until next time, woo! it's wednesday, december 23rd and coming up on "early today" the war of words escalates over trump's use of a vulgar term to describe her 2008 run against barack obama. >> is important to stand up to bullies wherever they are and why we shouldn't let been bully they way into the presidency. new details about those six u.s. service members killed in a suicide attack in afghanistan. winter weather extremes across the country. a major storm brew for holiday travellers. plus, a man pulled alive after being buried in a china

and a close call for a skier on italian slopes. "early today" starts right now. and good morning everybody. thanks for being with us. i'm shannon mulaire. the fighting words are heating up between the democratic and presidential frontrunners. donald trump is now responding to his latest controversy over the use of a parent vuligator. he said he meant hillary got quote beaten badly and blamed the mainstream media for giving the wrong meaning to the term and sited an npr journalist's use of the same phrase when siting the 1984 election. we turn to nbc's tracie potts live from washington d.c. good morning. >> reporter: we're hearing from

he's saying that it was the biassed media that incorrectly defined the term that he used, that he claims the media well knows has been used before. this is how he described the 2008 run, her failed presidential bid and also that bathroom break, remember saturday night at the debate where hillary clinton was mia after the break. he called it disgusting when he was asked about it during a campaign event. we're also hearing back from the clinton campaign. she's now saying at a rally last night, asked about bullies. she said that we can't allow someone to bully their way to the presidency and an apparent reference to donald trump. in fact, listen to what she said here. >> it's important to stand up to bullies wherever they are.

bully his way into the presidency. because that is not who we are as americans. >> reporter: now, the bottom line here is that donald trump is still the leader among republicans, although different polls tell us different things p. and he's got about three times as much support as ben carson, who interestingly is number two in that poll. and about 24 hours ago, he's got more support bout only about 4% more than ted cruz. cruz seems to be waiting in the wings for an opportunity as the war of words continues between donald trump and hillary clinton. shannon. >> and so it continues. tracie, thank you. nevada prosecutors have filed charges against lakeisha hallway for her ram page on the

she will be arraigned on charges of murder, and child abuse. the district attorney says they may file more charges as the investigation continues. she's being held without bail. they say one person was killed and more than 30 injured when she repeatedly droechbve her car on a sidewalk. for the first time since the military determined he would base court martial, he appeared in military court and arraigned on charges of deiversionesertion he left his post in afghanistan in 2009. he now must decide if he wants to face a court martial before a jury or a judge. his next court date is set for january 12th. we're learning more about the americans killed in monday's

six were killed just outside bagram air field in the deadliest attack in 2012. here with more. >> reporter: major dedicated much of her life to the air force and also the first openly gay american female officer killed in combat. her and five other u.s. arm were meeting people at the air base when a suicide bomber detonated his bomb. she was most proud of her wife, heather lamb. and heather said aid reana was the light of our lives. she has always been my hero, never more so than now. sergeant lamb liked to surprise

this is the first time he came home two years ago, after a 10 month deployment and as a new york city police detective in the bronks, he was well loved. >> you met him, you knew him and you were his friend. >> reporter: in all he did three combat tours before he was killed this week. those airman include this man on his fourth tour. and michael anthony cinco of rio grand, texas. a restaurant was closed. the owner's son was among the dead. >> the peep g people in america care about crow and your son. your loss is our loss. >> reporter: this as his wife just learned she is pregnant with their second child.

extremes from coast to coast, much of the eastern and central u.s. is headed for the warmest christmas on record. but there's also a major storm brewing.threat ageening 10s of millions americans. >> reporter: the weather on i 49 along the texas arkansas border turned the roadways deadly. three killed, seven injured in a blinding fog pile up. >> sounded like an explosion. >> reporter: the wild weather system creating havoc is also poised to shatter records. some spots 40 degrees above average. christmas eve in philly, 73. charlotte, 77. savannah, georgia, 79. 2800 temperature records already broken in december. in raleigh where it will be 78, roads are sloppy. 2600 piglets were on this big

pork chop overturn. across the country, a different extreme fuelled in part by el nino. and winds powerful enough to rip off roofs and topple trucks and in the sierras this winter white out beautiful but dangerous. major roads shut down, others brought to a crawl. many here will be lucky to get home by christmas. >> it was supposed to be a christmas eve trip but i didn't get out of town in time. >> reporter: in oregon steve has spent 16 hours a day for the last 15 days fighting blizzards so travellers don't get stuck. >> we can't afford to go down. >> reporter: oregon and washington state have been hammered continuously. winds knocking down power lines and trees. let's bring in nbc meteorologist, bill karins.

>> and today probably could be the highlight of it all. we're going to watch a severe weather outbreak, maybe even tornados and the least thing that anybody has on their mind is trying to get your family to safety but that could happen latered later today with the tornado sirens going off. and still down along the gulf coast lot of heavy rain but we're already watching our first tornado watch of the day. thankfully none reported yet but tyler to lovecon, that tornado watch continues. and even a few significant tornado, those are ones that are typically the most deadly p. western portion of tennessee and then towards nashville and lexington later this evening. hopefully more of a wind threat for you. and forecast obviously a lot of

rain and even into tomorrow, we're going to watch a chance of isolated storms and that's whether when we're going to shatter records with warm temperatures all the way up to new england, very rare, especially for christmas eve. and especially this afternoon from little rock to memphis, that will be the peek of our event. it's so rare to see a chance of storms this far north this time of year. so, a very dangerous day and make sure to keep an eye on your nbc station to keep vigilant. on the slopes of iterally, it was nearly a catastrophe. the drone came crashing down during a world cup slaulm race.

came until later when he joked about heavy air traffic in italy. and airport officials this was too high up to be a passenger jet. witnesses said they could see part of the object breaking up as it raced apart in the sky. it turns out officials that track man made objects say it was debris from a russian rocket that had been launchled on monday. just ahead, a big change in kentucky prompted by the fire storm over a county clerk's refusal to issue gay marriage

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required on marriage alliances. this comes after count ea clerk kim davis had defied a judge's order earlier this year because of her religious believes. in southern china one survivor has been rescued so far from that massive land slide. rescuers found a migrant worker after being buried for more than 67 hours. 85 people still reported missing. and check out this police video of a thief that got stuck in the ceiling of a store. they found the robbers' legs dangling and he was arrested after the police freed him. myrtle beach airport had an unexpected guest. there he is wylie coyote. and fortunately, it was spotted and captured quickly by authorities.

let's get down to business now, it is now down to the wire to finish up any holiday shopping. amazon prime customers must order by 10:00 p.m. on christmas eve to have gifts under the tree by christmas morning. and cable and satellite tv costs will rise. direct tv said they will go up at the end of january. united airlines has an idea to make your holiday travel less stressful. the united paws program brings comfort dogs to airports around the country. they welcome passengers to their destination destinations. and they're using the #united paws. today is the last day of that program. just ahead, the undefeated

forced into over time. and two points that mean so much more.more. ( ) just head around the corner to walgreens when you're searching for that perfect little something. walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets, and photo gifts, and it's all just a hop, skip, and a bark away. right now, save 50% on the gift of the week. dave, i'm sorry to interrupt. i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil severe the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching,

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welcome back. in sports, top ranked michigan faced off against rival oakland at a thriller in the auburn hills.

from guard who finished with 37. and the undefeated spartans rallied on the back of senior guard to force the game into ot. and michigan state was able to pull away for the victory, 99-93. former nba player stephan marberry is idleized. he has his own postage stamps. the house of marberry is set to open. and the most inspirational baskets oof the night goes to matt hodgeskins and he was still able to make the team as a walk on. he was subbed into the game in the final seconds with the outcome already decided. made a sweet spin move and scored a lay up. how about that. igaters win it. 89-65.

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snoelt . today is obviously a dangerous day with tornados and severe weather. the two busy travel days are christmas eve and christmas eve. and the threat of severe weather

snow but not widespread. and christmas day, we're going to watch temperatures a little bit cooler on the east coast. not chilly but cooler. and the biggest problem is today and then the next two days a little less. now for some entertainment news. star "star wars: the force awakens" has been out less than a week but episode eight is already in the works. and he's regretting not signing on to be the director of the next one. after reading the script, he told a close friend, it's so good i wish i were making it. jody sweden and andrea barber from full house, they're doing the nae nae. they'll be repriving their classic '90s roll and it will be on netflix in february.

present early. a horse. it was delivered by her record label, interscope. and amy poehler and kyle moony play bigering siblings at nana's house. >> do you know an inventor? >> yes. >> then name one. >> i'm going to. >> then do it. >> then say it. >> fine, adam. >> that's one. >> and brandon. >> okay. that was too easy. oh, family. i'm shannon mulaire and this is "early today." coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad...

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leading the news in the washington post, virginia to stop recognizing concealed carry gun permits from 25 states. the move is instep with actions governors are taking to address gun violence. people can legally carry concealed handguns into virginia today. that will be lost when it takes effect last year. now is a real life elf on the shelf. his adorable pictures have earned him viral glory. >> reporter: it was the week before christmas and the elf on the shelf wasn't being very nice.

wrapping paper and glur.e. just look at that sweet tooth but big brother, zack, knows this elf is not a toy, it's rockwell, his brother. spreading the magic with a little help from his pap. >> i'm holding him the entire time. >> reporter: and the magic of photo shop. he sees you when you're sleeping, tells santa if you've been nice. people shared and shared twice. strangers all over the world clicking photos of this kid. >> not really expecting it would go viral. >> reporter: but this family's had a taste of what it's like to spread joy. do you ecuginize that boy? that's will. he can fly. his picture's proof. kids with down syndrome can sore. these pictures taken to show the

the season and for the two youngest kids, it's a love that never ends. >> we're really excited to watch them grow up together and be best friends. >> reporter: life is not always picture perfect bullet you don't have to wait for christmas to feel this kind of cheer. it's santa's best gift you can't find under the tree, so from the lawrence family and ours, happy holidays from nbc. >> first, we were wondering how did they do it but photo shop. celebrating birthdays, pearl jam rocker eddie vetter turns 51. and susan luchy is 69 and hairy sheer is 72. i'm shannon mulaire. thanks for watching "early today."