this is cbs news bay area, with elizabeth cook. next, on the afternoon edition, a 1-2 punch in the weather department. it is a spare the air day and rain is on the way. we are tracking conditions. business owners reeling after a fire ripped through a southbay stripmall. what we are learning about the future of this two-story building. plus, a surprise inspection at the martinez refinery. what the health department was looking for when they showed up this morning, fg us this afternoon. i'm anne makovec, in for liz. let's get you caught up on today's headlines. the israeli military says it has expanded its ground offensive in gaza. heavy fighting now reported in refugee camps in central gaza.

the hamas run central health ministry says strikes have killed more than 100,000 palestinians. the area is packed with those who fled the war in other areas. a top israeli military leader says the war could continue for months. a family searching for answers after spirit airlines put their six-year-old on the wrong flight. a woman says her grandson was traveling alone for the first time to visit her in orlando, but he ended up in ft. myers. she had to drive four hours to pick him up she said spirit offered to reimburse her for that drive, but she wants an explanation on how this happened. back in the bay area today, marking the start of the final horse racing season at golden gate fields. during the summer, the racetrack announced it would be closing permanently, this year. in september, those plans changed , staying open through june of next year. golden gate fields opened in 1941 and it

is the last major racetrack in northern california. the other big story this afternoon, we are in the middle of the holiday travel season. some people getting home after the long christmas weekend. taking a look at our bay area airports, some delays right now. at last check, 118 delays at sfo with one cancellation. oakland has 39 delays , and one cancellation, and 55 delays at san jose minetta. no cancellations there. this is what the drop off at sfo looks like earlier today. not as congested as last week in the run-up to christmas. the airport says they expect over 2 million travelers to pass through from mid-december through new year's eve. that is 87% of what those airports saw on those days in 2019. christmas day at airports, for the most part headache free. delays have been relatively minor this holiday season, mainly because airports were prepared for the crowds and the lack of white christmas around the country. flight aware reported fewer

than 200 cancellations in the u.s., yesterday. now taking a live look outside this tuesday afternoon, a spare the air alert has been issued for today, for woodsmoke pollution. remember, the spare the air alert that bands would bring in the region for 24 hours. we also have rain on the way. let's go to meteorologist jessica birch. >> yesterday was a beautiful day in the bay area for christmas, today it is pretty much a repeat. forecast tomorrow, big changes are on the way and it could cause issues when it comes to holiday travel, here in the bay area. 60s in the forecast for us today, down into the santa clara valley. rain returns in the forecast, tomorrow. that is the big weather story which happens in the early morning hours starting in the north bay and stretching down to the southbay as we head into the afternoon hours. let's time that out for you. taking a look at tomorrow, thursday, and friday. tomorrow, rain chances increase. they decrease into thursday, and then increase again friday as a new system is

in from offshore to here is what it is looking like tonight , into the early morning hours tomorrow. 8:00 a.m. it starts in the north bay and sweeps south. as we go into the afternoon hours, around 2:00. look at these isolated storms. for the most part moving in from offshore with breezy conditions, but they are isolated. you might need your windshield wipers at times. the roads might be slick at times but it dries up as we enter the overnight hours for wednesday, clearing up just in time for thursday. >> thanks. we are getting a better sense of the damage after a fire tore through a strip mall in los altos. several businesses were destroyed when the flames broke out this morning. new video in from our chopper shows the condition of the two-story building on el camino riel. this is between north san antonio road and sherwood avenue. the roof has collapsed, and now, part of el camino real has been shut down as a precaution. one business owner told us the building will have to be demolished. crews are trying to determine the cause of that fire. businesses occupying the building include a dance school, a children's library, art gallery, and college

counselor. thankfully, no injuries were reported. company is using the building were notified sometime around 8:00 a.m. >> i was very shocked. my concern, as a manager, was the staff that works here, locally. some of them live walking distance from here . that is the biggest obstacle riner. >> el camino real will remain closed until the building can be demolished. people who lived in this building are still trying to find a new place to live. a fire broke out of his apartment building near east 14th street in san leandro yesterday morning. it left three people without a home. fire crews were able to knock down that fire within an hour. the flames were contained to one unit on the first floor, and thankfully, nobody was hurt. the red cross helping people who live in this building in martinez. this broke out between before 10:00 a.m. yesterday morning on alhambra avenue. officials say it started in a carport

beneath a multistory building, then spread to residential units above. thankfully, nobody was hurt in that fire, either. and unannounced inspection is underway at the martinez refining company. the contra costa county health department is on site right now looking over records and observing operations at the refinery. this comes as a follow-up to the company's recent history of chemical releases and other incidents at the facility. contra costa county health department says there have been 21 documented releases or spills of hazardous material, and on average, one flaring incidents per week in 2023. the county is teaming up with the bay area air quality management district to carry out the inspection. county supervisors are scheduled to meet with the corporate leadership later this week. for its part, the refinery just released a statement saying it is cooperating with all agencies and investigations. presents have been unwrapped after what is projected to be the biggest holiday spending year on record. mastercard says sales

grew 3.1% over just the last season. a survey from digital personal finance company , achieved, found that around half of american consumers plan to take on debt to pay for those holiday items. 37% say it is going to take them two months or more to get those shopping bills paid off in full. when it comes to holiday gifts, they say, it is the thought that counts. many americans are thinking of taking some unwanted present back, and they might found out that can be a pricey proposition. a survey finds 40% of consumers plan to return at least one holiday gift this season, and those returns are not always free. a growing number of major retailers are now charging for return shipping. the logistics company, navarre, says 40% of companies are adding a fee up from 31% last year. expense is the reason why. navarre estimates a $100 item can cost a retailer $32 to give back and resell, with transportation to

the warehouse being the first major expense. >> it has to arrive to the warehouse, scanned and put back in, and be made available to sell, and there is labor involved with all of that. >> even amazon is charging one dollar per package is taken to ups, depending on where you live . you might be able to avoid fees if you return a gift to a physical store. still ahead, the need is greater than ever this holiday season. we will take you to the san francisco marin food bank with how you can help, right now. not the christmas present 49ers fans were wishing for. we break down what went wrong in the monday might monday night meltdown

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donating to local food banks helps provide meals for families in our community. they can make a dollar go a lot further than we can end this year, our need is great. >> part of the great work done at food banks all over the great bay area, and including here at sf marin food bank. if you come here and food is

brought to you, you get that connection. you get to feel like you are cared for, and thousands of people are homebound, they cannot come here to get the food. there is a mechanism to getting the food to where you are, when you need that service. kathy, with amazon, why is this such an important thing to purchase paid in? >> is a great day to be dissipate with these efforts is go marin food bank. we like to invest in the communities where we operate and with offices throughout downtown and operations nearby, we are so honored to partner with the food bank, a staple in our community, addressing hunger and food scarcity every day for our most vulnerable community. >> it has to feel good. >> reporter: hole, you are a part of the logistics making sure that people who are homebound for whatever reason? >> we utilize our own logistics company within amazon to get meals to the different homes. so, we utilize our own dsp providers and every day, every week, they are going out and delivering those food to the

homeless. we also have employees in the bay area that have donated countless hours of volunteer time to support those efforts. >> i always love coming and talking to the organizers here at sf marin food bank. >> reporter: really, the human connections made are invaluable. >> absolutely. in the case of grocery, sometimes the delivery people may be the only ones we are seeing. folks like amazon help us deliver to people who would not otherwise get to the pantries. what i love about this, is seeing corporate sponsors and involvement, you can cue us to get involved, to do something about the problem of food insecurity where we live. take a cue and get involved. even one dollar donated makes such an impact. go to our website, or scan the qr code on your screen, and you can find ways to be connected to community. when you do that, i say it all the time, you are a part of our family. oakland is preparing for an

anticipated rainy season. the city is encouraging people to adopt a storm drain. the program's goal is to find volunteers to help keep storm drains clean of debris. the city says they will give out the proper tools for people to use, and will give them renal colors on the phone. you can adopt a drain on the city's website. first alert weather right now taking a life look outside this tuesday afternoon. we have hazy skies . it is a spare the air alert day and rain is on the way. let's get over to meteorologist jessica birch. is a spare the air alert day throughout the bay area and we are keeping a close eye on air quality. notice how we are sitting in the moderate to unhealthy category. it will get worse as we make our way out to the sacrament of valley. today is not the day to burn anything outside. into our forecast tomorrow, we have big changes right around the corner. this area of low pressure will bring in rain

for our wednesday forecast. we catch a break of the next one starts to develop and that moves in on friday, bringing us more showers in the bay area as we wrap up this year and enter the new year. today it is just kradi scott cloudy skies rolling in from offshore. the onshore flow will help just a bit when it comes to the air quality along the coast by tomorrow morning, into the afternoon hours. scattered showers widespread through the bay area. it starts up in the north bay around-the-clock and sweeps through the bay area, into the evening hours tonight -- excuse me, tomorrow night. early morning hours on thursday. we are keeping a close eye on that. rainfall totals from that system and friday's system is looking to be about one inch on average. kind of exciting as we wrap up the year with just a bit of rain. but, it could be an issue for all that holiday travel. make sure you are checking the roads before you head out to send your loved ones home. here is what we are looking at for daytime highs today. upper 50s and lower 60s through the bay area. the onshore flow will stay around 5 to 10 miles per hour. santa clara valley at 63

degrees today in san jose. take a look at what is happening for the next couple of days but we will be flirting with the upper 50s and lower 60s all week long into this weekend and into the new year, to. as we enter saturday and sunday, new year's eve, right around the corner, that is when we start drying up from all these rain systems moving in from offshore . monday we are left with partly cloudy skies. not only for the inland forecast but for our friends along the bay, to. if you live in areas like san francisco, oakland, redwood city, and everywhere in between, we can see a similar trend through the bay area, wrapping up this week and ringing in the new year. >> with christmas behind us, people are wasting no time getting rid of their christmas tree. san francisco public works reminding people how to properly get rid of them. >> public works holding there annual chipping tree event, this is going on in front of city hall. for the first time after a three-year hiatus because of the pandemic. the city's christmas tree recycling program starts january 2nd, through the 12th . if you are

getting rid of your tree, make sure all decorations are cleared out, and put it on the curb before your scheduled collection day . still ahead, the niners will need to go back to the drawing board after their tough christmas day loss. we are breaking it all down on the red and gold report.

did you catch the game last night? even with home-field advantage, 49ers fans did not get the christmas gift we were hoping for monday night at levi stadium. has not largely explains in the red and gold report, it was an even tougher night for quarterback brock purdy.

this is the volkswagen red and gold report. >> football fans across the country were looking at this 49ers and ravens game on christmas night as a potential super bowl preview . it didn't go that way, and the faithful might have had their christmas stolen, but at least they can look at this game and say, it is only december, and there is a lot of football left to play this season. brock purdy entered the game as the co-favorite for the mvp, but that was not the case in this one. third quarter, niners down 11. purdy gets picked up by patrick lim. that was his fourth interception of the game. fourt -quarter, purdy, under pressure, gets taken down on the sack and is slow to get up. he left the game with a stinger and did not return. so, sam darnold came in to finish this thing out. the niners were two scores late, fitting into a night they will want to forget about. sam gets picked up in the end zone, ravens up 38-18. the niners still had faith in their quarterback. >> i think the nfl script writers did a great job

tonight. i've never seen brock purdy for for an interception before. >> the fact that he's played this long and has never had a game like this is pretty unusual. i'm not saying it's bound to happen, but, i wish he didn't have as many tics today, there was one he'd really like to have back, the other three were unfortunate. >> for me to make some decisions like that, and you know, it is not fair to these guys. i have to get better for my team. >> for the met red and gold report, i'm not lively. still a lot of football left this season. still ahead, here, we are almost at the end of the year. coming up, a yearly kpix tradition as the year winds down. we take to the streets to hear stories about all the positive things that happened this year. you can watch us anytime, anywhere on our streaming service, cbs news bay area where you can catch live newscast plus news and

weather cast throughout th

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if you have questions, we're here to help every step of the way. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll by december 31 at coveredca.com. tonight on the cbs evening news, if you have ever wondered what happens to lost luggage never found, we have the answer. we will take you inside a warehouse, where extra baggage is not about inconvenience, it's about a great find. that, in tonight's headlines on the cbs evening news. coming about 5:00, how a group of scientists is digging

millions of years into the past in the hopes of providing critical information about our planet's future , in one of the coldest countries on earth. that story and more, coming up 5:00. i will be joining ryan yamamoto for that broadcast. stick with us. finally, at 3:00, we will want to leave you with some good news. for now, da lin hit the streets of san francisco to hear what people are thankful for this year. >> reporter: the iconic lombard street in san francisco is known to be the most crooked street in the world. in a way, it is symbolic to what the area has experienced. with all the talk of crime and public safety, it is hard to see straight and focus on the good. but, there is so much good around us. let's end this year on a high note. >> we set up shop at pier 39. asking people what is your

good news? >> my mom is battling stage iv breast cancer and i was able to fly in from texas to come see her. it means a lot. it's great to have her here. >> she is still fighting, and i love her for that. >> i got the job of my dreams. i finally got to run a program for infants and toddlers >> i got a new cat , and i learned how to read. >> what is your cat's name? >> cleo. >> one thing good happening to me is that there will not be coal in my presence. >> there will not be coal? that is good news. >> i got married. i married her. >> in august. we were best friends, and -- >> it feels good. >> vya. >> i come from douala . i'm working here in san francisco to celebrate holidays. >> my goodness for this year

is that my mom had baby girls . twins. >> you are a big sister? >> yes. >> how do you feel? >> i feel excited, because it is exciting. >> i found a brother, or he found us, who no one knew about. he is my 100% brother. we have the same mom and dad and he is three years younger than me. he found us, and i grew up my whole life not knowing i had an extra sibling, and now i have an aunt. he was put up for adoption when i was three. he found us and he has been searching for us for over 20 years. it has been crazy. it has been such a blessing to have him in our lives. 2023 has been a great year for my family, filled with good news. nothing tops the birth

of my daughter. earlier this year my wife and i welcomed our second child. a healthy baby girl. during the holidays, we are reminded it is not what, but who surrounds us. and i hope that you are surrounded by a lot of love and goodness. from my family to yours, merry christmas, and happy new year. >> such a good reminder to be thankful for all of the good things in our lives. even if you didn't get exactly what you wanted from santa . you got to go get it yourself. make things happen. cbs evening news is coming up next on kpix, and local news continues on our streaming service, cbs news bay area. come back and join us at ♪ ♪ >> tonight, the major winter storm sweeping across the country, delaying flights and putting the brakes on millions of travelers heading home from the holidays. what you need to know. ♪ ♪ heavy snow blankets the midwest and