His christmas message from the vatican. The pope denounced conflicts in africa and ukraine. And spoke of the terrorist acts in paris last month. He also prayed for a solution to the humanitarian crisis in syria. And for the suffering and conflicts to end in the middle east. Paula Francis president obama is taking a break from his vacation. To wish americans a merry christmas. In his annual christmas address. The president says treating each other with love and compassion, and caring for each other is what binds us together. Not just as christians, but as americans. president obama . Its what the holidays are about coming together as one American Family to celebrate our blessings and the values we hold dear. Paula Francis president obama and his family are spending the holidays in his Paula Francis as millions across the country spend the holiday in the warmth of their homes. Many families are not as fortunate, living in cars and homeless shelters. Its a growing problem and is affecting more children than ever before. Kenneth craig introduces us to one new york family who has a home for the holidays. < tisha housers new apartment is a work in progress. No furnitiure yet. But she has a Christmas Tree and a permanent place she and her three kids call home. tisha houser, mother whats this feel like for you . The last year has been pretty amazing, pretty amazing. The family spent nearly two years living in one of new york citys homeless shelters after a Domestic Abuse situation. tisha houser, mother it wasnt easy, but we stuck together. Its estimated there are more than onemillion children who are without homes nationwide. ellen baxter, founder, Broadway Housing communities all kinds of families experience homelessness. ellen baxter is the founder of Broadway Housing communites. An organization housing in new york for more than 30 years. Its seventh building called sugar hill opened with 124 units a year ago. More than 48thousand applied for a spot. ellen baxter, founder exec director Broadway Housing communities i think here weve crafted a model for other cities around the nation and our own city the building is supported by a combination of federal funding and investments from big corporations that in turn, get tax breaks. It combines housing with cultural and educational elements like a Childrens Museum and a preschool. kiss, then i love you tisha says her children have a much Brighter Future now with a solid roof over their heads at sugar hill. A truly sweet place to call home. Kenneth craig, cbs news, new york. Paula Francis ellen baxter says her model is not only more humane, but cheaper. Costing taxpayers about half of what it costs to house families in emergency city shelters. most vulnerable groups in the Las Vegas Valley warmed up to a hot meal today. Catholic charities opened its doors to over 1,500 homeless people. On the menu stuffed loin of pork, a twice baked potato, broccoli and ricotta pie. People packed the dining facility. They brought heir appetites, and they were greeted with smiles. For those on the recieving end, this is a gift bundled in love. And the hope is that is spreads like a wildfire. George Tyrone dunlap jr all i can say is i hope everybody does at least a little bit to make this world a better place to be because its people like me thats very grateful for everything they do paul joncich this was a huge volunteer effort. More than 125 people donated their time. Paula FrancisHealth Officials are urging everyone to get a flu vaccine this season. Two people have died from influenza in clark county. Both were men over 60. Doctors say, despite those deaths, so far the flu season has been mild. Right on the mark this year. Last year, 26 people died and hundreds more were hospitalized. Officials say the number of flu cases usually peaks in january and february. paul joncich police are investigating. After they say a wife shot her husband to death in a hotel room. In front of a child. Police arrested this woman. 34 yearold maria escalante. The shooting happened late last night at the plaza hotel downtown. Police say Hotel Employees and people in surrounding hotel rooms heard shouting. Before shots rang out. When officers arrived, they found a man dead in one of the rooms. Along with escalante the and child. Police want to remind us there is a lot of stress during the holidays. And sometimes it can boil over. lt. Dan mcgrath lvmpd its unfortunate that there is Domestic Violence on christmas. Hopefully theres a message to people to take a moment if theyre under stressful situations, or theres alcohol involved to um, leave, take a walk, get out, call somebody, somebody to talk to, so it doesnt result in violence like this paul joncich police say the couple wasnt from the area. This is the 132nd homicide in metros jurisdiction this year. paul joncich a home is ruined after fire Officials Say someone lit it on fire early this morning. It happened just after two oclock this morning near lamb and centennial parkway. The house is a complete loss. North las vegas fire says no one was home at the time of the fire. And no one was injured. Paula Francis making sure you have a merry christmas. paul joncich how fedex workers sacrificed their holiday. To make sure you got your presents on time. Paula Francis and. Theres got to be a morning after. Are you taking back some disappointing gifts . What you need to know. For an easy, hassle free return. < announcer youre watching 8 news now at 4 with Denise Valdez workers have been out delivering packages in some cities today. To make sure gifts arrived for christmas. paul joncich locations were also open across the country until one this afternoon so this comes after fedex customers took to social media upset their parcels hadnt made it yet. A fedex spokesperson says the delays are because of so many last minute shipments. As well as severe weather. Fedex says employees volunteered to work today. paul joncich if you didnt like what you got for christmas. Well, you can always try to exchange it or return it. Paula Francis and as Kenneth Craig explains. It could be tougher to get a full refund. As stores crack down on fraud. tod marks Consumer Reports senior project editor 85 of retailers now require identification for example if you dont have a receipt. Consumer reports editor tod marks says if you dont have a receipt. And are trying to get a refund. Keep the gift in its unopened original package he says be prepared for possible restocking fees and store credit only. paula colbach, shopper it can be frustrating. Many retailers allow shoppers to return a holiday gift until the end of january. Gerald forman told us his plan this Holiday Season is avoiding that possibility all together. gerald foreman, shopper i found the best thing to do, really, is to give money. Kenneth craig, cbs news, edgewater new jersey. paul joncich a warm and cozy christmas. Without bundling up in front of the fire. Paula Francis the record breaking weather. Parts of the country are experiencing today. announcer now nevadas first Paula Francis many people in the east are having a holiday to remember. El nino is causing unseasonably warm temperatures. Making it look more like summer than christmas. Brian webb has more. < in belmar, new jersey no one was throwing snowballs this christmas. Nats you you you you hitting ball only volleyballs. joe orecchio volleyba ll player no better way to start Christmas Day off with the new volleyball i got for christmas and my buddies. Its a dream come true to play on Christmas Day. Nats waves the winter chill took off for the holiday surfers relished temperatures in the sixties. Nats. Warm enough to enjoy ice cream and skate in shorts at bryant parks outdoor rink in new york city. Brian Marshall tourist were visiting from australia we were coming over for a White Christmas what do we get beautiful weather, its fantastic. I havent taken the shorts off the whole time ive been here. Brian webb new york the National Weather service says this is the warmest christmas on record in new york city. The record was also shattered on Christmas Evethe high was than the temperature on the 4th of july. Records were also hit in the south and up and down the east coast. Ho ho ho santa got in a round of golf near bangor, maine on christmas eve. santa its a lot harder here in maine. Im used to playing on the hard grounds up in the north pole. Nats cheering for santa on skis he also went water skiing with his reindeer in alexandria, virginia. This is fantastic. Well take every Beautiful Day like this. But the warm temperatures combined with heavy rain are starting to bug people in palm beach county, florida where mosquitos are becoming a nuisance long after summer came to a close. Brian webb for cbs news. Paula Francis the weather is expected to cool down next week with temperatures in new york dropping into the forties. toss to weather Paula Francis we got snow on the ground here in las vegas early paul joncich and in fact. The National Weather service says we have received more snow than new york city this winter < hope youve had a great christmas. Weve had some exciting weather. I didnt see any snow at my house, but i was living through everyone elses photos on facebook. Clouds will be clearing out for the next couple of days. Dry and windy. Weather headlines. Breezy in the valley, high wind warnings. Mountain snow. Current temperatures around the valley. The lakes, the strip, green valley. Southwest. Los angeles, phoenix, san francisco. Our almanac today showing below normal highs. Nationally. Flash flood warnings as this storm move north. Quieting down in the northwest after while weather the last couple of weeks. Still cloud cover over some valley areas. Mountain snow. And breezy conditions. West coast blizzard warning. Hard freeze warnings in parts of clark county. Enjoying your Christmas Tree tonight. But come tomorrow. Tonight. But come tomorrow. You may start thinking about how you are going to dispose of it. Paula Francis but instead of letting your live tree decorate the landfill. You can help the community. There are more than 30 locations across the valley. Where. Starting tomorrow. You can drive up and drop off your tree. The tree will be turned into mulch for our public parks and gardens across Southern Nevada voice of Tara Pike Unlv sustainability coordinator mulch is a great product that helps to provide nutrients to our trees, provides landscape healthy, it also controls dust and it saves water Paula Francis if you plan to donate your tree. Make sure it doesnt have any tinsel or decorations on it. For more on where to drop off your tree. Visit las vegas now dot com and click on links. Paula Francis making this christmas. Extra special. paul joncich the surprise one soldier had. For his girlfriend. When he returned home for the holiday. than a week away from the new year and, we want to make sure you ring in 2016 with a bang. Next thursday night, our 8 news now morning team starts our new years eve coverage at 10 pm. Theyll be on the air through the fabulous fireworks. With lots of entertainment and crews reporting from red rock resort to downtown las vegas. And up and down the las vegas strip. And during that broadcast. 8 news now teamed up with gavish real estate to take care of one lucky persons mortgage payments for a year. Go to our 8 news now Facebook Page for a full list of rules and details on how to enter. paul joncich the troops at Nellis Air Force base were treated with a christmas brunch today. It was hosted by the uso. And featured turkey, stuffing, salad, and desserts. Its to give thanks to the servicemen and women who cant go home for the holidays. joshua james gogue, a1c military everyones nice, everyones cheery, it almost feels like im back home in a way. And just eating turkey with my family or having a good time. paul joncich but there were games. And gifts were handed out as well. paul joncich this christmas is an especially memorable one. For a soldier. And his new fiance. He proposed. Moments after stepping off his plane home. Soldier will you marry me crowd ohhh fiance yes paul joncich army private Dylan Griffith is currently stationed in fairbanks alaska. His family and friends live in portland, oregon. It had been five months since griffith had seen his now fiance vilma rodriguez. Now, theyre excited to plan their wedding. paul joncich thats all for us at 4. Paula Francis our 8 news starts after this. Dont forget. Were always on at las vegas now dot com, on facebook and twitter. Paula Francis a haven on christmas. Every morning these men ate a tired breakfast and had a tired day. They werent lumberjacks, they were slumberjacks. Then one day jack showed up with a breakfast burrito poweredby jalapeos. It didnt just change theirmorning. It changed everything spicy jalapeos, chipotle sauce with grilled bacon, eggs and cheese. The jalapeo bacon breakfast burrito. Good afternoon. And thanks for spending part of your holiday with 8 new nows acts of kindness special. Im Kirsten Joyce. Today. We are honoring the men, women and children who volunteer their time and service. To help make Southern Nevada a better place to live. We begin. With a las vegas man who uses music. To help connect with people at assisted living and memory care facilities in our area. Kirsten JoyceDiego Trujillo loves music. And the individuals who hear it. Enjoy it too. Who hear it. Enjoy it too. Diego trujillo acts of kindness recipient its a language of Kirsten Joyce a perfect