thank you for joining us. the temperatures were around 64 degrees. now here at noontime, we see the temperatures continue to rise as it is 71 degrees. and that's not the official record high yet because the temperature keeps rising. 68 up around newburg. 70 at kingston. normally it would be about 30 to 35 degrees here at this time of the year. so we're running 35 degrees warmer than normal. 70 around belmar and rice town. perfect day for the beach. the visibilities have come up gradually here looking at a 2.2 mile visibility around mars town. the visibility has been coming up. a few more showers down to the south.

and temperatures should get in to the mid-70s in spots and then christmas day in the mid- 60s. maybe a little higher. and that too could set a record high with a few clouds and then we'll have showers on saturday. but you'll see this afternoon looking at temperatures in the lower 70s. that will probably tap out around 74 for the high. then tonight still in to the 60s. we'll start the day in the upper 60s and some clouds and sunshine on christmas day, which we will talk about next and the weekend. we could set the record high on sunday. and the weekend forecast for the holidays. >> thanks, bill. and would you rather be

and the holiday shopping across the area here, really only one option to get outside and enjoy the strangely warm christmas eve. whether it is el nio or global warming. to give them a chance to soak up the holiday heat. and like this family visiting from australia through central park. >> decked out in shorts and a tank top, we found this runner reveling in our good fortune. >> i don't have to go to california or florida. >> if running is not your thing, how about the good old fashion bonding? >> the beautiful weather and a

couple of days of rain. that he'll need to run. >> and this merry mildness will add to the new york city bustle today, but it's not always good for business. these drivers say with weather like this that many would rather walk than ride. >> you like it? >> yeah, i like it. but to make some money. [ laughter ] >> reporter: and this unseasonable weather did not stop these visitors from showing their holiday spirit, even if they prefer to see new york covered in white. >> and that is from the snow, new york snow. >> reporter: well mother nature, they broke that promise for that one visitor. so most folks down here are enjoying the weather. a little overcast and a little breezy now and then and that people, they are really enjoying this. most people feel the same way after the last two winters we have earned a little break this winter. reporting live from columbus circle rob nelson channel 7 eyewitness news.

ushering in the christmas holiday for people in and the midwest. two dozen tornadoes, some of them deadly blew through last night. twisters touched down in nine states. nine people are dead including a child in mississippi and at least another 40 are hurt. homes were ripped apart with the power out to thousands and the roads are a mess. >> i couldn't even find my house, it was just that bad. trees were everywhere. >> and out west snow in utah and high winds in california. bill will have a closer look at wild weather in our next half hour. christmas is in less than 12 hours. people are flocking trying to get last-second deals, but also getting some amazing deals. eyewitness news reporter checked it out at queens center mall. >> reporter: some of these people have been up since the early morning hours. cashing in on the deals.

to get that special gift for that hoping to lure the procrastinators. >> sorry. >> yes. her boyfriend? >> yeah. he'll understand. love you mom. >> well, steve miller has a plan, allowing him to grab the gift for the right price as we saw a number of people looking to save to get worthwhile gifts. more so than black friday. >> i got you a gift. trend. >> black friday was more of what you want and then get out buy, buy. >> reporter: turns out the deals are better.

cheaper than black friday. if you're last-minute shopping, you'll get the biggest discount on jewelry with up to 65% off. clothing at a 40% discount. lastly shoes a 30% in savings. but hey, you can still go for last-minute luxury. two biggest deals one holiday decorations. buy it and stock up next year and then all the winter gear as you certainly won't be needing this again today. in queens channel 7 eyewitness news. >> security is tightening in an area of beijing following threats against western visitors on or around christmas day. china has issued a security alert. the american british and french embassies have all received warnings, urging their citizens to be vigilant. well now to the massive

accounts of celebrities. >> agents luring a man to bahama as the man stole everything from the scripts of upcoming tv shows to private sex tapes. >> t.j. holmes has the latest. >> reporter: this could have been a holiday disaster for a host of red carpet regulars and the entertainment industry folks a. new hacking case that could have exposed piles of private information, scripts, even a sex tape. >> it was apparent to us from our initial contact with mr. knolls that he had a great deal of sensitive information. >> reporter: they charged alonzo noll the 23-year-old man from the bahamas with stealing private information from 130 people including three nba players, one nfl player, and rapper 50 cent. >> it was our goal to include this as quickly as possible. >> reporter: an undercover operation according to authorities exposed he was

thousands of dollars. >> including six scripts on the stars network power. 30 unreleased tracks from the unnamed perform. five unpublished movies and television scripts, even social security numbers, yes sex tapes. federal authorities acted quickly after last year's sony hack embarrassing hollywood a- listers like jennifer lawrence and angelina jolie including e- mails, social security numbers, and salary information. >> the government was able to shut this down before devastating damage was done. it could have been a very, very serious hack. >> that was t.j. holmes reporting. a shocking discovery as police found an underground drug problem. the story behind this very young police officer. less than 12 hours from christmas day, but is a

a live look at norad santa tracker and his eight tiny reindeers heading towards india right now. meet the moore's! we're the moore family, and as you can see, we need an internet that can do more. we do more games, and more streaming.

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at least a dozen people were arrested in minnesota. they flooded in the mall of america shutting down the largest mall just two days before christmas. demonstrators are calling attention to the black man in minneapolis. and they are recovering

the suspect is accused of opening fire at the officers as they would try to serve that arrest warrant at the apartment complex. two officers were shot. they surrendered to police more than nine hours later and they are now in custody. >> reporter: police are making a shocking find during a major drug bust. rating what turned out to be a marijuana farm. among them an 8-year-old boy held captive in a tin shed. police say he was there three weeks. it had a small stool and a bucket that was ready. >> three adults are under arrest including the children's mother. a pint size policeman got a chance to tell adults what to do for a change. he was named honorary chief for the day.

board the police helicopter. but getting to meet the real police chief was a thrill for this crime fighter in training. >> and without prompting by his parents. and anyone else in his family, he wanted to do good on his own. >> do you have any special orders? >> no. he is also a dog lover. a helicopter trying to land out of control on the whole incident caught on camera. plus, what they are doing following the e. coli issues at some of their restaurants.

is a very warm christmas eve. meteorologist bill evans will take a look at things next and also your christmas day. but first a message from the member of the military from our area that can't be home from the holidays. i wanted to say happy holidays to all of my family back home and that i will be

a middle's earn town is the gathering place for the christmas eve. this year also marks the first time visitors will be able to see new limo sayics, created in the 12th century. >> it is probably warmer here than there right now i'm guessing. >> it is warmer here than a lot of places, like sydney in australia. >> that is crazy, that's for sure. in the afternoon still a few sprinkles, maybe a shower this evening with a look at the

we've had visits and sprinkles, coming and going. that just passed by here. we'll look at the camera of a brooklyn that went by. we've got some rain there as we look from the roof camera across this area here, gloomy skies, pretty much looking for the afternoon. although there might be some brightening of the skies. we just got the rain off and on with not a whole lot of it. we only have .01 inches. 71 degrees, the winds northeast at five. so we have broken the record. 63 back in '96. the temperatures are still going up, but we're looking at 63 and hot on 62. but look at that wind coming up, with the wind coming off

the water temperature is about 51 degrees, making it much cooler there and that will be coming right at the coast. you see the rainfall totals are not nearly what they were, a warm day, humid. as we get to sunset, this will lift to pull out. tomorrow a lot of sunshine and then mixes in with the clouds tomorrow night and saturday and looks to be cloudy. temperatures under the 70s this afternoon. that's 10 degrees warmer than the record high. then tomorrow we're going to be in the low to mid-60s around in the afternoon as well. that could set a record high too. 74 this afternoon. still a look at that. 66 tomorrow will break the record high on christmas day. saturday is cool and damp and 65.

very warm with the shower this afternoon. then tomorrow the sun and clouds and record warmth late showers. right around 66 degrees. that would break their record tomorrow on christmas day and then cooler on wow how about that? actually a normal december temperature. don't tell anybody, but actually it might be that cool warming back up. next week and that is still 10 degrees warmer for this time of the year with a shot of mix. no real snow on the way soon. >> and late december and early january. >> if you are hoping for snow, wear your pajamas backwards. sometimes it works. >> okay.

well houston we have a problem. the new lander was suppose to launch in march rather from california, instead they are planning a trip to the holidays where they have to take a closer look. if they could not launch by the 30th, they will need to wait two more years to send it in to space. coming up on eyewitness news, stuck under debris for more than 60 hours. we're hearing from him since the dramatic rescue.

well caught on camera, a wild scene as the helicopter tries to land on an island resort in fuji. seven people were on board. thankfully nobody was on the chopper or the person recording the video got hurt. as a matter of fact that they were all able to walk away from the horrible crash.

young man that miraculously survived the devastating landslide he was found three days -- he was found where the mud flowed in to the park last sunday, dehydrated with a crushed leg. >> that five-story building collapsed suddenly where i was trapped in an office room. i found a bod l of water and some snacks around me. in good condition. if you stayed at a hyatt hotel recently you might want statements. the resort chain may have been they found malicious software on their computer systems three weeks ago. it's not clear if any data was

security. and involving their computers and brought in experts to investigate. the christmas present for the beatles fan. the remastered studio albums and collections were just released after. including spotify and jay z's streaming service. boosting title numbers for all the music streaming companies. much more ahead in the next hour. wanted in the string of robberies on the subway. plus, a few contenders are lashing out over the political cartoons about their daughters. >> and the driver test without

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our stop stories this afternoon. stores. some stores not closing until 7:00 tonight. but they are also getting amazing deals on gifts. >> they don't need to worry about the cold. what is cold? we forgot about it. dealing with the record heat. temperatures expected to get well up to the 70s, rain off and on today to make sure to have that handy if you head outside. >> and they are off today as we

weather here in just a moment. but first we want to get to the deadly and severe storms where at least nine people died as they would rip through parts of the south and midwest. meteorologist bill evans is here. >> reporter: well, those thunderstorms, they went through the south last night. we're also seeing that line of thunderstorms from 24 hours ago. the line that came through arkansas, mississippi passing through seven states. these showers and thunderstorms are very heavy. but you see them on our l. and there were fatalities last night as they were quite strong in and around the areas. what we're going to see is more of this type of rain activity for us later on this afternoon where they were strong as they would pass through the south last night. probably looking at much improved weather with the very warm temperatures around here throughout the area. very dangerous severe weather

of us. including mississippi, arkansas, tennessee. >> and just to think, you know, that it will make you feel terrible, you know, as you need to do the best that you can. >> reporter: at least 24 touching down. ripping homes apart flipping the tractor trailers on to their sides. >> oh wow it looks like there will be two. terrified. watching them become one huge tornado right before their eyes. >> reporter: holly springs, mississippi would be hit hard. >> i'm seeing the devastation that i have not seen. >> reporter: parts of the town were destroyed. two people killed including a 7- year-old boy. >> and whether if is in the case of this young person or the devastation to the homes of all of these people right here on christmas eve. and that it is very, very hard to deal with, but you know that we will pull through.

our community and the people here. >> reporter: and with that vow to rebuild, take a look at this promising sign. homes reduced to rubble. but this christmas tree? it is still standing. >> reporter: that will not come to us. what we have are a few showers around on the satellite and radar picture, looking at a little more rain coming up this evening, seeing the clearing weather through christmas tomorrow. we'll talk about that and your accu weather forecast in just a moment. >> thank you. and investigators are searching for suspects in several subway robberies in new york city. the 21-year-old is a suspect and at least five robberies on trains. most recent was on the a train in brooklyn nearly two weeks ago. investigators say that the browns struck up a conversation with the 17-year-old boy before taking off with the victim's cell phone. but they date back to august and in some of the incidents, brown was armed and had another man acting as a lookout. a new york knicks player is

women he brought home from a manhattan club allegedly left with hundreds of dollars worth of his jewelry. it shows the women at the meat packing district. they went home with derrick williams and so is $600,000 in jewels and other valuables. >> he should have had this locked up. you shouldn't bring any random girls home, especially if you're a celebrity. don't trust any random girl in your home. >> investigators are trying to figure out if they have pulled the same move on other men after meeting them at night clubs. well turning to 2016 just before christmas, spending at the republican presidential candidates to find agreements. the major newspaper crossed the line with the editorial cartoon that depicted their children, as trained monkeys. and he is using the controversial campaign to rally his supporters. we're live from washington with more. >> reporter: good afternoon, ken. the washington post says that

the editor's approval. but ted cruz says that it is proof of media bias. ted cruz now hitting back after the washington post ran this editorial cartoon online depicting their two daughters as trained monkeys. but making fun of my girls will do it. >> reporter: they were criticizing cruz for the political ad. enlisting his young girls in an attack on hillary clinton. kindergarten. don't hit little girls. it is not complicated. don't make fun. >> reporter: the the rivals are backing him up on twitter and disgusting. both donald trump and jeb bush defended cruz on fox news. >> it is one thing to talk

another thing the way that they were depicted. >> this is off limits. ted cruz is absolutely right to be outraged. >> reporter: they took down the controversial cartoon, saying it is the post policy to leave the children out of it. but not before he forwarded the offending graphic to supporters in a fundraising appeal. saying that it shows exactly how desperate that the liberal media is to attack and destroy me and my family. >> reporter: and the presidential candidates are taking a break from the campaign trail for the christmas holiday. but donald trump, he is not taking a break from twitter going after hillary clinton in a series of tweets today. in washington channel 7 eyewitness news. lauren? >> thank you. a church nativity scene was damaged after becoming a homeless man's refuge. the man broke in to the nativity outside the church at the good shepherd on monday. the glass enclosure was broken, but the statute of marianne and

when they were called, they discovered the man sleeping inside the nativity scene. he will not be charged. well today the story of christmas travel from the little town of bethleham. several new jersey churches are putting a star wars spin. the non-denominational churches in union counties will look at the parallels between the bible and the movie franchise, which is currently breaking records. santa did not leave $332 million under anyone's tree. no one hit last month's power ball drawing pushing up to $255 million. if you would like that all at once the lump sum amount is just under $169 million. the next drawing is saturday. you can see the winning numbers during eyewitness news at 11:00. >> well a woman arrested for refusing to leave the hospital. but then she dies while in

and plus e. coli problems at chipotle. norad santa tracker is up and running. we are less than 12 hours from christmas. get this they are in russia right now. they have delivered over two billion gifts with a b at this point.

convicted child molester jerry sandusky will need to cover pension payments illegally stopped when he was sentenced. the penn state football coach will be getting nearly $5,000 in monthly benefits from the state. that after the court ruled the pension system incorrectly classified sandusky as a university employee at the time of his sexual abuse crimes for footing his benefits. illinois is following new york's lead in cracking down on fantasy sports websites. their attorney general says that fanduel and draft kings constitute gambling. it does not immediately ban the services. last month they ordered the fantasy sports sites to seize operations here. family members are demanding answers in the death

refusing to leave a florida hospital. 57-year-old barbara dawson collapsed earlier this week after being arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing. she was refusing to leave the hospital in florida where she was-- she was being treated for difficulty breathing. she never responded. so i call again and she still didn't respond. i said you're going to kill her. >> investigators say that she died from a blood clot that was difficult to detect and impossible to treat. but she was still alive when officers brought her back in to the hospital. the man accused of applying the helicopter under the law is looking for a more legitimate way to get in to the capital running for congress. douglas hughs would run for florida's 23rd congressional district.

by dmc chairwoman. in today's health alerts. toys that talk, light up and sing might be slowing language development in toddlers. researchers at northern university, arizona university studied 26 parents and their children found that they were both less vocal and produced fewer contents, specific words while playing with noisy electronic toys. books on the other hand produced the most verbal exchanges. well changes are on the way. coming up on eyewitness news, the tweets chipotle is making following the e. coli problems at several of their stores. a teenager passing her

restaurant chain chipotle has announced changes to prevent outbreaks of food-born illnesses. they are taking action after

>> the changes are coming to the fast food chains. affecting customers in three states. the giant with more than 1,900 locations, announcing overnight and the next few weeks that they will start adjusting the way they would cook and prepare ingredients, including the boiling water before they were chopped, covering them with lemon or lime juice. and chopping tomatoes and cilantro rather than in stores so they could be tested. testing samples of meat before shipping it to stores. marinading the raw chicken rather than open bowls. with all the components in place that we will be able to reduce the risk of contamination. why was it not in place beforehand?

coming as they are struggling to regain the customer trust. and after two outbreaks, sickening hundreds of people never states. after eating at one of their restaurants in boston. >> until they would feel like they know what happened and they have isolated it, figured it out. that it will be remaining, it could remain a risk for the company. >> and that is candace gibson reporting. meanwhile the boston and chipotle would reopen their stores after the neurovirus outbreak. there the restaurant passed the city inspection after disinfected and all employees tested negative for the virus. that it was closed for three weeks ago because of three health code violations. take a look at what you would do or what you do when christmas falls during the suburbs. >> kind of like this time of the year. santa's aim for the surf gears would take their boards in to the south pacific. for once we're not jealous. we just about matched their

and there are more conventional holiday celebrations down under, limit by the christmas lights. santa arrived in sydney about an hour or so. >> it is the weather that will be continuing to be liked for the next few days. >> well, you know, you can see it all. now i'm really upset. if you follow central park on twitter, they have just put out a notice. central park has put it out saying to remind you that there is no barbecuing in central park in this warm weather. >> what december month could you think of where they have put out a notice saying please do not barbecue in central park. here we go take a look at the cameras right here in a story

and that right to the left there, the sculpture park that there is no barbecuing there either by the way before you get to rose dale that is big alice as you can see down the east river here with the showers and the clouds and the drizzle is warm, 71 degrees. the temperatures should be at 40 at this time of the year. the humidity is high and northeast. but it is also, you know, with the rain and the winds have been running up to the south out ahead of the weak front. what that front is doing, 2 at bridge port. sliding eastward with a few of these showers. just a sue by air mass that we'll see the showers for a few more hours. and first at 4:00 new showers will keep sliding east, that they have not had a whole lot.

the clouds will hang around. and then we'll have clouds and some sprinkles on saturday. before they start dropping in to the 60s tonight. it is just a matter of how high it will go now. tomorrow we're at 66, that could break the old record and the old record on sunday. as we might get to 60 extra degrees. fog for a while with the rain. 74 for the afternoon. tonight some patchy fog. tonight it is warm. then there might be a late shower of 66. 64 a little drizzle and cloudier on saturday. warm again on sunday. that's how the weekend is shaping up. then look at monday a dramatic drop in temperatures as we are at 45 degrees. next week it will warm up with

but it won't be bitter cold any time soon. >> wow. >> there you go. merry christmas. a wonderful christmas day tomorrow. maybe they would let you bring that in. >> sure. [ laughter ] >> exactly. >> thanks, bill. we're coming right back with a look at what's coming up next on the chew. hey guys today we are throwing our fifth annual ugly sweater party. mario has got an amazing holiday cocktail. whipping up the party platter and i'm being put to the test in the surprised challenge. there is a place where the cold melts away

and the only thing left is what's truly important. the radio city christmas spectacular presented by chase. you bring the family, we bring the joy.

at and here is what we're working on for eyewitness news this afternoon. the gift that you opened up is not exactly what you wanted, so what do you do? do you regift or return? the rules when we return. that and more beginning on eyewitness news first at 4:00. >> regift, regift. just kidding. a kindhearted nypd officer comes to the rescue of the cat that narrowly survived a very

showing them looking under the suv stopped in queens as they would tell the driver to move forward slowly. and seconds later you'll see the orange cabbie frozen in fear, but unarmed. the officer takes the cat to safety. pretty awesome. a newly licensed driver in wisconsin hoping for a car this christmas and after succeeding in the challenge set by the father 16-year-old alexa horkin had to do her driver's test in a 31-foot rv after her dad challenged her to go the extra mile for the test. >> and she just put me up to the challenge. pushing me to do things that i don't really think that i could do. that i had the mind set of like, it's one time and then i'll either make the memory, if i fail i'll come back and try again. >> alexa won't have to try again. she passed both tests the one given by the state and the extra challenge by her dad.

some sheriff deputies are taking on the role of santa's elfs. they're handing out gift cards to unsuspecting and very happy citizens. the donor gave the department 50 cards worth $100 each. everyone sees this as a win/win. >> i'm in lost for words. i'm really appreciative. >> it's an awesome deal. there's not many of us to afford something like this. >> how nice is that? they say they also like how handing out the gift cards helps with the community relations, of course, they even got some thank you cards. some gift recipients say that they will pay their gift cards forward. that's really nice. >> before we wrap it up once again with this incredible warm weather. give us a quick wrap of the temps and the weather. >> i wouldn't put away the umbrellas quite yet. still a few more showers. then as we would get in to the afternoon, temperatures should tap out by 73 and smash the old record high. tonight cloudy skies, out for services that, sort of thing and the night mass. the weather will be fine.

just cloudy with the temperatures in the 60s. sun and clouds of 66 degrees. >> leave the mittens at home. >> and did you hear? where santa is right now? >> i think that he was close to australia. >> we understand that he is over the emirates, the santa tracker. look at this if you want to see a link go to abc7ny.com and get a link to this and check it out with your kids all night. i'm ken rosato.

we do more games, and more streaming. so we need more speed. that's why we switched to time warner cable. you can too. call now. now we can connect more devices, at the same time. the wifi in this house is amazing. so is my guacamole. hi grandma and grandpa! ha, look at that! [laughs] time warner cable even has an internet plan for us. get the internet speed that's right for you. from 3 megs to ultra fast 300 megs they even made it easy to switch with a one-hour arrival window. why settle for less, when you can get more! get 50 meg internet for $39.99 per month. call now. you could get free installation, no data cap, and access to over 400,000 twc wifi hotspots with select plans.