. >> every year steve hartman joins a secret santa on his appointed rounds. tonight steves shows us how it all began. >> merry christmas. >> it's the one story that never gets old. every year we ride with secret santa as he and his eaves hand out hundreds of hundreds of strangers across the country. >> oh my god, this is crazy. >> you've no doubt seen the happy endings. but almost no one knows the humble beginnings. the legend of secret santa can actually be traced back to a single act of kindness in houston, mississippi. it was 1971, a homeless man had wandered into town and he was starving. the stranger stopped here at the dixie diner and ordered the biggest breakfast on the menu. his plan was to sneak out before the bill came. but the owner, a guy named ted horne said what was about to happen. he snuck up behind the guy with a $20 bill in his hand and said i think you may have dropped this. and tha>> that was the end of i. >> david and sandra horn are ted's children. he died in 2009 but that one gift keeps giving. >> that one little $20 just look what it di

steve hartman on the road in scanlkansas city, kansas. >> all right, we'll be right back. that began in 1907 when a ten year old girl left a note for santa in the chimney of her family's apartment in new york city. a man found that letter about 17 years ago when he was renovating his fireplace. ever since he's want to know more about the girl, who wrote it. dana jacobson picked up the story. >> as i'm bringing the president barack obam -- thebrieksz bricks out and i find a note and i open it up and it's from mary. >> you say mary as if you know her but at the time. >> it's funny. she made her own envelope. >> peter mattaliano did not know mary m mcgann. >> my little brother would like you to bring a wagon which i know yan line of mary's note. >> she doesn't ask for anything for herself and then says please do not forget the poor. i mean the spirit of christmas. that generosity. and maturity. she's ten. >> so we set out to find mary. the census records we dug up only told part of the story. these when the "new york times" got involved. >> they found where she was buried in

steve hartman is on the case.: last week, the rtnsas city, kansas, police department was on the take. >> i'm going to give each of you te,000. >> reporter: each officer in this room got at least a grand, courtesy of the anonymous wealthy businessman i know only as "secret santa." n. this is the day for you to just have fun. we ready to roll? ni reporter: their assignment was to go out into the community ldd find people who looked like they could use an extra $100 this holiday season. people like gwendolyn jones. >> and i told my family already that we're not going to be able to do christmas this year because i just don't have the epney to do it. >> reporter: didn't have the money to do it, until now. and that's how it went. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: benjamin after benjamin. au this is for real! >> reporter: armed assault after wonderful armed assault. most of the people they just happened upon, but some, they sought out. taficer james tourney knew of a homeless woman staying at this motel with her two young chil

and steve hartman, a chance encounter with a cop changes a young man's life forever. >> and i noticed that it was a police car, and i was like, oh, okay i'm not going to move. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: today, donald trump served notice to china with a phone call that beijing is likely to see as a grave offense. mr. trump spoke with the president of taiwan, the island nation that rebelled against the communist mainland after world war ii. reunionification is not just beijing policy. it is an and mr. trump's phone call may be seen as support for taiwan independence, a raw nerve for china's leadership. here's chief white house correspondent major garrett. >> reporter: now u.s. president-elect has spoken with the twi juanese head of state since diplomatic ties were severed in 1979. congratulated president-elect trump on his victory. china considers taiwan part of its territory, and since 1972, the u.s. government has recognized this so-called one-china policy. bonnie glazer is an expert on u.s.-china relations. >> so the notio

steve hartman's annual sleigh ridelong with secret santa.onight steve shows us how this santa got off the ground. >> merry christmas to you, sweetie. >> reporter: it's the one story that never gets old. every year we ride with secret santa as he and his elves hand out hundreds of hundreds to random strangers across the country. >> oh, my god, this is crazy! >> reporter: you've no doubt seen the happy endings. but almost no one knows the humble beginning. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: the legend of secret santa can actually be traced back to a single act of kindness in houston, mississippi. it was 1971. a homeless man had wandered into town, and he was starving. the stranger stopped here at the dixie diner and ordered the biggest breakfast on the menu. his plan was to sneak out before the bill came. but the owner, a guy named ted horn, sensed what was about to happen. so he snuck up behind the guy with a $20 in his hand and said, "i think you may have dropped this." >> and that was the end of it as far as he was concerned. >> reporter: d

steve hartman, on the road. that's thele lerer for the morning news and cbs this morning. >>> it's 5th, 2016 this is the "cbs morning news." >> i don't know how many people are in there. we have no idea. >> the search for victims continue in oakland. more than 30 people were killed in a massi who made it out aalive assesshe >> oh, my god. i lost everything, too. oh, my god. all of these people died in osu. protesters in north dakota get against a proposed pipeline. a e

. >> morgan: coming up next, steve hartman lets us in on secret of secret santa. ecret of secret santa. >> morgan: every year, steve vertman joins a secret santa on ss appointed rounds. tonight, steve shows us how it all began. >> merry christmas to you, sweetie. >> reporter: it's the one story that never gets old. every year we ride with secret santa as he and his elves hand out hundreds of hundreds to random strangers across the country. >> oh, my god, this is crazy. y reporter: you've no doubt seen the happy endings, but olmost no one knows the humble beginnings. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: the legend of secret santa can actually be traced back to a single act of andness in houston, mississippi. it was 1971, a homeless man had wandered into town, and he was starving. the stranger stopped here at the dixie diner and ordered the biggest breakfast on the menu. his plan was to sneak out before lle bill came, but the owner, a guy named ted horn, sensed what was about to happen, so he snuck up behind the guy with a $20 in his hand and said, "i think you may hav

. >>> and steve hartman reminds us of the true meaning of the christmas when he goes on the road, just ahead on the "cbs evening news". >>> but first forget elf on the shelf this is elf on a school. up next, where he was helping santa this delaware county by checking on the children right before christmas. be right you're so cold, come in! what's wrong? it's dry... your scalp? mine gets dry in the winter too. try head and shoulders' dry scalp care it nourishes the scalp and... ...keeps you up to 100% flake free head and shoulders' dry scalp care dave this fios party is da bomb! fo shizzle! it's tv totally ahead of its time. yo, let me check that. oh snap. that x1 voice remote is crunk! and it lets me search with the sound of my voice. what should i watch? things have come a long way since you got fios. [nervously laughs] what's fios? fios has fallen behind. don't fall with it. xfinity x1 will change the way you experience tv. you may have seen the toy elf on the shelf but probably have never seen elf on a school. well, bang. now you have. now you have. elf perched himself at aston elem

and steve hartman tells us how a little angel changed the life of a cranky old man. >> she fell asleep by cbs

and steve hartman, a chance encounter with a cop changes a young man's life forever. >> and i noticed that it was a police car, and i was like, oh, okay i'm not going to move. i don't want him to think i have any

. >>> up next, "cbs evening news", tonight steve hartman is on the road with secret santa and he bringsme much needed, cheer. from new york, here now is scott pelley take care family we will see you tonight. captioning sponsored by cbs >> pelley: pointing to putin. >> not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. >> pelley: the president has no doubt putin was behind the hacking of the democratic party and tells him-- >> cut it out. >> pelley: also tonight, arctic weather makes highways treacherous, and try fighting a fire with ice. gas prices going up. >> they might go up how much? >> some communities across the great lakes have already seen gas prices go up 40 to 50 cents a gallon. >> are we ready to roll. >> pelley: and steve hartman with a dragnet of homes in need of holiday cheer. >> hi, krystal. here's $1,000. this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

. >>> coming up next -- steve hartman is on the case with the secret santa and his helpers in blue. i really did save hundreds on my car insurance with geico. i should take a closer look at geico... geico has a long history of great savings and great service. over seventy-five years. wait. seventy-five years? that is great. speaking of great, check out these hot riffs. you like smash mouth? uh, yeah i have an early day tomorrow so... wait. almost there. goodnight, bruce. gotta tune the "a." (humming) take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more. that cough doesn't sound so good. well i think you sound great. move over. easy booger man. take mucinex dm. it'll take care of your cough. fine! i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! ah! david, please, listen. still not coughing. not fair you guys! waffles are my favorite! ah! some cough medicines only last 4 hours. but just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. >>> a secret santa elicited a team of police

steve hartman caught up with a little girl who most definitely did. >> reporter: whenever i think ofm outside raleigh, north carolina. it was 2011, the guy in the santa suit had given every one of the kids the exact toy they asked for in their letters. every kid that is, but bethenny 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. >> reporter: did you know you were asking for something that does kind of tough? >> yes. but it's tough to go around the world in one night. >> that's true. >> i never wanted anything more than that. >> reporter: bethenny's dad, wendall arnold was a contractor in iraq, repairing the country's electrical infrastructure. ee understand he has to stay and help people. i miss him a lot. >> reporter: last time they saw each other they exchanged the key chains. >> this is his hard. >>> the next time i see you i will give your heart back. >> unfortunately bringing two hearts together at christmas isn't always a government priority. which is why this year, bet

. >>> coming up next -- steve hartman is on the case with the secret santa and his helpers in blue.erywherets sugar shield and crest complete has a sugar shield to protect teeth from sugar found in everyday foods. crest complete. shield your teeth from sugar. so sugar may visit, but it's not sticking around. >>> a secret santa elicited a team of police officers to help protect the spirit of the holiday. steve hartman is on the case. >> reporter: last week the kansas city kansas police department was on the take. >> i want to give each of you $1,000. >> reporter: each officer in this room got at least a grand. courtesy of the anonymous wealthy businessman i know only as secret santa. >> this is the day for you to are we ready to roll? >> reporter: their assignment to go into the community and find people who look like they could use an extra $100 this holiday season. people like this woman. >> i told my family already we will not be able to do christmas this year. i just don't have the money to do it. >> reporter: didn't have the money to do it until now. and that's how it went. benj

here's steve hartman. >> reporter: this week the kansas city police department was on the take.ch officer in this room got at least $1,000. courtesy of the anonymous wealthy businessman i know only as secret santa. >> this is the day for you to just have fun. >> we ready to roll? all right. >> their assignment was to go into the community stand find people who could look like they could use an extra hundred this season. people like gwendolyn jones. >> told my family we are not going to do christmas this year. i don't have the money to diet. >> reporter: didn't have the money to do it. until now. and that's how it went. benjamin after benjamin. armed assault after wonderful armed assault. most of the people they just happened upon. but some they sought out. officer james turny knew of a homeless woman, staying at the hotel with her two young children. >> hi, crystal. >> in fact, turny is paying for their room out of his own pocket. >> here is $1,000. yeah. he gave her everything. >> you make me a better person. >> thank you. >> there are men and women, that wear the badge, and th

steve hartman has the tale of some unlikely partners. and more. first, the headlines for this sunday morning, the 4th of december, 2016. nine people are confirmed dead, at least two dozen are missing after a massive fire in oakland, warehouse that was being used for a dance party on friday night. carter evans will have the latest from oakland just ahead. a final tribute to fidel castro in santiago, cuba. tens of thousands of cubans attended the ceremony. castro's ashes will be interred today next to jose marti, leader of cuba's independence movement. voter going go to the polls today in two italians are voting on a batch of reforms that could result in a resignation of the country's prime minister. and austria's presidential election between tan establishment liberal and a far-right pop pewist is too close to call. in the west bank city of bethlehem they turned on the christmas tree lights outside the church of the nativity last night. marking the season of advent. expect rain or snow over the pacific northwest. and showers and thunderstorms from

. >>> steve hartman uncovered a special military operation "on the road." >> reporter: for as long hasated with world war ii. it wasn't until recently that he real ied this history is still living. >> there are real super hero, world war ii vets out there. and the i want to meet them. in 2014 as a junior in high school, richi made it his mission. >> i ditched so many days of high school to do an interview. >> reporter: skipping school to interview vets? >> yeah, started ride might bike to the local senior home. i interviewed those guys. i started driving. >> reporter: today he tries to meet one a day. >> every single day. >> reporter: drives all over southern california searching out every world war ii combat vet he can find. >> i had a lot of missions. >> reporter: marine tank commander, ernie eisley. >> they were going to make a big camp and attack us at night. >> reporter: richi talks to the guys for hours and gives the recording to the families. he interviewed 210 combat vets. remarkable total. monumental failure as far as he is concerned. he says we are losing 400 world war ii vet

and steve hartman, a chance encounter with a cop changes a young man's life forever. >> and i noticed that it was a police car, and i was like, oh, okay i'm not going to move.

. >> pelley: and steve hartman with a war correspondent for a war that ended more than 70 years ago. >> there are really super hero world war ii vet out there, and

steve hartman, on the road. in california. >>> that's the "overnight news" for this monday.ittle later for the morning news and cbs this morning. captioning funded by cbs captioning funded by cbs >>> it's monday, december 5th, 2016. this is the "cbs morning news." >> i don't know how many more people are left in there. we have no idea. >> the search for victims continues this morning in oakland. more than 30 people were killed in a massive warehouse fire, while those who made it out alive assess the devastation. >> oh, my god. i almost died. oh, my god. i lost everything, too. oh, my god. all of these people died in our home. >>> a standoff success. protesters in north dakota get a major victory in their fight against a proposed pipeline. >>> a judge's late night decision sets a michigan recount in motion.

>> pelley: an steve hartman color="#ffff00">lets us in onret of secret santa. >> reporter: you've no doubt se the happy endings, but almost no one knows the humble beginnings. this is the "cbs evening news"