[ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? right now at 5:00 long lines and scarce parking have been themes around the nation today. it is christmas eve and we'll give you a look at what was mall madness. also, a morgan hill family with a real life christmas grinch and stolen presents are the least of their worries. and a salvation army bell ringer finds a big surprise at the bottom of the kettle. the news at 5:00 starts now. good evening and thanks for watching. i'm scott budman in for diane dwyer. we begin with the last-minute christmas eve dash to find the

perfect gift or maybe any gift before time runs out. here is a look at san francisco's union square earlier today. shoppers got sunshine and comfortable temperatures while searching for the last-minute deals. if you've put things off this long, you're not alone. millions of people hit the malls across the country to find that one last present. nbc's brian mohr has the story. >> reporter: it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ let it snow let it snow let it snow ♪ >> reporter: unless that is you haven't finished your christmas shopping. >> this morning i woke up and i was really nervous. i ran out the door and decided to go to target. >> reporter: the mad dash began before dawn at stores big and small across this great land of ours. and for some, there's a method to this mall madness. >> you've got whatever is left over at this point. if your -- chances are you're going to get terrific deals, no doubt about that. >> reporter: of course, this year small electronics are a big

hit. air jarodans are flying off the shelves. unless you had the reflexes of a professional athlete chances are you're out of luck on that one. president obama did his shopping during the week and jetted off to sunny hawaii to be with the family after wrapping up the whole running the government and passing laws thing. back to the last-minute shoppers, here is a public service announcement. seriously, people. are you thinking someone is just going to come and magically drop gifts down your chimney? oh, well, yeah. there's that. brianmo brian mohr, nbc news. the grinch made a stop at morgan hill today stealing all but one present at a 12-year-old girl's home. the girl's family is now also looking for their dog and fear he may have been stolen as well. nbc bay area's kimberly tere is live in morgan hill with the story. >> reporter: scott, the family says they came home on thursday to find all of their chrtmas gifts gone except for one, a gag

gift, a watering hose. also gone, their dog. a chihuahua mix named sharkey. they say that's really what they are most upset about, that and a couple scrapbooks made for family members with original photographs they just can't replace. on top of this, this is the first christmas this family is spending together. kiley just married chris this summer and moved into the home on the 6300 block of troy road with kiley's 12-year-old daughter and sharkey just three months ago. >> i say give back my dog. i don't care about the presents. they don't matter. all i care about is my dog. i sleep with him every night. he's really close to me because i was the one that chose him out at the pound. >> reporter: the family called the santa clara county sheriff's office. officers came and dusted for fingerprints and are looking for those responsible. the home is in a rural area with one way in and out.

the family says whoever did it must have been watching to see when they left on thursday morning. again, the family says most of the presents can be replaced. what they're most concerned about right now is their dog sharkey. if you've seen this dog or know anything about this alleged burglary you are asked to call the santa clara county sheriff's office. live in morgan hill, kimberly tere, nbc bay area news. thank you. in san francisco volunteers are working their 11th annual christmas eve toy drive. firefighters, police, and lefty's all team up to collect toys for san francisco's neediest children and organizers say there are 2500 kids whose only christmas presents will likely be donated toys. they hope to beat last year's numbers when they collected some 10,000 presents. >> now is the time. tomorrow is the day. make happy kids all over the world. >> 333 gary street. pull up in front and we'll have santa's helper. even santa might come out and help. >> oh, yeah. i'll be there.

come on down. >> how do you say no to that guy? volunteers will be collecting until 2:00 in the morning christmas day. elves are out on the sidewalk on geary street to collect your donations. if you're unable to make it to union square yourself you can call luxor cab and a taxi will come to you to collect donations. more legal troubles tonight for a bay area steel company. pacific steel and casting is the subject of a just filed lawsuit claiming the berkeley based company did not give close to a thousand current and former employees timely meal and rest breaks. the class action suit is seeking $31 million. pacific steel was recently forced by federal immigration officials to fire some 200 workers because the workers were suspected of being in the country illegally. while american troops are back home from iraq celebrating the holidays with their families, there are still some 90,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan. about 100 of them gathered at nato's main headquarters in kabul today to sing christmas carols and celebrate midnight

mass. some soldiers say while it's difficult being away from home they are happy to celebrate with their second family. >> it's sad being away from my family at christmas but it's nice being here with all my brothers and sisters in the armed services, from the u.s. and from all the various countries we have here at isaf. >> another group of u.s. troops in afghanistan celebrated christmas mass with the help of philadelphia's nbc station and a local church. the church got special permission to perform mass early and then the ceremony was streamed live on the station website for troops to watch overseas. coming up next at 5:00 the obama 2012 presidential campaign looks to be one for the record books. we'll tell you what he's offering last-minute donors. in a down year the salvation army finds a surprise at the bottom of a donation kettle. we'll show you why lightning can strike twice. and the as potential move to the south bay may be around the corner. we'll let you in on the latest

word around baseball. c including starbucks. it's the way to brew everyone's favorite cup

in under a minute. way to brew! welcome back. the white house hasn't traded on wall street and the president doesn't answer to shareholders exactly but the decision 2012 campaign budget rivals some of the year's most anticipated

ipos. president obama's campaign is expected to raise a total of $750 million in donations from 2008 until the november election. that is expected to be the most expensive campaign in history. the obama camp hopes to raise $60 million in the fourth quarter bringing the year's total to 200 million. here in the bay area the president raised at least $7 million during three separate fundraisers in september and october. the white house is also offering donors a chance to enter a raffle online to win dinner with the president and first lady. in russia tonight anger continues to build nearly two weeks after disputed parliamentary elections. tens of thousands of demonstrators returned to the streets today to voice discontent against prime minister vladimir putin and his party. nbc's jim maceda has the latest from moscow. >> reporter: antiputin protesters have turned out today in big numbers showing that their movement has not petered out despite some recent promises of political reforms coming from

the kremlin and these very sub freezing temperatures. tens of thousands of are in the street. we're hearing anywhere from 60 to 120,000 protesters. the main demands are still the same -- to anull the december 4th parliamentary elections that have been marred by apparent massive fraud and to have new free and fair elections. the kremlin has said that won't happen, that those elections were won fairly by putin's united russia party. the protesters have been well disciplined today. they are middle class russians who once made up putin's power base and they say they don't want revolution but they do want their stolen elections given back. some russian political analysts are saying that it is possible that we could see something like a russian spring emerging in the spring if putin is seen again to

have stolen those presidential elections scheduled for march. i'm jim maceda, nbc news, reporting from moscow. now back to you. >> thank you, jim. still to come at 355:00 a kettl full of cash. the salvation army says it just got its biggest donation of the year at a store on the peninsula and they don't know who did it. hope floats. a little girl in the pacific northwest uses a balloon to ask santa for her christmas wish. we'll show you if her letter reached the north pole. [ female announcer ] at the jcpenney... ...after christmas sale, unwrap the biggest savings this monday. shop from 6am to 1pm and save big with doorbusters like... ...9.99 sweaters for her. 70% off sleepwear for him. just 3.99 for bath towels. and buy two bras and get two free. plus with jcpcash... ...get $10 off

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there are lots of reminders of good will this holiday season. we've seen the work of so-called lay away angels who anonymously paid off laid away bills at retailers and this week a bay area family dropped a hefty check into a salvation army kettle. the anonymous donor dropped a $10,000 check into a red kettle outside the safeway in menlo park. it is believed to be the largest donation in california in the salvation army 110-year history. the donation is enough to accommodate more than 160 homeless people for the night in a hotel. >> it was a personal check that was typed and the people were from caramel that left the check

and donation. >> the donation comes three days after another anonymous donor dropped $5,000 into a red kettle in front of a safeway in redwood city. most letters to santa are sent to the north pole. a washington state girl's christmas wish took a southern route, ending up hundreds of miles away. nbc's amy mareno has the story of some elves making sure her christmas wish comes true. >> reporter: she is not asking for much. a doll for her and clothes for the other little ones in her family. but instead of stamps helen asked her mom if they could send her letter to santa air mail, tied to two helium balloons. [ speaking in other language ] >> reporter: her mother helped write the note and stood in the cold with her taking this photo as the christmas wish floated away. her mother says the 5-year-old became emotional.

a family member translated for us. >> she was looking at the balloons and saying bye. i love you. and i want my toys, please. >> reporter: with little money and many mouths to feed, christmas was going to be difficult for the family. her mother said a silent prayer they could find a way to help the girl's christmas wish come true. >> we don't have too much money at the moment. >> reporter: 19 days went by and the family pretty much forgot about the letter. then they got a call at their auburn home and realized their message was in the right hands. >> i want to do something for the letter. i want to help you. >> reporter: the balloons floated about 530 miles south landing near a ranch in laytonville, california between eureka and san francisco. the tattered note touched the people who found it. they called to let the family know santa would not disappoint. >> she was like happy, walking around the house, running, and

inside happy. it was like, santa claus is coming. >> reporter: little helen never had a doubt and her family is grateful for the very special elves who are making her christmas wish come true. >> that was amy moreno reporting. the family in california that found the note says they were out christmas shopping friday and plan to put something in the mail for the little girl very soon. let's turn to weather on this christmas eve. we look at your seven-day forecast. as you can see, things get pretty cold starting tonight. a freeze warning again in tonight for the inland bay area valleys with lows dipping into the 20s and 30s. tonight is a spare the air night. also a spare the air night and day for christmas. so back-to-back no wood burning appliances. tomorrow, highs should be in the 50s and 60s again as you can see the seven-day forecast pretty consistent. next week, though, could bring a change. we finally have a chance of some showers by wednesday. we'll keep you posted. meanwhile, let's check in now

with comcast sportsnet to see what's on the docket for sports. good evening, jim. >> good evening to you. i won't say it's good there is no wood burning because santa needs a place to come down the chimneys. absolutely i love christmas and i love nfl games being played a day earlier than normal. a full slate of games with playoff positioning on the line for the 49ers, could they play scrooge and ruin the sea hawks' season? plus will the silver and black find coal in their stockings? we'll have a date in kansas city. sports is coming up. [ male announcer ] this december, we're thanking our customers with $2 subs -- get the regular 6" cold cut combo or meatball marinara. just $2 each! just 2 bucks! are you kidding me? there's no competition. male announcer ] prices and participation may vary. subway. eat fresh.

it's all about jobs. it's all about respect. security. the american dream. [ jamaul ] good jobs in tough times. a chance to move up and do better. [ delaunta ] excellent healthcare. [ caletha ] beautiful benefits. what they used to call the american way. it still works here. [ jennifer ] not a single layoff of a u.s. manufacturing worker. [ glen ] not one. not one. doing things the right way. quality. [ jimmeka ] building cars that americans want. [ jamaul ] right here in america. hyundai is an all-american success story. ♪

good evening everyone. happy holidays from the xfinity sports desk. the 49ers and raiders playing in games with big playoff implications today both needing wins to improve positioning. let's open in the pacific northwest where the niners were trying to end the sea hawks' playoff hopes and solidify the 2 spot in the nfc 49ers visiting the sea hawks. we get it going third quarter. san francisco down seven. frank gore fights his way into the end zone all tied up at 10. fourth quarter 49ers up six thanks to two field goals. fourth and nine andy lee's punt blocked by heath fairwell, recovered by collin jones at the 4. the next play? former cal guy to the left side, touchdown, a streak of not allowing a rushing touchdown all season comes to an end. 17-16 sea hawks. michael crabtree 49-yard gain and four plays later akers for the go ahead field goal good from 49 yards out. 19-17 san francisco.

now the single season record holder for field goals made. how about the defense coming up big? jackson scrambles and fumbles. the 49ers recover. grant go over and get some skittles. 49ers get the win. 19-17. >> it was good football on both sides. no question about it. i mean, good, physical run game on both teams. both teams didn't, you know, give the other a thing. like i said at the beginning i thought it was real good preview for what the playoffs are going to be like. we really felt like we had to take advantage of every possession. our guys really rose to the occasion. >> all right. so the niners win. could the raiders do the same? trying to keep slim playoff hopes alive. visiting the chiefs tied at three. second quarter line up for a field goal but a fake. a shovel pass to myers.

he'll take it to the house. wait everybody. just hold on. these are the raiders. delay of game penalty wipes out the touch. raiders settle for the field goal. all right. third quarter, carson palmer goes deep to moore. this is a 61-yard touchdown bomb. 10-3. raiders were in business at this point of the game. the raiders, end of the fourth quarter, less than three minutes to play. they give up the touchdown. kyle orton to dwayne bow. a three-yard strike. they to go overtime tied at 13. in the overtime, sebastian january co janikowski nails the field goal. raiders win. breathe deeply hue jackson. silver and black still in the playoff hunt. >> this game is about winning. we got to enjoy this and we should enjoy it. last week, i mean, we lost a game like that where we were disappointed and today we won one that was tough. i wish we could win 48-14. i do. we haven't had one of those yet.

but at the end of the day the bottom line is winning. that's what this is all about. >> you can't get down on yourself. you can't get down on your teammates. you need to stay alive and stay focused and we stayed focused and obviously got the right outcome. >> all right. at 6:00 tonight we'll have reports from both seattle where the niners won and kc where the raiders won. merry christmas to everyone. let's ho, ho, hope you guys have a safe playoff season for both teams. guys, back to you. >> thank you very much. we are going to take a break and be right back with what could be a huge orts-related christmas orts-related chrprisas esent for the south bay. stay with us. en

here is something for south bay baseball fans to chew on, an indication major league baseball might be ready to remove the giants' territorial rights and

let the as move to the south bay. "usa today" writer and baseball insider bob nightingale tweeted, quote, all signs and top baseball sources say the athletics will be granted permission by february to move to san jose, unquote. and we saw a comment from the as' general manager declining to comment this afternoon but bean has expressed optimism that this winter a decision will come soon. major league baseball commissioner bud selig appointed a committee to research the as' stadium options in march of 2009 but there has been no public revelation of the findings. san jose's mayor chuck reed says he would welcome the news. >> we are hopeful major league baseball is going to give the as a go ahead to make a major private sector investment in san jose that will generate millions of dollars in revenue for the city but it is up to major league baseball. we're hopeful. cautiously optimistic. we really don't know what is going on inside major league baseball. >> if permission is granted the

stadium would be put up for public vote this coming it i is right now. let's check in with meteorologist rob miata and it is chilly for the shoppers. >> it is. the skies are clear. even though we're in the 50s right now we'll be in the 30s as early as about 9:00 tonight in the north bay. yes we have mainly clear skies. a little bit of an offshore breeze into livermore and around fairfield at this hour. it is another spare the air day for tonight. actually into tomorrow. as you can see air quality in our inland valleys in the unhealthy range. no sign of rain though the pacific looks more active. we've had this ridge of high pressure acting like a wall to our west weakening these incoming systems. it is going to do the same thing to the one over my shoulder. notice on the time line heading toward tuesday and wednesday, finally, as this ridge flattens out a little bit, we could actually see a little bit of rain come our way. this would mean some snow for the sierra, so perhaps that is good news. as we head toward new year's

eve, looks like things will be dry with some showers up here toward the north coast as we head toward this time next weekend. tomorrow morning, freeze warning in effect again for our bay area valleys. 20s and 30s outside. so santa is going to be nice and comfortable with these type of temperatures almost north pole like by our standards. as we head toward lunch time we should be in the 50s. highs tomorrow, upper 50s to low 60s. right in range of what we had today. and the seven-day forecast as you saw looks fairly dry. we will have no troubles for travel plans unless you're a commuter on 680 tonight. as i found out it took two hours to go from dublin to san jose. watch out for that tonight. as we go toward tuesday and wednesday more clouds. hopefully those showers drop further south across the rest of the bay area because we do need the rain. this is one of the driest decembers since 1989. hopefully our fortune changes for the middle part of the week. new year's eve plans look nice and dry. >> thank you very much. thanks for joining us. thank you for joining us on nbc bay area news