let's take a look at that early christmas commute. >> i hope you do not have to commute today, but if you are headed out the door right now we do have a closure, an overnight accident on route 28, that's shut down in both directions between route 22 and country club road, we also have the ramp closed from 22 eastbound to 28 in this area as well. i don't know where you're all going right now. we will take a live look outside, there's plenty of cars out there, but the good news is you are in for a smooth ride, what is what most of our major roadways look like and we will have more weather and traffic ahead on the 4s. >> thanks, lauren. thousands of people started christmas day at st. patrick's cathedral for the annual midnight mass. "today's" catherine x-ray is there with this special service. >> reporter: good morning to you and merry christmas on this warm christmas friday morning adds cardinal date of loss land put it always gives him a warm feeling when he's preaching and celebrating christmas to the thousands of people who gather it was such a huge event as it always is every year. you need a ticket to be here, thousands of people gathered here at st. patrick's cathedral for midnight mass. cardinal dolan welcomed two refugee families who were there during the service. he said one family fled el salvador, another muslim family from the ivory coast. he also reminisced about the pope's visit three months ago and how pope francis seemed surprised to see st. patrick's cathedral in the middle of it all, accessible for all to visit. >> as the holy father commented, it's right here in the middle of things, and then he smiled and he said, that's where it should be. because that's where god is. right in the middle of things. i propose to you all this of christmas. >> reporter: and cardinal dolan did say that that is his christmas message, that the church is everywhere, that god sever wr. we want to give you a live look at st. patrick's cathedral, no more scaffolding, this hasn't been scaffolding here since pope francis's visit. it's amaze to go see st. patrick's cathedral here, the first christmas day mass will take place around 7:00 this morning and you will also hear from cardinal dolan coming up in the next half hour, something he shared with the "today" show also part of his christmas message. back to you. >> looking forward to hearing more about that. hours earlier at the vatican pope francis also celebrated midnight mass. in his homily the pontiff spoke out against what he called people's intoxication with consumerism, heed onnism and wealth. in an hour and a half he will deliver his annual christmas a call for peace at midnight mass in the holy city of bethlehem. palestinian officials joined the faithful at the church of the nativity, but the traditional crowds were not there, that is because of the ongoing violence on the west bank. we learned late this morning that palestinian security forces thwarted a terror attack planned against a popular prayer service in bethlehem. those arrested were linked to an isis group that's based in nazareth. the group was allegedly planning to attack during a holiday prayer at the patriarch of jerusalem service. >> time for weather and traffic on the 4s. we are tracking a record breaking christmas. >> we're all wondering how long is this going to last. we have changes coming over the next few days, guys. here is a look at your weather headlines. got that dense fog out there this this morning, it is the warmest christmas day on record in new york city, those records go back to the 1800s and that's just on top of the warmest christmas eve on record yesterday and again on sunday, another record in jeopardy as the warm weather lingers. right now, visibility is down in many spots like belmar, trenton and west hampton, you have dense fog taking that down to a quarter of a mile. here is a live look at storm tracker, you can see we don't have any rain to worry about just yet, there may be a few showers later on today, otherwise mild and mostly cloudy, high temperature of 66 degrees. and again the shower chance later on this afternoon, but we will take another look at that dense fog advisory in effect and what it could mean for your travel plans. speaking of travel, lauren has a look at that. >> good morning. let's talk about mass transit, plenty of you places to go today. new york city transit buses they are operating on a holiday schedule as well as nj transit for new york city, though no bm 1 through bm 5 buses. beeline no service today, . as far as rail service goes everyone is on a limited service. are suspended today so enjoy that. more weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. a child was one of three people hit by a car on christmas eve in nassau county that accident happening just before 10:00 in hicksville. police say a car jumped a car at old country and new bridge roads. this new video shows shoes lying in the street and also a look at that badly damaged car. an investigation shut down the busy intersection for several hours. at this point no word of any charges being filed against the driver. in brooklyn a shocking development in a sexual assault investigation. police have arrested a 14-year-old boy for allegedly attacking a woman inside her apartment building in east flat bush. you can see that clear video of the suspect after the attack happened. authorities say the teen grabbed the 33-year-old woman from behind, sexual assaulted her and stole her cellphone and her money. thieves cannot steal the holiday spirit in one new jersey community. >> everything was like a shambles, they went through the dresser, they went through the overly. >> the joe hands ens were the latest victims in a series of breakness chlgt police say a they have stole jewelry, a laptop an unopened tv that they had bought as a christmas present. a good samaritan heard about the burglary and came through in a big way. >> someone saw the story and they actually wanted to gift us a television. it's an amazing ending. this is like really feels like christmas. >> and that generous donor wants to remain anonymous. continuing the spirit of giving volunteers working right now to prepare meals for thousands of needy families in new york. "today in new york's" mark san tee is with the meals on wheels workers in brooklyn right now. good morning and merry christmas. >> reporter: merry christmas. on christmas morning there is no place we would rather be than in a kitchen, a very busy kitchen right now, you see ricardo is getting ready, jackie is fixing of the perneel going into the oven. they will be joined with volunteers from meals on wheels. they're planning on getting nearly 10,000 meals out today to senior citizens across the city. many of them chronically disabled, arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and the volunteers here doing much more than just bringing a meal, they're bringing human contact, face-to-face contact on this holiday, so important. today a very special day for city meals on wheels today, they're celebrating 34 years and they've delivered more than 50 million meals across the city. we are going to be here all morning with jackie, ricardo, dee flicks and, like we said, hundreds of volunteers as they prepare a holiday meal for seniors across the city. back to you. >> mark, thanks to you and the whole crew over there in brooklyn. time is 4:38. a search is under way for the grinch who stole christmas decoration a teenagers home in connecticut. bristol set up this display of inflatable characters on his front yard, this year he added a donation area for the salvation army. while the thieves didn't touch the donations but made off with a reindeer set and four other decorations. saul says he just wants everything returned. in charlotte, north carolina, gunfire caused panic inside a mall packed with christmas eve shoppers. police say two groups of people got into an argument, one person pulled a gun and opened fire inside the upscale northlake mall. an off-duty police officer responded to the gunfire and shot a suspect who allegedly pointed a weapon in his collection. people inside scrambled to take cover while others ran for the exits. people went running, they ran through the store and they actually rushed right through the twins, grabbed the twins and were gone. i tried to chase them down. >> authorities say the feud was not gang-related. given emergency aid, but later tied. we continue the unholy night, a tornado for through the southeast, the massive twister captured on camera and the damage people are still discovering. the church not so far, far away, this using a popular movie to bring in the masses. and your weather and traffic it's 4:42. here are four things to know this morning. police say an argument between two groups of people led to the death of a 16-year-old boy. the victim was shot multiple times in the back in the university heights section of the bronx. a 19-year-old also shot in the condition at st. barn bass hospital. nearly half a million fiat chrysler suvs are being recalled for the second time. a wiring problem could spark a fire inside the 2011 and 2012 model jeep grand cherokees and dodge durango suvs. fed ex still planning to make deliveries today. officials say they had heavier than planned shipping volumes. today is the warmest christmas on record and it didn't take long to beat the record, we hit that at midnight. that's right, good morning, guys, the warmest christmas day continues with temperatures in the 60s but also we have patchy fog we want to deal with and we have a dense fog advisory in effect for nassau, suf fox county, all these counties in new jersey shaded in gray, especially right along the coast, we're seeing visibility reduced, that means the extra time if you're driving anywhere please be careful on this christmas morning. mid 60s, very warm still, 63 in howell, 61 shareville and 61 wood bridge. temperatures are in the 50s and 40s. there is a cold front that did move through yesterday, feeling the effects the in hudson valley, much cooler in morning in monticello, 41 degrees, still above average but much colder than yesterday. here is a look at storm tracker, you can see a quiet picture, no rain to worry about just yet. let's talk about the weekend because how long will this warm weather last? it's over tomorrow, tomorrow is a big cool down, temperatures back to the low 50s, again, still above average but we will feel a big difference, a couple showers possible, and then back to record warm temperatures for your sunday, 66 degrees, the record forward the day 63, i think we will easily beat that on sunday, a chance for a few more showers there and then on monday another turn around weather wise. we will take a look at that. here is a look at future tracker. nice and dry, lots of clouds, a especially off to the south, in the jersey shore you have the best chance for seeing some rain in the afternoon and even around 6:00. that's where the main folk ulgs of that rain is. to the north of town maybe some sunshine, even a nicer day. as we head into saturday to start the weekend, should be a dry start, but watching those showers increase throughout the day again on your saturday. for today 66, your record high temperature in central park, making it the warmest christmas day on record. look at those temperatures, sunday another record, 66, by monday down to the low 40s for high temperatures, wind chills in the 20s and 30s, monday night we could even see a wintry mix north and west of town changing over to rain. definitely want to keep our guard up over the next few days. there is a little hint of winter coming our way. good morning everyone. merry christmas. unfortunately we do have a road closure right now, we had 28 closed in new jersey, that deagen is closed, that's all with an accident investigation, so i will continue to keep you updated on that. let's head over to -- we will head outside, here is the brooklyn bridge, no road work go he get in your way this morning. over on the belt parkway, we have been talking about low visibility in certain areas, this is an issue out here, the belt out by jfk airport. also parking rules and meter rules are suspended today. we will have more weather and traffic ahead on the 40s. police are investigating an alleged bias attack at medgar evers college in brooklyn. they say the suspect punched him in a hallway. when a witness asked why he hit the victim the suspect responded by saying, quote, i don't like white people and jewish people and walked away. one week from today funeral services will take place for a by a suicide bomber in afghanistan. louis u. lewis bonacasa was one of the people killed in a suicide mommer attack. he will be laid to rest at cal ver ton national cemetery. protesters filled the city's magnificent mile. protesters tried to dampen holiday sales and demanded the resignation of chicago may i can't remember rahm emanuel. they remain furious over his handling of a fatal police shooting of laquan mcdonald. people in tennessee and mississippi are sifting through the aftermath of the monster tornado there. a surveillance camera captured the 136 mile an hour tornado as it roared through holly springs wednesday. the storm swept up a car and tossed the vehicle, killing a seven-year-old boy inside. have been on the ground for 150 miles, starting in mississippi and ending in tennessee. throughout the south violent weather has killed at least 14 people. in northern california tornadoes also touched down on christmas eve. in el dorado county a storm caused one tree to topple over crushing a car, torn down fences, ripped apart roofs. in full some someone recorded a funnel cloud. a bus came crashing into a building in central evening land, injured more than a dozen people there. that bus apparently collided with a car before smashing into the offices of a guide dog charity. you can see the bus right there. nobody in this building was hurt but two people in the car and at least 11 people on that bus were treated for minor injuries. new york city has a christmas gift for more than 50,000 homeowners who are poor, elderly or disabled. it's a $115 break on their next water bill. the credit is part of the home water assistance program, that expanding now to include people who qualify for the federal home energy assistance program or for a property tax exemption or senior citizens or the disabled. that credit will show up automatically on their next bill. >> we have already show you a few traditional christmas eve religious services. now i have one that's not to traditional. >> this is interesting. one new jersey church tried a different approach for their services this year and as rob schmidt shows us, the force was with them. >> we're going to tell you the story of christmas in a way you probably have never heard and hopefully will never forget. >> reporter: it's called could say mic christmas and it's a very different kind of church service that senior pastor tim lucas hopes can capture the ever wandering minds of your kids. >> the goal tonight is to tell the message of christmas in a fresh way. we're using the epic story of "star wars" to tell the greatest story ever told from the bible. >> reporter: using dancing storm wars" as a metaphor for the story of jesus christ. tonight's service featured hans solo telling the story, and kids could take the pic sitting on the lap of dearth santa. it's a program that's gaining in prop later with the explosive release of the new "star wars" film the "the force awakens" ." >> on a typical sunday we have 4,000 people, today we have had couple that. i think people are excited about not only "the force awakens" but hopefully their faith is awake yens. >> liquid church has five locations in new jersey. it tauts itself as a fresh look at christianity. tonight's service was certainly interesting. it freaked this little girl out just a little bit. but other kids loved it. >> awesome. it's so much fun. it was amazing. >> oh, wow. chewbacca making his noise. >> seriously. >> still to come robert downey jr. gets a clean slate for christmas, the official ruling live look at the hamilton bridge just off the gwb. a lot of people heading out this morning. good to be with you. mexico's colima or the fire volcano put on a spectacular show on christmas eve. that rumbling volcano spewed this cloud of volcanic ash more than 165 feet into the sky. earlier you could see the glowing red hot rocks and lava. no evacuation orders have been issued but villagers are being we are talking breaking records right now. >> that's right. again and again. it's going to be the warmest december on record in new york city. this is just part of it. yesterday the warmest christmas eve, today already broken the warmest christmas day record. there is your record tracker, the previous high tour was 64 degrees back in 1982. 66 so far, that's the unofficial high temperature so far, i called my friends at the national weather service just to check, that's what they're telling me right now. that's the unofficial record of 66. now we have another record in jeopardy, 63 on sunday, that record goes back to 1949, and we're looking at a forecast of 66 degrees for your sunday. it just goes on and on. but then there may be some snow in the future as well. as much as we're talking about these record warm temperatures our first taste of winter may be around the corner, not today. 66 your high. winds are light out of the north, a couple showers are pobl it's dry and very mild on this christmas day. >> thank you. not a lot of traffic but there are people out on the roads, we were talking about the fog. >> right. they are certainly out there and a lot of people will be using mass transit today to get around. we do have a lot of service changes, the staten island ferries operating on a holiday schedule. if you're getting on the rails metro north is offering hourly service, path is operating on a saturday schedule. we do have a program on the major deagen, though. >> see you in a few. tsa officers arrested a passenger who tried to carry a hidden ice pick through security at newark airport. have you seen this yet? this is what officers found inside his cane. a tsa worker pulled this off a conveyor belt. a slight twist and pull of the officers seized the cane and arrested the man. it is 4:55. robert downey jr. now has an official christmas pardon from california governor jerry brown. brown says the iron man star lived honest and upright -- an honest and upright life, that's ever since downey was released from prison in 2000. he was convicted of drug related offenses but later went to rehab. there is a christmas bundle of joy for crystal palin. she gave birth to a little girl named sailor grace. she was engaged to a medal of honor recipient but that marriage was called off earlier this year. some drivers who were pulled over in the bronx got quite a surprise from the nypd. instead of tickets officers handed out toys to families after stopping their cars. the officers of the 47th precinct say they got an overflow of donations during the toys away to drivers, bus passengers and families on the street. one four hooved friend is spreading christmas joy in wisconsin. we want you to meet mocha. this festive miniature horse has been greeting shoppers and helping to ring the salvation army red kettle bell in the town of lake wasota. mocha's owner says the last minute shoppers are slowing down to say hello and appreciate the spirit of christmas. >> i had one mom say shy daughter will remember this for the rest of her life. that she whispered into mocha's elf's ears about her christmas gift. well, mocha's owner says she loves the look in the faces of adults and children when they get to meet her little christmas helper. >> that's one of many ways you can get a message to santa. >> seriously. >> i remember the first time i a wool worth's on long island the first time my mom explained to me what the salvation army was and the bell ringing campaign. it was the friday after thanksgiving. i gave the guy $10 to do my holiday shopping and a dollar left over and my mother told me the importance of doing that. no horse involved in that situation. >> and even the bell ringers they are so fantastic. >> around rockefeller center, they dance, they're great. >> terrific. a lot more coming up at 5:00 a.m. if you're about to head out the door take us with you. >> download the news 4 mobile app on your mobile device. our next hour right now. it is a great start to christmas day, ever getting record warm weather and the sun isn't even up yet. thousands pack noog st. patrick's cathedral overnight for midnight mass. and the spirit of giving at work right now, the organization prepared to feed thousands on this christmas day. "today" in new york starts now. good morning and merry 25th, chris may day, i'm gus rows en detail. >> and i'm natalie pasquarella. we're going to start with storm team 4s rafael miranda joining us with the forecast. >> just incredible. i know already seeing 66 degrees this morning and just getting started. you can see we do have patchy fog out there, watch out for that, temperatures in the low 60s right now, plenty of cloudiness throughout the day. it's not going to be bright and sunny but warm for sure. tours hovering in the 60s throughout the day, maybe a few showers by the end of the day, especially south of new york city, down the jersey shore you have the best chance of seeing some rain. today's record high temperature 66 degrees. we will talk about some potential snow on the way, i know, it's a lot to handle. right now lauren is here with a look at your commute. >> we do have one problem out there on the roads, we will head over to the bronx, we are on the major deagan now just two lanes are closed, this is between exit there is an accident

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