this morning, how much progress has been made and how important is this city? >> when it comes to the capabilities of the iraqi military forces, this is huge progress but it's only incremental. u.s. officials and defense officials are confident that ultimately over time, iraqi forces, along with some sunni tribal forces moving in from the north will be able to force the smaller numbers of isis fighters in the city out or take them out and then reclaim the city. the problem is that back in may when a small number again of isis fighters entered ramadi, there were tens of thousands of iraqi forces who simply picked up their weapons and fled. so over the past six months, the u.s. military has been working with those iraqi forces in that region, not on to train them but to provide some back bone so that they could move into the city and remove isis.

again, because of all the booby-traps, and there could be as many as 100,000 civilians, still inside ramadi, which makes u.s. air strikes difficult because of potential collateral damage, this could take some time. >> joining us, retired assistant director of the fbi sean henry. sean nick laid out the importance of the city of ramadi. we should point out it's only about 60 miles from baghdad and in between the two we have fallujah. if iraqi forces are able to take control of ramadi once again, does the fight then move on closer to baghdad? >> this is about the u.s. disrupting the isis forces, they're looking at command and croyle and trying to disrupt the mechanism, the machine, that is isis. but they're looking then at domestically how does that impact the united states and what is the outcry from that here? the fbi and others are looking

at how to disrupt isis and by attacking isis over in iraq and disrupting their capabilities pb. >> in terms of disrupting isis overseas and the ultimate impact back here become here we see isis territory has dropped since january. how important is that in -- when you're attacking isis in iraq and in syria, the ability of that organization to recruit here in the united states is very different. we're not talking about people coming here those that are already established in the u.s., who might be able to take up arms against the united states here domestically, what we saw

in san bernardino, forbes, although that was actually al qaeda influence, if we go back and look at what happened in that event, the impact here could be substantial and that's what the u.s. is looking at trying to disrupt. >> give as you sense then, how could the fbi be changing its fact iks, without giving too much away based on episodes like san bernardino. >> the influence is self-radicalization, people that are very difficult to track because they're not overt about what they're doing, they're online listening to this islam being fundist rhetoric. what the fbi is zog working with the communities to understand and disrupt to gain intelligence so they can identify these people but also again working

with those across the international nexus to gain intelligence so that they can identify people here, erika. >> there is new reporting out that isis is now looking to get a stronghold in somalia. does the u.s. have any influence or any inroads in somalia to help maybe stifle those efforts? >> the u.s. has been working with allies for many years in somalia and al shabaab. they'll be working globally to gain intelligence and disrupt their operations. that's a long-term fight that the u.s. will continue to engage in. again, looking at the impact here domestically, trying to disrupt their capabilities so that they can protect us here in the homeland, erika. >> there's been a lot of talk

about information sharing, especially since the attack in paris. we're learning about new arrests this morning as well. with the holiday season under way, is there a significant change in you're that you're seeing? >> i think on the heels of what we saw in paris and again in san bernardino, i think it's really been a wake-up call. our allies and the u.s. here, we've been aware of this threat for the last year or two, both from al qaeda and isis. so it's nothing new. i think it has raised attention. it shines a spotlight on what the potential risks are. there's an increase in security, in intelligence collections. this is -- again, this is something that we are going to see. it's kind of a new day, particularly here in the u.s. we're going to see for a long time coming, erica.

>> shawn henry, always good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> when it comes to presidential politics, who has the momentum? that's straight aheadon msnbc. e) i just zazzied you. (phone vibrates) look at it! (friends giggle) i can do dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs... you name it. i'm going to transform the way the world works. (proudly) i programmed that hat. and i can do casaba melons. i'll be helping turbines power cities. i put a turbine on a cat. (friends ooh and ahh) i can make hospitals run more efficiently... this isn't a competition!

welcome back. a new national poll show s a troubling trend for -- rubio his flipped his numbers for clinton. senator marco rubio's recent editorial board meeting doesn't

appear to have gone very well. erik eisle said it was like somebody wound him up and pushed play. phillip, nice to see you this morning. is that criticism fair? is it accurate? >> according to a report from the "washington post," it is accurate. there's a lot of emphasis placed on the retail aspect. you can look at how often you see people out in the field. i think that what marco rubio needs to worry about is the fact he hasn't gained any traction in polling.

retail politics is one thing. i think all of the campaigns that are not donald trump at this point or hillary clinton on the democratic side are trying to figure out what they're going to do over the course of the next six weeks or so. marco rubio expected to be in a different position. >> where he'd like to be probably is more of a matchup with him and ted cruz? >> for a long time donald trump and ben carson were leading nationally and cruz and rubio were trailing around a little behind them. rubio hasn't really gone anywhere. i think part of it is the establishment trend is that they're not doing well this election cycle. this will change as voters start coming out, paying more attention early next year.

there's no reason to panic necessarily. >> is there a sense as to whether more people will be coming out in the primaries this year? >> a lot of evidence suggests we'll see more energy. we'll see huge rallies for sanders and lots of people watching the debates as well. whether or not that translates to people coming out to the polls, we're not sure how that correlates. >> especially because some of the voters that we now they're really connecting with. these are vote who are have checked out of the process because they feel left behind. >> he tends to have stronger report from less frequent voters or people who don't vote very often at all. that is risky. donald trump, who doesn't run a normal campaign counting on that, that's risky.

>> how much do you have see other candidates starting to pull cues from donald trump? >> a lot. we saw during the last debate we have to be winning again. ted cruz has been walking in donald trump's shadow, drafting off him for a long time, it's been a successful strategy. this is starting to trickle out of the trump campaign into the republicans. >> thanks. still ahead, what's driving the day on wall street? we'll check in with sara eisen. the clock is running out for all of you procrastinators. and today thousands of people came to race for retirement and pledge to save an additional one percent of their income.

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they hadn't even started to tackle their christmas shopping list last week according to a reuters survey. some shoppers say they're more than willing to wait it out. roughly 18% saying they would shop on christmas day, if it were an option. that's according to a retail survey. olivia sterns, you can always pick things up at a gas station, i guess. how much time, though, realistically do the procrastinators have left? >> the good news is you do have time. it's 8:30 in the morning on christmas eve. lots of stores are already open now. 7.5% of americans do plan to buy at least one present. a lot of the stores have been open 24/7. so best buy, kohl's.

target is going the distance. they're going to be open until 10 or 11 p.m. depending on the location. at 11 p.m. you can basically put your kids in bed and sneak out -- >> get a baby-sitter, please. >> get a baby-sitter and -- >> if all those efforts fail? >> go online. i'm sure you know about amazon prime. they will get you -- google has special delivery elves --

they've made a big push with this. you don't have to waste time walking to the aisles of a super center. you can go right to the kiosk in the store, maybe leave the kids in the car so you don't have to drag them through the aisles. >> with another adult. >> with another adult. >> another option might be to do one of the gift of the months club. >> i love this idea. it's a subscription to the gift of the club. you can get a wine of the money, something popular in my house

has been the hot sauce of the month. it's a gift that keeps on giving. or try regular gift cards. >> we have had a bit of a late year rally or santa claus rally, as they like to say, which is a phenomenon. portfolio managers stock up. we just got word on the economy on the number of americans filing for unemployment claims fell last week to 267,000.

you want to see that number go down as fewer americans file that unemployment claims. so far the economic data is decent. we'll see what happens with the price of oil. earlier this week we saw the lowest level for the international price of oil since 2004. in the last few sessions, that has bounced back a bit. that's helped stocks recover. the energy companies the most beaten down since 2016, which has helped drive the rally. we got such a big boost yesterday that it took the s&p 500 through the black. we are totally flat on the market right now. it's really a coin toss to see which way it finishes. the markets close early at 1 p.m. eastern time for christmas

eve. we're going to be watching that. then i'll give you a silver lining to the fact that oil prices have been hammered or energy. but gas price, unbelievable. for most of the prices, you can fill up your tank for less than $2 a gallon. aaa estimates its saving consumers $550 for every licensed driver. the question is what are they doing with it? they're not spending it quite like you might think. it hasn't given a big lift to the economy. we know they are saving, which is good. we got the word that the savings rate is 5.5%. sarah eisen, thank you. >> more than a thousand flight

cancellations alone. we've got to look at your forecast and a look at the weather hopefully. will it calm down for the holiday ahead? that's when "msnbc live" comes back. we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today.

so much talk about the weather as the holiday is here. let's bring in meteorologist bonnie schneider for a look at the forecast. hopefully some of this nasty weather may calm down a little bit in the next 24 hours or so, bonnie. >> that would be nice. you can see a lot of storms are pushing through alabama and georgia, including atlanta. we also have a lot of rain in western north carolina and you're probably wondering how does that impact travel. i'm going to show you that first. the immediate severe threat, a tornado watch continues until 10:00 local time. we're watching for the threat for really strong storms to work their way through the border. look what's going on.

60 minute delays. we have delays due to low visibility with clouds over j.f.k. i just want to draw your attention to the west. that will really work its way into our weekend travel situation. we're looking at rain and mountain snow. it will be difficult to travel through mountain passes. be very careful if you're driving. this is the beginning of a little taste of winter that's going to work its way across the country through the weekend and the beginning of next week. >> police in minnesota arrested at least six people yesterday after hundreds of protesters were the black lives matter movement demonstrated in one of the biggest malls and then migrated to the airport, causing a huge backup as people tried to make their flights. >> back off!

>> tense moments as black life matters supporters tried to occupy a terminal building. police took several people into custody and security check points were closed for some 45 minutes. while outside the demonstration caused chaos on an already hectic day. the protest started at the mall of america on one of the biggest shopping days of the year. hundreds protested the november shooting death by police of 24-year-old jamar clark, who authorities say was unarmed. federal and state investigations into his death continue. many of the mall stores closed and when protesters were presented from entering, many headed for the airport.

a spokesperson says normal operations have resumed. >> kevin tibls reporting for us. when we come back, a governor in the spotlight for what happened after a holiday staff party. wow... yeah! okay... guys, i'll be writing a new language for machines so planes, trains, even hospitals can work better. oh! sorry, i was trying to put it away... got it on the cake. so you're going to work on a train? not on a train...on "trains"! you're not gonna develop stuff anymore? no i am... do you know what ge is? theand to help you accelerate,. we've created a new company... one totally focused on what's next for your business. the true partnership where people,technology and ideas push everyone forward. accelerating innovation.

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workers of the el dorado hotel in santa fe say the party carried over to two weeks ago. >> they're still not quieting down. >> that was the 911 call from

the hotel's front desk. then dispatch got another call. >> this is governor susannah martinez. >> she called demanding to know which guest complained and demanded officers to be called off. >> i'm wondering who they are. oh, they can tell the police but you won't tell me? i'll get it from the cops. >> an initial apology was made. >> i should never have talked to the cops the way i did and i own it. >> but there are questions about her statement that she only had a drink and a half. the officer is heard on the recording saying she seemed inebriated. in the new tape, she seems to refute her own public denials that bottles had been thrown from a hotel balcony. her officer clarified it was

snowballs, not bottles being thrown. no glass was ever found. for critics, the episode provides further evidence the popular governor can't be trusted. the popular party that turned into a political hangover. have a wonderful christmas holiday.

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>> right over to the interstate flipping a truck over and devastating this area completely. >> christmas is around the corner and just the loss to this family is just tragic. >> everything is just moving sideways and just the sound of the wind. i just -- i jumped and i ran. >> you only hear about these stories. you don't expect you to be in them. >> it's new aerial video feeding in from holly springs mississippi. here you can see the devastation of how certain homes on one side, the roof is completely torn off on the other side. it can be seen in decent shape. this is one of the areas that is completely ravaged as we get a wider shot. you can see how the storm cut a swath straight through this mass in holly