she was 81-year-old, 4'10", shot 12 times inside her store. >> it seems like it was very n vindicti vindictive, very planned. they watched my father, obviously, walk out of the store. my father came home, they were right behind my dad. >> reporter: a gunman shot buck 12 times behind marie's groceries and left without saying a word or taking anything. an 89-year-old witness inside the store and neighbors heard the gunfire. >> she said all she heard was shots, so many shots. she said it wasn't like pow, pow, pow, it was like, boom, boom. >> reporter: the shooting christmas eve morning rattled family members who are concerned about the search for a killer and for their own safety. >> i think that we will be more cautious. but i don't even want to be here without my mother. >> the worst people don't

deserve to die like that, let alone the best. >> reporter: her husband recently convinced her to retire next month. she was known for dressing up as santa claus on christmas eve, a holiday her family says had always been her favorite, but sadly takes on new significance. >> we just want to know why. why would somebody take my mother away from us? it's not even just us, it's the community. she was loved by everybody. >> reporter: here is a live look tonight at the growing memorial on the steps outside marie's store. police can only describe the gunman as a man wearing dark clothing and a hoodie. they've been in touch with police all day and have no surveillance video. they're asking the public's help for information. live from south philadelphia, denise nakano, nbc 10 news. turning to our first alert weather, get ready for some rain later tonight and into the morning as people go back to work. people enjoy the federal holiday, hitting the slopes in the poconos at camelback

mountain, that seems to be the place to be. tomorrow, the big story is how warm it's going to get. nbc 10 first alert chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz has more. >> there are a lot of places, keith, that will get into the 60s tomorrow. of course it won't get in the 60s at camelback. but they'll be at least in the mid- to upper 40s. we've cloudy skies right now. so far the visibility is okay, even though those clouds are getting closer to the ground. 35 in allentown now. it's close to 50 in vineland, as we showed you just a few minutes ago. it's in the 50s in southern delaware already. we had a fewer showers move across the northern portion of pennsylvania. it may be just grazing the poconos. the main area still back to the west, near cincinnati, which got into the 70s today, smashing records. we'll see the temperature go up as we head through the night. cloudy skies. but by 6:00 a.m., some showers

around. look at that temperature, 55 degrees. our high temperature for today will probably occur at midnight or just before midnight. in the p.a. suburbs, chester, bucks, montgomery, even lehigh valley, berks county, 50 degrees or above by morning. no heavy coats needed. we won't be getting heavy rain either. we'll tell you when the heavy coats will be needed when we look ahead to new year's weekend. >> a lot of us are looking forward to that, hurricane, thank you. a lehigh valley woman rescued from the grand canyon area after surviving outside in the snow. nbc 10's erin coleman joins us live from the breaking news center. erin, we talked to that woman in her hotel room in utah just a few hours ago. >> that's right, keith, karen klein is recovering in the hospital. but she managed to do a short interview with us through facetime. klein is a professor at north hampton community college. show survived more than 30 hours

in a blizzard without food or water. last week she was trapped near the grand canyon after the car she and her family were riding in got stuck in a ditch. she went out, looking for help, and was forced to eat twigs to survive. she lost a shoe and got severe frostbite before she was eventually rescued. >> had they not found me at that point, they wouldn't have found me until the spring. i feel very, very lucky. >> klein ended up walking nearly 30 miles. she eventually made it to an empty ranger station. when rescuers arrived, she was unable to stand up. she is recovering right now in a utah hospital but hopes to be back at home by the new year. we're live in the breaking news center, erin coleman, nbc 10 news. president-elect donald trump is enjoying the holidays but still firing off several late afternoon tweets. mr. trump said he would have defeated president obama in a head to head election and said the united nations is nothing

but a club for people to have a good time. a white house transition official says staff meetings will resume again tomorrow. over the christmas weekend, mr. trump vowed to dissolve his trump foundation entirely. he said he's making the move to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest. the nonprofit is being investigated for how it spent money. the new york attorney general says the foundation cannot legally dissolve until the investigation is complete. democratic leaders call the move an attempt to cover up a, quote, pitiful record of charitable giving. ♪ and the tributes continue to pour in to honor the life of music icon george michael, who died in london over the weekend. his manager says he died suddenly from heart failure. fans have left flowers outside the singer's home since the news broke 24 hours ago. george michael was 53 years old.

"nbc nightly news" will have reaction on the death of george michael and his legacy that reaches beyond music, coming up after nbc 10 news at 6:00. a jersey shore man was on his way to catch a bus to visit relatives on christmas morning when he was killed by a hit and run driver. tonight, an emotional plea from the man's family. jersey shore reporter ted greenberg has the story from toms river. >> we're still numb. >> reporter: their christmas celebration cut short by profound grief, when please came to tell keith elliott's loved ones he's dead. >> it's terrible. every mother's worst nightmare. >> reporter: a small tribute, now feet from where toms river police think he was struck and killed by a speeding driver. investigators believe elliott was walking there to catch a bus

to his sister's house in leahy township where the rest of his family was already gathered for the holiday. >> to not even have a heart to stop, it's heartless. >> absolute animal. >> that's an animal that does that. >> reporter: police have been serving for surveillance video and other evidence. but so far they don't have a description of the vehicle that struck the toms river man in broad daylight. >> my son wasn't a small guy either. it wasn't like it would have been a little bump. >> you would have known if you hit him. >> i hope the person is found and he gets what's coming to him. >> reporter: both elliott's relatives and investigators are hoping a break in the case comes soon. if you have any information that can help them track down the driver responsibility, police want to hear from you. in toms river, ted greenberg, nbc 10 news. meanwhile, pioneering astronomer vera rubin has died. the philadelphia native studied the rate at which galaxies

rotate. she earned numerous honors including the second female astronomer to be elected to the national academy of sciences. she was 88 years old. police in south jersey are searching for a grandmother and her great-granddaughter. they disappeared. police say they left mays landing on christmas eve. they were headed to north carolina to visit family for the holidays. last seen at a gas station near richmond, virginia. here is a look at the number on her license plate. she's driving a 2014 silver toyota rav 4. anyone who has seen the pair is being asked now to call police. a drexel university professor is in hot water tonight over a tweet. drexel university professor george ciccariello-maher was summoned to a meeting with school officials after he tweeted, quote, all i want for christmas is white genocide. the professor told us the term

is an imaginary concept he was mocking. the phrase "white genocide" is now a top ten trending topic in the united states. drexel released a statement which reads, quote, while the university recognizes the right of its faculty to freely express their thoughts and opinions in public debates, professor ciccariello-maher's comments are utterly reprehensible and do not reflect the values of the university. republican lawmakers in delaware voted to end a tax on november 21st, 2017. the legislative session starts in two weeks. the state tax is expected to generate $500 million a year. to a hanukkah celebration that lit up the streets of philadelphia. hundreds of cars topped with menorahs made their way to end pens mall tonight. after the parade, a huge menorah

was lit to mark the third night of the jewish holiday. the event included music, dancing, and traditional jewish foods. today also marks the start of kwanzaa. while vacationing in hawaii, president barack obama wished a happy and healthy new year to everybody celebrating the holiday. mr. obama says it's joyous time to reflect on rich african-american culture. next at 6:00, the mad dash to the malls wasn't just to return gifts. we spotted bargain hunters looking for great deemals. what they found, next. and temple gears up for its big bowl game down in maryland. it's going to be unseasonably warm for that. it's warming up here tomorrow too. what's in store for new year's eve? you'll definitely need a heavier coat than tonight. weather in your neighborhoods, next at 6:00.

afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

fill up your gas tank before the new year in pennsylvania. starting sunday, january 1st, the gas tax is going up another eight cents a gallon. pennsylvania already has the nation's highest gas tax. penndot plans to use the extra money to fix deficient bridges and roads across the state.

it used to be a lot cheaper to get gas in new jersey. that changed in october. the gas tax went up in the garden state by 23 cents a gallon. new jersey had the 49th lowest gas tax in the country. now it's the sixth highest. those christmas presents have been delivered and opened. now on the day after, it's the rush to return those unwanted gifts and even bargain hunt for both-holiday deals. nbc 10's lauren mayk joins us live from the christiana mall in delaware where it's extremely busy, lauren. >> reporter: it is very busy, keith. they're going strong, a steady stream of people. it has been like this all day. and let's take a look at what's going on outside. we can give you a shot from the parking lot. it is packed out there. i've been talking to mall management. they tell me they are monitoring the traffic. and folks are still streaming in here. now, the big draw today, the

bargain. folks taking advantage of that to buy some gifts for themselves. >> okay. so them the pants, patty. >> reporter: with bags of bargains at their feet, centers pat and denise wrapping up a successful shopping trip. and more than happy to show us their scores. >> they were originally $99. >> reporter: the resulting deal, she said, $8. >> i got a $34 pair of gloves that were on sale for $12.99 with my $10 coupon from penny's, they cost $2.99. >> reporter: you look pretty pleased with yourself. >> i am pleased with myself. >> reporter: this is an annual family outing. >> we go to macy's until other stores open up. and then we shop. >> reporter: pat, denise, their two other sisters, and denise's daughter. where is the other one? >> god only knows. >> reporter: it's a busy place today. this afternoon, christiana mall's website colored much of the mall's parking lot in red, showing how full it was.

traditionally a big day for returns, most shoppers we talked to said they were here to shop. >> deals, deals, deals. >> everything's been at least 50% off moor more at every stor. >> reporter: by the time we talked to denise at the end of her shopping trip, she had quite the haul. >> i got some for other people because i'm an old woman trying to get into heaven, but the rest of it is mine. >> reporter: she did buy some things for other people. she did show us that. you know, those cute sisters told us they didn't have any returns in their group here today. that was pretty typical, from what we found. a few returns or exchanges, but really people were here today to shop for those bargains. some people using their gift cards or holiday cash, hoping to get more for their money. live in newark, i'm lauren mayk, nbc 10 news. >> thank you so much. let's get a look at the weather now.

here is nbc 10's chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz. glenn, rain is on the way. >> we've got clouds out there now, kind of reducing the visibility. we have low clouds tonight. by tomorrow morning, it could be a few showers around. i'm not expecting a whole lot of rain. i am expecting a whole lot of warming. it's already near 50 in vineland. it's only 35, though, in allentown. so they've got a long way to go. but as soon as the wind turns into the south, look what happens. pittsburgh is up to 62 degrees right now. cincinnati was in the 70s, broke records. it's 70 right now in nashville. there is colder air, that's going to eventually come in. but not for tomorrow. in philadelphia, we're all in the 40s now. 46 at the airport in graduate hospital, center city, society hill. 43 in chestnut hill and andorra.

44 degrees in parkwood. i expect several of those places to be in the 60s tomorrow. there's the arctic air over the northern plains now, heads straight to the east. we won't get really blasted as we go through the end of the week. west a little bit more of a shot for new year's eve. but even there, it's about average. then as we head toward next week, then we're starting to talk about winter. so sunday is not all that cold. there we go. as we go into next week, we're starting to get arctic air, covering more and more of the country. just some light showers, maybe grazing the poconos in the next hour or two. the main area of showers back near cincinnati, where the record warmth is. and we'll see some of those light showers or drizzle drops across parts of the area tonight. but by tomorrow morning, it's well in the 50s. you may not need much of a coat

tomorrow, after what we've been through. even the poconos getting way above freezing. and in the afternoon, we have the sunshine. so it's not going to be raining in the morning. take a look at this. it's not going to be raining in the afternoon. showers in the morning, sun in the afternoon, up near 60 degrees. schwenksville, 58. langhorne, 59. even allentown, to 56 degrees. remember, it's 35 there now. voorhees is 61. and these low temperatures are occurring around midnight, because it's just going to keep warming up all night. it's not going to be warm for new year's eve. it's not going to be bitter cold. it's not going to be especially windy. it's not going to be raining or snowing. it could be a whole lot who was 42 degrees for the fireworks at 6:00. 34 for the second round at midnight. even lehigh valley temperatures down into the upper 20s.

and then next week gets a little wild, as you'll see later. >> thanks, hurricane. i know you're a fan of joel ellen by. we'll hear from his head coach. and the temple owls trying to do something for the first time in their football history, next.

afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

i'm john clark from csn. the sixers are back at it after the holiday weekend, in sacramento. you can start watching it on csn at 10:00. today brett brown said joe

joel ellenby has nine 20-point games, more than double any other rookie. tonight he will match up with demarcus cousins. brett says joel should get a serious look for the game. >> he's in serious consideration for that, no doubt in mind mind. he hasn't done much wrong for him not to be legitimately considered for that game. >> get out there and vote. one of the big reason why penn state football's offense became a big play machine, offensive coordinator john mo moorhead. the temple football team getting ready for the military bowl

tonight. they've been spending their holidays at the nation's capital. this would be their third bowl win in the history of the program. and it would be their first 11-win season in temple history. >> i think that's something that we had the whole way through. even the day matt left, we talked about, we're going to go to class, we're going to go to finals. we'll be the best temple team ever. >> we've had a lot of work. it doesn't really feel like a bowl in a way, more like we're in the midst of our 11th game, that's everybody's mantra. we'll have fun. but everybody is focused on the game and we're going to get it done. villanova, cats are once again the number one college basketball game in the country for a fourth straight week. the dallas cowboys will play their starters against the lions even though the cowboys have locked up the nsc. this sunday, before the season finale with the cowboys, we sit down with carson wentz, one on

one, here on nbc 10. andy reid has his chiefs in the playoffs again. he rubbed salt in the wounds of the broncos. they won't be going to the playoffs. andy called a jump pass from 364-pound defensive tackle to run up the score on the broncos. big red called it a bloated tebow pass. look at that big guy. everybody loves to see that. the hardest hit of that game may have been a security guard. a fan decides to run on the field. look at this tackle. my goodness. it's better than some players. i am john clark. we're right back after this.

there's that one crazy day tomorrow, up near 60 in philadelphia, warmer to the south, morning showers. then temperatures go back to normal. by friday we get a brief shot of arctic air setting us up for a

cold new year's. thanks so much for watching. i'm keith up next, "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. see you at 11:00. tonight, winter blast. millions hit by ice, snow, and high winds, as a powerful storm moves east, while in the west, an incredible story of survival. one mother's heroic effort to save her stranded family. war of words. president obama claims he could have beaten donald trump if he'd run against him. as the men also battle over that u.n. resolution condemning israeli settlements. city under siege. more than 40 shot, 11 killed, as chicago's gun violence surging this holiday weekend. remembering a superstar, the tributes tonight to george michael, as the music world and millions of fans remember the '80s pop icon. and inspiring america. how some were able to make it home for the