now with your storm track seven forecast. rain is tracking into the area this morning and will stick around all day and we may even the north.... temperatures just continued to go up overnight, so we are now in the mid 30s to the west. rain will continue to track through and then snow will mix by tonight. but today will highs will climb into the mid 40s to mid 50s. we have some snow for tonight, but a couple of other systems bring a chance of snow to the state... i'll the west. rain will continue to track through and then snow will mix by tonight. but today will be liquid with about an inch in some areas, especially if you hear some thunder. highs will climb into the mid 40s to mid 50s. we have some snow for tonight, but a couple of other systems bring a chance of snow to the storm track seven's amanda gilbert joins us live in black hawk county. and amanda -- people you talked to have some mixed feelings when i'm not seeing a lot of cars our right now. it's raining a little bit but... you should expect to see more cars on the roads these next few days. it's on of the busiest travel times of the year... driving is the most common form of travel for the holiday season.... and with the unusually warm december weather... plus low gas prices... it seems more people will be hitting the roads this year.... but there's some mixed opinions "i dont care whether we have a it's been hard to get in the christmas spirit with no snow. " kim actually told me she works at a company that plows and their trucks have only been out once this now traveling can still be stressful... in fact 41 percent of people consier decent holidays to be the most stressful according to trip advisor ... so some tips to make travel a little easier: download your favorite music to listen to... we've got you covered live in black hawk county, amanda gilbert, kwwl news. according to trip advisor... the top holiday attractions in the u-s are the magnificent mile in chicago... rockefeller center and the san antonio river walk. continuing coverage -- army sergeant bowe bergdahl rejects a plea deal. he is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy -- after his disappearrance in afghanistan in 2009. bergdahl walked off a base and was held by the taliban for five years -- before being released in 2014 in exchange for five detainees in guantanamo bay. this was his first appearance in front of a military judge. if convicted --he could face life in prison. doing their last minute shopping. a shooting at a mall. this happened in new york. police said a suspect entered a store that sold rolex and attempted to rob it. store security struggled with the suspect. a shot was fired -- a mall employee injured. despite the investigation, most of the mall stayed open... only the crime area, the crime scene is affected because it was robbery and it has been contained." the mall employee seriously injured. the suspect is in custody. concealed weapon permits from half the states in the country will no longer be recognized in virginia. the state's attorney general says those states do not have "virgigia law does not allow accepting the lower standards of other states, and i'm going to make sure the law is enforced." good news is -- iowa permits will still be recognized. the sister of sandra bland -- who was found dead in a texas jail are still possible. authorities say bland hung herself -- after being arrested followingnga minor traffic violation. her family has questioned the official finding. this week a grand jury declined to indict any county jail employees... "what happened to sandra, first of all, shouldn't have happened into the custody and care of law enforcement officials who usurp your decisions and your choices to be made for you, you then become their responsibility." the grand jury will reconvene in january, and could consider other indictments at that time. a woman dies at the hospital shortley after being arrested. her family says she went to the hospital complaining of stomach pains. police say she refused to leave -- so they came to the hospital to pick her uppand she was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing. after she was taken outside, she collapsed at the back door of the police cruiser... and then...then the guard tried to take the handcuffs off and and i told them yall done kill the woman was takk back inside where she died. a truck carrying more than two- thousand piglets overturns on its way to iowa. take a look at thh truck on its side in north carolina. animal control officers working to contain the piglets as crews put the truck back upright. authorities say some of the pigs were seriously injured in the now a follow-up to a story we firsrs brought a few weeks ago. liam young will spend christmas at home liam was taken to the hospital in october with what as thought to be the flu. he endndd up losing his fingers and toes. kwwl's brad hanson catches up with the family as they prepare for the holidays... nats what do you wanna watch? boof! boof? yeah! liam was originally taken to the hosital a few months ago, and evvntually (chris young, liam's father) "we didn't know if he was going to be here with us for chistmas this year." but he is. "things are going really well with him. they let him come home for the holidays, they lined up a nurse to come to the house if we need help with him. twist--but this one, so much better than the last. "it's one of the greatest things ever. i mean, it's almost just as good as they day he was born, if not better. it's awesome." and although the gifts given to liam may go unnoticed next to his ipad--the support is not going unnoticed by c cris and his family. "it's just been outstanding. today alone he got a couple of packages in the mail, some from green bay, lacrosse area. people that we don't even knw, have never even met, and theere sending him gifts and cards and it's awesome people out there that will do that...it's amazing." we have information on how you can support liam and his family on our website...k- w-w-l dot com. iowa's population is growing --but is still behind the national rate. new estimates show ioo's population grew point five percent this year. the national population grew point eight percent. among te states. after the 2010 census, iowa lost a seat in congress becaussthe ststte's popoulation grew more slowly than other states. new government data shows more babies were born in 2014 than 2013...the number of births up one percent. data also shows the birth rate for teens dropped nine-percent ... and reached a record low for women in their early 20's. decsion 2016... we're hearing from hillary clinton... after donald trump called her a liar. trump blames the media. still, his numbers are strong. but if he falls, ted cruz is waiting in the wings. tracie potts has the latest from washington. "it's important to stand up to bullies wherever they are and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the explicit references toobathroom break at ssturday night's debate and her 2008 failed presidential bid. tweeting that the "biased media" "incorrectly deffned" his words. cowards like trump to pick on trump with triple the support of number two ben carson. "some people have expressed concern that i would quite because my numbers have gone down, i'm not a quitter." but quinnipiac puts him just four points ahead of ted an awakening and spirit of revival sweeping this country." that quinnipiac poll found half the countrrwould be embarrassed for trump to be may not stick with the candidate they're currently supporting. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. trump tweeted overnight -- the media's blowing this out of proportion. at a rally last night, hillary clinton called some of what's coming from the republican side "mean-spirited." a different view of a holiday display in eastern iowa -- video from a drone. it's the "helping services for northeast iowa drive through lights display" in decorah. the display benefits helpiig services for north-east iowa. the organization provides parenting and mentoring programs, substance abuse prevention programs, and domestic violence services for clients in northeast iowa. its still to come... we just showed you how drones can give us a new perspective -- but this skiier probably wishes someone kept their drone off the course. plus -- 'll check ouu these high winds and the problems they're causing. "you're watching kwwl, we've got you covered! with jerry gallagher, ally crutcher and meteorologist eileen loan. forecast on kwwl." from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team. see the screen for your complete weather information. here is additional forecast informmion from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather rain will track through oday and we may hear thunder. snow will mix in tonight and may linger into thursday before drying out for christmaa day. rain is tracking through on stormtrack7 live doppler radar and we have some rain showing up on some of our stormtrack7 live weather network cameras already. and it is mild... temps are in the mid 30s to mid 40s already this morning (actually, we have been climbing since yesterday morning) with low 30s to the northwest. easterly winds will turn more to the west today, but until then we will have plenty of moisture streaming in as low pressure tracks northeastward. this is pulling a lot of moisture into the area and we will keep the chances of rain all day and could hear thunder. snow could mix in this evening and into the overnight with a few snow see much snow accumulation, but we could end up with qui a bit of rain... most of us with half inch to one inch amounts and could see more, especially if you get under a couple of heavy rain producers and/or hear thunder. rain will continue today with highs in the mid 40s to mid 50s as the winds turn to the west. breezy conditions tonight with light rain and snow showers tracking through. lows dropping into the mid 20s to low 30s could cause wet surfaces to freeze and become mild for thursday with a few snow showers tracking through. christmas day will be mainly dry and mild with highs in the low 40s. the next system tracks in friday night sunday night inn monday with with strong winds.... this is the scene in california -- winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. ripping up roofs, knocking over semis. no injuries were reported. a skier is heading downhill and is nearly hit by a drone. this man -- a f fur time worll cup champ. as he's heading down the mountain -- a drone comes flying out of the sky -- just missing him by a matter of seconds. he says he was so focused on his run -- he didn't even find out about the crash until he made it geologists and engineers are trying to figure ouou how to stop this house from sliding into a lake. the family wasn't there when the home in the ozarks started sliding...the only one in the neighborhood that appears to be dropping into the water... "but at this point we don't reaaly know what it is we can do house." about 32-inches from its garage wall its still to come... from mass shootings to deflategate...a look at some of the top stories of the year. plus...the stories we love to tell. a military surprise at an iowa school. you're watching kwwl. we've got you covered in brandon, sutliff, wyoming and all of eastern iowa more mass shootitigs.... and hey! this holiday, u.s. cellular's giving you 15 gigs of data for justst70! but i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] you're getting data. pony-sized data? u.s. cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. i'd like $100! you're getting $400 in promo cards! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just $70. plus $400 in promo cardsds on average, it takes three hundred americans working for a solid year, to make as much money as one top ceo. it's called the wage gap. and the republicans will make it worse by lowering taxes for those at the top and letting corporationsnsrite their own rules. hillary clinton will work to close the wage gap. equal pay for women to raise incomes for families, lower taxes for the middle class. she gets the job done for us. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. more scandal. 20-15 seems like a year of mary moloneylooks at the national stories that made this was a ttagically recurring scene during 20-15. crowds fleeing another to a college campus in bernardino that authorities say may have been inspired by isis. president obama called it an act of terrorism. (president obama): "the threat from terrorism is real. but we will overcome it." in roanoke... two journalists were killed when a gunman opened fire during their live report. national debate over the confederate flag. the palmetto state voted to remove the flag from the state capitol for the first time in 54 years. racial tensions were not confined to charleston with happening in cities across tt country protesters were outraged by the police killings of unarmed black men like freddie gray, jamar clark and walter scott. june saw two historic decisions from the supreme court of the united states. in a 6-3 split the court marry nationwide. (nats) while many cheered the 5-4 ruling somesharply disagreed. in a small kentucky announced she'd had a prrvate meetinggith pope francis during and washington d-c making history as the first pope to address congress. (pope francis): "god bless america." a report from congress accused japanese auto parts manufactuuer takata of putting profits ahead of safety. takata disputed the report's conclusion saying it had a number of "inaccuracies" but the airbags resulted in a huge rocked the sports world in tsarnaev and aurora theater shooter james holmes were convicted in highly publicized as they faced justice 2 inmates fled from it in upstate new york. the prisooescape led to a weeks long manhunt that ended behind bars. i'm mary moloney reporting. coming up tomorrow-- a look at some of the top political stories of the year. its coming up... a big surprise for two little girls in iowa this holiday season... eileen loan is b paris: there's a lot to do on a dairy farm. nobody's gonna do it for you. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known friend of family farms. bernie cannot be bought out by big money. bernie's opinion cannot be purchased. roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock. meteorologist eileen loan is back with another check of your storm track seven forecast. rain is likely today with some thunder. most seeing half to an mixes with then changes to snow before tapering off on thursday. into the weekend. we have a second system friday night into combination of both depending on the track of the low. military post and surprises his daughters. during a school assembly in west des moines -- the students are singing. and when they mention the military...a surprise for two of we celebrate our military... school, that was good, that ww exciting> by the way...in that song...students were singing through. plus -- we're continuing to follow-up on the sudden death of and...what's that you see in the sky? even the experts aren't sure! good morning, i'm ally crutcher. jery's off. storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan is here now with your storm track seven forecast. rain is tracking into the area thth morning and will stick around all day and we may en have some thunderstorms track through. we also still have some areas of fog in the north.... temperatures just continued to go up overnight, so we are now in the mid 30s to the mid 40s with the winds turning more to the east, continue to track through and then snow will mix by tonight. but today will be liquid with about an inch in climb into the mid 40s to mid 50s. we have some snow for tonight, but a couple of that forecast in a few storm track seven's amanda gilblbrt joins us ive in black hawk county. and amanda -- no snow now, you've got your umbrella! according to trip advisor...33 percent of people will be traveling for the christmas holiday.... and 56 percent of those traveling plan on driving... we have not been seeing a lot of this (snow).... and we have been seng a lot of signs like this (low price $ sign) very unusual to some... "ive been here for almost 70 with christmas around the corner it's a nice sight to see.... "yeah te kids will be coming home...." "last year i had to get through "i does make a difference not having to worry about the snow with them traveling distance because we got some om colorado. " " according to trip advisor.... 41 percent of people say december holidays are the weather... but not this year.... been hard to get in the christmas spirit with now snow." christmas... "as they said on boots.s. "becuassit's gonna be rainy and stuff." some other interesting facts from trip advisor.... travelers is white christmas... and the three most visited york.. and the san antonio river walk in texass gilbert, kwwl news. some tips to make your holiday travel less stressful.... travel during off- peak hours and load your favorite music on to your smart phone or tablet. new this morning...the autopsy is complete and funeral services have been set for an iowa wrwrstler who died d ver the weekend. austin roberts collapsed during a meet, yesterday the state medical examiner did an autopsy -- but results are pending. visitation is sunday and his funeral will be monday, both at the spencer high school gym. we're learning more about six american soldiers who died during a suicide bomb attack. one has ties to eastern iowa. 45-year-old jospeh lemm grew up in dubuque county. detective lemm was with the n-y-p-d for 15 years --serving andrew spencer introduces us to staff sergeant peter taub, the father of a via skype a few weeks ago but didn't even know where he was. "i had no idea until yesterday. i thought he was in saudi arabia." he says his son didn't want him to worry. "he seemed to be in pretty good spirits. i think he was a little melancholy, because he wasn't home for the holidays and missing his family." taub and five other american oldiers died in a suicide bombing outside the bagram air base in afghanistan on monday. among them: major fought for years against the and a soo. the family of staff sergeant louis bonacasa says he was wanted to do. he was a real mcbride, a former high school athlete from a small town in georgia... "he had great compassion for others and he wanted d do well." ...and a detective with the n-y-p-d, national guard tech sergeant joseph lemm, who leaves behind a wife and two children. i'm andrew spencer, kwwl news the sixth victim of the attack was staff sergeant michael cinco. the 28-year-old lived in mercedes, texas -- a small town near the mexican border. a woman who police say deliberately drove her cr onto las vegas sidewalks killing one person and injuring dozens is scheduled to appear in court. lakeisha holloway being held without bail until this morning's hearing. she's with one count of murder and child abuse. accused colorado planned parenthood shooter robert dear also heads to court today dear faces more than one hundred felony charges related to the shooting and stand off police say he orchestrated the day after thanksgiving. it killed three people including one police officer. in a previous court appearance dear admitted his guilt...saying he was a waior for the baaes. the man who lent his gun to the boston marathon bombers is free. yesterday he was sentenced to time already served -- he spent months in jail he claims he loaned the gun to dzhokhar tsarnaev two months before the bombing. prosecutors say tsarnaev and his brother used that gun to@kill a "i said i had no idea what tsarnaevs intntnded to do withh for that." he pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges last year. but he also cooperated with investigators. its being called black holiday city's mayyr to resign. . they want chicagoans to come together on christmas eve... to demand the resignation of mayor rahm emanuel and the county ate's attorney. in minneapolis...the black lives matter movement wants to protest inside the mall of america today. private property and does have the right to have protestors arrested, protestors today could be charged with trespassing... message to not only the three organizers but to all potential demonstrators it's against the law and there will be consequences if you come and break the law" more than one thousand demonstrators flooded the mall last year during the height of the michael brown and eric garner incidents. marriage licenses in kentucky will no longer show the names of county clerks. the governor announcing he wants to honor the religious beliefs of all kentuckians. this comes after kim davis refused to issue licenses to same-sex couples. documents would violate her christian beliefs. continuing coverage...it's official. roundabouts are coming to university avenue in cedar falls. they'll all go in near college square mall. other changes coming to university avenue -- some storm and sanitary sewer replacements. this continues to be a debated sue in the city... "it's no longer a state highway- according to the existing traffic and anticipated traffic in the coming years so i think we've got the right design." here's a look at a round-about in cedar falls...the council believes they'll make universiy avenue safer, the traffic flow easierr and drivers won't have to sit at all those red lights anymore. decision 2016 coverage -- high school students' hard work pays off. hillary clinton making a campaign stop at keota high school --thanks to the work of three (abby schulte/keota high school student) "when we started wanted to invite democrats and republicans." clinton is the first candidate to respond to the three students. democratic candidate bernie sanders also campaigning in iowa this week. today he wraps up a three-day swing through our state with stops in western iowa. the vermont senator will be back in iowa again for three days political advertising spending now topping 111 million dollars so far this year -- much higher than it was at this point four years ago -- when it was at 35-million. according to ad tracking data from nbc news -- a third of that spending coming from jeb bush and his allies the smallest advertiser thus far happens to be the republican front- runner donald trump . now a kwwl follow-up. liam young--the 2-year old who has lost his fingers and toes due to a medical mystery--gets to liam's dad chris says he's made good enough progress, the hospital allowed him to go home for about a week. he opened presents surrounded by a number of loved ones. young says they weren't even sure liam would make it to christmas, so having him there meant a lot to the entire family... "it's one of the greatest things if not better. it's awesome." liam is scheduled to go back to the hospital on the 28th and has a surgery the next day. as for his future, chris says it's still too soon to know what will happen. an eastern iowa man is being featured on a popular hunting show... nearly five years after a tree-stand accident puts him in a wheelchair. aaron heying and his wife maelyn are recently married-- they had a special type of honey moon in new mexico....hunting black bears! a week after their wedding they went to film the popular hunting "the hosts of the show, they just as much as they did so it was quite the trip for them too" maelyn is also a hunter, she came along on the trip if you'd like to see their show.. it'll premiere january third on the sportsman channel a consumer alert for you this morning...if you own an older ford sedan, your car may be part of a new recall. crown victorias and the mercury grand marquis made between 2003 and 2005 are being recalled to fix a problem with headlights. several drivers have reported sudden failures -- in one instance a driver ran off the road, another reportedly hit a deer. look for a notice from ford. and as you travel for the holidays...you may need to keep an eye out for coyotes. check this out -- a coyote running loose inside the myrtle beach international airport security officers eventually caught no one was hurt. its coming... is it a bird? is it a plane? is it superman? we're not sure. we'll tell you what we know. plus...replicas of a famous flyer are made... and the men who flew them have hey! this holiday, u.s. cellular's giving you 15 gigs of data for just $70! but i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] you're getting data. pony-sized data? u.s. cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. i'd like $100! yes! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just $70. the forecast from storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan is up next. "you're watching kwwl, we've got you covered! with jerry gallagher, ally crutcher and meteorologist eileen loan. this is today in iowa." "now your storm track 7 forecast on kwwl." weather team. see the screen for your complete weather information. here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: rain will track through today and we may hear thunder. snow will mix in tonight and may linger into thursday before drying out for christmas day. rain is tracking through on stormtrack7 live doppler radar and we have some rain showing up on some of our stormtrack7 live weather network cameras already. and it is mild... temps are in the mid 30s to mid 40s already this morning (actually, we have been climbing since yesterday morning) with low 30s to the northwest. easterly winds will turn more to the west today, but until then we will have plenty of moisture streaming in as low pressure tracks northeastward. this is pulling a lot of moisture into the area and we will keep the chances of rain all day and could hear overnight with a few snow showers into thursday. we won't see much snow accumulation, but we could end up with quite a bit of rain... most of us with half inch to one inch amounts and could see more, especially if thunder. rain will continue today with highs in the mid 40s to mid 50s as the conditions tonight with light rain and snow showers tracking through. lows dropping into the mid 20s to low 30s could cause wet surfaces to freeze and become slippery for travelers. while not as warm, it will still be mild for thursday with a few snow showers tracking through. christmas day will be mainly dry and mild with highs in the low 40s. the next system tracks in friday night and saturday with rain and snow and the third will move in sunday night into monday with a lot of wind. we could see rain, snow or a mix, but it will depend on the track of the low. sky... this is in nevada -- but could be seen in california, too. airport employees say it was too high up to be a jet or some other type of aircraft. a planetarium thinks it's either a meteor or a satellite re- enterinthe earth's atmosphere. witnessessaid they could see part of the object breaking up as it raced across the sky. there haven't been any reports of parts of the object hitting the ground. reminders of american history are headed to chin-- two complete reppcas of the famous wright brothers flyer the chinese asked that the replicas be built in dayton, ohio, where the wright brothers lived and worked. their first flight took place in nonoth carolina 112 years ago. and by the way -- the brothers spent part of their childhood in iowa the increasing popularity of craft beer...memens a big increase for another industry. details coming up. and when you see news - or if you have pictures or video t share... you can do that by going to our page on facebook. you can also "like" our page to stay up to date on breaking news and weather information. potential home buyers can expee credit standards to ease rather than tighten in the near future. according to fannie mae, more lenders are easing standards. that could help make houss more afforable. the demand for craft beer has sparked a surge in u-s hop production. the u.s. department of agriculture's national agricultural statistics service says production totaled nealy 79 eleven percent increase compared too lala year. a multicultural family center in dubuque is being renamed to honor a civil rights activist. the council voting this week to honor ruby sutton. sutton was an instrumental figure in dubuque during the civil rights movement. she died earlier this year. ruby's daughter lynn says it's a big honor. dauhter) "that her memory will always be here. yes it's wiwih me, with oththrs. but thee name means even more. but it's just a symbol of what she stood for. she would not have wanted all this, she was very humble, very quiet about what she did, but she still got the the building will officially be renamed early ext year during a dedicationnceremony. teenage parents get some help from santa as he stops by their school. he visited the alternative learning center in dubuque. the teen parents got gifts including diapers, clothes and educational toys fofo their children. despite the challenges of being a teen parent -- they're motivated to stay in school. "if i can show her that i can finish school with a kid, then i want her to be able to say my mom did it...i `an do it." the children n f 19 students received gifts. an iowa seven - year-old saves her allowance for more than a yeyer so she can buy giff for veterans this holiday season, isabel westercamp is a second grader in cedar rapids. she's using the money to buy 100 handsoaps -- which play patotic music when pumped. these giis will be delivered to the veteran affairs hospital in iowa city... she also has 100 hand-written letters to go along with the soap.. military service for america, love isabel." isabel tells us she wanted to show her appriation for veterans becauue they sacrificed for our freedom. hawkeye fans are preparing to head west for the rose bowl. the game is a week from friday the football team plans to leave on christmas eve. despite the many activities and festivities that go with the rose bowl -- they know this is a obviously we put ourselves in the position to play in the rose one reason an its to win the game." and our kwwl crew getting ready for a business trip of their days. now a great update to a story we've been following this holiday season. cedar falls. they posted this picture on seven gold liberty coins, a silver double eagle, and a coin from meeco minted in 1944. its we're wrapping up today in iowa with the forecast from storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan next....first...here's what's ahead on the today show good morning. coming up on a wednesday morning on today.. (v/o) hillary clinton fires back at donald trump.. after those controversial cooments about her debate bathroom break.. and her 2008 loss to barack obama. what's trump is saying this morning.. (out) also ahead.. (v/o) while much of the country experiences record high temps.. jack frost makes his home for the holidays out wst. (out) then.. (v/o) a close call caught on camera.. when a drove comes crashing down (out) and.. (v/o) a look back at "today's" christmas past.. more than 60 a bi praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress than any other member. cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in. really picks up. many of you are likely preparing to do some traveling this week. snow not really a concern this year -- but you could be dealing with some slick spots.... eileen is back with another check of your storm track seven forecast. rain is likely today with some ththder. most seeing hallto an inch oo rain, may get half an inch of snow off on thursday. highs will be in the mid 40s to mid 50s today with cooler temps tomorrow, although we stay mild into the weekend. and snow with the thiid system low. thanks for joining us, the today show is next and we'll be back in 25 minutes th more news and have a great day.