>> nice. >> yes. >> you are all coordinated. >> you look beautiful as well my dear. >> we will see you back here at 6:00. merry christmas, everybody ♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> morgan: severe weather george michael dead at the age of 53. ♪ last christmas i gave you my heart. >> also tonight, blizzards and dangerous thunderstorms create dangerous havoc, a russian jet crashes with 92 on board, including members of a famous choir. and we will drop in on the christmas like king of queens. >> you are truly part griswold. >> absolutely, yes, i am. >> this is the "cbs weekend news". >> morgan: good evening, i am demarco morgan. we begin with breaking news, british pop singer george michaels has died at the age of

533, he gained name the 1980s with the pop duo wham. >> last christmas if gave you my heart. >> michael publicist says he died peacefully in his suite in england. no further details were provided. george michael sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning almost four decades. we will have much more on the death of george michael tomorrow on cbs this morning. >> another big story tonight is the wave of storms dumping snow, ice and rain from the rockies into the farther south, severe thunderstorms rumbled across the plains. meteorologist molly rosenblatt is tracking the storms at wcco og minneapolis. how is it looking out there, molly? >> reporter: well, demarco, travel conditions will be dicey for many on this christmas day across much of the region as reis area of low pressure, the strong winter storm makes its northeast trek. all the way from the upper

midwest, the rockies down nhrough the plain states, we have a line of strong thunderstorms from south dakota all the way to kansas down towards oklahoma, and then heavy heow for much of north dakota, northern wisconsin as well as the rockies. numerous winter storm warnings me effect as well as a blizzard warning blanketing much of north dakota that could see a foot or more of snow as well as western south dakota. otherwise, winter storm warnings in effect all the way from the rockies through northern wisconsin and ice storm warnings for the dakotas as well as minnesota. so, a very dangerous day on the roads, heading into the evening as well. demarco, back to you. >> morgan: all right, molly, thank you. llmilitary jet crashed today edth 92 people on board. it was heading from sochi to syria. there's no sign of survivors and no word on what caused it to plunge into the black sea. here's barry petersen. >> reporter: helicopters, boats and divers searched for 92 victims from the crash, two minutes after takeoff. it left from sochi, site of the 2014 winter olympics. the tu-154 was a 1960s design,

this one made in 1983. on board, a well-known russian humanitarian taking medical nopplies to syria. ♪ ♪ and more than 60 members of the alexandrov ensemble, famous across russia, on the way to perform at a russian air base in syria. russian president vladimir putin promised a thorough investigation. the deaths stunned russia, that a world-famous choir formed almost a hundred years ago was 'sne in seconds. as a measure of russia's sadness, monday has been declared a national day of mourning. demarco? >> morgan: barry petersen, thank ayu. president-elect donald trump is spending the holiday at his mar- a-lago club in palm beach, florida. lulianna goldman has all the weekend developments and the trump transition covered.

>> reporter: president-elect einald trump and his wife urchnia began their christmas at church, and were welcomed to midnight mass with a standing ovation. meanwhile, 26 days before he's sworn in, mr. trump's team is rushing to clean up ntntroversies and potential conflicts of interest. ousterday, the president-elect e nounced he would shutter his non-profit, the donald j. trump foundation, writing in a statement, "to avoid n he didn't provide a timeline. the foundation is under investigation by the new york attorney general amid questions about its spending, and a spokeswoman tweeted that it "cannot legally dissolve until the investigation is complete." there's also been some staffing drama this holiday weekend. demarco, just two days after announcing that campaign aide jason miller would be white house communications director, d. miller said he would not be taking the job in order to spend more time with his family.

>> morgan: julianna, thank you. like the song says, "it's christmas time all over the world." tony dokoupil takes a holiday spin around the globe. >> reporter: pope francis sent the world a wish for christmas peace. it echoed in war-torn aleppo, syria. these u.s. troops in karamless, iraq had christmas dinner in camouflage; and in kabul, afghanistan, santa claus found a new way to fly. isis couldn't stop the christmas spirit at this town, east of mosul. australia's christmas is a beach holiday. in india, santa appeared in the sand. hanukkah lit up cities from moscow to san francisco. an i wish you all a very happy christmas. >> reporter: queen elizabeth fought off a cold to offer britain her season's greeting, ad here in america, the obamas chilled out with shaved ice in hawaii. e estimated 150 million sets of stristmas lights are sold each year, and a good bunch of them

are strung up around the home of stst one man. ts've dubbed him the christmas lights "king of queens." you don't need kevin lynch's t dress to find his family's well-lit home in queens, new herk-- just follow the cars. >> if you google our house, at certain times on the weekend, you're going to get a red line of traffic. >> reporter: 350 plastic figurines, 100 animated dolls chd about 250,000 christmas adghts make this place t possible to miss. >> you're going to see it from the shuttle. they're going to look down and ghe us. eight wonder of the world, we're passing over the lynch's residence. ♪ hallelujah >> reporter: you are truly clark griswold. l absolutely, yes, i am. >> reporter: the lynch family christmas lights are now a new york tradition going back 22 years. >> it's an amazing house. >> i like all the lights. >> it's the most beautifully decorated christmas house that i've ever seen. >> reporter: but lynch admits that all this holiday cheer

masn't inspired by the christmas spirit, so much as the spirit of competition. >> the neighbor had some lights up. i put up a few. next year, he put more up. so i put more up. so the third year i went crazy and put a ton of lights up. it's a friendly competition that just grew, and just kept growing. >> reporter: you blew him out of water? >> oh, big time. >> reporter: still, every year the lynch's decorations get bigger and brighter. this retired new york city firefighter says one of his most memorable displays followed the attacks of september 11. >> i actually made it one of my biggest years back then. >> reporter: now his home attracts visitors from around the world, and also nearby. tanisha sandy has been coming nere since she was a kid. this year she's here with her son christian. >> my parents used to bring my sister and i, so i want to keep that tradition as well. ts always lights up, just like the lights. >> reporter: lynch says it takes two months to put everything r:-- >> a lot of espresso.

>> reporter: --and a few huge electricity bills to keep it all running. >> whatever it costs, it costs. >> reporter: but he figures it's a small price to be the christmas lights "king of queens." tony dokoupil, cbs news, new york. >> morgan: christmas time in new york city wouldn't be the same without a company called american christmas. it was started by a man who borrowed money from his father std family friends, and turned it into one of the most opeessive christmas operations this side of the north pole. michelle miller has the story. >> reporter: in midtown manhattan last month, saks fifth avenue turned into a land of a thousand delights. ahat's the theme of the show running every ten minutes each evening from now until the new y ar. the display of 225,000 25ogrammable lights, foliage and crystals took 11 months to produce and six weeks to install. >> welcome to american christmas.

>> reporter: this is it! and this is my dream, you understand. >> this is a christmas wonderland, for sure. >> reporter: it really is. and it started here, with fred schwam and his company, american christmas. >> so this is 14-foot diameter wreath that will hang in the general motors building on fifth avenue. in reporter: we visited back in wtober, just days before these treasures were trucked down to manhattan. >> the building is 110,000 square feet and it is filled with every type of christmas decoration and display that you could imagine. >> reporter: candy canes! 57th street. >> these are 18-foot-tall candy canes that hang at 9 west 57th street. this is a section of the 72-foot half-round tree that gets mounted on the facade, on the marquee at radio city. >> reporter: that's it. eee full tree is wired with 10,000 l.e.d lights. it took 25 people to build and 40 people to install. >> we closed three lanes on

sixth avenue and worked over night and overnight, christmas asppens at radio city. >> reporter: his clients are a o'o's who of retailers up and down fifth avenue, and in 30 cities around the country, like cartier. n> we decorate the mansion on fifth avenue with a giant bow and ribbon, and the panthers are a significant part of the cartier marketing. so we have these lit panthers climbing up the building and sitting on the ledges. >> reporter: for years, schwam worked hard to build american christmas. >> i literally walked every ttock of manhattan and called everyone that i could possibly call. it took a number of years, but slowly but surely i started to gain a clientele. >> you've got to go big or go home. >> reporter: mark metric is president of saks fifth avenue. >> what does american christmas bring that nobody else does? >> they bring elevated energy. and they bring, they know how to do it and the goal was to bring joy.

lyd joy's our big word this year and really i think everyone needs it. >> reporter: including this family. e it's fantastic. you only see something like this in new york city. >> it's beautiful, it's amazing. >> it gives you that christmas feeling, that feeling of being with your family, that good feeling on the inside. >> reporter: schwam's employees seeiy seeing their works on display just as much as anyone else. it must be thrilling when the lights turn on and the onlookers are there, and their response to what you and your team have created. >> yeah, for myself and for my entire team, watching the reaction of the people on the oreets and watching literally thousands of people taking pictures in front of our orsplays, it's a great thrill. ma morgan: coming up next, steve hartman is on the case with a secret santa and his helpers in blue.

>> morgan: a secret santa has >> morgan: a secret santa has enlisted a team of police officers to help protect the spirit of the holiday. steve hartman is on the case. as reporter: last week, the rtnsas city, kansas, police department was on the take. >> i'm going to give each of you te,000. >> reporter: each officer in this room got at least a grand, courtesy of the anonymous wealthy businessman i know only as "secret santa." n. this is the day for you to just have fun. we ready to roll? ni reporter: their assignment was to go out into the community ldd find people who looked like they could use an extra $100 this holiday season. people like gwendolyn jones. >> and i told my family already that we're not going to be able to do christmas this year because i just don't have the epney to do it. >> reporter: didn't have the money to do it, until now. and that's how it went. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: benjamin after benjamin. au this is for real! >> reporter: armed assault after wonderful armed assault.

most of the people they just happened upon, but some, they sought out. taficer james tourney knew of a homeless woman staying at this motel with her two young children. >> hi, krystal. >> reporter: in fact, tourney is paying for their room out of his own pocket. >> here's $1,000. ng.h. >> reporter: he gave her meerything. >> you make me a better person. >> thank you. an there are men and women that wear the badge, and they stay on the line to protect us and to serve. >> reporter: it is no atincidence that secret santa kane the kansas city, kansas police department to give away his money this year. he's from around here, and this relatively small department lost two officers in the line of duty just ten weeks apart. rlowing them this privilege was esant as a reminder of the inherent goodness in people. e it's really neat because they see that you're a human being, to. you're just like them. and i think the uniform goes

away and you just realize that we're all the same people and that's-- that's the gift to me, for this. t reporter: in the end, the officers gave out nearly $30,000 to random strangers and special causes. >> thank you so much. oh, my god! >> absolutely. >> reporter: those on the receiving end will no doubt have o merrier christmas, while those ter-gave it away got to keep w mething even better-- a ngelage for a happier new year. >> we have angels. >> yes. >> in the heavens, but here, you u e the angels. you can touch us. >> reporter: you can take that the bank. steve hartman, "on the road" in l nsas city, kansas. >> morgan: all right, we'll be right back. kansas city, kansas. >> all right, we'll be right back.

>> morgan: now, a christmas th morgan: now, a christmas mystery that began in 1907 when a ten-year-old girl left a note for santa in the chimney of her family's apartment in new york city. wman found that letter about 17 years ago, when he was renovating his fireplace. but ever since, he's wanted to know more about the girl who p ote it. dana jacobson picked up the giory. >> as i'm bringing the bricks out, i find this little blue envelope written to santa claus in reindeer land, and i open it up and here is this letter from mary.

o reporter: you say mary as if you know her, but at the time? >> i know, but it's funny. ke made her own envelope. >> reporter: peter mattaliano did not know ten-year-old mary mcgann. >> december 24, 1907: dear santa claus-- >> reporter: when he discovered her partially charred letter in his fireplace. >> "my little brother would like you to bring a wagon which i know that you cannot afford." >> reporter: he was struck by the last line of mary's note. t she doesn't ask for anything for herself, and then says, "please do not forget the poor." i mean, the spirit of christmas. erat generosity, and maturity. she's ten. >> reporter: so he set out to find mary. the census records we dug up only told part of the story. that's when the "new york times" got involved. fo they found where she was buried in four days. mary mcgann married george bu mcgahan. ( laughs ) we get to the stone and there it is. otorge mcgahan, but mary's not on the stone.

>> reporter: there was a space but no name. mary, who never had children and dirked as a stenographer, died in 1979 at age 82. >> a little girl who had that kind of emotional depth and generosity has to be acknowledged, even if there will be nobody to go visit. she has to be acknowledged. le reporter: pete couldn't add mary's name because he was not related, but someone else could. >> last january it appeared in our local newspaper here in ireland. >> reporter: brian dempsey is a riysics teacher who lives outside of dublin. he recognized his mother's maiden name and discovered he was a distant cousin of mary's. >> it clicked. i know that name. >> reporter: as mary's relative, brian passed on the right to add her name to pete in the form of a notarized letter. >> look at it. it was obviously meant to be here. r> reporter: 37 years after her death, mary mcgann's name was engraved on that tombstone.

you got mary's name on that tombstone. what else has she given you? >> any time things seem to be going south, i still take a look at the letter and i say "all t'ght, okay." >> reporter: it's the christmas spirit. >> it's the christmas spirit, personified. >> morgan: up next, a holiday outpouring of generosity. pouring of generosity.

>> morgan: we close tonigh c morgan: we close tonight in santa clarita, california, near los angeles.

some kids whose families couldn't afford to buy gym shoes .nspired an outpouring of .enerosity. fon tracy has our update. >> reporter: samantha ford teaches physical education in several schools at santa clarita, california. merlier this month she noticed some of her students were scking something pretty basic. >> and i see kids running and you know, little funky sandals or shoes that have holes, or we have a couple kids that hot- glue-gun the sole every single day. >> reporter: ford asked one little boy who was wearing boots if he had running shoes. >> the boy said, "these are the only shoes i have." and the boots were old and ratty and worn out. it just hit me really hard. >> reporter: so she went home erd posted about her ernversation with the boy on her facebook page. within hours one of her friends 'tught the boy new shoes, and it didn't stop there.

suddenly she had hundreds of pairs of shoes liked up in her classroom, donated by friends, strangers-- >> hi. >> oh my god, how are you? this is crazy! >> reporter: --and someone she hadn't seen in years. >> i can't believe you're here. >> reporter: ford's favorite teacher from her high school days dropped by to drop off some shoes. >> whenever i see a former neudent that's, you know, doing something that's showing generosity and care for the community, it just makes my eeart-- >> reporter: seven-year-old iasse valencia says he's always been a fast runner, but with new shoes there's a new spring in his step. >> i wanted to pick them out because i so run fast and they make me run fast even more. >> reporter: juliet is happy to n running with him in her new rainbow-colored kicks. >> they're so comfortable and i like them. >> reporter: so far, more than 500 pairs of shoes have been donated.

on many that each kid in shari ramsey's second-grade class got a new pair, too. >> it was like christmas for them. they were shopping because there were so many choices for them. for some of these kids, this is their first new pair of shoes,, you know, in probably years. >> reporter: now along with those new shoes, is a new sense of gratitude. >> "dear ms. ford, thanks for the shoes because at my home my shoes are old and i need new shoes." this kid gave me one of the best hugs i ever had from a kid, like a real hug. oh wow, he knows how to hug. this is great, just so excited. >> reporter: ford says her goal is to provide sneakers for 2,500 kids in the school district, a gift she hopes will keep on giving. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. >> morgan: that's the "cbs weekend news" for this sunday. later on cbs, "60 minutes." i'm demarco morgan in new york. for all of us here at cbs news, happy hanukkah, merry christmas and good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioned by south bay... a head-on crash kills two people -- including a 14- year-old boy. good evening , i'm brian hackney. i'm betty yu in for juliette goodrich tonight. a tragedy in the south bay. a crash killing a 14-year-old boy. >> is happened on snell avenue just after midnight. kpix5 reporter is there live to tell us what happened. jessica? >> reporter: this is a devastating night for two families. now, take a look behind me. a growing memorial here at capitol express way and snell avenue. this is a family of the driver who slammed into a oncoming vehicle. the police believe that driver, 25-year-old jessica simora was driving under the influence when she crossed the median,

she was driving westbound, she crossed the median and slammed into a vehicle with two parents in the front seat, a 14-year- old in the back and that 14- year-old has passed away. now, obviously a very, very tragic night here. this is a family of the suspected dui driver. of course, this is just a tragedy. they want to remember her for all of the good things she did in her life and they are speaking out tonight. take a listen. >> she is a beautiful person, you know, just shows this could happen to anybody. and just a big reality check for my family and just for everyone out there. drinking and driving is no joke. innocence was lost here. the little boy. and as well as a mother. she was a great person. >> you heard that from a cousin there. she leaves behind a 5-year-old little girl. as for the 14-year-old victim we have not been yet told that child's identity at this time. we don't know anything about that family. obviously two families devastat