skies. by 2:40, feels like 34. and by 8:00 this even, 37 with clear skies, feels like 28. and wins will be gusting up to 30 miles per hour today. the cold air though isn't here to stay for good. we have nearly record warmth in the full forecast. thank you. and now to the top story. it may be cold but holiday shopping is heating up this super saturday and final weekend before christmas. >> some retailers will open around the clock gearing up for the rush of last-minute shoppers. ilana gold is live in rego center with more. >> reporter: good morning. it's going to be a busy day at rego center this morning. we are already seeing dozens of shopping. some of the stores actually opened four hours early. we can tell you kohl's was open 24 hours and this year the ever.

and people across the tri-state area will flood the stores on this christmas saturday. this morning? >> 6:30. >> reporter: joseph beat the crowds, buying for his family. >> i'm done. >> reporter: all done, how does it feel? >> good. feel like i finished a race. >> reporter: today's shoppers their procrastination. stores including toys r us opened at 6:00 this morning to prepare for the holiday rush. here we found one carrying out bags for her daughter. >> this is early for me because eve to get stuff. >> reporter: the national retail federation says the average holiday shopper has done about 50% of their shopping and 90% of holiday shoppers still have items to decorations. today? >> yes, the next couple day, i will be shopping a lot. for my mom, my sister. >> reporter: this super saturday, retailers are

more people in the door and stores. >> they have a lot of buy one so good deals. >> reporter: the unseasonably warm weather hasn't helped many get into the holiday spirit either but now that the temperature has dropped -- >> what do you think of the weather? >> it's freezing. >> reporter: last minute shoppers will now have the cold weather to deal with it. does it make it feel like it's closer to christmas? >> yes, it does. and i can't wait till next week when it's 56, yeah, can't wait. >> reporter: -- when it's wait. >> reporter: and people tell us they're also going shopping for winter clothes today. and we want to tell you that we're dealing with some fairy strong wind out here. so if you're going shopping today, make sure to bundle up. cbs 2 news. >> thank you. new this morning, police in

of making bomb threats at a movie theater. chopper 2 was over the scene as officials evacuated the mall yesterday afternoon. investigators say yesterday and monday jesse carroll left notes in the men's room. the 22-year-old is charged with second degree public false alarm. and the judge ordered him to stay away from movie theatres. christmas hasn't been cheery and bright for some families after police say thieves made off with holiday lights. we spoke with a family's home whose home was hit. >> it was very enchanting. very pretty. >> reporter: she showed us these pictures of what her holiday light display used to look like before some grinches stole her laser lighting system this week. >> i'm angry. yeah, to be honest with you, i feel sad and then get angry. >> reporter: she says the thieves took off with nearly $800 in lasers. >> professional type lights that i understand when i purchased them that they're

lights. lights. >> reporter: the only laser left is mounted on the roof, out of reach. and her husband michael moved most of their other decorations inside because the same thing happened to them three years ago. >> i felt we put out an effort from us. >> reporter: and it turns out, three different families on the week. >> yeah, i call them a grinch. >> reporter: and she has one message for the christmas culprits who took her lights. >> i want them back. drop them in front of my house. they belong to me. you stole them. >> reporter: if you have any of the lights shining on your home or in your tree, you may between keep a very close eye on them. reporting from the staten island, cbs 2 news. >> hopefully she gets them back. the search is on for an

fought off with his shoe. and now he is talking about the encounter that was caught on camera. watch as the masked man enters the gas with a shotgun demanding cash. the owner begins to put money into a plastic bag but the robber reaches in to the register to grab more and you can see he hurled his shoe at him. the gunman ran out, fired a round into the pavement and sped off. >> you can say god tell me or something, i don't know, something tell me, grab him. >> police say the suspect left in a dark-colored sedan with yellow license plates. hundreds of active and retired firefighters in new york and new jersey say they're losing their hearing and are now suing. nearly 1500 firefighters and hundreds more across the country have filed a lawsuit against federal signal for irreversible hearing loss.

decibel level of the sirens is unreasonably dangerous. >> i can't believe i did this for so long knowing how loud it was. >> they could have directed the sound by using what we call a shroud. >> and you shouldn't be exposed to that amount of sound for more than a few seconds. >> federal signal tells us any change to the sirens would make them less effective and subject the firefighters and general public to increased risk of serious accidents. a search of a ship that docked in new jersey. the crew reported seeing a snake in the cargo hold. indian cobra. experts say it was a little under weight and dehydrated but the it's doing better now. the ship came from singapore. onboard. well, santa is taking njtv -- santas taking new jersey transit will have to skip the spiked eggnog today.

expected to attend santa-con starting at 11:00 this morning. new jersey transit is warning that alcohol beverages will be banned: >> that was good. that was hard. >> i know. time now 9:07. a data breach rocks the democratic party one day after bernie sanders sues the dnc. the situation is resolved but how soon will the campaign regain access to the voter information. plus, same product, different price so why are women paying more? and the force has awakened records. first, here's the forecast. >> we might be talking record warmth next week but in the meantime, it's feeling like december. i'll have the full forecast coming up. but first, a check on the

news and cbsnewyork.com. campaign 2016 news. bernie sanders and the democratic party have reached a deal to regain access to voter files. it comes after hillary rodham clinton's team accused sanders staffers of stealing voter data. the democratic national committee says the sanders team improperly searched and saved the data and they blocked the campaign from using it. yesterday the campaign filed a

they reached an agreement last night to have it restored. the database will likely be a hot topic tonight when clinton and sanders face off in the democratic presidential debate. debate tonight at 8:00 in new hampshire. president barack obama was in california last night where he met with family members of the san bernardino attack victims. the president and the first lady spent time with members of each of the 14 families at a high school in san bernardino. after the closed door meet, obama called the families a representative of the strength and unity and love of their community and the nation. the president stopped in california enroute to hawaii for his annual christmas family vacation. the actor was arrested during a protest at an orange county power plant. police used bolt cutters to remove a metal harness from the actor's neck yesterday. he was part of a small group that locked themselves together, protesting the construction of a power plant. he is expected to appear in

conduct charges. there's the gender pay gap and now there's a gender pricing gap as well. a study finds women pay more than men for the same products at local stores. the new york city department of consumer affairs compared more than 800 products sold at two dozen city stores. it found products for women cost 7% more than similar products for men. the city has sent out letters to companies asking them to address the issue. all right, time now is 9:12. the forecast from vanessa. >> forecast looking awfully cold but as it should be this time of year and then a huge >> i know. and you know, we spoke to the that woman and she said she can't wait for 60s and i'm one day. everybody has a different opinion on the weather. i hope there's something in the seven-day forecast that appeals to you. take a look at some beautiful live pictures outside.

it's chilly though. 35 with west winds blowing at 17 miles per hour in central park, leaving wind chills well below that number. they're in the 20s right now. feels like 26 in central park. the headline, cold and blustery and feeling like december. that's a good thing. and a few snow showers well today. and next week, near record warmth returns. we're talking highs in the mid- 60s by midweek next week. christmas eve, 67 degrees the forecast right now. unbelievable. but in the meantime, the deal, yesterday the high was 57. and temperatures dropped off. and today a high of 40 will feel more like 30 because of the wind chill. winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour today. and then tomorrow, we lose the wind, 45. and monday, 54. the climb continues from there as i mentioned. and it's 60s by midweek. and on the vortex satellite and radar picture, saw that live shot, so beautifully clear for most of us right now.

trying to make an impact well north and northwest of the city. for today, that will remain the case, best bet for any passing snow will be well north and west of the city. some of it will ease on down into the hudson valley as well. we look the big picture, a cold front off the coast. is winning out. it will be cold and blustery today with the strong winds out of the west. futurecast looks like had, sunshine for today but again, that slight chance of snow well north and west of the city. when i say snow, i mean passing snow showers. not much in the way of accumulation there but pretty to look at. and then tonight, skies clear out, high pressure builds in and tomorrow is sunny. the winds have calm sod it will feel warmer tomorrow. and today, 40 will feel like 30. for those not reaching 40, it will feel like the 20s today. flakes north and west. the winds will be whipping.

20s. 32 in the city. overnight, 25. 25 in the oranges. and then for tomorrow, a high of 45 under mostly sunny skies and not as windy. again, it will feel more comfortable. for monday, it is 54 degrees, cloud move many late as we say hello to winter officially. and then just keep warming up from there. 59 on tuesday, lots of cloud cover and a chance of showers. and continuing chance for wet weather on wednesday with a high of 63. thursday, christmas eve, 67, still raining out there. and friday, christmas day, 58, sunshine in the mix, and dry. but if you have travel plans prior to christmas, enjoy the warmth. you might have to -- >> i say better than a blizzard. >> well, for travel. >> yeah. >> definitely better. and wet is better than white >> thank you. time now is 9:15. what happens when a young man

a mission in africa. it's the inspiration behind the off broadway musical "the invisible thread." we will talk with the lead actor about his journey to change the world. hi to everybody. currently in italy. just sending a shoutout to friends and family back in new york.

new year. phil! oh no... (under his breath) hey man! hey peter. (unenthusiastic) oh... ha ha ha! joanne? is that you? it's me... you don't look a day over 70. am i right? jingle jingle. if you're peter pan, you stay young forever. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. you make me feel so young... it's what you do. you make me feel so spring has sprung.

i'm glad you finally made it, dad. you have to experience this city. that's what you always say. you were right about the food. yeah? welcome. only in new york, right? i guess so. and a real astronaut. that was something. hi john. hey kevin. one more. didn't you want to be an astronaut? ...be an astronaut? yes, i did. there's still time. ahhhh!!! it's beautiful, isn't it? how about a baseball game next time? done! done. book priceless experiences around the globe with...

imagine you're in your 20s and live in new york city with hopes of being a actor and then you find yourself in uganda. that's what happened to griffin matthews and now his story is on stage in the musical "invisible thread." he stars as griffin in "invisible thread" now running off broadway at the second stage theater. he joins me this morning along with the co-author matt. welcome to both of you. >> thank you. >> so you might talk about this play and describe it as an incredible journey of self awareness. is that how you would describe it? >> sure, it's a coming of age story. a lot of people in our generation are traveling and desperate to find their place in the world. and at 23 years old, i was doing just that.

from new york city and you end up in uganda. >> i had been invited by a explore uganda. it was a hot top nick the news. and -- a hot topic in the news. and i thought it would be cool to the take a summer off and do simple volunteer work. and it led to all of this. and i had no idea that i would be sitting here in 2015. >> can't imagine. matt, how did you get involved with this? >> i met this guys, we were two musical theatre guys living in new york. i was a peace corp volunteer in west africa. and he was running this organization supporting 10 kids in uganda. and having trouble raising money. and i said, why don't we write a musical about your experience and use that to raise money. and he said that's a horrible idea. >> really? >> i wasn't sure that anyone was going to want to see a musical about a journey of a

pittsburgh traveling to uganda. >> it's high energy. describe the music is the story a little bit. the story is yours obviously. >> yeah, anyone who's traveled to a developing country knows that it's thrilling and the show, while it's a feel-good musical, it's also a thriller. we encountered a lot of crazy things in uganda, corruption and poverty and also joy. and we wanted to capture that and put that on the new york >> people are shouting and standing and talking to the actors and i really have never it. >> and what do you hope that people when they see the show, what do you want them to get out of see this? >> i think we're livering in a time where people go to the theater to not only be entertained but also inspired leave feeling empowered, feeling like we can do something in this world.

and i think based on what the audiences are saying that that's what's happening. >> and in addition to the musical, you continue to do work for the people of uganda. tell us about that. >> we have been working there for 10 years now. the entire cast this summer traveled to uganda to meet our students and sing at a wedding of one of our kids. it was an incredible experience. and we have kids graduating from college and having babies and it's been an incredible journey. >> that's wonderful. thank you so much for coming in. >> thank you. >> and invisible thread runs through december 27th at the second stage theater on west 43rd street. alaska. finally. the search for brown bears begins. denali highway. low on gas. pit stop. fill up. double points.

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well "star wars: the force awakens" is taking the nation by storm. >> this weekend, it will likely shatter box office records. the projection is that it will make more than $215 million this weekend. that would top the opening of jurassic world which debuted with $208 million. and thursday night, it drew in $57 million in north america. well "star wars" fans were shining bright in los angeles. thousands dressed as fighters from the two sides, they gathered to try to set a world record for the largest light saber battle over 24 hours. the current world record is 7,000 fighters. ask knicks bench got extra playing time as the team took

>> there were truly two teams in the nba, the defending champion golden warrior with 25- 1 and the polar opposite 6er, 1- 26 happened to be last night's opponent. spoiler alert and it doesn't involve "star wars" premiers. knicks ruined the suspense when they jumped to the 21-point lead in the first half. and then he goes unnoticed in the paint, he's 7'3", how do you miss him? first half, that allowed him to rest the starters and that meant time for the bench to get their shots off. from the corner, knicks hang on to win by 10. meanwhile, the nets own the second worst record in the eastern conference, tall order against the pacers, three times at home this year. but brooklyn proves to be a tougher outthan we thought. lead in the 4th and they ended uptaking the lead, by george,

that's a big finish. the nets drop to 7-19 this year. rangers have been very average away from the garden, 6- 6-3 this season. and he gave up four goals thursday night in minnesota. and guess what, he gave up four more last night in winnipeg. as the ranger's slide continues, 5-2 the final. i'm otis livingston. have a great day. and that wraps up today's cbs 2 news saturday morning. our next newscast is tonight at 6:00. >> you can check the top stories all day long on cbsnewyork.com. for vanessa murdock and the cbs 2 news team, i'm cindy hsu. >> and i'm andrea grymes.