it's thursday, december 24th. coming up on "early today," breaking news overnight. a dangerous tornado outbreak slams mississippi, and arkansas. and at least seven deaths. the last minute rush for holiday shoppers. hillary clinton fires back at donald trump over his vulgar slur. while ted cruz blasts a political cartoon that bed bikts his daughter. and the panic an elf on the shelf. "early today" starts right now. good morning on this christmas eve. at least seven people confirmed dead following extreme weather in much of the southern part of the country. storms which the national weather service called a

warning. >> reporter: a rare site for december. a massive funnel cloud in mississippi. the south and midwest on edge and under the gun. >> tornado emergency continues for the cell that has been tracking through north mississippi this afternoon. >> roofs ripped from homes. the same system throwing cars aff off the roadway near mississippi. >> we're looking still at that tornado activity especially across parts of tennessee and mississippi. and there are 72 million who will still see the chance of severe weather overnight. >> reporter: in arkansas, rains and hard winds killing an

the storms brought heavy rains elsewhere in the south. making driving tough for truckers and holiday travellers alike. and in the nation's busiest airports, weather added to the wait as millions make their way home for the holiday. meteorologist schneider will join us shortly. it is crunch time with a record holiday rush on the roads and in the air with 100 million americans traveling more than 50 miles from home. last minute shippers and shoppers are facing a final few hours before christmas. here with more. >> reporter: from coast to coast, the word of the day, volume. froms to post offices, roads to airports, take a look at the crush of passengers at chicago o'hare. >> just made sure i got here early enough to get through security.

on the east coast. 700 flights kanszcanceled. >> the good news is it's not snow. >> reporter: out on the road 91 million trying to merge on the roadway. and we found the turnpike flipping far more burgers a today. >> a normal day, 1600 but today 5,000 or more. >> reporter: for the malls, this is do or die time with warm weather taking a big bite out of seasonal sales, retailers have been marking down to drive up customer traffic. at this best buy in miami, mona lisa has been selling lots of wearable technology. >> i feel like they're simply trying to get their shopping done at this point and looking to come in, get great deals and be in and out. >> reporter: it's also the season to ship.

545 million packages. and dale had 200 to deliver. >> we're helping santa out at the busiest time of the year. and plenty of stores are staying open late tonight including target, walmart and toys' r us. and they protesters cut off access to a terminal, all this on one of the busiest holiday shopping and traveling days of the year. >> reporter: tense moments that minneapolis saint paul airport as black lives matters supporters tried to occupy one of the terminal buildings. police were seen taking severalpeople in to custody and security check points were closed for some 45 minutes while outside the demonstration caused traffic chaos on an already hectic travel day.

of america on one of the busiest shopping days of the year despite a court order, hundreds protested the november shooting death of 24-year-old jamar clark who they say was unarmed. federal and state investigations continue. many of the malls' stores closed and when they prevented protesters from entering, many boarded transit and headed for the airport. this comes a year after 1500 shut down part of the mall. angered over police involvement in the deaths of unarmed black men in ferguson, missouri and new york. donald trump is heading to the christmas holiday with a commanding lead. a new poll has him getting 39% of support among republican voters.

ben carson, mark rubio and chris christie finish up the top five. nbc's hally jackson with more. >> reporter: after donald trump's crude "s" word describing hillary clinton's loss to barack obama. she's using three b words to describe trump's campaign. clinton arguing it shows trump's sexism and trump arguing he's been misinterpreted. mad at the media. ted cruz is also. not because of words, but a picture. an editorial cartoon in the washington post shows his young daughters as monkeys after he put them in a campaign ad spoofing christmas stories. the cartoonist argus that made

>> don't mess with my kids, hillary kids, anybody's kids. live kids alone. >> reporter: the paper pulled the cartoon after they backed it up with words of their own. this comes as cruz capped a six day swing through states that vote march first, building momentum off three c words. crowds, in bigger numbers, more cash in the bank than any other gop candidate and a confidence of turning out conservatives in iowa and the south. that seems like your strategy to draft behind trump. >> they have been trying to get me to play political pundant. and i'm not interested in throwing rocks at anybody in this race. >> reporter: that's prompting words of warning that he may want not a detaunt but a dual.

trump's language. meteorologist bonny schneider is here with more on that severe weather outbreak. unfortunately, it's not over yet. we're still tracking it and look at wind, large hail and tornados. now, keep in mind, this number is likely to go up as we go through the day because we're going to get new reports into afternoon and into the hours as we go through. but we do have a tornado watch and that is in effect still for let's say less than an hour for partsds parts of alabama and into mississippi. and a lot of the storm will push to the east and work through parts of georgia and the carolinas. as we travel through this christmas eve, we're looking at fogging conditions developing through much of the midatlantic and the northeast. for those of you that are traveling, we're still looking at that wet weather to work its way through. well, that's a look at the

now a closer look at the day ahead. we're looking at rain across a good portion of the northeast. you can see 70 degrees up into boston with record highs possible. that holds true for the southeast as well. but watch out for the threat for severe wektather with 70s in a good portion of the south. by christmas day, we will see improving conditions. what did one little girl do when her elf fell off the shelf? she called 911. saechb 7-year-old isabella accidently knocked over the elf and worried that santa would get mad, she called 911. and her mom woke up to see her daughter shoeing the police out the door. and she feels better knowing she didn't ruin christmas.

fantasy sports illegal and santa clause will soon be leaving. and tracking his path since 1965.

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theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm the truck driver who crashed into comedian tracy morgan's limo last year has been indicted by a new jersey grand jury. he was charge would first degree aggravated manslaughter and 3rd degree aggravated assault. his friend, james mcnar was killed. and they concluded that he had not slept for 28 hours before the crash. and robert lewis deer wants

this is after he took issue with with his attorney's suggestion that he was not competent to stand trial. and fantasy sports betting is considered illegal gambling under state law because it invauvlgs playing a game of chance or skill for money. this comes after new jersey called for draftkings and fandual to cease in their state. and check out this surveillance video that showed a smash and grab in south florida. they rammed their truck into a store and proceeded to steal $8,000 worth of jeans. they even made off with a mannequin. and at the sunday -- san diego zoo, christmas came early. the snow was created just for them.

americans are projected to spend almost $26 billion on gift cards this holiday season, most of which are purchased in the four days leading up to christmas and they will purchase at least one gift card for the holidays. and the agency re -- is expecting 400 thousand more registrations. it's free for the first 30 days. in an effort to halt illnesses, chipotle has halted its food preparation. and raw chicken will be maurnated in resealable plastic bags instead of bowls. just ahead, a college football bowl season is here. plus, an announcer is not letting anything get in the way

>> we wish you a merry christmas. we wish you a merry christmas. and a happy new year. >> you're watching "early today."day." ( ) 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. most stores open 'til 10pm on christmas day. janet? cough if you can hear me. don't even think about it. i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. yeah...but what about mike? it works on his cough too. cough! it works on his cough too. mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs for 12 hours.

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this morning on "today" new mexico governor is apologizing

rowdy holiday party she was hosting at a hotel. in sports, college football bowl season is here. the boise state broncos took on the northern illinois huskies in the san diego county credit union poin settau bowl. and they served up a lump of coal. boise state wins 55-7. and the godaddy bowl. the georgia southern eagles in the batople of theal battle of the birds and it was all georgia southeren in the second half. to the nba and a tight one in brooklyn brooklyn. nets facing the dallas mavericks. and fabbious young hits the three sending it into over time. and dirk novitski gets the

and mavs win 119-118. and several nba stars, including stephen curry and carmelo anthony are lending their voices to a campaign to end gun violence. >> i heard about a shooting involving a 3-year-old girl this summer. my daughter, riley is that age. . >> we can all make a difference. >> this spot directed by spike lee and made in support for every town will run during the busy holiday schedule. and edwards didn't let a hockey fight get in the way of his holiday spirit. >>. we wish you a merry christmas. we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year i love the holidays.

by play but what better way to ring in the holidays than with some carolling. and jerry seinfeld has a special fest vs message. that's up next.next. olay regenerist renews from within, plumping surface cells for a dramatic transformation without the need for fillers your concert tee might show your age... your skin never will. olay regenerist. olay. ageless. and that is where soup comes from. campbell's fresh-brewed soups. oh, i thought we were talking about babies. made for real, real life.

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only the younger generation is featured. it shows courtney's three kids and kim and kanye's daughter, north. so, jerry seinfeld took to in instagram instagram. >> happy festivus. here's the metal poll and here's my grievance. everything. >> well, sony pictures is offering nfl players and their families free admission to their new film concussion. it features the dangers of concussion and telling the story of a pathologist who brought awareness. the official newspaper for the vatican gave star wars the force awakens calling it

saying it is more of a poor reboot than a sequel. and pope francis doesn't watch movies. interesting. so, i wonder who gave that review. >> his trusted advisor. all i heard is you don't have to watch the old ones to see the new ones. >> and people put their reactions to it. >> good reactions there. this is "early today"."." coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad... ...you need new theraflu expressmax. theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription...

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leading the news on nbcnews.com, dalene bowden fired after giving hungry student free lunch. her firing sparked out rage on social media. the district says it's been in communication and presented an opportunity for her to return to employment. during the holiday season, there are neighborhoods where the christmas lights show has been elevated to high art. we found one of those neighborhoods where decorating for the holidays takes on a whole new meaning. >> reporter: every town has one. a neighbor or neighborhood where the christmas lights have to be seen to be believed. in brooklyn, it's diker heights. bungalows and houses decked to

30 years at this and she can't stop. >> let's put that there, let's go buy that. and it becomes -- >> reporter: lucy's house. cops block the street so it's safe to stroll. >> you're happy. you're smiling. how can you not smile when you see all this decoration. nobody does this. >> reporter: well, maybe not exactly. there's a house in tracy, california, fitted out like it's a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and a guy in las vegas whose house turns into a juke box, topping the charts, metallica. >> reporter: daylight in december is hard to come by, so from ancient times people have done their best with candles and greenery.

of people to connect with their inner clark griz wall. if your light count has reached the hundreds of thousands, these days you're just getting started. and more is never enough but it sure is worth it. hair harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> i like when the songs co inside with the lights. >> especially with the "star wars" theme. >> yes, but i wonder what their electric bill is. >> and the neighbors that don't have the houses lit up are

south will spend this christmas