Transcripts For KGAN CBS2 This Morning Early Edition 20151225

Theres no White Christmas for us in the corridor today, but just a couple hours west of us. It is a light snow fell across parts of central and northeast iowa thursday, just in time for christmas. But even though it wasnt a whole lot, it did impact holiday travelers. Parts of interstate 35 near des moines had to be shut down for parts of the day. And yesterday in cedar rapids several areas were in cleanup mode. Thunderstorms wednesday night brought strong winds that knocked trees down at a farm on the north side of town. Nobody was hurt but a nearby home did have some roof damage. In a cbs 2 news follow up. Up. The National Weather service now says two tornadoes touched down near the quad cities. Cities. They were part of that same system that moved through the corridor wednesday. One of the twisters was rated an ef one with winds of about 100 miles per hour. Again, nobody was hurt, but some small buildings were damaged. The death toll has risen after strong storms and tornadoes slammed parts of the south. South. At least 11 people are mississippi, and tennessee. At least 14 twisters hit mississippi wednesday, but most of the damage was done by just one. Hundreds of families in the region are now with out homes. State of emergencies are now in effect for several states. More rain is expected today for much of the south, including georgia and alabama who are dealing with flooding. New this morning. Morning. At least two tornadoes were also reported yesterday in central and northern california. One tornado did touch down near the sacramento area and traveled an estimated eight miles. Right now the National Weather service is assessing damage from another possible twister in modesto. The storms damaged homes and other buildings in both areas. No injuries have been reported. A fatal officer involved shooting at a mall is now being investigated in charlotte, north carolina. Carolina. It happened early thursday afternoon. Authorities believe it all started when an altercation between two groups escalated. An 18yearold suspect fired a gun, prompting a reaction from an offduty suspect pointed a gun at the officer and the officer shot the suspect. The suspect died at the scene. Very terrified, and i was pushing him in the stroller and hes in the front, you know, and im thinking, get him out the way, just get out the way. way. the officer who shot the suspect is on paid leave while internal affairs investigates. A hit and run that killed a corridor woman is still being investigated in ames. Ames. Emmalee jacobs of urbana died last monday morning after she was hit at an intersection just south of the iowa state campus. There were no witnesses. The only Surveillance Video of jacobs is of her leaving her dorm moments before she was hit. According to the des moines register, investigators have gotten 30tips since jacobs death. A driver has not come forward. In the race for the white house. House. A pair of president ial candidates will Begin Next Week in eastern iowa. Iowa. On monday new Jersey Governor Chris Christie will make a couple stops. The first will be in dubuque for a town day in davenport. On tueday the republican will be in the corridor. Christie will visit the hamburg inn down in iowa city and the fieldhouse in cedar rapids. Right now christie is in the middleof thepack in the gop race. Democrat Martin Omalley will also be in eastern iowa monday hell be making visits to waterloo and tama. The stops are a part of a four day tour of the Hawkeye State for the former marlyland governor. His first event in iowa is sunday in des moines. Omalley is in third among the three democrats running. All three Democratic Candidates are experessing their disaproval of a federal agencys move to deport hundreds of illegal immigrants. Immigrants. The Washington Post reports Homeland Security is preparing a largescale effort to quickly deport families that illegally entered the us since 2014. The raids will target adults and children already ordered to leave. Thursday, hillary clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin Omalley all condemned the move. They say it unfairly targets families who were trying to escape brutal violence in central america. It was a packed house last liberty. 15hundred people attended three Christmas Services at Grace Community church. And as cbs 2 News Reporter Mellaney Moore explains, explains,church leaders hope people will come back, even after the holidays are over. Over. For some, coming to church is a way to start their christmas celebration. Celebration. 01 51 14 we are committed to the lord jesus. This is his birthday, it is all about that. At Grace Community church, staff say christmas is part of what its all about. About. Church executive pastor 20 14 47 we hear the message of the baby jesus and people can think thats all good and cute, but the reality is, when jesus came to earth it was a rescue mission. When he came it was really the start of him coming back to bring us back into right relationship. More than 1500 people attend the Non Denominational Church with locations in North Liberty and downtown iowa city. The church expects more people on holidays and with some regulars out of town, a Church Executive pastor 20 07 51 we are so glad theyre here. We just hope that they continue to be here then throughout the year as well and so thats definitely going to be part of our focus tonight. Hansen hopes the message is welcoming, authentic and communicates christ can make a difference in ones life. According to the pew research center, fewer americans are identifying as christians. Christians. 1 34 15 were an autonomous culture that doesnt really feel a need. Jesus said when he came that he preached good news to the poor and if you look at our country, were affluent. The Research Shows the decline is mainly attributed to decreases in protestants and catholics. Hansen says he has noticed fewer people identifying with a particular christian denomination, but still having a relationship with christ. Christ. Church executive pastor 20 14 21 i think theyre hungry for that authenticity and in a sense, it almost would seem that some of the denominational matters can be kind of superfluous to the main things that we need to be about. About. 01 53 58 jesus came to earth as the king and this is his kingdom, but we all want to be our own king. Covering the corridor in North Liberty, Mellaney Moore cbs 2 news. Christmas came early for senior veterans in the corridor. Home instead senior care celebrated its be a more than seven hundred seniors got presents throughout the week. Its the first year home instead has partnered with linn county veterans affairs. Other veterans volunteered to be santa to deliver the gifts. A lot of these veterans have to rely on somebody to step forward to m,ake their christmas a little more enjoyable. Enjoyable. Home instead senior care plans to expand the program even more for next year. And take a look at this. This. Its a house, right here in iowa, that would make Clark Griswald jealous. James peachee of davenportput up 36 Thousand Lights on his house all synced to music. He says it takes him five to tenhours a day for three weeks to put it all together. People come from all over just to see it. And get this peachee says the whole thing only raises his electric bill by about 50 dollars during its after the break. Break. A new officer has joined a Pennsylvania Police Department Just for the holidays. How this stuffed guy is conducting theres a new member of a Pennsylvania Police force this christmas. But hes not your ordinary officer. Officer. Melissa nardo shows us how hes making sure whos naughty and whos nice. Nice. Sworn in to protect and serve. The elf on the shelf is the eyes and ears of santa claus, watching to see whos naughty and whos nice. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department as you may or may not know he goes back to the north pole every night. However this elf, is taking on a little more this holiday season. Sarge is the newest officer sworn in to the west Manheim Township Police Department. The stuffed officer is taking his oath very seriously, conducting official police investigations. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department he is captured photos of the itemized pieces of evidence. Testing out his skills as a sketch artist. sgt. Toby wildasin west department he made use of our leg shackles for that. And even getting into a little trouble. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department im able to capture a photo of him when i come in each day at work. Sgt. Toby wildason makes sure to document his every move on the departments facebook page. Sarge is quickly making friends. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department its been an overwhelming response. Its kind of made it enjoyable. Ive actually gotten a lot of good comments on our social media. One of his followers even writing a letter. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department she said what a difference it makes, its a great concept and were sure it is reaching our great town of hanover. Its special that one person, or elf, can make such a big difference in life. His fellow officers say hes doing a great job at connecting with the community. Showing a different side of law enforcement. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department the goal through the use of sarge our scout elf is to get followers that would maybe not otherwise like a Police Facebook page. And ultimately helping solve crime. sgt. Toby wildasin west Manheim Township Police Department and when we need the communities help in a situation, we already have that base of followers built up. After christmas hell be. But hell surely have a spot on the force next year. Its now on this morning. Morning. The hawks have landed. How theyre preparing for stanfords offense now that theyre in southern cal. Paris theres a lot to do on a dairy farm. Nobodys gonna do it for you. You have to get out there and do it yourself. Bernie sanders is a wellknown friend of family farms. Bernie cannot be bought out by big money. Bernies opinion cannot be purchased. Its time for our next president to get in there, roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, and get the working class back to where they should be. Hes a rock. Sanders im Bernie Sanders and i approve this message. Welcome back its now were taking a look at your your heres a look at some of eastern iowas top stories on this morning. Against iowas Largest Health insurance provider. The court says wellmark blue cross and blue shield improperly refused to pay claims for lifesaving drugs for patients with hemophilia. The court said wellmark looked for reasons to deny millions of dollars in claims. A judge will now figure out how much the company will have to reimburse the iowa city pharmacist who filed the lawsuit. Wellmark plans to appeal. Were just a week away from when the hawkeyes take on stanford in the rose bowl. Be sure to tune in to cbs 2 all next week for special reports from our own zach hanley and kevin barry. And dont miss our 30minute special which will air new years eve at 6 30 right here on cbs 2. It will air again new years day morning at 730 on our sister station, fox 28. Santa not the only one burning the midnight oil this week, as the uni panthers played past night albeit in hawaii. Panthers, cougars. Wes washpun doing washpun things oh my im sorry one more time. Merry christmas. And happy new year wes would exit the game shortly there after with an injury. But back in time to dish this one round the arc til it goes to Jeremy Morgan fourteen points for the iowa city west grad as the panthers retake the lead this one backandforth, we jumpppp to the second, Paul Jesperson with the jumper. Paced uni with eighteen. Washpun back to doing washpun things, collects the rebound, finds jesperson. Ice. Cold. Frosty. The snowman. Panthers loving it they win 6359. The iowa hawkeyes arrived in pasadena for the 2015 rose bowl today. Facing a heralded stanford offense. And the hawks expecting a battle of the ground game next week. Michigan state with their run game, wisconsin two teams that are just like stanford they like to run the ball and try to beat you up in the trenches so its gonna be a great game. Game. The thing about them is. In short yardage situations theyre really good at it. They come off the ball really low and its not like theyre making a hole its really just that theyre building a wall and pushing you with their leverage. They know what they wanna do and theyre just a really efficient, wellrounded offense. Do they know its christmas time at all . Popeyes bahamas bowl. First to middle tennessees richie james. Son of a nutcracker . 46 yards, blue raiders strike first. But story of the game big plays. End of the first quarter, zach terrell to corey davis, under the defender, through the coverage to the house he goes 80 yards to the endzone. First time all season in Division One Football both teams scored seventeen before thanks. Robert downey junior has been pardoned by the governor of california for a 1996 felony drug conviction. Conviction. He was just one of 91 people pardoned yesterday. Most of the pardons were for minor drug offenses in what has become an annual Christmas Eve tradition in the Governors Office. Office. Downey spent more than parole and nearly three years on probation following the conviction. Anyone convicted of a crime in california can apply for a pardon from the governor. Applicants must receive a court order declaring they are rehabilitated and show they have lived productive and law abiding lives following their conviction. The Governors Office says downey has paid his debt to society. Good morning again its now when we return. Return. What lastminute shoppers had to say as they rushed to get their Holiday Shopping done. Done. Youre watching cbs 2 right now on cbs 2 this morning. The rush corridor businesses saw as shoppers tried to beat out the final buzzer before christmas. How you can make sure a grinch doesnt steal your christmas while youre not at home. Five ways you can make sure everyone can enjoy their christmas meal even if they have Food Allergies. Merry christmas friends thank special morning. I hope your day today is a joyous one day today is a joyous one what weird weather weve been having lately. I know youre all wondering what today holds. Justin, what are we in for today . A person was found dead yesterday afternoon at a car wash in waterloo. Waterloo. The waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports the body was found around 230 at the kwik star gas station on west ninth street. Waterloo police do not believe foul play was involved. The persons name has not been released. We also dont know if they were a man or a woman. New this morning. Morning. The Linn County Sheriffs Office needs your help finding this man. Charlele hobert junior failed to return to the Linn County Jail yesterday following a Court Ordered furlough. Hobert was sentenced on wednesday after pleading guilty to a number of charges, including stalking and forgery. If you have any information as to where hobert might be, you are asked to call the linn county sheriff or the cedar rapids Police Department. A man has been arrested because Black Hawk County authorities, authorities,beleive he was preparing to deliver meth. Meth. La Porte City Police stopped jordan jones early thursday morning for a traffic violation. A k9 unit indicated drugs were in the vehicle. Police not only found also at his home. He faces numerous charges, including possession of methampetamine with intent to deliver. Black lives matter protesters continue their calls for justice. Justice. Several hundred activists disrupted last minute Holiday Shopping along chicagos magnificent mile yesterday. Theyre demanding mayor rahm emanuel resign following the Fatal Shooting of Laquan Mcdonald last year by officer jason van dyke. Van dyke has been charged with murder in the case. Emanuel has apologized for his response to the shooting. The hawkeyes have made it to pasadena and as thousands of fans get ready to join them there, con artists are trying to cashin. In. As cbs 2 news told you yesterday morning, Marion Police are on the lookout for someone in a white Hyundai Sonata with washington plates selling fake tickets to the rose bowl. If you are making a purchase from someone you met online, police want to remind you that their lobby and parking lot are safe zones for those transactions. They made the Space Available in march, after an incident in attacked while responding to a craigslist ad. Its finally Christmas Morning and many of you might be taking a deep breath after rushing around for last minute shopping. Cbs 2 News Reporter dora miller visited some busy stores yesterday and talked to some who felt the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Holidays. It happens every year. Last minute shoppers scrambling to their gifts. But wait everythings still open, its not that crowded here. Seems like a good time to shop, seems like a good time to shop. Doesnt seem to be any scrambling here. Here. Thought it would be a good time to get the shopping done and sales are still good so here we are. More like Strategic Planning go out, have a good time, have some coffee. Its really just the best time and then you get the best deals because everybodys trying to get rid of their stuff. And whats tinge of guilt or not. Not. Its a pattern of reckless behavior that needs to be stopped and i keep thinking i will, but it just happening. Honestly, just procrastination. I have not gotten mom anything yet, so i thought id get it before tomorrow obviously. Technology is a hotticket item this time of year. Year. Were looking for a camera on Christmas Eve. Eve. Were getting a new phone for my son. But so is this treat. Treat. Dark chocolate, people really like our dark chocolate. For stocking stuffers, apparently chocolate goes over well. Well. Food is one of the items thats hot to be giving at this time of year. And if christmas cheer doesnt come in the chocolate variety. The power of persuasion wont be too hard. Hard. She says i need something evil and so sicilian sea salt caramels are concentrated evil, so that should do the trick. All those gifts can be a tempting target for thieves this time of year. Home breakins happen a lot during the holidays. But there are ways you can protect yourself it starts when youre throwing away the boxes from all your new toys and gadgets. Bundle it that you keep the pictures on the inside so that the would be burglars cant see whether thats abox from a refrigerator that you got. That would be a great christmas present. Or whether it is a big screen tv. Sergeant hamblin says to lock your doors. Cedar rapids saw a spike in home burglaries in november and december. A lot of those cases happened at homes that were unlocked. And although it is so beautiful, police say putting your Christmas Tree by a window can be an invitation for thieves because they know there are most l lely presents under them. If you are traveling for the holidays, ask your neighbors to look after your home. We now have a cbs 2 consumer alert to tell you about. About. Fiat chrysler has issued a pair of recalls. Recalls. The first includes 350 thousand jeep grand cherokees model years 2011 and 2012 and some dodge durangos. Wires for the lights on the vanity mirrors can overheat leading to fires. The other recall involves nearly 60 thousand jeep compass and clamps. So far no injuries have been reported. If youre stll waiting for a christmas delivery, you may be in luck. Luck. Fedex is operating today in some markets, including cedar rapids. From nine am to one this afternoon, people will be able to pick up packages at the shipping center on beech way southwest. Fedex says todays openings are to make sure packages scheduled for delivery by christmas make it on time. The company also says some employees volunteered to work today. Today is not just about recieving gifts but its also a time to give back and mission of hope is doing just that. That. We now go live to cbs 2 News Reporter stephanie johnson. Johnson. Shes with mission of hope this morning. Stephanie, hows it going . Going . Merry christmas kelly, you are right mission of hope is all about giving back. Right now volunteers are prepping. Live in. Stephanie johnson live in. Stephanie johnson cbs 2 news. News. Thanks, stephanie as we get ready to enjoy our holiday meals, it can be stressful for those with Food Allergies. Allergies. A recent study from the centers for Disease Control says Food Allergies have jumped 50 percent between 1997 and 2011. Nearly six million children in the United States now have some form of food allergy. Experts say Just One Bite of an allergenic food can be lifethreatening. Cross contamination is an issue with some foods more than others. Even a small amount of allergenic food, if that gets in something unexpected it could potentially cause a reaction. Reaction. There are some ways you can be prepared for allergic reactions like this. This. First epinephrine is the only medicine for a serious allergic reaction, so have some of that on hand. If you dont have it handy, make sure a person with Food Allergies doesnt eat anything with unknown ingredients. Second, if you are the one who to the host and let them know about your allergy. Third pre pack a snack that way no one feels left out. Fourth, if youre the one with an allergy, play host yourself, then youll be in control of what food is made. And finally keep the original packages. That way anyone who needs to check the ingredients list, can. Its still to come. Come. The Salvation Army is used to getting little surprises in their red kettles, next, well tell you about a huge surprise one person left in california. The Salvation Army is used the Salvation Army is used to people dropping coins into their red kettles during the holidays. But this year, one bell ringer got a big surprise. Surprise. Christy y fajardo shows us what an anonymous donor gave to the campaign. Campaign. Thank you merry xmasin the 4 decades dot it goes back to the early 80s john shepard has been ringing a bell for the Salvation Army nats of bell he has seen plenty of money go into the kettle the check that went in this month in la canada sot 25 41i couldnt believe itthe donor who wants to remain anonymous slipped in a 5k thousand dollar check it was a record for shepard and for the glgldale chapter of the charity too sot 16 05i would say thank you and feellike it wasnt enoughthats because the chapter has tripled the number of families its serving in just the last two years sot we got gifts for 600 familiesit says the money went into the general fund and was used for after school programs, the food bank and christmas presents sot 18 00 we get to see the joy in the childs face when they get a gift the 5k donor never saw the joy her gift gave sot i have no idea who gave itshepard says when people write checks he turns away sot its private hes gratefulhe tells stories about the people who have walked by his kettle sot 24 41 i had an old fella from world war 1now he has a new tale about a generous donor who may never fully understand how much her gesture was appreciated but total strangers who stop by this bell are hearing her ory sot its and youre watching cbs 2 this morning. Morning. Up next in business news. Why it could soon be illegal to bet on Fantasy Sports in one of iowas nieghbors. U. S. Markets are closed today for christmas. On thursday wall street couldnt hold on to gains made earlier in the week gave up 50 points, while the s and p 500 lost three. The nasdaq, on the other hand, added 2 points. Hyatt hotels say hackers breached their computer system. System. The cyber thieves may have gotten customers credit card numbers and other sensitive information. Hyatt said the malware was discovered last month, but did not say why it waited three weeks to report the incident. Hyatt is the latest of several Major Hotel Chains to have been hacked this year. Both fanduel and draft kings are suing the illinois attorney general. General. A legal opinion issued this week declared Fantasy Sports betting as illegal gambling in that state. That means fanduel and draftkings will have to stop accepting wagers there. Fantasy sports are specifically defined as legal in federal law that prohibits other forms of online gambling. But states can rulate or ban those forms of betting. Handgun makercabot guns is making a pair of pistols from a meteorite as old as the earth itself. Itself. The gun set could sell dollars at auction next year. Cabot plans to forge the guns, tentatively called the big bang pistol set, from a 35 kilogram chunk of the gibeon meteorite. The meteorite crashed to earth four andahalf billion years ago and was discovered in namibia in the 1830s. Its on the next side of the break. How one mans early Christmas Gift is one that heres a look at some of eastern iowas top stories on this morning. If youre heading out on the road today, gas prices are going down gas buddy dot says the average price per gallon down sevencents from a week ago. Its also 12cents under the National Average of twobucks. In cedar rapids prices can be found for as low as a dollar72. If you get a new smart phone or tablet today, thats from u s celular. The care center in marion will help you set it up u. S. Cellulars Customer Care center on armar drive in marion will be open today from 6 am to ten pm. Common holiday calls are usually from people who get smartphones or tablets from christmas and theyll have reps there today to help you get it set up christmas ame a couple days early for one man in houston, texas. Mayra moreno explains why his gift was something most of us take for granted. Granted. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist to watch the expression on their face is just amazing. Its a career unlike any other for alicia taravella. For the last two years shes been a part of Miracleear Foundation. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist our primary goal is to make sure the help they need. Today, she began prepping these state oftheart hearing aids for david auer. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist wore hearing aids when he was younger and had them stolen from him so hes been without them for quite a while now. David has been living in a muted world. Mainly communicating through sign language. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist hi david are you ready . He was a little shy. And feeling under the weather. After a couple adjustments david finally heard our voices david auer, received free hearing aids happy. Thank you. But it wasnt until i played some classic rock nats. The room grew silent, and we stood by watching david truly enjoy what some of us may take for granted. david auer, received free hearing aids feel. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist off could feel the music and he wanted to dance. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist i have lots of patients that come in and we are able to help that way its a good feeling. A small gesture speaks volumes. alicia taravella, hearing instrument specialist high five, yes the Miracleear Foundation partners with donors to provide hearing aids and followup care for those who cant afford it. If youre just getting up, good morning its now still ahead. Ahead. What the democrats in the race for the white house are saying about an immigration measure from the department of Homeland Security. Youre watching cbs 2 this