so southeast texas moving eastward into louisiana. much of southern louisiana until 1:00 including baton rouge, thibodeau, and new orleans. we're monday toring this in the cnn weather center and will break in if we get any more warnings. >> thank you, bonnie. in the christmas spirit of giving we'll show you how some students brought a smile back to their favorite janitor after his battle with cancer. >>> hi. i'm captain amanda felkuski from the air base in turkey. merry christmas and happy new year to you, my family in colorado, my dad al, my mom deborah, my sister liz and my dog jackson. i love you and i miss you. s has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. your doctor will

real potential is gusty winds and the stronging thunderstorms and tornadoes and a few area with southeast texas and louisiana, 5 out of 10 and a 50% chance of a tornado in 50 miles here and central and southern mississippi and alabama, 6 out of 10. a lot of things to watch here. folks along the gulf coast, want you to be attentive to severe weather. >> todd santos, thank you, sir. >>> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in the schools to protect the children, then call me crazy. >> the head of the n ra under fire for the call for armed security at schools. what a million moms are saying about that. >>> plus, more gun violence as firefighters are trying to battle a blaze. >>> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy. i'll tell you what the american people, i think the american people think it's crazy not to do it. it's the one thing that would keep people safe. >> that's the nra ceo on "meet the press" yesterday doubling down on the call to arm our nation's schools and puts him at odds of most a

today is going to turn into that coastal storm, it looks like it's going to stay mostly to the southeast of texas. >> all right, thank you so much. and thank you for the help on that sports story. >>> coming up -- the late hear larry hagman in reality show. entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. m even more. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% back on... [ toy robot sounds ] 2% on pumpkin pie. and apple. 3% back on 4 trips to the airport. it's as easy as... -[ man ] 1... -[ woman ] 2... [ woman ] 3. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. neural speeds increasing to 4g lte. brain upgrading to a quad-core processor. predictive intelligence with google now complete. introducing droid dna by htc. it's not an upgrade to your phone. it's an upgrade to yourself. >>> welcome back. this video gave us a chuckle. monkeys at a japanese zoo have found a new way to combat the cold, sitting around the campfire. monkeys flock to ge

tornadoes are a big concern for much of louisiana, southeast texas, mississippi, and georgia and thele of florida. >>> elsewhere, the shooter who ambushed and killed two upstate new york firefighters monday left a chilling note. william spengler wrote, quote, i still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood i can burn down and do what i like doing best, killing people. spengler set his home on fire, then waited nearby and shot four firefighters who responded killing two of them before taking his own life. >>> at the vatican pope benedict called for peace in syria. more than 40,000 syrians have been killed since that conflict began. >>> and there is new tape out today of the first lady with kids. the night before christmas and first dog bo and all seem to be loving a good story. >> good afternoon, everyone. >> this is exactly what he does at home. he tries to beat malia and sasha to my lap. this is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays is coming to the children's hospital to see all of you, and i want to thank my escorts, jordan and a.j. you guys are awesome

he represented southeast texas for 42 years. he died tuesday night at the age of 89.in the dallas motorcade when john f. kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and can be seen on air force one standing behind jackie kennedy when lyndon johnson took the oath of office later that day. he was one of the last holdouts of an era when democrats dominated texas politics. brooks supported civil rights and refused to sign the segregation southern manifesto in 1956 and went on to right the civil rights act of 1964. wasn't my daughter's black bean soup spectacular? [ man thinking ] oh, this gas. those antacids aren't working. oh no, not that, not here! [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. >>> and which political story will make head leans in 24 hours contributor and manager editor, chris cizzilis rejoins us. when do you think they get down to seriously talking and you keep hearing that there's some optimism here of people who are really smart players. it's hard to find the signs of it. >> well, andrea, i would predict

speaker, kids in southeast texas have been making christmas cards and holiday cards for our troops in afghanistan and iraq and other parts of the world. and i want you to know that school children in southeast texas made 69,000 hand made christmas cards for our troops in afghanistan and iraq and other parts of the world that will be taken to them this christmas. i want to thank all those numerous schools, the teachers, and the chambers of commerce in southeast texas. god bless every one of you for helping our men and women overseas have a better connection with our families and our young people in this country. let them know that texans are thinking of them. that's just the way it is. i yield back. i do ask unanimous consent to attach the names of all of the organizations that made cards in this endeavor, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. are there any further one-minute requests? there being none, under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the

a moderate risk for tornadoes across parts of mississippi, louisiana and even areas of southeast, texas and houston as well though not in the red zone where there's a concentrated area of tornadoes. watching that throughouts the day. what we're seeing that's dangerous for those of you up early on the road. in oklahoma ice accumulating. when we're talking about measurable snow, 4 to 6 inches. some of the rain will change over to snow in little rock, arkansas and looking towards memphis and paducah, kentucky, a big snow storm by the time we get to christmas night with 10 inches of snow in parts of kentucky and we're also mong monitoring the fog. here in atlanta, you know what i'm talking about, thick and dangerous and be careful driving if you don't have to. there's a picture. >> you may have to stay at the office a little bit longer to wait for the fog to dissipate. bonnie schneider in the weather center at cnn. thank you. >>> a snowboarder killed in an avalanche in northern california. his body was found at the bottom of a ridge in three feet of snow at donner snow ranch. officer report

the good news is we are not expecting the widespread severe across the southeast or texas. this is the recap of the storm that started christmas eve and moving across the gulf coast states. we are talking three dozen reports. this is going down as a historic severe weather day. that's the bad news. also on the north side of the storm, they have serious snow coming down with the system. you can check out the numbers here. the winners or losers across the snowfall totals. likely impressive numbers. nine inches and many areas a foot plus of snow and it is snowing across the region as well. has itted snow that is already falling. combined with strong gusty winds. a blizzard going on across the ohio valley that is pushing into the northeast. here's the radar. the rain is coming into new york city. eventually to boston. you might start with snow and end with rain. heavy rain in the forecast. to two inches of rain with the system that is moving out and pushing on through the northeast. into thursday and friday morning. snow in the interior, we are talking sizable snow. additional

hall, we lost a member of the texas legislature, congressman jack brooks, who proudly served his southeast texas district for 42 years after he was first elected in 1952. mr. green: ultimatelying as dean in this house of representatives and dean of our texas delegation. i knew jack brooks from his -- my days in the state legislature and he was one of my mentors when i first came to the house of representatives. representative brooks was known for his tough persona and for chewing on his cigar while commanding a room. but he had a heart of gold. i remember sitting down with him when i first came to the house of representatives and when he asked me what committee i wanted to serve on, i thought, ok, i'll get what i need. i told him i wanted energy and commerce. and he chewed on his cigar and he said, you'll get ed and labor and you'll like. it but jack was a great leader and role model. he supported civil rights bills, refused to sign the southern manifesto in 19 of a an helped write the historical civil rights act. may we also remember congressman jack brooks. he was a great man, a political figu

southeast still mild. same story in texas.me of the cooler air that's coming in behind this frontal boundary. so as this sweeps south, much cooler air in police. northeast on saturday, still some showers and northern new england, possible light snow showers. dakotas, back in through montana, northwest wyoming, better chances for snow. as far as saturday is concerned, notice again the milder air in the east, cold towards the northern plains. there's a look at it into sunday with snow showers. northwestern great lakes and we'll track that system off towards the east in through monday and tuesday with chances of showers along the frontal boundary, pushing across the appalachian. tuesday, a coastal event from new york southward. some of those showers get hung up in florida and another chance of snow into the mountains of montana. a good stretch of the lower 48 coming in fairly quiet. down through the southeast, not so much southeast georgia there. we are on the warmer side of things with a chance for showers. "wake up with al" 5:3

exception whole southern half of the country, from texas into arkansas and through the southeast, geteady for a nice mild weekend. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. >>> just ahead, malcolm in the middle star suffer as stroke at 27. plus hollywood's most overpaid actors and actresses. we'll name names. is december, r- ♪ you can stay in and like something... ♪ [ car alarm deactivates ] ♪ ...or you can get out there with your family and actually like something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. offering some of our best values of the year. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. i have obligations. cute tobligations, but obligations.g. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. intr

that's the story across portions of great lakes in chicago, portions of the southeast and city of new orleans part of southern texas so we can be see can the weather related tropical delays. take it easy out there. across portions of the midwest coastal areas of the southeast. 82 degrees will be the high temperature in dallas.antonio. upper 50s in new york city. upper 60s in the city of chicago. very unseasonable for this time of year. we are looking at upper 70s in the city of phoenix. we are looking at areas in the midwest. that frontal system exiting the rockies into portions of the dakotas and nebraskas. not a big deal with showers and storms. behind that system is when you start to notice a bit of a cool down in temperatures. we have showers through the northeast overnight now drying out and dealing with warm temperatures. heather and patty ann everybody get out and enjoy it while we have it. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >>> now to stories you can bank on. thanks to oh line holiday shopping. fox business network to explain that with adam shapiro. did you do shopping on-line? >> i got my sister-in-law

texas. you can see the line of thunderstorms in the southeast. the weather is sparking up in places like alabama and moving toward georgia as well. you can see the gold price -- the cold front with the temperatures. just above single digits in minneapolis. the cold air pushes all the way to the appalachians. mild air from baltimore into florida. that is hanging on, but only for so long. the temperatures have been all over the place. it depends on how thick the fog is, what direction the winds are in. loh 50's across southern pennsylvania. may 50's toward baltimore. already pushing toward 70 degrees in mid maryland. midr 50's to the low to 60's later today. the rain will pushing later this afternoon and will linger for part of the night. temperatures will be dropping into the overnight hours. we watched another storm system coming from the south. that could produce rain in the area. that takes us into our seven-day forecast. we cool down with a high of 50. the rain returns on wednesday. 50's by next weekend. >> and medical alert, babies who experi

southeast. strong winds as far as texas. folks were celebrating their christmas evening as storms left00 of thousands of without power at any given time. the system moved through parts of alabama, georgia, mississippi and parts of florida. the biggest city to be hit by numerous rare winter twisters as well as powerful straight line winds. forecasters say there could have been as many as 19 tornados that ripped through the area. trees and power lines are on the ground, leaving debris in the roadway. folks in texas are feeling from where parts of the system originated. >> i tell you what. i never seen one in real life. just to hear one from that far away, that is a mile from where we are and you could still hear it. it was pretty amazing. >> as far as i know there is a small town, maybe 10 miles from here, lovelady. blew the roof off of a bank into another house. that was a couple of structures. as far as i know a guy, he had a house a mile from here and it totally took it down. as you see by the size of the slab used to be a

southeast. earlier possible twisters reportedly tore through parts of texas and louisiana. man died near houston when a tree slammed into his truck. the threat of dangerous weather continues into the night. let's get to meteorologist ron jackson from ktfw fox 4 in dallas. tell us, ron, specifically what you know about mobile and what you know about what's happened in your area. >> well, jamie, here in the dallas-fort worth area we have officially had four tenths of an inch of snow on the ground. that's the first time we have had snow on the ground in 37 years here in the dallas-fort worth area. we are definitely not used to it. most of the snow fallen has moved off to the northeast. right now we are battling, biggest concern will be traffic problems. temperatures are expected to drop down low to mid 20's with streaks. we are not used to weather conditions like this where a lot of facilities have sand andg conditions for the roads, we just don't have that we do have some sand trucks but a big problem tonight will be the icy streets as temperatures drop down into the low 20's

southeast. originated really in texas where people reported pretty heavy wind gusts there. thousands of folks having a very dark christmas eve as crews scrambled to restore power. they stretched through parts of alabama, louisiana, mississippi and northwest florida. roofs were blown off homes in mobile, the biggest city to be hit by numerous rare winter twisters as well as powerful straight-line winds. forecasters say there could have been as many as 19 reported tornadoes that ripped through the area. many are still shocked at the damage. >> it was a lot worse than i ever thought it would ever be. but it's amazing how this community, as we have pulled together and they have helped me pick up the pieces, and cleanup. >> reporter: trees and power lines remain on the ground this morning leaving debris on the roadway, so the sphoerp the stormy conditions continue. they ask that drivers postpone travel plans as they wait for visibility to improve. the day after christmas is one of the busiest travel days of the year at airports across the country, reportedly hundreds of flights

southeast, the most ever in the u.s. on christmas day. years of drought in texas made the dry trees vulnerable to high winds. in arkansas, more than a foot of snow made for a rare day of sledding. more than 200,000 people have no power in the south. as the storm heads east, heavy rain is flooding parts of south carolina, blowing snow causing white-out conditions in indiana and ohio. and blizzard warnings are posted as far north as maine. this storm is wrecking travel plans. more than 900 flights have been canceled across the u.s., with more expected in the next couple of days. here at reagan national airport, freezing rain is delaying some flights. but many passengers are stuck because of snow at their destinations. >> a cancellation? >> reporter: dorian friedman and her daughter were going to lansing, michigan. >> i had a bad feeling on the way here and said, i don't see any planes taking off or landing. so we weren't surprised. but it's a little frustrating. >> reporter: this storm is now bringing snow, freezing rain and high winds to the east coast. forecasts are calling for yet another winter storm to hi

texas, to new england. severe weather is expect in the southeast.system could bring tornados to southern states. the national weather service said the winds could be 70 to 80 miles per hour in alabama, southern tennessee, and western georgia tonight. as for us, the rain is already hitting us. hi, annie. >> hi, darya. >>> yes, we have some rain here, stormtracker 4 shows us some moderate-to-heavy rain through san mateo where you see the yellow and this is a fast- moving system looking at some light rain towards concord and walnut creek and east of it in the yellow -- that's the warm water and rain falling. danville, san mara moan getting wet -- san leandro getting wet. but ling game, san mateo, pretty good rain at this hour. further south, into redwood city, palo alto, you're getting in on some of the action as well. here's the futurecast. the rain coming in sooner than the models first indicate and i think once we see all the rain getting through, you have to get ready for the cooler air. by 4:00, widespread rain and i think a lot of it will head to

today high temperatures not too bad across the southeast. 54 the high temperature in new york city and across texast too bad in the 70s. it is december supposed to be a little cooler out here than it has been for the last couple days. cold front headed eastbound and will be firing up showers. we are already seeing that across portions of new england and parts of mississippi and louisiana. heather, patti ann? >> thank you very much. it is december, right? >> it is time now to entertain this. the hollywood sign looking it's best after a major make-over. the biggest in 34 years. it's nine 50-foot tall letters were refurbished and given a fresh coat of paint in time for the 90th birthday. angelina jolie ready to quit acting? jolie says she is going to give it up when her kids hit the teens. she added while she is fortunate to have the job if it all went away tomorrow she would be very happy at home. he was once among hollywood's top office. >> the plans have been changed. not supposed to be any right angles on the building. now eddie murphy has the dubious honor of being crowned the most over made acto

and a couple of other spots and democrats at the central gulf coast and advisories at southeast coast hereof texast of fog, so the i-10 corridor problematic and that's the one, remember, just on thanksgiving day, 110 car pileup and a couple of fatalities and concerns across the northern plains and north dakota and montana and across the central plains and kansas, and be very careful as you're headed out on the roads across parts of the west where we've got the big storm, the next in the series of storms we've had, this will be the last potent one. another one for tuesday, where i think we'll see another three or four inches in a few spots and today, pretty heavy rin and the snow is extremely high. especially across california and more across the interior mountains and the northern rockies, parts of idaho and montana, for now, it's all of that rain across northern california, a little bit of rain across the great lakes, light in nature and not incredibly cold behind the storm, and however, it will keep things gray and groomy for the day around the great lakes and into the northeast, all right, guys

from new england all the way down to texas and into the southeast and gulf coast.nd, in fact, we have tornado watches up now from meridian down to morgan city until 10:00 am central standard time. there's a risk of strong storms from meridian down to chattanooga. rainfall amounts, aside from the threat of tornadoes, 3 to 5" of rain from meridian up to chattanooga. that's what's going on around the the country. first we're going to take a look at your local news. >> good morning. we will start out with some thick fog. a cold front will move through this afternoon. >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >>> al, thank you very much. in your search for holiday deals, have you noticed that prices are falling fast at the gas pump? they're supposed to keep dropping. nbc's tom costello is in bethesda, maryland, with this. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, matt. good morning. we're talking about big price drops. we've seen ten cents a gallon drop on regular unleaded in a month. they're talking about another 10 to 15, even 20 cents a gallon by christmas. that mean

it's just warm temperatures that got everyone's attention, even the southeast today in the 70s, texasn the 70s and another rainstorm for the west coast. and by the way, this is it for the east coast, tomorrow's cold front goes through, slightly cooler, but it won't be cold. no cold air in sight, no snowstorms in sight all the way through the upcoming weekend, incredible, that'll take us into the middle of december without feeling like winter. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. music is a universal language. but when i was in an accident... i was worried the health care system spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. information on my phone. connection to doctors who get where i'm from. and tools to estimate what my care may cost. so i never missed a beat. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. sharable data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. ge

southeast, the most ever in the u.s. on christmas day. years of drought in texas made the dry trees vulnerable to high winds. in arkansas, more than a foot of snow made for a rare day of sledding. more than 200,000 people have no power in the south. as the storm heads east, heavy rain is flooding parts of south carolina, blowing snow causing white-out conditions in indiana and ohio. and blizzard warnings are posted as far north as maine. this storm is wrecking travel plans. more than 900 flights have been canceled across the u.s., with more expected in the next couple of days. here at reagan national airport, freezing rain is delaying some flights. but many passengers are stuck because of snow at their destinations. >> a cancellation? >> reporter: dorian friedman and her daughter were going to lansing, michigan. >> i had a bad feeling on the way here and said, i don't see any planes taking off or landing. so we weren't surprised. but it's a little frustrating. >> reporter: this storm is now bringing snow, freezing rain and high winds to the east coast. forecasts are calling for yet another winter storm to hi

across the southeast, we could be talking about a widespread severe weather outbreak and maybe numerous tornadoes nebras anywhere you see red from the eastern part of texas, mississippi, and georgia. on the good side we may see snow here. but on wednesday it moves to the great lakes where we could see over a foot of snow and wind gusts. obviously this is a very big travel week. >>> now, to the debate over gun control. the national rifle association says the best way to prevent school shootings like the one in newtown, connecticut, is to put an armed police officer in every school. tara mergener with more. good morning. >> good morning. it's a controversial idea in the middle of an already emotional and heated debate now raging across the country. they marched across the brooklyn bridge asking for new gun control laws. there were demonstrations outside a gun shop in a washington, d.c., suburb. >> to allow these guns for no other purpose than to murder and slautder innocent people and children is insane. >> it's made it one of the hottest selling items of this christmas. >> two weeks ago you could have bought one gun for, you know, $1,400. now it's $2500,

the states hit hardest so far are in the southeast -- alabama, louisiana, mississippi, tennessee and texass, activity is increasing and we might expect to see increase in activity here. we watch that closely and want everyone to be aware of that so they can take appropriate actions -- getting vaccinated and if you get sick, stay home from work. >> that was kai reed reporting. we're joined by gary cook, pharmacist at walgreen. thank you for coming in. are you seeing a rush of people who want the flu vaccine now? >> yes, in the last week or so, we have been seeing an increase in the number of patients coming in not only inquiring about the flu but also coming to get flu shots. >> what is your best advice to someone on the fence and beings i still get sick anyway. >> the best thing is not to wait. this is the time to get the flu shot. normally the flu generally peaks around january or february but as you said, on the c.d.c. is starting to notice a great upsurgence of flu illness at this time so we recommend people not wait and actually come into walgreens to get the flu shot. >> tell me about

texas up to new england. and severe weather is expected in the southeast. i'm ed payne reporting. >>> okay, we don't have any snow in the forecast but we have some rain. look at the doppler, come on@it's the holiday. >> some showers moving in throughout the day today. i think really picking up toward the middle of the day and the afternoon but hi-def doppler radar is seeing showers out there early on. at least in the north bay. it looks like that will be picking up outside. cool start to the day. a lot of clouds out this right now and well the temperatures 39 degrees in police officer more. it is 42 in -- live more. it is 42 in san jose and 46 in san francisco. by the afternoon probably very stormy outside. some heavy rainfall. maybe a couple inches of rain on the mountain tops of course. we've got to watch all the creeks for the possibility of some flooding. we'll have more coming up in a few minutes guys, back to you. >>> all right, thank you lawrence. time now is 5:11. the season for giving continues on the gridiron. >> the lucky fan who left this game w

about 34 twisters spawned across the southeast and heavy gusts stretching as far west as texas.ds of folks without power on christmas night last night. crews are scrambling to get power back to folks. parts of a severe system originated in texas and stretched east through parts of alabama, louisiana, mississippi and even northwest florida. roofs were blown off homes in mobile. really the biggest city to be hit by numerous rare winter twisters as well as powerful straight line winds. forecasters say there could have been as many 19 reported tornados that ripped through that area alone. so many folks tell us they're really shocked by the damage. >> it was a lot worse than i ever thought it would ever be, you know. it's, but it's amazing how this community, we have pulled together. they have helped me pick up the pieces and clean up. >> now trees and power lines remain down this morning. people having to sort through the debris on the roadway as these stormy conditions really continue. so officials from those impacted states are asking drivers to postpone any travel plans today. to

across the southeast, we could be talking about a widespread severe weather outbreak and maybe numerous tornadoes anywhere you see the red here from the eastern parts of texasmississippi, alabama and georgia. and on the north side of the system, both good news and bad news, we may see a very white christmas in parts of oklahoma arkansas and missouri. but on wednesday it moves to the ohio valley great lakes, and interior portions of the northeast with over a foot of snow and wind gusts. obviously this is a very big travel week. i'm meteorologist jeff beardelli for cbs news in miami. >>> now, to the debate over gun control. the national rifle association says the best way to prevent school shootings like the one in newtown, connecticut, is to put an armed police officer in every school. tara mergener's in washington with more. tara, good morning. >> good morning, duarte. the nra says guns and police will help stop the next killer already waiting in the wings. it's a controversial idea in the middle of an already emotional and heated debate now raging across the country. hundreds of protesters march aid cross the brooklyn bridge asking for new gun control laws

southeast and pack winds up to 70 miles-per-hour. already there are reports of twisters touching down in texas and louisiana, and forecasters are warning could be more. that same storm dumping snow throughout the plains states, airlines cancelling flights nationwide and the storm is taking aimty midwest. blizzard warningings in effect in missouri, illinois,, be careful. worshiper in bethlehem waited in long lines for a glimpse of the got to where tradition holds jesus was born. one service was so crowded they broadcast the soft to faithful who could not get inside >> and man of our troops are celebrating christmas thousands of miles from home but they're not forgotten. troops in afghan -- afghanistan had a traditional meal, and then soldiers raced for a charity one. and a world war ii hero who went ton act in more than 100 movies is doing. youle probably recognize charles durney. he was one of hollywood's top character actors, probably best remembered in tootsie and sting. he died today in new york city, he was 89 years old. i will send you back to the birth of jesus. merry crissments >> welcome back to our special presentation. i am j

it's a scary process in the fact that these are areas that, you know, west texas is used to energy extraction, right? southeast pennsylvania is not necessarily used to it or upstate new york, right? you have this it industry coming in. i want to step through these different risks because i think there are risks and there's a mix of anecdotal fear and they're grounded reason to be skeptical about a lot of processes. let's sort of dive deep into that right after we take this break. how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve great rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. maybe you want to incorporate a business. or protect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like the help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney i

in the east and southeast, temperatures from 10 to 20 degrees above normal as you look at what we are expecting for the day today. we've got highs in the 70s and 80s from texasst to the southeast. 50s and 60s in the midatlantic. 40s in the pacific northwest. teens and 20s in the plains. we have a mess in the pacific northwest today. risk of strong storms in the southeast. wet up and down the seaboard. fog in washington, d.c. and snow in new england. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> we have fog in the region now. in fact visibilities are down to a quarter mile or less mainly in the rural areas. breaks in the clouds to the west with temperatures in the 30s. closer to washington in the mid and upper 40s. holding steady in the mid and upper 40s for a couple of hours. the fog will be gone this morning. then fog ending after midnight. sun back tomorrow. a gusty northwest winds. rain thursday into friday. >>> and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> al, thank you. >>> coming up next, the teachers who were inside sandy hook when the shooting began. they share their harrowing stories with matt after

texas, mississippi, alabama, and georgia. we may see numerous tornadoes. me of them may be on the strong side. we urge you to stay individual leapt if you're in the southeast. and what we also have going on on the northern side of this system is a lot of heavy snow. it's good news and bad news. the good news is white christmas like little rock and southern parts of st. louis. the bad news is this storm moves into the ohio valley, great lakes, and interior northeast on wednesday. some places are seeing over a foot of snow, and that's going to cause major travel problems as we head on into wednesday probably and thursday morning as well. jeff? >> thank you very much. >>> the debate over gun control continues after the national rifle association took questions for the first time since newtown. america's largest gun rights group says we don't need new laws. chip reid is in washington with that story. good morning. >> good morning, jeff. the national rifle association was silent in the days following the tragedy in newtown. now it's speaking out and reigniting an explosive debate over gun control. the nra says it will not budge from its long-time opposition to

otherwise the southeast looking good and across the plains we do have a lot of cloud cover, not much precipitation just for that fact right there across southern parts of the state of texas but we will need to watch this area closely because believe it or not this is the next developing storm system that as we head into tomorrow night, new year's eve we could be seeing area of rain and snow across portions of the mississippi valley so of course, we will keep you posted on that. otherwise first the exiting nor'easter across portions of the northeast still producing area of snow across eastern parts of the state of maine. a number of wind advisories in effect across portions of boston into the city of fail famous music. philadelphia now. could see gusts up to 40 miles an hour and travel delays as far as flight goes across the area here throughout the day today. otherwise the winds are going to make it feel a lot colder than what the thermometer reads across the northeast. the current windchill. 3 degrees in burlington. in the teens across parts of upstate new york and 22 right here in new york city. >> 3 degrees. is the difference between zero and three? pretty much feels

southeast. >> he, my god, we need to go. we need to hour arer hurry up t past here. >> it struck christmas night in texas, alabama and mississippi. a record 34 tornadoes touched down yesterday. they tore into buildings and knocked down power lines and not everyone was able to get to safety. >> i made it out there through the rain and after the tornado was over and it started jerking us and spinning us. >> oh, wow. oh, jesus, look at that tornado. >> at least two deaths are blamed on the storm. a state of emergency has been declared in mississippi because of the damage. and that winter storm system that pounded the nation's mid section is now headed toward the northeast. forecasters expect up to a foot and a half of snow through new york and new england over the next 24 hours or so as a mighty nor'easter bears down. the powerful storm left a mess in the deep south as you saw including the tornado damage in alabama and record snowfall in arkansas. tens of thousands throughout the south and midwest still without power. more than 1400 flights canceled as of this evening and travelers are advised that it is delegate to get worse. the

today and talk about the potential for severe weather in eastern texas and aalong with that showers and thunderstorms through the southeastplains, and we have the heavy snow and wind but also a high severe potential risk here during christmas day from louisiana, mississippi, into alabama. the possibility of tornadoes, damaging wind gusts as well. make sure you have a way to get warnings. a lot of folks are busy this morning and not paying attention to the television. keep it on and if tunedf >> a wintry mix moving into the state. temperatures in the upper 30's to the low 40's. >> and remember, you can check your forecast 24/7 at weather.com. willie, back to you. >> thanks very much. >>> coming up next, the special story brought to us by ann curry about a remarkable group of women that answered the call when the country needed them most. first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> back now at 8:35 with a group of women who went above and beyond to keep this country safe. between 1939 and 1945, factories were filled with women. they built airplanes, ships, even tanks turning out more hardware than ever before. today some of those wo

remember we just had deadly tornados spawn across the southeast and we had strong winds and rain all the way to texasnd people are trying to get home after their holiday season and according to the national air traffic controllers association there is average of 25,000 commercial flights every day. that is just an average day but today that number is inflated not only because people are trying to get home for the holidays but a lot of people are heading to the malls to return their gifts and they're getting out and about. if you're traveling from cities such as atlanta, dallas, michigan, d.c., as far west as salt lake city you may spend time on the tarmac today. listen. >> i heard it is accumulating in raleigh this morning. so we're a little nervous but i think hopefully it will be okay. >> not really. but i did check to see how the weather was doing down south. >> reporter: now not everybody is taking planes today. in fact according to aaa around 84 million people drive to their holiday destinations over the christmas holiday but not today. travel on the roadways are also affected not only by the po

texas by sunday. and sunshine returns from the southeast to parts of the mid-atlantic but remaining cool.ill be snow-free. >>> around here today, is the day to get out. this weekend is going to be cold and cold enough for snow tomorrow. as a matter of fact, look for snow to start at about 2:00 a.m. or so tomorrow morning. our temperatures today, topping out at 41 to 44 degrees. it will be dry and again, until after midnight. snow will last up until about 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. d.c. area, south and east and ichltd-95 corridor, leesburg, middleburg, around >>> and that's a look at your weather. willie, back to you. >> maria, thank you. now to today's top clicks, where you get to vote for your favorite viral videos. our reigning champ, the ghostly elevator ride. yes, here it is again coming from a variety show in brazil. unsuspecting passengers get a scare when the lights flicker and when they come back on, a ghostly girl suddenly appears in the elevator. >> and she quickly disappears. >> how long has this been number one? >> weeks on end. >> it's a good video. >> three weeks, we're tol

southeast and meteorologist jeff berardelli of wfor has more. good morning, jeff. >> good morning, rebecca. already getting active out there, especially in parts of texas and louisiana. severe thunderstorm warnings are ongoing. the reason for it is right now we have a lot of energy in the atmosphere and what that's causing is the potential for a widespread severe weather outbreak. winds out of the southeast and winds out of the southwest and that causes spinning in the atmosphere or wind sheer. this is a powerful system. a lot of the thunderstorms are going to become rotating super cell thunderstorms. we expect probably a lot of tornadoes and some of them could be on the strong side during the day today. >> all right, jeff, merry christmas. thanks so much. >>> christians around the world are celebrating the birth of jesus. pope benedict delivered his annual christmas day message talking about what he called the slaughter in syria. earlier he talked about the need for god in a technology-driven world. and crowds packed manger square in bethlehem. >>> authorities in western new york still don't know why an ex-con set fire to his house and then shot firef

texas. bonnie, how bad will this be today? >> it's gog to be bad. a lot of people traveling. dealing with thunderstorms across the southeast.tning strikes, rolling into the panhandle of florida and it will impact areas of jacksonville later on today, so that's something to keep in mind as well. take a look at current temperatures, definitely cold enough for cold to stick across a good portion of missouri and the foothills. temperatures above freezing to the east. this is a storm system that will continue to bring problems as we go through a good portion of the afternoon for today. keep that in mind if you are traveling. blizzard conditions are anticipated in the forecast through the boot hill of missouri to paducah, kentucky and carbondale, illinois. the system setting up to be problematic as it all advances to the east and that's something we're monitoring here. we'll bring you the latest on watches and warnings as they come in. >>> other top stories, brand new information about the christmas eve ambush that left two volunteer firefighters dead in upstate new york. 62-year-old william spengler, the man who set fire to his

down to the southeast, we have just tons of sunshine and very warm temps. temps well above average all across the area into texas in tulsa. those temps should be into the low 60's this time of year a number of days of temps all above average eastern two thirds of the country. enjoy it today is the beginning of meteorological winter. december 1. so most of the country starts to winter like conditions starting from now and not going to be the case. >> not to be a nerd here i'm a fan of this, rick. meteorological winter starts on the 1. 21st why the difference. >> astronomical. based off the seasons where the sun angle is the amount of or heat or cold that is in our atmosphere is how we determine meteorological winter those start at the first of the month and goes until the end of february. >> is he one smart cookie. it's december so you can eat a lot of cookies, thanks, rick are. talk about this because it is christmas time and of course everyone is getting up their displays. have you put up the lights on scenes around your house? i got out the lights and started putting on the christmas tree. now there is, of cou

southeast of el paso. here is $110 billion for this stupid bridge into mexico, in the most remote part of texas.t will never be used by americans, and mexico have said they deemed it too dangerous, driving right into the heart of cartel country. it is stuff like that that goes on and on, and you could do that with every congress. host: charles clark, thoughts on that? guest: the war on drugs is nowhere near as successful as anybody hoped it would be, and a lot of money that has been spent on it, people feel it has not produced results, but i suppose they have to keep trying, and i would say the same thing about border protection. they have abandoned the plan for the electronic fence across the border, but they have reduced the number of illegal crossings, so there is progress there. host: in our list of examples of cuts that could happen under sequestration, customs and border control looking at some of the $12 million less to spend. -- looking at $712 million less to spend. they're trying to come to a grand bargain deal to avoid these cuts and, with a bigger deal. on that point, we have been tr

southeast of el paso. here is $110 billion for this stupid bridge into mexico, in the most remote part of texas. it will never be used by americans, and mexico have said they deemed it too dangerous, driving right into the heart of cartel country. it is stuff like that that goes on and on, and you could do that with every congress. host: charles clark, thoughts on that? guest: the war on drugs is nowhere near as successful as anybody hoped it would be, and a lot of money that has been spent on it, people feel it has not produced results, but i suppose they have to keep trying, and i would say the same thing about border protection. they have abandoned the plan for the electronic fence across the border, but they have reduced the number of illegal crossings, so there is progress there. host: in our list of examples of cuts that could happen under sequestration, customs and border control looking at some of the $12 million less to spend. -- looking at $712 million less to spend. they're trying to come to a grand bargain deal to avoid these cuts and, with a bigger deal. on that point, we have been

the southeast and new orleans, a shot, a thunderstorm, new york city, unsettled and some of it could be coming down in the form of snow, snow showers early in the morning and westbound, amarillo, texases a messy day. 29° and cold, clouds and possibly snow. >> gregg: what about the north pole? will santa get out -- >> 100% chance of snow. >> gregg: 100% chance of snow. with rudolph leading the sleigh, as lon as you can get by the abominable snowman... >> he has it covered. >> gregg: get on, now, check that out. thanks very much. >> by, gregg. >> santa and his helpful elf, maria. a man is reunited with anxious relatives just in time for christmas. john hammer spent months in a notorious mexican prison after being arrested for bringing an antique stanley shotgun across the border from the u.s., but, late last night, hammer was finally released. just days after his tearful mother lamented that her son would likely not be home for the holidays. and, dominic denatali has more on the story. >> reporter: heather, 36 hours ago it looked like he was going to languish for many more months in his jail cell, the mexicans, however, surprised absolutely everybody and released him on friday, and, h

southeast. but in the nation's midsection, snow showers may pop up into the northern plains. central plains. but still very quiet in texast, here you go, portland some scattered showers, early. then partly cloudy and very quiet from san francisco southward into l.a. san diego, some rain layer early, giving way to sunshine into the afternoon. back to you guys. >> okay. thank you, reynolds. appreciate that very much. let's get back to our guest host john kanas. talk about banking. a lot of regulations that are supposed to go into effect that kind of haven't yet. what's the biggest that you think is going to have the biggest impact 2013? >> a number of things. the cfpb is yet to come out with the definitions of qualifying mortgages. which is -- >> consumer protection? >> consumer protection. it measures the ability to pay for mortgagees. that has the -- that has the potential to become a serious impediment in the mortgage -- >> when will that happen? >> we're not sure. it's all part of the dodd-frank. it should have happened. >> there's something like 200-plus regulations that are still not on the books yet. >> something li

southeast, the plains and midwest, not looking at precipitation ongoing and a quiet weather start to your day. out west across portions of western texasnd also down into parts of the south as we head into new year's eve and we'll monitor that for you, otherwise, a closer shot of that snow across eastern maine and lake effect snow showers, nothing too significant here off the lakes, talking between one to three inches of snow and we're not expecting too much snow off the lakes, otherwise current temperatures, a cold morning in minneapolis, 15 in chicago and the teens as well and rapid city and denver. across the northeast, it feels colder today not so much of the temperatures, new york city reading at 30 degrees, so factor in the wind and the wind chill temperatures are much colder and 24 in new york city and 6 degrees in burlington and 9 in buffalo. looking at wind gusts to 40 or even 50 miles per hour, anywhere from new york city up through boston so we could even be seeing some delays. otherwise you guys, midnight the east coast looks dry and rain across tennessee. >> juliet: we don't like that. thank you very much my dear. let's ge

southeast, a cool start to the morning, there. but those what i was talking about beginning to form this afternoon in across areas of louisiana and mississippi. a very nice day today in texas the northern plains, a very cold day, only single digit high temperatures into the north and across the west, we have been talking for days and days, about the rain and the snow. and it continues, although it does get better tomorrow. all right, back to you inside. >> all right, rick. you'll enjoy the talking point, rick. you sort of fed into it. and rasmussen just did a poll, whether or not americans find christmas and holiday season joyous or stressful. we're happy to report that more people, 46% do find it joyous, but it's almost evenly divided with people who find it stressful. 42%. >> kelly: those who find it stressful are those who are not bah humbug, i'm late, i'm late i can't get out there. >> alisyn: like rick. >> kelly: or like clayton. >> clayton: and we went to the mall and the santa pictures and waited a week to get my son ready for it, tearful and worried about santa and built it up for a week and shed a tear and then fine, but it was so crowded and my wife almost said s