you are in iowa. we are in for a cloudy and gloomy day with highs climbing into the mid 40s following our mild morning. rain will be moving through iowa during the morning hours and into the afternoon, but a cold front following the back side of this rain in western iowa will try and turn that rain into snow. we will likely see a rain/snow mix to some snow showers mainly in western to central iowa during the afternoon with about 1 to 2" possible mainly in western iowa, but some snow could fall in des moines. we will be dry this evening but falling very cold and windy with lows falling to the 20s and near 30 here in the metro. thursday there is still a small chance for a few flurries and snow showers, but accumulations would be very minimal and likely limited to grassy areas. rain returns late on christmas evening lasting into saturday. we are now looking fairly cold to end the weekend with a significant snow possible leading into early next week. temperatures should fall cold and closer to average during the remainder of next week. sabrina: also coming up on local five news midday.... a call for answers. hear why mothers against violence is demanding answers after a teens body was found in a pond. sabrina: and another problem with a winning ticket -- putting the iowa lottery back in the spotlight. we'll explain. sabrina: plus -- a high school dealing with the loss of an athlete who tragically passed away last weekend. hear what they remember most. "local 5 news midday in hd starts now. we are iowa" sabrina good morning

local 5 news midday...i'm sabrina ahmed. sabrina: a call to drop part of the lawsuit des moines water works has filed against three iowa counties. the department is suing sac, calhoun, and buena vista counties over high nitrate levels in iowa rivers. it says that farm run off there is affecting the drinking water coming from the des moines and raccoon rivers. lawyers say 8 of the 10 counts should be dropped, because the drainage districts dont have authority over private land owners. sabrina:: calls for answers in last week's death of a des moines teen... the investigation continues as the family of sam kemp calls for answers.. kemp was found last weekn in a pond between granger and grimes after going missing. kemp was at a party in granger and ran off when police came. one autopsy has been done, but the family is asking for another and more answers from police. last night, mothers against violence joined the family outside the polk county courthouse to raise the issue. "we want answers we don't know why he ended up in that pond we have not gotten answers on why he's in there what

reason he was in there no answers the dept has not even called us to give us updates " sabrina: a toxicology test was done on sam kemp, but the results have yet test was done on sam kemp, but the results have yet to come back. stay with local 5 for the latest in kemp's death. sabrina: a wild scene near the drake campus tuesday -- cops say an out of control drunk driver rammed into at least eight cars.. the guy left a fast food restaurant and started weaving through traffic along carpenter and forest avenues. this is the moment when the guy's minivan finally hits a power pole and the whole things comes to an end. police took away the man on a gurney after he crashed his car into a pole. they say the man was giggling as they took him away. sabrina: the iowa lottery is back in the spotlight after another problem with a winning ticket. a des moines man is facing criminal charges , accused of being too young to buy a ticket, and then lying about it. twenty-year-old jobie boals- watters won a $100-thousand

july, and claimed a co-worker bought him the ticket. after getting a tip, the lottery found that the convenience store sold it to boals-watters, and they are now trying to get his prize money back. mary neubauer, iowa lottery spokesperson: "there wasn't anything wrong on the face of it, from that situation, so long as the facts back up what occurred. in this case, in fact, the facts didn't back up the story that we were presented with so penalties would apply." sabrina: it's illegal to play the lottery in iowa until you're 21. super quick will appeal its one week suspension. the owner tells us it's too big of a source of income to give up without a fight. sabrina: after two recent devastating cases of vandalism -- investigators in fort dodge say they've caught someone. daniel swick is charged with two counts of first degree criminal mischief and two counts of third degree burglary. in this surveillance video from december 15th, police say you see swick trying to steal a motorcycle, then setting off a fire extinguisher inside little joe's computer store.

say swick did the same thing inside the webster county court house. "mostly a big hassle, we had to hire service master to clean literally everything from top to bottom, 2 days with 24 people, that bill is an estimate of 52,000 to clean the building"" sabrina: the courthouse has reopened while little joe's computer is has reopened while little joe's computer is hoping to reopen by late january. sabrina: record setting december rains turned the holidays into a wet one for the metro. but while the flood waters may be receding, a section of george flagg local parks and trails remain closed due to flooding. that includes gray's lake park and the principal riverwalk. as well as the simon estes amphitheater. walnut creek park has reopened. sabrina meteorologist with a look at the forecast is going to be wet and likely a bit snowy today, but it all depends on where you are in iowa. we are gloomy day with highs

moving through iowa during the morning hours and into the afternoon, but a cold front following the back side of this rain in western iowa will try and turn that rain into snow. we will likely see a rain/snow mix to some snow showers central iowa during the afternoon with about 1 to 2" possible mainly in western iowa, but some snow could fall in des moines. we will be dry this evening but falling very cold and windy with lows falling to the 20s and near 30 here in the metro. thursday there is still a small chance for a few flurries and snow showers, but accumulations would be very minimal and likely limited to grassy areas. rain returns late on christmas evening lasting into saturday. we are now looking fairly cold to end the weekend with a significant snow possible leading into early next week. temperatures should fall cold and closer to average during the remainder of next week.

in spencer, the high school sabrina:: in spencer, the high school wrestling team there is still dealing with a teammate who tragically passed away last weekend. austin roberts collapsed during a wrestling tournament and died at a hospital. some of austin's teammates took time to share their memories and to celebrate a young man who they describe as their brother. coaches say it hasn't been easy for the boys emotionally, but they're depending on one another to help get through it. sabrina: seniors from spencer high's wrestling team said austin roberts knew how to use his size to his advantage on the wrestling mat,

the day was a giant teddy bear with an enormous heart. local 5's bria bell has more. "a lot of little kids and middle school kids looked up to him," said hurst. "he was kind of the center of the whole team," said mclaury. "he would stick out in a crowd that's for sure...big guy. everybody else said that he was really nice, but that's because they meant it. he was probably the nicest guy i've ever known," said bartley. austin roberts was a 220 pound, two-sport athlete for spencer high school in iowa, lettering in both football and wrestling. on saturday he collapsed during a wrestling tournament and died at spencer hospital of natural causes. friends, teammates and coaches say that austin was one of a kind...a person that anyone could depend on and was growing up to be a special young man. "he was always next to me in the room...next to me at the meets," said hill-anderson. "you could call him for just wanting to hang out to my car is broke, come help me," said mclaury. "it was pretty neat to see the growth that he had within just the few years that we had him. it was pretty neat to see and we're going to miss that," said pratt. spencer's wrestling team say that they will remember him for the good guy that he was

to the team. "he was a good man," "he was such a teddy bear on the inside," said hurst. "he was like the spark to the team and he's kind of what would get us all to come together and really work together as a unit," said nissen. sabrina: the pizza hut in spencer is donating 20 percent of it's proceeds to the roberts family. a go fund me page has been created in austin's honor to help his family pay for funeral arrangements. a link to that can be found on our website at we are iowa dot com. sabrina: coming up on local 5 news midday... another drizzly day! will we see sun -- or maybe snow -- for your christmas day? sam's in with your full forecast. sabrina: and... a bird, a plane, or the death star? we'll show you a mysterious light in the las vegas skyline causing a stir--

but next.... are you part of the procrastination nation? we'll tell you why it might be a good thing for you last minute christmas shoppers. "your wathcing local 5

accurate fwe are iowa" sabrina on your money now sabrina/lam and good news if you've put off your holiday shopping until the very last minute. it turns out the longer you wait the more you can save. abc's gio benitez is here with the secrets to scoring some massive deals ... half off or more! " nats music this morning, the mad rush for those last- minute deals? and you're not alone? grfx

on these final days before christmas morning? grfx with less than 48 hours to go? it turns out, waiting this long may be good for your wallet.. grfx just check out some of these deals?a diamond necklace on amazon? 86 percent off! saving you nearly 400 dollars? this camera from canon? just 38 bucks? grfx stores like the gap, banana republic, express, and aeropostale? 40 to 60 percent off the entire store! ben glaser dealsnews.com we're passed the biggest part of the holiday shopping season so retailersa re already looking ahead to the post holiday season and wondering how they can keep retailers on line and in stores. that's why they are offering such amazing deals even this week. nats music for a higher price, many retailers are offering overnight

few hours, you could get your gifts by tomorrow? but it's risky.. ben glaser dealsnews.com you're best bet for a last minute deal is definitely to go in store and it's not neccessarily that there are not deals on line, it's because even sites arrive in time for you can also look for local experiences, rather than products? on groupon.com, we found this 60 minute massage in new york for 91 percent off... 29 bucks! or private dance lessons in los angeles.. 77 percent off? 39 dollars." sabrina/lam now with all those last minute shoppers -- starbucks is expecting a big tomorrow. the national coffee-house chain says it's prepping for record starbucks card purchases on last year, some two-and-a-half million starbucks cards were purchased 24th.

hundred cards per minute went out the door! folks in utah, california and new mexico are most likely to visit their local starbucks for a last-minute gift. sabrina: about 16- hundred people in spain are hundred people in spain are raking in the dough -- all thanks to spain's christmas lottery -- known as "el gordo" -- or "the fat one" in english. get this: the prize-pot this year was worth a staggering two point four billion dollars! the raffle-like lottery is operated out of spain, but anyone can buy a ticket online. but they're pretty pricey -- a ticket costs 218-dollars each. sabrina: and finally -- the numbers behind santa's ride... as jolly old saint nick prepares for his trip round the world tomorrow night, some wonder what it takes to fuel that sleigh, in case the reindeer call in sick. to make the rounds on christmas eve, santa claus would need around 45 million gallons of jet fuel for his annual voyage. and that much jet fuel would

million dollars. just so you know, about eight gallons of oil goes towards making a gallon of jet fuel. and santa needs to travel about 226 million miles to deliver all the presents to the world's children. sabrina sam is back now... sam i'll have your full forecast, next. "now, we are iowa's most accurate forecast with meteorologist sam

weatherrate the independent weather experts" sam the forecast is going to be wet and likely a bit snowy today, but it all depends on where you are in iowa. we are in for a cloudy and gloomy day with highs climbing into the mid 40s following our mild morning. rain will be moving through iowa during the morning hours and into the afternoon, but a cold

back side of this rain in western iowa will try and turn that rain into snow. we will likely see a rain/snow mix to some snow showers mainly in western to central iowa during the afternoon with about 1 to 2" possible mainly in western iowa, but some snow could fall in des moines. we will be dry this

with lows falling to the 20s and near 30 here in the metro. thursday there is still a small chance for a few flurries and snow showers, but accumulations would be very minimal and areas. rain returns late on christmas evening lasting into looking fairly cold to

significant snow possible leading into temperatures should fall cold and closer to average during the week. sam: sabrina: sabrina

could it be a meteor... or something else? see a mysterious light caught on camrea and causing quite the stir. we're looking at what's trending -- next. sabrina:

today. sabrina/1shot and that mystery in the night sky -- a white light seen streaking across the west -- caught on camera by so many people -- and raising questions as to what it might really be. abc's nick watt has the story. "i have no idea what a bird, a plane, the from las vegas, nevada, all the way to santa barbara, and bonafide video evidence bountifully shared on social media, a bright white light shooting across the night sky. tv anchors across the west all in a lather. a fireball...a mysterious...what is this?

landed somehwere between vegas and death valley, denied by the nye county sherrif's office. too early for santa, right? the federal aviation administration? no ideas. the l-a police had any reports of a weird light. vandenberg air force base? no scheduled operations around here. something similar happened in southern california. early in november, a weird, inexplicable light turned out to be a u-s navy missile test that we weren't aware of ahead of time. the geminid meteor shower is winding down roght now, could be, but that peaked eight or nine days ago. looking at that! i don't know. santa on a training run, perhaps? okay, this is photoshopped. funny, but photoshopped. late last night, confirmation it was actually the booster rocket from a russian mission to the international space

orbit. nick watt, abc news los angeles." sabrina/lam following what's trending -- star wars: the force awakens had the best opening weekend in box office history, and it looks like the disney film will be a gift that keeps on giving. the film is expected to bring in between 150 million and 180 million dollars during the upcoming holiday weekend. if it hits those numbers, it would be t t biggest second weekend of any movie in history, and by a large margin. the previous record belongs to universal's "jurassic world," which made 106 point six million in its second weekend of release in june. sabrina: and just in time for the christmas release of his new film, "the hateful eight"-- director quentin tarantino received his star on the hollywood walk of fame. samuel l. jackson was just one of the many famous faces attending the ceremony. sabrina: plus -- season 7 of jerry seinfeld's 'comedians in cars getting coffee'

week, and his first guest might surprise you. it's none other than the commander in chief. president obama's appearance will mark the first non-comedian guest on the show. sabrina you're watching local five news midday. we'll be back after this. " you're watching

hd. we are iow sabrina: the holidays tend to be a time that brings out the best in everyone, sparking lots of generosity... the salvation army was the recipient of some of that generous nature....after someone left south african gold kruggerand coin in one of their kettles.. the coin is worth more than a thousand dollars, and was dropped into a red kettle at the hy-vee on valley west drive.

immedatly we jumped our goal today by 1000 dollars we were hoping to hit a certian number for today and this put us over the goal so we're happy sabrina: the salvation army has a goal of raising one point one million dollars this season. so far they are at 64 percent of that goal. sabrina: salvation army bell ringers can be become so common at christmas time that it's easy for some to ignore them. but there's one bell ringer in hutchinson, kentucky that is very difficult to overlook. reporter chris frank introduces us.

available sabrina: we want to know what you're doing to give back this holiday season. so be sure to show us by sharing a photo on facebook and twitter. sabrina: coming up on local 5 news

the clinton campaign speaks out -- hear what she's saying after donald trump's quote vulgar language earlier this week. sabrina: and.... a former homeless man and his beloved dog reunited. hear their heartwarming story -- coming up. " you're watching local 5 news midday in

sabrina good morning and thanks for joining us for local 5 news midday...i'm sabrina ahmed. sabrina: developing now -- fire crews are out what sparked a blaze on the east side of des moines. the call came in just after 10 this sending crews to the 22- hundred block of maury street at a auto part shop there. local 5's claire powell is out there right now -- claire? claire/live(tvu2) (ad libs)

claire thanks.

keep you posted on this developing story. you can find all the latest on our website. sabrina: and hillary clinton hitting back at donald trump -- her campaign calls "disgusting a brand new poll shows trump with his biggest lead yet in the republican race. jon karl is in washington with all the latest " crude comments campaign trail aimed at hillary clinton? gonna beat obama. the clinton campaign is blasting trump, calling him out for quote "degrading language" and "disgusting sexist the campaign is using #imwithher to rally tony goldwyn of curtis among those weighing in. (show graphic with both messages on screen, blur out word at top of goldywn tweet) tony goldwyn

@realdonaldtrump? expanding my vocab but definitely hitting a new low. #imwithher jamie lee curtis ?@jamieleecurtis #imwithher there are no words and won't re-use his against him. on a campaign swing through iowa, clinton didn't respond directly to trump, but she did call him out for bullying. sot clinton: "you are looking at somebody who's had a lot of terrible things said about me and clinton doubled down on her claim that isis is using trump as a recruiting tool, saying reports on arabic television like these are fueling isis. nats arabic tv montage (see rym note for best moments) sot clinton: "if you go on arabic television as we have and you look at what is being blasted out, video of mr. trump being translated into arabic. // it is playing into the meanwhile, jeb bush hit both clinton and trump over their latest feud. sot bush on clinton:

sot bush on trump: "it's not a sign of strength to insult people with profanities." there is at least one candidate who is in the christmas spirit: dr. ben carson, went caroling in south carolina last night. nats carson caroling tag: overnight, donald trump tweeted that the term he used is not vulgar, and he was just saying that hillary was beaten badly by obama. his evidence? one reporter's use of the same term in an article back in 1984..." sabrina/lam overnight, donald trump tweeted that the term he used is not vulgar, and he was just saying that hillary was beaten badly by obama. his evidence? one reporter's use of the same term in an article back in 1984... sabrina turning to your national headlines now -- and the woman accused of hitting dozens of pedestrians on the las vegas strip expected in court today sabrina: clark county district attorney's office says lakeisha holloway will make first court appearance in justice court. accused of person... when she drove onto a front of planet hollywood and the paris hotel -- with a toddler in more than 30 others were hurt. holloway has been charged with murder, child abuse, neglect, or and leaving the scene of an accident. sabrina: army sergeant bowe bergdahl spent tuesday in court, as he faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. bergdahl was captured and held by the

exchange orchestrated by president obama last year. the army has debated what to do, whether he shoukd get jail time or a court martial for walking awa from his post. another hearing is scheduled for january. sabrina: and in texas -- animal rescue teams tried in vain to save a whale stranded on a galveston beach. the texas marine mammal stranding network will perform an necropsy to determine the whale's age, species and cause of death. the group isn't sure how long the whale had been stuck before they arrived. someone called them early tuesday morning after spotting the 40-foot whale struggling. the group says it likely beached itself because it was sick. sabrina: back here in iowa -- two former iowa national guard members will receive special honors. former sgt. justin schmitt and former spc. brian swedberg will be presented army commendation medals of valors. the awards recognize their actions while being deployed to afghanistan in 20-11. both men will be

afternoon at the iowa army national guard in waterloo. sabrina meteorologist sam schrier joins us again with a look at your forecast. sam the forecast is going to be wet and likely a bit snowy today, but it all depends on where you are in iowa. we are in for a cloudy and gloomy day with highs climbing into the mid 40s following our mild morning. rain will be moving through iowa during the morning hours and into the afternoon, but a cold front following the back side of this rain in western iowa will try and turn that rain into snow. we will likely see a rain/snow mix to some snow showers mainly in western to central iowa during the afternoon with about 1 to 2" possible mainly in western iowa, but some snow could fall in des moines. we will be dry this evening but falling very cold and windy with lows falling to the 20s and near 30 here in the metro. thursday there is still a small chance for a few flurries and snow showers, but accumulations would be very minimal and likely limited to grassy

evening lasting into saturday. we are now looking fairly cold to end the weekend with a significant snow possible leading into early next week. temperatures should fall cold and closer to average during the remainder of next week. sabrina: a former homeless man and his beloved a former homeless man and his beloved and his beloved dog are together again after the dog ran away. the dubuque humane society and friends at the dubuque rescue mission helped reunite the pair. they're making sure the two don't get separated again. katie wiedemann has the story. " they say dogs have a certain intuition about their owners. curt curiel has multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, he says his 12 year old

every move he makes. "right before i am getting ready to have a seizure she'll start whining and crying." curt recently fell on to some hard times. his wife was placed in a nursing home and he became homeless. so when his companion vanished from a bus stop, curt was devastated. "i had all the bus drivers out looking for him. and i figured if they couldn't find them, no one could. " but someone did. a good samaritan found sassy and took her to the dubuque humane society. meanwhile, curt's friends at the rescue mission posted information on facebook about this missing dog. that post was shared more than 300 times. staff at the humane society saw the post and made the connection. maria benham dubuque humane society "because it was a city stray, there was an impound fee as well as a care fee and a vaccination fee. we also gave sassy a micro-chip in case she's ever lost again." after learning of curt's circumstances,

money to cover all the costs. and brought sassy and curt back together. "for lack of a better word, it was amazing. " "knowing that curt and sassy are back together is just a great home for the holidays story. "" sabrina: to read more about this story -- check out our website. that's we are iowa dot com. sabrina still to come on local 5 news midday... (weather) sam has the details in central iowa's most accurate forecast next. "now, we are iowa's

meteorologist sam us) aouerwh y bino peen hri ls,t n beifcu tco wh d refuonoundoulod on. >>r.obn:'mr.ana bs a ie eneang paedin a 2soi' alysryg t w arg dsndewecoly lpg u ar aouerheinu aras e we a mt noti vis r e arg imir. . nd hsowi uce u unghe tos.ndhel treo lpoun uroueyo arg tt.

co itoelng hr d lko . nd tayindependent weather experts" sam the forecast is going to be wet and likely a bit snowy today, but it

in for a cloudy and gloomy day with highs climbing into the mid 40s following our mild morning. rain will be moving through iowa during the morning hours and into the afternoon, but a cold front following the back side of this rain in western iowa will try and turn that rain into snow. we will likely see a rain/snow mix to

mainly in western to central iowa during the afternoon with about 1 to 2" possible mainly in western iowa, but some snow could fall in des moines. we will be dry this evening but falling very cold and windy with lows falling to the 20s and near 30 here in the metro.

few flurries and snow showers, but accumulations would be very minimal and likely limited to grassy areas. rain returns late on christmas evening lasting into saturday. we are now looking fairly cold to end the weekend with a significant snow possible leading into early next week.

to average during the remainder of next week. sam: sabrina: sabrina you're watching local five news midday. we'll be back after this. " you're watching local 5 news midday in

sabrina/lam in one classroom at a time, bankers trust and local 5 are excited to give a thousand dollar grant to a teacher who's trying to help his students learn a lesson that many adults struggle with... diversity and acceptance. he hopes to do that with the help of real

stephanie angleson has the story. "i want to congratulate you. because you are the winner of this month's one classroom at a time grant sponsored by local 5 and bankers trust. so you can all clap... if you'd like to make some noise. chris covington teaches social studies at metro west learning academy. and a quick look around tells you this isn't your average school.. there are snakes....and other animals...even a dog...all here to help these students work through some of life's challenges. try to teach critical thinking skills...diverse thinking, and trying to just think outside the box. accepting people. i try to do a lot with diversity and that kind of thing..tolerance. tolerance...it's not an easy thing to teach. but chris had the idea that a local non-profit called cultureall could help. they're well known for educating iowans about different cultures. with cultureall ... we have students working on various different things...soif someone's learning about the holocaust, we could have a holocaust surivor come in and talk about it, or a native americans, anything just like that, and just have them come in and kind of give them first hand knowledge about that. at metro west, it's a student centered program. that means

projects that interest them. couple that with the guidance of their teachers and the real life perspective of someone who's lived it...you have a lesson with tremendous impact. chris covington knows that can translate into better grades, and a stonger chance at graduation. but he hopes for something a little more long term.... and perhaps, more meaningful. that they can become good citizens..that's my goal.... sabrina: teachers -- if you could use some extra money for a special project at your school, visit our website we are iowa dot com and apply for a 20-16 "one classroom at a time" grant. sabrina: we want to tell you about a programming change coming up on christmas day... on friday, good morning iowa, the midday show, and local five news at five and six, will not air. instead, here is a look at the line up of shows that we will be

christmas day here on local five... sabrina and coming up -- will we see a white christmas... or a soggy one? sam has one final look at your forecast. stick with us. sabrina: before we go -- check this out!

gean oklahoma zoo gets a hippopotamus just in time for christmas. sabrina: this pygmy hippo calf named "mabel" was born in october... ...but this week, she took her first swim as delighted visitors looked on. she was born at 19 pounds -- but already weighs 76! when she's fully grown, she'll weigh between 350 and 600 pounds. mabel is one of 26 pygmies in u-s zoos. sam the forecast is going to be wet and likely a bit snowy today, but it all depends on where you are in iowa. we are in for a cloudy and gloomy day with highs climbing into the mid 40s following our mild morning. rain will be

during the morning hours and into the afternoon, but a cold front following the back side of this rain in western iowa will try and turn that rain into snow. we will likely see a rain/snow mix to some snow showers mainly in western to central iowa during the afternoon with about 1 to 2" possible mainly in western iowa, but some snow could fall in des moines. we will be dry this evening but falling very cold and windy with lows falling to the 20s and near 30 here in the metro. thursday there is still a small chance for a few flurries and snow showers, but accumulations would be very minimal and likely limited to grassy areas. rain returns late on christmas evening lasting into saturday. we are now looking fairly cold to end the weekend with a significant snow possible leading into early next week. temperatures should fall cold and closer to average during the remainder of next week. sabrina thanks for watching... you can view today's top stories and an updated weather forecast online

chew," welcome to the sugary