how did we go from hearing that every christmas to this? we'll look at the not so jolly evolution of the meaning of christmas. plus, find out if the weather will be naughty or nice this holiday weekend. but first tonight, our poetic report on last-minute shoppers. all through the mall, aisle after aisle, they were packed

wall to wall. >> announcer: this is 9news now. it is holiday gift giving kryptonite. i'm talking about that last- minute shopping. but if that uncomfortable shoe fits you, don't worry, you're not alone. ken molestina is live outside the mall where the procrastinators are out by the car load. >> it is always amazing to see just how packed the malls get the days before christmas. but the commotion inside there certainly lends itself to a rather poetic atmosphere. 'twas the night before the night before christmas and all through the mall, the aisles were packed, shoppers wall to wall. >> the excitement of it, the busyness, the crowd, you know. it actually is fun. >> reporter: the sale signs were hung by the store fronts with care with hopes that the shoppers would sample their wares. the children were dressed in their holiday best as they took their picture as santa's

guests. >> i asked santa for a strawberry shortcake doll. a new slippers and reindeer doll. >> reporter: last-minute shoppers, they hurried along hoping for deals. jewelry, a cell phone or maybe a gown, many were happy, their lists finally whittled down. >> getting my kids out of the way. my little sisters, my mother and everybody. >> i'm look for one more thing. >> as merchants tally up sales and the season winds down, everyone's hoping for an economy in rebound. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: certainly a lot of holiday cheer out here, almost as much as the last-minute procrastinating shoppers. the mall just closed right now. it will open again tomorrow, derek at 8:00 a.m. and it will be open until 8:00 p.m. so, there are still some people who haven't done their shopping, there is one last chance to do it. >> we know you're tough. you -- we'll talk to you later.

thank you. well, now the shopping frenzy began in ernest back on november 25th, that was black friday, the day after thanksgiving has come to be known. it kicked off the holiday season and retailers often hang their hats on to make-or-break the whole year. have all of the sales, marketing, everything about it changed what the holiday actually means. we sent our gary nurenberg out tonight to try to figure out more about that. >> this was prompted by a discussion in the newsroom about the people who got pepper sprayed in the crush to buy new "air" jordans. fighting over sneakers? that's what christmas has become? we watched families at a candlelight carol service at the national cathedral friday night. the music, imagestic. and serenely beautiful. families experiencing together something meaningful in their lives. >> it shows there are people

who are still embracing what christmas is all about. who are embracing that meaning that christ came to give. >> thousands didn't get the message and scrambled for new "air" jordan shoes, about $190 a pop, shoes. it happened in a lot of places. >> i believe that's exactly the reason why our lord came that first christmas. that chaos. that chaos of people pushing and shoving and the violence and the greed and god came into the midst of this world to stop the chaos. to give that meaning. to give that peace. >> kris came to restore us to the dignity of who re-- we are as human beings. he restored us so that we would have the benefit of being close to our god, our creator. >> at the cathedral, you could see and feel that, not so much in the scramble for "air"

jordans, not the scramble for but the idea of gifts. >> it is a sign of also remembering that those gifts that were given by the magi to the christ child and so the giving of gifts, while it has become a bit tainted in the secular understanding of things is very much an expression of the love and charity that christ himself came to bring. >> reporter: in a world where we fight over overpriced shoes, the idea of peace and understanding, of charity and love is for christians embodied in the christ child, a remarkable reason to celebrate the birth. and for those who are not christians, the idea of peace and understanding and charity and love can help make life a little easier regardless of what kind of fancy shoes you have. regardless of your beliefs, happy holidays and derek, merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas to you, gary. i appreciate that one. well, there is a light display outside one house down in georgia and it is certainly turning some heads this holiday season. liz hickok is using the lights

on her home to try to help her land a job. she lit up the entire side of her house with her resume, including her contact info on the site linkedin. >> the lights were an attempt to show my fun and creative decide problem solving. i've had people stop when i'm out and telling me about positions that they know of their company or some other company. i've had a lot of linkedin messages and a lot of linkedin views. >> hickok says she's heard from people as far away as italy. she's hoping to find the perfect job there in the atlanta area. president obama signed on the dotted line today ensuring that 160 million americans do not get the gift of a tax hike come january 1st. danielle nottingham with more on that story. >> president obama signed the payroll tax cut extension after both houses passed the bill friday morning. >> want to thank all of the members of congress for ending the stalemate and making this

happen. >> reporter: the measure spares about 160 million american workers a tax hike come january 1st. it also extends unemployment benefits through the end of february. >> the deal comes after house republicans vowed to political pressure from both parties. >> it seems everything we've done this last year has been a knockdown, dragout fight there. is no reason to do that. >> the average american worker gets to keep about $20 a week in their paycheck. and about two million unemployed workers will continue to get benefits. all sides say they want to reach a year-longs deal on the issue when they return to washington in january. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. >> but that last-minute agreement did not keep the congression from getting lumps of coal in its collective stocking today. 535 pieces of it to be exact. it was sent by the greater washington board of trade. president and ceo says the coal was sent on behalf the region's

business community to express "our dismay with the way congress has affected our operations throughout the year." plenty of baked goods being left for santa this weekend. the transportation security administration does not really appear to be much in the holiday spirit. tonight, a massachusetts woman says a tsa agent in las vegas confiscated a frosted cupcake from her because he thought the icing might be some kind of bomb. rebecca haynes said the agent told her the frosting was gel- like and constituted a security risk. a spokesman for the sfo says there is no regulation against taking cakes and cupcakes through the checkpoints and they're reviewing the situation. all right, anny, you give us a look at our weather situation if you can. >> all right. hey, sweet forecast if you're liking sunshine. talking about a sunny start for your saturday. here's a look at your wakeup weather. cold start in the 30s. but by 10:00, 35 to 40 degrees. i've got the full forecast.

christmas included. >> meantime, still ahead, just hours after his family made the difficult decision to take him off life support, a college student miraculously wakes up! but first, seven republican presidential candidates are still in the race but how many will be on the ballot for a local primary? find out why the answer may be a lot fewer than you think. that's coming your way up next.

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who knows what the republican field for president will look like come march 6th but tonight we know one thing, rick perry will not be on the ballot for that day's virginia primary. the texas governor didn't get enough signatures to have his name listed and neither did michele bachmann, john hudson or rick santorum. romney and paul have the required 10,000 signatures of virginia registered voters. the state board of elections says it is still verifying the names gathered by newt gingrich's campaign. new at 11:00, a panel of federal judges says maryland's congressional redistricting map does not discriminate against black voters. the three judges dismissed the

lawsuit today. the nine plaintiffs didn't satisfy the burden of proof to make their case. new information tonight about that arlington woman who's been fighting to keep a mural outside her business. we first introduced to the problem painting outside kim houghton's doggy day care back in january when the county told her it was really just an illegal sign and had to come down. but howton says it is a work of art and not an ad. she says the fourth u.s. circuit court of appeals has agreed to hear her case next year. here's something to consider this busy travel season. in the last fiscal year, rail passengers took 217 million trips on metro trains. in that same period of time, metrobuses took 125 million trips. but just how safe is all of that public transportation? only on 9 tonight, andrea mccarren with a look at that question. >> metro delivered a sea of documents to us. including data on all of the alleged assaults on metro

trains and buses as well as incidents in metro parking lots and at metrobus stops. here are the numbers. last year, there were 485 assaults on metro trains. that includes 75 aggravated assaults involving guns, knives or other dangerous weapons. used with the intent to rob, kill or rape. 179 assaults were reported on metrobuses last year, including 41 involving a deadly weapon. 34 assaults happened in metro parking lots. and metrobus stops weren't immune to violence. 18 assaults took place there in 2010. so far this year, between january 1st and july 19th, 300 assaults have been reported on metro trains. another 80 on metrobuses. to put all of this in context, a metro spokesman says the current crime rate on metrorail is just over five in one million riders.

the current crime rate on metrobus, less than one in a million. both numbers, he says are down from last year. andrea mccarren, 9news now. >> we thought it might be helpful for you if we put all of the records we obtained online so you can see where the crime is actually happening. you can go to wusa9.com to find them. buckingham palace says prince phillip needed to get a stent after suffering chest pains. queen elizabeth's 90-year-old husband was taken to the hospital earlier in the day as a precaution. the palace isn't saying whether or not he, in fact, had a heart attack. doctors in arizona say they cannot explain what's going on with one of their patients. the university of arizona student is recovering now after waking up from a coma. bigad shaban picks up the story from there. >> this is the reason for the christmas story. >> reporter: doctors foipt 21- year-old sam schmidt as a medical phenomena. >> i've been called a miracle a few times. it makes me feel better. >> an october car crash in

tucson left him with what was thought to be a deadly brain injury. he was just hours from being taken off life support when he somehow started to come to. one week into his deep coma. >> for him to be walking in here just a couple of months later from such a deep coma where we really gave him very, very minimal chance for survival, that's a great christmas story. >> reporter: just hours before with no hint of a recovery in sight, schmidt's family began speaking with doctors about donating his organs. one last mri scan left the brain surgeon wanting to keep him on life support longer. schmidt's mother remembers the exact moment. >> let's keep him alive for another week. he said we made the right decision. i never looked back. >> reporter: with a little help, schmidt is now walking again. >> the odds of him making it were very slim. there was no question about

that. but in medicine, we see things that obviously exception of the rule. fortunately, he was one. >> reporter: doctors say the hardest part of the recovery may be what's to come. adding that it could take at least a year of rehabilitation before ever knowing the extent of his healing. for now, the family is happy just spending christmas together. bigad shaban, cbs news. what a story. two families came together this holiday somebody to give each -- to give each other the gift of life. four people took part in a kidney swap, donating organs to a stranger to save the life of one of their loved ones. connecticut investment banker and new york detective tilson were both in need of new kidneys. the wife and sister were willing to donate but neither was a good match for their loved ones so two weeks ago at new york presbyterian hospital, tracy give her kidney to vint and teresa donated to michael in return. >> as long as he comes out with

a kidney, die really care. you think about it, you help somebody else get off of dialysis. that was it for me. that's what sealed the deal. >> i'm so glad to have been able to do it and get back on track. and have an awesome 2012. we deserve it. >> we're glad, too. all four of them are still a little sore from the surgery but they're feeling good and looking forward to the holidays and michael and vincent joked they're just fine living with a woman's kidney. >> hey, you gave me chocolate so i would give you a kidney if you needed it. >> i'm giving everybody chocolate! >> hopefully you won't ever need it. >> hopefully not. >> we're talking about the eve of christmas eve, right? it is cold out there. already in the 40s. we'll get down into the 30s overnight. by early tomorrow morning. chillier day tomorrow. temperatures today much cooler than yesterday's high in the 60s. we'll notice a change in temperatures but still lots of

sunshine. here is a look at the national forecast. the good news, a lot of the holiday travelers this weekend. no major weather problems, parts of new mexico saw some snow showers, some of the higher elevations, you see zoomed in here still picking up several inches of snow through tomorrow. texas getting rain as well from that. they need the rain. in the mid-atlantic, we have high pressure in control giving us all of that sunshine. the dry weather through the holiday weekend. and temperatures will cool down a little bit but then we'll also go back up in temperatures by the time we're finished through the christmas holiday. you can see right now, it is pretty quiet out there. a couple of clouds in the sky. now, temperatures in downtown still 45 degrees but you get out the suburbs, manassas, 37. leesburg, 43. winchester is 39. pax river in the lower 40s. we should be getting down into the mid-30s around downtown. in the suburbs, low 30s around freezing. cold start to your saturday. cold and dry overnight. then for your saturday, redskins game, it will be

chilly. christmas day, dry and a little milder. monday, sunny and dry. all right, here is a look at your forecast overnight. as you're sleeping. partly cloudy and cold. may need a couple of blankets to keep you warm. the winds will be light. tomorrow morning as you're getting up, ready to do more christmas shopping, maybe. partly cloudy and cold. temperatures will be in the 30s. i don't think tomorrow will be as breezy compared to today. afternoon, lots of sunshine. it will look pretty. just may not feel pretty. chilly conditions. highs will be around 45 degrees. here is your zone forecast. we start out to the knot and west of us, cumberland, 40. lots of sunshine. winchester, 44. culpepper, around 47 degrees. now, the average high for this time of year around d.c. is mid- 40s. we'll be right around that mark right there. 46 in downtown. annapolis, 47. pax river, 46. here is a look at your saturday day planner, cold start. lots of sunshine. still chilly, mid-40s.

redskins are playing tomorrow at fedex field, playing the vikings. temperatures near 45. mostly sunny and cold. hope you're in the sun. here is a look at the seven-day forecast. chilly tomorrow. christmas day, dry. a little warmer in the 50s. monday, upper 40s and then watching a little system to the south of us that may bring us some showers tuesday. right now, about 30% or so. partly sunny conditions. after that, high pressure is in control. we'll be in the 40s and 50s for the end of next week. no white christmas for us this weekend. >> that's ok. i'm good with that. >> all right. >> we were all huddling around watching the caps and getting excited. >> it was an exciting game but then the ending wasn't so exciting. the capitals look to make it two in a row tonight. what team would show up? good? bad? maybe a little bit of both. plus, we get a preview of tomorrow's home finale coming up in sports. this is an rc robotic claw.

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isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ all right. if the capitals proved anything in tonight's game, it is that this team is full of fighters. i'm not talking about the ones throwing punches on the ice. when it looks as though this

team is out of it tonight, they once again came roaring back in the third period. caps in new jersey taking on the devils. we pick this up in the second. new jersey here with the slap shot. adam right on the doorstep, deflected home 3-0 devils. in the third, caps with the comeback less than 2:00 to go, jason chimera slams the puck home. game tied at 3. patrick with the game winner. devils win 4-3 in the shoot- out. >> to the hardwood, turgeon and the terps hosting radford. first game back, howard burying the three. seven points for him tonight. it would be close late on. terps survive and squeak by. 65-60. west virginia taking on seventh-rank and undefeated baylor. this went to overtime. game tied at 76.

hit the monster three to put the bears ahead. baylor barely wins in overtime. the redskins haven't fared well this season against losing teams. remember, back-to-back losses to philly and carolina following that up a couple of weeks later with a loss in miami. all of those were one win teams at the redskins couldn't find a way to beat. but on the same note, we've seen them play lights out against good teams, the patriots, the giants, the cowboys. what's going to happen tomorrow when they host the 2-10 vikings? >> that's a hard question to answer. you're always hoping you're ready to play and you practice accordingly. i think our football team, played at a very high level. to get back on track and finish the season on the right note. >> redskins runningback is questionable for tomorrow's game. recovering from toe and knee injuries. it held him back from notching his fourth straight game. offensive tackle jamal brown also listed as questionable.

before the game, the redskins will induct richie petty bon into the ring of honor. the former safety appeared in all five of the redskins super bowls. he was also defensive coordinator under joe gibbs and head coach for the '93 season. christmas eve, jam-packed with football. you can watch baltimore take on the cleveland browns tomorrow at 1:00 right here on wusa. of course, we'll have full redskins coverage at 6:00 and 11:00. so, we'll see if they can pull off the win against the two-win team. >> maybe hold off on the christmas shopping or else get out very early and get back in time to watch some football. >> it might be a good game. should be a good game. >> we'll be back in a couple of minutes.

all right, we got a quick look at the seven-day forecast. bring on the pulsating death star. >> there it is on sunday. chilly tomorrow for the redskins game but lots of sunshine, mid-40s. christmas day or as derek likes to say the pulsating death star, ornament with christmas lights, what are you talking about? it is a cute little ornament! >> the force is strong with this one. that's 9news for tonight. thanks for staying up. we're always on at wusa9.com. have a great holiday weekend. we'll see you. get the technology they love, on the network they deserve.

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