Plane . The skies are about to explode. Significant tornado danger one day before santa takes to the skies. Wild weather for travelers from coast to coast. Hello everyone. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Our politics day every day for the past few months ive been asked on camera and off camera if i think donald trump will really win the republican president ial nomination. Every day ive had the same answer, ive seen no evidence to the contrary. And today more evidence to the affirmative. Trump ending 2015 in prime position to win the republican nomination with voting starting in iowa in just 40 days. Our last cnn orc poll of the year shows the republican frontrunner lapping his rivals. Sunlen fresh back from trip. Just to underline this, trumps number in this poll is more than double that of his next closest rival. Thats right. He is by far ahead 20 points ahead over the entire rest of the republican field. And more revealing this poll shows republicans are coming around to the idea that they have the best chance at winning the white house by nominating trump. Donald trump dominating the gop field. A new cnn orc poll shows trump on top with 39 support, more than double his next closest opponent ted cruz. Trumps lead is even more definitive when measured by the depth of his support on issue after issue on handling the economy, isis and immigration, voters all deem trump the best equipped candidate by commanding margin. She was favored to win and she got schlonged. She lost. Reporter storm caused by his latest controversy. Im watching the debate and she disappeared. Where did she go . Where did she go . I know where she went. Its disgusting. I dont want to talk about it. Reporter and now Hillary Clinton for the first time responding directly to trumps vulgar rhetoric about her. I really deplore the tone of his campain and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people. Reporter clinton saying she thinks trump has a pension for sexism. I dont know that he has any boundaries at all. And his bigotry, his bluster, his bullying have become his campaign. Reporter trump hitting back tweeting, be careful, hillary, as you play the war on women or women being degraded card. Meanwhile, as they battle it out. Leave our kids alone. Reporter ted cruz takes on the Washington Post for this cartoon depicting his children as monkeys. When i saw that cartoon, not much ticks me off. But making fun of my girls, that will do it. Reporter this came after cruzs daughters appeared in a tv ad. I know just what ill do she said with a snicker, ill use my own server and no one will be the wiser. Reporter kids are generally considered off limits in politics. Cruz now using the cartoon to raise money and the opportunity to take on his favorite foe. Everyone expects the Mainstream Media to be liberal, to be biased. Folks want to attack me, knock yourself out. Thats part of the process. Ive signed up for that. Thats fine. And many of cruzs republican rivals came to his defense today chastising the Washington Post. And cruz specifically called out his democratic opponents for not doing the same. The Washington Post they have pulled the cartoon and replaced it with an editors note acknowledging that, jake, they should have never posted it in the first place. Kids are considered offlimits. One can only imagine if it had been the obama girls. Breaking right this second, brand new cnn orc poll numbers just like donald trump, Hillary Clinton will end this year as the clear frontrunner for the democratic president ial nomination. The former secretary of state still has a doubledigit lead in our nationwide poll. But her victory no way guaranteed. Senator Bernie Sanders did manage to narrow the gap. Cnn chief Political Correspondent dana bash here with me in washington. Dana, how i guess the big question is how firm is the support for clinton . You know, i think a couple ways to answer that. Lets just look at what happened before the debate saturday night and afterwards. Before her lead wasnt that big. She was 45 to 37 against Bernie Sanders. But in the interviews taken the night or the morning after the debate, 60 to 27 , perhaps this should be digested over at the Democratic National committee. They schedule very few debates. Theyre airing them on saturday night. Thats been my point the whole time. Shes a good debater. Shes a good debater and she does well. And she shores up her support. Surely in the shortterm among democrats, but that also she seems to be doing better because the issue set that voters care about thats in front of them right now National Security. Theyre of course in her wheelhouse. Looking at the issue of Foreign Policy she tops sanders big time 72 to 15 . And in handling isis 63 to 18 , jake. Now, if you talk to the Clinton Campaign and supporters of hers, they talk about how she cant wait to match up against either donald trump or ted cruz, but when you look at the poll numbers that we have and other polls, and headtohead matchups, shes not exactly setting the world on fire. Be careful what you wish for. Youre absolutely right. Within the margin of error when it comes to a matchup between Hillary Clinton and donald trump. She is besting him just by 2 percentage points, but she actually will lose, again within the margin of error loses 2 points to ted cruz and 3 points to marco rubio. Youre right, shes not necessarily setting the world on fire. Another way to look at it is this is a divided country. And no matter who is at the top of the ticket, its, you know, close to 50 50 right now. And its going to be a battle. And, you know, that definitely will be the case if donald trump is the nominee no matter what they think in democratic circles. The idea that Hillary Clinton will easily be able to beat donald trump is not she does beat him in most of the headtohead matchups that weve seen, but its not a blowout. I mean, i cant say that its guaranteed. Absolutely not. Democrats feel an incredible amount of confidence that the models are different for them in a national election. That, you know, voters tend to go out in bigger droves in areas that really matter to them. And so thats why they feel confident no matter who is on the republican side. But this is a centerright country. And people said these things about ronald reagan. Ronald reagan is very different from donald trump, but i dont think they should be measuring the drapes. Nothing predictable about this years politics other than its unpredictability. Dana bash, thank you so much. Lets talk about this with anita dunn and bill crystal editor of the weekly standard. Merry christmas, happy hanukkah. And everything to you too, jake, and your family. Thank you so much. Lets start with donald trump. Bill, you have been soliciting ideas for the name of a third party should donald trump get the nomination. You will i guess be bolting. Any good one, bull moose. Yeah, thats a good one. The federalist party, that was a good party in the olden days. I dont think Donald Trumps going to be the nominee. Its all going according to plan, jake. Whos plan . Youre a football fan. Its like misdirection on a running play, playaction pass, you want the democrats to think get prepared for trump and then he wont be the nominee and it will be a 45yearold senator like marco rubio or ted cruz or young governor like Chris Christie and a clinton team will all be ready for trump. I have to say i am starting to sense well, not an embracing of trump by the republican establishment, kind of coming to terms with the fact he may well, the lead is amazing. He has more of a lead over the republican field than Hillary Clinton has over Bernie Sanders. Said this six months ago, trump will be more ahead than clinton is ahead of sanders. Absolutely. Thats my deep analysis of the current situation. Nuts. I dont know how much stock you put in the polls, but the polls do show Hillary Clinton would have a tough time running against ted cruz or marco rubio. Well, jake, i dont put a lot of stock in polls until they have nominees they are not great predictors of the general election shapeup. Its a choice. I think when people look at the choice between if Hillary Clinton is nominee or Hillary Clinton or ted cruz or marco rubio or a donald trump, it becomes a very different kind of situation. One of the things thats really striking i was listening to bill is that, you know, it seems the Republican Party is really uniting around kind of the idea of a donald trump sort of message. You know, a really primal scream against their establishment, whereas the Democratic Party seems to be uniting around the idea of the establishment itself. The idea of the establishment but also continuity. I think its a really strong message about how democrats feel about, you know, the Obama Administration and moving forward with some of the same sorts of values and ideas that the president has actually, you know, worked for for seven years. Bill, do you have any thoughts on Donald Trumps use of the word schlonged to describe can i keep them to myself. Youre a man who knows yiddish. Hes a vulgar man. I think the word in his mind probably means generic term for somehow defeated or, you know, whatever. A lot of yiddish terms had more precise origins. General speech just became general somewhere leah rostin is rolling over i know, right. Trump is appalling. My point of view honestly a trumpclinton matchup, is that really what america wants . A vulgar rich businessman and a former first lady a rich former first lady . Donald trump did this veiled it wasnt so veiled threat to Hillary Clinton. You saw it in the piece just a second ago. In which he basically said do not play the woman card, the war on women card or the woman being degraded, hillary. He was warning her. It seemed very clear to me he was saying i will be talking you keep doing that im going to talk about bill. Isnt that a risk . You know, i want to take issue not bill i understand. I will defend bill crystal. Thank you. No, i take issue with something bill just said to characterize Hillary Clinton as a former first lady, former wealthy first lady is to ignore a lot of her experience and a lot of things shes accomplished. I think when voters look at her they think shes undoubtedly qualified for the presidency. You can often learn more about a person by how they react to a loss than how they react to a victory. I think no one who looks at donald trump is going to doubt for a minute that he will be willing to say anything and more should he become the Republican Partys nominee. So accusations against bill clinton you think will come up . I cant predict what donald trump will do and i dont think anybody can including donald trump on any given day. But the reality is hes shown he isnt going to stop at anything. But the real questin is, is that really what the American People want to hear . Is that what theyre looking for in the next president . I think democrats look at him and say thats not the Winning Ticket for the American People. Well take that matchup. Merry christmas. Happy hanukkah. Happy new year to both of you. Thank you, to your viewers too. New details on an attack that killed six americans. How did a motorcycle filled with explosives get past a security checkpoint . That story next. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Isnt it beautiful when things just come together . Build a beautiful website with squarespace. Welcome back to the lead. We have some breaking news in our world lead. Moments from now the remains of the six u. S. Service members killed in that suicide bombing in afghanistan earlier this week are expected to arrive home. Among them Staff Sergeant chester mcbride, a former football hero from statesboro, georgia. Staff Sergeant Peter being remembered by his family funny and a family man. Leaves behind 3yearold daughter and pregnant wife. Staff Sergeant Luis bonacasa. His brother says he lost his hero. Adrianna a pioneer of the policy of dont ask, dont tell. One of the openly Gay Service Members to serve. Staff sergeant lem returned home from afghanistan to surprise his family as his daughter performed in a singing contest. Today flags at new york state building are flying at half staff in his honor. 28yearold Staff SergeantMichael Anthony cinco hailed from a town of 16,000, described as an ambitious man with a, quote, good head on his shoulders. New details are emerging about just how the attack was executed outside bagram air base. Lets get to barbara starr. Shes live at the pentagon. Barbara, what are your sources telling you . By all accounts the afghan bomber got past an initial Afghan Security checkpoint with explosives undetected. What happened next was devastating. And the problems in afghanistan just seem to grow every day. Fellow troops mourn the lives of six u. S. Air force members killed by a suicide bomber in afghanistan. The devastating attack happened on a Security Patrol outside of bagram airfield. Their mission, to talk to local afghans in nearby villages looking for any signs of the taliban. A u. S. Official tells cnn the suicide bomber used an old motorcycle instead of a suicide vest packing the internal spaces of the bike full of explosives. The motorcycle detonating as the troops were on a narrow path where surrounding walls confined the blast and made it even more powerful. The taliban taking credit as the group makes a resurgence in the southern part of the country. In Helmand Province where u. S. Forces fought for years, Afghan Security forces are now locked in an intense battle with taliban fighters. Afghan reinforcements have been sent to help. Building an army is not the work of two years, three years or four years. It is a young army. It need maturity. It need enablers. Reporter years of u. S. Military training still may not be enough. Its one of those areas where during the daytime the government controls territory. During the nighttime a lot of that same territory is actually being controlled by either the taliban or in some cases potentially even isis. Reporter isis has been making Radio Broadcasts as a recruitment tool. And some in afghanistan are listening. Isis also has russian president Vladimir Putins attention. Moscow says it will share intelligence, but not weapons, with the taliban to counter isis. So are we now looking at a new putin agenda . Back in afghanistan nearly 30 years after the soviet union withdrew after a devastating nineyear war there, jake. Barbara starr at the pentagon, thanks so much. A british muslim family says its disney trip was ruined after being prevented from boarding a plane to california. Why did u. S. Officials deny their entry right before the flight was scheduled to leave . Plus, the woman charged with murder for plowing her car into a crowd faced a judge just hours ago. What did she say in court . That story next. Is never easy. Doing your own thing, making your own way can be pretty, well, bold. Rickie fowler is redefining what it means to be a golfer. Quicken loans is doing the same for mortgages. Quicken loans. Home buy. Refi. Power. Official mortgage sponsor of the pga tour. Just serve classy snacks and bew a gracious host,iday party. No matter who shows up. [cricket sound] richard. Didnt think you were going to make it. Hey sorry about last weekend, i dont know what got into me. Well forgive and forget. Kind of. I dont think so do you like nuts . Youre not thinking about all the money you saved by booking your flight, rental car, and hotel together. All youre thinking about, is making sure your little animal, enjoys her first trip to the kingdom. Expedia, technology connecting you to what matters. Even tempurpedic mattress sets getat low clearance prices c, save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory the year end Clearance Sale is on now at sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. Making headlines in our world lead today. A british muslim family told they could not fly to the United States. Now, initially the family of 11 said that theyd received authorization to fly in advance so that they could visit disneyland in california, but just before boarding their flight to california the family was told that the u. S. Department of Homeland Security had revoked that authorization. Why . Lets get right to cnns aviation correspondent rene marsh. I asked the white house whats the deal, they referred me to the department of Homeland Security which has 60 different potential reasons why the family might have been denied entry to the u. S. Do we have any idea which one of the 60 it might have been . In an answer, no. Because department of Homeland Security they wont tell cnn privacy issues. And thats really whats fueling the frustration overseas. Couple that with what some see as an antimuslim climate in the United States as president ial candidates call for a ban on muslims entering the country. Now some are wondering if thats why this family was denied boarding. Inside londons airport nine members of a british muslim family were denied boarding of a flight to california. They captured cell phone video of the moment. Reporter Norwegian Airlines tells cnn it acted on instructions from u. S. Homeland security. Even though you havent done nothing wrong, you feel like youve done something wrong. Reporter tarik traveling with his family including seven children were waiting to board when they were stopped. Anyone give us an explanation as to what is the problem because the kids are asking what is the problem, we have to ask them, what should we tell our kids whats going on. Reporter the families say they had valid u. S. Immigration documents and had been planning and saving for a trip to disneyland with their children for months. The more than 13,000 they say they spent will not be refunded. British government officials are now fighting on their behalf. The family was simply further told to go home. I have to also say this is not the only case i have had raised with me of somebody traveling to america being stopped at the last minute. Reporter his wife, who asked we not show her face, says she thinks their religion played a role. My 10yearold daughter said to my husband, is it because were muslim . And my husband said why would you say that . And she goes well because we were the only muslim people in that line. Reporter u. S. Customs and Border Protection told cnn, quote, the religious faith or spiritual belief of International Traveler are not determining factors. For flights in or out of the United States, passenger security checks happen long before travelers get to the airport. Even before the airline accepts payment, names are run against the governments nofly list. If theres a hit, the sale is denied. For those whove bought a ticket names are continuously checked against other government databases searching for everything from past itineraries to law enforcement, if theres a problem the airlines deny boarding at the airport. But its not just terrorism. There are other reasons a passenger could be denied boarding, like incomplete documents or healthrelated issues. Now we know some members of this family had dual citizenship in the uk and pakistan, and its believed a family members email address could be associated with a suspicious Facebook Page that mentions al qaeda. But the family denies this. We dont know if any of those factors had anything to do with why they were not cleared to board the plane. In the meantime, jake, kair, the nations largest Civil Rights Organization for muslims, they say theyre asking dhs to probe whether trumps call for ban on muslims into the country is being as they put it implemented informally. Okay. Just to note theres no evidence of that at all. No. And the federal government firmly denies they would ever use religion as a basis as far as whether someone could enter the country. Of course we know thats against immigration law. Okay. Rene marsh, thank you so much. More now of cnns interview with the family. Cnns diana magnate talked with the family. She said they were so close to boarding the flight they could see the plane out the airport window. What kind of explanation was this family given . Well, very little. And i think thats why they feel so devastated and so shocked that they could have been turned away so close to boarding. This was literally at the gate, their bags were onboard, they were about to set foot. And one of the little girls, i read her diary, shes in the lounge and then she says weve got to board now. I spoke to the father of some of those children. And this is what he said happened. Was cueing up to board the plane and then all of a sudden a gentleman from a Border Agency came. He actually announced our name and said can we hand our passports in. He said there was a problem or something, hes going to find out and he came back on the terminal and said youre not allowed to board the plane because there is a problem. My 10yearold saw my husband talking to the assistant. And at the point that my husband turned around and shook his head my daughter said she knew. And she started crying there and then. But she did ask daddy were not going and he said, no, not today. And she goes but when . He goes i cant answer that, darling. What would you like to see the u. S. Embassy turn around and say to you . I want them to give me an explanation. And were no threat to nobody. We are working class. We have our own business. We help everybody else. Ive got place Multicultural Society where it comes and for me to be treated like that i feel most uncomfortable and most devastated because im just like a normal person. The family feel in their words as though theyve been trumped, as though this does have something to do with the fact that theyre muslim. And in fact one of the children said, daddy, why have we been singled out . Is it because were muslim . And he said why would you say that . And she said because were the only muslim family in the cue. And so theyre hoping that at some point they get their money refunded. But theyve spent 15,000 on a trip to disneyland. Theyve got nothing to show for it, jake. Its interesting here in this country we were very critical people in the media and politicians about the National Security apparatus for not looking at the social media and not looking enough into the background of the San Bernardino terrorists. And now its almost the flip side looking perhaps too much. Its an odd place for the National Security officials to find themselves. Thats true. But its very difficult to know whether this was a security issue or one of a myriad of other reasons that someone can be denied entry to the u. S. And immigration officials have said that two of that party were allowed through. It was just the rest of the group who werent. And youve got to ask why. These two brothers have dual nationality. Theyre pakistani passport holders and british. Their children too. Was it to do with that . Was it to do with Health Reasons . Was it to do with any other criminal convictions . The family couldnt say. They dont know. But they want answers, jake. Diana magnate, thanks so much. From london to las vegas where earlier today a woman charged with murder in the deadly hitandrun incident sunday appeared in court for the first time. 24yearold Lakeisha Holloway stands accused of intentionally driving her car on to the sidewalk and directly into a crowd on the Las Vegas Strip three days ago. She killed Jessica Valenzuela and injured 37 others. Holloways 3yearold daughter was in her car at the time. Let get right to cnns rian young joining me live from las vegas. Ryan, did holloway address the court today in any way . Reporter well, she did answer the questions from the judge, but outside of that, jake, we really didnt hear much from her. We were expecting to see some family members in that courtroom. Maybe somebody to say, hey, were here with you. That did not happen as well as we were kind of watching the entire courtroom. We were thinking that people would show up. Maybe even to take custody of the child. We do know the child is still in the custody of the authorities here. No one from the family appeared. She answered the questions and court was over just like that. It was about five minutes altogether. We do know next Court Appearance wont be for the next 30 days. And she could face more charges for attempted murder. So this long saga is not over just yet. And of course, ryan, the big question, motive. Are prosecutors any closer to determining a motive . You know, thats the other part. We were thinking we would hear more in court today. This was just a nuts and bolts kind of Court Appearance where all they did is talk about the charges she could face. We talked to the d. A. Afterwards and he talked about the fact that not only could she face the attempted murder charges but there could be other charges as this investigation continues. We talked with one of the lawyers just after court. Ryan young, thank you so much. Youre looking at live pictures. Right now lets show those pictures out of clarksdale, mississippi, as a funnel cloud looks to be on the verge of possibly becoming a tornado. We will bring you that story after the break. I use whats already inside me to reach my goals. So i liked when my doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating whats within me. With onceweekly trulicity. Trulicity is not insulin. It helps activate my body to do what its supposed to do release its own insulin. Trulicity responds when my blood sugar rises. I take it once a week, and it works 24 7. It comes in an easytouse pen and i may even lose a little weight. 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If you want help improving your a1c and blood sugar numbers with a noninsulin option, ask your doctor about onceweekly trulicity. And click to activate your within. Came out today thousands of people to run the race for retirement. So we asked them. Are you completely prepared for retirement . Okay, mostly prepared . Could you save 1 more of your income . It doesnt sound like much, but saving an additional 1 now, could make a big difference over time. Im going to be even better about saving. You can do it, it helps in the long run. Prudential bring your challenges why is Philips Sonicare the most loved electric toothbrush brand by americans and their dentists . Because it leaves your mouth with a level of clean like youve never felt before. Get healthier gums in 2 weeks. Innovation and you. Philips sonicare welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. In our National Lead youre looking at live footage right now from clarksdale, mississippi. Rare tornado danger in december. It threatens 45 Million People just two days before christmas. Youre looking at live pictures as i said coming from clarksdale, mississippi. And you can see a large funnel cloud building there. Severe winter storms expected to strike many southern states. Thunderstorms have already caused wind damage in parts of arkansas, missouri and illinois. Lets bring in cnn meteorologist jennifer gray. Shes been keeping a close eye on these potential tornadoes. Jennifer, how powerful is this storm, the one thats likely to accompany these potential tornadoes . Well, the biggest problem with these, jake, the fact that they are moving so fast. Theyre moving around 55 to 60 miles per hour. So by the time you get your warning, you have little time to get into your safe spot. So you basically just need to be weather aware, know that these storms are in the area. They are very powerful as we can see. Weve already seen one observed tornado just south of clarksdale in a town called bellville. And right now we have that Tornado Warning in quitman. About 2,300 people effected. Its moving very fast to the northeast at about 55 to 60 miles per hour. Once it crosses over i55, a lot of people are traveling of course with the holiday season. So thats what we are going to see big problems when this storm gets closer to the interstate. This is a rural part of northern mississippi, but look at this. The Bigger Picture here. We have a lot of tornado watches in effect. And in fact that one Tornado Warning that we were just talking about is within this one particular box that the Storm Prediction Center has labeled a particularly dangerous situation. And it was right in that bullseye more than 2 Million People within this one tornado watch. It goes until 8 00 central time tonight. But look at all these boxes. The thunderstorm warnings in orange, the Tornado Warnings right now in effect in the hot pink. This is all part of the storm system weve been talking about thats going to continue to push east throughout the night. We have that warm humid air in the south, cold dry air to the west. Those air masses are colliding. And thats whats giving us this risk of strong storms. It is not out of the question this time of year, however it is pretty rare about a 20 chance of storms like this this time of year. But, jake, we are going to see damaging winds. Weve already had one death in arkansas due to a fallen tree. And so the threat continues through the night. All right. Were going to keep an eye on this and go back to the Storm Chasers if we can when their jennifer gray, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Lets turn to our sports lead today. Take a listen to this. I found a disease that no one has ever seen. Repetitive head trauma chokes the brain. The nfl does not want to talk to you. Youve turned on the lights and gave their biggest boogy man a name. That biggest boogey man is called chronic traumatic or cte, neurologists say have led to the trauma in Football Players. And this disease is coming to the silver screen. That movie is from concussion starring will smith. This movie debuts tomorrow at midnight. It promises to be a giant lump of coal in the stockings of the nfl. Our own dr. Sanjay gupta took an indepth look at the Science Behind the nfls biggest problem. The new movie concussion places the nfl and player safety right back in the spotlight. I found a disease that no one has ever seen. Will smith plays dr. Bennett omalu. And the disease hes talking about is cte. Its an alzheimers like disease with symptoms of memory loss and mood swings. Researchers like kevin believes it occurs from repeated blows to the head. Hes going to withstand an impact 157 gs. Wow. Thats similar to a car accident. Right. And what happens is our brains slosh around inside our skulls, absorbing the force of the hit no matter how strong the helmet. Humans simply didnt evolve to take hits like that. Yet there are animals that routinely take that kind of force and repeatedly. Think of the woodpecker. They hit their heads about 85 million times over their lifetime and can endure up to 1,500 gs of force with each hit. Thats ten times the force of a car accident. So how do they do that . Well, for woodpeckers its partly due to their tongues which actually wrap around the backs of their skulls acting like a shock absorber with each hit. And every time their heads hit the tongue presses down on the jugular vein slowing down blood flow out of the brain, creating an additional cushion of blood to reduce brain sloshing. Consider the big horn sheep. They charge at each other at speeds as high as 40 miles an hour. Big horn sheep release Carbon Dioxide levels in their blood decreases the size of their brains in effect making a tighter fit inside the skull. This is similar to what we see when humans go to altitudes when we have reduced oxygen we tend to have more blood rush to our head. Which again creates that tighter fit. In fact, when meyer and his team evaluated number of concussions between high school and College Football players who played at higher altitudes versus lower altitudes, they found a 30 reduction in concussions among those athletes at higher altitudes. Now, we cant all play Football Games in denver, but he does believe we can mimic playing at altitude by looking to the big horn sheep and the woodpecker for some guidance. So lets take a look at this. This is the device. And what you see is a cshaped device. Tell me if im doing this right. I put it on like this, right . You should start feeling a little more blood sensation in your forehead and kind of your sinus. Its very similar we describe it to what you feel when you hang upside down for that blood rush, but its not to that extent. This is pushing on my jugular veins. Correct. The reigns that take blood away from the brain. So its supposed to be a slight pressure, a safe pressure on the neck that will slow the blood coming out of the head. And then youre going to have the blood pushing up and filling up that space. Were trying to replicate the same amount of blood volume you have when you lie down. It is still experimental. Theyre still conducting studies to test safety and efficacy. Ultimate safety isnt going to come from devices but rather from technique and rule changes. Bennett omalu, hes more strident. He wrote an oped for New York Times entitled, dont let kids play football. And that is the message millions are going to hear when they watch concussion. Dr. Sanjay gupta, cnn, new york. Our thanks so san ya for that report. Now, cte has some Football Players running scared. This past year three nfl players swore off the game because they said they were afraid they would ultimately end up in a morgue. Another sad story that ended in a blitz of violence like junior seau both committed suicide in the throes of cte. So little is known about cte. And theres no way to determine while the players are still alive if they have it. But a study hoping to change that lost one of its biggest backers just this week. Guess who . Thats right, the nfl. Espns outside the lines reportreport ed yesterday that the nfl vetoed for the study. Eviously set aside i want to talk to christine brennan. Christine, we should say this cte study is going to get funded any way. The National Institutes of health is going to pay for it, but why would the nfl back out . Its mind boggling. Embrace it, right . Youre the nfl. As the movie says, jake, you own a day of the week. You can handle the pressure. You can handle the criticism. Theyre angry because one of their chief critics at boston university, dr. Robert stern, who has been controversial with some comments against the nfl, the concussion settlement, what have you, theyre angry hes leading this research. But for my purposes at this point as you look at this and this week of all weeks with the concussion movie coming out, let it go. Let the survey go. Let the research go. If its your chief critic, then take those answers and be better off for it. What better way to have credibility for the report . Now, cbs 60 minutes aired a report last month on the nfl. I want to play something Roger Goodell told cbss steve kroft. Are you concerned about what they may find . No, we dont. Worried that youre sowing the seeds of your own destruction . No, we want facts. We think the facts will help us develop better solutions. And thats why were advancing medical research. We want the facts, goodell says. And then they pull support for the study. Yeah. And again, the pr nightmare of this, jake, to me is the issue. Because the nfl is funding other projects. Theyve sent that up to eight projects. Roger goodell has kids that play sports, so many officials have kids who play sports, you talk to them individually they care about these issues. So the overwhelming thought, kind of the feeling you get from this kind of news is that they dont care. And as a reporter covering the league all these years, i can say they actually personally do say they care. But then when Something Like this comes out, it seems to me it sets them back and takes them to a place they dont even want to go, which is even more stunning that they would pick this fight at this time. Yeah. Youve seen this movie, concussion. Do you think its going to hurt the nfl, or is it a wash . Whats your take . I think it will be what you want it to be. In other words, if you dont like Roger Goodell, if youre angry with the nfl, if you think its unsafe, you will go home and tell your kids dont play the game. Thats it. Were not going to be involved with football. If you love football, youll probably watch it and race home to watch the bowl games and although the full complement of games on sunday in the nfl. I think it will be what you want it to be. It is troubling and eye opening. For those who havent been paying attention to this story over the last 10, 12 years, jake, i think they will learn a lot and be troubled by it. What do you think parents will do . Theres a great npr series this week, david green, one of the hosts talking to parents about the decision they make with their kids about whether or not to play football, whether or not theyre allowed. Will this movie fuel those discussion discussions . I think it will. And i think it should. I think the nfl should welcome that not because the nfl is going to go out of business any time soon. Maybe will there be football in 50 years, i dont know. But theres certainly going to be football in 20 or 30 years. People are already in the feeder system, they will be for a while. Its the most popular sport in our country. But i think it will fuel a conversation that the nation should have. Christine brennan, always a pleasure to have you. Merry christmas. Thanks for being here. Now to our buried lead. Brazilians got a new and unusual set of Doctors Orders today, dont get pregnant. Brazilian Health Officials warning wouldbe parents to put their pregnancy plans on hold after hospitals there saw a spike in newborn babies with a neurological disorder with harrowing symptoms. Officials have identified more than 2,400 cases of this across the country including 29related infant deaths. Mythologists suspect the culprit behind this crisis is a disease carried by mosquitos. But doctors are not positive mosquitos are to blame and have no idea how long this Health Crisis could last. They also worry the disease could go global. Remember the summer olympics are set to be held in rio in just eight months. In our money lead, chipotles crisis, the restaurant stock sales reputation suffering after an e. Coli outbreak. Can the mexican food chain survive the crisis . Thats next. Made with hydrogenated oil. But real joyful moments are shared over the real cream in reddiwip. Reddiwip. flourish spray noise share the joy. Share the joy. Woù est. Mon. Hotel . We have a reservation. Nous avons une. Reservation. My wife needs new shoes. Mon. Preparing to travel can get complicated. Switching your Wireless Service can be easy. Just visit your at t store and see. Can i help you . Oui. I mean, yes. Its this easy. Theyll explain your options, answer questions. And thats how you shoot a panorama. Magnifique. And right now, get three hundred dollars in credits for every line you switch. I can transfer contacts and photos, too. Incroyable. See why jd power ranked at t highest satisfaction with the purchase experience among full service wireless providers. And this is a good translation app. Merci beaucoup. Right now, aarp members can get a 10 discount on your qualified wireless plan. Plus, three hundred dollars in credits for every line you switch. To make your appointment call at t and switch the easy way. For the new mattress models its time to make room during sleep trains huge year end Clearance Sale. Get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempurpedic mattress sets at low clearance prices save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory plus, sameday delivery, setup and removal of your old set. Why wait for the new models . Sleep trains year end Clearance Sale is on now superior service, best selection, lowest price guaranteed your ticket to a better nights sleep welcome back. Weve been tracking live pictures of the skies over clarksdale, mississippi. Weve got storm chaser Mike Prendergrast on the phone. Mike, well look at your video when it unfreezes in a second. But tell us what youve seen out there. Well, we were following a very large and dangerous tornado for probably a good 30 minutes from near clarksdale, mississippi, heading northeast. This thing was long track, it was on the ground. It was just a beast. Weve just pulled off of it because that one is leaving us because these things are moufing so quickly and theyre so hard to see with all the trees. And theres one coming up from our south now headed towards the batesville, mississippi area, off interstate 55. Thats where we are right now. All right. Well check back with you bhen that picture gets back. Thank you so much. Stay safe, my friend. Thank you. In our money lead, chipotle stocks suffering as people continue to get ill from an e. Coli outbreak traced to their stores. This week chipotle shares fell to their lowest level in 19 months. Adding insult to injury the center for Disease Control and prevention says its investigating five additional cases connected to the mexican fast food chain since october more than 50 people from nine states have fallen ill. So can the chain recover from this crisis in the new year . Lets bring in howard bragman, the founder of 15 minutes pr. Howard, it appears chipotle is trying to do some major damage control. Well, they clearly need to do some major damage control. I work on crises and controversy, and everybody likes to call everything a crisis. This truly is a crisis. Their customers dont have the faith in the product they once did. The stock is crashing. Their sales are crashing. Theyre really in pain right now. I think they will recover because really three factors. One, the ceo is out there talking about it. Hes not hiding. Hes addressing this issue. Thats number one. Number two, theyre making real changes in the way they treat food safety. In terms of how they treat their product to ensure this doesnt happen again. And thats really important. And the third thing is the trend line thats going and that is people want faster, fresher quick food or fast food as we call it. Theyve really benefitted from the fact that americans are eating healthier than they did five years ago. And i think they will survive it. And the caveat i would throw in there, jake, if this keeps being a problem, then theyre going to have a problem. And theyre going to have to do a lot of promotions, a lot of assurances at the local level, and a lot of work on social media to tell customers its okay to eat here. Well, thats the thing. Theyre out there saying a farewell to gmos, our food is healthier and theyre getting sick. Can customers ever have confidence in the food . In the 90s four people actually died from an e. Coli outbreak. Taco bell saw slashed linked to an e. Coli outbreak, what can chipotle learn from those two companies . How did they regain their Customers Trust . It was a very different time then. You have to understand there was no social media back then. But what they did was they solved the problem very, very quickly. And what chipotle does is has to address the problem. They have to go above and beyond and make sure that they theyre absolutely transparent in a way you didnt have to be in the 9 0s which is why they came out talking about boiling onions and chopping tomatoes and people want to know that. Particularly the foodies out there who are the chipotle aficionados out there. The other thing they can learn is they are going to get through this as long as this is the end of it. Its rare that these things will kill a company or kill a brand. I think this brand is still very strong. I think they will survive. Theyre kind of fortunate theres not a lot of competition in the marketplace in that Healthy Fast Food arena. What i think it does do is create an opening for another company to come in and say chipotle is having these problems, how can we get our share of that business thats out there . I would say this would be great news for healthyish competitor like subway except subway has not had such a great year because of its spokesman gerald fogel going to prison for child pornography related charges. How can subway get its reputation back . Well, theyre very different things. I dont think many people blame subway for jareds transgressions. Its one thing it doesnt say im not going to take my kids there to eat healthy. When youre actually questioning whether you want to take your kids to this restaurant, is it good for them, thats a different problem, in fact a bigger problem. And i dont think subways suffered the same kind of financial losses and the stock hits and the Customer Loyalty issues. So there is, you know, you can almost always come back. The way you dont come back is not addressing the problem. The problem continues and you look like you dont care. Thats not the case here. Chipotle cares a great deal. And its a very critical time in their history. Thanks so much. Happy new year to you. Coming up, changes at Airport Security lines mean you might not be able to decide whether you go through certain screenings. Thats ahead. At planters we know how to throw a remarkable holiday party. Just serve classy snacks and be a gracious host, no matter who shows up. Do you like nuts . vo some call it giving back. We call it share the love. During our share the love event, get a new subaru, and well donate 250 to those in need. Bringing our total donations to over sixtyfive million dollars. And bringing love where its needed most. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Happening now, battle for rama ramadi. With guns blazing, iraqi tanks push deeper into an isis stronghold. Are the iraqis