they will each receive up to $4.4 million. that's $10,000 for every one of the 444 days they spent in captivity. he calls it justice. >> tom llamas, abc news, new york. the pope sounding a somber note during his christmas eve mass, noting the simplicity of jesus christ's birth. pope francis condemned what he called society's intoxication with consumerism, pleasure, abundance and wealth. he says an jesus calls on christians to act in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential. the upsurge of violence in the holy land brought more tension to christmas celebrations. mahmoud abbas joined christian faithful in bethlehem for midnight mass. it has been at the center of violence but as molly hunter reports, the celebrations have returned. >> reporter: mixed feeling between the celebration and the

sad feeling. >> reporter: that sad feeling shared widely this year. after months of violence in the occupied palestinian territories and israel left 19 israelis and more than 130 palestinians dead, israel says more than half of those palestinians were attackers. in manger square, the birthplace of jesus, the crowd's smaller. tourism suffering. people say they've never seen it like this. >> but at the same time, there is a certain feeling of resilience. people insist to celebrate christmas to send a message of hope that we, the christians and muslims, the palestinians are here. we were here. and we'll stay here forever. >> resilience and happiness says natalee. >> are you going to celebrate more this year because of the tension, because of the violence? >> because the only way you fight war is by happiness and by peace. peace by happiness, by music. >> merry christmas. >> molly hunter, abc news,

bethlehem. back here in the state environmentalists are delivering a bit of a buzz kill over america's christmas lights. while light displays are a small fraction of the electricity we consume annually, a new study finds that the lights we turn on burn up more energy than some nations in a year. >> wow. >> el salvador, cambodia and tanzania are some of the countries that use less power than the u.s. over the days. your big christmas tree is bad news to the environment. >> yeah. well, there is something else burning in denver on christmas eve. a non-profit group gave free marijuana joints to the homeless and anyone else who wanted one. the group cannabis can says it wants to use pot for good and to bring people together. >> that's kind of them. that group says it's high time, high time, that the homeless had access to restrooms and showers. so it's raising money.

an it's illegal to smoke marijuana in public in colorado but giving it as a gift is okay. the group wishes everyone "a happy canamas." >> exactly. that's -- so they're a bunch of hungry homeless people right about now in denver. >> munchies with candy 'canes. >> medical use. they have arthritis, too. >> is that it? >> uh-huh. coming up "in the mix" if your gift wrapping technique is less than artful, we'll make you feel a little better. >> who is behind the bombshell plan to crack down and deport immigrants? we'll tell you who is speaking out. later the government's popular santa tracking program following st. nick's big night of deliveries after six decades. we're revealing how it actually all started. >> remember to find us on facebook wnnfans.com and twitter @abcwnn. you're watching "world news now."

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so check out this wise guy in miami. a burglar captured on surveillance camera, he enters a home as the couple sleeps upstairs. the man spots the cameras at one point but is unable to disable them but his face clearly seen. he stole more than $100,000 worth of items. the homeowner says the burglar was just feet away from his bedroom but never tried to enter. >> wow. >> but with $100,000 worth of items nearby, i would have -- i mean, i can understand why he didn't enter the bedroom. he was busy. >> i guess so. the obama administration has launched a new salvo in the debate over illegal immigration. the department of homeland security is set to deport

thousands of central american immigrants living here illegally since last year. abc's pierre thomas has the latest. >> reporter: they came over the southern border by the thousands. children and families, in some cases, fleeing violence and persecution in central america. many bussed beyond the border. inside the u.s. >> turn around and go back. >> reporter: some facing angry crowds, while the government determined their fate. now, with illegal border crossing spiking again, hundreds of those families are being targeted for deportation in a series of sweeps that could begin as early as next month, if approved by the white house. >> i think what they're trying to do here is send a message to central america, saying, don't come. and in order to do that, i think they believe that images of families being offloaded on planes in central america, that it's going to deter people from coming. >> reporter: the families targeted for deportation had their requests for asylum rejected by immigration judges. but the removal is sparking controversy, because the obama administration has typically focused on deporting criminals, not families. >> very tough day, frankly, for

this news to break, on christmas eve. >> reporter: some administration critics said the plan is symbolic window dressing that will do nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigration. in many cases these families will have to be tracked down. our sources say immigration and customs enforcement agentses are confident they can be located. it's too difficult for families to hide. we'll have to see what happens. opposition to this plan is fierce. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. might be a little bit too late advice. medical researchers have advice for parents about what not to give your children for christmas. before you buy flashy electronic device, consider a book or a simpler toy. researchers at the northern arizona university have found that playing with toys and books that don't require a power source is promoted more meaningful interactions between children and parents. they say playtime with electronic toys fostered less meaningful interactions. >> and the kids will be thrilled.

>> i'm sure they'll be thrilled. >> for grown-ups who can't resist those electronic devices we have got an after christmas deal for you. best buy is selling the apple iphone 6 s for just $1. >> a buck? >> yeah. a steep discount from the usual $200 but it applies only to the 16 gig version and it's only for verizon and sprint customers. the deal only good through sunday in stores or online. but a whole lot of fine print, as well. so, yeah, we've got to investigate this a little further. >> sounds good. coming up in our next half hour, donald trump turns up the heat. he is now taking aim at not just hillary but bill clinton's scandals, as well. and what he called hillary clinton in his latest tweet. >> first for those of us who have been nice this year, santa has taken flight. the team at norad is tracking his every move. but do you know why the government launched this mission in the first place. >> you're watching "world news now." >> he's in mexico.

>> announcer: "world news now

nice and cozy. so as we fire up, you know, the yule log, santa claus has been flying around the globe for hours. he's just finishing up his deliveries here in america. look at him go. >> busy, busy man. worldwide, children have been following his travels thanks to

norad's santa tracker which this year turned 60 years old. ears abc's clayton sandell. >> reporter: santa claus is under the watchful eyes of norad. >> so, on the screen, you'll see the last place that we've seen santa claus, which, in this case, was russia. and then it also tracks the number of gifts delivered, which is just over 2 billion. >> reporter: usually on alert for things like missile attacks, norad takes this very seriously. how important is this mission? >> oh, this is a no fail mission. >> reporter: a mission that goes back to the cold war, as the story goes, back in 1955, a sears newspaper ad gave kids a number to call santa. but that number was off by one, so, instead of reaching the man in red, kids were calling colonel harry shoup on his red phone. >> that red phone was top secret. >> reporter: the colonel ordered his men to play along. >> he was military through and through, but he loved kids. and he loved christmas. >> reporter: and a tradition was born.

norad has been playing along now for 60 years. >> santa loves cookies and milk. >> reporter: 1,500 volunteers taking 135,000 calls from excited kids in 235 countries. >> he's headed for ban galore, india right now. >> reporter: you might just reach terry, taking calls today for the first time ever. >> have you got cookies for him? >> reporter: colonel shoup was her dad. so, your first call, what does it feel like? >> oh, it's great. better than i even thought. it's wonderful. >> reporter: she says that went for her dad, too. a simple mistake he helped turn into 60 years of magic. clayton sandell, abc news, colorado springs. that is so cool. always a tradition in my family, put out the cookies and the mit can and check to see where santa is. >> still to this day. >> we're checking to see where kendis is. because he might be breaking into your home. >> i think i'm stuck.

>> yeah. >> just trapped up there. >> i have to anchor by myself the rest of the show because he's stuck. >> we'll be back. [coughing]

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dare to feel more with new k-y love. does it make you feel warmer? >> it really does. loving this, so festive. >> can we turn the air up? all right. >> time now for "the mix" and a lot of people are probably pulling an all nighter right now trying to get the last minute gifts wrapped. take it easy on yourself. as bad as your gifts may look, they cannot possibly be as terrible as these we're about to show you. this person forgot to buy christmas wrapping. >> what is that? >> happy birthday paper. under the christmas tree. >> happy birthday baby jesus. >> that must be the birthday. that might be your gift. that's why you're making excuses. this person wraps a chair. >> i think i know what it is. >> i think the real gift is an

iphone on the chair. so a little clever. this next one someone decided trash bags are the best way to wrap gifts. >> this woman -- want to quickly show you this woman in kentucky wanted to include her dogs on the holiday tradition. and look at that. they were there. >> at the kids table. >> at the doggy table. this is the time we polka. >> hey, holiday shopping got you down? come on, let's polka with the westside sounds. ♪ politics and foreign wars, all the weather all the scores ♪ ♪ that's the world news polka ♪ business news from tokyo, stuff you saw on koppel's show ♪ ♪ that's the world news polka ♪ it's late at night you're wide

awake and you're not wearing pants ♪ ♪ so grab your "world news now" mug and everybody dance hey ♪ ♪ have some fun be a pal every anchor guy and gal do the world news polka ♪ ♪ who cares what the network thinks or the sponsors too ♪ ♪ and if your neighbors call the cops here's all you have to do ♪ ♪ when they yell it's half past 3:00 tell them hey, it's nuts to >>, news to me, that's the world news polka. ♪ stuck here on the overnight but that's okay because when he comes down the chimney ♪ ♪ we say hi to santa claus ♪ hope he brings just one gift get us off this midnight shift ♪ ♪ that's the world news polka ♪ do the world news polka

this morning on "world news now," the christmas disaster in the south. after deadly tornadoes take a heartbreaking toll, the holiday clean-up and the snowstorm that could delay travelers. >> shopping center gunfire. the second shooting incident this week scaring holiday shoppers at busy american malls. how police responded this time. and new this half hour, an unforgettable way to raise a stink about taxes. >> seven chickens left at a department of revenue office, what happened to the birds and what police have to say. and later on in "the skinny," disappointment for janet jackson fans. her concert tour called off and the personal reason lined it. it is friday, it is christmas day, december 25th.