making news in america this morning -- a trail of destruction across the lone star state following a deadly round of storms. the climbing casualty toll as the storm moves further east. same system. different problems. snow making a mess for hundreds of thousands of holiday travelers. the details and our forecast straight ahead. a call to arms from the leader of isis. his message to muslims worldwide. as his fighters suffer losses on the battlefield. and fierce denials. peyton manning fighting back following a controversial report that he used banned drugs during his recovery from injury. the odd twist that has many scratching their heads over the

good morning. let's get to our lead story. the deadly storms in the nation's heartland. there's more extreme weather on tap for the south and midwest after a severe storm system claimed at least 19 lives. >> the dallas area in particular hit hard with nine strong thunderstorms. we get more now from abc's megan hughes. >> reporter: the christmas twisters marched across the texas landscape. in rowlett, they tossed trucks and tore trees from the earth. >> you can see the transformers blowing up. >> reporter: the survivors count themselves lucky. >> just very grateful we're alive and we're all safe. all this can be replaced. >> reporter: in missouri, flooding like this led to several deaths. and led the governor to declare a state of emergency. in oklahoma, west texas and new mexico, snow created whiteout conditions on the roads. mike springer from affiliate

>> just last week, it was 60 degrees in ross we'll. today, everything is covered in snow. >> reporter: trucks out of control rest in the snow bank. more than 20 motorists were stranded on i-40 between amarillo and the new mexico border. in's western oklahoma the national guard has been deployed to help people stranded. all of this weather impacted air travel, too, more than 1,000 flights in the u.s. were canceled. more than 4,000 delayed. >> i would call it living hell. >> reporter: megan hughes, abc news, washington. as megan mentioned the storm system is now heading east. >> let's get the details now from accuweather's paul williams. >> thanks reena, kendis. unfortunately it looks like mother nature is going to target mississippi, alabama, as well as tennessee, into kentucky for the next round of storms. it's over for texas and louisiana. but folks in new orleans will still possibly see strong storms there.

and likelihood of tornadoes. then, actually, rain to the point of flash flooding to occur in the ohio valley region. reaching over towards portions of st. louis, and that's not the only concern. we have a storm that's advancing throughout the midwest with a chance of a wintry mix hitting chicago and snow hitting minneapolis. >> paul williams, thanks so much. fires at two muslim houses of worship are being called intentional. in houston, authorities are coming through surveillance cameras. hoping to capture a suspect. near sacramento, a fire bombing of an islamic center. a hate crime investigation. no one was hit in either attack. the head of isis in iraq and syria is speaking out after months of silence. he's urging muslims worldwide to join the fight against the u.s.-led coalition and he's also made a renewed threat abc's jim avila is traveling with the president. >> reporter: the voice of isis.

and for only the second time, abu bakr al baghdadi appears desperate to rally his beleaguered fighters who have lost ground and leadership. iraqi forces backed by u.s. coalition air strikes have taken the strategic city of ramadi. 2015 has not been a good year for isis. losing its second in command to american bombs, its territory in both syria and iraq shrinking. >> isis is under a lot of pressure. and he felt the need of sending a message to his followers. we're still here, we're still strong, we're undefeated. >> reporter: in this message, baghdadi issues a call to arms among the world's 1.5 billion muslims. quote, "waging this battle is a duty upon every muslim and no one is excused." he also threatens israel directly, promising to liberate palestine. the president here in hawaii did not interrupt his vacation to comment on the isis message or its authenticity. the defense department did issue a statement congratulating iraqi forces for their success in ramadi.

president in hawaii. breaking news from australia where a train has derailed, it was carrying 44,000 gallons of sulphuric acid. when it went off the tracks. in a remote area. local flooding is making the recovery effort difficult. it is highly corrosive substance that can cause se viewer burns on skin. back here at home, an indiana man is dead after falling off a cliff in a beach in san diego and it may be the fault of his phone. he may have been distracted while walking. he slipped and fell 40 feet. passersby rushed to help. but he died before paramedics could reach him. denver broncos quarterback peyton manning is going on the offensive over doping allegations. he said he'll probably sue the al jazeera network. for defamation. after it accused him of using

his neck surgery four years ago. >> now the report featured a former clinic intern seen there making the allegations. that former intern has now recanted his story in an online video. >> coming up, outrage in chicago over yet another police-involved shooting. and the shocking admission being made by police there. then, a first of its kind claim at the nation's busiest airport. someone there has been doing a lot of counting. and music star adele once again entering the record books because of her smash hit new album. details straight ahead. 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

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welcome back. wall street gets back to work this morning after the long the question on traders' minds, will we be closing out the year with the so-called santa claus rally? >> yeah, that's the terms used for the gains made between christmas and new year's, sometimes happens as investors reposition portfolios. they could use some help right about now. nasdaq is positive. the s&p 500 is right about even. >> santa claus rally. the atlanta airport hit a major milestone, the hartsfield-jackson airport welcomed its 100th million passenger saturday. the world's busiest airport. traffic at the airport up 5% this year. that 100th million passenger was picked at random, he was given a new car, two round-trip tickets. because of the celebration, the poor dude missed his connecting flight. >> i think he'll be okay with that. >> yeah. and speaking of milestones

album "25" sold more than 1 million copies in its fifth week of release for a third platinum-selling week. sales of "25" apparently enjoyed a holiday bump, increasing by 46% over the previous weeks. impressive totals. the album has now sold 7.1 million copies. no surprise to some, "star wars:the force awakens" still smashing records at the box office. it took in an epic $1 billion in less than 12 days. that's the fastest any movie has reached that mark. beating this summer's jurassic world" by one day. daddy's home debuted in second place. followed by "joy." all right, when we come back -- not your average high-speed chase, what had that boat putting the pedal to the metal for a hundreds of miles. long bombs and confusion reins in an overtime thriller. stay with us. we have exciting sports news.

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up to the mid-atlantic states. if you're flying, airport delays likeliest in chicago, new orleans, memphis, atlanta, new york city, los angeles, minneapolis. we got a big list today. the families of two people killed over the weekend by chicago police are demanding answers. one of the victims bettie jones, a 55-year-old mother of five, was remembered at a vigil yesterday. police said she was killed by accident when they responded to a domestic call. abc's alex perez is in chicago. >> reporter: the chicago police department again under scrutiny after another controversial shooting. 55-year-old bettie jones and 19-year-old college student quintonio legrier dead. >> we've got two people shot. shots fired by the police. just to confirm. >> yes, they were. they were. >> reporter: early saturday morning, police responding to a domestic disturbance call on the top floor of this two-story home. legrier reportedly threatening his father with a bat. >> upon their arrival, they were confronted by a combative individual. >> reporter: jones lived on the ground floor.

the door for police when legrier began to make his way down the stairs and she was caught in a spray of bullets fired by police. authorities saying jones was accidentally and tragically killed. the police department extending condolences. frustrated loved ones demanding answers. >> why you got to shoot first and ask questions later? >> she should not have to come outside, open the door and be shot down by a police officer. >> reporter: an emotional vigil for the victims. let it shine let it shine let it shine >> reporter: legrier's grieving mother says her son had mental health issues but was studying engineering and had a bright future. >> he was an honor roll student, he worked hard, he cared about people. >> reporter: the shooting coming after protesters on christmas eve shut down shopping at parts of chicago's famed michigan avenue calling for mayor rahm emanuel to resign in the wake of the laquan mcdonald shooting. emanuel, on vacation in cuba,

questions, and the department needs to review how the officers to respond to mental health cases. and chicago police have not explained why exactly the they are now on desk duty as the shooting is investigated. alex perez, abc news, chicago. >> in cleveland, the family of tamir rice says it's unlikely that a police officer will face charges for his death. rice, a 12-year-old black people was playing in cleveland park with a pellet gun when he was shot by a white police officer. the incident caught on a surveillance camera. the decision is expected by the grand injury soon. the grand jury has been meeting since october. three men are in custody after leading authorities on a wild-speedboat chase in the gulf of mexico. take a look, the suspects were accused of stealing that speedboat. they fled after trying to ram the sheriff's department boat. the coast guard got involved. this was a 20-hour chase. they were captured about 70

a frightening scene captured on camera, this is in new rochelle, new york, as can car plows into a store. the 88-year-old driver lost control, one man in the store was struck, he's expected to be okay. the cause of the accident remains under investigation. well, a sad passing from the world of sports. former harlem globetrotter star meadowlark lemon has died. he played for the team if nearly a quarter century. >> he soon became the center of the show, both because of his charisma and his ball-handling skills. he went on to play an astonishing 16,000 games. meadowlark lemon dead at his home in arizona. he was 83 years old. well, the nfl has one more week to go. >> after what happened yesterday, you can honestly to say, more uncertainty is all about certain. details now from espn. >> john and john, and we wear glasses. the panthers have over 14 weeks

lost a game. we're telling you that anymore. >> this just in -- it was in on sunday. cam newton. julio jones. all kinds of great football players in atlanta. matt ryan is going to throw it high and throw it far in the direction of number 11, that's always a good move. that's a score and the atlanta falcons hand the carolina panthers their first loss of the regular season. cam newton had one more chance. but, stripped by vic beasley. strip sack. first time. jets/patriots. we go to overtime. patriots, they win the toss, they elect to kick off. some confusion about which end zone they wanted to defend. they get it straightened out. they didn't defend it very well. ryan fitzpatrick looking for that's it, first possession,

jets improve to 10-5. a win again next week to get into the playoffs. >> monday night football is a good one, cincinnati/denver. >> watch it again live starting at 9:00. >> all right, thanks, fellas. unique piece of history is going up for auction, it's the gun power horn believed to belong to alexander hamilton, it's inscribed with his name and his year. 1773, the hamilton entered what is know today as columbia university. tourism is on the rise after the smash broadway hit "hamilton." if you really want to blow your personal budget, how about spending money on a hoverboard, this one boosts a person almost a foot off the ground. about six minutes, and it six hours to recharge them, wow. one other thing, the board is

the company will take preorders, though, for the spring. up next in the pulse, our visit to the set of "sesame street." and speaking of not too friendly, the video that speaks volumes after the fishing trip of a lifetime. right when you feel a cold sore, abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. without it the virus spreads from cell to cell. only abreva penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. you could heal your cold sore, fast, as fast as two and a half days when used at the first sign. learn how abreva starts to work immediately at abreva.com don't tough it out, knock it out, fast.

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clouds away >> excellent. the air is sweet can you tell me how to get how to get to sesame street >> i always liked oscar the grouch and cookie monster. >> oh, yes. >> two favorites. it kicks off january 16th. a new episode will air on saturdays. nine months later, they'll be so, in case you don't have hbo, you can go to pbs later. >> they didn't completely, completely sell out. they'll be back. >> they'll be back. next up, a fish tale about the one that got away and thank goodness, it did. check out this video that's from a fishing charter off the coast of jacksonville, florida, as it was visited by a great white shark. it took a bite out of the bait.

and then decided to move on. >> the charter boat captain said he often sees sharks. he estimate this one was about 12 feet long. he said you never know what you're going to see while you're out on the water. but this guy looked pretty hungry, to me. >> he certainly did. i would be getting out of there immediately. times square here in new york city is getting ready for its big moment. take a look outside right now. you'll see the venue kind of quiet, as we take a live look on this monday morning. about a million or so people will pack in there thursday night to celebrate the arrival of 2016. >> and remember, if you're one of those people, go to the bathroom early and often before you get locked in. on sunday, workers installed 288 triangles. you can see them there on the panels are on the iconic ball. it will fall as the world counts down to 2016. weather is expected to be warm

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the power to feel better. taking a look at our top stories -- the head of isis in iraq and syria spoke out in a rare audio message saying air strikes will only strengthen the terror group's resolve. isis has now lost control of a key government facility in the city of ramadi. at least 11 people have been killed in that historic tornado in dallas. many of the victims were trapped on highways to the north. flooding is the main concern in missouri. heavy snow from new mexico to oklahoma has hampered travel with snow drifts as high as 10 feet, hundreds of flights canceled or delayed. looking at today's weather, rain along the west coast, snow in the mountains, more snow from oklahoma to minneapolis. freezing rain to the east of that. and more severe storms from the deep south to the northeast. and finally, on this monday

probability and it all starts with one of the year's most popular holiday gifts -- drones. >> thousands upon thousands of them were bought as presents this year and that means crowded skies as new owners try them out. abc's marci gonzalez starts. >> reporter: across the country this weekend, drones, barely out of their christmas wrapping, already crashing and colliding. these unmanned aircraft, causing more than just mishaps. they can be downright dangerous. just last week at this world cup event, a drone narrowly missing a champion skier. and last month, one barreling down onto a race in massachusetts, cutting two of the runners. >> i heard some commotion, so i quickly looked over and i just saw the drone coming down. >> reporter: in an effort to track down anyone whose drone goes rogue, the faa now requires all unmanned aircraft weighing more than half a pound to be registered. anyone who doesn't could face up

>> think about this is not just a toy. that this is something that could endanger other people's lives if you use it irresponsibly. >> reporter: people using drones as a hobby don't have to be trained or certified to fly. but with so many potential risks, drone schools like chris spiecher's dart drones are popping up nationwide. >> i think it's irresponsible for people to just go out and launch these without any knowledge of what they're doing. where they're flying and what the situation is around them. >> reporter: teaching everything from the rules to how to keep this from happening to you. marci gonzalez, abc news, new york. >> you got one for christmas? >> i got one. that's exactly what it's going to look like. i did get one. i have no idea what to do with it. it's a fun toy. it's one of those things. >> you were telling me, if you're in d.c., you can't fly them. >> it's not legal in the nation's capital where i live. >> okay, that's what's making news in "america this morning."