for some of you the news continues. for others check back with us later for the morning news and later for the morning news and cbs this captioning funded by cbs it's monday, december 26th, 2016. this is the "cbs morning news." a winter wonder land is now an icy slippery miss. snow in the plains and upper midwest making holiday travel difficult and dangerous. national day of mourning. a russian military plane crashes minutes after takeoff, killing dozens of people, including singers of a world famous choir. ♪ because i got to have faith i got to have faith ♪ because i got to have faith faith i got to have faith faith ♪

>> and superstar george michael dies at age 53. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters in new york. good to be with you. i'm meg oliver in for anne-marie green. this morning, travel is a mess across the northern plains where folks will be digging out following a powerful christmas storm. a blizzard warning remains in effect for most of north dakota, western south dakota, and parts of montana. the howling winds, heavy snow, and ice forced officials to shut hundreds of miles of roadways. roxana saberi is here in new york. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the national weather service is expecting parts of the dakotas and montana to get up to 15 inches of snow today. the winter weather is expected to continue east. the unrelenting holiday storm spilled into the overnight hours covering animals and driveway s

with mound of snow. while the system brought a white christmas yesterday. >> it's so beautiful. my first snow ever. >> reporter: it made driving throughout the northern plains and the southwest. this was the scene in arizona at interstate 40 was brought to a standstill by snow. in minnesota, the semitruck carrying 40 pounds of chocolate flipped onto its side as freezing rain and sleet covers roadways. >> at that moment, when the temperature dropped, the d.o.t. has not been out. you really have to watch the exits. >> reporter: it kept tow truckdrivers away from thank you families in utah and iowa. >> this is my ninth call. it's crazy. today is nuts. a lot of slide-offs, accidents. >> reporter: others brought out their sleds to make the most of nature on the holiday. >> it's the most snow i've ever seen in my life. it's awesome! it feels so nice! >> reporter: the storm is forecast to reach the east coast later today and bringing messy conditions along with it. >> the system will progress eastward through the up of

michigan and great lakes and freezing rain eventually as we get into upstate new york, going into pennsylvania, massachusetts, and parts of vermont today. >> reporter: national weather service is warning people who plan to hit the road today to take extra precautions. the national weather service is also advising drivers in the winter storm areas to keep their gas tanks full and their car batteries, they should check their car batteries and install good winter tires. the agency also suggesting packing supplies like a first-aid kit, food and water. >> roxana saberi in new york, thank you. the world of pop music has lost a superstar. george michael's manager says the singer died from heart failure. michael died on christmas. he was 53 years old. the entertainment industry is remembering michael who used his music for social and personal commentary. chris martinez provides on a career that combined chart topping hits and controversy. ♪ last christmas i gave you my heart

the very next day you give it away ♪ >> reporter: george michael soared to stardom in the british band wham! he formed as a teenager in 1982 with friend andrew ridgeley. the son of an immigrant was best known for his twist on pop dance pop. ♪ careless whisper his first solo single "careless whisper" debuted in 1983 shortly before wham split up. three years later, his first solo album called "faith" went on to sell more than 20 million copies. the song writer released several hit singles including the raunchy "i want your sex ,"with the provocative music video playing on mtv as the aids crisis worsened. off stage, the singer and songwriter was arrested in 1998 for lewd conduct in a public restroom by an undercover police officer. ♪ let's go outside >> reporter: michael, who was not openly gay, reacted by

releasing the single and video outside, making light of the charges and police, and opening up about his sexual orientation. he was arrested again in north london in 2008 for drug use. the state revoked his driver's license in 2010 for five years, after he drove his land rover into the side of a building. michael was an admitted use of marijuana and prescription sedatives. he nearly died of pneumonia in 2011. "white light" he performed at the olympic games in london. he was in production for a documentary about his life, set to be released next year. chris martinez, cbs news, los angeles. actress carrie fisher is in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a los angeles hospital. fisher, who played princess leia in "star wars," went into cardiac arrest friday during a flight from london to l.a. she had been on a tour promoting her latest book "the princess

direst." technical area was likely to blame for a russian passenger jet. the russian jet crashed into the black sea minutes after takeoff from sochi en route to syria. a memorial was held for the victims. all 92 people on board were killed, including members of russia's world famous military choir. barry petersen reports. >> 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 plane was a 1960s design. this one made in 1983. on board, a well-known russian humanitarian taking medical supplies to syria. ♪ >> reporter: and more than 60

members of the alexandroff ensemble famous across russia on the way to perform at a russian air base in syria. russian president vladimir putin promised a thorough the deaths stunned russia. a world famous choir formed almost a hundred years ago was gone in seconds. ♪ >> reporter: as a measure of russia's sadness, monday has been declared a national day of mourning. barry petersen, cbs news, london. president-elect donald trump says he is shutting down his nonprofit foundation. but the new york state attorney general says not so fast. mr. trump says he is dissolving the foundation to avoid even the appearance of any conflict of interest. the foundation has been a source of controversy during the campaign and is under investigation by the new york state attorney general. the attorney general's office says the foundation can't be dissolved until the investigation is over. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the obama administration initiated

and coordinated a u.n. resolution opposing jewish settlements in the israeli occupied territories. the resolution passed in the security council on friday when the u.s. changed a longstanding policy it did not veto the measure. the 14 other councilmembers voted in favor of it. at least four people were killed by a powerful typhoon that hit the philippines. the fi typhoon hit yesterday. it's weakened this morning as it moves to a heavily populated ty. it's weakened this morning as it moves to a heavily populated area near the capital manila. the storm destroyed homes and knocked out power in five provinces and delaying thousands of travelers. coming up on the "morning news." an early christmas present. a state trooper makes a special delivery in connecticut. and a renegade seal shakes up a neighborhood in australia. this is the "cbs morning news."

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the duties of connecticut state troopers, but this christmas package wouldn't wait. an officer delivered a baby saturday in an suv when the mother went into labor on the way to a hartford hospital. little ebenezer and his mom are both fine and adorable. a second sinkhole strikes a family in michigan. and deadly violence in chicago. those are some of the headlines on the morning newsstand. the "chicago tribune" reports the fatal shootings of five people across the city on christmas. police say the killings appeared to be unrelated. there were 27 shootings during the holiday weekend in chicago. seven of them fatal. "time" is publishing a christmas call for peace from pope francis. the pope mentioned syria and more than a dozen war-scarred parts of the world. about 40,000 people crowded st. peters square yesterday to hear the pope's traditional message. "the washington post" reports the abrupt cancellation of a tv series about the ku klux klan.

the eight-part documentary series was scheduled to air starting next month on a&e. a&e says the producers broke a network policy by paying clan members for interviews. the detroit news reports a suburban couple were force from their home on christmas eve when, get this, a sinkhole opened underneath it. officials think a sewer line is to blame. the couple says the same thing happened to them 12 years ago. "the australian" tells what happened when a first seal visited a suburb in tasmania. the 440-pound animal came to rest on a parked car more than 30 miles from the ocean. biologists think it reached the town from a nearby river. it got a tranquilized trip back to sea. still ahead, thinking out of the box. a new way for you to reuse your empty amazon boxes and benefit charity. details ahead. v8 or a powdered?

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tomorrow, i'm gonna step out with my favorite girl. ask your doctor about entresto. and help make the gift of tomorrow possible. pizza hut makes the best pizza under the moon. you see, when you're raised by wolves, there's no $10 any deal, where you can carry out a large pizza hut pizza, any toppings, any recipe, any day of the week. no, you just starve while your wolf brothers sandbag all the fresh meat. but now, i can even carry out a large pan meat lover's for just 10 bucks. while barky and sparky look for their dinner in the woods like a bunch of animals. look who's laughing now, wolves. ( [howls] the $10 any deal. because no one outpizzas the hut. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country.

♪ the "star wars" spin-off "rogue one" remained the force at the box office this holiday weekend. it's the second week in a row it has been number one. it's estimated to bring in $105 million during the four-day weekend. the animated tale of a koala attempting to save his theater "sing" was second. followed by "passengers." the time of giving and receiving is now the time for returning. we have all gotten those gifts that, for whatever reason, are not right. jill schlesinger has some of the do's and don't's of holiday gift returning. >> reporter: ugly holiday sweaters, the wrong toy, yet another boring tie. it's no wonder that two-thirds of people returning at least one holiday gift. before you head out to the store or post office to make those exchanges, you should know that return policies vary dramatically. depending on the retailer.

go banking rate ranks 50 retailers and they say the best ones offer generous return windows of 90 days, accept returns without receipts, and provide satisfaction guarantees. the top three? nordstrom, costco, and bed, bath and beyond. many of these big retailers have new return policies that apply to just certain items. kohl's has a deadline of january 31st for premium electronics. toys "r" us imposes a 30-day return for computer hardware. toys "r" us has two to four weeks for drones. for amazon.com, you have until january 31st for most items shipped the last two months of the year.

overstock.com no refunds on downloads. many happy returns. in new york, i'm jill schlesinger. amazon has come up with a way to give your amazon boxes a second and very useful life. it's a program called give back box. take your empty amazon boxes and fill it with items like clothing, household goods or accessories you'd like to donate to goodwill and print a shipping label from give back box.com and drop the box off at u.p.s. or the post office. amazon will pay for the shipping and your donation goes to the nearest goodwill location. still ahead, christmas day showdown. the cavaliers stage a thrilling comeback against the golden state warriors. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

hey julie, i know today's critic...need a sick day. dads don't take sick days. dads take dayquil severe: the... ...non-drowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat, stuffy... ...head, no sick days medicine. we'll show you how he s being honored here at home. the search is on.. for whoever took a six-foot tall menorah from a local park. we'll tell you where it was last seen. and it was a white christmas for many parts of the country! we have the latest on the winter storm.. and where it's headed next. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:30.

,,,, here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country.

the warriors and cavs quickly rekindled the dramatic of last spring's nba finals. cleveland scored a one-point victory yesterday over visiting golden state. kyrie irving decided it with a short jumper in the final seconds. it was their first meeting since cleveland upset the warriors to win the title. the steel curtain fell on the baltimore ravens yesterday as they faced a crucial game against pittsburgh. the steelers came from ten points back in the fourth quarter and won the afc north with a 31-27 victory. that keeps baltimore out of the nfl playoffs. every year, the christmas spirit moves some folks to throw caution and their electric bills to the wind. tony dokoupil meets a family whose decorations draws visitors from miles around. >> reporter: you don't need kevin lynch's address to find his family's well-lit home in queens, new york. 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 and 100 animated dolls and about 250,000 christmas lights make this place impossible to miss. >> they are going to see it from the shuttle. they are going to look down and say, yes. eighth wonder of the world, we are passing over the lynch's resident. >> reporter: you are truly clark griswold? >> absolutely. yes, i am. >> reporter: the lynch family christmas lights are now a new york tradition, going back 22 years. >> it is an amazing house. >> i like seeing all of the lights. >> it's the most beautifully decorated christmas house that i've ever seen. >> reporter: but lynch admits all of this holiday cheer wasn't inspired by the christmas spirit, so much as the spirit of competition. >> neighbor had some lights up. i put a few. next year, he put more up. i put more up. so the third year i went crazy and put a ton of lights up and a

friendly competition that just grew since and it kept growing. >> reporter: you blew him out of the 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 11th. >> i actually made it one of my biggest years back then. >> reporter: now his home attracts visitors from around the world. >> did you see that? >> reporter: and also nearby. tunisia sandy has been coming here since she was a kid and this year she is here with her son. >> i want to keep that tradition. he always lights up, just like the lights. >> reporter: lynch says it take two months to put everything. >> a lot of expresso. >> reporter: and a couple of huge electricity bills to keep it 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. >> pretty amazing. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning,"

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students in santa clarita, california, have a new gym class hero. their teacher used social media to provide some much-needed footwear. ben tracy hat story. ben tracy has the story. >> ready! set! go! >> reporter: samantha ford teaches physical education at several schools in santa clarita, california. earlier this month, she noticed some of her students were lacking something pretty basic. >> and i see kids running in, you know, little flimsy sandals or shoes that have holtz. we have a couple of kids that hot glue the sole on every day.

>> ford asked a boy if those were the only shoes that he had. the boots were ratty and old and worn out and it just hit me really hard. >> reporter: so she went home and posted about her conversation with the boy on her facebook page. within hours, one of her friends bought the boy new shoes and it didn't stop there. suddenly, she had hundreds of pairs of shoes lined up in her classroom, donated by friends, strangers. >> hi. >> oh, my gosh! how are you! >> and someone she hadn't seen in years. >> i can't believe you're standing here. it's crazy! >> reporter: ford's favorite teacher from her high school days dropped by to drop off some shoes. >> whenever i see a former student that is, you know, doing something that -- that's showing generosity and care for the community, it just makes my heart sing. >> oh! >> reporter: 7-year-old jesse valencia says he has always been a fast runner but with new shoes, there is a new spring in his step.

>> i wanted to pick them up. i ran so fast. they make me run so fast more. >> reporter: and juliett is happy to be running with him in her new rainbow colored kiks. >> so comfortable and i like them. >> reporter: so far, more than 500 pairs of shoes have been donated, so much that each kid in shari ramsey's second grade class got a new pair too. >> it was like shopping for them. for some of these kids, this is their first new pair of shoes in probably years. >> reporter: now along with those new shoes is a new sense of gratitude. >> dear miss 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've ever had from a kid like a real hug. i thought, wow, he knows how to hug. this is so exciting. >> 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.

coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more fallout from fake news. we will see how a fake news story started a twitter feud between israeli and pakistan. plus, we will meet a veteran who is relearning how to use his arms following a double arm transplant. that is the "cbs morning news" for this monday. i'm meg oliver. have a great day.

i'm kenny choi. and i'm thanks for waking up with us. the embarcadero all lit up this morning. it's monday, december 26. i'm kenny choi. >> i'm maria medina in for

michelle griego. it's now 4:29. merry christmas. >> merry christmas! >> really is a beautiful christmas gift. the bright lights of the embarcadero. take another look at it right now. go ahead and soak it all up because usually, the lights dim about the fourth day of january right after the new year so i just love that coming over the bay bridge and being able to see it. you can see it this morning. clear skies and chilly. upper 20s santa rosa. low 40s oakland. san francisco 43. livermore 34. so very frosty start to your morning. later today numbers 60 everywhere. in fact, 56 one of our outside numbers. we'll talk about the chances of rain, when you should expect it but right now let's bring her in "lady g." >> good morning! we anticipate it being an easy commute a lot of folks with the day off today. that's the case on the golden gate bridge no delays out of marin into san francisco. changes for mass transit though. we'll have that coming up. across the world, people are remembering the