Speaker 1: This is WBZ, Boston's news radio, redefining local news. Thirty
Speaker 1: five degrees in Boston at four o'clock. Good afternoon. I'm
Speaker 1: Ben Parker. Here's what's happening. Inflated prices this year didn't
Speaker 1: stop Americans from doing buying during the holiday season.
Speaker 2: Sales rose this year during the holiday shopping season, even
Speaker 2: as Americans wrestled with elevated prices. Holiday sales from the
Speaker 2: beginning of November through Christmas Eve climb three point eight percent,
Speaker 2: outpacing the three point one percent increase from a year ago.
Speaker 2: That's according to MasterCards Spending Pulse, which tracks all kinds
Speaker 2: of payments, including cash and debit cards. The last five
Speaker 2: days of the shopping season accounted for ten percent of
Speaker 2: the spending. Clothing sales rose three point six percent, with
Speaker 2: most of the growth being fueled by online shopping. Spending
Speaker 2: on restaurants and sales of electronics and jewelry also grew.
Speaker 2: Online sales jumps six point seven percent from a year ago,
Speaker 2: and in person spending was up two point nine percent.
Speaker 2: I'm Shelley apler.
Speaker 1: After the gifts were unwrapped and some head to the
Speaker 1: stores to return and exchange CBS's a CBS News boss,
Speaker 1: and Fenny commit has more.
Speaker 3: Logistics company Narvar predicts a one hundred dollars item could
Speaker 3: cost a retailer thirty two dollars to restock and resell.
Speaker 3: Some companies are even adopting what experts call returnless.
Speaker 4: Returns because the cost of processing and the cost of
Speaker 4: shipping and postage is so high it's cheaper for them
Speaker 4: to just say keep the item, but you can't count
Speaker 4: on that.
Speaker 3: To avoid return fees, experts suggest taking your items back
Speaker 3: to the physical store instead of shipping them for Amazon packages.
Speaker 3: Bring them to a drop off location like Coals or
Speaker 3: Whole Foods, and keep all items in their original packaging,
Speaker 3: and don't forget your receipt.
Speaker 1: And retail experts say, if you missed that return window,
Speaker 1: try bring your unwanted things back to the store anyway.
Speaker 1: Investigators still trying to determine the cause of a fire
Speaker 1: at a multi million dollar home in Brookline they mentioned
Speaker 1: on Sergeant Road, went up in flames this morning. Firefighters
Speaker 1: were able to contain the blaze by midday or so.
Speaker 1: No one was injured in the fire, and the five
Speaker 1: people in the home were able to get out safely.
Speaker 1: The owners should be able to rebuild. Firefighters say most
Speaker 1: of the damage was in the attic. US officials are
Speaker 1: planning meeting with partners in the Middle East discussing the
Speaker 1: potential re emergence of the ISIS terrorist group. More from
Speaker 1: CBS's Cammy McCormick.
Speaker 5: US diplomats traveled to Syria to meet with the new
Speaker 5: authorities there, and now a delegation from Iraq has arrived,
Speaker 5: including the head of intelligence. Iraq has been a central
Speaker 5: partner in the fight against ISIS and is stressing to
Speaker 5: the new Syrian leaders the importance of securing their shared border.
Speaker 5: There are two thousand US troops in Syria that are
Speaker 5: part of the anti ISIS mission.
Speaker 1: The Biden administration has been expressing concerns about a security
Speaker 1: vacuum in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime.
Speaker 1: My Washington Avalanche Center is warning about an elevated safety
Speaker 1: risk following an avalanche Hillman's Highway Christmas Eve. The center
Speaker 1: says it was caused naturally from strong winds and several
Speaker 1: new inches of snow, and that those conditions could cause
Speaker 1: more avalanches this week, especially on slopes higher than three
Speaker 1: thousand feet avalanches can come without warning, but possible signs
Speaker 1: of danger include visible cracks in the snow and smooth
Speaker 1: snow drifts that are feeling firm and sounding hollow. The
Speaker 1: Mount Washington Observatory says as of twenty twenty one, there
Speaker 1: were seventeen deaths from avalanches in the mountains. Recorded history
Speaker 1: coming up on WBZ How long before you throw out
Speaker 1: that tree? Chill in the air Tonight about twenty two
Speaker 1: in Boston, into the teens in some of the inland
Speaker 1: suburbs under clear skies Tonight mostly sunny. Tomorrow will be
Speaker 1: around forty, and then tomorrow night clouds start to increase
Speaker 1: thirty in Boston, twenties in the suburbs. We start to
Speaker 1: bring in some precipitation. We're also going to start to
Speaker 1: bring in some warmer temperatures, though on Saturday we will
Speaker 1: have clouds, we'll have some rain and drizzle, and especially
Speaker 1: outside of four ninety five, we may pick up a
Speaker 1: little bit of freezing with some of that precipitation, as
Speaker 1: the temperatures may be cold enough to make surface slick.
Speaker 1: Temperatures late Saturday do get to about forty, though over
Speaker 1: the Capean Island's mid forties. By Sunday we're to about
Speaker 1: fifty degrees with some clouds, some rain, some drizzle, and
Speaker 1: then a heavier rain. We'll get in here Sunday night,
Speaker 1: and then Monday we hang on to periods of rain
Speaker 1: in the morning. Clouds linger. Temperatures though, get into the
Speaker 1: upper fifties. Right now, it's thirty five degrees in Boston,
Speaker 1: with Christmas behind us. Plenty of people are asking themselves,
Speaker 1: how long should I leave that tree Upbezi's Jeremy Russ
Speaker 1: is looking for the answer.
Speaker 6: For some people, it's a matter of religion. The twelve
Speaker 6: Days of Christmas ends on the Peace of Epiphany January sixth,
Speaker 6: so the tree stays up at least until then. For others,
Speaker 6: the deadline is a little bit more up in the air.
Speaker 6: There are the conservatives like five days, the relative we
Speaker 6: moderate to April April as long as it's a life,
Speaker 6: keep it up, and the full blown Christmas die hards
Speaker 6: as long.
Speaker 4: As you want. Because Christmas is the best time of
Speaker 4: the year.
Speaker 7: Ever, you should keep a tree up all year and
Speaker 7: decorate it for each holiday.
Speaker 6: And for others it's just a matter of practicality.
Speaker 8: New Year's you sell people over so I want to
Speaker 8: treat to look nice, and then nobody wants to clean
Speaker 8: up after New.
Speaker 6: Year's so, unle, that's what you're cleaning are dead pine needles.
Speaker 6: Jeremy Russ WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1: Patriot Place is hosting its annual Minora Lighting celebration tonight,
Speaker 1: second night of Hanukkah. The venue is partnering with a
Speaker 1: Temple and Sharon to put on the event. There'll be
Speaker 1: special appearances pat Patriot Patriots cheerleaders. To celebration goes until
Speaker 1: six o'clock this evening. It's the first day of Kwansa.
Speaker 1: Tampa Trahielo tells us the history of the holiday.
Speaker 7: From December twenty sixth to January first, millions of people
Speaker 7: worldwide will observe the Pan African tradition created by cal
Speaker 7: State Long Beach professor doctor Marlana Kerenga in nineteen sixty six.
Speaker 7: Doctor Karanka created the concept of Kwanza to honor African
Speaker 7: American heritage and culture. Karenga says the holiday is to
Speaker 7: help Black families relate to the past in order to
Speaker 7: understand the present and deal with the future. The word
Speaker 7: Kwansa is Swahili for harvest first Fruits. The holiday observes principles, practices,
Speaker 7: and symbols which are geared to the social and spiritual
Speaker 7: needs of African Americans. I'm Tammy Trhio.
Speaker 1: It's opening day for an event that brings a lot
Speaker 1: of people to downtown Salem. WBC's CALONL. Stevens with more
Speaker 1: on the Frozen Fire Festival.
Speaker 9: Live music is just a part of the Frozen Fire Festival.
Speaker 9: Here at Charlotte Porton Park and Salem. There's also curling
Speaker 9: fire pits, igloos, a lot to eat and a lot
Speaker 9: to drink, and at night circu performers, some of whom
Speaker 9: play with fire. Shelby Elwell with the Anthem Group who
Speaker 9: put this together, says the goal is to give people
Speaker 9: a reason to get out and have fun.
Speaker 8: Well, the goal is really to drive foot traffic and
Speaker 8: tourism post Christmas and keep the economic impact alive for
Speaker 8: the small businesses and the restaurants in the community so
Speaker 8: you can carry through to the new year, especially as
Speaker 8: the season gets a little colder.
Speaker 9: The Frozen Fire Festival has free admission and runs every
Speaker 9: day from eleven am till midnight until January first. From
Speaker 9: Salem Carl Stevens WDBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1: You are now in the loop for news updates throughout
Speaker 1: the day. Listen to WBZ News Radio on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: I'm Ben Parker, WBZ, Boston's News Radio,