we leave with you something we haven't seen in quite some time. is that sunshine? >> can't believe it. >> enjoy. see you tomorrow. super soaker. record rains leaves southern california underwater and buried in mud as residents flee their homes. victory lap. president obama arrives in hawaii overnight after a run of victories on capitol hill but can he keep up the momentum next year? what's ahead for the president tan new congress. inside the shooting. >> please. >> i'm going to kill you. >> in an exclusive interview, the wife of the school board gunman tells erica hill about thatdy and the torment of watching his final moments. >> i have watched it and i have watched it and i have watched it and i see what everyone else sees, too. the shock. the horror.

>> clay duke's widow sheds light on the troubled gunman and what set him off early this thursday on the troubled gunman and what set him off early this thursday morning, december 23rd, 2010. captioning funded by cbs and good morning. 5th avenue on this christmas eve eve. good morning. we are live with the west coast edition. i'm russ mitchell. >> i'm rebecca jarvis. out of italy, two explosions have taken place at the embassies in rome of both the swiss embassy and the chilean embassy. >> protests of late in rome. we'll have the latest at the news december income a few moments. first, the latest from a water-logged california where five days of massive storms have left behind a muddy mess and the danger is far from over. cbs news correspondent bill whit taker is in la canada flintridge, california, just

outside of los angeles with the latest. good morning, bill. >> reporter: good morning, rebecca. after having been soaked by a week of non-stop rain, it seemed california might dodge a bullet but the last pounding by torrential rain proved to be too much. the results in a word, devastating. this is what southern californians feared most, a torrent of water, a sea of mud. this entire neighborhood east of los angeles buried. karen hernandez had no way out twept through the second story wind window. >> the water rose so fast and the boulders coming in. everything just went. the furniture. the kids' christmas, everything just went. we have nothing. >> it's not just rain. it is intense. >> reporter: days of pounding rain meant the ground could absorb no more. huge pools of water surrounded the san diego hotel. guests had to scramble to higher floors waiting to be rescued by

boat. >> way under way. >> reporter: nearby at the qualcomm stadium, 50% of the field submerged with the poinsettia bowl set for tonight. highland park bridge under a sea of sludge. laguna beach saw the entire downtown coated in mud. >> we had eight claims by about 9:15 this morning. >> reporter: insurance adjusters could barely keep up or stand up and store owners are hoping to salvage what they can with just two shopping days left until christmas. >> we need to shore up and make sure that if anymore storms come it's not going to cause more damage. >> reporter: as the storms move east, homes in arizona losing ground. four have already been lost. evacuation orders for 232 homeowners here in la canada and neighboring towns have been lifted. still, the threat of mud slides could go on for days. and when so much seemed to be

lost there was a welcomed sign the worst might be over. now, the cleanup begins. to put this in some perspective, los angeles got half of its annual rainfall in just one week. too much for the soil to absorb. this is a watch basin to catch debris and while the storm may have passed there's concern that these hills so saturated and weakened by the rain could still collapse at any time. rebecca? >> thank you. cbs' bill whitaker in california this morning. and now here's russ. this morning, congress and the president are taking curtain calls after one of the most productive lame duck congresses in history. president obama arrived in hawaii this morning to join his family for christmas vacation. cbs news chief white house correspondent chip reid is traveling with the president and he joining us this morning very early morning from honolulu.

chip, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, russ. you know, just a few weeks ago the expectation was that the president would limp through the so-called lame duck session of congress, but in fact, he sprinted through it with a series of victories and yesterday a press conference that sounded like a victory lap. >> this has been a season of progress for the american people. >> reporter: the president reveled in the accomplishments of the so-called lame duck congress that turned out to be anything but lame. >> we've shown in the wake of the november elections that we have the capacity not only to make progress but to make progress together. >> reporter: he praised the senate for ratifying the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms treaty the russia despite fierce opposition of republican leaders. >> the strong bipartisan vote in the senate sounds a powerful message to the world that democrats and republicans stand together. >> reporter: he listed a series of legislative victories including a new law giving the fda power to monitor food

safety, repeal of don't ask, don't tell. and the bipartisan compromise on the bush era tax cuts. >> this package includes a payroll tax cut that means nearly every american family get an average tax cut next year of about $1,000 delivered in their paychecks. >> reporter: the president said it all gives him hope for continued bipartisan progress in the new congress. >> i think it's fair to say that this has been the most productive post-election period we have had in decades and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we have had in generations. >> reporter: but he also vowed to continue fighting for his core beliefs, specifically, mentioning the dream act which would grant citizenship to some immigrants brought to the u.s. as children, defeated last week and the president called it his biggest disappointment of the lame duck session. >> i'm persistent. if i believe in something strongly i stay on it. >> reporter: to prepare for those battles ahead, the president will spend a week and a half here in hawaii.

he'll be spending time with his family and he'll have a national security briefing every day and we suspect he'll also be spending a lot of time on the golf course. russ? >> all right. chip reid in honolulu, thank you very much. the challenges of the president in january, let's bring in ron brown stein. good to see you. >> good morning, russ. >> the president not prepared to call himself the comeback kid but in your mind on the scale of presidential comebacks, where does this fall? >> pretty extraordinary in one sense and maybe a little less surprising in the other. extraordinary to have this lame duck session after this extraordinary midterm where democrats lost the most seats either party lost in a midterm since 1938 and the assumption republicans slow walk everything in december and january to have more leverage when they regain the house majority in january but he was able to get a lot done. less surprising in the sense that that's really the pattern for two years. it's been a striking the ability of democrats to advance the

legislative agenda, didn't do that much good with the voters in november but looking across the board, they probably got more of their agenda into place than either party in a single congressional session since the 1965 and 1966 so in that sense this continues the pattern of being able to hold together, peel off enough republicans to move things forward, but surprising in that it came after a shellacking as the president put it. >> as you pointed out, things change next month but what do you say the white house has the momentum in washington? >> the president showed that he is -- he showed more nimbleness and more kind of ability to roll with the punch than we have seen at some other points in his presidency. you know, he is resilient and persistent. after scott brown elected last january, you know, people said health care was doomed and of course they found their footing and were able to get it passed. what he showed here is flexibility in being able to bring in republicans. many of those legislative victories over the past two years on virtual party line

basis. in many of these victories, s.t.a.r.t., don't ask, don't tell, the tax cut, he was able to bring along enough republicans and that gives him a little more leverage i think going forward into 2011. >> okay. ron brownstein today, thank you. take care. for more on the explosions in rome, italy, and the top head loons, betty nguyen at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning. we do have breaking new this is morning. two mail bombs exploded in italy's capital. both sent to embassies in rome. two people have been injured. cbs news correspondent alan pizzi on the phone from rome. when's the latest? >> reporter: the first parcel at noon local time opened by a 53-year-old employee and exploded, seriously injured one of his hands and burned and cut the other. he was taken to the hospital. italian police cordoned off the

area said the device what they called had of a low potential but it was still prettiletal for the man that opened it up. three hours later, chilean embassy not far from the swiss embassy in rome, and that went off injuring another employee there and not particularly seriously. the italian foreign minister called the attack on the swiss a deplorable act of violence and said that italy is in sol dare with the swiss people. rome's major said the end kaxs is that the devices were what he called international rather than domestic in motive. that was a reference to unrest that's plagued rome over the last couple of weeks, violent student demonstrations over awe stairty measures and the finger at a swiss anarchist group. in october, a bomb was found and didn't go off at the wall of the embassy and that was demanding the freedom of several anarch t anarchists in switzerland,

betty. >> thank you, alan. north korea is threatening a, quote, holy war against skra after the south conducted new military exercises today. the live fire military exercises by the south were its largest air and ground drills of the year. south korean officials say the war games are in direct response to the artillery attack by north korea that killed four people. a security scare at the home of former president george w. bush near dallas. a sports car ended up on the bush's front lawn yesterday morning. officials say the driver passed all sobriety tests and was released. the former president and his wife laura were home at the time but were never in any danger. the chicago fire department is mourning the loss of two of its own after they died tragically yesterday in the line of duty. cbs news krontd dean reynolds has the story. >> reporter: the christmas week fire destroyed a building, killed two firemen and sapped the spirit of chicago's fire department.

>> every firefighter that was there did their best they could to save their brothers. and i could say our major concern right now is their families. >> reporter: more than 100 firemen, some of them off duty, rushed to the smoldering one-story building minutes after hearing a call for help from their comrades. >> mayday, mayday. emergency. give me 211. ems. we had a collapse in the rear of the building. we have guys trapped. >> reporter: while the cause of the fire is under investigation, those from the south side neighborhood said the building was used as shelter by the homeless. >> it was some squatters in there trying to keep warm and the place caught afire. >> reporter: the firemen found no one inside but the roof collapsed on top of 12 of them leading to a frantic, brick by brick search of the debris by responding units. but for two, the help was too late. >> our condolences and prayers to both families, their friends and the brothers and sisters at chicago fire department. the ultimate sacrifice of two

lives are selflessly given in the spirit of saving the lives of the citizens of the city of chicago. >> reporter: dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. congress passed the 9/11 health care bill. the senate and then the house approved it yesterday to help those that first responded to the 9/11 attacks. it includes $1.5 billion to monitor the health of rescue and cleanup workers here in new york and it reopens a $2.7 billion victims' compensation fund. in health news, it turns out the placebo affect can make patients feel better. new study finds nearly 60% of patients taking a dummie bill said they felt better even if they knew it was a placebo. 35% of patients in a controlled group with no treatment said they felt better. the musical of spider-man is scheduled to return to broadway today. yesterday's performances were canceled following the injury of a stuntman. new safety measures are being

put in place. time now for a check of your weather outside. john marshall with wcbs joins us. good morning. >> good morning. a sigh of relief in california. the faucet is off and some great news. most of the country storm free. the west coast looking pretty nice right now. satellite pictures showing clouds over the northwestern portion of seattle, some scattered showers there but sunshine for c c cleaning up the mess dealing with. temperatures will be in the 50s and the 60s

>> that's a latest weather. now over to rebecca. >> john, as the pow earlful west coast storm pushes into the middle of the country it could make travel treacherous for millions of americans just in time for the christmas rush. and cbs news correspondent don teague is at dallas-for the worth airport. good morning, don. >> reporter: good morning, rebecca. the rush is on for americans trying to get home for christmas but whether or not you specifically have trouble really depends on where you're going and how exactly you plan to get there. bad weather in the west from torrential rains in california to snow and even fog in colorado means tough driving and delayed flights for millions of americans on the move. >> any time you have weather,

especially this time of the year, it just worsens exponentially. east cowest and worse as worse as the hours go on. >> reporter: aaa says 92 million americans will travel 50 miles from home on the christmas break, a 3% increase over last year. most will drive despite gas prices averaging $2.98 per gallon, 40 cents higher than a year ago. >> it is a combination of a slightly improved economy, when compared to a year ago. pent-up travel demand from folks who may have sat on the sidelines last year, and just a strong desire to spend time with family and friends. >> reporter: but getting there can be frustrating. one year after the underwear bomber tried to bring down a christmas flight, fliers face beefed-up security with body scans, more aggressive pat downs and longer lines. >> i'm absolutely confident the efficiencies in the system after

the x ray of the christmas day bomber have been addressed. >> reporter: despite the increased security and hassle of flying, more than 43 million people are expected to fly between christmas and new year's. and while airfares are actually down by about 3%, airline profits are soaring, from checked bags to paying to lock in a price, airlines collected $4.3 billion in fees in just the first nine months of this year adding to their bottom line. well, the best advice for fliers is always leave extra time if you can and important this time of year, don't bring wrapped packages through security because the tsa say there is's a good chance they veal to unwrap them. rebeccasome. >> good point. don teague at dfw, thank you. still ahead this morning, in an exclusive interview, the wife of a school board gunman tells erica hill what drove her husband past the brink. for last-minute shoppers, still deals online to save you tons of money.

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in moments we'll have erica hill's exclusive interview with the wife of the pan map city school board shooting rebecca duke in a very emotional interview talks about what happened and what she thinks happened to her husband. >> we've heard from others on the other side of that gun and now we'll hear from her, a person who xwhu him best. >> this is lt early show.

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two pe to the hospit it's 7:25. time for news headlines from cbs 5. i'm sydnie kohara. two people rush to the hospital in the east bay after an apartment fire that started about 6:00 this morning. there is no word on the extent of their injuries. that fire on standard avenue near 23rd street in san pablo was confined to one apartment unit. two men died a third clinging to life after a shooting in south san francisco last night. three other people were also hurt in the gunfire near linden avenue and 8th lane. three suspects escaped, possibly in a brown chevrolet impala with tinted windows. and sewage spills are the reason four beaches are closed in san mateo county. spills blamed on the heavy rain that we have had. unsafe levels of bacteria were found at linda mar and rockaway beaches in pacifica, and at aquatic park and lakeshore park on the bay in san mateo. traffic and weather around

the bay area in just a moment. stay with us. feeling a bit off? the moment you feel run down or achy nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud.

all right. let's go out to chopper 5. walnut creek near 24/680, everything is moving great. really no big delays even heading towards the caldecott

tunnel right now. so just not as many commuters out there. thank you, chopper 5, for that live look. all right. let's go to our maps. we can tell you about a fog advisory just issued by chp for the carquinez bridge. so watch out for that if you are heading across the span into crockett. now, except for that like i mentioned, very light traffics across the bay area. no delay at the bay bridge toll plaza. in fact, they have never turned the metering lights on at all so easy trip into san francisco and the nimitz freeway through oakland looks good in both directions past the coliseum. here's tracy with your forecast. >> hey, thanks, elizabeth. forecast for this morning, boy, no rainfall in the forecast. can you believe that? just a few cloud out there this morning but otherwise, that's about it. mix of sun and clouds expected today. here's a look at our seven-day forecast. highs today in the mid- to upper 50s with plenty of sunshine as well as tomorrow. rainfall moving in for saturday, yeah, christmas storm will bring rainfall to the "bay area saturday" and a few showers sunday. monday plenty of sunshine with more rainfall tuesday and wednesday.

look at the nice people who came on a chilly morning to say hello to us. that's so sweet to them. we'll be out there in a half hour to say hi. >> absolutely. >> welcome back to the early show. i'm russ mitchell. this is rebecca jarvis, by the way. >> good morning. >> can anything silence the colorful and tackive coach rex ryan, how about a series of foot fetish videos featuring a woman that looks a lot like his wife. he says he will not talk but can he "tiptoe" past the controversy? >> be honest, russ, have you done all your christmas shopping at this point? >> i have not. >> we have news for you. believe it or not still lots of great deals out there as hours

tick down and online shoppers can still get their packages delivered on time. we'll have all these great gift ideas for the last minute coming. >> up ah. makes me feel better. thank you very much. first and "early show" exclusive. last week clay duke rivet ad nation when he took over a school board meeting, fired shots at the members and fired himself after security officers to get it back

the new york jets football team is once again making headlines off the field. this time, coach rex ryan is facing questions about a foot fetish video featuring a woman who looks a lot like his wife. cbs news correspondents michelle miller reports. >> reporter: it is the off-the-field story that's got the new york tabloids talking and is keeping one coach on his toes. tuesday night, youtube video surfaced on the website deadspin.com showing a woman in a foot fetish video with voiceover from an ardent

admirer. >> is it okay to touch them again? >> sure. >> can i smell them? >> sure. >> look closely at the woman now. she bears a more-than-passing resemblance to this woman. this is michelle ryan, wife of rex ryan, the head football coach of the new york jets. >> he's a very gentle man in private. >> rex ryan has become known for his bluster and bravado with the media. when asked a direct question -- >> mr. ryan, you did and your wife make the foot fetish videos? >> reporter: the normally tackive ryan found himself, well, with his foot in his mound. >> you know, this is a personal matter. and i'm not going to discuss it. >> reporter: despite repeated attempts by reporters to get a comment -- >> again, it's, you know, it's personal. >> reporter: ryan stayed light on his feet, except to compliment his wife. >> my wife's beautiful.

she's been -- been married for 23 years. you know, she's awesome. >> reporter: his players tiptoed around the story. is that her? >> uh, i don't know. >> reporter: the hope among the jets is that a win against the bears this weekend will let everyone "walk" away from this story. michelle miller, cbs news, lauren park, new jersey. >> an editorial in one of the new york papers says okay if there is a crime here, he loves his wife, what's the big deal. >> his wife of 23 years he called awesome. >> that's true. usually very loud and have an answer for everything but to see him yesterday, um, um. >> that was awkward. >> was interesting. >> interesting and awkward. still ahead we'll show you some of the best last-minute buys online delivered just in time for christmas. you do have to act now, but we have it all covered for you. this is "the early show" on cbs. right now, there's a nurse saving a life in baltimore.

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time to get last-minute gifts delivered. here with ideas for all you pro castnators out there is aol's latoya drake. >> good morning. >> there is a lot on the internet you can still do. what are we looking at you can still have delivered by christmas day. >> we found all these ideas at aol shopping you can order today and have under the tree. a cashmere sweater, women will love these at nordstrom, that's available order by 3:00 p.m. today. things like ugz boots and slippers available today. if you have someone in a make-up lover drugstore.com has a steal on a makeup kit for $10. order that and have it under the tree and everybody is happy. >> today, as we know, the last day to shop online. what stores do we need to coabout and what are the deadlines to pay attention to today? >> absolutely. you are unerr did a time constant. you don't have all day for play online from 11:00 a.m. eastern

to 4:00 p.m. in some cases. 11:00 a.m. for best buy, order by 11:00 have it by tomorrow. 1:00 p.m., jcpenney, at the gap, you have until 3:00 p.m. eastern and for zappos, 4:00 p.m. if you are really pro crass thast this is where you need to goimplts go to the letter "z" your last bail-out. waiting until friday night, which we hope people won't but if you happen to be waiting until christmas eve, what are your last-minute gift ideas. >> super last-minute ideas for procrastinators, things like an itunes gift card. someone with an ipad, this will go a long way in terms of purchasing apps and things like magazine subscriptions that give 12-fold, every month a gift will show up on someone's door or things like airline miles coming occupy up on spring when they want to travel and great for college students, as well. >> good advice for college students. when you think about the deals, they tend to get better after christmas, that's at least historically what we've seen. what are going to be some of the best deals out there after

christmas? >> we've seen a couple deals leaked from target marking an h dvtv-32 inches by $200. you will get that for about $399 also marking down other electronics, their toys. you will see things like their itunes accessories marked down and jcpenneys have leaked all of their winter items, you'll see sweaters as low as $10. >> $10. >> you want to get up, not black friday madness but deals to be had. >> because gift cards are one of the biggest gifts this season, those deals seem like the kind of thing people will be able to use their christmas presents towards. >> absolutely. traditionally the day after christmas we see teenagers redeeming gift cards, you'll see places like penney's going after the teen market. teenagers' cloths will be there because they will be in the stores looking for deals. >> are the deals best right after christmas or do you actually have to wait until theny year for the rock-bottom price. >> depends what you are shopping for.

things like toys are marked the day after christmas because this year's hot toy most likely will not be next year's and cold winter items like sweaters and scarves and hats because the retailers have to make room for spring shipments. here's one sparkling wine, it drops after the holiday season so we are heading into new year's, looking forward to that look for those deals. >> latoya drake, thank you. we appreciate it. this is "the early show." we'll be right back. [ superhero ] is he coming today? [ alien head 1 ] he had a fever last night. [ alien head 2 ] yeah! [ robotasaurus ] well, his mom gave him new triaminic fever reducer syrup.

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it's 7:55. time for news headlines from cbs 5. i'm robert lyles. two people were rushed to the hospital after a san pablo apartment fire that started about 6 a.m. there is no word on the extent of their injuries. the fire was located at standard avenue near 23rd street and was confined to one unit. starting new year's day, online impersonators could face heavy fines here in california. anyone who assumes the identity of another person to intentionally harm, intim date, threaten or defraught could be charged with a misdemeanor. the law was authorized by state senator joe simitian of palo alto. violators could face a fine up to $1,000 or spend up to a year in jail. and more controversy over federal gas pipeline inspection

guidelines under scrutiny since the san bruno explosion. the "san francisco chronicle" says 7 years ago, pg&e lobbied federal regulators to endorse an inspection method that critics say is deficient. the report says the method saved pg&e millions of dollars because it did not have to upgrade its system. stay where you are. traffic and weather around the bay area coming right up. stay with us. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,

good morning. well, we're trying to get a few more details about a fatal accident in san jose. it is on city streets right there near the intersection of south tenth and east alma avenue near spartan stadium. there are road closures in the area south tenth blocked off near humboldt and alma closed for a stretch between south 7th and central road. main lines of the freeway 280 guadalupe parkway traffic exceptionally light including at the bay bridge toll plaza. that's your traffic. here's tracy with your forecast. hey, thanks, elizabeth. well, as our director mike says, it's a beautiful day to be in the city. take a look at it, transamerica building. i know you got some last-minute shopping do because put it off because it was raining. today's your day. pretty nice day expected. 50s today and more sunshine friday. christmas though the weekend will be wet. rainfall saturday with showers

sunday. [ mom ] my son only wanted one toy this year. i want a robosan 4000. [ mom ] the one no one could get. toy stores are reporting long lines and empty shelves. a robosan 4000. [ mom ] and i mean no one. so i did most of my holiday shopping on citi specials. with the money i saved, i bid online -and got exactly what he wanted. -a robosan 4000! [ television ] introducing the new robosan 5000. [ mom ] at least for now. [ male announcer ] make your happy holiday stories come true with citi specials. what's your story? citi can help you write it. this holiday season, chevy's giving you more. like a 100,000 mile/5-year powertrain warranty. that's 40,000 miles more than ford. and now we're giving you our best offer of the year. 0% apr financing... plus $1,500 holiday allowance... plus no monthly payments until spring. on most chevy models. but hurry, because your chance to get our best offer of the season ends soon. see your local chevy dealer now.

christmastime in the big city. a lot of folks come to new york to celebrate the season. it is gorgeous here this time of here. >> beautiful. maybe not so much the weather but the surroundings are beautiful this time of year. >> that is true. i'm russ mitchell. these folks over here are from australia. >> welcome. >> isn't it summertime in australia? and you came here. okay. >> it's your christmas present. >> we appreciate it. coming up, millions of us make new year's resolutions evei'v every year. everything from losing weight to k quitting smoking. there is a way to keep your resolutions and, get this, it

does not involve willpower. we will tell you how it works. also, merle haggard once sang a song called "you take me for granted." don't believe that for a minute though. this giant of country music is one of this year's kennedy center honorees. he will talk with julie chen about his hugely influential career that began more than 50 years ago. >> julie interviewed oprah yesterday. merle haggard today, look forward to seeing that. first, let's check the news. betty nguyen is warm inside. >> nice and toasty in here. good morning. in italy this morning two people were packages in embassy exploded. a mail room worker opened a parcel that blew up and injured his hands. later there was a second explosion at chile's embassy. again, one person was injured. ukrainian embassy also got a suspicious package, but it was not a bomb. after a week of torrential downpours southern california may actually get some sun today.

raging flood waters overwhelmed bridges and roads while a sea of mud coated the entire downtown of laguna beach. the storm literally buried some people's chance of having a happy holiday. >> because the water rose so fast and the boulders and stuff were coming in, everything just went, the furniture, the kids' christmas, everything just went. we have nothing. >> evacuation orders have been lifted in several towns, but the threat of mudslides will continue for days. there's a state of emergency in southern nevada and arizona from that same winter storm. nearly two dozen homes were damaged by raging flood waters. the virgin river is expected to crest leading to even more flooding. after a frenzied and productive lame-duck session congress and president obama are getting some much needed r and r. mr. obama has landed in hawaii this morning to be with his family. cbs news chief white house correspondent chip reid who is

traveling with the president has the latest. good morning, chip. >> good morning, betty. they call it a lame-duck session of congress, and the president was expected to limp through it. in fact, though, he raised through it with a series of legislative victories, then celebrated with a victory lap. >> this has been a season of progress for the american people. >> reporter: the president reveled in the accomplishments of the so-called lame duck congress that turned out to be anything but lame. >> i think it's fair to say that this has been the most productive post-election period we've had in decades. and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we've had in generations. >> reporter: he praised the senate for ratifying the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms, 13 republicans despite fierce opposition of republican leaders. >> the strong bipartisan vote in the senate sends a powerful signal to the world that republicans and democrats stand together on behalf of our security. >> reporter: he listed a series of legislative victories, including a new law giving the f

fda expanded power to monitor food safety, repeal of don't ask, don't tell, that will allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. >> this package includes a payroll tax cut that means every american family will get an average tax cut next year of about $1,000 delivered in their paychecks. >> reporter: the president said it all gives him hope for continued bipartisan progress in the new congress. >> we are not doomed to endless gridlock. we have the capacity not only to make progress but to make progress together. >> and to prepare for the battles ahead the president will spend the next week and a half here in hawaii recharging his batteries. he's expected to spend a lot of time with his family, on the beach, and on the golf course. >> chip, speaking of the battles ahead, how tough is is it going to be with the republican house? >> it's going to be very hard. everyone had been assuming the house was going to set the agenda. now people are kind of recalculating their expectations based on how well the president did during the lame-duck session

of congress. betty? >> all right, cbs' chip reid traveling with the president in a warm hawaii. baby boomers turning 65 next year say they are satisfied with their lives and many do not want to retire. a new survey done by aarp said seven out of ten said they achieved all or most of what they wanted in life and although many are worried about financial security, 82% say they are optimistic about the next five years. let's see if we can be optimistic about the weather outside today. let's go back outside to the plaza. john marshal joins us. >> betty, we're just trying to stay warm. right now people from the south came up to the city, obvious reasons. where are you from? >> texas. >> texas. we've got a family from? >> jacksonville, florida. >> i love your earmuffs. what are they? >> he'lly kitty earmuffs. >> your dad is building a toy set inside, isn't he? >> yes. >> you're going to have to cope with the cold for a couple of more days. i don't know when you're leaving but it's going to be like this

for a while. get used to it. let's look at the forecast. basically we have a storm system over the northeast that's giving us cold winds and scattered snow

this weather report sponsored by macy's. now let's go back inside to russ. >> thank you very much. up next, how long do you keep the new year's resolutions before giving up? we'll show you the tricks to making them stick. this is the "early show" on cbs. come on! wait for me! there it is. ah! hurry up. you're heavy. are you sure these letters will get to santa? yes, of course. hold still. almost there. a little bit higher. i can't hold you up much longer. ah! whoa! [ all giggle ] ♪ hi, fellas. hi, virginia. why are you on the floor? [ female announcer ] bring your letter to santa into macy's and we'll donate to the make-a-wish® foundation. together, we'll collect a million reasons to believe. hey! wait up! ♪ [ female announcer ] you see a mud stain.

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♪ pillow pets and hot wheels for my sister's kids in maine ♪ ♪ oh, walgreens has perfect gifts ♪ ♪ for all those on your list ♪ like a walgreens gift card ♪ for your daughter's teacher miss gilchrest ♪ [ female announcer ] find all your last minute gifts at walgreens like a sony ipod clock radio, axe bath set... hershey's chocolates and more. and we're open late. stay jolly with walgreens. until this morning's healthwatch, keeping the new year's resolutions, with we all make big plans when the ball drops but survey shows more than half of us will give them up in less than six months. dr. jennifer hartstein is here to help us make them stick. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> overall, why do our resolutions fail? >> most of the time it's because we set goals that we don't really like, and they're bad. why do we have to do them every

year? it's what's expected. we have to make it happen. they fail most of the time because we set these gigantic goals. and they're really unattainable. and then when we can't see any immediate gratification, we quit. that's really one of the big problems. >> willpower, you say, isn't enough to get through this. >> it is not. we have always thought if i just stick to it, our stick to ittiveness will keep news there. the truth is it's not enough. when we get stressed out, when we get overwhelm we'd other things, our willpower is the first thing to go. we want something that's going to make us feel better right now. we have to refrain our brain into thinking about things in a more positive way. >> easier said than done, huh? >> it is so difficult. one of the things you want to start to do is associate what you're working towards with something positive. so you want to really say, i want to lose weight by the end of the year, i want to feel good and be healthy. imagine what that's going to feel like and the reverse of that, what it's going to feel like the you don't do it. you want to try and to do that. you want to start with small,

less meansingful tasks. you wouldn't run a marathon without training. train your brain a little bit. think of your brain as a muscle, train it and jump into our resolution and be ready. >> you have specific tips. you say plan ahead when it comes to resolutions. >> absolutely. you have a week before it's new year's. start to get things ready now. if you want to be organized, start to get the containers, the folders, the whatever. i have my folder here that i use to keep things organized. it's bright and colorful. i like that. it keeps me, oh, look, it's my happy folder. you want to think about what's going to help you get ready. if you want to lose weight and be at the gym, have you joined the gym yet, do you have your new clothes? start to think about what you want and get ready for it so that come january 1st, you're ready. >> you say retain -- o-- attain goals. >> you want a larger goal and break them down into smaller

pieces. attainable, realistic, simple, ti time frame. >> you say we should have a setback plan as well. >> absolutely. it's super cold or we get sick. most of us focus on health for a resolution. if you can't because you get sick and you lose momentum you may have a hard time getting back into momentum or you had that piece of cake at the birthday party. say to yourself one piece of cake doesn't mean i fail entirely. your friends probably have the same goal, get a buddy. >> that's what's happened to me. i've fallen off the wagon, okay, that's it. >> the fact is that doesn't mean you failed entirely. you can get back on. just make a new commitment and recommit to that moment, making your goal forward. >> finally, you say it's good to reward yourself along the way. >> yes. if we're breaking things down into little bite size pieces reward each piece so that you

feel like you are feeling good and get that immediate gratification that's going to keep you motivated. you want to recognize that and do that as much as you can. pat yourself on the back. give yourself praise. any of that. >> don't look at that reward as a setback. >> no. >> if you like chocolate cake and you have a piece after three weeks, don't look at that as a setback. >> no. say, hey, i worked really hard and i deserve that cake. >> i'm all pumped up. >> ready? >> i'm ready. >> you can do it. up next, merle haggard is proud to be an okie from muskogee. this is coming up. this is "the early show" on cbs. is cbs the "early show." don't let our hair grow long and shaggy ♪ [ female announcer ] with rheumatoid arthritis, there's the life you live...

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every year the john f. kennedy center honors five americans for their lifetime of achievements and contributions to the arts. and this morning, we continue our series on this year's award winners with country music giant merle haggard. recently, he sat down with julie chen ♪ i could be holdin' you

tonight ♪ >> reporter: known as the poet of the common man, 73-year-old merle haggard remains one of the most influential artists in country music. ♪ tried to raise me better >> reporter: for more than 50 years, the lyrics he's written haven't been fancy but honest. what would you say the message is your songs? >> one word, truth. no matter how bad it hurts. ♪ the old tanker train >> reporter: he's always written about his own life, often reflecting on the loneliness and loss of his childhood. >> i was a very happy child until my father passed away. ♪ the first thing i remember knowin' ♪ >> reporter: his father's death cast a shadow over everything. with just his guitar, he ran away on freight trains and had run-ins with the law. is it true that you spent more time in juvenile hall than in

school? >> well, i didn't want to go to school and they wanted me to go to school and that was the big issue. and i was always runnin' from 'em and they were always chasing me. >> reporter: but soon, life caught up to him. in 1957, he did two years and nine months locked up in san quentin. how did it change you doing that time? >> it taught me the absolute necessity of honesty. you know, you can tell somebody at san quentin that you're going to do something on a tuesday, you best do. ♪ i turned 21 in prison doing life without parole ♪ >> san quentin transformed haggard in more ways than one. on january 1st, 1958, the legendary johnny cash performed a full concert for inmates. >> he captivating 5,000 convicts. and i said, hey, this guy's got something. ♪ from now on, all my friends

are gonna be strangers ♪ >> reporter: it was a defining experience for haggard. from that point forward, he understood he could find his way with music ♪ i raised a lot of cane back in my younger days ♪ >> it was cash himself who later told haggard to put all of his hardships into his songs. ♪ i walked in on the fightin' side of me ♪ >> reporter: and it paid off. haggard has recorded more than 600 songs, including 40 number one hits. he's won three grammys and just about every country music award imaginable. >> single of the year, 1970, is "okie from muskogee" merle haggard. >> reporter: arguably his most famous song is also his most controversial. ♪ we don't smoke marijuana in muskogee ♪ >> reporter: but, he makes no

apologies for it. >> there's more than one message in that song. one of them is pride, for this country. and we all agree on that. >> reporter: are you still as big of a patriot today as you were when you wrote that song? >> oh, even more so. i'm deeply disturbed with our country and deeply in love with it. ♪ we still wave old glory >> reporter: tackling politics, love or life, haggard has done it all on his own terms. and he's celebrated for it. today, he's a legend. ♪ each night i leave the bar tsdz room ♪ >> reporter: and with his son and wife of 24 years by his side, he's happy. what do you feel most proud of? >> i'm proud of the whole thing. since i was 23 years old, when i walked out of that jailhouse,

it's been uphill all the way, but it's been fun. >> merle haggard old school country. >> yes, the poet of the common man. i like that about him. >> i do, too. what is interesting seeing oprah win tree yesterday and merrill hag gad today folks came through adversity obviously have done very well and so successful today. it is hard for many people to see these people today and imagine at one time in their life the ♪

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it's 8:25. time for news headlines from cbs 5. i'm sydnie kohara. the city of oakland investigating its 92nd homicide of the year. police say a man was shot near 71st avenue and spencer street tuesday. they believe the 28-year-old lived in the area. so far no motive or any arrest. a $10,000 reward is offered. residents in southern california coping with the aftermath of yesterday's storm. take a look at this. heavy rain causing major flooding and mud slides in laguna beach. dozens of people were rescued. the storm is expected to head east today out of california. jerry brown has revealed plans for his inauguration as governor. he will be sworn in at the sacramento memorial auditorium. brown will be confronting a budget deficit of some $28 billion over the next 18

months. he says his inauguration will be modest. a look at traffic and weather coming right up. stay with us. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

good morning. traffic is nice and light all across the bay area. we do have one fog advisory issued by chp this one for the carquinez bridge so watch out

for low visibility heading into crockett. but yeah, taking a live look outside, not too bad up the nimitz, no slowing by the coliseum. quick towards downtown oakland. same thing across the san mateo bridge and at the bay bridge toll plaza, they actually never even turned the metering lights on. do want to update you on these road closures. we had a fatal accident on city streets in san jose and there are still road closures in the area near spartan at south 10th and east alma avenue. that's your traffic. here's tracy with your forecast. hey, thanks, elizabeth. forecast for today, here we are, looking out towards the bay here, we do have a few clouds out there this morning. in addition to those clouds, we have sunshine. seven-day forecast mid- to upper 60s, mix of sun and clouds, more sunshine for friday and saturday and sunday, another storm system moving towards the bay area giving us a wet christmas, a few showers sunday, more

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even more people have come out to join us this morning on the plaza. >> they love wind, apparently. >> apparently. we thank them from coming. welcome back to "the early show." of course this is rebecca jarvis and betty nguyen. >> yes, under this hair a betty and reb kamplsts much of the country in a deep freeze the past few weeks and can put your electronic gadgets in jeopardy. one thing you don't want to be stranded in the cold with a broken cell phone. coming up our kourm correspondents susan koeppen will show you how to protect the devices from the cold. >> also, guys a question that keeps me up at night. is there any difference between white and orange cheese? >> oh, my gosh. i don't know. >> or is canola oil better than

regular vegetable oil? >> we'll have a quiz about food and show you how you could be sabotaging your diet not even knowing the answers to questions like these. >> good information. we have asked this father of three to assemble a typical christmas gift, in this case the playmobil magic castle. as most parents know putting presents together can be the major challenge of christmas morning, right? we'll show you how to assemble a few of the most popular toys without pulling all of your hair out. >> i tell you something, cj has worked on that for the last two hours. >> yeah. it's been a while. >> we'll check with him in a bit. cj is looking happy over there. >> a little confused at times. >> still working. first ul mr. john marshall is here, right over here. >> how are you doing? ladies, sorry about the hair. the wind is blowing. we have lovely ladies from salisbury, maryland. i love this sign, we love our moms. your names. >> jessica. >> hailey sdplooshgs of course,

the nucleus of the family, aren't they? >> yeah. >> dealing with windy conditions in new york city but out west the storm system that flooded southern california moved to the rockies and weakened considerably. in the northeast we are dealing with areas of light snow and a lot of wind and cold temperatures, right down through the carolinas

>> that's your latest weather. now here's rebecca. >> if you want to stay warm this winter, you bundle up. but what you may not know is that the cold could seriously harm your cell phones and ipods and consumer correspondents susan koeppen is here with tips how to take care of your devices. good morning, susan. >> good morning. >> it is cold out. and we are walking around with our phones. what do you do to protect the battery in the cold? >> the first thing you need to know about the battery, the cold will actually drain your battery faster. if you are going on a trip you want to make sure that you have a backup charger for your car, you also want to carry some backup batteries, aaa says 1.4

million americans will get stranded traveling this year between christmas and the new year. so, it's important to have some back-up in case you lose that battery. >> the last thing you want not have cell phone access if you are stranded. when it comes to where to keep it on your person, what's the best place? >> the cold can actually shatter the front of those smartphones. so, a bad place to put it is in an outside pocket or in your backpack or leaving it in your car overnight. the best place to put it on an inside pocket, obviously using your body heat to keep that device warm. >> you've actually brought some fun things along with you today. i understand there are gloves that will actually let you use the cell phone better. >> right. with normal gloves, you can't use your smartphone. some companies are getting wise to this and isotoner has come out with this glove called the smarttouch, you can keep your gloves on and still use your screen, something called telefiners, about $20, the is so attorneys, 4rz 40 smfkly made to

use them if the cold weather . >> what about the ipod? also, of course, battery operated, similar idea there. >> everybody has an ipod walking through the streets carrying our ipods maybe working out in the cold weather. it is made to work best at room temperature, between 32 and 95 degrees according to apple. so, if you leave your ipod out, if it gets very cold, the best thing to do is let it warm up to room temperature before you turn it on. you may have an issue with it not getting out of sleep mode if it's too cold to operate. >> you have to wait for it to get warm to get out of that sleep mode. ebook readers huge this year, a lot of us have them nowadays. what do you do with them in the cold. >> obviously the ex sfreem cold, same issue can be an issue for your ereader. you don't want it to get too cold. you also, it to warm to room temperature to prevent condensation from building up and never take your ereader out into the cold weather if it's

snowing or raining or use wet fingers when using your device. >> good advice. also we have the surge protector, as home keep your things plugged into the surge protector to keep them safe, too. >> right. >> susan koeppen, thank you so much, we appreciate it. now here's russ. >> thank you very much. most of us us try to eat the right foods and stay thin but experts say we can sabotage our diets without even knowing it. here to explain five hot spots that can trip you up. joel, good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> the white cheese and yellow cheese. the myth. doesn't matter which you choose. >> what do you think. >> i'm thinking it doesn't matter. >> that's actually false. paler cheeses are actually preferable to yellow ones. all cheese has a lot of fat in it but there's a lot of myths about fat. these are natural fats and those are fully good for uls. but what's interesting, that fat actually contains more calories than proteins and carbohydrates

so adds up faster. in general, you know, the whiter cheeses will contain a lot less calories than the yellow ones. brie, for instance, contains 20 less per ounce than cheddar. so, if you are going to mill around the cheese plate during the holidays go for the brie. >> good to know this is a trick question, regular dressing or fat-free dressing, the average person, meelt mr. average person would say fat-tree this is one of the reasons that we did the big book of food and nutrition. there's a lot of myths out there around this stuff. turns out that, when you add fat with greens like vegetables -- and we'll go ahead and dress that salad. what happens is that it actually increases the bioavailability of the nutrients and vitamins in the salad. one study says 15 times as much beta carotene out of these vegetables will enter your body. that doesn't happen when you have the fat-free stuff.

>> so the combination, kind of like the chemistry. >> so one plus one equals three. go for the full fat. >> i think i'm going to get this right for you. brown rice is better for you than white rice. i'm going to say brown rice is better. >> that is actually true. this is where it starts, and this is what it turns into. what happens when we refine things is we're stripping away all the fiber and the germ and everything that makes it digest slowly. what happens is it spikes your blood sugar, and you end up more hungry later. whenever you're opting for carbohydrates, opt for the brown stuff. >> canola oil is better than vegetable oil. >> true. this is one where most kitchens in america have vegetable oil. really the biggest swap you should make is take the vegetable out and put canola oil in across the board. one of the things that's the difference between these two, this comes from grape seed whereas this comes from soybeans and corn, both of which have a

higher amount of omega-6s to omega 3s. canola oil, much better ratio. omega-6 is one of the big problems in our american diets right now. opt for the canolcanola. >> on the scale of oils, what's the worst oil? >> vegetable oil is right up there. it's really an overlooked thing. go for canola oil when you cook, and whenever you're dressing it, go with olive oil. >> go for the bacon here. turkey bacon is better than regular bacon. >> false. >> i've given up. >> go for the real thing. we're trying to make it simple. that's what the "big book of food and nutrition" is all about. you can eat bacon and be okay. turkey bacon is not 100% bird. go for something real whenever you're in doubt. any question about that, if you look on the package for any food, if it doesn't go bad, it's probably not good for you. >> you're at a holiday party, all this food on the table. any general rules? >> i think that's really -- if

you can come back to it in six weeks or four weeks or three weeks and it's going to look the same, probably not good for you. opt for the things that are perishable and will go bad. >> good to know. joel weber, we appreciate it. and now here's rebecca. macy's has been asking children of all ages to write letters to santa as part of its believe campaign for the holidays. macy's pledged $1 for each letter received, up to $1 million, for the make a wish foundation which grants wishes to kids who have life-threatening illnesses. over the past month, we've watched a young boy from georgia to get his wish to become a tv weatherman. also an aspiring dancer's dream became a reality as she took classes at an elite performing arts center. on top of all that, we had some fun with santa himself right here on the plaza. the campaign is coming to a close. here with a final update is macy's executive vice president martine reardon and david williams, president and ceo of the make a wish foundation. so good to have you here.

>> good morning. how are you? >> i'm doing wonderfully. martine, before you reveal whether or not you met the goal, tell us how has this campaign been for you? >> it's been amazing each year. each year we think we can't get it better and better. we have gotten it much better this year. so many people across the country have just poured into all of the macy's stores and brought their letters to santa because they care so much about the make a wish foundation and helping grant wishes for children. >> and, david, how significant is the campaign to what you do with make a wish? >> it's huge. what's so exciting, as martine said, is to have elementary schoolchildren writing their letters to firefighters in chicago, it just spans the breadth of this country. and so it's amazing to see that support for the foundation. >> it really is. martine, it is the final moment, the moment of truth. how many letters did you receive? >> we collected 1 million letters. >> 1 million. >> and it's still only the 23rd. so i am very pleased to present

this wonderful check to david williams and the make-a-wish foundation for $1 million. >> that will go towards granting a lot of wishes. >> it will. and every year in the united states, about 27,000 kids are diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition, and we are able to impact about half those kids. and so to the extent that money like this is raised, it's able to help us help more kids. >> and i understand, martine, you have a little surprise this morning. >> we do. david doesn't know this, but what we did additional this year is we had a facebook believe game out there where we also donated $1 for every letter that folks played on the facebook game. and in addition to that, we did national believe day on december 10th, where we paid a double donation for every letter received. so i'm proud to tell you that we have an additional $250,000 that will be donated to the make-a-wish foundation this year. >> yay, good for macy's. macy's is amazing.

we're so thrilled to be in partnership with macy's. it's a great holiday. >> great to see you. happy holidays to both of you, martine and david. merry christmas, happy new year, and to all the children who have been supported by make-a-wish, we say happy holidays to them as well. now here's russ. you open the presents on christmas morning, and now comes the hard part, assembling all the toys. if you don't have any elves to come to the rescue, need to listen to "the early show" contributor shannon eiss. she can get it done. what's the one thing with folks with kids at home who know they're going to have to put something together on christmas day should have in their closet? >> i wish it was one thing. there's actually several things. there's all manner of devices and mechanisms. we can start there. some of these things are around the house. scissors are really important. batteries of all shapes and sizes. love what duracell did with packs. >> very smart. >> you may not think you need it

but wire cutters to get the packages open. i live by my i-grow mini screwdriver. a lot on the market, but these are invaluable for small parts. zip-lock bags that you can label for extra small parts. and keep all of your instructions. keep all the warranty information, keep the product registration. keep it someplace handy. >> as someone who's put together a few toys on christmas morning, i always think that all the tools are going to be in the box. not true, correct? >> no. there's always a random allen wrench that you're not even sure what you need it for. you're responsible for get your tool kit ready. >> let's move on to some toys here. the thomas and friends trackmaster toy. >> this is amazing. the logging adventure literally ported from my living room to here. lots of great play for boys. some tips for parents. when you're dealing with this type of track or any sort of playset, lock the neck mechanisms in place once you're going. and be sure to go back and check

the joints. you also want to be sure you're working from the instruction. pictures on the box. >> don't look at the box. >> don't go on this entirely. >> it's called glamour shot. this is the way the manufacturer intended you to build it. and keep these. when you disassemble, you're going to have to reassemble, and you're going to need this. also, your track, make sure you're following instructions. they may fit together but may not be in the right place. follow instructions and make sure you're building it the way the manufacturer intended. it's really nice. >> this works. it's really nice. >> it is. >> on the difficulty scale, where does this one fall? >> my husband difficulty scale, took him about 45 minutes, but he's had worse. >> he's had worse. >> he's had worse. >> let's move over here. this is a bit of a monster. this is the playmobil magic castle for little girls. our buddy here c.j. has been working on this for about two hours now. c.j., how's it going? >> it's going, kind of. >> c.j. and i had a chat about the process because we know this one took three stagehands three hours to put together. >> three of our stagehands three

hours to put together? which ones? >> raise your hand. totally worth it. playmobil, a wonderful company. great products for boys and girls. this happens to be the very girl princess set. some tips for this. make sure you're following the process. talked to c.j., and he said, i was jumping around, doing things differently. keep having to backtrack. process is important. lots of small parts on this. you see the little flowers come off, so a tip for parents just to have some glue handy, maybe as part of your tool kit, that you can put these things on permanently and aren't picking up for the rest of the year off the ground. and lots of small parts. while you're assembling or even when you're done, if you have an extra piece of lattice work that c.j. has mentioned trying to match up, make sure you put them in a bag. >> c.j. has been working two hours. how far along is c.j. in the process? how much longer do you think you have to go, c.j.? >> i've got a while, definitely. trying not to let those guys look bad actually. >> and you're going by the instructions or looking at the

box? what are you doing? >> i'm going by the instructions, but there's no words or anything. it's like swedish furniture, you know. >> that's an issue. c.j. will be playing vegas next week. c.j., thank you so much. we appreciate it. we've got some toys for grown-ups. >> this is the grown-up equivalent of the castle, the universal remote, the bane of household existence. we took a look at two different ends, a $40 remote by logitech and a $9 remote by radio shack. differences in price points really make a difference. the $40 remote is a web-based setup, very intuitive, lots of customer service support throughout the process. whereas a $9 remote, you're still setting it up on your actual device on the screen. a little less compatibility with products. the $40 remote has 5,000 products it's compatible with. some tips here. make sure, when you sit down, you have all the device codes you're trying to sync with. download the application required with the setup. and you can get through it

quickly. it can be a little more difficult with the $9 remote. >> there's all sorts of stuff to help you out. no need to be frustrated. >> absolutely. and a lot of the customer service for all of this is online. that's a great tool for people nowadays. >> thank you so much. thank you, c.j. best of luck. for more christmas toy advice, go to our website, earlyshow.cbs.com. we are coming right,,,,,,,,,,,,,

all this week, of course showcasing very impressive holly light displays or affiliates and facebook friends have told us b. we noticed a trend this year homeowners making their lights dance to the music. let's go down to lubbock, texas, the home of jana and robert barnhill. let's listen [ background music ] >> everything's bigger and

better in texas, right. >> yeah. >> let's break dance. >> that and a holiday bev advantage. >> play air guitar. >> there you go. a family friend puts this altogether for the barnhills, quite a friends. it takes two days to put up 40,000 lights and 15 hours to scnc, listen to this, to scnc one minute of music. that's a pal amplts friend, indeed. >> the back story jana's mother died a few years ago and as a present her husband as done this every single year because her mother loved christmas. >> that's sweet. >> very sweet. >> all right. let's see and hear our next display. [ background music ] >> this was sentence from our cape girardeau, missouri alf yalt, kfvs, the clark brothers' christmas show in kel so, missouri, they added 80 touz more lights this year. they take donations and every penny of the money goes to the st. jude's children's hospital impl that's very nice.

>> gorgeous. >> wow! [ laughter ] >> the question, dot neighbors get any sleep? >> the neighbors i'm sure they love it. >> they probably love it. >> they may just be on vacation, forget about it this year. >> i'm going back to that pal that puts up the lights and syncs the music. >> 15 hours. >> hope he gets a nice grift from christmas. >> tomorrow morning we'll be live from the scene of our favorite light display. do you have a favorite so far from what you've seen. >> i like them all. >> you're good. >> the back story betty shared today is really moving. >> really meaningful but in a way, though, they all kind of look the same. >> i like the music effect, though. >> betty nguyen, keeping it real. >> just saying. >> thanks so much for joining us today. we'll see you tomorrow, christmas eve. we'll see you tomorrow, christmas eve. enjoy. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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it's 8:55. time for news headlines from cbs 5. i'm robert lyles. police are searching for suspects following a deadly shooting in south san francisco. two men were killed, four others injured near linden avenue and 8th lane last night. the killers may have escaped in a brown chevy impala with tinted windows. muni riders in san francisco are seeing fewer delays. the examiner reports trains are running on time a lot more than they were a few months ago. software glitches were blamed for past delays but have been fixed. some san mateo county beaches are off limits this morning. the recent rain is the reason. several sewers have overflowed in san mateo county. that put unsafe levels of

bacteria in the water at four beaches including aquatic park, lakeshore park, linda mar and rockaway. traffic and weather around the bay area in just a moment. stay with us. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

good morning.

just getting word of a new accident in benicia, eastbound 7 80 before second street. injury clash, slowing on our sensors. except for that traffic light in the bay area. no metering lights on the bay bridge toll plaza. they never turned them on, never saw a delay. all your approaches to the toll plaza still look great. nice and light 19 minutes down the eastshore freeway from the carquinez bridge to the maze. a lot of folks on mass transit, everything is on time including bart going to the airport. all trains are on time. that's your traffic. here's tracy with your forecast. hey, thanks, elizabeth. have a nice day. [ laughter ] >> you, too. >> thank you. here's a look out toward ocean beach. boy, it is a beautiful morning especially considering the ongoing storms impacting the bay area but not today. we've drying out. plenty of sunshine today and tomorrow. rainfall saturday and sunday. more showers tuesday and wednesday. and here's a nice look out at the sierra.

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