the western u.s. this is the highlighted area. this for today for the potential of some severe thunderstorms as we head through this afternoon. we will watch that closely and keep an eye through the next couple of days on the big storm heading east. a lump of coal from him, but santa claus rally. santa claus is coming to wall street. futures pointing up after a fourth straight day of gains yesterday. the dow and s&p record closes. the dow jumped 150 points. the s&p with the 50th record high close. the highest number in a year since 1995. 4.4 million workers getting a new year's raise. 20 states and washington, d.c. will increase minimum wage. it raises the hourly rate for 11 states. the rest will have the minimum wage rise through inflation and bump up tied to inflation. the largest hike is south dakota