he was last seen in a red plaid shirt, and white sneakers. the suspect in a double murder drove off in a vehicle with burnside inside. they're looking for a white 2012 gmc, virginia plates xcz 6757. police say two people were killed when a man opened fire inside a richmond home around 5:00 tonight. we'll have a live update from richmond in just a few minutes. as we count down the last hour until christmas, the holiday has already come for people in much of the world. millions are attending midnight masses, and as drew levinson reports tonight, others are making a political statement. >> reporter: upwards of 100,000 christian pilgrims and tourists descended on the town of bethlehem where the christmas story began. they braved a cold, rainy night, to be at the site where jesus was born. >> to be here and at this place is quite special, i think. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: at st. peter's basilica, pope benedict celebrated christmas eve mass with thousands of the faithful. the traditional midnight mass was moved up two hours to 10:00, to allow the pontiff to get more rest before his important christmas day speech. in china, hundreds of catholics attended services at beijing's biggest cathedral in a country with more than a billion people, only 25 million are christians. in this season of peace, activists in south korea floated giant balloons carrying boxes of socks over the border to north koreans. the socks were as much a political statement as they were a gift. >> we're helping people over there because the system doesn't work in their favor. >> reporter: for the six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station, it will literally be christmas around the world over and over. they'll orbit the globe 16 times. >> we wish everyone on planet earth a happy, safe and host of all peaceful holiday season. >> reporter: santa, too, is spreading holiday cheer at a record pace. according to the official santa tracker norad, volunteers fielded more phone calls from children saturday than ever before. and santa's facebook page received nearly a million likes. even for santa, that's quite a gift. drew levinson, cbs news, new york. >> thousands of people are celebrating the holiday tonight in the d.c. area in a more spiritual way. live at the washington national cathedral where the annual christmas eve mass is being held. ken? >> reporter: that christmas eve mass is by far the single most popular event held here at the cathedral all year long. when you take a look inside, it's easy to see why. ♪ come and behold him >> reporter: the majesty of the washington national cathedral is coming alive this christmas eve. >> it is quite amazing. you don't have to have a perfect voice, but you still get to sing and everyone comes together. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: more than 3,000 people packed into the historic landmark for the traditional christmas eve mass. those in attendance came from near and far to take part in one of washington's most time- honored traditions. >> it is the national cathedral and our whole family is up. our son and daughter live here, so we've got the whole family up here and we're all attending. >> reporter: tonight's eucharist service is also the debut of the cathedral's newest bishop. she gave her first sermon ever to the masses that came out to celebrate the occasion. >> we chose to come to the cathedral every christmas, and that's how we mark our christmas. we open up gifts and come here. >> reporter: the mass is going to run another 30 minutes, i'm being told. what's really interesting about all of this, matt, is i spoke to a lot of folks out here who have all kinds of different religious convictions. they say it doesn't matter. they just wanted to come out today to share the spirit of christmas. we're live in northwest d.c., ken molestina, 9 news now. if you waited until the last minute to do your christmas shopping, you're not alone. some retailers are reporting today looks like the busiest shopping day of the year. some stores, including macy's and "toys r us" in new york city have been open 24 hours for several days now. a lot of people waited until christmas eve to finish their shopping. good things apparently come to those who wait or procrastinate. discounts of up to 50% in some stores. >> i think i'm addicted to the crowds and getting angry and then once everything is over, it's all good, you know. >> i found better deals like recently, like this week. >> i feel like a lot of the stores are cutting prices this year. i don't know, maybe it's just me. >> the national retail federation predicts stores will bring in $169 billion in sales this holiday season. president obama is his wife are spending their christmas in hawaii. the president arrived in honolulu last night where he joined the rest of the first family. they're staying in a rented vacation home with a close circle of family and friends. this morning, the president skipped his usual morning workout but headed to the golf course later in the day. the first lady, meanwhile, helped norad with their santa watch, answering phone calls from children around the country, wanting to know whether santa was getting close to their home. the obamas will return to washington in january. police are looking for a man who badly beat a capitol heights woman inside her home. as armando trull reports tonight, cops are hoping surveillance video leads to an arrest. >> reporter: prince george's county police say this man is a person of interest in the home invasion and savage beating of a 70-year-old woman. >> she suffers from a broken nose, fractured eye socket and bleeding of the brain. >> reporter: it happened on december 23rd. that's when police say a predator broke in through the window of this capitol heights home where the elderly victim lived almost 30 years. >> beat her up pretty bad, and she was asleep, so it's not like she got up and went into this attack. she was sleeping and they just decided to pound on her. >> reporter: after regaining consciousness, she stumbled to her neighbor's home. >> she was totally covered in blood. >> reporter: asked her to sit down and went and got a towel. >> reporter: that is the camera that caught surveillance video of the person of interest. he was walking here on drum avenue near the intersection with cumberland street and large mont. police say that place is very near the crime scene. physically the house is up the street and time wise. he was caught on tape at 6:12 a.m. police aren't sure if anything was taken because the victim is still in the hospital. but she is expected to make a full recovery at least from her physical injuries. in capitol heights, armando trull, 9 news now. >> neighbors say it was the second time in the past five years that someone has broken into the victim's home. still ahead tonight on 9 news now,. >> i've given her life twice. i mean, it's something i would never focus. >> reporter: a gift of love and a second chance of life for a mother and daughter this holiday season. [ cheering ] >> and some of the best towns for family and friends this christmas eve as soldiers return home. our temperatures tonight are going down 24 for most, even 30 for some. will we see that sunshine on christmas day? i'll have your full forecast when 9 news now continues. a maryland mother and daughter will be spending this christmas together in the hospital. three years ago, doctors told sasha webster that diabetes was destroying her kidney and that she would need a new one. that meant finding a donor. she was placed on a waiting list of 100,000 people around the country also in need of a kidney transplant. sasha began dialysis treatments and her mother made a pledge. >> the first thing i said to myself, i'm not going to let my daughter die. i am going to do whatever it takes to get help for her. >> she's given me a second chance in life. and that's something not too often you give somebody, to be so brave, to put it such a risky procedure. >> i was compatible, i cried. i felt like i'd won the lottery. >> the operation was performed at the university of maryland medical center in baltimore. we're told both women are now recovering just fine. all but a few soldiers in the last u.s. combat brigade to leave iraq have arrived back home just in time for christmas. nearly 200 soldiers arrived today at fort hood in texas, where the rain and wind did not dampen their relatives excitement. family members screamed upon seeing the troops in the first calvary division and then ran on to the field. the soldiers left iraq about a week ago. a christmas homecoming turns tragic for a california soldier returning from afghanistan. 22-year-old christopher sullivan was shot friday night at a party that friends threw in his honor in san bernardino. two-party goers got into an argument and one of them fired at sullivan, who's now in critical condition. the gunman fled the scene and at last report was still on the loose. in political news tonight, republican presidential hopeful newt gingrich is off the virginia presidential primary ballot. that word tonight from the state gop which says both gingrich and texas governor rick perry failed to submit the 10,000 signatures required to appear on the ballot in march. the former speaker says virginia has, quote, a failed system. gingrich also says right now there's no clear republican front-runner. >> the central goal on my part, at least, is to have a direct conversation with the american people. there's no point in worrying about trying to be negative about your opponents, because none of them are big enough to matter. >> gingrich's campaign says they'll pursue an aggressive writing campaign to get gingrich's name on virginia's ballot. overseas tonight north korea is ramping up its campaign to install the late leader's son as the leader of the armed forces. the official news agency says top leaders accompanied the younger kim today as he made a third visit to the palace where his father's body is now lying in state. the new title and the public show of support from the military are being seen as a strong signal that north korea will maintain kim's first military policy at least in the short-term. here at home, metro says it will operate on a regular weekend schedule this weekend and next. that means trains will run until 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and again on new year's eve. on monday trains will operate on a holiday schedule from 7:00 a.m. until midnight. buses will run on a sunday schedule. coming up on 9 news now tonight, we'll let you know what progress santa claus is making as he starts his long flight from the north pole. and while we're not going tohave a white christmas, it could be a chilly one. the forecast when we return. updating our stop story now, police issued an amber alert for a 2-year-old boy inside a car stolen from outside a home in richmond. cops say caden gauge burnside was last seen in a red plaid shirt, white vest, green corduroy pants and white sneakers. >> reporter: i can tell you richmond police just released the identity of the suspect just a couple of minutes ago. they tell it's 27-year-old jamal clemens and apparently he lives two homes away from the home where two people were found murdered inside, a man and a woman. police say clements who ran into the home murdered the two people and ran back out, jumped into a car that was left running in the neighborhood. that's the same car that caden burnside was inside of and then took off. police sources are telling us the suspect and caden are not related in any way. but they are believed to be in a white gmc terrain, a 2012 model with virginia tags xez 6757 and they're asking anyone with information to give them a call. >> i understand there might be some kind of a composite sketch issued; is that right? >> yes, they just released a composite sketch of the suspect as well. apparently he is a convicted felon. we sent that information your way so you'll be able to pass it to your viewers online at wusa9.com. >> all right, lorenzo hall in richmond, thanks very much. >> you bet. it's not going to be a white christmas, but it could be a beautiful one weatherwise. >> there are people disappointed. they want to see the snowflakes falling and all that holiday festive ti. we're keeping it very very cold. temperatures have plummeted and it's going to be a chilly start to your christmas morning. if you're getting up early to unwrap the presents, maybe get outside and get around town tomorrow, it's going to be on the chilly side, so plan for that as you're stepping on out. right now, temperatures for most of the area slipping out of the lower 30s. we should start to see some of the 20s begin to pop on in as we head over the next several hours. skies will stay mainly clear overnight tonight. that's because high pressure is setting up. it's beginning to slide on off toward the eastern seaboard. as that does so, it's going to clear the way to see some of the precipitation, some of the cloud cover begin to move on in. that will not be the case on your sunday. so we're going to be looking good for the short-term. for right now though, we are look at a forecast that is not so bad. in fact, the basic things you need to know for tomorrow morning is that we are definitely going to start out very cold and on the chilly side. in fact, we're looking at mainly clear skies and a sunny start to your sunday. by the time we get in towards the afternoon, milder temperatures. today's forecast only got up into the 40s. tomorrow will be closer to that 50 degree mark. so keep that in mind as you're going out and about. we will see a bit of a cool down. that starts on monday, goes into tuesday with a chance of rain. and then we start to rebound a little bit as we head on in toward the later portions of the extended forecast. so for the overnight tonight, mostly clear and cold. yes, you'll need a couple of blankets as you get cozy for early on christmas morning. but the low temperatures inside the beltway will be fairly reasonable. we'll see temperatures mainly about 33 degrees. the forecast for the next 24, 48 hours looking pretty good. mainly into the 50s for everyone. about 53 toward andrews air force base. 52 as we head towards the city center. we'll even see warmer temperatures down toward the south and off to the east. futurecast staying very quiet. there won't be too much to contend with until the moisture moves sunday night into monday morning, but most stays in the mountains so we won't see much precipitation. next three days, not too bad as we head into the middle of the week, though. that seven-day forecast, we're definitely going to see the opportunity for that storm system to move on in. back to you. >> olga, thanks very much. at this hour, santa claus is trekking across the globe to deliver presents like christmas morning. the jolly old elf already made his way to europe and is now headed to the u.s. norad has been tracking santa's presence since friday. they've got a special tool to keep tabs on santa if he runs into bad weather along the way. >> rudolph, i tell you, we're picking up his nose on satellite. heat sensor's right now, rudolph's going to be able to lead him through any tough weather that might be over north america. >> norad began tracking santa's journey in 1955, when an ad telling children they could speak directly with santa listed the wrong phone number. instead of getting the north pole, young callers were accidentally put through to a military defense operations center where duty officers fielded questions from the children. they've been taking the questions ever since. >> make sure i get to bed by midnight, leave out the milk and cookies. the redskins were hoping for an early christmas present only to deliver a lump of coal. coming up next in sports. playing in your home stadium usually an advantage. excited fans, familiar turf. for the redskins this season and in recent years, home field appears to be a disadvantage. they have now lost their last six games, straight games, at fedex. rex grossman and the redskins taking on the vikings in a christmas eve showdown. first play of the second quarter, adrian peterson takes the ball to the middle for the score 10-0 vikings early on. grossman caps a 7-play, 60 yard drive with this touchdown pass to dante stallworth. officials ruled he crossed the goal line before fumbling the ball. then in the fourth quarter the game went back and forth. ponder scores. three minutes later, the redskins respond. rex finds the gator connection, 17-13 skins. ten minutes to go in the fourth. webb rolls right and finds harvin for the 8 yard score. vikings up 7. last play of the game, redskins need a miracle. grossman with a hail mary heave, but it gets knocked down. vikings win 33-26. after the game, greg coleman filed this report. >> reporter: christmas did not come early for the redskins today, even after knocking out both running back adrian peterson and christian ponder, it was the skins who went down for the count. >> peterson goes out and all of a sudden ponder goes out. they seemed to kind of pick up speed. >> it's very unacceptable, especially with this type of defense we have. and you know, that's not us. >> reporter: ironically, arguably the skins worst offensive performance of the season came on the same day they put legendary defensive coordinator richie petitbon into the ring of fame. >> it's really a thrill. and like he said, a lot of great coaches, a lot of great football players up there. to be included is really an honor. >> reporter: the ceremony turned out to be one of the few bright spots. any hopes of the skins finishing the season on a winning streak came to a stunning end. >> we need to win tough, close games consistently. >> reporter: after starting 2- 0, the skins end their home schedule with six straight losses. hopefully the skins will enjoy christmas day with their families, because christmas eve could not have gone any worse. at fedex field, greg toland, 9 news now. >> when a team loses or falls apart like the redskins did, the stars of the game tend to be overshadowed. if we learn anything about the redskins the last few games, they have serious talent at running back. the latest guy to shine today, broyster ran for 132 yard, the most by a washington rookie since '93 in his first start. six round pick, three months on the practice squad. just found out saturday he was going to get to start. a good choice for mike shanahan. >> i thought evan did a great job. any time you average around 7 yards a carry against the defense had been doing pretty good against the run, you feel like he's had a great day. >> i felt comfortable early on. we came out strong. when you start out like that, the rhythm comes pretty quick. you know, we got into it pretty early on. >> in the end, costly mistakes of the most inopportune times were too much to overcome. 8 penalties, 64 yards, a lost fumble, interception, not the way to win football games. besides the redskins great nfl games played on this christmas eve. many with playoff implications. let's start with the showdown in new york. giants fighting for their playoff lives. here, the giants are up 20-7. mark sanchez runs a bootleg, finds the end zone. jets pull within 6, but the giants pull away. lamar bradshaw runs through the jets defense. while he just coasts the rest of the way in. giants win 21-14. they play for the nfc title against dallas next week. cowboys in what became a meaningless game and they played like it today. mike vick, all kinds of time. eagles win 20-7. finally tonight, here's the play of the day, maybe the play of the year. jerome sensing catches a pass, runs toward the end zone. check out how he scores. >> unbelievable. >> lands on his feet, gets the touchdown. maybe 10's across the board? that's pretty impressive. >> i believe that's the greatest play i've seen in 40- plus years of watching football. to stick the landing, not just the flip. unbelievable. christmas day forecast? >> cool tonight, sunny tomorrow and mild. >> be sure to tune into 9 news now starting at 6:30 tomorrow. have a great christmas and a great day.