A filmmaker gives a homeless man 100. Im starting to tear up. Its okay. Its, like, incredible. Then secretly records him just to see what he would do with it. Is what happened next a true sign of the meaning of christmas or too good to be true today, wednesday, december 24th, 2014. Announcer live from studio 1a in Rockefeller Plaza. Good morning on this Christmas Eve morning. We have tamron in for savannah. Dylan in for al. Natalie playing herself this morning and this video, i guess it depends on your perspective and how much of a cynic you are. Others think its heartwarming. Others not sure. I cant wait to hear the reaction on our today. Com what people think. And to hear his story of how he became homeless. It solidifieas. George h. W. Bush was sent to the hospital overnight for shortness of breath. Lets hear how hes doing. Reporter good morning. President obama was brought by ambulance here to Methodist Hospital from his home in houston overnight. Hes expected to stay at least until today. According to his longtime spokesman, jim mcgrath, who says the former president is expected to be fine. We last saw him in public last month. He was at the site of his president ial library at Texas University and two weeks later he made another public appearance at a houston texan game where he participated in the coin toss. The president , no stranger here to Methodist Hospital. In fact, he was hospitalized for two months at this exact time two years ago for a bronchitisrelated cough and fever. At 90, president bush is the oldest living president. He suffers from a form of parkinsons so now uses a scooter or wheelchair. President obama who is vacationing in hawaii, has been made aware of president bushs hospitalization. Matt, through a spokesman, he sent his best wishes to the president and his family. We do the same, janet. We say, get well soon, mr. President. Absolutely. To the massive storm system causing thousands of flight delays and hundreds of cancellations. In the south, it is responsible for at least four deaths in mississippi when several tornadoes touched down. Nbcs jacob is in mississippi. Reporter good morning. The city of columbia was hit hardest of all. Hyped me was a gas station, a sxhoem a couple other buildings all totally demolished. The city itself is only six square miles and the tornado went right through the middle. Severe storms battered the deep south overnight with heavy rain, winds with gusts up to 65 miles an hour and dangerous golf ballsized hail. Tuesday afternoon the deadly storms crossed mississippi, a tornado cut a path of destruction through marion and jones counties, killing four people and injuring many more. Its totaled. My house is totaled. I have lost everything. Reporter some people were trapped and had to be rescued. Dozens were injured by flying debris. Debris strung all the way up, well over 50 foot up in trees. Its really just a pretty grim sight. Reporter an ambulance flipped over a car. There was a heartstopping close call at a Day Care Center where 35 infants had to be evacuated to safety. The kids day care blown off the building. Here on the other side of the fence, toys flew across the other side. Luckily, though, everyone here was safe. Reporter in louisiana, officials believe a tornado touched down twice, uprooting trees, damaging homes and causing widespread power outages. In the florida panhandle, drenching rain caused flash floods. Tallahassee residents saw as much as three inches an hour, the wettest day ever for the month of december. At least 50 people have been or are still being treated at a nearby hospital. The governor of mississippi de claired a state of emergency in two counties here in what is already the deadliest december tornado in the state in a half century. Tamron . Thank you very much. Our hearts go out to those people at the Holiday Season. Thats a tough thing. Youve been following these storms all week long. All week long. Unfortunately, well see another round of Severe Weather again today. Well see delays at the airport, especially down near atlanta where you can see heavy rain is falling. Lightning down through the panhandle of florida and into southeastern georgia. Want to point out, in seattle and portland, we also have heavy rain. Two major hubs that will experience some delays. Lets get to the tornado watch. It includes tallahassee and extends up to charleston, south carolina. This is where we could see isolated tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and a lot of rain. Tallahassee yesterday picked up 7. 5 inches of rain. That will lead to flooding, naturally. As we go through the day today, can you see the heaviest of the rain is in the carolinas. Through the atlantic, well see pockets of rain. Near new england well see the rain continue to be morsteady. On the backside of it, where its cold enough for snow, we will see flakes fall in chicago, also across most of michigan throughout the day today. On Christmas Morning, showers and for the most part the storm will be pulling away. I mentioned the rain. Because of that we have flash flood warnings all across parts of florida and georgia. We have wind advisories back through the eastern great lakes. Winds could gust as high as 50 miles an hour. We could also see flooding in the northeast. As much as an additional 3 to 5 inches of rain possible east of tallahassee. 1 to 3 inches in the carolinas. In new england up to 1 to 2 inches of rain. Enough to cause urban street flooding when it comes down heavily. These are your Winter Weather advisories, st. Louis, chicago, traverse city, michigan. Not a lot of snow because the ground is warm. We are still looking at 1 to 3 inches of snow. So, we are literally seeing everything that Mother Nature can throw at us. That is a busy map youve got over there. I know. Thank you. Catch your breath. In the other news this morning, the movie no one expected to see in theaters will be released tomorrow, on Christmas Day. Sony now says the interview will be shown in hundreds of small theaters across the country, even after the threat from hackers about what might happen if it was shown. Nbcs Halle Jackson is in los angeles for us this morning. Good morning. Good morning, tamron. This morning the films themselves are arriving at movie theaters across the country and even those who are not seth rogen fans say theyll go see the interview in principle. Now some shows are already selling out. On this Christmas Eve, some theater owners say they got best gift anyone could give. Were looking forward to it. I think its going to be quite big. Reporter the interview, sonys controversial comedy featuring a plot to assassinate kim jongun. Theyre preparing for capacity crowds. Im glad they decided to release the movie. Reporter the decision to release the movie to 200 theaters willing to screen it is a sudden aboutface just a week ago they yanked it from distribution. That set out a National Outcry with accusations sony caved to north korea. People have been pretty hard on this movie. Yet, now its going to be embraced. Its become something of an event and i think a lot of people will want to see it. Reporter thats exactly what the hackers who attacked sony hoped to avoid, a message believed to be from the cyber attackers threatened retaliation if sony didnt keep the movie under wraps. The u. S. Government blames it on north korea, who denies it. Officials privately tells nbc the u. S. Had nothing to do with the cyber attack that shut down north korea this week, the state department is neither confirming nor denying a role. I dont think well get into the business of every time something happens in a country like north korea saying yes or no either way. Reporter for now, sony says its proud to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech and hollywood is applauding. James franco posting, victory. Seth rogen which has become a rallying cry for those on the marquee, freedom prevails. Will this go out to video on demand . Maybe. Sony is still working on contractual issues. Normally theaters push back against simultaneously releasing movies on the big screen and dvd, but this movie is the exception to all the rules. Thank you very much. Its an unusual case, to say the least. Now that the movie will be released, we want to know if youre going to go see it. Head to our today Facebook Page to answer that question. Meantime, there was a chaotic scene in missouri overnight. Natalies got that story. Thats right. Some violent protests overnight again near st. Louis after a deadly shooting involving police. Now, this happened in berkeley, missouri, about two miles from ferguson. More than 100 protesters there, including some who had been active in the Michael Brown protest, clashed with police at the scene. Heres what happened. Just after 11 00 last night, police say an officer approached two men standing near a gas station. They say one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer. The officer fired several shots at the man, killing him. A distraught woman at the gas station identified the man as her son, 18yearold antonio martin. Police say a handgun was recovered at the scene. Nbc news has confirmed isis has shot down a u. S. Led coalition fighter jet over syria this morning. They reportedly taken the Jordanian Army pilot hostage. This is the First Coalition jet down since september. To disturbing new details after that terrifying road rage pursuit in california. Dramatic cell phone video shows the 50yearold chasing two women in a white mazda. She was arrested shortly after the incident. Turns out now, according to authorities, this is her second traffic arrest in less than a week. Shes swerving us off the road. She keeps trying to hit us off the road. Reporter its the fast and furious video gone viral. Dude, shes [ bleep ] she just hit our car. Shes pushing us off the road. Yes, shes pushing us off the road. Shes coming for us. Reporter terrorizing two women down the california highway, hitting them twice and claiming to be a local sheriff before the women finally reach safety. Please, help us. When she physically hit us was the first part. One of the passengers in the white mazda i tried so hard not to look at her. I wanted to look at her and be like, leave me alone. Weret could have been a lot worse. Reporter she was arrested and booked into Placer County jail. According to local police, this was the second time in five days she was arrested for a traffic incident. December 17th she was jail ared for a hitandrun and throwing large rocks through the home of an aquan tans, threatening to kill those inside. She appeared before a judge tuesday, behaving erratically as prosecutors went over the case. She pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including reckless driving, obstructing an officer. Bond was originally set at 25,000. When the prosecutor asked to raise bail to 500,000, she interrupted. Lets make it 100. Wishful thinking. She has another hearing set for friday morning. The two women in the white mazda, fortunately, were not injured. Two boeing 737s clipped wings on the taxiway at new Yorks Laguardia airport tuesday. A denverbound southwest airplane was taxiing out of the runway. Both were taken out of service for inspection and repairs. An incredible story of survival this morning vovinvolv a dog, like his feline friends, has more than one life. This is 13yearold boston terrier sammy who is recovering after falling 15 stories from the balcony of a residential highrise in sacramento, california. How did he do it . Sammy, who is said to be losing his eyesight, fell straight into the hot dub down below. He suffered from crack the pelvis and broken ribs but he is expected to recover and hell be okay. That is one lucky dog. Thank goodness there was that hot tub directly underneath. Oh, my gosh. Natalie, thank you very much. Time for a second hit with dylan this morning. I dont even know what you call it. Theres so much to talk about in the weather department. Weve got all kinds of storms, but the big one will be for the slight risk of strong storms down in the southeast along the coast of the carolinas. Isolated tornadoes are possible. Rain extends into new england. We have snow through the western great lakes, gusty winds and a storm in the Pacific Northwest. That will turn into a snowstorm for the rockies, especially tomorrow and into friday. Thats a look at the weather across the country. Your local forecast is walmart has everything you need to make your signature christmas dish. Mine is mouthwatering mashed potatoes. I mix my russets with milk, butter, and cream cheese to make them super creamy. Mmmm. And yours . Sockittome spiral cut ham whoa you made this . Yep. I just take a sams choice Super Premium spiral cut ham from walmart, bake it flat side down, tent the foils so all the juices can mingle. Who are you . Ham man walmart has everything you need for christmas dinner at unbeatable prices, guaranteed by savings catcher. Walmart. Merry Christmas Eve. Im first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. Dense fog to start off the morning, rainfall expected, heavy at times. Temperatures will stay well above average. Our average for this time of year 43. Temperatures today will range between 55 and 62 degrees. Rainfall expected to continue into tonight and linger into tomorrow morning. Then well start to see wind speeds picking up heading into your Christmas Day. Expect temperatures to fall throughout the day. Our high tomorrow at 53 degrees. And thats your latest forecast. On this Christmas Eve, it looks like santa is delivering the gift of a stronger economy to everyone. The year is closing out with the best quarter of Economic Growth in more than a decade. And tuesday was a recordbreaking day on wall street as the dow closed above 18,000 for the first time ever. These milestones come as gas prices drop and unemployment sunk to the lowest number since the start of the recession. So, here to break it all down and what it means for holiday sales and the year ahead is jim cramer, host of cnbcs mad money. Hi. I think we can say happy holidays. The dow over 18,000 for the first time. What does this mean for the economy moving ahead . I think people are going to actually get raises next year. Really . Yes. I think that this is a moment where our economy is so much, so much better than the rest of the world, that youre going to see good times. I mean, plain and simple, its better. So much driving those positive numbers that in one day we saw . A lot is gasoline prices have come down so much, that people just have a lot of extra money. And theyre spending it. We are a spending economy. So, theyre spending the money, but, jim, if you look at any of the analysis, people still say they dont believe that were in a full recovery. They dont feel it in their pocket immediately. So, Consumer Confidence is kind of wishywashy. I think thats true. It is not trickle down, so to speak, to the regular worker. Thats 2015s work. That will happen because housing will get better. Manufacturings getting better. And retail is great. Remember, we are a big retail economy. And this has been a good Holiday Season. It has been. You have the gas prices down, unemployment down. Those numbers certainly encouraging. But the immediate sales for holiday and retail, will this be something well talk about at the beginning of january with a thumbs up . Yes. I think more money in peoples pocket is making people feel more confident. When people feel more confident in this country, they go to the department store, they go to the discounter, they go online. Thats been a major theme. And i think youll be pleasantly surprised with how much was purchased. How do you measure your happiness and satisfaction, is this an aplus going into 2015 . Its hard not to give it a solid a. Things are just so good. 5 gross domestic product. Much better hiring. Well get back to where we were in 2005. We may be the Fastest Growing economy in the world after 18 months. Thats good to hear. Nice to see you. Happy holidays. Holiday cheer from jim cramer. Were liking that. A lot of people doing lastminute shopping. Carson is here and about to conduct an experiment. You done . Yes. All three are done . Are you done . We asked people, are you shopping today on our Facebook Page . Lets get to the results. Nice move over there, johnny. 20 are shopping today. Good news because amazon prime now is being tested here. Its a new app from amazon. Being tested here in the new york city area in certain zip codes that you can order stuff and get it within an hour. Youre thinking, im not in new york, how does this affect me . The truth is, if this goes well this year, theyll roll this out nationwide. This is a gamechanger for you procrastinators. There happens to be four people i havent gotten gifts for quite yet. You can imagine who those people are. This is it right here. Within an hour, 7. 99, have you to pay that charge. Ill say okay to that. Let me place my order. We are on the clock. It is 7 19. Lets see if we can get this stuff within an hour. I hope it works. They have no idea its coming to the today show. So were not no. A regular order has been placed. Were going to track it on the ipad. Well see when they show up to our door. 7. 99 is not bad. Very good. Jeff is on the phone saying, quick, get it there now. Its carson daly. What a homeless man did with the cash he was given while he was panhandling on the streets. Also ahead, a look back at the custody case that made headlines around the world several years ago when David Goldman fought to bring his young son home from brazil. This morning they will tell us how theyre doing five years later. First, on a wednesday morning, this is today on nbc. Still to come, im curious, walmart has everything you need to make your signature christmas dish. Mine is mouthwatering mashed potatoes. I mix my russets with milk, butter, and cream cheese to make them super creamy. Mmmm. And yours . Sockittome spiral cut ham whoa you made this . Yep. I just take a sams choice Super Premium