it's monday, december 25th, 2017. merry christmas. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ >> pope francis uses this christmas to remember those forced to flee their homes. it will be a white christmas for millions in the northeast. the snow comes at a cost, difficult travel conditions. president trump attends midnight mass after taking a shot at the fbi's deputy director. good morning from the studio 57

newsroom at cbs news headquarters here in new york. good to be with you on this special morning. christmas, of course, is being celebrated around the world. at the vatican, pope francis led a solemn christmas mass at st. peter's basilica. he told thousands the birth of jesus in a manger changed us forever. he used the story of the holiday to appeal for better treatment of migrants. we have the story. ♪ >> reporter: as the faithful gathered at the vatican for midnight mass, they directed their attention at the flight of the world's refugees. >> translator: so many footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of joseph and mary. we see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day. >> reporter: the pope said the holy family went through an ordeal that would be familiar for many in the world of 2017.

>> translator: they had to leave their people, their home and their land. >> reporter: jesus was born in a manger because mary and joseph were turned away from everywhere else. heed the lesson. >> translator: christmas is the time to turn the power of fear to reality. >> reporter: christmas is being celebrated in bethlehem, the historic place of jesus. >> i am here for the first time in the holy land. i hope to find something special. >> reporter: thousands converged on manger square in the church of the nativity. turnout was somewhat smaller than in years past. it was scaled down by palestinian officials after president trump said the u.s. would recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. cbs news, new york. here at home, parts of the country are enjoying a white christmas this morning. snow and wind are causing headaches for people who are traveling. there are reports of hazardous

travel conditions in new england and the great plains. a storm brought white-out conditions to nebraska and heavy snow caused a traffic nightmare in colorado, bringing roads to a standstill. there were delays at airports, including bangor, maine. >> we had a friend coming from philly. their flight canceled earlier. i was lucky to get in on time. >> for more weather, let's turn to meteorologist, rob ellis from our chicago station. >> heavy rain along the coast from new york up to boston. eventually, we will see snow wrapping around. this will add snow to the ground for those traveling on christmas day. 1-3, inland of new york. however, those totals go up quickly for new england, 6-12, up to a foot of snow or more for some locations. the snow bands have to deal with that. other locations picked up 1-3, as much as four inches of snow. who gets the white christmas? some of the locations you

expect. we have snow on the ground in chicago. all the way to new england with that system for christmas day. a good portion of the northern rockies and locations that may not normally see a white christmas. seattle, the higher elevations. unfortunately, they have rainshowers that change to snow. that's going to make for snowy travel in here and the rockies. also when you head to the east, the snowy travel, not just if you are concerned about traveling by air, but also the roadways. once the snowy system move out. bitterly cold air moves in for the year. >> meteorologist rob ellis in chicago. some breathed in the snow to get done with that holiday shopping. retail experts say 6 partly cloudy of americans were still looking for gifts on christmas eve. the number was higher in my family. shoppers feeling good about the economy are spending more than

expected and that could make for the best holiday season in years. president trump is celebrating christmas in florida. they attended midnight mass at a church in palm beach. they were married at the church in 2005. earlier, on christmas eve, the president praised members of the military, taking to twitter to call out the fbi's deputy director. chip reid is in florida with the president. >> i just wanted to wish everybody a very merry christmas. >> reporter: from his estate in palm beach, president trump sent christmas greetings by teleconference to service members overseas. >> we are grateful for each of you spending this christmas away from your families. >> reporter: a differen tone on twitter, lashing out at deputy fbi director, andrew mccabe. he had a supervisory role in the hillary clinton e-mail investigation and trump claims he was bias in clinton's favor. why? in 2015, when mccabe's wife was

running for virginia senate, she received a large political donation from a pac connected to clinton friend, teri mcauliffe. president trump wrote, mccabe getting this money from mcauliffe, he was using, allegedly, his fbi office e-mail to promote her campaign. there was no evidence he did that. democrats say the attacks divert attention from special counsel robert mueller's investigation into the trump campaign contact with russia. cbs news learned mccabe decided to retire from the fbi by march. mark short was asked if it's helpful for the president to attack fbi officials. >> i think the president believes the american people have a right to know what happened in that investigation. >> reporter: we are told the president is still celebrating passage of the tax bill. sources with firsthand knowledge tell cbs news he told a group of

wealthy people at his exclusive mar-a-lago es kate, quote, you all just got a lot richer. chip reid, cbs news, west palm beach, florida. one of the key figures in the russia investigation is former national security adviser, michael flynn. cbs justice correspondent gave his take on flynn and the investigation yesterday on "face the nation." >> the question is, i know the white house is interested in this. when will it all wrap up? it doesn't seem like there's an end in sight right now. you have mike flynn given this plea deal. he is a figure that straddles, you know, the transition, the campaign and the first few weeks in the white house. if he's cooperating you have a clearer sense of what they are looking at, at least according to the people i know who have worked with mueller in the past. they know how he builds his cases. he tries to get cooperating witnesses, which he has now with

flynn and papadopoulos. the foreign policy adviser also took a plea deal. wrap up these witnesses. don't tip your hand, according to the people who work with mueller to what the main charges are going to be at the end. that's the question, when will this end and what are investigators trying to get out of mike flynn? >> a federal judge in seattle partially lifted a trump administration ban on some refugees. the american civil liberties union and jewish family service urged the judge to halt the ban on refugees from mostly muslim refugees. they said to process certain refugee applications, but not those without a bonified relationship with someone in the u.s. north korea's ministers say the sanctions are a complete economic blockade and say it's a pipe dream for the u.s. to think

this country will give up its nuclear weapons. friday, they approved new sanctions in response to north korea's latest launch of missiles. thousands of people in the philippines sent their christmas in shelters. landslides and flash floods killed more than 120 people. more than 150 are missing as rescuers search for survivors. the suicide bombing in afghanistan killed six people. security officials say the bomber approached an office in kabul on foot and detonated a suicide vest. islamic state claimed responsibility. coming up on the morning news, a strong smelling gift with a political message. how a delivery to the treasury secretary triggered a police investigation. this is the "cbs morning news." investigation. this is the "cbs morning news." . it'll take care of your cough.

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accounting staff to deliver last minute packages in a prank that sends the secretary a pungent gift. those are the headlines. "the new york times" reports authorities in los angeles are investigating after a box of horse manure was sent to treasury secretary steve mnuchin. it was covered in christmas wrapping and dropped off at a neighbor's house on saturday night. the lapd bomb squad was called to open the box. the card inside said it was from, quote, the american people. big changes on the miss america organization. the ceo, sam haskell and two other top leaders are out, forced to resign. it comes after leaked e-mails were published showing them ridiculing past pageant winners based on their appearance, intellect and sex lives. interesting story from national public radio. they report on more changes in the retail industry. a new analysis of government data shows tens of thousands of women lost jobs in that sector

while men gained them. one economist tells npr it's not clear what sparked the shift but point autothat 73% of cashiers are women and many of those jobs have been cut by automation. "the wall street journal" says u.p.s. called on reinforcement to get packages delivered. that's not a surprise. listen who did it. they asked hundreds of accountants and office workers to stop what they were doing and help make the deliveries. u.p.s. says a surge in e-commerce orders coupled with a tight market made the shift in roles necessary. international business times reports a pennsylvania woman got quite a shock after checking her monthly electric bill. get it, shocked? they charged her more than $284 billion. there may be an error here. the decimal point was in the wrong spot. i guess so. the actual balance was $284. still a high bill. still to come, military helicopters that fly themselves.

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during the holidays. the girl scouts started a conversation about hugging, encouraging girls to set their own physical boundaries, even with family. >> reporter: girl scouts of usa have a new message, girls don't owe anyone a hug, not even during the holidays, when surrounded by family and friends. >> we want them to trust their gut. >> reporter: she says the conversation was driven by the increasing number of stories on sexual misconduct allegations by high-profile men. recently, girl scouts posted an article outlining the importance of setting physical boundaries saying, telling your child she owes someone a hug just because she hasn't seen this person in a while or because they gave her a gift can question whether she owes another person any type of physical affection. >> for people who look at it and go, it's just a hug, not a big

deal. >> it's not a one-to-one. some people take things very literally. girls have decision making power around how they demonstrate affection. >> when i came out with it -- >> reporter: she was 9 when her stepfather started molesting her. the abuse went on two years. she is the author of "my body is special." it's a story about a little girl who learns that no one should touch her private parts and learns what to do if anyone does. >> even if kindergarten or first grade, the fireman comes to the school and we learn to stop, drop and roll. that is universal language. my prayer is this becomes universal language for our they know to stop, run and scream, go to a safe place and tell any adult you trust. the use of unmanned drones is a common place in the

military. now the technology is spreading to helicopters. david martin got a look at a military chopper that doesn't need a pilot on board or on ground. >> reporter: this helicopter has been around since vietnam. this one could be the start of a revolution. it's flying itself. that pilot in the cockpit is a safety observer, keeping his hands close to, but not on the controls. the person telling it what to do is a marine sergeant. >> it comes in, requests permission to land, i give it permission to land. when it's ready to leave, i get permission to leave. it's that simple. >> reporter: he is not flying the helicopter. he has no joy stick. a tablet to issue basic instructions, no prior experience required. >> 15 minutes training with the tablet. anybody can pick it up. it's easy.

>> reporter: they are placing a large bet that autonomous aircraft can take the place of humans. this is the computer that turns it into a self-flying aircraft. took five years and $98 million to develop and it can be installed on any helicopter. that pod on the nose is constantly scanning for obstacles. warning the computer of hard to see hazards like power lines. it will deliver supplies to marines in the field, freeing up pilots for other missions. this will fly into the future when it starts training with marines in california this spring. david martin, cbs news, virginia. still ahead, stranded in the french alps. we'll show you the dramatic helicopter rescue of skiers trapped high above the ground. trapped high above the ground. r ship in juice from overseas. only florida's natural

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cities around the country. authorities now confirmed in florida, a fifth person was killed in the crash of a twin engine plane. it happened in polk county. the cessna just took off in thick fog before crashing. everyone on board was killed. they are identified as four members of the same family and a family friend. happier ending in france. 150 people have been rescued after getting stuck on gondola's in the french alps. they were skiing when the lift broke. helicopters were used to get rescuers to the gondolas. they used ropes to lower the stranded skiers to the ground. no one was hurt. the rescue operation took two hours. a very florida christmas eve was celebrated off cocoa beach. that's where hundreds of surfing

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our top stories this morning, you may have heard christmas is being celebrated around the world. pope francis appealed for better treatment of refugees, compared the journey of mary and joseph to bethlehem to the migrants forced to leave their homelands. it is a white house christmas for millions in the northeast and midwest. while it looks pretty, it is creating difficult driving conditions. new england could get eight inches of snow from massachusetts, connecticut and rhode island. tis the season to eat too much and since overdoing it for the holidays is hard to resist, we asked for tips on how to feel full, but not stuffed. >> reporter: to talk about the

tricks to avoid overeating, i sat down for a meal with a nutritionist. this time of year, most of us overeat. >> true. it's difficult. >> the question is, how can we overeat wisely? >> there are a few things we can do. we have three side plates here. i will start with the medium-sized plate for my meal. when i fill my plate up with a lot of food, i am going to feel that i have a nice, full-size plate. >> i'm starving. >> we are going to have some dark meat and i'm going to give you a nice amount of stuffing here. >> that's good. >> we are going to do the same with the potatoes. >> all right. >> the first thing we are going to do is use a knife and fork and chew our food and eat slower. we are going to practice. chew. put down your fork. the turkey is delicious. okay? >> it is delicious.

bite. >> i know. >> and the bite after that and the meal i had yesterday and tomorrow. >> this is going to help. >> reporter: i have to concentrate on this meal. as we concentrate and devour a lovely meal, the question becomes, how do we stop? >> i'm saying don't overdo it. when you feel satisfied, it's time to stop. let's have some wine, which is really good. when someone says they have a glass of wine, we don't know what size. >> reporter: it could be 4 ounces or 12 ounces. >> exactly. >> reporter: you have to be aware of the measurements. cheers. >> health and happiness and slower eating. >> salute. >> salute. coming up on "cbs this morning," find out how the first family is celebrating christmas in florida and how the president hasn't left politics behind in washington. we are in studio 57 with a christmas message and the importance of celebrating togetherness during a time

when events may be driving people apart. in profiles and service, the first black woman in history to hold the highest rank at west point. that's the "cbs morning news" for this christmas monday. good luck to the rest of wrapping and assembling and have a great holiday. assembling and have a great holiday.

i'm anne makovec. kenny and chelle have the holiday off. good morning it is monday, december 25th! christmas morning, taking a live look at the beautiful lights on the san francisco. shining for the holiday and every day this holiday season.

kenny and michelle have the holiday off. and it is 4:30, we are glad that you are joining us starting your christmas morning. taking a live look outside of the golden gate bridge. skies relatively clear. no real fog to speak of this morning. so a calm start to our holiday. current condition 40s just about everywhere. our cool spot santa rosa 38 degrees. and your weather headlines this morning looking forward to the rest of the day, partly cloudy, cool start today. mix of sun and clouds, mild temperatures, pretty seasonal and it is a spare the air today and tuesday which means no wood burning despite the fact that people want to throw the logs on the fire this christmas holiday. a stretch of southbound interstate 880 is closed in hayward as investigators look into a collision involving a california highway patrol video, two officers were injured