at least five people have been killed in deadly storms this week. people are now dealing with the devastation left behind. plus... graphic material and drug use. an eastern iowa commitee is asking is the book appropriate for students? a national organization is now weighing in. and moove out of the way. cows wreak havoc in one neighborhood. i'm ally crutcher. jerry has the day off. flurries greeting some of us in eastern iowa. this video is from waterloo earlier yesterday -- where the first snow of the season fell, but not enough to stick to the ground. let's check on your weather now with storm track 7 meteorologist eileen loan. good morning.

from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team. see the screen for your complete weather information. here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: we still have some flurries and sprinkles tracking through the kwwl viewing area this morning. that will likely continue all day. temps are holding in the mid 30s this morning with westerly winds at 10-15 mph... they will stay that same direction and speed today, although could gust a bit higher at a big story this morning... people in the southeast are waking up to severe damage today. at least five people are dead after tornados touched down in parts of alabama, georgia, and devastating scenes across the southeast...after a round of deadly storms. at least three tornados ripped through northern alabama, according to the national weather service. jackson county saw some of the worst damage. strong winds knocked

turned resident says a still got a roof over my head." two people were killed in tennessee where weather reeling from deadly wildfires but it's not nearly enough to quell the region's worst drought in nearly a decade. i'm yasmin amer reporting. around 14- thousand people

the raging wildfire. tennessee's governor says these are the worst fires the state has seen in a hundred years. after the storms turned deadly in alabama and tennessee -- the system moved east. in charlotte -- you can see wind blew a-c units off their bases. a semi tossed on its side like a toy truck -- the driver taken to the hospital with a head injury. trees down -- including one which fell on a house. the weather system brought much ed the storm was frightening. this'." thousands of people lost power. storms also causing heavy damage in south carolina -- downed trees and power lines. homes damaged. in one town the fire chief asked people to staty off the roads while crews looked at conditions. a waterspout turned tornado

the florida panhandle. take a look -- the tornado was captured on cell phone video as it moved through the city of destin. wild weather also striking in georgia -- look at strong winds there blowing all sorts of debris into the air in atlanta. a tornado warning was also issued there -- with sightings near the city and reports of damage. thousands of people lost power in the storms -- but there's no word on any injuries tonight. three people who pleaded guilty to sentenced to time in federal prison. these three were sentenced this week in u-s district court. the three were arrested seven minutes after robbing the palo savings bank in may. wintesses helped police in the efforts to catch the suspects -- by giving information on the getaway car. prosecutors say two of them were hiding in the trunk when the car was pulled over. calls for transparancy. the newest member of the linn county board of supervisors is calling for a special prosecutor for a cedar rapids officer

shot jerime mitchelle following a traffic stop. a grand jury will determine whether the officer should face charges. supervior stacey walker wants a special prosecutor to present evidence to the rgand jury. "one of the things i hope everyone in the community understands is that we can admire and respect what police officers do, while holding them to very high standards. the officer who shot mitchelle --lucas jones -- was involved in a deadly shooting last yea. the ashes of former cuban leader fidel castro are on their way from havana to castro's final resting place the more-than 500-mile procession started in havana yesterday. the route traces in reverse the route castro and his rebels took after overthrowing the government in 1959. onto the white house transition -- today, donald trump is expected to deliver on a campaign promise to save jobs. president-elect donald trump and vice president-elect mike pence

trump is set to make an announcement today in indianapolis at the carrier plant. he reached a deal for the corporation to keep nearly a thousand jobs in the state. indiana senator dan coates praising donald trump. on the carrier issue i think the the united states is able to negotiate something that was a major issue in the campaign. whether he's being considered for a post in the trump administration. we do know the co-owner of the chicago cuba -- todd ricketts -- has been named trump's pick for deputy commerce secretary. the ricketts family has had a rocky past with trump. todd was an early supporter of former trump opponent wisconsin governor scott walker. after walker dropped from the race, todd's mother poured millions into an anti-trump super pac.

secretary -- billionair wilbur ross. ross is a new jersey native and has amassed a fortune that forbes estimates to worth nearly three billion dollars. vice president elect mike pence says members of both the house and senate should "buckle up" and get ready for a president trump to aggressively push his legislative agenda. he met with leaders on capitol hill yesterday -- including reince priebus, trump's choice for chief of staff. nats of explosion the u-s army comes in after device -- dating back to the civil war. it's the second device that's been found at a construction sight in savannah georgia. starbucks shops in parts of kentucky are now designated safe areas for people in l-g-b-t-q communities. the "safe harbor" program is modeled after one started by seattle police two years ago. it's the first city outside of

especially for victims of assault or harassment. "the store employees will be trained to immediately call the police and to allow the victim of that crime to stay in the store rainbow "safe harbor" stickers at the front about 30 locations. too many cats... one eastern iowa humane society is starting a new program becuase they're overflowing with cats. kwwl's amanda gilbert joins us live in waterloo.. you can the cedar bend humane society says normally around this time of year... they start to take in less cats. but that's not the case right now...

" i know spaying and neuturing kittens." the cedar bend humane society is starting a new program this year to help fix this problem . two weeks during the holidays... it's a great way to see what it's like to have a pet.. or make sure you get along with the one you "picked out" before you adopt it. the prgoram starts december 20th. live in waterloo... amanda gilbert... news 7 kwwl.

or foster.. they're also looking for donations. a national organization warns of a "harmful precedent" if a book is banned in dubuque schools. the book in question -- the perks of being a wallflower. a new committee in the dubuque district is deciding if it is appropriate for students. according to our coverage partners at the telegraph herald -- the organization says it may force teachers to second-guess their reading material. the committee will meet again in december to talk about it. cows on the loose in one town. cops were called after a bunch of them mysteriously showed up, stopping traffic and looking for shelter. rina nakano was there strange foot prints but who could it be?

burglar. it was something much there.' and i said, what?" the cow's owner says chp got a call at 5:15am, saying the cows were stopping traffic near madison and jackson roads. "many truck drivers use jackson road as a place to take a quick snooze along their someone opened the latch of the trailer. next thing he knew, off roamed around madison until eventually splitting in two harrison and president streets. the apartments... until animal control brought their farm animal rescue specialist. "just put up the portable panels by 8:40 am... the cows began walking out of the alley... scaring a few reporters along the way... "oh my god, we all 11

california. "they could have gotten hit on the road. so it turned out good." in iowa.... introducing coffee-inspired pop-tarts. two companies come together to make the creation. plus... iowans are gearing up for snow....and getting winter ready those stories plus the forecast from storm track seven meteorologist coming up. "you're watching kwwl, we've got you covered! with

the butterburger is made of just three cuts of fresh midwest beef. nothing more, nothing less. so we got the sirloin, the chuck and the plate. no fillers; that's it. all prized cuts, all well-marbled for richness and flavor. this is where those three wonderful cuts of beef come together.

and that seals in the juices of the burger. it doesn't get any better than that. and that's the culver's butterburger. welcome to delicious! this is today in iowa." "now your storm track 7 forecast on kwwl." let's go to storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan now for your forecast forecast.

for your complete weather information. here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: stormtrack7 live weather network cameras are showing the low clouds out there flurries off and on today. it will be breezy, too, but the winds will die down tonight and stay there for tomorrow. temps this morning are hovering in the mid 30s with some low 30s to the west. west winds are running

15 mph, although at times they are stronger. that will be the case through the rest of the day, with winds weakening this evening and turning more to the northwest. our clouds are still from the same system that brought us department of transportation workers standing by for the first big snow. keep in mind -- this time last

winter ready. "we've had a few farmers with able to go out and get those drainage issues taken care of. where, in the past years, we haven't been able to do that this late in the year." all their trucks are equipped with g-p-s -- to track drivers' locations -- where they plowed -- how fast they're driving -- and how much salt they've put on roads. a frightening situation along a catches fire and explodes. an employee tried to use a fire extinguisher -- but as you can see, the flames were too intense. a volunteer fire crew arrived soon after and put out the fire. luckily -- no one was hurt. it's coming up on today in iowa.... high tech gifts -- trackers and cameras -- on the top of christmas lists ... but not for people plus... wendy's is handing out unlimited frostys for 2-dollars

[ tower pinging ] [ whistling ] we've got a problem, friend. half off any smartphone for anyone who switches? what's the problem? the naughty list shouldn't get deals! yeah, but anyone who switches gets half off of any smartphone. even these? yeah, any smartphone. call the big guy! [ bell dings ] santa? no, jingles. [ knuckles crack ] [ spits ] ooo. ouch. [ neck cracks ] [ darien ] switch and get half off any smartphone. plus up to $650 back. stand back, ya hear! breakout the syrup because denny's new fluffier, tastier,

our pets are on the good list. as brian mooar tells us -- new pets are on santa's "nice" list this year. furry friends this holiday season. "the pet category is seeing a huge surge in sales about 1.5 more sales than we saw last year"

boom with specialty items for whatever holiday your pet celebrates... or even topical toys keeps on giving... subscription boxes deliver new items treat your pet.. than with pet trackers and cameras are legged companions will see an average of 62- bucks worth in "pet parents"... instead of merely owners. "i have a 7 month lab puppy and i don't mind spoiling her...

brian mooar, nbc news. millennials will be the group spending the most on their pets this holiday. netflix users can now download several shows and movies to watch offline. the company says the feature is available on phones and tablets by there's no extra cost. facebook is bringing classic video games like "pac-man" and "space invaders" to its users. it's rolling out a new and free feature called "instant games." users will be able to play video games solo on facebook news feed or challenge friends and play with tinhe messenger app. you can now have the taste of dunkin' donuts coffee in your pop-tart. for the first time, pop-tarts

coffee-inspired pop-tart flavors: frosted vanilla latte and frosted chocolate mocha. both will be available at stores nationwide beginning this month wendy's frosty lovers are going to restaurant chain announced anyone with a two- dollar key tag will get a free junior frosty with every purchase. wendy's will then pay 90 cents on the dollar for every key tag to the dave thomas foundation that helps children in foster care. the tags are available at most wendy's locations. it's coming up on today

z24zzz z12fz

[burke] at farmers, we've seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a rodent ride-along. [dad] alright, buddy, don't forget anything!

it's pretty hairy out on the interstate.traffic is literally crawling, but there is some movement on the eastside overpass. getting word of another collision. [burke] it happened. december 14th, 2015. and we covered it. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ? we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ? z24zzz z12fz y24zzy y12fy with a big save. they rescued a manatee in a storm drain. check out the video -- this is out of florida, where the huge mammal somehow became stuck in a river-side drain in jacksonville. rescue crews freed the manatee after a few hours -- which was then taken to sea world in orlando

eileen loan is back with another check of your storm track seven forecast. breezy with flurries today, mostly cloudy tomorrow and saturday. some rain/snow showers

the job. the last time this happened in the city -- was nearly two decades ago... plus - after a deadly plane crash, we talk to eastern iowans who knew some of the people on board... and more than 400-thousand ballots -- recounted. that's about to happen in one midwestern state. i'm ally crutcher.

eileen loan is here now with your storm track seven forecast. eileen on camera we still have some flurries and sprinkles tracking through the kwwl viewing area this morning. that will likely continue all day. temps are holding in the mid 30s this morning with westerly winds at 10-15 mph... america. breezy with flurries today. highs in the upper 30s to low 40s today will not change much over the next few days. i'll have that forecast in a few minutes.

a lawsuit filed by the family of a woman killed in an eastern iowa mall will not be moving forward. alexander kozak -- a mall security guard -- shot and killed andrea farrington inside the coral ridge mall last year. kozak was convicted earlier this year. according to our coverage partners at the iowa city press-citizen -- the lawsuit alleged that the mall failed to provide reasonable care and security for farrington. it also claimed the security provider was negligent in hiring kozak. the case was scheduled to go to trial next year -- but the been dismissed. an officer is dead after being shot several times during a standoff. it happened in tacoma, washington. police were responding to a domestic violence call when shots rang out. the officer was rushed to the hospital -- where he later died. no one else was injured. the last time an officer was killed in the city was nearly 20 years ago. in north carolina -- a police officer was shot in an apartment complex. witnesses say they heard gunshots and then saw a police

for serious but non-life threatening injuries. a deadly plane crash is hitting home for eastern iowans. here's a look at the crash in colombia earlier this week. the plane was carrying a professional soccer team and 21 journalists -- on its way to the finals of a south american championship. 77 people were on board -- only 6 survived. as kwwl's kristin rogers tells us -- an eastern iowa man knew nearly half of the people who died in that crash. a deadly plane crash

this." chico is from chapeco soccer team-- "they gave me the opportunity to follow my career and be a proffessional soccer place." now coaching the cedar who is also from brazil-- "we have a game in the east stays in your mind." chico--telling us--he wishes he could be there for the families back home--but feels prayer--can have their families behind, kids, wives, parents. so we need everyone to like pray, at lea away we cannot do anything so if we pray i think we are gonna help them." that was kristin rogers reporting. several players on the cedar rapids

police shoot and kill a man wanted in a number of robberies. kansas city officers pulled the suspect over, and initially police say he complied with their demands. but police then say he grabbed one of the officer's guns. officers immediately shot the man -- who died later at the hospital. no officers were hurt. protests in north carolina. prosecutors decided not to charge an officer for the killing of keith scott. more than 100 people took to the streets -- demanding justicr the protests have been mostly peaceful -- but several fights broke out. some protesters have spilled onto the streets -- and so far, three people have been arrested. a jury began deliberations in the murder trial of michael slager. he's a former police officer who was captured on a cellphone video killing a man after a traffic stop. the jurors deliberated for about an hour before going home for the night. a cell phone repairman calls police... after finding child pornography on the phone he's

rodriguez faces sexual exploitation charges. criminal complaints say police confronted rodriguez when he went to pick up his phone. he was taken to the linn county jail, but has since bonded out. in new york city -- police are searching for a man they say stole gold from an armored truck in the middle of the day. police say the man walked off with a bucket of gold flakes worth nearly a million and a half dollars. police believe the man is now in florida. cold temperatures haven't s they're still looking to stop the construction of the dakota access pipeline. activists say the pipeline could severely hurt the environment, including the drinking water on several native american reservations. north dakota's governor had ordered them to leave immediately for safety concerns. but one tribal member says -- the governor has threatened much more than that... threats of cutting off our food supplies. we responded by saying that is an act of war.

protesters have been asked to leave by sunday or they could be arrested. a group of veterans are on their way to stand with and support the protesters.. here in iowa -- pipeline protesters went to the iowa utilities board -- where some have been demanding a meeting. two of those people got arrested for blocking a door to a conference room. those two have also been fasting stand up and do the right thing here. and to make sure the people of this board do the right thing ." despite arrests -- the two say their fast will continue. they plan to go back to the iowa on to the white house transition... president elect donald trump takes a break today from doing

thank you tour that includes a stop in indiana to fulfill a campaign "they started talking and being thousand jobs saved - not moving to mexico - the company credits business policies. he's headed to indiana this afternoon to talk about it. "my gosh, he's not even president yet and he's figured out how to save 1,000 jobs." administration that we're open for business here in the united states." behind today's victory lap: millions in state incentives... from indiana gov mike

way for quick confirmations. nominees continues. critics call which of four candidates will be offered secretary of state. a transition spokesman says no major announcements are expected before next week. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. recounting millions of ballots from the presidential election. planning has been underway for days -- but all of the pieces for the recount really began to fall into place in the final hours. 440-thousand ballots will go through scanning machines... "they all get hand reveiwed before they get sent into the machine make sure if they get rejected for any reason and then they get sent through the machine" 130 people will be on hand each day -- paid for by the jill stein campaign.

it's called the public safety officers' benefits improvement act. the bill is set to reduce the backlog of families waiting for approval of survivor benefits of public safety officers killed in the line of duty. the bill now heads to the house of representatives for consideration. one eastern iowa humane society is asking for help taking care of a growing population this holiday season. kwwl's amanda gilbert joins us live in waterloo.. you're at the cedar bend humane society. ally... taking a look around.. might notice some cages along the side of this room here in the cedar bend humane society.. most of the cages... filled with cats.. the cages are one way the cendar bend humane society is making room for the large number of cats they've taken in.. in the past 4 very unusual .

new program this month... calling it home for the holidays.. asking people to foster a cat or any animal for a few weeks... " if somebody can take foster, that leaves room for because right now this is all we have room for." if you can't foster or donate.. the humane society is also asking for donations... so financially.. it's getting harder and harder to take care of all the cats coming to them. live in waterloo... amanda gilbert... news 7 kwwl. the humane society also reminds people to spay and neuture their pets. they believe people may not be

many kittens. today - the third and final candidate in the running to become u-n-i's next president visits campus. mark nook is the current chancellor at montana state university in billings. he has ties to iowa -- he received his masters in astrophysics at iowa state. u-n-i's interim president james wohlpart outlining his vision for the university -- should he get the job. he previously served as provost and says he has an understanding of but he calls on a need to regain to take a student, and help a vocation so that they can go is that?" the board of regents is expected to select the new president next week. a high school class is going far beyond textbooks and computers... it's now expanding

a technology and engineering instructor in wisconsin loves to challenge his students. in 2007, he founded "formula student"--- a program where students design and build a race car from the ground up... and the experience is helping students excel beyond the classroom... "lot of big companies in the helped them get a leg up." "it's like a deadline, it's just like the real world, you need to get it done in a certain amount of time and it needs to be functional and ready to go by now being replicated in australia. and just this week, a teacher from dubai reached out to the instructor about teaching the course. it's coming up on today in iowa.... he hasn't competed in more than a year. but tiger -- is teeing up again... and it's the season of giving. how a veteran is teaching kids a valuable lesson. those stories plus the forecast from storm track seven

"now your storm track 7 forecast on kwwl." let's go to storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan now 7 weather team. see the screen information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: stormtrack7 live weather network cameras are showing the low and on today. it will be breezy, too, but the winds will die down tonight and stay there for tomorrow. temps this morning are hovering in the mid 30s with some low 30s to are stronger. that will be the case through the rest of the day, with winds weakening this northwest. our clouds are still from the same system that brought us the thunderstorms on monday but today will be mainly the back side. that keeps us under clouds and with flurries today and clouds tomorrow and even saturday. temperatures won't change too much between today and tomorrow with 20s to the 50s stretched across the midwest. we will be in the upper 30s to low 40s today with west winds at 10-20

through. temps only drop about 10 degrees tonight with cloudy skies and winds at 5-10 mph from the northwest. we stall in the mid 30s to low 40s tomorrow with some breaks in the clouds for the afternoon. a weak system tracks through sunday with some rain and/or snow showers expected, but a large storm system heads our way for the middle of next week. we could have some rain/snow showers tuesday with thursday. it is too early to tell the exact track of the system and that will make a huge difference in who sees how much snow vs rain. wind will be a concern, too. we will watch that very carefully and keep you updated as it continues to get closer. it's coming up on today in iowa.... a golfing great -- making a

snow vs rain. wind will be a concern, too. we will watch that very carefully and keep you updated as it continues to get closer. it's coming up on today in iowa.... a golfing great -- making a comeback on the green... plus... knitting in the classroom... how students are working to help a

the butterburger is made of just three cuts of fresh midwest beef. nothing more, nothing less. so we got the sirloin, the chuck and the plate. no fillers; that's it. all prized cuts, all well-marbled for richness and flavor. this is where those three wonderful cuts of beef come together. you can just tell that blend is working in there. and we sear them, and that seals in the juices of the burger. it doesn't get any better than that. and that's the culver's butterburger.

bahamas. he spent the last two days getting his game in shape for the hero world challenge. he hasn't competed since august of last year, and has had two operations on his back since then. iowa native zach johnson also scheduled to participate. an area teacher assigning her seventh grade students a knitting project - to make scarves for the less fortunate. take a look at this picture of some of those students -- decked

last year her students made a record 250 scarves. now take a look inside the classroom. students fingers working away to knit the scarves. they'll be donated to low- income second graders -- a way of honoring the 20 second graders killed at sandy hook elementary. and now a new record being made -- students have "it's crazy because last year i thought that was the most we scarves. we had to use another room because we ran out of scarves will be donated to students in cedar rapids, iowa city, waterloo, and des moines. it's the season of giving and one veteran is teaching eastern iowa kiddos the importance of helping others. dave prescott flew in from new york to donate 10 thousand dollars

-- he invited more than 25 current st. patrick catholic school students with him to pick out the toys- teaching them the joy of giving back. i grew up in this area when know what it is like to have some very thin christmases so tft gives the opp. for families to have acess to toys, you know cause it's all about the kids. for tots. we usually have a bin in our for a full list of locations, check out our website. it's you're watching today in iowa on k- w-w-l. stand back, ya hear! breakout the syrup because denny's new fluffier, tastier,

gets into the holiday spirit. the first family will light up the national christmas tree. this will be the obamas' final time to flip the switch on the colorado blue spruce. the time honored holiday tradition started in 1923 under president calvin coolidge. a star studded lineup of performers will join the first family to ring in the season, including performers james taylor, kelly clarkson, and garth brooks. check of your storm track seven forecast. breezy with flurries today, mostly cloudy tomorrow and saturday. some rain/snow showers sunday with a bigger system tracking in for the middle of next week.

this morning -- cleanup continues following deadly storms. plus... police dealing with protests following a prosecutor's decision. and kitten overload. and the iowa shelter needs your help finding them a home. good morning, i'm ally crutcher. jerry is off. we still have some flurries and sprinkles tracking through the kwwl viewing area this morning. that will likely continue all day. temps are holding in the mid 30s this morning with westerly winds at 10-15 mph... they will stay that same direction and speed today, although