it's wednesday, december 16th and coming up on "early today," fight night in las vegas, the insults were flying. we have the must see moments as the republicans s s battle over isis. meanwhile, hillary clinton takes donald trump to task as she lays out h own plan. hundreds of thousands of kids return to school today after a major scare. and brazen thieves caught on tape but still on the loose. and a brush with death. and a simple act of kindness. "early today" starts right now. and good morning everybody.

just 12 words into last night's debate and we got to its two biggest topics, terrorism and trump. over the next two hours, candidates will go after each other like we haven't seen yet. and a feisty jeb bush going after frontrunner donald trump. >> donald is great at the one liners. but he's a chaos candidate. and he'd be a chaos president. he would not be the commander and chief we need. >> he does not really believe i'm unhinged. it's because he's failed in this campaign. nobody cares and frankly i'm the most solid person up here and all i want to do is make america great again. >> but those two weren't the only source of friction on stage.

head-to-head on immigration. and how would the truce between trump and cruz play out. >> if i'm elected president, we will secure the border, we will triple the border patrol. we will build a wall that works and i'll get donald trump to pay for it p. . >> i'll build it. he has a wonderful temperament, he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> what you're saying right now is you believe mr. trump has the chief. >> what i'm saying is that's a judgment for every voter to make and all nine people here would make an infinitely better commander and chief than barack obama or hillary clinton. >> and setting the record

run and doubling down just hours later. >> are you ready to reassure republicans tonight that you will run as a republican? >> i really am. i really am. i feel very honored to be the frontrunner and i think i'll do very well if i'm chosen. >> would you indorse or support whoever wins on your side? >> yes, i would. with enthusiasm. i've gotten to know most of them pretty well. i like a lot of them. i can't say i love everybody. but i like a lot of them and i respect a few of them. >> twitter released its top moments. >> what i like even better is getting our smartest and best to infiltrate their internet, so we know exactly where they're going

i like that better. [ crowd booing] >> these are people that want to kill us, folks and you're objecting to us infiltrating their conversations. i don't think so. jeb is a very nice person. but we need tough people. we need intelligence and tough. jeb said when they come across the southern border, they come as an act of love. >> you said on september 30th that isis was not a factor. talking? >> i'm talking right now. >> have you apologized yet? no. am i allowed to finish. >> go ahead, mr. trump. >> again -- time. >> the simple fact is if you think is tough and you're not being treated fairly imagine

the islamic terrorism that exists. this is a tough business. >> and you're a tough guy, jeb. real tough. let's see -- >> all right, then there's this, which is something. twitter says the candidate who gained the most followers, democrat bernie sanders. as the republican candidates duked it out, democratic frontrunner hillary clinton detailed her own strategy for taking on isis. >> reporter: with fear of another san bernardino or paris-style attack in the u.s., now a top worry for americans, hillary clinton took on donald trump and the republicans for their rhetoric, accusing them of becoming a tool for isis recruitment. >> promising to carpet bomb until the desert glows, doesn't make you sound strong, it makes you sound like you're in over your head.

plots, enlist sillicon valley to attack isis online recruitment, tighten screening at the borders. but while clinton likes to portray herself as a national security grown up in contrast to this year's crop of republicans. >> bigotry is not credentialals. >> reporter: her policies in iraq, syria and libya that helped spawn isis and for failing to counter radical islamic pop ropaganda. and defense secretary ash carter visiting u.s. pilots in turkey accused russia of bombing the antiassad rebels, not isis. while john kerry in moscow tried

civilized world. los angeles public schools reopened after yesterday's closure of the second largest school district due to threats which, at the time, were said to be credible. >> reporter: 1,531 school properties searched and hours later, the good news. >> we can announce the fbi has determined this is not a credible threat. sfwlrks just >> reporter: just after 7:00 a.m., parents started getting reports to keep their kids at home and threat from overseas was credible enough for the district to shut the district down and to sendschool s s. another threat

wording was also sent to new york city schools. >> it appears to be the same email. >> reporter: new york police commissioner, the former los angeles chief of police says his department is investigating the email as a hoax. a vastly different reaction than his cross country counterpart. charley beck defends the decision to leave unsurprised children out of school. >> if you knew what we knew at 5:30 in the morning when the decision had to be made ux , would you send your child to school? >> reporter: and he says the l.a.p.d. will have an increased presence. investigators still don't know who made the threat. a southwest airlines plane rolled off the runway into the grass and got stuck while

night. it landed in nashville when the accident occurred. passengers were evacuated safely and later described their experience. >> i didn't hear any screaming. it was a bunch of commotion. >> it sounded to me like a wheel blew out but i don't know if a wheel blew out or if it culapsed. the faa is investigating the incident. eight people were taken to the hospital. raymond had just finished gassing up his car when a 12-year-old riding his bike told the man that his tire was deflated and he jumped in the car and took off. they recognized the youngster

times on a mix of robbery and autotheft charges. and the jury in the officer connected to the death of freddy gray and dead locks. but the judge has ordered them to continue deliberations. he's charged in the death of freddy gray after he died during a ride in the back of a police van. they say porter neglected his duty to keep gray safe and get medical care. jurors have not been sequestered. he's the first of six officers to be tried related to freddy gray's death. the west coast continues to hog all that wintry weather with parts of montana getting over 20 inches of snow. and here in the east, we're still living in april weather with temperatures from maryland to rhode island reaching into the 60s.

vermont haven't started hibberinating yet, instead dig nothing ing into bird feeders, looking for a snack. i think i saw one with a picnic snack. good morning, shannon. the stories continues to be the snow in the plains and the rockies. and hopefully the roads won't be too bad for your morning commute. the next storm is coming out of the gulf. an all rain event up the east coast over the next two days. thunderstorms near houston and shreveport. during the day, this will shift into louisiana and mississippi and the southern half of alabama. by 8:00 p.m. this evening, pretty heavy rain mobile up to montgomery and a marginal risk of severe storms, maybe an isolated tornado and wind damage and then all of the rain will

and blew is one inch total and that will reach the big cities in the northeast in the afternoon. snow exits the northern plains, rain in the gulf coast, and florida. now a closer look at your day ahead. well, the coldest air around is in colorado and wyoming. highess in the 20s and 30s. that's one of the only spots that looks and feels like winter. this southeast forecast is reminiscent of march or april weather. >> sounds good. well the government may do something today that it hasn't done since 21 006.

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trillion dollar tax deal that would fund the government through 2016 and extends popular tax credits and reauthorizes the act that provides federal health benefits for 9/11 first responders. they're expected to pass the deal this thursday. secretary of state john kerry, after meeting with russian president, says the u.s. will not seek regime change in syria. and instead, assad can stay in power as long as the syrian people support him. both russia and the u.s. want to hold an international conference this friday at the u.n. in south georgia a small plane crashed on a house. it experienced difficulties. and luckily the two on board were not injured. the faa is investigating. and in china check out the

tractor being crushed by a truck. and the tractor driver only suffered a hand fracture and minor injuries. let's are get down to business. the federal reserve is expected to raise the interest rate for the first time since 2006. kohl's announced it will keep its doors open for 72 hours straight. customers can shop marathon style until christmas eve for any last minute gifts. look out google, ford will start testing its self-driving hibrid sedans. the tesla part of the company's smart mobility plan. a shocking announcement as a top college coach calls it quits effective immediately. plus the lebron james highlight that really should make all the top 10 plays of the week next.

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this morning on "today," christmas tree fires, how to avoid them and a look at the steps you can take to keep your family safe. in sports, a shocking

bo ryan is quitting effectively. and he says now is the right time to step aside. 36 wins last season and a loss in the championship game against duke. in boston, the cavs came to down with some big plays from lebron james as they beat the celtics. the real highlight might be this, when james took a moment to say hello to a special olympian who was featured oen the jumbo tron. he even gave him his sneakers later on. and a disappointed pete rose addressed the media on being banned from baseball yet again. saying he screwed up but after offering this. >> so, my whole life has been a hall of fame life just by association with the team mates i had. i'm the luckiest guy in the world. the next three guys up got

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underwood is also on the ballot. "house of cards" released its new trailer that looks like a real campaign ad. >> america, i'm only getting started. i'm frank underwood and i approve this message. >> i love it. the new season begins march 4th. amazon has bob weir as their executive producer. the first trailer for fantastic beasts and where to find them is out. >> yesterday, a wizard -- a case full of magical creatures and -- coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in

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>> this is 7news now. >> christa: good morning, everybody. "today in new england" starts in just a few minutes. breaking overnight, police on the scene of a serious crash on 128 in wakefield. a car hits the guardrail and then bursts into flames. two people rush to the hospital. >> sarah: plus a scare on the sidewalk in malden when a temporary wall comes crashing down, trapping three people underneath. this morning we're hearing from a woman pulled from the rubble. then the patriots dealt another blow. the team's leading running back sidelined for the season. and "star wars: the force awakens" now just two days away, but if you're trying to avoid spoiler alerts, there is a new

so basically, j.r., that story is for you especially. >> jeremy: yeah, excited for that. and excited for the next story in our "star wars" week. we do not have any significant weather today, not as much wind as we saw yesterday. that's the good news. it will be cooler, but not cold. temps this afternoon mid-40s. and more showers coming at us late in the day tomorrow, more likely tomorrow night. 40s at this time. the city at 43. our normal high is 41. so already it's milder than where we should be for afternoon highs. fitchburg at 34. jaffrey 33. hyannis at 34. some winds from yesterday. again, not as strong, and it's not a major player today. but it's adding a bit of a chill to the air. it does feel like the low and middle 30s. boston feels like 39. bedford feels like 34. on the maps this morning, the high pressure is with us, and we'll have the high pressure through the day and with the blue h so close to us, that means much less wind. and a fair amount of sunshine to start the day. i do think there will be a few more clouds that show up this

short lived. here comes another weather system into new england. and like its predecessor, it's mild. we're not talking about snowflakes or ice pellets or anything like that. showers tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow night. and then on friday, we're trying to clear things out from that weather system, but then another weather system tries to form, and that may clip the cape and the islandses with a couple of showers friday afternoon, even metro boston, the risk of showers will be there, but lower compared to tomorrow's chance, which will be about 60%, 70% tomorrow afternoon. it actually goes up tomorrow night because i think most of the rain happens after dark tomorrow night and dwin ls as we work through the day on friday. saturday looks dry, but much cooler. temperatures on saturday only near 40. 7news "today in new england" begins right now. >> christa: first at 5:00 a.m., guilty of murder. a second case against philip chism headed back to court today, but will he spend the rest of his life behind bars? >> sarah: all bets were off in vegas as the top republican candidates battled it out.