hello, i'm j.c. hayward. thanks for being with us. fire investigators are trying to figure out what started a fire that killed five people on christmas day in stanford, connecticut. the mother of three young girls screamed for help because the

girls were trapped inside. manuel gallegus has more. >> reporter: flowers lay outside a connecticut home where three children and their grandparents died in a christmas morning fire. flames gutted the victorian style home that sits along the long island sound. the fire started just before 5:00 sunday morning and quickly spread. >> first units on the scene attempted rescues within the structure that were pushed back by intense flame and heat. >> a well-known advertising executive owns the house and escaped along with a male contractor who was helping renovate the million dollar home. but madonna badger's three daughters, a 10-year-old and twin 7-year-olds and her parents couldn't get out. >> there probably has not been a worse christmas day in the city of stanford. >> badger's father died in the fire after working as santa claus at saks fifth avenue in new york city. the home is so badly damaged, it could be days before

investigators can gather enough evidence to figure out what sparked the deadly fire. manuel gallegus, cbs news. madonna badger owned her own advertising firm in new york city and she purchased that connecticut home last year. at least 39 people are dead after several terrorist attacks in nigeria on christmas day. the explosion targeted worshippers who had just celebrated christmas mass. a radical muslim sect claimed responsibility for a serious of coordinated attacks in the country. terrorist bombs three churches and the government security building. but this attack near the nation's capital was the deadliest. almost three dozen people were killed and more than 50 others injured. you can see so many families gone. households, the household gone. >> authorities caught at least

one man who they say was armed with a bomb that never went off. attacks by the militants group have grown increasingly sophisticated in the past couple of years. there has been another fatal car bombing in baghdad. at least seven people died when a suicide bomber struck a security check point near the interior ministry. the attack follows a series of bombings last week that killed dozens of people. with u.s. troops now out of iraq, there is concern that a new wave of sectarian violence will disrupt the fragile government. the toddler at the center of an amber alert in virginia is safe. but the search continues for a suspected killer. authorities issued the alert for 2-year-old kaden burnside on saturday. it turned out the boy was with a couple killed in richmond. 60-year-old edward bowmer jr. and 56-year-old sheryl clapp. the gunman fled in the couple's

suv, apparently unaware that kaden was in the backseat. he was later found unharmed in the abandoned vehicle. police have identified 27-year- old jamal clemens as the suspect in the murders and kaden's kidnapping. he remains at large. santa has come and gone but that does not mean that we're done with yet. maybe your gift was the wrong size or maybe it wasn't right for you. well, the national retail federation expects shoppers to return $46.3 billion in holiday merchandise this year and that is a record high. our jessica doyle tells us that they are continuing to shop as people head back to the store. >> reporter: today is expected to be the busiest day of the year for returns and exchanges and in upper northwest, the shoppers returned to shop again. the day after christmas. >> i have a 2-year-old. so, i was in the car feeding her bananas and oatmeal. >> reporter: a little bit of

sacrificing. >> but it is worth it. i didn't get christmas presents. i shop after christmas. >> reporter: in stores, the discounts are steep. >> 60% to 70%. >> wow. >> there are still nice items, just not the leftover junk. very nice things. >> reporter: the shoppers could come out a winner. >> good brands and good prices. >> 60% o i got some prada shoes. >> if they have what you're looking for. >> went to lord & taylor to find some cashmere but they didn't have my size. >> more and more stores are doing something somewhat unique. door busters, the day after christmas. for example, at loman's, you can take an extra $20 off from 8:00 a.m. until noon. today could also turn out to be the third biggest shopping day of the year with an estimated 7 in ten buying a new item while they're in the store to make a return. that could make for many happy returns for the stores. >> happy holidays. >> reporter: jessica doyle, 9news now.

the malls are expected to be full today. shopper track predicts the crowds will be 60% larger than last year. the widow of a virginia tech police officer who was killed on campus says that she is amazed by the outpouring of support that she's received since the murder of her husband. officer deriek crouse was shot and killed during a traffic stop on december 8th. police do not know why ross ashley killed officer crouse and then committed suicide. in the days that followed, his widow, tina crouse, has received gifts, letters and more than $150,000 from a charity that was set up by two virginia tech students. she tells "the roanoke times" "in all of the ugliness that has happened, i have never felt more beauty in my life." she plans to return to cosmetology school next month. let's take a look ahead at

campaign 2012 and the race for the republican presidential nomination. the iowa caucuses are a week away. the new hampshire primary is the week after that. and former massachusetts governor mitt romney has a commanding lead in the polls. a "boston globe" unh survey found that 39% of likely voters in new hampshire support romney. 17% are supporting newt gingrich. 17% favor ron paul. john huntsman is the only other candidate in the double-double digits at 11%. however, the same poll says that 46% of voters are undecided. newt gingrich says he is exploring options to get on to the primary bal lot in virginia. the former house speaker failed to submit enough signatures last week in order to qualify. gingrich thought that he had sent in the needed 10,000 signatures but the party says that he didn't.

texas governor rick perry also failed to make the ballot. virginia will hold its primary on super tuesday, march 6th. still to come when 9news now continues, all a little girl wanted for christmas was to see her dad! we have a touching story we want to show you when we come back. and find out why legendary singer etta james is back in the hospital.

singer etta james is back in the hospital. her long-time manager says that the blues singer is terminally ill. she was taken to a hospital in southern california after having trouble breathing. the manager says that james is in pretty bad shape and it is unclear if she will make it out of the hospital. etta james is suffering from leukemia and dementia. a maryland family may not feel much like having a big dinner today but they certainly

are rejoicing. maryland love got out of the hospital over the weekend after giving her daughter, sasha, a kidney. sasha was placed on a waiting list of about 100,000 people around the country. also in need of a transplant. but shortly after she began dialysis treatments, doctors discovered that her mother was a match and we're told that sasha is going to be out of the hospital soon. wish her well. coming up, olga has the forecast. >> that's right. the sunshine is sure to put a smile on your face but this breeze and all of this wind, it will make your teeth chatter for the remainder of the afternoon. i'll let you know how warm we're going to get and when we'll get the rain moving into the forecast. a look ahead to the holiday weekend. all of that when 9news now continues.

help has arrived for the crew aboard a russian boat that is sinking in the atlantic. the russian ship has been trapped for more than a week because of a foot-long hole in its side. a south korean icebreaker rescued the 32 people on board and right now, crews are unloading fuel from the damaged ship in order to keep it buoyant enough to make repairs. an american teenager is on top of the world! for the seventh time! this weekend, 15-year-old jordan romero became the youngest climber to reach the highest mountain on each of the

seven continents. the teenager reached the summit of the highest mountain in act arct ca which has an elevation of 16,067 feet. last year, romero climbed mt. everest, an accomplishment he says sent a message. >> the message is that if you set your mind. he set the record after georgeer who set the record last year. we want to prove the best gifts don't always have a price tag. steve hartman has a lesson in the holiday spirit.

>> reporter: when santa showed up at tar river elementary near raleigh, north carolina, he not only brought gifts, he brought every second grader the exact toy they had asked for in their letters. >> did everybody get what they wanted? >> uh, yeah, obviously! >> thank you. every kid, that is, but bethany arnold. who refused to ask him for a single toy. >> dear santa, my daddy is in iraq. could you bring him home for christmas. >> that would be the best gift of all. >> did you know that you were asking for something that was kind of tough? >> yes. but well, it is tough to go around the world in one night. >> that's true. >> and i never wanted anything more than that. >> bethany's dad, wendall arnold is a contractor in iraq. he's been working on the

country's much-needed electrical infrastructure. >> i understand that he has to stay and help people. >> reporter: she's only seen him two weeks in the last two years. >> but i do miss him a lot. >> reporter: last time they saw each other, while he was on leave in germany, they exchanged these key chains. >> this is his heart. >> she carries his while he holds on to hers. >> i told her, the next time that i see you, i'll give your heart back. >> reporter: unfortunately, bringing two hearts together at christmas isn't always a government priority. which is why this year, bethany decided to appeal to a higher authority. santa. >> she even asked him again at school. >> santa, for christmas, i want my dad to come home. >> reporter: and that's when her wish began coming true. that's when she got her heart back. and that's when this santa revealed to all of us the true meaning of christmas.

>> daddy! >> reporter: there's not a toy in the workshop that ever got this kind of reaction. >> you sure you don't want something else? >> i'm just so happy that you're home. >> not a bow big enough to wrap the joy! steve hartman, on the road near raleigh, north carolina. >> the best gift ever. >> that's so precious. oh, my goodness. i wasn't ready for that. i wasn't ready for that. i knew something was going to happen but i didn't know that santa was daddy. oh, that's a wonderful story. that made my day. how are you doing? you make my day. great weather. >> great sunshine. i'll take credit for that hat. >> wind and all of this wind chill we're having, well, i don't want to take too much credit for that. >> ok. >> we got a little bit of breeze working today. we've had some temperatures moving around about the middle range, even pushing the upper

40s right now. with the wind chill, it is still feeling like 30 degrees or in the 30s out there. that's where we're going to stay. our day planner though will continue with some sunshine. we've had the passing clouds from time to time. not a bad-looking day. even at the 1:00 hour, we'll still be around 48, 49 degrees where we'll top out. by later on this afternoon, we'll definitely see the opportunity for some more of those wind gusts already clocking some of them as high as 30-mile-per-hour gusts through portions of the afternoon and then slowly that will die down. it does mean if you have the evening plans with the mainly clear skies into the afternoon, we'll definitely see our temperatures begin to drop after sunset so keep that in mind if you're headed out on the town, if tonight is a night off for you. by the 7:00 hour, the lower 40s. we'll be in for a cool night tonight. mainly clear skies until about midnight. then we're going to start to bring in clouds.

so, today, breezy and chilly, the things you need to know. plenty of sunshine into the afternoon. we'll have the gusty winds until late afternoon and they should die down later on this evening and then introduce some milder temperatures for tomorrow although our skies will be cloudy and will be a little bit wet on tuesday. here's how we look on satellite and radar. it has been a great morning indeed. mainly clear skies. some of the high, thin clouds starting to move in across northern portions of maryland and southern pennsylvania. but not really making it into the metro region. sitting at 49 degrees now for reagan national. when you pop in the feels like temperature, it is much cooler. mainly in and around the beltway though, we're in the 40s. maybe some 50s, springfield has topped out at 50 degrees for right now. here's how we look with the winds. 20-mile-per-hour winds at this hour out of the northwest for reagan national airport. that means that the temperatures are feeling more like those 30s. future cast is going to keep us in the clear for the short term. overnight tonight, we'll start to see a transition, mainly

after midnight. clouds start to move in from the east. even by 7:00 tomorrow morning, i think the commute will be on the dry side. the moisture will be off to the west in some of our counties. by the time we get in toward midmorning and late afternoon, all of this rain comes pushing on through. heavy at times, even through tomorrow's rush hour, could be a little bit messy in portions of the area. at least the snowy precipitation is staying off to the west. here's how we're looking for the short term. highs today in the 40s. tonight we get back down into the 30s so yes, it is going to be very chilly. when you wake up and head off to work tomorrow morning but basically, that seven-day forecast is looking to be a fairly nice one. the showers on tuesday will end quickly. by wednesday, we're in the 40s. by thursday and friday, we have some seasonable temperatures. we'll bring back some more sunshine and definitely seek the opportunity for a pretty nice holiday weekend. we'll have more when 9news now continues.

we have two senior managers from memphis barbecue in crystal city, virginia to my right is alan weir, senior manager. to my left is redrick rayborne. you tell me what you're going to do. >> yes, ma'am, we're going to do a pulled pork egg rolls. best of both worlds. you have a fresh pulled pork we smoke for up to 18 hours in a smoker. we take that, fresh cole slaw, put it here in the roll. >> ok. >> our version of like an egg roll. we put a spin on it with barbecue. we want to take that and roll it. >> ok. >> put a nice little roll on it. >> uh-huh. >> all right. >> something real simple. >> you put it in a deep friar? >> yes, max. >> what are you doing?

>> through the magic of television, we've taken the egg roll, put it in the fryer and that's the finished product right there. >> that looks good. >> absolutely. that time of season after christmas, and what not after the holidays, you can do this for super bowl, company coming over. great little asian twist. >> now, this is how i think -- is that a pulled pork sandwich right there? >> yes. >> that's how i usually have pulled pork on a hamburger bun with cole slaw. i like that. >> you do it the old-fashioned way. and you're from the memphis supposed to have the best barbecue? >> need, need. >> all right. that looks good. what else do we have here? some nice ribs? >> we have our version of the baby back rib as well. that we serve at the restaurant. and the most popular is the st. louis spareribs, tender, fall off the bone ribs. >> wait a minute. what's the difference between the two now? >> obviously size is a difference and there again, this is the st. louis spin on it. this is the baby back ribs.

>> i see it. i kind of like -- spare ribs are the longer, larger ribs. >> have an appetizer. >> it runs down your wrist. i like that, fall off the bone. and then the baked beans, of course. are they good? >> best baked beans you ever had in your life? >> we put everything, brown sugar, maleses, it is a -- molasses, it is a secret. >> did you give me a recipe to put on my web site, jchayward.com. >> absolutely. >> which recipe? >> what we're going to do, ma'am, include the pulled pork egg roll. we have the cole slaw, our version will be on there as well. and the barbecue burr blanc sauce that you serve typically with the egg roll. >> what is it made of? >> white wine. a little shallots in it. >> really? >> the finished product is going to be the add on memphis style barbecue sauce.

>> i'm hungry! i'm ready to eat. all right. when you go out to the memphis barbecue in crystal city, ask for alan and red rick, both are managers. they will take care of you! i promise you. thanks for coming in, fellas. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for being with us. come back and visit us at 5:00.