what we are learning tonight. a family s nightmare. a 6-year-old traveling alone to be with his grandmother for the holiday put on the wrong spirit airlines plane arriving in the wrong city. the tense moments for his family and what the airline is now saying this in the middle of a record breaking holiday travel season with millions hitting the roads and taking to the skies. we re following a cross-country storm making its way in the south. millions on alert for potential flooding and the blizzard warning in the northern plains. christmas celebrations canceled in the traditional birthplace of jesus where the fighting in gaza hangs over a time that is usually a time of joy. as relentless combat in the israel-hamas war takes a toll on civilians and both sides of the fighting and the grim death toll. prime minister benjamin netanyahu under pressure inside israel, rick clement from bethlehem. fear that the israeli-hamas conflict will spread as tensions escalate in the red s
of cnn this morning. it is sunday, december 25th. of course you know, we ve all been waiting for this beautiful morning. i m amara walker. good morning and merry christmas to you as well. thank you for spending part of your holiday morning with us. just ahead this morning, fighting racism from a one horse open sleigh, after getting hate mail for put putting up a black stanta in his yard santa in h yard, one man fights back. and how dollar stars are quickly becoming the go-to destination for shoppers. and we re going to introduce you to this year s cnn hero of the year, with a heart warming moment as she accepted her award. first let s get you caught up with this morning s headlines with whitney wilde. good morning and merry christmas to you, if you re celebrating at home. we begin with this brutal weather storm. at least 22 deaths are blamed on the storm and more than a quarter million people are without electricity. more than 3,400 flights were cancelled yesterda