tea party for the chimpanzee troop. toys, snacks and tonight, christmas is' deadly big chill. buffalo blasted. the blizzard is gone, but the emergency is far from over. >> we are in a war. this is a war with mother nature. >> the death toll rising as deep freeze fierce winds and feet of snow paralyze parts of new york. oh, my god. >> across the country, the extreme weather still snarling holiday plans in several states. good samaritans pitching in to help. we'll have the forecast about what's ahead. also tonight, pope francis uses his christmas day message to plea for peace in ukraine. while on the war's front lines, new defiance. >> i'm ian lee in kyiv, uke,ere

this >>us royal deb the first time prince louis joins his family at christmas service while the king pays tribute to his late mother. >> i cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family. and, later, it's a treasured holiday tradition. "the nutcracker," performed by america's oldest ballet company with a new barrier-breaking star. >> as soon as you step on stage, it's kind of just, let's go. this is the cbs weekend news from new york with jericka duncan. >> good evening. it's been a white christmas for many americans with plenty of weather misery to go with it. it's a disaster in buffalo, new york. nationwide, the mammoth storm is

blamed for at least 33 deaths and hundreds of thousands of power outages. it's also still causing nightmares for travelers on highways and airports. >> reporter: at airports across the country, more than 2,300 flights have been canceled with thousands more delayed. the airport in buffalo, new york, is still shut until at least tuesday. christmas in buffalo, a ghost town. frigid temperatures and fierce winds have trapped people in their homes and cars under 6-foot snow drifts. new york's governor deployed 400 members of the national guard, calling it a storm for the ages. >> we are in a war, and this will go down in history as the most devastating storm in poin emergency services istory.

paralyzed from reaching the hardest-hit areas. >> we've had police vehicles in the city, fire trucks literally stuck in snow, ambulances stuck. >> reporter: 30 miles outside buffalo, up to 200 people spent christmas eve stranded at this denny's. >> there were families sleeping on tables, sleeping on three dining chairs, heads down on the table. >> reporter: scott and john were there for nearly 48 hours, uncomfortable but well fed. >> yesterday they served 400 meals by themselves. >> reporter: it's a storm so massive and dangerous, about 60% of americans have felt its fury, suffering temperatures far below normal. south south dakota deployed the national guard. texas went into deep fre this car wash migrants alo theouthern bo ted to escape the cold, welcoming the holiday in

candlelight. even miami saw some manmade flurries. >> it is snowing in miami. >> reporter: nascar driver bad perez posted this christmas miracle for dolphins' fans. the nation's busiest airport in atlanta has taken the brunt of christmas flight problems with the most delays and cancelations. >> thank you. so, what's ahead? let's get the forecast from meteorologist paul goodlow from our partners at the weather channel. >> merry christmas. and this christmas it's one of the coldest christmases in the south in some areas maybe 20, 30 plus years. and the cold air, well, it's still sticking around for the rest of day and tonight. tomorrow still below average but not nearly in the teens and single digits. we'll be less cold tomorrow. by the end oco

see temperatures in the south 70s as we head on towards the new year. different story out towards the west. yes, it was mild in southern california. but storms are now coming in tonight. and once they start, they keep coming and push farther south. even southern california, plenty of rain coming in to end your 2022. today, pope francis used his cristmas message to lament what he called the icy winds of war. speaking to the faithful in st. peter's square, the pontiff pleaded for an immediate end to the fighting in ukraine. he also called the invasion by russia senseless. and today many ukrainians celebrated christmas. that would normally happen on january 7th. but not this year. ian lee is in kyiv. >> reporr: o thi holy night, not all is calm, not all is bright in ukraine. the intense fighting continues.

ukha t llse rsi int,ers keep the christmas spirit alive, decorating a tree to the medlod of artillery. fear replaces holiday cheer on the city's deadly streets. this resident says, we have to survive and keep on living. ♪ while on the front line further north, carol singers add a splash of color to these soldiers' dull, war-torn world. this man says he's thankful for the distraction even if it was brief. in central kyiv, families gather for pictures around the christmas tree. anna brought her 20-month-old. she tells me, i try to make the holiday positive for my did you, but when there's anxiety in my soul, of course she can feel it. this woman's brother is stuck behind enemy lines.

she tells me, this situation is horrible. they have no power, gas or water. they gather in homes with wood-burning homes to stay warm. ♪ president zelenskyy's christmas message reflected the mood of his defiant nation. saying, freedom will return to all ukrainians, while adding that they won't wait for a mracle because they'll create it themselves. these would be the country's miracle workers. ordinary soldiers praying for salvation. every single ukrainian i've spoken with, young and old, has the same christmas wish for ukraine to win the war. and while the death and destruction has dimmed the spirit of the holiday, that flame of resistance glows bright. ian lee, cbs news, kyiv, ukraine. and in britain and the commonwealth, this day includes a message from the monarch.

while here at home, there wasn't a whisper from the white house, just these posts. here's cbs' steve fetterman. >> reporter: christmas 2022 around the world had a bit of te old and the new. ♪ at the british royal estate, there was both the traditional % royal walkabout led by the new monarch, also the future prince louis joining the family christmas celebration for the first time with george and princess charlotte looking so much like a younger version of her great-grandmother. later, the broadcast of the king's speech. >> christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. >> reporter: at the white house, the president and first lady celebrated privately. they both sent holiday greetings to units from each branch of the military. the u.s. may no longer be officially engaged in any wars, but many american troops still spent the day far away from

their families in places like an air base in the united emirates. animals celebrate christmas too. in des moines, iowa, this dog went down a sled. in toronto, these arctic wolves at a zoo enjoyed a white christmas. these people in berlin went wild in the water with their traditional polar bear plunge in. brazil a christmas with concern over a national treasure. soccer star pele surrounded by loved ones as reports say his health is deteriorating from colon cancer. in the place where this all began, bethlehem, the original spirit of christmas took the spotlight back to what it was before the pandemic. in rome there were examples of the spirit of giving. despite theithi chsts aer a and in many tions,as a time toy he forea

earth and gowar all men. steve fetterman, cbs news, los angeles. today, we learned of the death of the winningest golfer in history, the legendary kathy weatherworth. she won the lpga tour a record 88 times. that's six more than tiger woods. kathy whitworth died at 83 years old. new tips to returning those unwanted gifts if santa got it wrong. and leaping into history with a holiday classic.

today, most of us were focused on what was under the christmas tree, the ornaments on the tree often have a special meaning. that's also true at the white house where a new ornament

usually honors a past president every year. this year's version, a gingerbread white house is inspired by richard nixon's presidency. ed o'keefe looks inside this long holiday tradition. >> reporter: just like some people always make sure to get the gas station toy truck or the holiday barbie, many families add the white house ornament to their holiday wish list each year. even the first families display them at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. but the ornament gets its start about 400 miles away at kemart in lincoln, rhode island. here the ornament is as much a christmas tradition as the tree itself. these people run the company that's been making the ornament since its inception in 1981. >> it's been part of our dna for so long, 42 years we've been running this animal ornament

program so it's part of who we are. >> reporter: his father, a chemist and inventor, started the metal etching business more than four decades ago. not long after, the opportunity of a lifetime. first lady nancy reagan wanted to make a white house christmas ornament as a keepsake. he took on the task. collaborating with the white house historical association, he has worked through 42 ornaments usually honoring presidents, but occasionally marking other important moments in white houses had history. >> it's about educating the public and about restoring the house. >> reporter: restoration paid for from proceeds from an ornament that's completely hand-assembled and american-made. >> there's a push to bring this all back into the united states. for you guys it never left. >> no, never will. >> it's a culture he built and continues with longtime employees of the family business. this year the team settled on a gingerbread white house in e nixohe f

lady to display iconic gingerbread house. >> every single day. >> stewart mclaurin is president of the white house historical association, a nonpartisan privately funded group that helps restore and preserve the famous address. they try to teach presidential history through each ornament. >> it's a labor of love really for those of us who invest in this and try to come up with something unique and creative. >> reporter: this year they added the scent of gingerbread infused into the nixon recipe included with the ornament. it's those kinds of details that had people ginger-snapping them up at the national christmas tree. ♪ families around the country collecting white house holiday keepsakes while doing their part to keep the house intact. >> merry christmas. ed o'keefe, cbs news, the white house. >> ginger spice and everything nice. still ahead on this cbs ekd

gift returns, and retailers are ready. but you'll want to check the fine print.

after a day of giving, now comes the great gift return. but this year there are more hurdles. a recent survey found six in ten retailers have changed their return policies. cbs' nancy chen has more. >> reporter: with the holiday shopping season underway, tis the season also for surprises, including a crackdown on online returns. the cost to return an item by mail at zara, now $3.95. for j.crew it's $7.50. and at dillard's, it will set you back almost ten bucks. they're all part of a growing risk of retailers charging to send back purchases. >> i hate it as someone who likes to shop and return things

often. >> reporter: this person shops almost entirely online and was recently hit with return fees after ordering multiple pairs of pants. >> i haven't been able to find a pair of pants that actually fits me. i needed to try on a lot of things. and for certain stores, i did have to eat that $5 cost. >> reporter: a fee some experts say shoppers should get used to, with shipping costs up and retailers dealing with excess inventory this year. and all those returns add up. according to the national retail federation, $102 billion worth of online orders were returned in 2020. that number more than doubled to 218 billion last year. >> about 40% of our merchants are charging for refunds. and that's nearly doubled in the last 12 months. >> reporter: jonathan is the ceo of loop, a company helng more than 1,500 retailers save on return costs. > this is actually a big problem for retailers. >> when you start to stack these

costs preshipping on the outbound orderer, maybe a customer acquisition cost of 50 bucks and you're out almost twice the cost of the return. >> reporter: and with as many as 50,000 brick and mortar stores projected to close over the next five years, the trend towards return fees isn't going away any time soon. >> i think return fees just help us see a little bit behind that curtain by making us pause and think about our purchasing decisions and whether we are being wasteful or not. >> reporter: turning a page in how we buy and return. nancy chen, cbs news, new york. next up on the cbs weekend news, an out-of-this-world gift, showing the universe as never before.

it was a $10 billion christmas gift to the world. today marks one year since the james webb space telescope was launched. in july, it started showing us

our place in the cosmos, sharing images like these. the infrared telescope has thrilled astronomers, revealing unseen stars, planets, and galaxies. for us, it's simply spectacular. now to maryland where a spectacular star was born this holiday season. take a look. ♪ 2-year-old frankie's grinchy mood stole the show at his preschool concert. his mom says frankie just wanted to sit with family. no matter what, his performance here was perfect. when we return, an on-point performance by a barrier-breaking ballerina in a christmas classic.

♪ we

trsured christmas tradition, "the nutcracker." this one by the san francisco ballet. that company was first to debut the famous performance in the united states in 1944. and this year another san francisco first, the debut of the company's first black principal ballerina. in tonight's "weekend journal," elizabeth koch of sister station kpix shares her story. >> nakisha fogo has been waiting for this moment all year. >> it's special because i have a little mantra that i say before. >> reporter: it's opening night of "the nutcracker," and nakisha is the sugar plum fairy. >> as soon as you step on stage, it's a really nice feeling. >> reporter: but before the curtain opens, her preparation begins here at her apartment. and for a moment she looks like any other 20-something living in san francisco.

only nakisha makes her breakfast next to her point shoes. >> the job doesn't really finish once you leave the office. >> reporter: everything from her makeup to her clothes. >> this one is really pretty. this feels like a sugar plum. >> reporter: it's all about getting into character as the principal dancer for the san francisco ballet, she knows her impact reaches far beyond the stage. >> i did get a lot of messages from people saying that i'm helping them or that i'm inspiring to them. >> reporter: nakisha was born in sweden. her father is jamaican and her mother is white. both of them were dancers, and it was clear early on she had a gift. >> when i was younger, one of my teachers actually said to me that i would never become a professional ballerina because my hair was too frizzy. that's why i'm happy that i can be someone that can inspire

others to not believe those nonsense like that. ♪ >> reporter: last january, she almost had to hang up her point shoes for good after an injury nearly ended her career. former principal dancer ricardo bustamante is her rehearsal director. >> she can be strong, she ca be passionate. >> reporter: and that's exactly what nakisha wants to be known her, to the countless young dancers who see her when she takes the stage. and that's the cbs weekend news for this sunday. i'm lilia luciano in new york. from all of us here at cbs news, we wish you a good night. merry christmas. ♪

- [narrator] think back to that perfect meal; who was there, what you felt, and how that food made its way to your table. food is love. and food for bay area families isn't just a nice thought food- - [karen] i don't believe that children and families should go hungry. - [narrator] is a human right. a right in the face of great need right here at home - our food help line is receiving about 30% of new calls of people that have never contacted us before. - [narrator] if someone knocked on your door needing food- - you see people lining, all ready to go. - [narrator] you wouldn't question the need. - we're waiting for my mom to come home just hoping that she had food. - [narrator] you do what good people in our community do day in and day out. - you know, always helping, doing whatever we can. - [narrator] you'd give what you have. - if i knew a friend maybe was struggling a little, i would bring extra snacks. - [narrator] for this hour, our neighbors are knocking.