t my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. tonight at 6:00, dozens killed in a series of christmas morning bombings at churches in nigeria. first on 4, we're hearing from newt gingrich tonight after he failed to make the republican primary ballot in virginia. and this christmas day's celebrations here in washington and around the world. good evening, everyone. i'm chris gordon in tonight for aaron gilchrist. many people are taking pause this christmas to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday. news 4's derrick ward takes us to area celebrations, seeped in the spirit of giving.

>> reporter: more than a thousands of the catholic faceful made the christmas mass at the shrine part of their christmas celebrations. the cardinal urged those gathered to take the time to reflect on what the day and holiday means. >> we have responsibilities, sons, spouses, family, children, work, dogs, vocations. but christmas, christmas is the time when we recognize, there is more. >> reporter: it echoes the message from the pope, when the vatican mass urged christians to move away from the consumerism that has so come to define the holiday. this mass not only provides an opportunity to define a message about the radio meaning of the holidays, but for many families, it's an opportunity to put that into perspective. following the mass, the shrine's christmas dinner. ♪ it draws about 1,000 diners who

are alone or in need and volunteers to serve them. for some, it's about carrying on a personal tradition. >> the people that's lonely and don't have no food. >> reporter: and for others, it's the start of a tradition. it's the first time for the o'connor family, a christmas activity they can all join together. >> we're trying to reach out and help families to have a good christmas and happy holidays. >> just giving back to people who really need it. >> you can see the smiles on their face and it makes you feel really good inside. >> reporter: yet another echo of the math and the meaning of the day. the meaning of christmas. >> caring for one another, being there for one another. you can do that without spending a penny. >> reporter: derrick ward, news 4. >> crowds of people headed out to the washington national cathedral today to celebrate the birth of jesus. many people say coming here for services and carols is a family tradition. services and an organ recital

were also broadcast online. tens of thousands of people packed st. peter's square today to hear pope benedict's christmas blessings. the pontiff called for an end to the violence in syria and pressed for the resumptions of peace talks in the middle east. he also urges the world to continue helping those suffering from famine in africa and to pray for those affected by flooding in thailand and the philippines. the pope concluded his message by delivering christmas greetings in 65 different languages. and thousands also gathered for mass at the birthplace of jesus in bethlehem this morning. the city has seen a steady increase in tourism around the christmas holiday. officials estimate nearly 300,000 tourists will visit the historic city some time during this holiday season. a developing story now that we're following. a deadly christmas morning in nigeria. two explosions struck catholic

churches near nigeria's capital. the first blast left 35 people dead when a bomb went off during a crowded christmas mass. a second explosion struck another church. residents there say dozens were injured, but further details are not immediately available. a radical muslim sect claimed responsibility for the bombings. a murder investigation is under way in prince george's county, where police say an adult was shot and killed. it happened at the corner of southview drive and southern avenue southeast in oxen hill shortly after 11:00 this morning. when police arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. the suspect is described as a man just over 6 feet tall, about 170 pounds. he was last seen dressed in all black wearing his hair in dreadlocks. gop presidential candidate newt gingrich is speaking out today for the first time about

failing to make the republican primary ballot in virginia. news 4's darcy spencer is here now with a story you will see first on 4. darcy? >> chris, gingrich and his wife were attending church here in washington this christmas day. he admits that not getting on the ballot in virginia was his own fault. he likens the failure to pearl harbor, an unexpected setback. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich was at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception for christmas. but even on this holiday, the 2012 election is front and center. the gingrich campaign suffered a major setback in the last couple of days. he failed to get enough signatures to the appear on the primary ballot in virginia, even though he's at the top of the polls there among likely voters. >> we're disappointed, but it's our fault and we hope to launch a write-in campaign and we're getting an amazing number of people who want us to -- who believe that virginians ought to have the right to choose and

shouldn't be restricted to just two people. >> reporter: in virginia, getting on the ballot can be tough. candidates need 10,000 signatures and they must be collected throughout the state. rick perry also failed to qualify, but he's failing in the polls. gingrich's campaign director around statement on their facebook page. he blamed the failure not on the effort but on the state's cumbersome process. coming march 6th, only mitt romney and ron paul will be on the gop ballot in virginia. state law does not allow a written-in campaign in the primary. >> we'll probably launch a written-in campaign. >> as i understand, the code prohibits that in the primary, though. >> well, i think that there's time for them to change it. if something wrong, that affects them. >> gingrich's campaign director says in that statement that this is not catastrophic and that going forward, the campaign will be out in front of the possible as much as possible and make all other deadlines. back to you, chris. >> darcy, thanks.

an amber alert issued for a 2-year-old reported missing last night in richmond has been canceled. cayden burnside was found safe and sound early sunday morning. richmond police say 27-year-old jamal clemens shot and killed two people inside a house earlier last night and then jumped into a nearby car to get away. cayden was in that car, and that sparked a frantic christmas eve search. police are still looking for the suspect at this hour. here in washington, what a beautiful day this christmas day was. people even enjoyed their coffee while sitting outside, taking in some sunshine around dupont circle. but will this nice weather stick around? meteorologist chuck bell is in our storm center 4. >> good evening, chris. merry christmas, everybody. a beautiful day, as you mentioned, outside filled with sunshine. perfect for dog walking or coffee sipping or anything you want to do outside. temperatures are in the mid-40s in washington, back down into the upper 30s in parts of the

northern and western suburbs. not a drop to be found on doppler too close to us. snowflakes in western new york and raindrops in georgia will eventually bring changes to our weather pattern, but not in the short-term. for your christmas evening, clear skies and seasonally chilly, back down to the mid- to upper 30s by 11:00. the rest of the week's forecast coming up. >> thank you, chuck. see you then. still ahead tonight, we'll show you how our troops are celebrating this christmas day overseas, far away from home. plus, the royal family celebrates this christmas without its patriarch. and it's a happy holiday for one powerball ticket holder in maryland where the $125 million

the royal family spent christmas day visiting prince phillip in the hospital. the queen's husband underwent emergency surgery last week to fix a clogged coronary artery. some of the prince's grandchildren, including prince william, prince harry, princess eugenie and princess cedzary we seen driving up. the surgery was successful and the prince is now being monitored by doctors. a few members of the occupy wall street movement were out today. it is the 100th day since the demonstrations began in lower manhattan. the protesters planned to have a christmas meal and listen to music throughout the day.

well, someone in maryland must have been on santa's nice list this year. maryland state lottery officials say a winning $125 million powerball jackpot ticket was sold in elkton last night. now, no one has come forward to claim the winning ticket yet. the winning numbers are 14, 16, 30, 51, and the bonus number is 52. good luck. still ahead tonight, why it was a record-breaking christmas eve for santa trackers this year. and chuck bell is back with a look ahead after the changes coming our way this week. the droid razr by motorola.

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well, they may not be home for the holidays, but our troops serving overseas are still being treated to a very merry christmas. soldiers stationed at bagram airfield attended a church service and enjoyed a festive lunch today near the 100,000 men and women are still serving in afghanistan. they say it's never easy being away from family this time of year, but they're finding ways to bridge the distance. >> it's very difficult. the media, nowadays, allow us a lot of connections back to our families and i've been able to share last night and this evening i will get to share with my family over the internet. >> soldiers say they really value that connection.

now, despite today's celebrations, work at the base continues as normal. locally, for others, christmas day is a day to help out and to give back to our community. more than 1,000 people spent their day at the annual day of service organized by the d.c. jewish community center. participants helped at various projects across the city, including serving meals to senior citizens, preparing food for the homeless, is and donating blood at a blood drive. >> feeling in the christmas spirit, you know, the holiday theme of giving and charity and that sort of thing, and really want to give something back to the community and those people that are less fortunate. >> well, the christmas day day of service has been an annual tradition in our region for the past 25 years. just when you thought that santa couldn't get more popular, the sleigh tracking officials over at norad say that 2011 was the biggest year yet. volunteers at peterson air force

base in colorado say they fielded a recorded number of calls this year from children asking about santa's whereabouts. well, they got 102,000 calls. that's up from 80,000 last year. officials say the rise in popularity probably stems from santa's biggest social media presence to date. norad has been tracking santa for kids since 1955. wonder what his social media handle is. @santaclaus. >> we had noradsanta.org. we put it on the morning show yesterday. i posted it on my twitter and facebook and on the website forecast. so we drove a lot of people there and we showed it live on the air last night at 6:00 and 11:00. at 11:00 last night while we were doing the weather, we had live video of santa flying over wilmington, delaware, and we scared all the kids they better hurry up and get to bed. they only had 45 minutes. hopefully you had a wonderful sunday afternoon. christmas or not in your world, it's a beautiful day to be outside today. the roads, almost completely

devoid of traffic. what a pleasure to drive and walk around d.c. today. we took the dogs out this afternoon for a nice long walk through our logan circle neighborhood. what a beauty of a day. and so, so quiet in downtown washington. there's a great view of the national cathedral, high on top of the hill here in northwest washington. right at the intersection of wisconsin and massachusetts avenue. not too far from our friendly studios right here in northwest. 45 degrees. that's the current temperature down at national airport. a light breeze now out of the south, averaging only 8 miles per hour. so not much of a breeze left. the winds will stay up just enough to put a little chill in the air for your evening plans. so maybe you can put that new scarf or some new gloves on that you got for christmas. 39 right now in gaithersburg. 38 in huntingtown, with maryland. 48 in ft. belvoir and dale city. manassas and warrenton into the upper 30s to around 40 degrees. and no real super cold air out there just yet. it's going to be seasonally cold overnight tonight. wake-up temperatures tomorrow morning generally in the 30s, but we'll be rain free around here for the next little while.

this next little system, a weak cold front is mostly going to stay to our north in pennsylvania. a few extra clouds, a few folks in northern maryland. however, this system gathering strength now along the gulf coast. this will eventually form up and move in our direction. and again, look who's getting the white stuff on christmas day. amarillo, texas, up into the western parts of the oklahoma panhandle. for us, just a clear sky out there. and since we're not going to get a white christmas, it turned out to be a beautiful day today. mostly clear skies will be the rule through the remainder of the overnight hours. a little front to our north. any snow showers will stay on the western side of the ridge line. no concerns for us. monday sunshine turns into a chilly monday night and rain is back into the picture as we get into the second half of the day on tuesday. so for the remainder of your overnight hours, clear skies and a little bit on the cool and breezy side. wake-up temperatures, as i mentioned, in the 30s. then tomorrow, sunshine again, temperatures into the upper 40s to near 50 degrees, but all in all, pleasant by late december standards.

keep in mind, our average high now is 44 degrees. and look at that. every high temperature, oh, there's santa claus, a surprise last-minute appearance there. >> working late. >> i got to tell santa to get out of the seven-day forecast. but, yes, indeed, rain showers tuesday, tuesday night, maybe lingering into early wednesday. the rest of the last week of 2011 looks mild and try. >> not bad, because a lot of people have the week off. >> and a lot of traveling going on. >> thank you, chuck. still ahead in sports, miami turns up the heat in a rematch of last year's nba finals.

hakem joins us with a gift of basketball. >> merry christmas to you and chuck as well. just a couple months ago, we were talking about not even having an nba season at all. and now we have it. so forget about how the grinch stole christmas. greed almost stole the entire nba season. a riddle even dr. seuss couldn't fix. fortunately for nba fans, basketball is back. and today a shiny new season unwrapped for all the little boys and girls. the game of the day in texas, where the heat were taking on the mavericks in a rematch of last season's nba finals. and the mavericks unveiling and raising their 2011 championship banner in a pre-game ceremony at american airlines arena. lebron james and the heat not on the court during that time, but once they got there, it was trouble for the defending champs. second quarter, miami up 44-27.

dirk nowitzki with the ball. dwyane wade comes over to double team and blocks him. we're going the other way. wade to lebron back to chris bosch, who finishes with the two-handed dunk. see it again. wayne and the heat turning defense into offense. miami leads 62-41 at the break. third quarter, heat up 28. lebron back down as the defender. and check this out. hits the fadeaway jumper and one. james with a game-high 37 points, also had ten rebounds and six assists. less than a minute later, chalmer in transition. up to lebron for the dunk. lebron in midair makes the judgment and tips it to wade for the dunk. miami beats dallas 105-94. all right. let's go to madison square garden. kevin garnett and the celtics starting the season against the knicks. and their new acquisition, tyson chandler. fourth quarter, new york up 8. jared jeffries, his shot is blocked by chris wilcox.

the former tepphe terp gives it right back. second quarter, rondo from kentucky drives, behind the back pass to brandon bass. two-handed dunk. nifty pass here from rondo. the point guard had 13 assists and a 31 points. boston down 10 at the break. fourth quarter, different story. nings with the ball. carmelo anthony throws it to the tyson chandler, big-time play. later in the fourth, knicks down three. carmelo for the tie. bottom of your screen, and he buries it. game knotted at 100, but anthony not done yet. under two minutes to go, anthony with the ball again. hits the off-balance shot to go. knicks take a two-point lead. carmelo with a game-high 37 points. last chance for the celtics,

kevin garnett, no good. things get feisty after. shoves bill walker, grabs his neck. the next meeting between the knicks and celtics, february 3rd in boston. the wizards open up their season tomorrow night at home against the new jersey nets. tip-off is set for 7:00 and you can see that game on comcast sports net. finally tonight, for your entertainment pleasure, a classic christmas tradition. one we enjoy watching each and every year. here's the late, great, bobby helms with jingle bell rock. ♪ ♪ jingle bell, jingle bell rock ♪ ♪ jingle bell swing and jingle bells ring ♪ ♪ snowing and blowing, bushels of fun ♪ ♪ now the jingle hop has begun ♪ jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock ♪ ♪ jingle bell time and jingle

time time ♪ ♪ dancing and balanprancing in e bell square ♪ ♪ in the frosty air ♪ what a bright time ♪ it's the right time ♪ to rock the night away ♪ jingle bell time is a well time ♪ ♪ to go gliding in a one-horse sleigh ♪ ♪ giddyap, jingle horse, pick up your feet ♪ ♪ jingle around the clock ♪ mix and a mingle and a jingling feet ♪ ♪ that's the jingle bell, that's the jingle bell, that's the jingle bell rock ♪ >> i love that song. that brings back memories of being over at my grandma's house in ohio, and that song would always play, we would have all the christmas music going, that was one of my favorites.

>> but it goes back to 1957, that's before your time. >> yes, it is. it's an oldie but a goody. >> for sure. >> final word on the weather? >> perfect weather to get your short week started and only one chance of rain left in 2011. >> thank you very much for being with us. that's news 4 for now. "nightly news" is up next. we'll be back for news 4 after sunday night football. have a good evening.