cbs 5 "early edition." "the early show" is next. >> caption colorado, llc comments@captioncolorado.com good morning. house republicans back down and accept the two-month extension of the payroll tax cuts that they rejected just a few days ago. threatening a tax increase for 160 million workers. we'll tell you what led to this final deal. syria's capital is rocked by violence for the first time in nine months of protests as two deadly car bombs go off outside security offices. wall street picks up good speed before christmas. housing and consumer spending, we'll look at the numbers and see if the rally will continue in the new year. and snow in new mexico and the northeast means trouble for holiday travelers while parts of georgia clean up after serious storm damage. we'll check the holiday forecast

and find out who's having a white christmas early this friday morning, december 23rd, white christmas early this friday morning, december 23rd, 2011. captioning funded by cbs final countdown is on to the big holiday weekend. no snow yet here in new york. good morning to you, i'm rebecca jarvis. >> i'm jim axelrod. payroll tax cut just in time for christmas. agreeing to extend the tax cut for two more months. >> the deal will head off a tax increase that would have been implemented for the 160 million american workers next month. sharyl attkisson is live in washington. >> this morning was a hastefully called friday preholiday session

and the senate got together the way they figured out how to do this. they didn't have to technically have a lot of people present to cast votes. they were able to take an action that basically ensure that this passage of the extension will happen. speaking just moments ago was the senate majority leader, democrat harry reid. >> everything we do around here does not have to wind up in a fight. that isn't the way things need to be. people wonder why the approval rating. i don't wonder. it seems that everything we've done this last year has been a knock down, drag out fight. there's no reason to do that. >> okay. well, the uncomfortable stalemate is now over so 160 million workers no longver to worry that their payroll taxes are going up january 1st. two-month extension and thus ends the public relations nightmare. the republicans have suffered for failing to basically get together sooner. john boehner admitted last night how difficult it was.

>> may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world, but let me tell you what, i think our members waged a good fight. we were able to come to an agreement and we were able to fix what came out of the senate. >> republicans in the house and senate have been unable to agree on the exteng because the senate was content with the two-month extension we ended up with. the house was holding out some members there for a whole year. now, the fix is in just for the next two months. >> sharyl, what does that fix look like? give us the deals? >> largely similar to the compromise bill that last saturday was passed but the same thing the house earlier rejected. extends the payroll tax rate for another two months. that's 2% below the normal rate of 6.2%. it extends unemployment benefits so people can continue to get jobless benefits checks for up to 99 weeks and a goody in there for republicans. the concession, new language to

ease the payroll reporting burden on employers. that's something, rebecca and jim, that they wanted. >> all right. >> so i suppose we can look forward to this, again, come february 29th when they're back to the drawing board and trying to figure this deal out. cbs' sharyl in washington. thanks, sharyl. meanwhile, wall street is in a merry mood this week. dow jones industrials gained more than 400 points in the last three days. for the year the dow is up 5%. >> here to tell us what is driving the market is alexis christoforous. >> it's getting on the housing front and the unemployment front and does that mean that the worst is behind us? >> well, at least we're taking baby steps, we have to start some place. we'll start with the job market. the number of americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits dropped to a low and claims below 300,000 for the past month or so which does show

job growth. the unemployment rate fell in 43 states last month. we're looking at the unemployment rate hanging election. >> in addition to unemployment, housing, jim and i have been togging about this. housing has been showing improvement. >> 2012 could be the year we see stabilization in the housing market and we had builders busiest last month and home construction busy and permts for future construction and mortgage rates hitting a record low this week. the problem, of course, not a lot of people are qualifying for these loans or if they do, they're holding off and waiting for housing prices to come down. >> how does this trickle down to consumer spending? >> it means better confidence. people are feeling better about the economy. the university of michigan came out with a survey showing consumer confidence is at a six-month high and just look at holiday spending. we're on track for a record. last saturday alone, $26 billion in sales.

now, the one troublesome thing here, people are spending but they're dipping into their savings to do it, not because their incomes are higher and that's really not sustainable. >> maybe the retailers feel they have to discount so heavily just to get the consumers to spend that could be an issue. what do the traders at the new york stock exchange tell you? do you think this positivity will carry into next year? >> the wildcard is europe and continues to be. if europe were to fall into recession, it doesn't mean we will. it could trip up our economic recovery. so many depend on exports to europe. if they were to falter, it's hard to believe we wouldn't and, of course, we need to have congress work together in an election year to help keep confidence high. >> good luck with that we appreciate it. now to the race for the white house where the gop candidates don't have time yet to think about christmas. frontrunners mitt romney and newt gingrich are battling hard for votes in the crucial first sta state. >> wyatt andrews joins us from

north conway. good morning, wyatt. >> jim, good morning. yesterday mitt romney rejected the newt gingrich challenge for a one-on-one debate. all of that coming from that flap over negative campaign ads. mitt romney today concludes his three-day bus tour of new hampshire, a state where he is running ahead, but acts like he's running behind. >> how are you? >> reporter: romney got a boost from an establishment republican. former president george h. w. bush told a newspaper that romney was his choice. >> i thanked him for his support. his leadership, his heroic life and his friendship, mean a great deal to me. >> reporter: the news came as romney crisscrossed new hampshire by bus and in one small town was truly running for president. four years ago, he lost new hampshire and lost his momentum. this week, on a bus he personally filled with diesel, he named the bus tour, earn it. we asked him to explain. and by that you mean, earn

every -- >> exactly. show people that i'm not sitting back assuming people will vote for me because they like my ads. >> reporter: newt gingrich, meanwhile, spent his day in virginia. he's trying to gather the signatures to be on the ballot in virginia, but part of his focus was still in iowa and the negative ads from a super pac backing mitt romney. >> happy to go over all iowa and doesn't mind he is hiding behind millions of dollars in negative ads but doesn't want to defend them. we're coming together very fast in iowa and i suspect we'll be very, very comfetative. my goal is to be in the top three or four. >> reporter: one candidate who could win in iowa is ron paul, who had no apology. >> it's about serial hippocsy. >> reporter: for the negative ads he has run against gingrich. >> i feel obligated to tell people about what his positions have been and how he flipped flopped on different issues.

>> reporter: most of the candidates heading home for the christmas holiday because just next week the sprint is on to finish strong in iowa. jim? >> all right, wyatt andrews in north conway, new hampshire, thank you. now to the middle east this morning where syria is facing its most serious anti-violence yet. >> two car bombs killed more than 40 people this morning and elizabeth palmer has the latest. >> reporter: streets in the suburb of damascus were littered with bodies after two explosions near state security buildings. syrian state television said the attack involved two suicide car bombs and blamed al qaeda, although offered no evidence to support the claim. the bombing comes just a day after an advance team of arab league observers arrived in syria, hoping to broker a cease-fire in this country, which is slipping towards civil war. yesterday syrian state

television showed president alsad meeting with tribal leaders to illustrate some of the support that remains for his embattled government. but syrian tanks and armed forces are still deployed throughout the country in what the government describes as an operation to defeat terrorists, but which the syrian opposition says is ruthless suppression of a grassroots movement demanding greater freedom and democracy. more than 2,000 people by the u.n. estimates have died already in the violence in syria. but just nothing like this. these mass bombings and certainly represents a very sinister escalation in the whole conflict. jim? >> elizabeth. i'm wondering how the regional instability in neighboring iraq, for instance, all plays into the sense of this growing unrest in syria. >> definitely. the baghdad bombings were part of a different power play

probably and the syria is sort of self-contained. but added to all of the seismic political shifts and the upheaval of the arab spring or i guess we have to call it now the arab awakening, there's a whole regional instability that it could become very dangerous in 2012. >> something we will be watching. cbs' elizabeth palmer in london. thank you. debbie turner bell is at the news desk with a check of the day's other headlines. >> good morning to both of you. good morning to you. an emotional farewell to former czech president former president bill clinton and his wife, secretary of state hillary clinton were some of the world leaders who attended the funeral services in prague today. in 1989, the dissident playright led the peaceful overthrow of communism. there's a warning for women worldwide about breast implants made by the french company pit. french officials say the implants should be removed as a preventative measure because they're made with an industrial

silicone that could rupture or link. they're linked to eight cases of cancer in women in france. about 300,000 women have the implants. none, though, were sold in the united states. and a strong earthquake hit new zealand this morning. the city of christchurch was rattled by a 5.8 magnitude quake sending people into the streets. there were no serious injuries or widespread damage, thankfully. a more powerful earthquake, you will remember, was in february that killed 182 people. and former presidential candidate john edwards is asking for a delay in his upcoming criminal trial because of a medical condition. his trial is scheduled to start on january 30th. he did not specify his illness. edwards is accused of using campaign funds to hide an affair with his pregnant girlfriend during the 2008 campaign. a massive fire in san francisco has left about 60 people homeless. the five alarm blaze yesterday destroyed an apartment building and two homes.

three people were injured. the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. hope everything is okay. now, let's go back to jim and rebecca. aaa says about 84 million americans are driving somewhere for christmas or new year's and today, of course, will be one of the bizzest i travel days of the year. >> when you hear a number like 84 million, it makes you a little happy you're not on the road, if you happen to not be. but guess what, the weather man has this story. whether or not the weather is going to be noto or nice. lani quin has the forecast for us. good morning to you. >> good morning. let me show you what we're looking at from high up above from our satellite imradgery and look at the radar picture. your eye goes to wherever the bright colors are. we have the snow storm out around new mexico right now. we also have this big storm, which is exiting the northeast today. so, by saying noon to 3:00, this is long gone. it's the trailing cold front

that has really caused some problems. i'm telling you, when this thing came through places like atlanta, georgia, specifically rome, georgia too, the northwest of atlanta. take a look at this video. kicked in some winds that were blowing at close to 60 miles per hour. look at the storm damage here. i mean, those look like bricks to me on the ground. big trees were toppled over, as well. we did have a report of a tornado in alabama associated with this storm. has not been confirmed yet by the national weather service, but we'll stay on top of that one. the other big story, the snow. falling out around new mexico. do you realize snow recorded all the way down to the mexico border. i mean, that's not supposed to happen. the picture you're looking at here is from new mexico, albuquerque has had snow on the ground, as well. they don't normally see a lot of snow, about two inches so far. the higher elevations have seen close to a foot of snow and, i'll tell you, right now denver has had, look at this. i put some facts together for you. if we can move forward here. this is what i'm looking for.

denver right now at this time of the year has had more snow than they had for the entire season last year. denver is a town that we think of as catching a lot of snow when, in fact, really the mountains outside of denver. denver average 61.7 inches for the year and so far they have 25.4 and last year 22.8. on the flip side, you look at new york city. new york city had one of the biggest winters ever last year picking up 61.9 inches and, rebecca and jim, they've picked up, new york city and central park, right outside that window has picked up so far, 2.9 inches. that was in october. i mean, everything is flip-flopped out there. so, let's move forward and show you what else i got for you here. in terms of airport delays. those two storms i talked about. that's what's responsible for the delays. you'll see around buffalo, new york and boston. wherever you see a yellow shaded airplane, that's where the problems are. the green airplanes, no problems at any point. around albuquerque, that's the snow storm, as well.

traveling the roadways. here's 90. interstate 90. the mass turnpike as you're coming from boston and you deal with rain now you're dealing with a rain/snow mix and make your way into syracuse and now more snow than rain and get to buffalo and it's going to be all snow. for buffalo, not one of your big snow storms two to four inches out of this.

you know, a lot of makeovers will cost you a lot of money. i mean, there's a lot involved in makeovers, but this morning, we have a money makeover that can actually help you save thousands of dollars for the new year and all you need is a couple hours of time. plus, a deadly attack in afghanistan inspires a successful grassroots charity helping navy families. we'll meet the navy wife who got it all started. this is "the early show" on cbs. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers?

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tell but a story coming up. in early august, u.s. forces in afghanistan suffered their worst single loss in ten years of war. 31 special operations troops, including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s were killed when their helicopter was shot down. >> well, the wife of a former s.e.a.l. wanted to help the families of those who died and she is getting nascar attention. she is going to tell us how much money they have raised and how you can get involved. it's called the navy s.e.a.l. foundation and they have raised some thousands of dollars at this point and they are looking to work with children to help them in this really tough time to recover. this is "the early show" on cbs. . announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by sassage envy.

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san francisco fire investigators are going to work this morning in the western addition. a five- alarm fire burned 32 dwellings. sixty peo good morning. san francisco fire investigators are going to work this morning in the western addition. they are still there. they put out a few flare-ups. a five-alarm fire burned 32 dwellings. 60 people lost everything. there were only two minor injuries yesterday. no word on what caused a bus to go out off control and end up in a field near the pittsburg-bay point bart station. six passengers were hurt. they are expected to be okay. and crowds are rushing to malls across the country this morning including to tanforan mall in san bruno. here's a live look from chopper 5 of the crowds still outside, look at this line! the reason they are down there is to put down $180 for the new

air jordan shoes that are going on sale today. it's the retro one, the original one, at tanforan only a few people can get in at a time so they have lines. some other malls in the central valley have big crowds rushing in. even some arrests were reported out there. this is happening across the nation. air jordan 11s, a big deal for a lot of people. and an update of your traffic and weather coming right up. ♪ ] [ man ] quitting is a fight you can't let yourself lose. it can take many tries. but keep trying, you will beat smoking. honey, you okay? yeah, i'm fine. ♪ [ ukulele ] [ beep ] hi. dave here. [ male announcer ] for dave, using citibank's online bill pay is as easy as setting up voicemail.

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good morning. travelers beware as you work your way towards lake tahoe or nevada right now. we have this ongoing sig alert that continues eastbound 80 at the california-nevada state line. all lanes are still shut down for a big rig accident as well as a hazmat spill. expect delays. no delays at home of the everything clear in the south bay and looking good going to sfo. elizabeth has the weather forecast. >> a big blast of cold air this morning. it is cold outside. we still have a freeze warning in effect in the north and south bay, also portions. east bay valleys. here's a live look at your temperatures outside right now. chilly 24 in napa, 27 in santa rosa. 37 degrees in oakland. so the winds have died down since yesterday. that's what's giving us these colder temperatures. we are warming up though by this afternoon. mild conditions even slightly above average in some spots. 61 is your high in santa rosa. 59 in oakland. ,,,,

♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jim axelrod. we're in for erica hill and chris wragge. barbara cook made it big on broadway in the 1950s and legendary musicals like "the music man" "carousel." >> cook is now 84 and still sounds fantastic. she sat down with julie chen to talk about her great career and also how she's helping today's up and coming singers hit the perfect note. but, first, a classic and very moving example of something good coming out of something just awful. back in august 31 special operation forces were killed when the taliban shot down their helicopter in afghanistan.

22 of the dead were navy s.e.a.l. s from the team that took out osama bin laden. >> in a moment, we'll meet a navy wife who found a way to honor those heroes and help their families. the team aboard the chinook helicopter like this one were operating as backup in the tangi valley when they were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. when the remains of the dead were flown back to dover air force base, president obama joined with the families who long lived with the fear that their loved ones might not come home. >> he's gone over, know if he comes back or not. >> reporter: knowing the dangers of a soldier's job is one thing, but nothing can prepare the families for the loss. >> the office of armed forces called my daughter-in-law tab

thuand informed her that my son, john, had been killed this morning in afghanistan. >> we mourned more than anything else his life of unfulfilled dreams. >> reporter: including the dreams of raising the children they've left behind. joining us now is suzanne vogal the wife of a former navy s.e.a.l. she is here to tell us about a fund-raising project that grew out of that tragedy this morning. good morning, suzanne. >> good morning. >> the military, always a very closely knit community, the navy and the s.e.a.l. community in particular, very close knit. tell me how that community reacted to the disaster. >> well, first of all, my husband was part of navy special work i have another family member who is. my husband had another support role. it is a very close community and we were heartbroken. everybody was heartbroken. >> so, how did you turn the heartbreak into something that would be positive? >> well, i think having raised

five children i was very acutely aware that sometimes you need to be able to do something. i want to empower the children. so, we started making some stickers and they gave all their allowance money and we went to a parking lot and it kind of took off from there. >> and where are the stickers being used now? >> everywhere. people contact us from all over. and we send them stickers. we, accept donations for the navy s.e.a.l. foundation which soul purpose is to help the children and the widows and the returning wounded. football teams have worn them on their helmets and it has been a blessing to be part of it. >> it really has taken off a bit. how important was it for you to have something for the kids to use to get their arms around the tragedy? >> i think that that is how you get a military child through what a military child has to go through. and i think it's also a way for

people to be invested in america. and to know that these guys are doing it for them. and, so, i wanted to encourage the families of the s.e.a.l.s as well as the special worker families to give them a sense that they belong and they're doing it for them. >> what kind of money have you raised at this point? >> considering we started with $96 from hunter and $92 from alexandria and $140 from mom in excess of $10,000. we're not sure how much because we just give it to the foundation. a lot of people will hear about us and give it straight to the foundation. >> now, you talk about the way in which this has started to catch people's eyes. i know in particular there's been one nascar driver, josh richards. tell me a little bit how all this caught his eye? >> he found us in the parking lot at vinnie's. >> of course, where all good things. >> yeah, you have no idea. anyway, yeah, he found us and

his sponsor kind of came along and said, we want to help you in a big way. >> wonderful. so, it's the navy s.e.a.l. foundation. >> navy s.e.a.l. foundation. >> if people would like to get involved go to nswkids.com and we appreciate you being with us. you're doing a wonderful thing. >> thank you. and now we turn to debbie turner bell back at the newsdesk with another check of the headlines. good morning. >> good morning to you. congress ended its standoff over ending the payroll tax cut. the senate voted by unanimous consent to keep the tax break through february 29th and minutes later the house went along with it. the bill extends long-term unemployment benefits. the plan had to be slightly changed before the house would accept it. powerful storms now moving into new england. winds as high as 60 miles per hour battered rome, georgia, yesterday. wall of a building collapsed. overall, at least seven people were injured.

and a federal judge has ruled south carolina cannot enforce key parts of its tough new immigration law.

all right. up next, feel like saving some money next year? getting your finances on track? >> yes, jim, i do. are you intresesttrusted in that? >> always interested. >> we'll give you a money makeover. this is a makeover for everyone. it will not take much of your time. right here on "the early show" on cbs. honey, check your email! [ cellphone chimes ] [ cat yodeling ] kids! [ cat yodeling ] sing, larry, sing! [ cat yodeling ] we should have got a cat. [ male announcer ] get low prices on gifts to stay connected. order your last-minute gifts at walmart-dot-com and get free same-day pickup on select items. save money. live better. walmart. oh how i wish i could resist jiggling this holiday. oh joy oh natural joy!

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so, if you can spare a couple of hours over the next week or so, that is enough time for a money makeover that could save you big bucks in the new year. >> sounds good. carmine wong aulrict joins us now. hello. always good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> these are things not so hard for people to do and they can start doing them before the new year. >> two hours is all it will take you. 40 minutes. this is the first 40 minutes what i want you to do is

reevaluate your banking. this will save you up to $400 this year. how are we doing this? you heard us talking about moving your banks before. a very hot topic of this year. listen, if you get charged like i found out one of my accounts charges $24 a month for just regular checking. why is that happening? let's say the average right now is $12 a month and you go to an atm that is not yours and that adds up to $400 in fees a year. you go and shop around and online banks right now are offering no fee checking and a tiny bit of interest. tiny 0.2% and no fee. if you're worried about making deposits, you can scan the checks and e-mail them in. that's the deposit. >> i love the ease of that. i'm loving the technology. what is a great charge? >> moving from your banking statements to your credit card statements. now, you know when you go, okay, i'll try this antivirus software

and sign up. unfortunately, the little fine print shows that when you sign up, a lot of times you find yourself signing up for a monthly service. so, go to another free site. this is called billguard.com and it's free and they basically monitor the credit card statements and their average customer saves $300 a year in these gray charges. >> billguard.com. >> everybody is always, when you talk about money makeovers you have to talk about your saving strategies. you have to give me more than that. give me some specifics here. >> i'll give you specifics and i give you a stat which is very scary. the national credit foundation found this year that 64% of americans say that if they had to come up with $1,000 cash in an emergency, they could not. >> how much? >> $1,000. 64% of americans can't do this. please, don't be that person. the most dangerous thing is actually the pop-up expenses like the car breaks down. not that you lose your job. the little things that eat away at our cash and budget.

today, go sign up online free savings, interest earnings saving account, 20 bucks a month even. you can do this and you can build up to $500 a year and $500 could be enough to take care of those pop-up expenses. now, let's get even bigger than that. your emergency fund. patine more money away into a separate account. the two key things automated when your check goes in, the money comes out. like a tax for yourself. keep it separate from your checking. little too easy if you lump them altogether. >> stay safe. two hours better financial future. >> exactly. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, president obama is finally set for another christmas in hawaii. >> and we're going to ask some of the islanders if they know what's been keeping him in washington. this is "the early show" on cbs. in washington. this is "the early show" on cbs. be five percent more merry with the target red card, by getting an extra five percent off our already low prices.

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it pays to discover. ♪ [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ woman ] i want to see that. careful. careful. careful. good. ♪ [ female announcer ] they're for bringing us together. ♪ this holiday, select hallmark cards come postage-paid. ♪ that is their song, with joyful ring, ♪all caroling, ♪, dong one seems to hear, words of good cheer, from everywhere, ♪ ♪ filling the air, oh how they pound, raising the sound, ♪ ♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, gaily they ring, ♪ ♪ while people sing, songs of good cheer, christmas is here. ♪ later today after the payroll tax extension is finally wrapped up in congress,

president obama flies to hawaii for a christmas break that was supposed to start a week ago. >> his wife and daughters are already there and so is national correspondent chip reid who joins us from one of the great assignments in all of broadcast journalism, covering a vacation in honolulu. good morning, chip. >> reporter: well, good morning, jim and rebecca. you can see it's a bit dark here on waikiki right now but when people are on this beach most of them do know the president and know he is coming here and know his vacation has been delayed but good luck finding anyone who knows why. if you're lucky enough to spend the holidays soaking up the sun and playing in the surf in hawaii, you're probably not spending a lot of time following politics. just ask ky, the surfer dude, from san diego. have you been paying any attention to this mess going on back in washington? >> no, not at all. i could care less to be completely honest. i'm just here to vacation, surf, have a good time, party it up. that's about it. >> reporter: so if i told you that what they are fighting over is a payroll tax cut, you would

say? >> so? >> reporter: 72-year-old billy pa still finds time to surf every day but politics? >> not too much. i don't like to get into politics. >> reporter: why not? >> i'm not a politician. i'm a surfer. >> reporter: maybe the bell family from oregon is paying attention. do you have a clue what this mess is in washington? >> which one? ha, ha! >> reporter: how about the one that is delaying the president's vacation? >> oh, you're talking about the tax thing? >> reporter: that's right. the tax thing which got some interest from boathand alika salang shortstop sang. what would you say about a payroll tax cut. >> it is pretty good for me. it is? awesome, bring it on.

>> reporter: two vakers frcatio from canada. >> i'm paying attention. >> reporter: more than most of the americans. >> i am paying than most of the americans because whatever happens in the states is what is happening in our world economy. so if we are not paying attention about what is happening in the states, we're in trouble, all of us. >> reporter: the first lady and daughters sasha and malia are already here and hope the president will be here in time for christmas eve. >> i guess the tradeoff spending a week in hawaii is getting up a little every now' then. >> poor chip. >> poor chip. >> oh, no, it's okay. thank you, rebecca. >> thank you, dude. coming up, kennedy center honoree barbara cook. like up to 65% off sweaters, coats and pajamas for the whole family. and 35% off fragrance gifts sets for him and her. shop sears now for great deals for everyone on your list. sears. when you pour chunky beef with

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there are reports of scattered problems at shopping malls across the country... as good morning. i'm grace lee. happening now, there are reports of scattered problems at shopping malls across the countries. customers are trying to buy the new line of nike air jordans coming out this morning. this is the scene at stockton's webertown mall. police in richard in the bay area says the sale of the shoes at hilltop mall has been postponed. they have postponed the sale of the air jordans after reports of a gunshot. no one was hurt. in fairfield the solano county sheriff's department has called in for mutual aid! this is just to help crowd control at the westfield solano shopping center because it is out of control. the air jordan's are remakes of

those first sold in 1996 marketing from michael jordan. causing a frenzy today here in the bay area and across the nation. we'll have an update in a little bit. but first, we'll have traffic and weather in just a moment.

laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. good morning from the traffic center. "holiday light" on the freeways, lots of good news to report in the south bay. no delays along northbound 280. free and clear 101 looking good as well as 880 if you are heading to san jose airport.

a stalled vehicle on eastbound central expressway right at lafayette. it's blocking a lane but not causing too much problems there on surface streets. live look at the bay bridge toll plaza, everybody is sleeping in or getting ready for the holiday this weekend. so an easy ride through there. easy on the golden gate bridge as well and no delays on the san mateo bridge. lots of good news here, liz. how about you? >> it's a little cold for some beach weather but we did notice in our ocean beach in san francisco, there is one person on the beach. it's going to be cold to do that. we have a freeze warning in effect across the bay in portions of the north bay, south bay, east bay valleys, also for the central valley and the delta. temperatures mostly in the 20s, 30s, a few 40s out there, as well. 43 degrees in san francisco. the freeze warning is set to expire at 9:00 so here's what it looks like for later on this afternoon the warming things up to the upper 50s, low 60s. cooler than yesterday. a few high clouds. but we are staying dry through the christmas holiday. next chance of rain is wednesday.

all right. welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jim axelrod. erica hill and chris wragge are both off this morning. when ben stein talks, people toned listen to him. he leaves in a lot of important things, including, and this might surprise you, the spirit of christmas. this morning he's here with a christmas message and a reminder for everyone every time of the year. also ahead, singer barbara cook who was awarded a prestigious kennedy center honor this month, she's a broadway legend, won a tony 54 years ago as the original marian the

librarian in "the music man." she's still a big hit on stage. she'll open up to julie chen about the good times and the rough times when she said alcohol was more important than her music. first, debbye turner bell is at the news desk with another check of the headlines. good morning, guys. good morning to you. congress went to work this morning to extend the payroll tax cut. the senate passed the bill to extend the cut for two months. then the house approved the bill by aunanimous consenting. harry reid spoke after saying the two sides had to find a way to work this out. >> let's show the american people that despite our differences we can tackle the big challenges at that stand before us. the stakes are too high for us to do anything else. >> the bill also extends long-term unemployment benefits. now it goes to president obama for his signature. when lawmakers return in january, they will try to hammer out an agreement that covers the rest of 2012.

and deadly bombing attacks in syria this morning. twin suicide car bombs were detonated near government buildings in the capital of damascus. more than 40 people killed, scores wounded. the government blames the attacks on al qaeda. police in suburban detroit are looking for as many as three gunmen involved in a shooting at a roller skating rink overnight. at least five people were wounded at a private party. authorities say a fight broke out an

this weather report sponsored by macy's. this morning we continue our series on this year's kennedy center honors with barbara cook, a legendary broadway voice who is still entertaining us at the age of 84. >> not long ago, one reviewer called her the greatest singer in the world. she sat down with julie chen to talk about her brilliant career in music.

♪ isn't it rich ♪ isn't it clear >> reporter: for over half a century, barbara cook has taken the american song book and made it her own. >> i've always sung. i don't ever remember not singing. i was born, i breathed, i sang, i think. ♪ i think about you >> reporter: known as one of the greatest vocal interpreters of all time -- ♪ i think about you >> reporter: cook is constantly improving her craft. ♪ this can't be love because i feel so well ♪ >> reporter: getting better with age and experience. >> i think, you know, five years from now i'll sing better than i do now.

i truly do. because i'll have more courage. ♪ long ago >> reporter: raised in atlanta, she started singing at a young age. music was an escape from hard times. >> my mother and father divorced when i was maybe 6 1/2, close to 7 maybe. my mother and i then went to live with my grandmother. it was the depths or height, whatever you want to call it, of the depression so it was very, very hard not just for us but for everybody. everybody i knew. >> reporter: at age 21, cook moved to new york, following her dream of a singing and acting career, and never looked back. ♪ there were bells >> reporter: pretty quickly that career took off with cook finding steady work on the stage, winning a tony award for playing marian the librarian in 1957's "the music man" making

her a certified broadway star. >> i didn't feel as if i was the toast of the town. i was very happy to have gotten that award, don't get me wrong. >> reporter: were you surprised? >> well, to tell you the truth, i had done "candide" the year before. >> reporter: you thought it was in the bag. >> i thought, gee whiz, maybe, because it was such an incredible departure for me and still the most difficult i've ever done vocally by far, by far. and i was kind of disappointed when any even get nominated. so then i wasn't expecting it for "music man," no. >> reporter: there was more success, but doubt, depression and alcoholism took its toll what happened. >> i turned to drugs.

pure and simple. >> reporter: how did you turn to the alcohol? >> well, you know, you slip into it. you don't know when it happens. you don't know when you cross into that. you think you have trouble so you drink. you think if i could fix the troubles, i wouldn't drink. >> reporter: so how many years were you an alcoholic? >> i don't know how many, maybe ten or less. i'm not sure. >> reporter: and how do you think, looking back, that affected your career? or what could have happened -- >> it did tremendously. you know, just about the only thing i feel bad about in my career is that during the years when i was 40s and 50s, when i was in my prime -- well, not 50s so much but during the 40s when i should have been doing high best work in theater, i was not employable. i was not employable for selling kleenex at the drugstore. >> reporter: but were you getting gigs, just not great gigs? >> nothing, i wasn't working. i couldn't. i couldn't work, no.

i was just being a drunk. >> reporter: cook finally got sober. she credits her 30-year director wally harper for saving her life and career. >> it was a great, great coming together. two sensibilities coming pand he died in 2004, and it wa horrible. very, very hard. you know, it wasn't just that he played the piano for me, we thought alike. he was very, very special for a lot of people. ♪ it's not where you start, it's where you finish ♪ >> reporter: cook turned to the stage taking her highly acclaimed one-woman show to theaters and cabarets around the world. ♪ and you're gonna finish on

top ♪ >> reporter: she also teaches master classes to aspiring performers. >> i just don't believe it. ♪ once upon a time >> reporter: hoping they can learn from her life experience. >> it's about sex. >> what i want is for people to let me in. i want people to put their life experience and how they feel this minute into what's happening right now. >> reporter: and right now, cook is feeling gratitude. >> i know that i can move people, if people are willing to be moved, and it's a wonderful feeling to know that you can make that connection. it's a great feeling. ♪ but there's no yes in yesterday, and who knows what tomorrow brings ♪ >> reporter: and at age 84, barbara cook is now a kennedy

center honoree. >> this is not only a validation of my work, but because i put so much of my life experience into my work, i feel it's a validation of my whole life. so it means a great deal to me. ♪ to dreamers and their dreams >> reporter: julie chen, cbs news, washington. >> when a talent. >> wow. >> and i appreciate her sincerity because she tackled some tough topics there but she was so honest about them. >> transparent. >> yeah, i appreciate that. all right, you can watch the kennedy center honors this tuesday at 9:00, 8:00 central right here on cbs. next, did macy's believe campaign reach its goal of one million letters to santa? >> i want to believe. we'll find out how big a check is coming to the make-a-wish

foundation coming up right here on "the early show" on cbs. 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. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

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♪ ♪ throughout the holiday season macy's has been asking believers of all ages to write letters to santa as part of its believe campaign. for each letter received, macy's pledges $1 up to $1 million to the make-a-wish foundation. >> we've been talking about this all month. finally the campaign is coming to a close and joining us with a final update is macy's executive vice president of marketing martine reardon and david williams, president and ceo of the make-a-wish foundation. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> how did the campaign go? >> oh, my gosh, it's been tremendous, a huge success. this is year four and four years into it we continue to add to the campaign and make it more exciting. with the help of david and his entire staff at the make-a-wish foundation it has been just tremendous from, you know, our

santa bus tour that's visited 22 cities across the country and granted wishes in every single one of those cities to our national believe day on december 9th where we granted 55 wishes simultaneously. it has just been a tremendous outpouring of our customers and your viewers who have come in to drop their letters off to make this really a great campaign this year. >> that is such a nice thing to hear, and it really looks like a win/win situation. david, how important is the macy's believe campaign to make-a-wish and the great work that you do? >> oh, my goodness, it's hard to put into words how important it is. macy's is a great supporter for us. it's an opportunity for kids young and old to write their letter to santa claus, bring it to macy's and support the work of the make-a-wish foundation. we're just so operation iraqi freedomed to -- privileged to b partnering with the macy's

company. >> because of our national believe day and our double donation on december 9th, we are so proud to presenting this check for $1.4 million. so although the campaign has been a million all along, because of double donation day we've had such great success on national believe day that it is $1.4 million. so congratulations and let's grant some more wishes. >> exactly. >> such a tremendous and unexpectedly large gift. this is going to help a lot of people. >> it is. there are about 27,000 children in the united states who were diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition and we're able to granting wishes for about half that group so with contributions like this we'll be able to help more kids in 2012. thanks to macy's, to everybody who wrote a letter, to cbs for some amazing segments to showed the power of a wish. these are not just nice experiences, these are life-changing experiences. >> we want to take a quick look

at the power of those wishes and what it's done for so many children. let's take a listen. >> ho, ho, ho, ho. >> the support that we feel every day from macy's is so amazing. from our wish kids to our staff to our volunteers, we know that macy's are here for us and we're so thankful. >> thank you, macy's. >> thank you, macy's, and make-a-wish foundation for fulfilling one of my dreams. >> every day we just know that we'll be bringing hope and strength and joy to kids who really need it most. ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ♪ >> thank you, macy's. merry christmas!

ho, ho, ho. >> thank you, macy's, and make-a-wish for making my dream come true. >> great stuff to see just how many lives you touch with this work. >> it's such an honor to do this and it is something that we intend to do for the next 150 years. >> 150 years? >> yes. >> i love it. >> the extra $400,000 is great also. >> thank you so much to both of you. and good luck cashing this particular cash. >> yes, well -- >> the $1.4 million check is going out. this one might be a little tough at the bank, this big one, but we appreciate it. thanks, guys. >> thank you. coming up next, a ben stein christmas. >> actor, writer, economist, occasion will tell us what it's all about. the holidays are here, here comes that jiggling sound.

when sugar plums appear, temptation's all around. donuts, cakes and pies, they've got a gift for me, i wish that i could take it back, but there is no receipt. oh jiggle bells, jiggle bells, jiggle all the way. oh how i wish i could resist, jiggling this holiday. oh joy oh natural joy! truvia®, box of bliss, zero calorie sweetness from a leaf, my sugar plum happiness. truvia®. honestly sweet.

a lot of christmas

traditions out there. every year it comes along, some people celebrate with christmas lights and shopping sprees, cookies. some carols. getting together with the family. there's also a bigger picket here. a heart of the season. >> that's exactly right. the multitalented ben stein has a unique perspective on christmas and we asked him to explain it for you. >> my wife and i celebrate christmas big time. i'm sure we have more decorations than anywhere us have. why? because the outside lights and the tree and the fire are festive. that is innate. man colors colored lights and fires. when i was a kid in maryland the neighbors are festive lights and we didn't. i didn't like that. i saw no reason why they should have all of the fun and i still don't. having those lights on a tree is what i always wanted. to have colored lights and to be a part of the dominant culture but i love christmas for much more basic reasons. christmas is about something huge. you can be saved if you simply

make a contract to believe in god and some add if you act right. it has nothing to do with how you were born or into what tribe. this is a revolutionary stupendous string of the human spirit and why christmas is such a joyous time for people, whether jews or christians or anyone else who wants to believe we humans can be forgiven and go on to lead lives of triumph no matter what has happened in our past. that and not shopping at all, not the retail numbers is why christmas is such a great time. the lights are nice and the tree is nice and the shopping is nice, but a dominant culture that says the love and peace are the highest values. that's what i want to honor. i don't honor retail sales numbers. i honor the spirit of forgiveness and love. that's christmas for me. merry christmas, everybody. >> clearly the most forceful act of christmas by anyone named stein. >> exactly. yes. as a business economics correspondent here i love people

talking about love and peace. those are very important things. >> we don't want to lose our frame of thinking here. >> don't want to lose sight

malls around the country toy and get the new nike "air jn 11" we have a live picture over hilltop mall where there is a shopping frenzy going on really across the nation. richmond police report there was a gun that went off. this is when the crowds were outside shopping for air jordan 11s. those shoes came out today and there are crowds across the nation waiting to get those shoes. because that gun went off, they cancelled the sale of air jordans at the hilltop mall in richmond but as you can see, there are still a lot of people outside despite the canceling of that sale. this is also happening in stockton. hundreds of people converge there for the air jordan 11s. you can see about 500 people shoving just trying to get in

to get these $180 shoes. these shoes are the retro version of the michael jordan -- air jordans in 1996. they are white with a black patent leather accent causing a lot of buzz. so if you see the crowds, this may be the reason why. we'll follow this developing story throughout the morning. we'll have an update on your traffic and weather coming right up. ,,,,

good morning, we have a couple of new trouble spots to report. the first one along 80 as you work your way eastbound near highway 29. we have a vehicle that spun out. looks like there is a water main break in the area as well so mud reported in the right lane. still green on the sensors so not much of a problem. east 80 out of town closed near the california nevada state line due to an accident and truck fire northbound 280 in daly city. looks like traffic a little slow through there. liz has your forecast. >> taking a live look over dublin, clear and cold to start you off this morning. emphasis on the cold. we still have the freeze warning in effect for another half hour or so. you can see temperatures at or pleasing at some spots. 26 napa. 34 san rafael. 43 san francisco. so freeze warning is in effect until 9:00 for the north, south bay, east bay valleys. we are warming up this afternoon.

what brings us together at the holidays? >> the food. ♪ ♪ >>lcom welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jim axelrod. coming up a few good christmas stories. we've brought in three best-selling authors, jennifer egan, brad meltzer and nicholas sparks to tell us which mean the most to them. also ahead we'll visit with model turned activist lauren

bush lauren. she's president george bush's granddaughter, president george w. bush's niece and her father-in-law is ralph lauren. at the young age of 27 she's made quite a name for herself fighting world hunger. she'll explain how it helps students around the world and also tell us what it's like to be connected to a political dynasty an a fashion dynasty. >> first we want to look at some traveling myths. travelers are told over and over again if you leave your electronic devices on, maybe it could cause the plane to crash or it could interfere with some system on the plane and the right credit card will cover an accident with a rental car. >> this morning it's time to separate fact from fiction. travel editor peter greenberg is just the guy to do it. good morning. please tell me the guy in the next seat who's on his blackberry is not going to bring the plane down. >> well, the guy in the next seat is you and the answer is, it is a myth. interestingly enough, the federal aviation administration, let's start first with cell

phones, you have to turn them off on the plane. they have investigated this for at least 20 years. there's no conclusive evidence whatsoever that a cell phone transmission can interfere with anything on the plane and yet the faa and other independent organizations, including the british aviation authorities says no conclusive evidence but we'll leave it to the individual airlines to set their own rules because nobody wants to take the heat for this. >> but if it was really a danger, why would they let everybody on the plane with a potential device that could bring the plane down. >> exactly. how do they seek out a signal? if you're at 35,000 feet, the real concern is that you block out cleveland looking for that cell phone but you don't even get a signal at that altitude. now, it's still a rule but the bottom line is it's not going to takt plane down. now let's move down to the blackberries, the ipads and it phones. think about this, the faa just gave american airlines permission to have their own

pilots use their ipads in the cockpit. doesn't that tell you everything you need to know? bottom line is if they're going to be using the ipad within three feet of all that sensitive avionic instrumentation and nothing happens, ten years ago they were doing donkey kong up there. so the bottom line is it's not necessarily a technical issue, it's a safety issue. the airline wants you to pay attention. they don't want you to listen to your head phones and ipod mix. yet they won't make you stop reading your newspaper or magazine. the bottom line is the rule says this. since the faa cannot find any conclusive evidence, they leave it up to the individual airlines to make the rule. but i'm one of the guys that says stop, this let's get rule and hopefully they will. >> another myth you're getting real about is this whole question about insurance coverage. when you rent a car maybe you think my personal insurance covers this or a lot of credit cards market themselves as you get our credit card, you're

covered in the case of problems with a rental. >> a lot of cards say rent the car with our card and you get coverage. it's not primary coverage. in most cases it's called secondary coverage. that coverage only kicks in when you exhaust the entire limits of your first primary coverage policy. if you don't have a primary coverage policy, you are not covered. >> so you have to take insurance at a rental company? >> no, you don't. if you have your own automobile insurance, look at that, you're covered for rental car. >> let's say maybe you don't drive in real life but you get a rental car. >> then i definitely recommend taking the coverage. but remember it's the most expensive thing you'll have renting a car. it's more expensive sometimes than the car itself. >> good point. peter greenberg as always, thank you. happy holidays. >> and turn your blackberry off. >> even though it doesn't matter. debbye turner bell is at the news desk with one more check of the headlines.

>> that's all right, jim. good morning to you. not too long ago in the isolated nation of burma this would have been unthinkable. the opposition leader registered her party for future elections this morning. during decades of military rule, she lived under house arrest for 15 years. motrin pain relievers are being recalled for the sixth ti

i tried that, i'm just not cool enough. >> keep working on it. >> dare to dream. >> erica hill is off this morning but she recently sat down with three best-selling authors to talk about the christmas stories that mean the most to them. >> 'tis the week before

christmas and we've brought together some incredible writers. nicholas sparks has written 17 books, six of them are movies, three are on the way. brad meltzer sells political thrillers and also hosts the history channel series "decoded." and jennifer egan won a pulitzer for her novel, "the goon squad." nice to have you all here. it's such a treat to have all of you here. so you're all very different in terms of genre, in terms of what you write, incredibly well respected within the community and so well loved by the people who have read your books, myself included, but you have very different takes on holiday stories, which we love. jennifer, i'm going to start with you. what to you is the quint essential christmas or holiday sfoery? >> i would say "a christmas carol" by charles dickens. you know, he was an amazing writer. i find him to be like catnip, very hard to put down once you

pick it up. it's just compulsive reading. also there's something about england at christmas time. i feel like when i finally went to dplaengland when i was 18, i thought, oh, this is the place where christmas happened. hearing those stories as a kid made me fantasize and think that was the original place christmas happened and i think dickens captures that. >> have you actually spent christmas in england? >> i have not. >> you should put that on your list and see if it compares. >> oh, but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, scrooge. a squeezing, wrenching, covetous old sinner. hard and sharp as flint from which no steel had ever struck out a generous fire. secret and self-contained and solitary as an oyster. the cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheeks, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his

grating voice. a frosty rhyme was on his head and his eyebrows and his wiry chin. he carried his own low temperature, always about with him. he iced his office in the dog days and didn't thaw it one degree at christmas. >> brad, the book that you chose i did i have to say is one that i love. it's a beautiful book called "thank you, bear." >> yeah, it's a nontraditional christmas story. i find it through my daughter, my 6-year-old, who came home and i said -- i always think i'll show her who a good book is. she came home and said, dad, i have a good book, i took it out of the library. i thought you don't have a good book, i give you good books. and it's about this little cute bear that's so overly cute and he says i found this great present for mouse, it's a little box. and he shows the box, and you don't know what's in the box but he says it's so perfect. he shows it to the elephant and the elephant says that doesn't seem that nice and monkey says i've seen that before and he

gets so dejected and so sad. he says maybe it's not that good and he gives it to the mouse. and the mouse says what is it? he said i don't know, you may not like this. and the mouse said, oh, i love it, exactly what i wanted, an empty box. for me, i lost my dad six months ago, i lost my mom three years ago and i have a lot of empty boxes and this was the one to fill it. i looked at my daughter and i just said thank you, thank you for this one. you filled my empty box and i appreciate that. so to me "thank you bear" was the best thank you. and to me what christmas and hannukah and all these holidays are all about. early one morning a little bear found a little box. he looked inside and said, why, it's the greatest thing ever. mouse will love this! on his way to find mouse, he showed it to the monkey. the monkey says that's not so great. he showed it to the owl and the owl said i've seen those before. the elephant said it's too small. he tried to show it to the bunny but bunny said i don't have time to look at it right now. the bear stopped. he wondered whether it was so

great after all. while he was wondering, mouse came along and asked bear what he had. he put the box on the ground and showed it to mouse. mouse looked at it this way and that. then mouse crawled inside the empty box and said it's the greatest thing ever. thank you, bear. >> yours is equally beautiful. loved by so many, especially for the 24-hour marathon on christmas eve. >> we were talking about "a christmas story." >> of course that's my favorite film. i think it's many people's favorite holiday film for various reasons. i chose a different passage to read. they wanted something a little more book-like, so i picked coyote christmas, which f me christmas is for kids and something short that i can read for the kids. and, you know, something that's only going to take about ten minutes because it can be very hectic between -- >> the attention spanish you. >> yeah, you have all sorts of -- they're all hurry up and finish. so i picked coyote christmas.

it's about a cowboy in the desert. it ties together what christmas is all b in the end it's really for him about family and he knows it's important. >> on the day before christmas the cowboy home bound rode into the desert on a horse he called brown. he had long ago left his family behind as he searched for their fortune in an old desert mine. now, the gold in his pocket feld more like a stone as he read his son's letter, daddy, please come on home. the cowboy had promised he'd be back christmas day, but the snow in the mountains now stood in his way. now, it's all called coyote christmas because he meets these coyotes, they drive pink cadillacs, there's a santa coyote, all of this. but then they see the bethlehem star, so to speak, of course it's in the middle of the desert. so the -- i guess you'd say the story ends this way. after he walks into the mission and see the newborn. he said a wise coyote howled a

coyote hello and welcome, my friend, with your chunk of gold. does the gold own you as others i've known? and is gold the reason that you're not at home? the cowboy reached for the gold and laid the piece down, gave his gift and turned to the horse he called brown. as he left the mission on that joyous desert night, all the heavens and earth filled with a wondrous light. the mission bells tolled let this be peace on earth and this night of nights upon the christ child's birth. >> you just shared all of your readings with us, which we all loved. is there something different about reading allowed for someone than there is to reading with yourself, especially for something like "a christmas carol." >> i think reading allowed is just a thrill. it did begin as an oral tradition and the music and rhythm of the language are so much what make a book work and i think you really hear that when you read allowed so i find it a

delight. it's the great thing about having kids. >> how did you like reading coyote christmas? >> it's coyote christmas. >> it's fun. >> yeah. it's a twist on -- oh, it's like scrooged, bill murray against charles dickens but classic. it's a new twist on something that everyone is familiar with, and it's a fun story, but it has this -- i think it actually has a deeper meaning than the original poem because it's not just a holiday story. about it's like hey, you're out chasing all this stuff. what about your family back home, that's what your kids want, they want you. to me that's what the holidays are about, that's what christmas is about and that's certainly where i'll be, you know, with the family because to me the tradition of family is very important. >> so they want the family, you want to be able to have something to fill up your box that you can have in your christmas present so we tie it altogether with all three. >> and that was actually -- >> we should probably leave it there before i ruin it. again, appreciate all of you coming in and sharing everything with us.

jennifer egan, brad meltzer and

lauren bush lauren was born into a political dynasty and then she married in an iconic fashion family. >> she found a purpose in life fighting world hunger with a company called feed and katrina szish is here to tell us more about it. >> reporter: a former fashion model and princeton graduate, her pedigree is high but in spending the day with lauren i found a down to earth easy going woman who made it her mission to help those in need. >> this is a closet full of feed goodies from candles to teddy bears and bags galore, bracelets and scarves and much more. >> reporter: i love that. >> that rhymes! >> reporter: with the laugh as

contagious as her impromptu rhythm and rhyme lauren bush lauren might not take herself too seriously but when it comes to combating world hunger she means business. >> this is the feed one bag that started it all. you see it has the number on it which signifies for every bag sold we are able to feed a child for an entire year. >> reporter: listed as one of fortune's most powerful entrepreneurs in 2009 she is the granddaughter of george h.w. bush and the niece of george w. bush. what is it like being part of the extended family of two u.s. presidents? not just one, but two. >> i really -- yeah, i love my family and i'm one of 14 cousins so there's a lot of of us. >> reporter: and now she's joined another famous family. recently marrying long time boyfriend david lauren, son of america fashion icon ralph lauren. did you ever have a moment when you were dating a -- i will be

lauren lauren? >> from the minute we started dating that was, obviously, the running joke. but i'm getting used to it. i'm liking it. lauren bush lauren is the official name. >> reporter: the couple wed this september in a rustic ceremony in colorado with the bride wearing an intricately beaded victorian dress, a one of a kind original designed, of course, by her father-in-law. i think there was something like i read 3,000 hours of handiwork done on this gown? >> it's just every layer just would take your breath away. it was -- it was beyond. >> reporter: did you feel like that maybe was your fairy tale moment? >> there was. there was even a carriage! i mean, it really was a fairy tale. >> reporter: but beyond the fairy tales and power of her name, lauren has dedicated much of her life to giving back. what do you want people to know

about lauren bush lauren? >> to buy feedback. >> reporter: a princeton graduate, lauren can see the idea for the feed bag after volunteering for the u.n. world food program. >> i come back and was really frustrated, i didn't know what to tell other young people to do. i didn't know what to do myself. >> reporter: now feed sells online and in boutiques at different price points. the most expensive the item, the more meals it can provide. what do you want to tell americans who are lucky to have food on their tables about the rest of the world and those people who really are hungry and being hungry is almost a way of life? >> it's just another world. and we're lucky in america to have a bit of a safety net, you know, and that is not to say there are so many hungry here. even in new york city where i live and work, 1 in 6 people rely on food assistance to get

by. to have food at your fingertips, to walk into a grocery store and be able to pick out what you want is such a luxury. maybe a red one. but abroad, nearly 925 million people worldwide go hungry every day and hunger is the largest killer over aids and malaria and tb combined. >> reporter: in the five years she started feed, lauren's organization has provided more than 60 million meals to students worldwide. >> i sort of dedicated my life in a way to addressing those issues and addressing that disparity and trying to close that gap a bit and in giving people an easy way and a fun way to give back. >> reporter: and all this at just 27 years old. for every feed product sold, a specific number of meals is donated to someone in need. depending on the country, it costs only 20 to $50 to feed one student for an entire year. best place to shop and to help is on the feed website which is feedprojects.com.

>> great work they are doing. that 925 million people going hungry is such a massive number. but so nice to see someone is not taking what they have for granted. >> so many of us do, right? >> right. >> katrina szish, thank you for being here. >> we hope everyone has a great weekend. have a great holiday weekend, everyone. merry christmas. your local news is next.

thousands of people have ben converging on malls around e co a limited numb good morning. 8:55. i'm grace lee. there are thousands of people converging on malls across the country. they're trying to snap up a limited number of air jordan athletic shoes that came out this morning. this is a picture of the mall at rushland. the sale was called off after a gun was fired. there were 2,000 people there. in fairfield they called for aid because the crowd was so large at westfield. this was the scene at the major league in stockton. the mall was apparently not prepared for the crowd. they had no barricades. the air jordan 11s are identical to the one introduced 15 years ago. many air jordan collectors are

keeping those coveted shoes in the box, never wearing them. it's causing a frenzy across the nation. ♪ making your way in the world today ♪ ♪ takes everything you've got ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪ you want to be where you can see ♪ ♪ our troubles are all the same ♪ ♪ you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ secondhand smoke affects everyone's health.here everybody knows your name ♪ it's not just irritating. it can cause heart disease and even death. speak up about secondhand smoke.

your health and the health of your family depend on it. good morning. traffic on this friday, couple of thins to look out for. we have a bit of a snag on 880.

an accident clearing on the right side. it looks like it's cleared nicely. both directions moving smoothly. look out for trouble in the right lane. east 80 is still shut down at the california nevada state line. give yourself extra time if you're headed out to lake tahoe. have a happy holiday. >> we're dealing with cold temperatures outside. here is a live look outside san francisco. looks like we're warming up in spots, but it's still below freezing in portions of north bay. look at napa right now. coming in at 37 degrees out in oakland. we're warming up quite a bit. by later on this afternoon, upper 50s some 60s in some spots. this is cooler than we saw yesterday, but we're still going to see sunshine and mild conditions for the next few days, including the christmas holiday. check out next week, we have a chance of rain tuesday into

wednesday.