sue and rob johnson as mrs. claus and santa, and all the kids as reindeer. mike, the newbie, of course, is rudolph. >> okay. you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear makeup. >> well, this is a close second. >> reporter: are you already thinking about next year? >> oh, yes. >> reporter: what's it going to be? >> no, can't tell you. >> reporter: whisper it. >> can't tell you. >> reporter: such a welcoming family, even allowing a complete stranger to put on the hooves, an interloper and antler-loper. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: merry christmas to you, kevin tibbles, nbc news, eagan, minnesota. >>> up next, the hottest gift of the year, the holiday surprise. >>> a happy homecoming today in ft. hood, texas, some of the final combat troops out of iraq reuniting with their families on this christmas eve. and it's been a season of joyous reunions like that one, a sea of soldiers across the country returning from war, some of them pulling off one more secret mission for their families. here's nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> report

sue and rob johnson as mrs. claus and santa, and all the kids as reindeer. mike, the newby, of course, is rudolph. >> okay. you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear makeup. >> well, this is a close second. >> reporter: are you already thinking about next year? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: what is it going to be? >> no, can't tell you. >> reporter: whisper it. >> can't tell you. >> reporter: such a welcoming family, even allowing a complete stranger to put on the hooves, an interloper and antler loper. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: merry christmas to you, kevin tibbles, nbc news, eagan, minnesota. >>> up next, the hottest gift of the year, the holiday surprise. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help pr

sue and rob johnson as mrs. clause and santa and all the kids as reindeer. mike, the newby is rudolph. >> are you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear make up. >> are you thinking about next year? >> oh, yeah. >> what is it? >> can't tell you. >> reporter: a welcoming family, allowing a complete stranger to put on the hoofs. >> where is matt lauer when i'm doing this? >> merry christmas! >> merry christmas to you. >> you have to be brave to marry into that family. they are having fun. >> yes. you can't buy those cards in the drugstore, off the shelf. >> homemade. the real deal. >> good news to report about the model who was injured when she accidentally walk sbood a plane propeller. >>> a big change planned at a popular chain restaurant. >> for all your news, go >>> the clock is ticking to mail those christmas gifts to loved ones. today is the deadline to send priority mail packages so they arrive before christmas. tomorrow is the final day to sepd packages by express mail. >> running out of time. >> get busy. >> put mom'

sue and rob johnson as mrs. claus and san the a and all the kids as reindeer. mike, the newby, is rudolph. >> okay. are you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear makeup. >> this is a close second. >> are you already thinking about next year? >> oh, yes. >> what is it going to be? >> nope. can't tell you. >> whisper it. >> no, can't tell you. >> such a welcoming family, even allowing a complete stranger to put on the hooves, an interloper and anteloper. >> where in the world is matt lauer while i'm doing this? >> kevin tibbles, taking one for the team. [ female announcer ] help i need a holiday party idea. mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this might even impress aunt martha. pillsbury crescent wrapped brie. holiday ideas made easy. in 15 minutes, [ female announcer ] you call that bread? you can serve some warmth with your bread. and some flavor with your bread. and some layers with your bread. if you're serving bread honey, then serve it. grands! dinner ideas made e

sue and rob johnson as mrs. claus and san the a and all the kids as reindeer. mike, the newby, is rudolph. >> okay. are you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear makeup. >> this is a close second. >> are you already thinking about next year? >> oh, yes. >> what is it going to be? >> nope. can't tell you. >> whisper it. >> no, can't tell you. >> such a welcoming family, even allowing a complete stranger to put on the hooves, an interloper and anteloper. >> where in the world is matt lauer while i'm doing this? >> kevin tibbles, taking one for the team. >>> still to come, where is baby ayla? the 20-month-old missing from his family's home a week ago. >>> plus the power of a song and >>> this is a news 4 news break. >> good morning it is 7:26 on this saturday, december 24th, 2011. topping your news for today, virginia's 2012 republican primary ballot will have two fewer names. texas governor rick perry and former house speaker newt gingrich did not get the required number of signatures from registered voters. candidates are requ

sue and rob johnson as mrs. claus and santa and all of the kids as reindeer. mike, the new bee, of course, is rudolph. >> okay, are you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear makeup. >> well, this is a close second. >> reporter: are you already thinking about next year? >> oh, yes. >> reporter: what are you going to be? you can whisper it. >> no, can't tell you. >> reporter: such a welcoming family, even allowing a complete stranger to put on the hooves. an interloper, an antler loper. where in the world is matt lauer while i'm doing this? >> merry christmas! >> reporter: and merry christmas to you. for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, eagan, minnesota. >> kevin, just may have crossed a line when it came to reporter involvement. >> never looked better. i tell you that. isn't that nice, though, to have a tradition like that? >> it is. although i can empathize with the man who married into the family. you probably should warn people. >> our twins are 2. so with 100 pictures, one good shot, we're grateful. >> yeah, so maybe a m

sue and rob johnson as mrs. claus and santa and all of the kids as reindeer. mike, the new bee, of course, is rudolph. >> okay, are you ready? >> i was never ready for this. >> at least you didn't have to wear makeup. >> well, this is a close second. >> reporter: are you already thinking about next year? >> oh, yes. >> reporter: what are you going to be? you can whisper it. >> no, can't tell you. >> reporter: such a welcoming family, even allowing a complete stranger to put on the hooves. an interloper, an antler loper. where in the world is matt lauer while i'm doing this? >> merry christmas! >> reporter: and merry christmas to you. for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, eagan, minnesota. >> kevin, just may have crossed a line when it came to reporter involvement. >> never looked better. i tell you that. isn't that nice, though, to have a tradition like that? >> it is. although i can empathize with the man who married into the family. you probably should warn people. >> our twins are 2. so with 100 pictures, one good shot, we're grateful. >> yeah, so maybe a m

hello, i'm bruce johnson. more on that story in just a moment. first breaking news at this hour. police are on the scene of a shooting involving one of their own. now, it happened just a short time ago. we're told officers were called to a gas station in the 6900 block of new hampshire avenue for a report of a stabbing. when they arrived, a suspect was seen fleeing the scene. police gave chase and they say the suspect was shot by an officer near the intersection of messerat and riggs road. the suspect's condition unknown at this time. lind say is live on the scene. what can you tell us? reporter: bruce, just as you said, we're hearing this all began a few miles away at the sunoco gas station and we're told it began with a cutting. police from takoma park chased the suspect to this location. this is at riggs road at mesarat road. i'll zoom in here. because it's a little tough to see because it is so dark. this is a vehicle upside down, wheels in the air. we're told this was the car that the suspect was driving. the crash occurred and then we're told that takoma park police shot th

. >> some frightening moments for students at johnson university monday morning after a man robs the pnc bank. county police to have taken over the investigation say at 10:32 a.m. that suspect verbally demanded money from the teller. he never displayed a weapon. no one was injured. the suspect was found on a bench inside the liberal arts building. there was a brief chase. >> we were getting nervous and paranoid about it. at the time when we got out of class, i was in the liberal arts building. >> scott sanders was in his family resources class inside the liberal arts building when an announcement came over the intercom saying the suspect was inside his rebuilding. andrews learn about the robbery after several emergency messages were broadcast from the university's twitter account. the anniversary broadcast an armed robbery has occurred in the university union. please go to a safe location. roy burry reported at university union. take shelter if you are near. stand by further updates. suspect maybe in liberal arts building. take shelter. stand by for updates. followed by, are robbery

-- magic johnson. >> rob lowe attended last night's event which also honored na ta list amy -- nataulist, amy tran. really big names there. >> really big names. >>> 8:53. well, protecting san francisco's coit tower. the activity that one groups want to limit at this very popular tourist attraction. >>> video, check this out, of a spectacular display in paradise. plan if i can take classes year round on campus, online, or both and earn my bachelor's degree in 3 years you can, too. [ male announcer ] at devry university, whether you study at one of our 4 bay area locations, online or both, you can prepare for a career in a growing field... and with year round class offerings, you can even do it in as few as three years. if i can let nothing nothing...stand in my way you can too. [ male announcer ] classes start january 3. learn more at devry.edu >>> gotta show i this. this is from hawaii. you think this is red hot? oh, yeah. this is lava spewing out of the kinahala volcano. it eats up everything along the way, tearing up trees as it moves down that hill now. the u.s. gee lon cal study says

i'm agent johnson. this is agent malone. christy donovan. yeah. nice meet you. what are you listening to? uh, panic! at the disco. oh, my kids listen to that. that's cool. todd, we're looking for a girl from your church, jennifer long? i don't know anybody by that name. well, do you recognize her? yeah, i do. yeah, she's been around a couple times. when was the last time you saw her? i don't remember. todd, we're aware of the scam that the church runs involving burglaries. do you think that has anything to do with her disappearance? todd, you need tell the truth. i heard about something that happened a couple days ago. from this other kid henry. he works on the same route as jen. no one's home. good. as the stuff comes out, we'll leave it on the lawn. you move it to the truck. i don't want to go inside this time. oh, but i need you to show me the lay of the land. (high-pitched screaming) (gunshots) (engine starting) (tires squealing) the owner must have been asleep. well, did your friend see what happened to sedgewick and jennifer? no, no, he just hauled ass out

of today's weather and rob marciano is in atlanta. drought over for tiger. >> that one count count. that's just a fall tournament with 18 guys that all get paid to show up. hopefully a good year next year. good morning. we are looking at rain across the midsection that will be slow-moving, here it is and how it's going to move which is very slowly across the next 48 hours, memphis and the midsouth are going to be under the gun for a flood threat over the next 48 hours, two to six inches in some cases of rainfall. on the western edge, plunge of more cold air across the inner mountain west. near blizzard conditions across parts of new mexico and more of santa ana winds, gusts of 60 miles an hour. 11 in denver. 58 degrees in new york city. if you are traveling on this monday morning we'll run down where you can expect flight delays in 15 minutes. christine. >> thanks, rob. talk to you again soon. >>> syria faces new sanctions from the arab league, deadline is passed for syria to allow observers to monitor the response to protests. on sun

and rob lowe came in to speak. >>> look for the gallery section on the home page, we have all of the candidates. >>> robert cole was hit by a fine by a state's ethics panel. we told you about cole leaving the city and enlisting in the army. he is now a sergeant. >>> a ban on free toys with fast food has had little effect on the nutritional quality of food being offered to children in the south bay. that's the conclusion of stanford researchers who looked at the effects of a 2010 ban on toy promotions at fast food restaurants in unincorporated santa clara county. investigators found while the toy promotions ended the restaurants continued to carry low quality foods. but they say it's too early to tell if the ban is being successful. >>> shoppers use the app to scan bar codes instore and buy items from amazon. the retail association says the promotion when combined with the amount of taxes being paidcreates an uneven field. >>> facebook is changing it's app. it's available for tablets and smart phones, running android or apple software. >>> twitter is getting a new look. the san franci

and rob lowe came in to speak. >>> look for the gallery section on the home page, we have all of the candidates. >>> robert cole was hit by a fine by a state's ethics panel. we told you about cole leaving the city and enlisting in the army. he is now a sergeant. >>> a ban on free toys with fast food has had little effect on the nutritional quality of food being offered to children in the south bay. that's the conclusion of stanford researchers who looked at the effects of a 2010 ban on toy promotions at fast food restaurants in unincorporated santa clara county. investigators found while the toy promotions ended the restaurants continued to carry low quality foods. but they say it's too early to tell if the ban is being successful. >>> shoppers use the app to scan bar codes instore and buy items from amazon. the retail association says the promotion when combined with the amount of taxes being paidcreates an uneven field. >>> facebook is changing it's app. it's available for tablets and smart phones, running android or apple software. >>> twitter is getting a new look. the san franci

johnson. a family company. master since 1999, stay with us. . >>> tonight the police in south carolina are stumped because of a man on a bank robbing crime spree for the past three years. they call him the geezer bandit and he may have slipped up this time. >>reporter: it was a note and a gun. the teller gave him the money and a hidden dye pack that exploded as he left. >> there's money in the parking lot spread out so we're not sure if he got away with money or not. >>reporter: he also dropped a small address book. potentially a big break for police. >> they may get lucky. they may not be able to identify him but maybe link him to other robberies. >>reporter: investigators won't say how much money he's stolen but nationwide last year the average take for rubbing one bank was $8,000. he was very careful every time. with each new heist, the pile of surveillance picture and video and news coverage blows.. the bank of america was about to close. >>reporter: and his luck may be running out. >> each time you have a

merit admitted to helping her boyfriend, john wagner rob steven pit karen in july of last year. wagner stabbed pit karen to death. merit testified against wagner as part of her plea deal. >>> the wife of former prince county george's county executive jack johnson will be sentenced for a role in a corruption scheme. leslie johnson, a former member of the county council pleaded guilty to conspiracy and witness tampering. she was arrested after prosecutors say she flushed a $100,000 from a real estate developer down the toilet and tried too stash $80,000 in cash in her underwear. prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a man in georgia accused of killing a laurel grad student. now steven mcdaniels charged in the death of laura giddings, the two attended law school together at mercer law school and lived in the same building. giddings' body was found in june. >>> police are on the lookout now for spiderman this morning. this man is wearing a superhero mask. he's wanted in connection with the robbery of an bb and t bank in port washington. the armed robber walked into the bank we

position at the hospital. >>> this morning former illinois governor rob blagojevich will speak. this is an effort to get the judge to reduce his sentence after admitting yesterday he is guilty of all charges. blagojevich was convicted on 18 counts of corruption for trying to sell president obama's former senate seat. prosecutors are asking for 15 to 20 years in prison, which would be the harshest punishment for corruption in state history. >>> jerry sandusky may face some of his users next week in a preliminary hearing after a lawyer for one of the alleged victim says his client and five other victims plan to testify. this comes after one of the alleged victims says he was abused by the former penn state football coach when he was 12. he also met sandusky through the second mile charity. sandusky is accused of sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years. he denies the charges. the hearing is set for tuesday. >>> penn state is trying to revamp its image in the wake of the child abuse scandal. newly appointed president rodney erickson wants them to house a center for children to hel

and his wife, leslie johnson, is not in the courtroom. >> we will continue to follow every angle of the story, and when a sentence is handed down, we will bring it to you. >>> right now, former illinois governor, rob blagojevich could face more than ten years behind bars. that would be the stiffest sentence for corruption in the state's history. >>> this is day two of jury deliberations against an aid to robert ehrlich. he is accused of approving robocalls. they got automated calls saying the race was over. >>> prosecutors say little was killed because he gave a poor test. >>> and then spotted driving the wrong way, and a white house spokeman said babbitt waited until monday morning before he told them the arrest. they are discussing his employment status. and babbitt is on leave at his own request. >>> a fashion model is recovering after accidentally walking into a propeller of a small plain. she was coming back from a flight to view christmas lights on saturday night, and she had got off the plain and went to thank the pilot, and she did not realize the propeller was powering down. sh

the man robbed the store. the video shows him ripping out a cash register, pointing a gun at the cashier, two men are also seen robbing a 7-eleven at the 2800 block of bladensburg road northeast. less than two hours later. zpr pepco officials promised to pull out all the sfops to get the power back on after hurricane irene. now they want maryland customers to pay for it. pepco officials have filed a request with the maryland public utility commission of a rate adjustment of $68 million. pepco wants to bill customers for the additional resources necessary to restore power to customers after the hurricane. and as well as the ongoing effort to improve its service. if the increase is approved the average residential customer in maryland can expect to pay pepco at least $67 more every year. >>> someone has some money and may not know it. a winning powerball ticket was sold in d.c. so far no one has come forward. it is worth $200,000. the drawing was december 17. it was sold at the four seasons convenience store. th

yates hits andre johnson. led to a touchdown. at the end texans, the defense did just enough to avoid overtime. houston wins it six straight. they take this one, 17-10. >> well, cincinnati/pittsburgh. afc north battle. this one out of control early. steelers out to a big lead. and never looked back. defending afc champs looking very much in the mood for a big december push. the steelers beat the ben dals fdals -- bengals, 35-7. >> undefeated packers, in new jersey, to face the giants. the great game. giants eli manning hitting nicks for a touchdown. tacked on a two point conversion. too much time on the clock. packers in field goal range. crosby hits a 31-yarder to hit it. pack undefeated. downing the giants. >> last night's game we felt bad. rob had to watch his saints being a bit under the weather. saw drew brees pick up where he left off last monday against the giants. threw three more touchdown passes set an nfl record becoming the first quarterback to pass for over 4,000 yards in the first 12 games of the season. saints keep