And all we want for christmas is mariah. The pop superstar sharing the story behind her holiday classic. All right here on a very special christmas on gma. Caroling all the season here words of good cheer from everywhere filling the air grazing the sound joy gaily walking singing songs of cheer christmas is here. Merry, merry, merry, Merry Christmas good morning, america and Merry Christmas to everyone at home celebrating. Were really not here. Were at home too. This is all on tape. We wanted to be i had a baby. [ laughter ] its a christmas miracle. We went back in. We are spending the holidays with our family this glorious Christmas Morning. But we wanted to be here with you too. Yeah, on a very special holiday show ahead. The baby is watching at home and while you here the singers here singing all morning long. Our friend, emeril is with us with some great ways to help you celebrate. Hell show us some holiday hors doeuvres and deserts. Now a check of the news and weather from cecilia vega. Good morning, and a very Merry Christmas to everyone. We begin with a holiday message from pope francis. Thousands gathering at the vatican to celebrate the holy day. Pope francis urging the backing of peace agreements for the wartorn countries of syria and libya and with more now on the millions celebrating christmas around the world, heres abcs lama hasan. Reporter this morning, from the majestic balcony at st. Peters square, pope francis is delivering his traditional message to the city and to the world as Christmas Services and celebrations around the world get under way. In the town of bethlehem revered as the birthplace of jesus, worshippers arrive for morning mass at the church of the nativity to nearby syria away from the guns and the conflict, a parade and presents to celebrate the holidays. Ushering christmas in the land down under the surfing santas were out ruling the waves in australia. In south korea, the santas in seoul doing what they do best, bringing cheer and handing out gifts. Back here in britain, the crowd out in full force braving the rain to catch a glimpse of the royals heading to a church service. But this year there were no little heirs stealing the show. Heres hoping well get to see them next year. For Good Morning America, lama hasan, abc news, london. Our thanks to lama. In nigeria, tragedy. More than 100 people after a tanker truck ignited at a crowded Industrial Gas plant. They were lining up for cooking gas and it raged for hours before it was put out. Back here at home instead of opening gifts many in the south will spend the morning cleaning up. A severe storm bringing deadly tornadoes to the region. At least 14 People Killed. Half of them in mississippi alone. One of the twisters had the longest ever recorded path for the month of december, there was also torrential rain, flooding and a mudslide. In North Carolina chaos after gunfire erupted between two groups of feuding teens. Police in charlotte say an offduty officer shot and killed one of the gunmen. The officer was placed on administrative leave until an investigation is complete. And there were black lives matter protests across the u. S. On Christmas Eve. In chicago, about 100 demonstrators marched along the busiest shopping district there. Also yesterday Police Released recordings in the high profile Fatal Police Shooting of teenager laquan mcdonald, the new recording shows at least one officer asking for a taser though none of the officers appear to be anxious until police fired. And it took 36 years but 53 americans held hostage in iran will finally be compensated. Theyll receive 4. 4 million each, thats 10,000 for every day of captivity seize by an angry mob in 79 they were held for 444 days. News of compensation bringing tears to the eyes of those former hostages. And it is now time for a quick check on the holiday forecast. Heres the weather where you are. Steve merry christm. Daytime High Temperatures today around 69 degrees. Our average r this summit hehere only 45. If we hit 7 we will tie a record at Reagan National airpor temperatures well above average for afternoon hhs. Later is afternoon 71 in fairfax. 72 i in manassas. A look at the nenext seven days. A cooler weekend for the first half. 60 onaturday and 70 on sunday. Only the 40s kings are suing to stay in business after the illinois attorney general banned them for violating gambling laws. Illinois is just the latest state to challenge the companies. They are still fighting to operate here in new york. And finally, the Carolina Panthers have it all. They are undefeated after 14 games and now it appears they have some musical talent too. Heres running back Fozzy Whittaker and a friend, take a listen to all of you all of you and we mean it Merry Christmas yes, this football thing doesnt work out there is always showbiz. Those are the headlines this morning. Have a very Merry Christmas. Thank you, cecilia. Now i had a chance to talk about the deeper meaning of christmas with a spokesman for the vatican. Father thomas rosaca. Merry christmas. Merry christmas to you. The pope inaugurated this year of mercy and called christmas the feast of gods infinite mercy. Thats right and called christmas a feast of tenderness, mercy, kindness, goodness. This has been a consistent theme in pope francis message from beginning but christmas more than anything when you stop and look at the whole story, its origins, the simplicity, the vulnerability of god, the way that god chose to enter the world, it really is not a form of con descension but tendernes and mercy reminds me of pope francis meeting with the families in philadelphia and gives that incredible teaching on a saturday night and said where did gauze choose to send his son, to be in a business or big enterprise or send him to some factory and office building, no, he sent him to a family because the family was the source of love and a family that had its doors open, what a very powerful message especially for this christmas. And what a jolt the pope sent on his mission here to america this year. It was almost thrilling. It was a great gift to the people of america, but also to the people of the world. I mean you and i both covered it. We were there moment by moment and as i think back to those moments entering the congress of the united states, speaking at the united nations, ground zero, who could ever forget those kids that were singing about peace. I mean, pope francis brought us all back to our origins and called us to our greatness then, of course, when he mentioned those four individuals in his address, the special session of congress, i had tears in my eyes, you know, who would think that you hear the pope, the pope of the holy see speaking about dorothy day and Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther king and calling us back to who we are. What a gloss on American History that speech was. What do you think the impact has been . On many different levels, theres been impacts. I had the privilege of being with the pope every day during the month of october during the synod of bishops and referred to that visit. For him he was touched by the simplicity, the warmth and welcome and vibrancy of the american church. And of the cuban church, as well but i hi here in america it helped us all to realize that the pope is still of great interest to people. All of the media stopped and covered that visit so there was a Great Success there, but also the simplicity and profundity of the message no matter where he spoke he went right to the core of things and everybody could understand what he said. Ive had priests talk to me since the visit, priests in the united states, priests in canada, others and theyve said, you know, people were so moved that theyve come back to confession, people are coming to the sacraments, people are giving the church a second chance. He underscored the message by driving around in that will i will fiat. Its simplicity, its bringing us back to the roots and the core. What is your hope for the new year. My personal hope for the new year we hear once again the message of the angels on christmas, glory to god in the highest and peace on earth to the people whom god favors and the world needs peace. This is the worst ive seen the world in my short lifetime filled with tension and fear, so i hope that once again we can all be committed to peace, i also hope that as the pope sat in philadelphia on Benjamin Franklin parkway the lord came into the family because the family had its doors open and none of us out fear motivated by rhetoric would shut our doors to strangers and we know that theres this Massive Movement of refugees across the face of the earth, let us not be afraid that we can welcome those who are strangers because at one point in our lives we were all those wandering refugees seeking a home. That would be my deepest hope and that we all come back to our simplicity and the core of who we are as human beings. You know, we say god so loved the world that he gave us his only son. The pope helps us to focus on the world that god so loved and at christmas we focus on the son that god gave us, this wonderful incredible gift. Thank you very much. Merry christmas. Merry christmas, george. For any working parents the holidays are a challenging time but for one group of working moms, this season is especially difficult to balance and i know you have that for us, ginger. Talking about the group the rockettes. They are women who dance four shows a day up to six days a week all while also playing mom. Well, some of them and i spent the day with run rockette who has three little ones and gave me advice on how to get a leg up on the work life balance. Want this one . Reporter like working moms the world over, nicole baker is forever trying to balance the needs of her kids with career demands and never does the mom of three work harder to balance it all than now, the holidays are her busiest season. Its when she really kicks things into high gear. Literally. As a radio city rockette. You are a mom and a rockette. Yes. When you tell people that, or at least they know you as mom and find out youre a rockette, what is their response . Theyre shocked and cant believe im still dancing after having three kids. Reporter she is one of three current rockettes also moms and performed while ten weeks pregnant and reported to rehearsal few as three weeks after giving birth. I think of rockettes as like a different character. The men i get off the stage im nicole, the mom and make their lumps and clean up if i need to and get them red i. Reporter being a rockette isnt easy. Rockettes dancing up to four shows a day as many as six days a week changing clothes more than three times in a 12hour period often transforming from one look to another in a matter of seconds go squish it down on your head. I have a big head. Well make it work then we wear these little cheeks that ah. Its just tape you put on your face. Perfect. The best blush ive ever had. Nicole says shes well aware not so long ago women were forced to choose between career and family so her ability to be a mom without having to hang up her dance shoes, well, its not something she takes for granted. I dont want to give up. Types are changing. Its extremely exciting. Reporter her family couldnt be prouder. She was born to be a mother. She was born to be a dancer. Its part of her spirit. Reporter and this dancing mom couldnt be happier. I always wanted to be a mom and performer so i never gave up. Its definitely possible. The radio city Christmas Spectacular is playing now through january 3rd. Always a great show. I already saw it once. Whiching to see it again. Thanks, ginger. We no the nba for its larger than life players. They dont just give their all on the court but give back off it as well. Part of nba care, its now celebrating its tenth anniversary and abcs t. J. Holmes caught up with nba greats spreading cheer and some ballhandling tips all for the holidays. Reporter the jolly old guy in the red suit can wait. Today its the 610 guy with the size 15 shoes, these kids are happy hes paying them a visit. Amare stoudemire, Arron Afflalo and hall of Famer Bob Lanier put on a basketball clinic at the boys and girls club in the south bronx sponsored by nba cares, a branch of the nba now in its tenth year. T. J. , whats up . Reporter we sat down with the tall guys to get perspective on what it is to give in a season so often associated with getting. All right, fellas, we know why were here, we have 40 kids in there excited to see you guys, but what are you getting out of and a vent like this. Its great for us to give back to the community. Its just part of being in the league. Yeah, its showing appreciation for being a part of nba family but also, you know, creating inspiration for the kids. Definitely for me being a young guy, you know it wasnt too long ago that i was looking up to people like this, so for me the biggest thing just seeing a smile on the kids faces. Reporter nba cares has grown the past decade and now reaches out to communities around the world. Oh, okay. Reporter clinics like the one we saw provide an unforgettable experience for an ecstatic bunch of kids. Come on, now, you are not going to let a news anchor beat you. Have you ever met an nba player. No. Youre meeting three nba players and a hall of famer. Were you nervous . Yeah. Reporter and Community Leaders couldnt be more grateful. This is the south bronx so to know the sports celebs came to the south bronx at boys and girls club and spent times with kids in the afternoon is a wonderful thing to do. No red suits in sight but a slam dunk of giving and holiday cheer. On three. All one, two, three, nba cares. Reporter for Good Morning America, t. J. Holmes, new york. Robin got the one she wanted. Mine. The teams are going to be wearing them today only. Catch a full day of games with the pelicans versus the heat on espn and highlighted by a rematch of last years finals with the cavs taking on the red hot warriors at 5 00 p. M. Eastern on abc. What i love and nothing says christmas than nba. That says christmas to us. You know what else says christmas, commercials. Of course. So many memorable Christmas Movies and tv specials but what about those ads that really stand the test of time and nick watt takes a look at what makes the perfect holiday commercial. Reporte reporter santa riding on a Norelco Shaver and a snowman melting eating soup. Its powerful because of the magic and sent many. Reporter now as much part of the holidays as drunken uncles and chuckling children. Reporter and the best christmas commercials of all time most lisp makers suggest m ms. He does exist. I do exist. Oh. Its clever. Its memorable. Reporter any one of cokes Christmas Jolly gems. Id like to find a world of coke and keep it company coke was the company that really created the modern conception of who santa is. Merry christmas. Reporter but the king of them all folgerss 1987 and it ran for 17 years straight. That was then. Wow. This is now. You slurp. Im surprised you got the gig. Greg wrangler, aka peter as done, film, tv but he will forever be peter. Peter hes every man, shes every mom. Do people still come up to you and go, oh, peter, youre home. I cant tell you how many people say that. That commercial makes me cry and i think the thing that does it is the moment there where the mom comes down and she recognizes that im home and i missed you mom. Oh, youre home. I missed you, mom. I cant believe im saying this. Reporter perfect christmas commercial, so potent we all still think we saw it just last year. We didnt. This last aired christmas 2002. For Good Morning America, nick watt, abc news, los angeles. I like the one that you love. M ms. What did you sayy. He does exist. This year, everything yes, we do. What about the clydesdales. Theyre always great. Coke does the polar bears. Its sweet. You have to watch commercials we love commercials. I like the old norelco one sledding. Thats manly. Forget all that. Coming up this Christmas Morning, your complete guide to holiday gift, how do get the most out of those brandnew digits and postholiday Shopping Tips if you didnt get exactly what you were looking for. Christmas, a great time to head to the movies. What to see this weekend with the oscar race heating up and hear the nyu magical singers and jazz choir here all morning. See the blazing yule before us were stationed in japan and would like to wish our friends a Merry Christmas. Merry christmas. Hello. Hi, im specials stacene h hudson and say happy holidays. Hi, mom, dad, natalie and chanel. I love you, Merry Christmas. I think its important for everyone to know that there is so much more to memory support than the stigmas you hearabout. That these residents still have lives and their lives still matter and that they are still living their lives. That theyre not locked away and that they still have a lot to live for, you know, that they have people that care about them and they have people that love them and i love them, so their lives still matter. That is what i do this for. Kohlstarts 7am saturdaysale with amazing early bird specials like 60 to 70 off sweaters outerwear and sleepwear and up to 70 off trim plus take an extra 15 or 20 off these already great savings this saturday at kohls. Moms dont take sick days, moms take dayquil severe hey amanda, sorry to bother you but i gotta take a sick day. The nondrowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat, stuffy head, no sick days, medicine. The keurig k200® series brewer. One touch, and unlike life, no mess. Your favorites. Your way. Keurig hot. Therbottle of tropicana pure oranges squepremium. O each and absolutely no spac