set up their search. let's go to the video. it was around 3:30 when this massive convoy of employs and fire vehicles and ambulances pulled up this road and loaded one victim into a state police helicopter. that victim was wrapped from head to toe, so it's hard to tell the condition or how old he or she was. sources say one adult male and three children were attacked by a bear. that has happened around 1:00 today. not all the victims were rescued at the same time, meaning after the first victim was found, there was a search that went on for a few hours for the others to be found. no word on their conditions. meanwhile, we spoke to several neighbors around here who say they see bears all the time, frequent sightings, but never before as a bear attacked people. this attack has residents startled. residents who have dogs say they will no longer let their

stephan kim, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, stephan. developing right now, a father is under arrest, accused of killing his baby boy. now, the child's mother reveals a shocking tale to police. the couple lives in the morris park section of the bronx. the woman says they buried their infant son outside of a motel in brewster, putnam county. eyewitness news reporter lucy this story. lucy? >> reporter: well, lauren, it is a heartbreaking story here the bronx. a 51-year-old father has now been arrested and charged in the death of his 2-month-old baby boy. police tell us the savage killing happened here in their apartment on bogart avenue in the bronx. investigators tell me it happened back on december 10. the baby was crying, as 2-month- olds will do. jose feliseian know went to stop the crying by smothering and choking the baby to death.

out, the baby named mason white had stopped breathing. the mother says the father then threatened to kill her. we'll have much more on how police learned of this baby's death and the mother's desperate attempt to escape, coming up at 6:00. but for now, a 51-year-old father, jose feliciano of the bronx has been arrested and charged in the death of his baby. he is now awaiting arraignment. lucy yang. a tear-filled ceremony to remember two officers shot to death one year ago today in brooklyn. >> i would give anything to see him and hear his voice again. >> officer wenjian lieu's family sobbed at the ceremony

house where a plaque was displayed for the officers' honor. >> they were attacked because of the uniform they wore, because of the badge they wore, and it was therefore not only an attack on these two good and brave men, but an attack on all of us. >> after ward, mayor de blasio and police commissioner bratton laid a wreath at the corner in bed-stuy where the shootings took place. the widow of detective ramos is now turning her grief into action. she is starting a foundation designed to build better relations between police and minority communities. eyewitness news reporter with mrs. ramos. >> i don't want anyone to ever forget who rafael ramos was. >> reporter: she still beams when she talks husband, n.y.p.d. detective rafael ramos. she opened up about the phone

the voice on the other end said her husband and his partner, detective wenjian lieu had been killed, that ishmael brinsley walked up to the patrol car the men were sitting in, and shot them. >> whew, nights are really bad, because i keep really busy during the day. but then when nighttime comes, there's nothing but the lonely bed and the thoughts. >> reporter: at the funeral where thousands paid their respects, the couples' sons put on a brave face. she shared a moment with me she'll never forget, telling me her husband was a private, humble man. >> i'm sitting in the limousine saying to myself, if you could -- i mean, you must be like, what the heck is going on! why all this attention! >> reporter: but in all of this, she's found her voice, launching the detective rafael

improving communications between police and the community. is determined. >> he is probably looking down girl! [ laughter ] >> that was eyewitness news reporter kimberly richardson reporting. she went to today's ceremonies. we'll hear more from kimberly coming up at 6:00. radio shock jock and former cohost of the opie & anthony show was arrested on domestic violence charges this morning, accused of assaulting his girlfriend at his home in rosalyn heights yesterday this morning. he was released without bail and ordered to stay away from the victim. his lawyer denies the charges. he was fired from satellite radio last year following a series of racially charged tweets. police are trying to figure out who stole several packages from a brooklyn building. police released photos of the two men they want to question in the burglary. it happened last month inside a building on marcy avenue in bed- stuy.

by fedex earlier in the day. combating groups use of social media to radicalize americans. senator chuck schumer supports a bill aimed at modernizing how authorities decode messages on social media. he says the program is necessary because extremists can reach impressionable people through the internet that they are not able to interact with in person. >> the federal government must make sure that we're on the cutting edge when it comes to how we decipher, disrupt and decode social media communications made by terror suspects and terror groups. >> the bill, which has already passed in the house, would develop a comprehensive strategy for monitoring public social media posts and decoding encrypted messages. meanwhile, two new york lops are pushing for legislation that will restrict the sale of ammunition.

and assembly member joanne simon planned to introduce legislation preventing the sale of ammunition to anyone unauthorized to own the weapon it's being used for. >> if i have a cold, i can't buy sudafed unless i show an id. but i can walk into a gun store and walk out with enough bullets to without showing any kind of id and without showing that i actually own that type of gun. >> they also want a limit on how much ammunition someone can buy during a 90-day period. sprouting new lies. an organic form in upstate new york may have had its last growing season because of federal budget cuts. we'll show you how it impacts addicts from new york city. >> and there's still time to finish up your christmas shopping list. when it comes to electronics, where can you find the best selection and best service? >> and weather-wise, quiet right now, but we have a few rounds of rain and also just

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. an organic farm in putnam county is helping men from new york city learn new skills while also helping them stay clean and sober. but the farm which has been around for two decades may soon yield its last harvest. >> reporter: james smith is a city boy at heart, but he's finding his footing thanks to nature.

>> reporter: horticulture is one of the things the 33-year- old is learning a world away from his home in elmhurst, queens. he's one of 24 men at renewal farm, a supportive living facility in garrison, new york. the residents are all from the five boroughs and here, they farm and prepare to return to the workforce after battling drug and alcohol addiction, time in prison, and time on the streets. >> i think from being up here i'm building a real strong foundation for myself. when i do leave, i'll have the tools that i need to be successful. >> reporter: what's grown here in the greenhouse or on the raised beds of an old tennis court is sold at a farmers pantry. from seeds to sales, a little farming goes a long way. >> in their life, they have been through many activities that have been negative. this is totally positive. they are here working as a group, getting to know what life is like, getting up in the morning, getting to work. they are seeing the actual fruits of their labors. >> reporter: and there are plans to expand the farming

land on the other side of this fence starting in the summer. but by then, the funding for this program may have already run out. >> this program has been funded by the federal government for the last 20 years. if we don't continue to receive that funding, this program will be closed down. >> reporter: at issue is the federal government's decision to cut funding to supportive housing programs. it takes $400,000 a year to operate renewal farm. the nonprofit hopes to cut its own budget and raise $150,000 through a crowd-funding site to keep it open for six more months. >> we need a miracle. we definitely need a christmas miracle. >> reporter: the kind of miracle that's helping james build a new life and get back to his 5-year-old son. >> through crowd funding, renewal farm has raised $42,000, but still needs to raise more than 100,000 just to stay open through june. >> beautiful setting there. not so in china. dangerous smaug continues to choke china's capital city, forcing businesses and schools

authorities say the lack of strong winds causes the pollution to linger in beijing. officials expect the red alert warning to remain in effect at least until tuesday. health experts advise people to remain indoors and restrict the use of cars throughout the city of more than 22 million people. when i was at the farm in putnam county, things were growing that shouldn't be growing at this time of year because the weather has been so warm, except for the last couple of days. >> it was amazing. back in october, we had a freeze in some spots, and this is just incredible. wait until you see the seven- day forecast, what we have for christmas eve. we're predicting a record high to be smashed by at least 8 degrees on that day. we head outside right now, a live view down toward the empire state building. it's been a very typical mid to late december day today. temperatures right now, 41. wind now coming in from the southwest at 3 miles per hour. that little bit of a southerly

warm us up into the day tomorrow and it's going to stop temperatures from dropping too much tonight. 42 during the afternoon, which is right on target for this time of the year. the low this morning was 34, which was degrees above average. so the clouds will be moving in the next few days and there rainfall. i think we get a few showers in here tomorrow night into the day on tuesday. wednesday. then it's all about the record warmth that will be in here eve. clouds around. could be a shower or two, but temperatures could be topping 70 degrees in much of the area. just incredible. clearing for christmas day, but still very mild with temperatures still upwards of 20 degrees above normal for this time of the year. right now, 42, temperature around 41 at newark. down to freezing at monticello. 39 at morristown. upper 30s down the shore. upper 30s and low 40s from west to east across much of long island.

you can see the clouds starting to increase from the south and west. you can see the flow here on our windstream line showing the southwesterly wind. that will tend to warm things up, at least stop things from cooling off too much overnight. by 7:00 in the morning, we have temperatures at about the same levels that they are right now, so let much plateau overnight in the city, maybe falling into the lower and middle 30s in the suburbs. tomorrow's a much cloudier day than what we had today. i don't expect any rainfall during the daylight hours, but by tomorrow night, there could be showers moving in north and west of the city, with the highs tomorrow getting up into the 50s during the afternoon. again, tomorrow night into tuesday morning, some showers move on through. i think the rainiest period would be north and west of the city during tuesday morning. then we tend to dry things out a little bit during the afternoon, but it stays pretty cloudy. regardless of that, temperatures still getting well up look at this pattern. all week, big ridge of high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere promoting a strong southwesterly flow across the eastern third of the

it means mild weather and also means a lot of moisture coming up from the gulf of mexico. that will keep things wet at times. check this out. record warmth on christmas eve. 25 to 30 above normal. you do the math. normal high this time of year is around 40 degrees. here's your accuweather forecast for tonight. partly cloudy, down to 38 in midtown. down to freezing in outlying areas. breezy and milder tomorrow. turning out mainly cloudy. high up to about 54. sun going down just after 4:30. by the way, winter officially begins tomorrow night at 11:48 p.m. wouldn't know it. overcast and mild tomorrow night. shower in spots late. we're down to about 50. a shower or two around on tuesday, especially in the morning, especially north and west. 58 for a high. rainy, but mild on wednesday. we're talking 60. here's the day, the record- breaking day on thursday, christmas eve. 71 degrees for a high, even despite clouds and a little bit of rain. the record was 63. that was set back in 1996.

above that record as we head degrees under sunshine. maybe rain returning next week, highs in the middle and upper 50s. it's incredible that we could spend the entire day above a record. usually when we set a record it's for an hour. >> but the whole day. >> the whole day. >> i'm loving it. christmas is in five days. find a perfect gift? >> well, top of the christmas list for so many people, electronics. consumer reports looked at where to shop for the best selection and service, and even how to get the best price. >> reporter: when wendy cameron bought her new television at best buy, she ended up getting nearly $300 off, just by asking. >> i really never expected that would happen at a big store like that. but it was really kind of easy. >> reporter: consumer reports says don't be afraid to ask. a survey of more than 40,000 subscribers found 64% of those who haggled were successful, saving an average of $78.

your keyboard instead of your car keys when you head out to shop. >> people who bought electronics online were happier with the price. they were happier with the selection. they were even happier when it came time to make the returns. >> reporter: the top online retailers include abt and b & h photo video. though it doesn't top the chart, amazon gets high marks for both price and selection. >> you can also get better deals online by price matching, by finding coupon codes. so it's always worth it to do that extra search before you make a purchase. >> reporter: shoppers were a lot less happy with their experience at retail giant wal- mart, and with the selection at other big name walk-in stores like office depot and radioshack. if you don't mind a small selection, you can find good deals at warehouse clubs, like costco, bj's and sam's club. if you like to be hands-on, consider local independent retailers. they offer a bit more hand- holding, which can make up sometimes for less competitive pricing. channel 7 eyewitness news. >> good advice.

with a look at sports. >> joe and lauren, last night it was the jets. today, the giants, both in must- win games in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. gangrene responded, and big blue's game just got wild. wasn't. you've got to see it for yourself just how this one went down. and it was an emotional night earlier this week for an illinois middle school basketba what dear? oh! oh, you're bad. stop that! i'm sorry. (vo) a new york millionaire spent $714,000

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. laura behnke in with sports. it was a tale of two halves, wasn't it, laura? >> this game was nuts. giants kept pace, by taking care of business against miami on monday night. none of that, though, would really matter if big blue couldn't follow up with one heck of an upset today. the giants welcomed the undefeated panthers to the meadowlands. what a weird day for odell sure touchdown catch. instead, odell beckham, jr. drops it. panthers started running wild. it was touchdown after touchdown capped by this. cam newton to brown, 35-7. looked like it was over. beckham jawing all day with play. he could have been ejected. blue.

the 38-yard score in the fourth quarter to make it 35-21. then it got wilder. who else? beckham on 4th and 5. the 14- yard touchdown from eli manning to tie the game. the panthers still had just over a minute and a half to work with. they did that. a 43-yard field goal in the final seconds, 38-35, giants with a heartbreaking loss. >> to tie it up that way, being down 35-7 and coming back and tie it up, that's an team. enough. that's what we have to deal with, is, again, not finishing the way we want to finish. it may not have been pretty today, but a win is a win. in the fourth quarter, ryan fitzpatrick connecting with eric decker for the three-point lead. cowboys would tie it, so that forced fitzpatrick to

bullock hitting the 40-yard field goal for the victory. >> jets take the lead at 19-16. >> you got to win the tough, gritty ones. we won two of those now. we're building character. >> again, when we had to have it at the end there, i thought our guys stepped up and made some great plays. just a great story from a middle school in illinois, where it was just another game on the schedule for the boys basketball team until something very special happened that none of them will soon forget. >> reporter: william lipka is a basketball-loving 14-year-old who shares membership on the autistic spectrum with his twin. more importantly, he is the manager for his middle school basketball team. >> anything i need, i go to him. >> reporter: this week, the coaches made good on a long- standing promise. >> the question was, are you sure i'm playing for the next four hours of the school day? >> reporter: and on a set play

what happened. >> shoot it! >> shoot it! >> shoot it! [ cheers & applause ] >> it was a culmination of everything in the last three years with william. he deserved it. he's a great kid. >> what does it feel like when you're holding the ball? you got the ball. >> we're going to win. >> there was parents from the other team that were rooting for him. so it, it was every parent's i guess dream to have your child succeed in a tough situation. coming up at 6:00, we'll check in on the rest of the nfl action for the day, including the games that will have playoff implications for both the jets and the giants. we'll see you then. joe and lauren? >> busy sunday. thank you, laura. still ahead at 5:00, donald trump fires back after the democratic candidates take aim during their debate. >> and an extreme effort under

. here's a look at tonight's top stories. following breaking news in new jersey. authorities say at least one adult, a scout leader, and three scouts were attacked by a bear at split rock reservoir in rockaway township, morris county. a helicopter air lifted the scout leader to a nearby hospital. the scouts were rescued by law enforcement. no word on their conditions.

two members of the n.y.p.d. were gunned down while sitting in their patrol car in brooklyn. today, family members of detectives wenjian lieu and his partner rafael ramos attended a ceremony at the 84th precinct where plaques were unveiled in honor of the officers. a father accused of killing his baby boy. the buried their child outside a motel in brewster, putnam county. the child's father was placed under arrest and is now facing charges. hello, everyone. i'm joe torres. >> i'm lauren glassburg in for sandra. donald trump is under attack again. the democratic candidates for president took aim at the gop frontrunner during the debate last night. >> today, he's firing back. abc's devin dwyer is in washington with more. >> reporter: after the democratic debate, the republican frontrunner fired back. >> just made it up.

it was a sound bite. >> reporter: on abc's "this week," donald trump attacked democratic frontrunner hillary clinton for this explosive allegation. >> he is becoming isis's best recruiter. they are going to people, showing videos of donald trump insulting islam and muslims in order to recruit. >> reporter: both the white house and terror experts say there's no hard evidence isis is using videos of trump to recruit. today, the clinton campaign clarified the former secretary of state was not referencing a specific video. trump tweeted hillary clinton lied. >> i've been right on more than anybody else has been right. >> are you sure you want to go down that road? the fact checkers have called you out on more candidate. >> people may call me out, but they turn out to be wrong also. >> reporter: bernie sanders argued that trump deliberately misleads. >> i say this straightforwardly.

much of what he says are lies, gross distortions of reality. >> reporter: trump was the biggest taring in the democrat's new hampshire debate, the only candidate called out by name, but his fellow republicans are taking aim at their frontrunner. >> i was in new jersey on september 11 and thousands of people simply were not celebrating in jersey city. >> reporter: candidates attacking within and across party lines, as primary voters and caucus-goers get closer to making a decision. donald dwyer, channel 7 eyewitness news. members of new york's muslim community gathered with civil rights activists outside of trump tower in new york city and marched to harold square. demonstrators say the candidate's calls to ban muslims from entering the u.s. are bigoted and divisive. police are searching for

pieces of jewelry from a madison avenue store last monday afternoon. according to investigators, the woman in the surveillance individual picture stole eight pieces of jewelry from a display case, while the man she was with blocked the employees' view. the value is not known. crews in russia are searching for people who may be trapped in the debris of a building that exploded. authorities say a natural gas leak triggered the blast about 500 miles south of moscow. fire swept through part of the complex. there are reports up to dozen men may be trapped in the wreckage. a massive landslide in southern china. authorities say at least 18 buildings were destroyed in an industrial park in the city of shenzhen this morning.

the dirt and debris. at least 27 remain reported. chinese officials say nearly 1000 people have been evacuated from the area. air france has a suspicious device that forced the emergency landing of one of its planes in africa was a hoax, a fake bomb rigged with card board and a timer was discovered in a bathroom cabinet during a flight. pilots of the boeing 777 requested an emergency landing early this morning in kenya, where 459 passengers disembarked, using emergency slides. air france's ceo says this was the fourth bomb hoax against the airline in recent weeks. we stay overseas. christmas week celebrations began today >> worshipers gathered for mass at the church of the nativity where tradition holds that jesus was born. smaller crowds are expected

of the recent wave of violence and protests in the west bank. it is described as the largest musical instrument in the world, but it hasn't fully functioned since a hurricane in 1944. >> well, now there are efforts under way to restore a massive pipe organ in atlantic city. >> the organ at boardwalk hall in atlantic city weighs about 150 tons and has more than 33,000 pipes. now it's operating at just a quarter of its capacity. supporters say they raised about $2 million of their $16 million goal all to restore the organ. well, quite a christmas present for one new jersey housewife. coming up on eyewitness news at 5:00, theresa gude chi learns

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ve . real housewives of new jersey star theresa is getting out of prison just two days before christmas. her lawyer tells "the record" she will be released on wednesday from a prison in danbury, connecticut. she will head home to montville, where she'll be on

5. she has been in prison since january. she and her husband joe pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud. he is expected to start his 41- month sentence in march. we all know how quickly medical bills can add up, but there are steps you can take to offset the financial hit. >> kristen thorn has seven ways to protect your wealth and your health at the same time. >> reporter: lynn gurgin has been through a lot. two mastectomies and a partial his recollect me. >> i consider myself lucky. >> reporter: what she doesn't consider lucky is her yearly medical expenses. they went from $3000 a year to nearly 12,000. >> i wish that when i was working and making my big bucks, which i was, i mean, not a fortune, but i was making decent money, that i didn't say i've got money, i could go out and i could get this for the kids or i could do that. i wish i had taken more than half of that and put it away

>> reporter: that's exactly what financial experts advise people to do when they are healthy. save and keep your debt under control, because the last thing you'll want to deal with when you're battling a serious illness is worrying about money. you could consider getting insurance for your credit cards and mortgage, and-- >> understand your insurance. don't just take it. understand what it covers and what it doesn't. >> reporter: financial experts say it's really important while you're healthy to know your budget, know what's coming in and out of your house, your living expenses. let's say you spend $500 a month on living expenses. they say you should put away about six to nine months of living expenses, so that would be about $3500, just put it in the bank. >> let's say the treatment for whatever you've been diagnosed with or a family member is diagnosed with is in another state. you need to have cash on hand to be able to travel, spend the money, get a hotel, see the doctors, pay the bills. >> reporter: and if you do unfortunately get diagnosed

know. >> is there a program or is there something they could offer to you to give you relief from making payments during this time? >> reporter: if you really fall behind, reach out to a reputable debt relief attorney, like gurgin did. kristen thorn, channel 7 eyewitness news. thousands of cases of candy are being pulled from wal-mart concerns. the candy maker mars says it's recalling 6700 cases of dove chocolate assortment snowflakes because it may contain wheat, allergens. the chocolate snowflakes are sold exclusively to wal-mart stores. federal health officials say no adverse reactions have been reported in connection with the candy. if you haven't noticed, the nustar wars movie took over theaters this weekend and fans came out in droves. >> one new jersey fan proves his home is the headquarters for all things star wars. >> oh, my! .

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. we are still a day away from the official start of winter, right, jeff, yes? but snow has covered parts of where? up in buffalo. it would not be a surprise to see this weather in buffalo, where there are usually several inches on the ground already this time of year. but the city broke records for its longest streak without snow in the last two weeks. remember this time last year? buffalo had already been hit with severe snowstorms, leaving communities under several feet of snow. that, thankfully, is a distant memory. >> well, depends. >> depends where you live, i guess! [ laughter ] meteorologist jeff smith is here with a wrapup to two cold days, right? >> couldn't be any more

we got 70-degree warmth. we paid for it with rainfall. not completely sunny. we're probably going to be easily breaking a record on christmas. right now, we check out the view of midtown from our camera near queens. temperature of 41, winds coming in from the southwest at 3. winds will freshen up into the day tomorrow from the southwesterly direction. that will bring in warmer air. it will also bring in moisture in the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere, hence the cloud cover. next seven hours, temperatures plateauing, not going down too quickly. 40 by 8:00. down to 39 by midnight. gradually increasing cloud cover in that south and southwest wind coming in at 4 to 8 miles per hour. highs today across much of the region, in the lower to perhaps even middle 40s. 44 up in newark. got up to 43 at marstown.

so far this month, we're about 11.7 degrees above average and we're easily going to get our warmest december on record, especially after you see this forecast. i think even the week after the seven-day forecast to round out the entire year we're going to have another warm one. even chicago, back to chicago, temperatures over 10 degrees above normal. so it's been an issue for the entire northeastern corridor of the country, an issue depending on how you think about it. if you're a skier, it's an issue. we haven't been able to ski in the northeast at all. 35 in middletown. 37 at newburg. 38 at kingston right now. you are below freezing at monticello. that's to be expected this time of the year. 37 belmar. 38 on the island at islip. down into the 20s in the far northwestern suburbs tonight. only down to about 38 or so in central park, just because we have cloud cover overnight and the southwesterly wind keeping it milder. highs tomorrow, speaking of milder, getting up to 54 degrees. more than 10 degrees above average, despite the fact that

increase in the cloud cover. again, the pattern this week, very mild. at times, it will be wet. we'll have impulses moving through, which will provide rainfall. we'll detail that coming up right here. accuweather forecast for tonight, partly cloudy. down to 38 in midtown. down to freezing in the outlying zones. it's a breezy day, milder tomorrow. turning out mainly cloudy. high up to 54. sun going down just after 4:30 p.m. overcast, mild tomorrow night. a shower in spots late, down to 50. here's your accuweather seven- day forecast. check this out. mainly cloudy on tuesday. a shower or two. wettest periods in the morning. 58. 60 on wednesday. there's a steadier batch of rain that moves in wednesday afternoon. check out christmas eve. you're reading it right. cloudy out there. might be a shower or two. but absolutely record- obliterating. 71. the record was 63 set back in 1996. christmas day, we clear things out. 60 degrees, maybe some unsettled weather returning by next weekend.

it's a lock at this point that we'll have our warmest december on record. >> by far. >> yeah. >> thank you, sir. >> thanks, jeff. a story from a galaxy far away has shattered box office records here on earth. star wars, the force awakens brought in $238 million in its opening weekend in north america alone. that's nearly three times over the previous highest december release "the hobbit." that made about $87 million in ticket sales in the u.s. analysts say the force awakens is on track to become the highest grossing movie of all time when foreign sales are factored in. >> can't stop it. you can bet one man in new jersey was one of the audience members who checked out star wars this weekend. >> he's such a fan, he's been collecting memorabilia from star wars for years. an avid star wars fan anthony johnson visited his home, perhaps called a star wars museum in franklin lakes. >> reporter: john has a long-

some of our treasured tv shows of the '60s that grew into a love of star wars memorabilia. over the years, he has collected props used in the two star wars trilogies. >> this is a storm trooper helmet. this is from episode 4, a new hope. you can see the paint is starting to peel. this is luke's x wing miniature from episode 5. if you look closely, you can see the small r2-d2 in the back. this was used on the rebel planet where they had the rebel base, which was the snow planet, if you recall. this was head gear that the rebel forces wore to protect them from the snow. >> reporter: in every major collection, there is one item that has special meaning. >> this is an amazing piece. this is from episode iii when obi-wan and anakin are fighting to the death and he takes the light saber.

light sabers like the ones from episode 1, used by the rebel empire and the alliance. but my favorite? >> star wars is like the "wizard of oz." it will be a classic that everyone will refer to as a standard and to have these items from the movies is great. >> reporter: john has an incredible collection from star wars movies of the past, but he's looking to collect some new memorabilia once he sees the force awakens. from a galaxy far, far away, anthony johnson, channel 7 eyewitness news. a church in germany is taking the worship of star wars to a whole new level. >> the zion church in berlin hosted a special service dedicated to the spiritual message in the epic space saga. many people attended, dressed

the pastor of the church says the films reflect the bible's message of good triumphing over evil. >> okay. >> that's in germany. eyewitness news viewers to the rescue. coming up, a woman lost all hope for a nice holiday season with her son after she fell victim to a scam. but then our viewers offered a christmas surprise. >> and gamblers will soon be

. egypt today opened the tomb of king tut's wet nurse to the public for the first time since its discovery. described by egypt's an antique minister, the tomb was discovered in 1996 in an acropolis 13 miles south of cairo. new york state officials plan to boost revenue from gambling by adding more casinos to the upstate area. state regulators tomorrow are expected to license three new casinos upstate. governor cuomo's administration estimate the casinos could bring in more than $300 million annually to governments there. a young mom who fell victim

getting help from eyewitness news viewers as well. >> she ended up deep in debt when her plan to take on part- time work for the holidays backfired. that's when we stepped in, as did our viewers. >> reporter: this mystery shopping viewer is not afraid to admit a homeless shelter may have been the next step for her and her son. >> that's what i would have had to do. >> reporter: the hard-working single mom got conned into thinking she was a wal-mart secret shopper. scammers sent her phony money orders to get cash. she was six grand in debt by the time the bank flagged the fakes. >> how do you tell a 6-year-old christmas will not happy? >> reporter: eyewitness news viewers reacted after seeing her story. several sent money, another christmas toys and new clothes. >> this is pretty much his

>> i was at a loss for words. >> reporter: what happened next >> her story struck us. watching it in my kitchen, i saw her with her little son and how he was going to lose his home for the holidays. i said this still speaks to what we do, which is when you think there's no hope, we want to be that hope. >> reporter: jenna, a mother of two in morris county, had just started a grassroots charity. >> when my nephew, who is 4 years old, out of nowhere was diagnosed with a brain tumor. >> reporter: henry's halos helped bring her brother's family and others out of debt. >> after henry, we moved to as many children as we could. >> reporter: jenna sent the mom a $6000 check that wiped out the debt and then some. >> i don't know how many times i told her thank you. >> the more people like her that we can help, the happier we'll all be. >> merry christmas, everyone! thank you!

one of his christmas presents to charity this year. his mother says she wants him to do this every year so they remember how blessed they were by you, our channel 7 viewers, this christmas. channel 7 eyewitness news. >> a new holiday tradition. >> great story. new information on breaking news coming up on eyewitness news. a boy scout leader hurt during an encounter with a bear in northern new jersey. we have team coverage from the scene and the hospital, where the victim is being treated. >> new video in a developing story. a father in the bronx under arrest for the death of his 2- month-old son. >> tears and tributes,

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