Takes place at the caesar chavez. Christmas in the park affects thousands of people of all ages. I want everybody to have the christmas spirit, you know . Make it feel like christmas here. Yeah. Christmas in the park runs, rain or shine. And today was rain, through january 5th. Shoppers in San Francisco are taking advantage of a break in the weather to get the lastminute gifts. Sergio quintana live in union square as the countdown to christmas continues. Im sure youre done with all your shopping. Yes. And like a lot of the shoppers i talk with tonight, i, and they, have gotten most of their presents online. But for those downtothewire gifts, they have to come out and brave the crowds to get them. For some families, trolling around San Francisco here, union square, is a tradition as much of a tradition as singing christmas carols. Theres also empty store fronts, obviously. Brick and mortar retailers are feeling the effect of shopping online. Shipping has surged by 21 this year. And on this last weekend before christmas, if youre still hoping to get something delivered, before wednesday, good luck. Interesting that you mentioned the lastminute shipping. I had a shipping delay. Im curious to see if something is going to show up for this person. Reporter the increase in presents being ordered online, means the three main shipping companies are in a lastminute crunch to get the gifts on door fronts before christmas day. Many retailers are telling customers that tonight is the last night that you can order something online and expect it to be delivered by christmas. And unfortunately, the weather is having an effect on the ontime deliveries. Thats in part because the massive weather systems are sweeping across the country and are affecting the logistics for the shipping companies. Reporting live in San Francisco, im sergio quintana. Thank you very much. You heard of paying it forward, doing a good deed in the hopes that you will inspire someone else to do the same some time down the road. In the case of our next story, it was 17 years down the road. Robin thomas shares a story about giving hope where its needed. Reporter in this household, they have a special day they celebrate, january 9th. Not the birthday of twins erica and erith, but the day they came home from the hospital. The family looks at pictures and tells stories. One story in particular that has clearly left an impression. In the intensive care unit at Lucile PackardChildrens Hospital stanford, there are likely thousands of medicines they can give the smallest of patients. For the babys parents, theres only one that gets them through the day, hope. Having hope is just a just a beautiful thing. 17 years ago, she needed all the hope she could get. Her twin children, erika and erith, were young. They were 1 pound, 12 ounces and 1 pound, 14 ounces. Reporter there were many times when she wondered if her children would survive and what kind of life they would lead. She desperately needed hope. The card says, from one preemie to another. Reporter it arrived one day in the shape of a blanket. And a 3x5 card. She explains she is 15 years of age. She was born with all of the issues she had. From the card, shes on the honor role. She plays sports. She sounds like a happy girl. It was hope. There was hope, you know, that kids could have, just, a regular existence. Reporter it was a story erika, now, a high school junior, heard many, many times growing up. So many, in fact, that when she turned 15, erika knew just what to do. When i turned 15, i was like, oh, my gosh. I am the same age. I can do the same things. It gave my mom a lot of hope. I wanted to do the same thing for premature babies in the hospital today. Dedicated to my twin brother who has been with me every step of the way. Reporter because of a card i had a few problems here and there. Reporter she wrote an entire book. One shes been allowed to give to nicu families, just like that blanket and card, many years ago. I went through many ups and downs. That didnt make me different from other babies. Reporter delivering doses of the medicine that is hope. Just when it is needed the most. You were just saying, kind of bragging, that you have done a lot of your shopping in the last three days . Yeah. I want to say i did 90 of my shopping on friday. Just sitting around, ordering . Yeah. Online. Its all being sent to my moms house. Its going to get there before christmas. Im excited i didnt have to step inside a store. Well done. Especially, we were tracking rain today. I did get a chance to go out today. And i saw people doing lastminute shopping. I was picking up the online orders that i made on friday. And i picked them up and left. It was great. Youre going to have to find out. San jose hit a high of 57 degrees. Right now, were at 47. And the cold front slipped through. And it brought the Early Morning rain, and peaked in the Early Morning hours. San franciscos current temperatures, 50 degrees. Our storm ranger is up and scanning. You can see, now, that things have calmed down significantly. A lot of the rain off to our east. And sierra saw some good snow. How much rain did we get in the past 12 hours. Well, these are unofficial rain totals. We saw a big downpour. Two inches of rain. Even though it was fastmoving, it brought a lot of rain with it. Look at the santa cruz area, two inches of rain. Sfo, half an inch. And san jose, even almost nearly got a quarter of an inch, which is pretty impressive. Whats next . Satellite radar, showing we have rain through Southern California. You are traveling through grapevine, i myself will be traveling through the grapevine, slim it down. Be careful. The next thing were monitoring is going to be a cold morning. Were going to dip down into the 30s for santa rosa and napa, meaning earl frosty conditions. 56 in san jose. Asierra snow, there is a Winter Weather advisory through monday. Things have calmed down when it comes to the snow. It is expected to pick up through monday morning. Its gusty out there, which makes for dangerous travel. Sevenday outlook right now, were going to start to dry out overnight into monday. Were going to get a breakthrough on tuesday. And the rain continues in Southern California. Tuesday night, Christmas Eve into christmas morning, right now, we have a bit of a system that is looking like its going to bring a good amount of rain. The models are showing a little disagreement in terms of how much rain were going to get. One thing is for sure, Southern California is going to get a lot more rain out of the system to christmas morning. And more sierra snow, as well. Thursday, into the weekend, High Pressure is starting to build. And were going to get a lot drier, with a chance of snow at Christmas Eve. P. M. Showers on tuesday. Showers return. Wednesday, rain at times, on chr christmas day. You might want to bring the inflatables inside. It will get windy. Bring santa in . We dont want to see flying snowmen. And thursday, we see clearing and start to dry out by next weekend. Is that an ornament . It is an ornament. It says Merry Christmas on there. I should change to santa on the next one. You take requests . Ill take special requests. An elf . Reindeer . Coming up, a perfect lastminute gift. Its a big target for scammers. What you need to know before you buy gift cards. Were just three days away from christmas. If youre doing shopping, you may consider getting gift cards for some on your list. The small gift cards can be a big target for scammers. Reporter with shoppers expected to spend about 35 of their budget on gift cards, theyve become a prime target for holiday scams. The newest ploy, emails or calls asking for gift cards. Be it from a fake irs office, or an urgent email offering to fix your computer, the ftc says anyone who demands payment by gift kascard is a scammer. The ftc issued a reminder for consumers so you dont get ripped off. Inspect gift cards before you buy. Make sure the packaging is intact and the p. I. N. Is covered. Save the receipt. That could be helpful if you run into problems with the card. And treat gift cards like cash. Once theyre used, theyre done. The number of scam marketing and websites has exploded. If youre looking for a website and theyre asking for your personal information before you decide to do business with them, stop and dont give them that information. Reporter one recent scam was so prolific, that costco was forced to post a warning on its facebook page. Dont fall for pishing. Protect yourself by checking the source email address. If youre still unsure, call the retailer, and never click links from sources you dont recognize. With people looking for the best deal, social Media Shopping platforms like facebook, have been a popular target. Facebook suggests these tips for staying safe check the price and compare it with other sites. If its too good to be true, it probably is. Check the ad for grammer or spelling mistakes. And then, theres the porch pilots, walking away with your christmas cheer. Protect yourself by setting delivery alerts. Then, you get an email or text when the package ships and arrives. You can also request signature required. Often, you dont get your money back and youre disappointed. Reporter a few reminders to save your money and your christmas spirit. Still ahead, a massive car pileup in virginia. Dozens of people hurt. What authorities believe may have contributed to this massive accident. 6, 7, 8 big dreams start with small steps. But dedication can get you there. So just start small. Start saving. Easily set, track and control your goals right from the chase mobile® app. Chase. Make more of whats yours®. Take a look at this holiday traffic nightmare. Dozens of people are hurt after a 69car pileup in virginia. Fog and icy Road Conditions may have played a role in that. This comes as millions of people are traveling the holiday week. Across the united states, nearly 4,000 flights were delayed today. There were complications at a couple major hubs. Tonight, the Holiday Travel rush brought to a scary halt on virginia roads. A nearly 70car Chain Reaction accident. I got in my car. And i went and assisted a woman whose leg was pinned inside her door. Reporter he captured this video after his car slid on black ice, crashing into the massive pileup. He somehow walked away while crews took 51 others to area hospitals. We dont know the cause of the accident at this time. We have causative factor, heavy fog and icy Road Conditions this morning. Reporter despite the dangerous weather, more than 100 million americans opting to drive to holiday destinations. At least 4 Million People are under flash flood watches in the southeast, where storm systems are expecting heavy rains and gusty wins. Hubs in atlanta, all right expecting delays. L. A. X. , this fiery scene caused a traffic nightmare. Flames torching three passenger buses, prompting a Fast Response but fortunately no flight delays. Over the next two week, air traffic nationwide is expected to jump 5 . With nearly 7 Million People expected to fly between now and new years day. In seattle, the issue was short staffing. A lack of baggage handlers causing delays in flights, bags and looking for answers. Gunfire in chicago early this morning. People had gathered to remember a man killed in april. But there was an argument inside a home. It escalated. Two men opened fire. That shooting spilled from the house into the street. 13 people were shot. One of the people, we believe who exited that residence, also, once he got outside, began to fire at people as they left the residence. And then, a vehicle was driving down the street. One of the people who also left the residence, fired upon this vehicle. We had three different scenes all within a close proximity. 13 shot, no one killed. A peaceful rally in hong kong dissolved into chaos today. Riot police gathered with protesters. Police used pepper spray and batons in an effort to dispurse and arrest the hecklers. Some say they worry that what china has done could happen to hong kong. Were all fighting against a totalitarian regime. Because of that, we find solidarity with east turk stist. We dont want what is happening to them to happen here. Chinese diplomats claim there are no Political Prisoners being held. There is new evidence the north korea may be getting ready to test more nuclear weapons. Satellite photos show steppedup activity at a missile factory there. That has u. S. Officials onedge. Molly hunter has more. Reporter the reclusive strongman, kim jongun, meeting with top military officials, as the u. S. Braces for the Christmas Gift threat from north korea. U. S. Officials tracking north koreas actions, hourbyhour, waiting for a test of a longrange missile, capable of reaching the u. S. Today, we have capable readiness. Reporter tonight, new evidence, that test is imminent. Commercial Satellite Photos are showing improvements to a facility associated in the past with ballistic missiles, including a temporary instrstru. Reporter earlier this month, kim jongun mounted a white horse, climbing the countrys tallest mountain, signaling he was making an important decision. A war with north korea could cause hundreds of thousands of casualties and the option of sanctions has been allbe exhausted. Reporter President Trump has hailed this as his signature Foreign Policy achievement. And experts say tests now could signal the breakdown of diplomatic talks. Rupted in new zealand this month. Two people, a 40yearold new zealand man and australian teenager are still missing. Experts believe their bodice have washed out to sea. The volcano erupted two weeks ago on white island. Its a popular tourist destination. 47 people were visiting the island at the time of the volcano. Several americans were among the dead and injured. New details in the shocking case of the missing mom who was murdered last week. Her baby taken and her friend charged in that crime. Now, questions about why the infant is in foster care instead of with family. Nbcs sam brock has more. Reporter Heidi Broussards family and loved ones are trying to process the sordid and shocking details of her death, that appears to involve one of her oldest friends. Tim miller is a family spokesperson, who specializes in missing person cases. He spoke to the suspect all of last week. She had my convinced when i talked to her. After i hung up talking with her, that was the last person in the world that i expected that could possibly have anything to do with it. So, yeah. She fooled us all. Reporter last thursday, investigators uncovered broussards body in the trunk of a car on the property. Her 3weekold baby found alive inside the houston home. Tonight, a family spokesperson tells nbc news, the baby is in foster care, as they await the results of dna testing to find out who the weather is. Friends say humphrey, charged with kidnapping and tampering of a human corporatise, put out a registry. Her due date was the same as heidis. Do you believe she was pregnant . I dont believe she was pregnant. Reporter why did she lie about a pregnancy . That she wanted the baby. She wanted the baby. Reporter nbc news reached out to humphreys attorney sunday. So far, we havent heard back. Austin p. D. Is leading the investigation and hasnt responded to any questions about a possible motive. This, as the family repairs for a vigil tomorrow night. Sam brock, nbc news, austin. New details, now, about the two cruise ships that collided in cozumel, mexico, friday. One of the ships returned to new orleans today, but not in its full glory. Heavy damage could be seen on the front end of that ship. The glory and the carnival legend are seaworthy. Carnival says glory was making its way to a dock at the time. The legend, was already docked. And carnival believes spontaneous wind gusts and currents led to that crash. Nearly four months ago, one of the strongest hurricanes ever to make landfall, destroyed abcoe island in the bahamas. Several died because of dire conditions. As Kerry Sanders reports, the situation for survivors is still grim. Reporter today, the island looks like it did the day after hurricane dorian. Even the Police Station is frozen in time. The cleanup, extremely slowgoing. Theres nothing left. Reporter survivor june russell likens the emptiness here to another ghost town. This is like chernobyl. Reporter like so many survivors, her family was torn apart by dorian. Her 19yearold son lives in nassau. Her 13yearold daughter on another bahamian island. We feel forgotten. Reporter where is the government . Not here. Reporter its taken more than three months for the bahamian government to set up trailers for its employees who will manage the recovery. A megastorm with 183mileperhour winds and a 23foot storm surge. Destroyed the power company, the water and sewer systems, schools, not one structure was spared. Yes, we are definitely in the mother of all cleanups. Reporter by some estimates, in just two days, dorian created 30 years worth of garbage. Right after the hurricane, i reported from this spot, a neighborhood known as the mud. The damage then, nearly impossible to describe. I really hope i dont see anything worse than this because it is such devastation. We have come upon in this bahamian heat, bodies that are exposed. Reporter those that survived the hurricane here and are still on the island are living the most desperate of lives. If it were not for the american charities, the sustained misery would be intolerable. Now, were running about 7 dollar a gallon. Reporter for fresh water . Yes, sir. Reporter Global Empowerment Mission has been here, as they were for fires in california, a cyclone in mozambique, the destruction of the amazon. In each case, disasters tied to Global Climate change. They are consistently described as the worth ever. The world is changing. We have to get ready. Reporter for thomas and jackie williams, with a baby boy due in just weeks, the future is unknown. Thats your boy. Reporter with a