to stop crimes like this! bold burglars breaking through the front of a gun store and stealing dozens of guns. thousands forced from their homes -- hundreds of buildings destroyed. and now -- they are bracing for more fires. it's the tweet that's re-kindled a national debate and has many of you talking. but can a president ban flag burning? good morning and welcome to "10 news early morning." i'm ian reitz.. lets get a look at #10weather with

it's the worst fire to hit tennessee in one hundred years. right now-- more than a dozen fires are burning near gatlinburg. let's get you caught up with some of the latest numbers. at least three people have been killed. more than a dozen are in the hospital. one resort was destroyed.

their homes...as a wall of flames closed in on gatlinburg. it's being fueled by the area's worst drought in a decade. demarco morgan is in tennessee with the latest. :47 - :52 -- bruce wilson / sullivan county fire chief 1:10 - 1:16 -- greg lanham / gatlinburg, tn resident 1:16 - 1:33 -- demarco morgan / cbs news, gatlinburg, tn "hit the gas! hit the gas!" you're watching cell phone video taken by two brothers as they escaped from a vacation resort area in the mountains of gatlinburg, tn ..they say they had no warning as the wall of flames surrounded them last night. and their only choice was to ride through - or die. please lord let us get off this mountain by early evening, wind speeds suddenly doubled -- turning into hurricane force winds that topped 87 miles per hour. fires quickly spread in this drought stricken area when burning embers flew and toppled trees ripped down powerlines. "this is so close to the resort" this community is at the edge of great smoky mountains national park, the most visited national park in the country. bruce wilson is the sullivan county fire chief. what's it like to actually be there?

those people lost their homes and businesses and everything else. things they've worked hard for. neighborhoods were left in smoking cinders..at this red cross shelter more than 1000 showed up, anxiously waiting to see what's left. greg lanham and his family escaped with their pets - and the clothes on their backs. possessions are possessions - as long as i've got my family, that's all that matters. unfortunately dozens of families who will be returning to see homes like this one right here behind me completely destroyed. firefighters may get some help tonight for fighting the flames. thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected. dm cbs news, pigeon forge, tennessee right now, gatlinburg officials say they are still conducting search-and-rescue operations. what you're looking at right now .. this incredible video .. is believed to be the result of a pipeline explosion near kansas city

flames and heavy smoke could be seen for miles. it did not impacts flights in and out of the airport. the fire will eventually burn itself out. donald trump is sparking debate over burning the american flag. while it may offend you-- it's not against the law. check out the president elect's tweet: "nobody should be allowed to burn the america flag. if they do... there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship-- or year in jail." is that even possible? 10news reporter kendra conlon is getting answers. the question has set social media on fire. keith says "of course not, infringing on rights like free speech is an opening to taking away our other rights" dorothy writes: "i think if you disrespect the flag you disrespect the people who fought for your freedoms - yes go straight to jail as a federal crime!" no matter where you stand - on burning it - a stetson law professor tells me - it's out of the future president's hands to punish people for doing it.

flag re-ignites after the election of donald trump... when protestors burned it on a massachusetts college campus... now trump is firing back... saying there should be consequences - loss of citizenship or lock-up. constitutional law professor louis virelli says the supreme court has taken a stand on after a texas man was convicted for burning a flag outside of the republican national convention. the constitution also says the government can't take your citizenship against your will. this is tough for vietnam vet don phipps to watch...

opinion of justice antonin scalia - whose opinion the president elect has said he respects. mr. trump will now fill the late justice's spot on the supreme court. but what can he do to make his tweet a reality? kendra conlon, 10 news wtsp the aclu tells 10news in part-- "surely upon reflection... president-elect trump will realize the right to dissent and protest is not only protected by the first amendment... but one of the things that makes america great". 10news spent a week earlier this month dedicated to exposing jaw- dropping problems facing our veterans. and that included some problems right here in tampa bay. 10investigates' noah pransky continues his watchdog efforts....exposing an indefensible dishonor.

veterans and veterans' families. but a recent mistake and attempted cover up casts a shadow over bay pines' hospice unit. a whistleblower pointed 10investigates in the direction of an incident earlier this year, when an elderly veteran passed away....and after his body was prepared for the morgue... it was forgotten in a shower room for nearly 10 hours. a va review of the incident not only concluded negligence, but also a "lack of respect" for the deceased veteran. and, even though all names and titles...and plenty else were redacted from the report, supposedly for employees' privacy, we also found concerted efforts by employees to hide the mistakes through false reports. not only did they act inappropriately, they knew they did....and tried to cover it up. "we honor america's veterans..." "we view this finding unacceptable and have taken appropriate actions to mitigate and correct the issue." the va confirms employee discipline.... but we'll never know. they redacted that from the report too. but a spokesman

procedures to make sure this kind of dishonor never happens again. "obviously, it's not an outcome we would have wanted, but it's something that, in the va, when we identify an issue, we use it as an opportunity to learn and move forward." we can't expose these problems and push for fixes without your help.... this story came to use via viewer email..... you can do the same, confidentially.....at tips@wtsp.com. noah pransky, 10 investigates. tuesday evening- a memorial was held for the victims of the "ohio state university attack." 11- people were hurt -- when a man plowed his car into a group of people and began stabbing them with a knife. all but three of those hurt-- are now home from the hospital. the attacker was shot and killed by a the attacker was shot and killed by a campus police officer. when he came to ohio state 3-months ago -- he told the student newspaper--

campus. investigators believe he was likely inspired by "isis propaganda." brazilians are observing 3-days of mourning in honor of their soccer team. family and fans are paying their respects at the team's home field in "chapeco." the players were headed to play in the "copa suda- mericana"-- when their plane crashed in colombia. 71 were killed. 6 survived. we have a crime alert for you this morning.. involving dozens of guns. you've seen this video.. criminals drive right through the front of tampa arms company on west waters in tampa early this morning. we wanted to show it to you one more time because hopefully someone is going to be able to recognize one of these guys! they stole 40 guns out of the place and we need to get them off the streets! there's a 10- thousand dollar reward for any information. have you gotten the texts: "you could win $100!" . click here.

two of hundreds of "smishing" examples. it sounds like a weird word . but it represents a dangerous scam. 10news reporter courtney robinson explains. you love that noise -- but i guarantee you'll hate this word. smishing! what is it? thinking phishing with text messages. crooks are texting you . some from numbers you might know . others unfamiliar . the end goal is the same. to get your information. unfortunate part it seems so real 44 -- tommy frain's a former fraud investigator. while he's investigated it all . he also gets it all. especially those "phishy" texts. -- 2048 42 here's one -- in his case . the smishers know a little about him and his past catering business. -- 2048 48 i'd like to know if you except credit card payment and i kind of tongue-in-cheek said back we cannot get her in a rational he laughs because i know that they're not domestic 58 -- the red flag the credit card

as simple as this you've won a cruise you've won $100 all with links to click. click that you've just opened your phone to a dangerous virus. -- 2045 35 it's when you usually click on links or anything like that that's where you could really open yourself up and of course giving away any kind of personal information 42 -- so the next time you get one of these hit delete. courtney robinson 10news wtsp. texting back -- wrong number or leave me texting back -- wrong number or leave me alone...well that won't open your phone up to anything malicious ... but you could start a conversation that you'll wish yo and remember all they want is personal information. coming up at 5 on 10 news this morning.. allison is in the newsroom with what we are working on this morning. if you haven't picked out your christmas tree, yet you might be a little surprised when you do. with less than a month before christmas, why there is a tree shortage that could be making christmas a little less cheery for

and we check out a restaurant that doesn't set prices for its menu items. but it continues to have customers constantly coming back to pay it forward. we are working on all those stories, plus ashley has your forecast and hilary is checking on some hotspots for you. that's all coming up in 20 minutes. coming up on 10 news. 'tis the season for holiday shopping! but one woman says hackers spent nearly 17-hundred dollars of her money - through amazon! how to protect yourself. this browa show has hit the record for the highest amount of money earned by a

just fifteen minutes and a little imagination are all you need to make holiday magic. chex party mix. it's what the holidays are made of. sweet cinnamon-sugar on the outside,

ashley batey weather

here.. many of you have started your shopping -- and so many use amazon. one woman says a criminal kept hacking into her amazon account-- and spent nearly 17 hundred dollars! despite changing her password- she was not safe.. 10 news reporter emerald morrow shows you what you need to know about these hacks and how to protect yourself. jonette ferrier enjoyed the convenience of

its real easy to have it brought to the door. thats until a hacker cracked into her amazon account - and used her gift card balance as their own personal piggy bank. it's all out theft. it's my money. the criminal changed the phone number on her account, then ordered more than 1500 dollars in merchandise and had it sent to an out of state address. she changed her password but the hacker kept getting in and placed orders as quickly as she cancelled them. "he was placing orders to be sent to himself while i was on the phone with amazon and a supervisor and they are watching it take place" amazon would not comment on how the hacker got into ferriers account. kc: this hacker was really relentless?. scott: yeah. they went beyond the normal scam cyber security expert scott schober believes

with malware: a virus that could allow them to monitor her every keystroke. so if a gift card is entered, a pin number...log in credentials- they've got the entire record. the same thing happens too if they try to change a password. schober says a good way to protect yourself is to use amazons two-step verification feature . when you log in a separate code is texted to your phone and must be entered to access the account. i cant tell you how irritating how threatened, how maddening it wasnt stopping. when ferrier started using two step verification the hacking stopped. she got her money back from amazon - but not her sense of security. ak 10news wtsp to use amazons two-step verification feature .... go to the advanced security settings page. follow the on- screen instructions to change and save your two-step verification settings. it's one of the most-talked about musicals in history. and now the smash-hit "hamilton" is making history. it set a record for the most money ever made in a single week by a broadway show. last week alone -- the show pulled in 3 point 3 million dollars! that's a huge number on

top the one million mark. "hamilton" uses hip-hop and a diverse cast to explore the life and death of alexander hamilton. coming up tonight on 10 news and c-b-s. starting at 8:00, survivor, followed by criminal minds at 9:00. at 10:00, code black. then tune in to 10 news at 11. don't forget to stay up for the late show with stephen colbert and his guests lauren cohan and sleigh bells. don't forget, you can always take 10 news with you just download the 10 news app. it's a fast look at breaking news, weather and traffic - and get alerts so you won't miss a thing. search wtsp 10 news in the app

sure, you could sit around all night waiting for a pizza to be delivered. but wouldn't making it yourself be a lot more fun? it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury. that sound. like nails on a chalkboard. but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound.

it happens at a lot of workplaces -- you pool your money with your co-workers for lottery tickets. i've chipped in a few times myself. you hope to hit it big just once -- and that's exactly what

tennessee. i'd like you to meet the "tennessee 20". these 20 co- workers had the winning ticket to saturday night's 420 million dollar jackpot! they mostly handle "sales and quality control" at an "auto parts manufacturing plant." the cash value of their jackpot -- 254 million. that means each person will walk away with 12- point-7 million dollars-- before taxes. amy o'neal says her son suspected she had the winning ticket. cities in tennessee and kentucky. the group buys 120 dollars worth of tickets every wednesday and saturday to support education and the state. they've been playing the lottery for eight years. coming up on 10 news this morning.. should flag burning have consequences? a

president-elect donald trump that has raised national attention. downtown clearwater is getting a new plan to redevelop the area. instead of playing mario and zelda at home, you'll soon be able to be a part of the game at nintendo world! we'll be back with another look at your weather and

just fifteen minutes and a little imagination are all you need to make holiday magic. chex party mix.

sweet cinnamon-sugar on the outside, crazy on the inside.

good morning