An Arizona elementary teacher uses Steve Hartman’s “On the Road” stories to teach kindness and character. One about a Secret Santa that gives out money to random strangers has inspired his students to do the same over the holidays — and this year was no different. Source

Employees at Starbucks stores started a five-day strike in several U.S. cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, workers are on strike at more than a half dozen Amazon facilities, with more locations expected to join. Carter Evans has details. Source

Here’s a look at the top stories making headlines on the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.” Source

Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s top official for freeing Americans held overseas, is in Syria for a high-risk mission: making the first known face-to-face contact with the caretaker government and asking for help finding missing American journalist Austin Tice. Carsten spoke to CBS News in an exclusive interview for “Face the Nation.” Source

At least two people are dead and dozens more injured after a vehicle plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Authorities say the driver of the car was arrested and that it appears to be a deliberate attack. Elaine Cobbe has details. Source

Over 100,000 people were forcibly disappeared under Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, according to rights groups. Imtiaz Tyab spoke with people desperate to find their loved ones after Damascus fell to Syrian rebels. Source

The House has voted to approve a stopgap plan to fund the government until mid-March, with a bipartisan coalition embracing an agreement a few hours before a midnight deadline to avert a shutdown. Nikole Killion has the latest developments. Source

A record number of Americans are expected to be on the move over the holidays. Nearly 120 million people are estimated to pack the nation’s airports and highways between now and New Year’s Day, according to AAA. Kris Van Cleave has more. Source

Major airports in the Northeast could be impacted by bad weather, as winter weather advisories take effect from the Great Lakes into the Mid-Atlantic region. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is tracking it all. Source

This week a group of plaintiffs in Missouri, Kansas, California and Florida filed a class-action lawsuit against dozens of companies and organizations, claiming they’ve falsely promoted how easy it is to recycle plastics. CBS News Los Angeles climatologist Marina Jurica has the details. Source