mark potter is in mississippi with the latest. >> a devastating scene just been christmas. preliminary reports of at least two dozen tornados, including a possible ef 3 believed to have miles. seven lost, including a 7-year-old boy. powerful winds flipped this semi. >> i already knew it was bad. >> 22-year-old hillary hid under a mattress. >> every house just about around us is gone. this is -- it is still standing but it is not going to make it. >> search teams night and day going house to house looking for victims. >> out here just going through the mess and the trees and just the disaster. >> the governor declared a state of emergency in seven counties. >> families have lost loved ones. funerals will be planned. this should be a joyous, holiday season. >> 18-year-old michaela was killed shielding her sister, water cascading over this collapsed road. so many now spending this holiday rebuilding homes and coping with heartbreaking loss. >> mark potter reporting. >>> meanwhile up north strong winds knocking out power to michigan and canada. and some places may not get power

mark potter is live in redlands, california at a home that is tied to this couple. what have they found and what are you seeing there now? >> what we can see now is the apartment itself. behind me to the right of those cars. there are agents there. we have been watching agents coming in and out. this is the apartment that officials say the couple rented. they don't know if they live there full time or just use it as a workshop. police say they found interesting and dramatic evidence. they include 12 pipe bomb-type devices, more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition and tools and materials used to make other bombs in addition to the weapons used in the actual attack yesterday, the two assault rifles and handguns. officials say the handguns were purchased legally. they are not sure how the couple got ahold of the assault rifles. authorities are particularly interested in something else they found a computer and flash drives and cell phones. these are critical to the investigation. these materials will be gone over very carefully as they are trying to figure out why the shoo

we begin with nbc's mark potter in clarksdale, mississippi. >> reporter: a devastating scene just before christmas after deadly storms and twisters curve through a midsection of the country. at least 11 killed and more than 40 injured. preliminary reports of at least two dozen tornados, including a possible ef-3, believed to have traveled more than 100 miles. >> a total loss, everything. >> reporter: mississippi was the hardest hit, seven lives lost including a 7-year-old boy, who died not far fro where these twin tornados were spotted. >> oh, wow. >> reporter: powerful winds flipped this semi. >> i already knew it was bad. i could tell from outside. >> reporter: 22-year-old haley hid under a mattress with her mother, grandmother and dogs. >> every house just about round us is gone. it's still standing, but it's not going to make it. >> reporter: search teams worked night and day going house to house looking for >> we are trying to go through the mangled up mess of the trees and it's just a disaster. >> reporter: the mississippi governor declared a state of emergency in seven counties. >

mark potter is in mississippi with the latest. >> reporter: a devastating scene before christmas, after deadly storms and twisters carve through the midsection of the country. preliminary reports of at least two dozen tornados, including a possible ef-3, believed to have traveled more than 100 miles. >> it's total loss. everything. >> reporter: mississippi was the hardest hit. seven lives lost including a 7-year-old boy who died not far from where these twin tornados were spotted. >> wow. >> reporter: powerful winds flipped this semi. >> i knew it was bad. i could tell. >> reporter: haley hid under a mattress with her mother, grandmother and dogs. >> every house around us is gone. this is -- it's still standing but it's not going to make it. >> reporter: search teams worked night and day going house to house looking for victims. >> we are trying to go through the mangled up mess of the trees. it's a disaster. >> reporter: the mississippi governor declared a state of emergency in seven counties. >> families lost loved ones. funerals will be planned. this should be a joyous holiday season

mark potter, nbc news, texas. >> in iraq, an airstrike by the u.s. led coalition against isis hit iraqi soldiers instead of the terrorists who were the intended target. the united states apologized for the mistake. more tonight from nbc's kelly cobiella. >> reporter: after six months of fierce battles, the iraqi army is gaining ground on isis in western iraq's anbar province. on friday, south of fallujah, bombs meant to help stop an isis advance hit the wrong target. nine iraqi soldiers and an iraqi officer were killed. their funerals held today. defense secretary ash carter visiting a warship in the persian gulf offered his condolences. >> it seems to be a mistake that involves both sides, and regrettable. it happens when you're working this closely together. >> reporter: in a statement, the coalition said the airstrike hit the coordination with the iraqi security forces on the ground. iraq's defense minister ordered an investigation, but the incident will put more strain on an already tense partnership and could help the enemy. today isis released

nbc's mark potter isisn clarksdale mississippi with more. << behind me is o ne of the houses struck by the roof is partially collapsed and the house itself is actually knocked off of it's foundation, pushed in that direction about five feet. the sheriff tells us that the people who live there are ok that were not hurt but they did have to spend the night in a shelter in clarksdale. the power crews have been out here since first light this morning repairing the downed line. they have a small army out here trying to get people their power back. the storm system yesterday spawned dozens of tornados in several states causing wide spread damage. in that storm zone some people are still missing and authorities are out looking for them to see of they can find them to see of there arar more victims. that's a very grim task anytime but especially during the holidays. mark potter nbc news clarksdale mississippi. >> << >> we continue to take a wintry turn here in siouxland with more snow today(at least it makes for a festive christmas eve)! a burst of snow is expected to skirt its way through the

mark potter, nbc news. >> rough situation at any time of the year but especially at christmas and so many of them are thought of tonight. >>> elsewhere across the country in today, church services and celebrations and air-conditioning for many on the warmest christmas ever recorded. plenty of happy faces and gadgets, but for some disappointment when the promised deliveries didn't make it in time. nbc's kristen dahlgren wraps it all up. >> reporter: at fedex today, there was no christmas break. a last-minute scramble for employees that volunteered to get gifts where they need to be. the shipping giant slammed on social media for not delivering packages on time. one mom posting i hope to find a open store. >> marty's holiday sweets are stuck in transit. >> if my baked goods arrive moldy, then it is what it is. and hopefully i'll get a refund. >> reporter: in a statement, fedex said they are doing everything possible to get customer shipments delivered by christmas. in spite of slight delays due to heavier than planned last-minute shipment volumes and severe weather outbreaks. there are

mark potter, nbc news. >>> christmas night was a washingt wash out in south jersey. we were in jersey county last night, drivers dealing with heavy downpours and minor flooding on the roads. >>> now your nbc 10 first alert weather, with meteorologist brittney shipp. >> good morning. record warmth yesterday and record breaking and tieing warmth for christmas day with a high of 68 degrees, tieing the old record. a few locations did not manage to break the record, but today is different. i am tracking colder temperatures heading into the afternoon and evenings. if you plan on tailgating, bring a jacket. we are going to see temperatures staying in the 50s. also, record warm expected again on sunday. our temperatures are going up and down, up and down. that continues. i'm tracking rain for us over the next couple of days. for philadelphia right now, 57 degrees, winds out of the northeast right around 16 miles per hour. breezy conditions. that's the cooler air that's blowing in from the northeast associated with a cold front that's moving through, and so we are going to st

nbc's mark potter has the latest on the cleanup. >> reporter: in holly springs, mississippi, familiesspent christmas day trying to salvage what they could. >> speak of the grinch that stole christmas. but spared our lives. >> reporter: the season of giving took on new meaning in this community. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: with donations pouring in, christmas toys along with food and clothing. >> we came out with the clothes we had on our backs. >> when something happens like this, we all come together and make sure everybody is taken care of. >> reporter: around clarksdale, as many as 20 homes are gone. >> my heart goes out to these people. they're in pain and it hurts me to see them suffer. >> reporter: so far, 14 people are confirmed dead across three states. the youngest was 7-year-old nicholas pulmori who was killed in mississippi. >> to think there's a parent out there that doesn't have their kid. >> reporter: max and ellen croxton died in her home, their daughter took to facebook, thanking friends and family for the outpouring of support, adding i know i will see the

mark potter, nbc news. >> the images of that wreckage unbelievable. we're watching for a lot more severe weather from possible tornados to a blizzard that's taking shape. let's bring in meteorologist rafael miranda. >> we are tracking another round of severe weather this evening. in fact, tornado warnings around the dallas-ft. worth area this evening. this tornado watch in effect through 8:00 central time. we've seen numerous tornado reports throughout the evening. we'll continue to see that throughout tonight. now even into tomorrow this is your sunday. another severe threat. 22 million people at risk for strong to severe thunderstorms. isolated tornados a possibility including houston and new orleans. now this is going to be a massive storm for days. you can see it tracking snow to the west, ice to the north, and tons of heavy rain off to the east. a flood threat significant over the next few days. to the west in the colder part of the storm, a blizzard warning in effect from eastern new mexico into texas. places like roswell, amarillo. we could see

we begin with mark potter outside the suspect's house. give us the picture there from the scene. >> well, this is the scene here just on the other side of this crime tape 100 yards down to the right of those white cars is an permit police say was presented by the two shooters. not clear if they live there or if they use it as some sort of workshop. authorities are saying the apartment is critical to their investigation while they are figuring out the motive. most critical are the things found there, computers, flash drive, cell phones. they will be taken by the fbi to the lab to be analyzed carefully. not only to answer the question about motive but perhaps whether anyone was associated with them directly or in terms of inspiring violent acts. agents have been going through a car outside. we have seen agents going in and out of the apartment all day. they were analyzing a car. the 5,000 rounds of ammo. the 12 pipe bombs and the tools causing some people today to say that this was in effect a bomb making factory. eventually the agents hope

nbc's mark potter gives us a look at the scene this noon in clarksdale, mississippi. >> reporter: behind me is one of the houses struck by the partially collapsed, the house itself is actually knocked off its foundation, push in that direction about five feet. the sheriff tells us that the people who live there are okay. they were not hurt. but he did have to spend the night in a shelter in clarksdale. the power crews have been out here since first light this morning repairing the downed lines. they have a small army out here trying to get people their power back. the storm system yesterday spawned dozens of tornadoes in several states, causing widespread damage. in that storm zone, some people are still missing, but today, the authorities out looking for them to see if they could find them or to determine if there are more victims. that's a very grim task any time, but especially during the holidays. mark potter, nbc news, clarksdale, mississippi. >>> also new at noon, police are investigating an alleged bias attack on a jewish student atted me car give evans college in brooklyn. with c

we begin tonight with nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: in holly springs, mississippi, families spent to salvage christmas. >> speak of the grinch that stole christmas. but spared our lives. >> reporter: the spirit of giving took on new meaning in this community, with donations pouring in. christmas toys along with food and clothing. >> we came out with the clothes we had on our backs. >> when something happens like this, we all come together and make sure everybody is taking care of. >> reporter: as many as 20 homes are gone around clarksdale. >> my heart goes out to these people. they are in pain and it hurts me to see them suffer. >> reporter: so far three people are confirmed dead across three states. youngest was nicholas who was killed in mississippi. >> there is a parent out there that doesn't have their kids. >> reporter: max and ellen kroxton together for 30 years died this their home. their daughter took to facebook adding, i know i will see them again one day. it doesn't make the heartache any less in tennessee, antonio and his 69-year-old wife annie were killed. three teenage

that's where we find mark potter... with underway. behind me is o ne of the houses struck by the tornado and as you can see, the roof is partially collapsed and the house itself is actually knocked off of it's foundation, pushed in that direction about five feet. the sheriff tells us that the people who live there are ok that were not hurt but they did have to spend the night in a shelter in clarksdale. the power crews have been out here since first light this morning repairing the downed line. they have a small army out here trying to get people their power back. the storm system yesterday spawned dozens of tornados in several states causing wide spread damage. in that storm zone some people looking for them to see of they can find them or to see of there e more victs. that's a very grim task anytimebut especially during the lidsmark potter nbc news arksdale mississippi. at least eight people werlled across three states du the storms...d ma others hurt or missing. severe weather is also snarng holiday travel. it's not hopefully not g

mark potter reports. in holly springs, mississippi -- families spent christmas day trying to salvage what they could... they speak of the grinch who stole christmas...it spared our lives. the season of giving took on new meaning in this community... merry christmaswith donations pouring in -- christmas toys, along with food and clothes. it's going to make it a lot better. because we came out with the when something happen like this, we all come together and make sure everybody is taken care of. "i've been on national disasters that did not have as much support as this county has and i'm quite frankly flatten amazed."around clarksdale, as many as twenty homes are gone. my heart goes out to these people. they're in pain and it hurts me to see them suffer. we're going to take care of them though as best we canso far 14 people are confirmed dead across three states... the youngest was 7 year old nicholas pulmory who was killed in mississippi. just to think there's a parent out there who doesn't have their kid

mark potter reports. >> reporter: in holly springs, mississippi, families spent christmas day salvaging what they could. >> speak of the grinch that stole christmas, but, spared our lives. >> reporter: the season of giving with new meaning in the community. donations pouring in. christmas toys along with food and clothing. >> makes a better. we came out with the clothes on our backs. >> when it's like this, we come together and meek sure everybody is taken care of. >> reporter: around clarksdale, homes gone. >> my heart goes out to the people. they are in pain. it hurts me to see them suffer. >> reporter: so far, 14 dead across three steates, the youngest, 7, nicholas, killed in mississippi. >> to think there's a parent out there without their kid. >> reporter: max and ellen, together for the 30 years, died in hatheir home. their daughter said, i know i'll see them again one day. it doesn't make the heart ache less painful, though. in tennessee, antonio and his wife killed. three teenagers also died in that state. the warm weather system that spawned twisters is blamed for rain in georg

mark potter, nbc news, clarksdale, mississippi. >>> rescue efforts continue. thank you, mark. decision 2016. it may be christmas eve, but some of the presidential candidates are not feeling cheery. >> nbc's bay area edward lawrence has more on the race for the white house which is one of the most outrageous in recent memory. >> when they divide us up, they win. when we stand together as one people, we win. >> reporter: the candidates for president may finally be taking a break from rhetoric for the holidays. >> we celebrate christmas eve. we have 60 people coming over tomorrow. we have work to do. >> reporter: still, ted cruz took some parting shots releasing this editorial cartoon via twitter. it shows hillary clinton walking with her lap dogs. this in response to a washington post editorial cartoon showing cruz as an organ grinder and his daughters as monkeys. the cartoon was pulled. >> leave the kids alone. leave my kids alone. leave marco's kids alone. the washington post should know that. >> reporter: this is the latest in a crazy week of attacks. donald trump has thrown

mark potter, nbc news mccallum texas. the measure passed by congress is a 7 hundred 50 million dollar aid package in hopes of improving the on a lighter note this morning- residents of a city in siberia are tired of the same old politics there. in an online poll- many said.. they'd rather have a siamese cat as their mayor than any of their candidates. the city council and the regional governor are supposed to select one of the six candidates next week... but that poll has the cat winning more than 90 percent of the vote... so we'll have to see who wins next week -- and if the mayor's office will need to install a scratching post... elsewhere -- an artist has completed what's believed to be the world's largest mural on the italian island of sicily... take a look at this..this was no walk in the park: the art piece is ten stories tall and as wide as a soccer field... doctors and nurses are able to give some families one of the best gifts imagineable... the gift of hearing... implants and hearing aids can easily change a chi

nbc's mark potter has a look at the damage and the latest on the death toll joining us now from mississippi. >> reporter: behind me is one of the houses struck by the trn. as you can see, the roof has partially collapsed. the house itself was knocked off its foundation. pushing that direct about five feet. the sheriff tells us the people that live there are okay. this he were not hurt. they did have to spend the night in a shelter in clarksdale. the power crews have been out here since first light this morning repairing the down lines. this he have a small army out here trying to get people their power back. the storm system yesterday spawned dozens of tornadoes in several states causing widespread damage. some people are still missing and today the authorities are out looking for them to see if they can find them or to de determine if there are more victims. a very grim task in he time but specially during the holidays. mark potter, nbc news, clarksdale, mississippi. >>> right now, some holiday shoppers are navigating around a problem in alexandria. one lane in each direction is now open o

. >> mark potter reporting for us. i want to check in with bonny schneider. bonnie has more about where this storm system could be headed today. we refer to it as deadly because as mark is telling us about that loss of life there in the southeast, what are you witnessing? >> we continue to have a tornado watch in effect for parts of georgia and into alabama. but also the risk for flooding. i want to really mention that. the rain has been hitting atlanta, for example, for hours. we already have two inches accumulated from this storm. there's a flash flood warning for this city and we also have advisories posted all the way to the mid atlantic for the potential for flooding. this goes all the way from alabama into georgia. how is this affecting christmas eve travel? we have delays in atlanta, delays in jfk. the fog is a problem again in new york, boston, laguardia so far look good. look what's brewing to the west. it seems like the northwest gets storm after storm this season. this is no exception. this is a powerful one. now the air is cold enough that this is

mark potter, nbc news, clarksdale, mississippi. >>> out west in northern california, check it out.y'll have a white christmas. this is what it looked like in blue canyon north of sacramento. you can barely see a reporter during his live shot outside of his fluorescent safety vest there. the snow is a welcome sight for folks that want to ski. the summit at blue canyon can get blue canyon. the ski reare tsorts around here to be sick about it. >> the temperatures aren't even cold enough for them to make snow which is how they get the snow going over there. >> taking a look at storm team 4 radar and i'm tracking thunderstorms. here's video for you and this is from the capital camera off in the distance, we can see flashes of light there. these are from thunderstorms that have not left southern st. mary's county, but continuing to impact parts of the eastern shore and the northern neck. for most of us it's dry on this christmas avenue and it's muggy and balmy outside and it's tracking north of washington and it's fizzled out in parts of baltimore county and carol county. i really think

. >> mark potter, redlands, where they rented an apartment. charles hadlock at the loma linda medical center, several injured are still being treated. what do we know about people's conditions? >> reporter: well, kate, good afternoon. the police chief here in san bernardino raised the injured level from 17, which was reported yesterday, up to 21 today. that may be in part to the shoot-out last night, outside that suv. two officers were wounded in that, taken to loma linda, one shot in the leg, the other hurt by flying glass. five people in all are at loma linda, two in critical condition, stable condition, three in fair condition. we know more about the victims who perished. we just learned this afternoon that michael wetzel is one of the victims. his death confirmed by his church, church of the woods. michael is a father of six, the church has been consoling his family all day. the church has set up a fund-raising page that, at this hour, has raised more than $65,000. you may remember, last hour, it was $51,000. they hope to raise at least $7

nbc's mark potter starts us off tonight. >> reporter: in birmingham, alabama, residents spent the day of christmas cleaning up from the tornado that touched down late friday afternoon. an ef-2 twister destroying somehow only three homes. christmas decorations amid the debris. this woman and her son took cover just before the winds tore up her house. >> horrible. it was like clawing at the roof and the windows just broke through and the rain was so thick. it was just like -- it was a nightmare. >> reporter: okay jive jive -- octavio ruiz was injured, telling us the tornado lifted him off the ground. flooding rains turned alabama roads into river and nearly 200 around the state are closed. flash flooding forcing the governor to declare a state of emergency. rescuers helped stranded motorists the storm system hammering the south lasting three days, spawning about two dozen tornadoes, killing at least 18 people in three states. most in mississippi. near clarksdale, we met 22-year-old hailey dikes who protected herself and otherwise by hiding under a mattress as a tornado struck her home.

nbc's mark potter now with the very latest. >> you could see the wedge, cone-shaped tornado on the ground. >> reporter: near clarksdale, mississippi, a funnel cloud ripped through this afternoon. people throughout the south and midwest were on edge. with numerous tornado watches and warnings in at least ten states. >> that is tornado seen it. you see trees stripped like that. >> reporter: early this morning in arkansas, soaking rains and high winds pushed a tree on to a house with five people inside. killing an 18-year-old woman and trapping an 18-month-old girl who was rushed to the hospital. >> you only hear about the stories. you don't expect to be in them. >> reporter: meteorologists say this highly unusual weather pattern is the result of several weather patterns coming together. >> we have record-setting warmth across the eastern two-thirds of the nation the entire month. you combine those two with a big digging jet stream and, voila, you get thunderstorms and a tornado threat. >> reporter: the system brought dark, low-lying clouds and heavy rain an powerful winds that made for toug

mark potter, thank you. >>> for a look at where the deadly storm system is headed today and what the rest of the country can expect, i'm joined by msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. good morning. >> we are looking at some airport delays. newark, new jersey, has delays at 44 minutes. we also have -- oh, my goodness, this just went up. atlanta, 135 minutes. that's because severe weather is going through there right now. this is realtime data changing by the moment. philadelphia's holding steady with 30-minute delays and boston, no delays. let's talk about what we can expect, we have a marginal risk for storms to develop across the central gulf coast into the southeast and even into the mid-atlantic. so keep in mind there is still that risk for tornadoes. the good news is the tornado watch i was speaking of most of the morning for alabama and georgia has now expired. we're still watching this area for weather to develop in terms of storms. look what's happening off to the west. this is the next big snow maker. a vigorous storm. now we're going to get strong winds and also the risk fo

mark potter in mississippi, thank you. >>> one of the ingredients fueling those twisters is this record-shattering temperatures across much of the eastern halflff the country where it looked likee spring today than late december. stephanie gosk has our report. >> reporter: the weather in new york is balmy. >> feels like the weather in hawaii. >> reporter: instead of getting snow, these visitors from san diego are in a sweat. >> came here to see snow. >> we did. >> reporter: no you're >> yeah. i didn't bring any shorts. >> reporter: in chicago, more o othe same. >> this crazy warm weather is ts. >> reporter: east of the rockies, temperature records weren't just broken today, they were crushed. here are just a few examples. boston 69. new york city 71. norfolk, virginia, a sizzling 82. some are basking in the warmth, like the flowers in bloom in boston and the jet skiing grinch in d.c. others just think it is strange. >> it doesn't feel like the holidays because it's not cold. >> reporter: there are places in the country coping with a dose of real winter weather. the latest snow totals in washington