shoppers are back out there and in the mood to spend. >> when all the shopping is done, americans will spend $469 billion, a 4% increase from last year. michelle franzen has the story. >> reporter: monday mania, the day after christmas. >> it is definitely worth going out the day after. we planned this every year. >> reporter: shoppers fresh from a weekend of giving and receiving rushed back to the stores and the mall. >> everything people didn't want before christmas is still here and you get the extra benefit of sale prices and you get, like, twice as much as you do beforehand and it's fun. >> reporter: for many, a return trip to exchange the gifts that didn't fit or weren't right. >> some of the exchanges and stuff like that. we did all right. we got quite a few things, one

in five americans are returning gifts this year. >> reporter: for the masses, it was a day of spend, spend, spend. >> the bargains are better. >> reporter: retailers slashed prices beyond the pre-christmas sales hoping to boost their end of the year bottom line. >> they are continuing on through the new year. the name of the game is promotions deals discounts. >> reporter: shoppers are still on the hunt for deals on everything from toys and clothing to big-ticket items like tvs, computers and other electronics. shoppers and retailers ringing up the sales before ringing in the new year. michelle franzen, news 4. here in our region, businesses seeing a post holiday sales. a lot of people out using those gift cards. others returning gifts that weren't what they were looking

for. either way, they are finding good deals. >> like 60% to 75, which is nice. then they have extra coupons and things. >> everything is 75% off at least with an extra 10%. it's really a good deal. i love it. >> while some stores are still operating on special holiday hours, the mo jorty of them return to business as usual. shoppers in london are hitting roadblocks to get the after christmas deals. others to run the limited service. a union called the 24 hour strike. it wanted drivers who worked today to get extra pay and an extra day off. eager buyers still somehow managed to crowd department stores. some lined up at midnight to snatch up those deals. now that all the prez sents have been opened, what is the

best gift you got. >> take a look at responses on facebook. his best gift was the cuisinart press. >> the bose sound system she got from her mother. >> unfortunately, tom was not a fan of the cement blob in the state of pennsylvania he got. he says he will give it away to anybody who pays for the shipping. >> he didn't get any bad gifts this year and the best one he got was his loving family. he didn't have to unwrap that. thanks to everyone who respo responded. >> we have had a gift in the weather. how long will it last? >> chuck bell joins us with the forecast from the storm center. what about that, chuck? >> hey. i love it, a cement block. it's like the modern day e vif

lent of a lump of coal. we are getting a concrete block from mother nature in the form of rainshowers as opposed to sunshine we have been enjoying the last couple days. full sunshine pushed the temperatures to nearly 50 degrees. five or six degrees warmer than average for december. it's been a mild month for sure. we are in fourth place. fourth warmest december. here is a look at storm 4 doppler. this is going on in the immediate area. rain drops are not far away. northern alabama, far northwestern georgia is all lifting in our direction. it's about 15 to 18 hours away. that means it will be raining around many spots by the time we get to 9:00, 10:00 tomorrow morning. expect a rainy tuesday, especially by tomorrow afternoon.

the good night forecast is clear, dry and quiet for the evening plans. temperatures 47 degrees at 5:00. 43 by 7:00. extra clouds building back in by 11:00 p.m. temperatures will be dropping down to mid and upper 30s. the forecast, nothing to complain about for the weekend. rain likely tomorrow morning. heavy rain possible tuesday afternoon and evening. what about cold air? any cold air? the seven day forecast is coming up. what was your best and worst gift? >> i got cook weware. it was awful. i needed it badly. >> you don't give those as a present. >> unless the person you are giving to's are messed up. a plane crashed in florida. two worked for the mayo clinic

in jacksonville. they left for the university of florida 5:45 this morning and never made it to gainesville. authorities have not released their names. they are investigating the crash. there's been another suicide car bombing in baghdad tood intensifying the fears of the country since americans have pulled out. the car was blown up at a check point near the iraqi ministry. five people are among the dead. a roadside bomb hit an army patrol killing two soldiers. it followed the attacks of bombings last week. nobody claimed responsibility for today's attacks. nigerians are in mourning after a suicide bombing killed 50 people and wounded others. muslim extremists targeted them

across the country. it was the second year in a row they launched attack. they are seeking to install strict islamic rule across the country which is predominantly muslim and kristian. republicans are gearing up for the final week of campaigning. they are pulling out all the stops hope iing for an importan victory. jennifer johnson has more. >> smaller -- >> reporter: mitt romney launched a new tv spot focusing on the federal budget and repealing obama care. >> desperately needed in washington and i will take it there. >> reporter: rick santorum went fez sent hunting. gingrich and perry are on bus tours. bachmann is hitting all counties. paul has a more relaxed sed yule. >> the fewer cities you are trying to hit in the last couple

days, the better you are doing in the polls. >> reporter: gingrich didn't get the required signatures he needed. now, he wants to be a write-in candidate. >> if something is wrong, you have to fix it. >> ron paul seems to have the strongest pull in iowa. some political experts have their doubts about newt. >> he has a wave theory of politic that is somehow he is the man for the time. he was a few weeks ago. it's not a big enough wave to carry forward. >> reporter: the candidates are working hard to persuade those holdouts. the undecided voters number in the double digits. they can expect to see a lot of tv ads and get phone calls. capitol hill, i'm jennifer johnson, news 4. president obama is spending

vacation time in hawaii but he's always working. a child stole the spotlight yesterday. the president was in a picture when the child decided to put his hands in the president's mouth. he played it off well. he told reporters the room was too quiet. >> he decided to shake things up. >> there you go. this is a real-life holiday miracle. a man woke up from a coma as they were trying to decide what to do to save him. we have the story. >> reporter: with a few tiny steps, he might make you believe in holiday miracles. a few weeks ago, that smile was something his family thought they would never see again. the fun-loving, 21-year-old arizona state business major was in a devastating five-car pile-up in october. he survived, but barely. >> he didn't have any response,

in a deep coma. >> his odds of survival was slim. his family thought about what they would do if they had to take him off life support. >> they didn't talk to us about donating his organs directly, but john and i knowing sam, he would want to help other people if he was actually not going to be with us. >> reporter: his doctor wasn't quite ready to declare sam brain dead. >> i said let's get one more mri scan. >> reporter: he told the family to give it one more week. it's when sam took matters into his own hands. he responded to a command, holding up two fingers. >> it's a huge thing. it means you can hear. it means you can interpret what you are hearing. >> reporter: sam remembers what he saw when he opened his eyes in the hospital. >> it was my mom, john and me. >> reporter: he hasn't looked back since. he's in intense therapy.

for one day this weekend, he left the hospital to spend christmas with his family. >> there is no better gift than to have sam back. >> reporter: this holiday, sam learned not just to believe in miracles, but himself. >> it has been nothing but hard work and pushing through. >> reporter: he's got big goals. >> being able to push that ball. >> reporter: for now, he's taking small steps with his family at his side. a family, this year, celebrating the incredible gift of life. >> that was kristen reporting. sam was allowed out of the hospital for that one day. he wants to return to school by next year. >> great gift for him and his family. >> blessing indeed. when we continue, a man quests to find the person who left $10,000 behind at the airport. why louie baton is suing the

tom cruise won the battle for the top spot in the box office over the weekend. mission impossible debuted with $29 million in ticket sales thchlt is his fourth mission flick. sherlock holmes a game of shadows dropped to number two

with $20.3 million. alvin and the chipmunks came in third and rounding out the top four, the girl with the dragon tattoo. >> that is a louis vuitton. >> he's suing the makers of hangover two. they claim it's a fake and p could cause confusion. they want the clip cut out of the movie and a share of the profits. ♪ she may be best known for her music, but she's taking on a new roll as mom. she and her husband are the proud parents of a baby boy. the 40-year-old song stress delivered little stanley on

christmas day. matthew mcconaughey celebrated christmas by putting a ring on it. >> he proposed to his long-time girlfriend. he tweeted, just asked camilla to marry me. merry christmas. also a link there. they have been dating since 2006 and have two children together. there's a couple that may be getting back together. >> maria shriver filed for divorce. there's a report it's not final. >> shriver is considering a reconciliation with him. arnold schwarzenegger has been working hard to win back his wife of 25 years. they spent time together during his 64th birthday in august. they split up last summer after shriver found out he fathered a

child with their former maid and kept it secret. she's feeling conflicted because divorce goes against her catholic belief. if you found $10,000, what would you do with it? >> one colorado man spent two weeks trying to find the rightful owner. this is after he found the cash on his way home from vegas. we have the story. >> of all crazy things, i won in vegas that weekend. >> reporter: nobody expects to become a saint in sin city. >> i felt like i was floating on air. i felt like a million bucks. >> reporter: he came close. >> if it happened to me, i would want it back. >> reporter: he found something at the airport. >> two cesar's palace envelopes. >> reporter: they were unmarked. >> he opened them when he got home. >> $5000 in each envelope.

>> reporter: some may have felt they hit the jackpot. >> i wanted to show my kids the right thing to do. >> reporter: he called the airport. they would not take his name. >> it was against the rules. >> reporter: he kept calling. >> she said this is breaking the rules, but you are trying to do the right thing. >> a man in texas reported losing two envelopes with cash. >> i will always thank him for doing this. >> reporter: he lost the money gambling and dropped it trying to catch a flight. >> very difficult to get it back. >> reporter: he knew the odds of someone returning ten grand was slim. >> i think he was in shock. i don't know if he believed his. >> reporter: even though the real estate business is slow, there was never a question. >> it felt good to get it back to the guy. >> he says he felt like a

million bucks and like he was floating on air after giving the guy his money back. >> i bet the guy felt that way, too. >> there are good people out there. good people. coming up on news 4 at 4:00, a christmas delivery couldn't wait longer. chuck bell will be back to work with the forecast. follow news 4 online, search nbc washington on facebook and twitter.

today marks the first day of kwanzaa. ♪ it's a seven day celebration that started in 1966 and rooted in cultural affirmation. it's the pillars of the african-american community. it includes, family, community and faith. they stress sharing and cooperative information and

dates back to the first fruit harvest. kwanzaa means first fruit. i did not know that. now i do. >> turning now to the weather. we didn't know it would be so nice at christmas time. >> double bonus. everybody's time off has been very, very quiet earth wise. for everybody that had to get on planes or wait for people flying in, not having big storms made holiday travel much easier. hopefully loved ones arrived safely or departed safely. you are headed for a short workweek. the final workweek of 2011. we are sitting pretty for most of the week. the one day that doesn't look all that good is tomorrow with the rainshowers coming in. for now, what a beautiful finish to monday, the day after christmas, boxing day, depending on where you live. first day of kwanzaa, last day

of hanukkah. sun is just about to go down. it sets at 4:52 this afternoon. 49 degrees with the last of the sunshine out there. dew points in the mid-20s. the northwesterly breeze is between 10 and 20 miles per hour. itis a bit of a breeze to deal with. temperatures running five or more degrees above average, cannot complain. 49 in annapolis. 47 in baltimore. gaithersburg, 45. reston town center 45rks degrees. maryland temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50. central virginia made it to the low 50s for a brief time. as you make your plans to enjoy your monday evening, 43 at 7:00. 41 degrees by 9:00 p.m. 39 by 11:00 with a gradual increase in clouds. late evening hours, skies go over to mostly cloudy between midnight and sunrise tomorrow morning. be ready for a cloudy day

tomorrow. no rain in the short, short, short term forecast. there are rain drops in tennessee and georgia. these highlights counties along the ridge tops are for high wind advisories. we'll have a lot of wind to deal with tuesday night and wednesday will be flat out blustery with a return of sunshine and cooler air. here is the heavy rain today. little rock arkansas to memphis, tennessee, jackson, birmingham, seeing lighter showers. lighter near st. louis. it's all coming in our direction. i hope you enjoyed the stretch of beautiful weather. this is not going to last too much longer. clear skies for the early evening hours. clouds racing back in. by the time we get your day started tomorrow morning, rain drops into the d.c. area as early as 9:00 or 10:00. you should expect rain tomorrow and rain could be heavy at times. tomorrow afternoon, once the heavy rain comes to an end,

7:00, 8:00, 9:00, the winds start to kick up, once again. for the overnight hours. clouds increasing. lows generally in the 30s. highs in the 40s tomorrow. near 50, though, across parts of southern maryland. a big range of temperatures. low 50s in southern maryland. low 40s in northern maryland. a breezy, blustery day wednesday. the wind should ease up thursday night. sunny, high 46. new year's eve looks good. new year's day looks good. temperatures running more than five degrees above average. that should be enough to put this december over the top and in first place for the number one warmest december on record. >> wow. >> 1889, we are going to knock you out of place. >> stretch it into march. >> we do need some cold, otherwise the mosquitos that die

off in the wintertime will be extra strong. >> oh, yeah. that is bad. all right, thanks, chuck. still to come on news 4 at 4:00, the royals celebrate christmas while the queen's husband is hospitalized. the baby formula recall after an infant's de

welcome back to news 4 at 4:00. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm aaron in for jim handly. here's what's happening right now. shoppers crowding into malls hoping for the post holiday deals. some stores are offering up to 70% off. other shoppers are looking to cash those gift cards or return the gifts that just weren't right. republican presidential candidates kick their campaigns into high gear for eight days before the iowa caucuses. romney and perry will launch bus tours. gingrich tries to rebound after not collecting enough signatures to appear on the virginia ballot. he lives in virginia. it's been a busy year for the royal family in britain. they are more popular now than other generations thanks to william and kate. there was a medical emergency.

>> the family patriarch, the queen's husband is in the hospital. stephanie gosk has the latest from london. >> reporter: every christmas they come to catch a glimpse of the royal family. this year, the crowd broke a record, 3,000 people. [ applause ] >> reporter: the day was not all festive. the royal entranlg was minus one. the quen's husband, prince phillip is still in the hospital for a clogged artery. he was air lifted to the emergency room friday night after suffering chest pains. the family, including all the grandchildren paid him a visit. prince charles says his father is resilient. >> he's a very fit individual. he's always going to have some medical --

>> reporter: in her christmas address reported days before the duke was rushed to the hospital. the queen emphasized the importance of family, especially during challenging times. >> the importance of family is profound to us this year with the marriage of two of our grandchildren. each, in their own way, a celebration of the god-given love that binds a family together. >> reporter: today is the day of the annual pheasant hunt. normally, prince phillip leads to hunt. he's not going to be able to take part. he had a very good night in the hospital and should be released soon. no release date has been set. a family in maine welcomed a special delivery at 3:00 a.m. on christmas day. they welcomes this baby into the world, in the family car. the mother said they were on the way to the hospital and the baby just wouldn't wait. >> i had just cried out to

jesus, jesus please show me some mercy. i need mercy right now and your help to take the pain away because the contractions were just one after another. i said please ease the contractions and i had her within two contractions. >> wow, the baby's father stayed on the phone with 911 through the delivery. mother and baby doing fine. the makers of a baby formula suspected in a newborn's death say it was safe. the baby was giving enfamil. they tested the specific batch before and after the baby's death. the newest testing shows no sign of the rare bacteria that kill add missouri infant earlier. the fda and cdc are trying to track down the source of that bacteria. if your new year's resolution is to turn your dream into reality, there's a tool to

help you raise your crash. kick start is the largest crowd funding sight on the web. kate snow reports. >> reporter: scott wilson, a chicago designer, had an idea for a wristband to turn an ipod nan know into a watch. it's the tick tok watch. it's a good idea, but not good enough for apple. >> they thought it was expensive. >> reporter: he turned to kick starter, a website where people ask for donations to help fund their projects. here is how it works. creators post a video, pitching an idea and ask for donations. anyone who likes it can give as much money or little as they want. >> it's not conventional. >> reporter: the internet's version of passing the hat. it's crowd funding. every project has a goal and deadline. >> nobody gets charged unless i raise that amount of money by that date.

>> reporter: they get rewards. for his, if you gave $25, you get a tick tok. $58 got you the aluminum version. he raked in almost $1 million. >> nothing more valuable than people from 15 countries putting down their credit card for something that doesn't exist. >> reporter: they invented kick starter over a beer one night. >> it's better for everybody to have another way to get things made. >> you can catch the full report tonight at 10:00 on rock center with brian williams. >> i have donated through kick starter. it seems like a great idea. tough get enough buzz going to get any of the money that's donated. >> sounds like a good deal. there's more to come on news 4 at 4:00, including an app to

help you keep track of all those receipts from your shopping. new details in a tragedy after a

if you are swimming in receipts from all your holiday shopping, the lemon app is the one for you. this is a free app for your iphone, ipod and ipad. create an account. after you create that account, you start to scan your receipts. i'm going to do this for you so you can see how it works.

i have a receipt from something. hold this in front of the camera and watch the edges up so all your receipt goes on to the page then click. okay. there, i captured the receipt. now, i'm finished with that. once you scan your receipts in, decide which category. this is a business expense. confirm you have done that. you can see where we uploaded several business expenses. go back to one here. well -- let's make our list. you can actually create a graph of all yours. we have a parking receipt, costco resee, a gas receipt. then say you want to track your spending by creating a graph. you choose the date you want to track. go back to november 26, in case you did black friday spending.

click in the date then say we stop our receipt collecting december 26, which could be today. then you are done with that. then your graph is created. you can see it there on your screen. i'm not having a lot of luck with this today, but, this is really good if you want to track receipts or if you want to do your tax preparation. there we go. there you have your graph and you can actually see the payee, the date and time of expenses as well as the amount. it's a great app. you can get a report of everything you collected receipts for and send it to your e-mail. what's easier than that? >> a lot of receipts to go through, pat, i know you do. >> i tabulated most of them last night using mikhail cuelator. that was before i found out about this. when we return, some of the most memorable and funny moments

from 2011. we'll take a look back. plus, a

so we got to the point where we had all this warm weather, the sunshine and whatnot for a couple weeks. i's starting to cool off.

even those who like the warmness, there's something about christmas day coolness. >> they like it until new years. >> then we want it to go away. >> the halloween snowstorm was it for snow across the eastern sea board. we have been high and dry and snow flake-free since then. unfortunately or fortunately depending on what you think of snow, not much chance left for the remainder of 2011. right now, it's a pleasant monday afternoon outside. nearly everybody has the day off. hopefully you enjoy it. spend time with your fellow human kind at the malls. current temperatures outside now generally in the mid to upper 40s out there. it's going to be school for the evening plans. skies are clear. temperatures will drop quickly down to the upper 30s and low 40s. not much rain out there in the next couple hours. all the rain across the deep south, it's still mor than 12

hours away, which puts it into the southwestern suburbs in time for the early morning commute hours on tuesday morning. the good night forecast is a dry one. temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. back that into the upper 30s to near 40 by 11:00. overnight lows in the mid-30s around town. low 40s in southern maryland. the future weather, the rain starts to come back in, 8:00, 9:00 in the morning. start off with frozen resip across parts of the shenandoah valley. by tomorrow afternoon, heavy rain blasting through the area. a real slow commute from home tomorrow afternoon. temperatures tomorrow will generally hold in the 40s. windy, windy, windy for wednesday around here. winds 20 to 30 miles per hour. higher along the ridge tops, they could be 40 miles per hour along the ridge tops.

be careful of that. sunshine and quiet thursday and friday. >> if you keep this up, kids won't get snow days. >> teachers will like it. they will get out of school on time. >> they like that, too. >> thanks. at the end of the year, it's good to look back and reflect on the serious and not so serious stories. >> here is a musical look at the wild and whacky ones of 2011. >> good morning. ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ just because. >> just because. you can't explain all of that. you don't need to. >> coming up on news 4, a popular polar bear does something for the first time. a new hotel that is open and guaranteed to give you a chill. we have lots k0coming up tonight on the new year approaching. tips that could save you money on your taxes this year. the couple lucky to be alive as they were run over by a truck as they sunbathe. a warning for facebook users. why pictures of your past could

you remember this guy? it's a 3-month-old polar bear cub that's become an internet sensation getting his first look at the world. this little cub just opened his eyes for the first time. he's being raised by the wildlife park because his mom didn't produce enough milk to feed him. he's more than doubled his birth weight of three pounds to seven. they weren't expecting this house guest on christmas eve.

folks in bountiful, utah found this guy in their house. he found his way to the bedroom. for nearly two hours, the family hid. they peeked through the door and took pictures while they waited for wildlife officials to get there. they didn't have to put the deer down to get it out of the house. we are not sure whether this was one of santa's reindeer. >> he's cute though. >> there's a resemblance. >> there's a hotel in romania offering a chilly reception to its guests. they opened their doors over the weekend. it's made entirely of ice. the temperature inside each room never goes over 36 degrees fahrenheit. they offer lots of cool activities including ice sculpture lessons, skiing, sledding as well. they offer an ice meal served on ice plates. it's the first and only hotel of

its kind in the entire country. we'll see how long it lasts. >> we don't know if it offers heat anywhere. >> good point. probably not. still ahead, details about the deaths of three young

today, there's the largest

reward offer for a miss person in the history of maine. $30,000. the reward is for information that leads to the return of ayla reynolds. her father reported her missing. they are confident she did not leave home on her own. her disappearance was on "america's most wanted" that led to leads. it could be several days before they figure out the cause of a deadly fire. five members of a family were killed including three young sisters. we have the latest. >> reporter: a still smoldering christmas nightmare. just before 5:00 sunday morning, flames shot from the five-bedroom house. within minutes, it was engulfed. screams woke up the neighbors. >> i heard help me. i sprinted out of my drive way. i came up to see if there was anything i could do.

there was nothing. >> my heart is broken for the children. >> reporter: two people made it out. the fire took her three daughters. also killed, her parents. lomar spent christmas eve working at his dream job as santa claus at saks fifth avenue in new york. >> it's never easy. that's for sure. i have been on this job 38 years. not an easy day. >> badger is a prominent new york city fashion and design executive. she was behind the famous calvin klein ads. forbes magazine named her 40 under 40. she bought the house in a swanky stanford neighborhood for $1.7 million in december of last year. she was renovating it. >> it probably has not been a

worst christmas day in the city. >> investigators could reveal the cause of the fire tomorrow at a planned news conference. that is news 4 at 4:00. news 4 at 5:00 starts right now. tonight at 5:00, a huge day after christmas for shoppers. thousands head to the stores returning gifts and taking advantage of post holiday sales. an emotional vigil. hundreds gather to show support for a man detained in cuba for two and a half years. someone in maryland is $125 million richer today where a winning power ball ticket was sold over the christmas weekend. >> hello, i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim vance. jim and wendy are both off tonight. experts say americans will