heath er: breaking news, deadly storms hit the south. the damage left behind and the rescues underway. ed: a secret stash of money. millions hidden around the state. the former lawmaker who put it there. mary: getting a jump on santa. the sleigh making deliveries tonight and why this is the last year for this heartwarming tradition. heather: weather extremes bring rain and record break temperatures. deadly tornadoeses to the south. good evening, everyone. am heather unruh. heather: we know of at least three dead in mississippi, two more in tennessee, and damage reports are still coming in at this hour. harvey? meteorologist: two-thirds of an much in hartford. they are still around.

reporting of lightning and thunder, tonight, in taunton, abington, there may be a few more in this cluster of storms, as they move across southeastern mass, the cape, and the eyepp las. other downpours as well across central and western mass. let's take you out in time and show you what happened to this intense area of downpours right across southeastern mass to boston. just half-hour to hour from now. a few more come through to the wee hours of the morning. by the time you are getting up tomorrow. the action has moved rough shore. now, in terms of temperatures. we're headed to the 60's easily. a very excellent chance of going to 70 or higher tomorrow to smash record high temperatures. but still, tornado warnings are out for portions of the south at this hour as more lines of storms form down there. heather? heather: we know of at least three dead in mississippi, two more in tennessee, and damage reports are still coming in at this hour. our john atwater is live in the newsroom with breaking information.

john: heather, that is monster storm system that spawned several tornadoes tonight. coming so close to christmas. there was worly that holiday deck rations would become projectiles in the dangerous winds. the ominous funnels spun through mississippi, on the ground for at least ten minutes. a oh, man. john. it destroyed homes, claimed lives as it tore a deadly path through the state. >> blowing through our yard. john: the tornado ripped their neighbor's house apart. in oklahoma, torrential rain, 6 miles per hour winds brought down this tree. killing an18-year-old, trapping a baby when it crashed through the home. streets flooded in alabama as storms moved through. >> so i have ef-1 damage confirmed with the tornado. john. southern north dakota also got hit. tonight, hundreds are recovering and trying to pick up the pieces just two days before christmas.

in the somehow, someway. you can't see it right now. i will. i promise. ed: much-needed optimism there. these december storms are not unheard of. five were hurt in tornadoes on christmas day down south in 2012. live in the newsroom tonight, john atwater, wcvb newscenter 5. phil: new at 11:00, if you have stayed at a hyatt hotel recently, you might want to keep an eye on your credit card statement. the chain confirming tonight it recently found malicious software on the computer system that processes customers payments. this raises the possibility that hackers may have obtained credit card numbers or other sensitive information. hyatt has hired security experts to help investigate. phil:erp in massachusetts, to a former state representative from dartmouth who is doing time. investigators say john george attempted to hide $1 million in cash.

bills were found yesterday tied to small bundles of oversized state deposit boxes. the 69-year-old is serving a six-year prison sentence. george was ordered to pay nearly $700,000 in restitution but claimed under oath he had less than $199,000 in assets. heather: ready to reopen after being shutdown. the chipotle restaurant in cleveland circle gets a clean bill of health. some 140 people mostly college students got sick after eating at that restaurant earlier this month. the question tonight is when the doors open and will the customers return. jorge quiroga is live outside. jorge? jorge: well, heather. the city wanted the restaurant to pass one final inspection. that sign on the front door there should read open by tomorrow morning. over two weeks after a norovirus outbreak shut done the cleveland circle chipotle. the restaurant is cleared to reopen.

back. >> i love chipotle. not sure if i am going to go back. >> 140 people got sick after eating here. the city inspectors say they have have been totally disinfected and original em mo he yes who was sick and the manager who asked to finish the shift both fired. then the sick policies in place at chipotle and the food and you just play certain symptoms of a sickness, you must not work. reporter: it has been a tough year for the company. over 50 customers got sick with cole lie at chipotle in nearly a dozen other states. the massive norovirus outbreak here, a national story. charlie stewart originally from boston now living in l.a. so all the bostonians are saying, oh, my god, i can not believe that the d.c. team got sick at chipotle because we all love it. reporter: chipotles making change the way food is prepared and prepping veg ables in cheeses in central low kags instead of in stores. chipotle's stock price down

>> corners were cut somewhere and i have a feeling about this. this is not good to be good for them. they stay, employees here have the green light all of them are healthy and retrained. any lodge long-term damage to this rest reason's reputation may be better be gaged after they get back are their christmas break. live from cleveland circle in boston. jorge quiroga, wcvb newscenter 5. ed: ill has become third state to ban sports gambling. the attorney general says sites like fanduel and boston-based draft cringes clearly games of chance or skill, both of which are banned under state law. th last mon new york and nevada autoed similar runnings. comment yet from fanduel or draft kings. phil: a jogger is injured after being hit by a car in hanson. it happened on winter street. the driver also hit a utility pole which snapped causing power outages in the area.

whose name has not been released was taken to the hospital. no word on her condition. police are investigating what caused the driver to veer across the road. >> there was no breaking so we're trying to figure how fast the vehicle was going. it doesn't appear it was speeding, but there was no breaking which was odd. phil: the driver of the car,who was treated and released, has not yet been charged. the investigation is ongoing. heather: the investigation continues into a double shooting in jamaica plain. it happened at the boston housing authority complex at 277 center street. the two male victims are in their 30's and 40's. one was shot in the shoulder, the other in the thigh. they were found in the hallway of the building on two different stair landings. both are expected to survive. >> a quick response by both ems and the police here that they are going to make. i as you can see, very active scene, we are looking forness withs and canvassing the cameras and, look i said, we are just fortunate that, no that no one

heather: the commissioner says it does not look like the shooting is gang-related. heather: 45-year-old was arrested a the reid street home. less say he made a concerning threat. officers seized the firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. he faces several charges from oh sing firearm without a license. do nations continue to pour in. investigators are trying to identify the cause of the fire that killed 4-year-old. the campaign to raise money and clothing for that family is in overdrive. >> we have been asking for monitory donations and gift cards, but where we go something for new clothe and we put sizes on the facebook page. >> the whole story. we are there. you know? we are thankful that he we're not. ed: wrapped gifts and new items can be dropped off at any a

be given to the family for christmas. j.c.: black lives matter shut down a busy mall and they tried to close an airport. [chanting] heather: in palestinian applies, the protesters briefly shut down the mall of america to protest last month's fatal shooting of a black suspect bay white police officer. from the mall, the protests moved to the airport where they blocked road and shut down security loons for nearly an hour. police say 15 were arrested on various charges. times? a did he bait tonight over candidate's children. should they be off-limits to the media and the opposition. it all started with this ad, senator cruz reads conservative christmas stories with the young the young family joinp. >> the whole family will enjoy reading stories look the grinch

>> i know what she will do. i will use my own and no one will be there. phil: the ad prompted "the washington post" to depicting monkeys. >> not much ticked me off, but making fun of my girl, that will do it. >> it is not complicated. don't make fun of a 5-year-old girl and 7-year-old girl. >> they agree on this one. >> this is off-limit anteed cruz is right to be outraged. phil: donald trump called it bad. marco rubio called it disgusting. the cartoonist was unapologetic. don't start screaming when as well. the post took the cartoon down machine my. am sickened he writes. this shows you how desperate the lynn ral media is attack and destroy. cruz has offered up his own political car soon featuring what he called hillary clinton

the washington post and new york times. >> so the post editorial page editor says its the pap ear policy to usually leave the children out of it and agrees they should have been. heather: yesterday, we told but a brunch two stole christmas in lynn. he had a change of heart. this is video of the man. this is the man stealing a light projector and equipment that lit up a home. after seeing himself on tv. he went to police saying he felt bad because they did it as wreck. he returned them and police are not charging him him. heather: mary: getting a jump on santa. the sleigh making deliveries tonight and why this is the last year for this heartwarming tradition. >> the new rules after a drone scare. meteorologist: when the rain will exit.

heather: dramatic video out of china as a firefighter is forced to jump out the window of a burning building. the firefighter was responding to a blaze in a second-floor apartment. he was lowering a hose when his suit caught fire. he attempted to slide down a pipe, but it broke sending him crashing to the ground causing only minor injuries. phil: take a look at this. two men rescued after falling from a wall into the water in south boston. boston police and fire crews quickly arrived at the scene near the broadway bridge and were able to pull one of the men from the water. the second man climbed up a ladder on his own. both men appeared not to be uninjured, but were taken to a hospital to be evaluated. heather: federal investigators say the death of a pennsylvania teenager five mons ago was caused when the car's airbag exploded during a minor

the feds say they are restanding the recall to include hundreds of thousands of vehicles. so far, 19 million american cars containing the faulty airbags have been recalled. ed: the international ski federation bans drones from its world cup races after this incident. a drone carrying a tv camera came crashing down and shattered on the icy slopes just behind an olympic skier during a race in italy. a race official says it was huge the company responsible for the drone blamed the crash on a malfunction. phil: the spirit of christmas, celebrated in wakefield tonight, in a colorful and giving way. gifts delivered throughout the town in a sled pull. phil: the tradition has been going on for 25 years now. its future, however, a bit uncertain. our mary saladna has a story that's new at 11:00. mary. 6:30 on rein ny, december 23rd,

a wakefield tradition since 1991 is the labor of love is put together bay large group of local residents, who are trying to bring joy to local deserving kids. it as the best part of christmas. there is nothing like it. >> it is not about taking credit. it is about caring, friends and neighbors who seek out a need then fulfill it. >> if you do it, nobody knows who we're. we don't know who the children are. it is purely good. >> stam is a local man whose family coordinates the early run. the reindeer, more family, members of a local running club. >> the ice, the snow, the best was when it was lightly snowing? we have fun. a lot of fun. >> a lot of fun. >> tell me how many years into this is ryk 25. tonight, rough lie five miles includes ten stops and 95 chirp. each have been shopped for and will receive five to seven wrapped presents. >> i thought it it was cool. >> yeah. >> did you ever expect to get a big bag? >> no.

the rest of the town, too. >> well gae dune street where it is quiet. the moose isic playing. you see a little kid in a window and looks out. >> and yet after 25 years, many members of this team feel it is time to retire. >> it has gotten sooner. we show old do it longer. i am tired. i hoping younger neighbors will pick up the reigns anas tradition on to a new generation. in wakefield, i am mary sa plad, wcvb newscenter 5. heather: just warms the heart, doesn't it? came back and pulling that sleigh for five miles. phil: 25 years in. that is a loft miles. heather: know and everything. phil: for the smile and the kids' faces, magical. i hope somebody else picks it up. heather: harvey? math meat i got till something. right now, not too listeningy. it is very, very wet. just check this out. this is the rainfall. remember it has been raining a few hours in a meaningful way.

block island, over an inch bridgeport, connecticut, over two ins. the rint is heavy down here. that is where the downfors are most concentrated. you can clearly see that now in the live doppler down to block island also around worcester to orange. all of this is lift though nrt and to the east and yes, there has been lining with those storms in the southern portion of our area. so it is all moving northeastward, very rapidly, so if you are are around the south shore up to boston, you are going to be getting these as well as the entire coastline down to cape cod. that is all happening within the next half-hour to an hour. additional downpours perhaps the rumble of thun thisser until about 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning. the action does move offshore. the main action will be gone. but a spotty shower and a lot of clouds. we can get a little bit of season in the afternoon which is possible. the tem doors will skyrocket. they will go high anyway. a little bit of brightening that may happen then we have partial

for christmas day. some filtered sun as it will be high clouds around. will be cooler christmas day than tomorrow. all right. no real visibility now. as you in see from city cam, baits is 49 in boston with early wind at 13 and you are see saying, that is not that warm. are you sure? what is happening is the warm air approaches and a lot of fog that formed half mile visibility in worcester so there are patches of dense fog around but notice temperature to the south that has jumped up to 63 in block island because the wind there has shifted to the south wind. there is a warm front in here and as it lifts mort, that temperaturerise will follow it then incredible warmth, these are current temperatures that will be here buy early tomorrow and then we go for the record. easily. the record high tomorrow is 61 in boston. i am forecasting a a 70 and it may even go higher than if there is enough sun. worcester should break their

meaning 68 versus 57 and that is my estimate. boston will shatter their record with a hive 7. not going to get real chilly during christmas eve overnight either as it drops back to the low 50's. it means wilt be a mild christmas day with temperatures around 60 or in the low 60's near record warmth then but we break the record for tomorrow. all right. what about warm decembers. the warmest des ember average for the month was 2006. here is are we are so far. even though there are will be colder weather. we may break the record another warmest ever. lots of clouds return saturday and some damp weather at times later saturday, saturday into sunday. well be a right mare the warmth. so that is the story there. you may buns up a little bit in temperature mare the south coast on saturday. 50's but just 40's to the mort. but much colder air is going to come in early next week. and i want to point that out because it looks look we're also going to have a storm system come at us possibly redevelop on the coast and that could make

wintry mix believe it or not on tuesday. so we are going to see quite the gamut ap run the gamut over the cores of the next seven days. record break warmth tomorrow all he they way to a possibly wintry mix by tuesday of next week. it will be sha werely colder early next week but christmas weekend will stay well above normal. that is the story nour. i am know i said several mouthfuls here before christmas even. heather: a lot. phil: also 40-degree difference between those days. that is december. love it. sure is. ja. ed: a wellness check on elderly neighbor takes an unexpected turn. up next, why this will be a very special christmas for a grateful world war ii vet. heather: and coming up on "jimmy kimmel live," movie director quintin tarantino! [ dog barks ] [ bark ] there it is! [ gasps ]

look, the sky's awake! v v that. v was.

phil: they called the l.a.p.d. l.a.p.d. checked on him, saw he was ok, but living there alone. they didn't like that. so they got a christmas tree. they got lights, mistletoe, candy, brought over this apartment. it was instant christmas cheer. >> hopefully they can do something. >> i can believe all of this going on. phil: herman says he will never forget this particular christmas. heather: how special that is. i love it when people do things like that. reporter: i want to cross out every month and write december, and maybe people would be in the giving mood. phil: terrific. heather: it would be. what do you got?

gronk in the show tonight and the celtics head home for catch holiday-cookie cheer on the tip of your tongue with dunkin' donuts' holiday- cookie-flavored coffees. after 12:00 p.m., enjoy any medium latte or macchiato for $1.99.

phave you started shopping? v just waiting for inspiration to strike. and there it is! z done! genius. give the gift of dunkin' coffee.

america runs on dunkin'. >> celtics head home for christmas with a win tucked in their sleigh. 102-89 the final over the hornets down in charlotte. second straight win for the celtics, who are on the playoff cliff, ninth in the east. this was tame dunk. better one coming up later on. as team, they had 25 says, none

larry bird like behind the back. how sweet that is? all right. watch him. number one 41. follow, slam, slam, that is spectacular. i didn't think he had a strength to fall off something like that. s a big guy. easy. 102-89, celtics the final. odell beckham jr.'s one game suspension upheld today by the nfl. he can't practice and will forfeit one game check of nearly $53,000. he came back in june 23 except a little smaller crowd in a different vehicle. anyway, once he was inside. it lasted 90 minutes around 5:00 this afternoon, decision upheld. this comes a lot of kids lack up to me as role model. many asked what they should say though children about my conduct. one thing they can say is how i handle myself. the other is an example of how not to. i displayed poor sportsmanship and those parents can say, also,

there are consequences. don't we know it. all right. meanwhile. patriots' can't practice all this week or next week because they are getting ready fo the winter classic. gronk has another tv spot what will debut sunday. you already know this, but it's good to be gronk. one guy was steven jackson who was the patriots' official signed yesterday. was out of poot billion for a full year but now a new team that has a date to play in january. >> exciting. >> couldn't ask for better christmas gift just looking forward to, you know, continuing to get better. >> they are 10-15 minutes and need some dep tot the chart and just coming here and be a veteran and organization i can be. >> all right. pi pay attention to this one. gronk is another tv spot. you know. it is good to be gronk.

>> everything changed. >> i love you. >> i made it it. >> gronk! [cheering and applauding] >> what do you think you are snig am dan gronkkowski. i use check out. >> turn off the lights! >> big brother daniel gronk cow can i was a tight en before baby power gronk was in the national football league. five years a too tight end. heather: my favorite part in that commercials the little kid running. so cute. phil: most people look like that next to gronk. heather: you delivered, mike. that was early christmas. that was peat. we got a lot of rain. >> meteorologist: we got a lot of are in and thun, too. some thunder. all out of the way by morning. we're talking about 70 degrees tomorrow. still very mild on christmas day. enjoy it. don't get used to it.

here bay tuesday of next week. >> you just said winter storm. really. really. it is alonging that way. a lot of days away. that is the change we are going to have early next week. ed: all right. we knew it was too good to be true. phil: enjoy christmas.