shoppers swarm stores all around the region looking for big deals on gifts with less than a week to go until christmas. good evening everyone, i'm natasha brown. thanks for johning us. super saturday is winding down and it's typically the second biggest shopping day of the year and today certainly did not disappoint. "eyewitness news" reporter rahel solomon has more from the cherry hill mall. >> reporter: in this sea of last minute spent the the cherry hill mall shoppers of all type have the just need one more thing woman. >> last minute thing. >> reporter: the just starting out lady. >> i didn't get anything yetly i have to get something for my mom. >> reporter: of course you have the determined. >> there's a lot of pushing and shoving at h and m. i will to like. >> reporter: that bad. >> yeahly i was about to raise my hands up and go. >> the parking lot was mobbed. i mean you could not find parking anywhere. >> reporter: the lines, the crowds, the huge savings. that's why experts call this saturday before christmas

super saturday. after black friday it's considered the busiest shopping day of the year. while weary shoppers rested, others refueled to keep the shopping momentum going. workers say this line is much better than early saturday. >> early in the day was a lot worse we had a lot of feisty customers we had ladies about to fight in our line imso many were able to snag what they needed. looks like little gina harper's family will be making a trip back. i know you have a lift because you look like a very organized young lady. what would you like this year. >> um, i really don't know. >> reporter: the family is, however, quite familiar with the mall. this trip saturday evening was their second of the day after they learned earlier saturday you need an appointment to see santa. >> never knew to do make reservations to see santa claus. >> reporter: busy man apparently. >> yes, he is. >> reporter: to accommodate

all of this demand clerical has extended mall hours. they're working until 11:00 through wednesday. reporting the the cherry hill mall rahel solomon cbs3 "eyewitness news." >> don't forget to check out our holiday shopping guide at cbsphilly.com. if you're still trying to figure out what to get everyone on your list you'll find some great ideas right there. what a difference a week makes. last saturday we were enjoying record highs but tonight et cetera feels a whole lot more like christmas. lauren casey is in the weather center with more on the weekend chill. >> thanks, natasha. quite the turn around in a week's time. today's temperature the coldest of the season so far but don't let that deceive you because we're just shy of average. 44 degrees is actually our average high temperature. we've been nowhere near that all month long. 42 degrees behind today our first day below average so far this month. highs only in the 30's in the lehigh valley and they only topped at 42 degrees in atlantic city and you can bet temperatures chilly right now.

35 degrees in philadelphia, still that wind up around 14 miles per hour so wind chill temperature 26 right now. a bit chilly. 34 degrees down the shore, feeling like 28 and feeling like teens right now in the poconos. storm scan3 showing us a few lingering flurries up in the higher elevations. otherwise clear skies across much of the delaware valley and as we head into the night tonight we'll keep it nice and keitt and cold. coldest night of the season so far and that's just in time for the official start of winter which begins at 11:48 in the evening tomorrow and monday will be our first full day of the winter season and next week it's winter but we're going to be warming up to near 70 degrees potentially by christmas eve. that would destroy a record so we'll talk about another round of december record warmth coming up in your full forecast in just a few. >> wow. thank you very much. some of you did see some snow falling today but it was nothing like folks in buffalo

new york were seeing. severe snowstorms rolled through this new york area dumping up to a foot of snow. another three to 6 inches could fall tomorrow. a t of cleaning up to do just before the holidays in that area. and a campaign 2016 news tonight a short time ago the democrats wrapped up their final presidential debate of the year. the candidates passionately discussed this week's data breach scandal and also a wide range of issues facing the country. cbs news correspondent weija jeng has more. >> reporter: bernie sanders put the scandal behind him. the democratic national committee says sanders staff improperly hack sieved valuable information compiled by hillary clinton's campaign. >> i want top apologize to my supporters this is not the type of campaign that we run. >> reporter: clinton accepted his apology.

sanders says the first incident was two months ago and his campaign immediately reported the problem. with the san bernadino mass shootings still fresh on voters' minds the candidates debated national security and fighting terrorism. >> the first line of defense against radicalization is in the muslim-american community. >> reporter: martin o'malley attacked sanders and clinton on their gun control records. >> secretary clinton changes her position on this every election year it seems having one position in 2000 and then campaigning against president obama and saying we don't need federal standards. >> reporter: the candidates all agreed on one subject, gop frontrunner donald trump. they slammed many of his ideas including a brazen ban louisiana ton ban muslims from the u.s. >> he is becoming isis's best recruiter. >> somebody like a trump comes along and says i know the answers, the answer is that all of the mexicans they're criminals and rapist.

>> reporter: the first votes will be counted in the iowa caucuses on february 1st. weija jeng for cbs3 "eyewitness news." >> republicans were expected to push through a pension reform today. in a surprise move half of the gop lawmakers voted against the measure and squashed it. the billes defeat caught many in harrisburg off guard including governor tom wolf. >> my understanding of the deal was that the republicans were going to pass that and that was a surprise i think to a lot of us that it didn't pass. i think the remembers in the senate, the democrats in the senate, democrats in the house and i get thins i think a lot of republicans in the house get this. we don't have a choice. we have got to balance this budget. >> this bill was expected to be the first step in ending the impasse. how leaders say the next move is to work on passing a temporary budget to fund the government. the community in knoxville, tennessee is

remembering a high school football player who died saving the lives of others. 15-year-old xavion dobson was can killed by a group gunmen who fired multiple times into a crowd. investigators say dobson jumped on top of three girls to shield them. family and friends are calling the teenager a hero for his actions. >> it was good to know that he was willing to protect others but then it was sad because he had to give up his on life for it. >> he was going the make it teeter be a coach or play football. >> investigators say the shootings were gang related. police have arrested one person in connection with the shooting. family members spent the day of the married killers who carried out the san bernadino massacre. they were there to retrieve perm items. family members loaded appliances furniture and what baby items into a moving truck. syed farook and his wife tashfeen malik opened fire at a social services center back on december 2nd killing 14

people. also tonight family and friends are remembering a 10 month old girl who died at a north philadelphia day care center on wednesday they card for a candlelight viggiano outside sisters childcare center. yesterday the state department of human services shut down the center while they continue to investigate the death. there is still no word on the cause of the web's death at at thisy at this point. a dover police officer acquitted of assault in a police brutality case is returning to the force. corporal thomas webster who is white he was seen on video kicking a black suspect in the head and breaking his jaw. he'll return to the force tomorrow. the jury deliberated for three days before finally acquitting webster last week. at least one person is in the hospital after a car slams into a house in mayfair. it happened this morning around 6:30 on the 3100 block of levick street.

lessee's senses and inspections responded to the home because part of the wall caved in. it was a hero's well come for one member of the military this morning. army private first class joshua finney arrived home safe and sound at philadelphia international airport. in addition to his wife and family members, the pennsylvania delaware patriot guard riders were also there early this morning to escort finney back to his home in delaware. >> it's a blessing. i mean, i don't always get to be home, you know, i'm always away so it's a great feeling to actually be around family. >> private finney says he was truly surprised by the welcome. he says he's looking forward to spending the holiday with your family. do you think private finney he is going to see the star wars movie while he's home? i think so. the star wars force awakens is

shattering records everywhere. the film has already grossed $250 million worldwide and is number one in 44 global markets. it's also on track to top jurassic world for the biggest opening weekend in u.s. box office history. critics have loved j.j. abrams revival of this franchise: "the force awakens" currently has a 95 percent rating on rotten tomatoes.com. can't wait to see it. santa is spreading holiday cheer in north philadelphia. the fifth annual holiday party for children their families today. every child received gift and posed for pictures with santa. they were also able to get their faces painted. it was one of the many monday activities at the holiday party. stay with us everyone, straight ahead on "eyewitness news" news, some folks get very creative to try to stop thieves from stealing packages from their doorstep. they'll set a nasty trap. plus more than a thousand

local people come together for one huge event to help families in need this holiday season. we'll take you inside operation brotherly love. lauren. >> and the coldest air of the season has arrived in the delaware valley but it won't last long because it will be booted about by another round of record warmth. details in the forecast. >> lesley vanarsdale arson has highlights from a full dave basketball. that's coming up. stay with us. >> ♪

>> welcome back. with christmas less than a week away more than a thousand volunteers gathered at the linc. their mission to bring a merry christmas to families in need all around the region. >> this is our seventh annual operation brotherly love. >> reporter: year after year founder adam shale has seen his vision grow into what's become this massive event at

lincoln financial field. >> how many people are here for the first time? >> reporter: it all started with a smaller vision and a humble desire to help families in need during the holiday season. adam says it's about more than just bringing a gift but making a real connection. that's why families are paired up with volunteers who learn their story and spend a few hours being a part of their world. >> we experience first operation brotherly love event 12 years ago where there were seven or eight of us much we got the names of all the children and got personalized gift and went and spent time with them and gave them the gift. it was magical. >> reporter: the magic has become infectious with partners like wawa urban outfitters and mayor's office signing on to further the dream. now 1,000 volunteers will help as many as 2500 families get the basic necessities many of us take for granted things like coats a hot lunch and presents for christmas. >> i like coming here because

it's the best. >> it is a privilege the a wonderful thing for these guys doing this for the kids and everything. we appreciate everything doing for us. >> reporter: the volunteers feel just as privileged to be as involved. >> i bring my daughters here and go through this carnival atmosphere. we really have a connection that's pretty meaningful that lasts beyond this. >> there's a limit to what one person can do. there's only so many presents one person can wrap. but there's no limit what one person can inspire other people to do. >> reporter: there's dancing and games all peppered with heart felt gifts and prizes. >> helps out all the inner city kids, giving them kids they wouldn't get any normal time, keeping them warm during the winter with the coats providing a free lunch and a day out and enjoying themselves and the spirit. >> reporter: the spirit of the season permeating the

crowd fueling an operation fueled with love. >> i'm ready for christmas. >> reporter: today's event was a huge success as you could see there but the work, it is never done. planning for next year's operation brotherly love it's already under way. and check this out. all of these christmas baskets are going need details "eyewitness news" at sacred heart church on ferry avenue in camden, new jersey. there are 1,000 of these baskets in total and they are filled with food and lots of love. volunteers began delivering the baskets to families in south camden today. the church is doing its part to help feed the hungry this holiday season. and you can help spread the holiday joy. we hope that you will with our joy of sharing toy fest. buy a new unwrapped town bring it to one of our drop-off locations. we've put a list of all the locations for you at cbsphilly.com/toy fest. the toys will be given to the salvation army the uso and the boys and girls club.

you have a great opportunity to help us this monday. bring your toys to our studios at 1555 hamilton street and drop them off you don't have to get out of your car. we'll start taking your toys at 6:00 a.m. we'll finish up at 8:00 p.m. so you have all day long to help make the holidays more merry for children in need. we so hope that you will. our lobby is filling up with all those toys and we need more. >> it's so great every day you come in you see more. >> it's feeling like christmas at least today. >> at least at a and then tomorrow it's back to feeling not like christmas. some of our coldest air of the season but temperatures were right around average for us but of course we've been dealing with this near record and record warmth all month long. clear and quiet but very cold but the ferris wheel is still lit up in ocean city despite

that chill out there, chilly night at the beach for us getting a live look on storm scan3. don't see too many people as everyone is staying in bundled up on a cold night tonight. cold air right there. we're seeing white returns as we look towards upstate new york, snow showers passing through. snow showers in the poconos dan in the higher elevations picked up about a trace of snowfall in the scranton area. a couple flurries pass through parts of central jersey but now all is quiet and clear. temperatures are chilly. 35 degrees in philadelphia. we're at 34 in atlantic city. down into the 20's in the poconos and in lancaster as well and neighborhood network showing us temperatures right around freezing dipping below in fort washington's case, 31 degrees right now at freezing in doylestown, 34 degrees right now in delran. we had the blustery conditions today so we had the cold air and then the winds on top of that really gusting and wind

speeds still elevated at this late hour around 14 miles per hour in philadelphia, 16 miles per hour in wildwood and that is impacting that wind chill temperature right now. feeling like middle web in philly, teens in the poconos, feeling like 20's down the shore. overnight it will be a told one for us. 28 degrees. would be the first time we've dropped into the 20's in philadelphia all season long but our average low temperature for today is 29 degrees. so clear skies and still that breeze will hang on throughout the overnight period. tomorrow another cool day 45 degrees, brisk not as breezy especially during the afternoon. that breeze will start to let up. bright sun. pretty all in all a nice december day in store for us tomorrow but we've certainly been dealing with record warmth. the record for at or above 60

in december dating back to the 1800s and that's eight years and it only happened in two years and we'll brake this record as we head into next week because another ridge will build back in bringing the warmth from the south. as we head into monday temperatures warming up into the 50's, by tuesday we're in the 60's at rich firmly. thursday of course christmas eve and we'll likely break a record high temperature because temperatures are going to be soaring once again. couple it, christmacan you belis 70 degrees. for tomorrow big difference. going to need to bundle up at the eagles game. kickoff 8:30 temperatures at 36 degrees. first dave winter is when the warmup begins, 56 degrees mostly cloudy chance of a passing shower on a warm day tuesday, 61 degrees.

wednesday 65. that would be 1 degree shy of the record high temperature. that looks like our wet day of the week. maybe a few showers possible on christmas eve with your 70-degree high temperature and at this point the christmas holiday looks dry and quite mild. >> wow. that's an amazing forecast. i like it. thank you. gets our approval. lots to talk about in college basketball today, right. >> 'tis the season. a huge matchup for villanova on the road to virginia and friars trying to do soming in columbus they he haven't done in ohio

>> flyers having playing very well lately. trying to keep that up in columbus tonight. third period flyers trailing two to nothing. scott lowden picked up his fourth goal of season. that makes it two to one.

later on the flyers try and tie it up right here and we have a big goal by jake voracek. he has been struggling this season. this one is huge. that's his third of the year. game goes into overtime. then the shootout last chance for the flyers. that's your game. columbus wins three to two in the shootout. tons of college basketball today. we'll start off with villanova on the road taking on eighth ranked have have a. villanova trailing kris jenkins drains the 3-pointer. he had a game high 23 points. that cuts virginia's lead down to three. back come the cavaliers. next possession fuentes drains the three. they take a 68-62 lead. then we have just under two minutes left. malcolm brogden hits the three. he had 20-point. villanova loses a tough 186 to 75. delaware state taking on

temple. dell state looking for their first win. tray low nails the three. this is what you got to watch. after inbound pass lowe with the steel. temple cruises past dell state. direction tell moving the ball well ends up in the hands of tayvon allen. he had 16. the band lovers it. pen penn state with a huge come back. they beat text sell 63 to 57. eagles with did you have matchup tomorrow night when the cardinals visit the linc. cards can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a seahawks loss. if the eagles lose it is okay but the road will get a little bit tougher. they'll have to beat the redskins and the giants to win the division. the good news the eagles have picked up some momentum these past few weeks. >> it's a great opportunity for our ball club. i look at it that way.

this is a defense that prides themselves on being athletic and diverse in terms of what they can do on the back end. they have talented players. going to be a gate message for group. we feel we have the best group in the business and going to have to go to work this weekend. >> you do not want to miss toyota sunday kickoff sunday. join me and cop bell along with a panel of experts including the voice of the eagles mel reese. we'll get you ready for the battle of the birds eagles versus the cardinals. >> we have watch out for larry fitzgerald. >> you really

>> welcome back. thieves stealing holiday packages from that porches are getting a stinky he surprise. residents are putting pet dropings in boxes and regifting them with a little karma and bubble wrap. the idea was inspired by a las vegas man who was a victim of porch pirates. he captured a young thief lunging towards a package and swiping it not knowing it was filled with pet droppings. >> so when they shake it you can't hear that there is anything in the inside and we have printed out fake labels that look like they're from the navy, lots of different random, we've googled to make sure we get legit labels too. >> that is an elaborate operation. the thieves are probably

wishing they got a lump of coal rather than a lump of what's inside that box. isn't that clever though. >> surprise. >> i know. merry christmas.

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>> station here in kuwait. happy holidays to all my friends and family in newark new jersey. >> happy holidays everyone. that's "eyewitness news" tonight. i'm natasha brown. for lesley lauren all of us here we appreciate you joining us. if you're up early join our

morning team. have a great night. chief kent is here, sir. well, let's have him, baker. thank you. hey. hey, hey. man voted least popular by the gangs of new york. (chuckles) thank you very much. please. it's an honor. on the other hand, you're sending sobusi much ss over to the da's office that they owe you a thank-you note and a nice bottle. and every one is a good collar. and by the book. then they owe you a case of nice bottles. i won't hold my breath. seriously, don, great work. incredible results. we're getting there. briefing said you're mopping up. as we speak. well, then take a rest on your laurels for a minute, starting now. i'm good. and how's maggie?