deliver thousands of toys to needy children. >> good morning, everyone! merry christmas! i'm jenelle wang. let's check with meteorologist christine hanson. >> good morning and merry christmas to you. we have a little rain that's still offshore. we're seeing most of the heavier rain well to the north of us. there's a line of showers that doesn't look like it's going to be much but it is going to produce some very heavy rain later this morning. it will also produce some strong winds. we have wind advisories in effect and storm advisories and winter storm advisories in effect for the sierra. i'm going to give you a time lapse on this and let you know when you can expect all this activity coming up in your complete accu-weather 7 forecast. >> thanks, christine. an air alert delta cancelled 500 flights nationwide because of a storm that's expected to bring rare snowfall on this christmas day. that includes 300 of the 800 of the scheduled departures from its atlanta hub. all the passengers have been

advised of the cancellations. delta is among the several air carriers waiving penalties for passengers that need to reschedule flights. more snow in the sierra where 260 inches has already fallen. that's close to a record. it hasn't had this much snow this early since 1997. most ski areas are expecting the busiest week of the year. >> i started boarding about six years ago and it's kind of my stress relief, you know. so i have a lot of fun. >> shops in towns like truckee are enjoying an influx of tourists including in woman from montreal. >> as soon as we arrived we thought we landed in a cowboy town. it's so cute! (laughter) >> roads into the mountains have been cleared but a went storm advisory kicks in later today. residents of one of the southern california towns hardest hit by this week's storms have cut a small break. dozens of people were allowed to

return to their mud-swollen homes in their san bernardino community of highland yesterday. they were given two hours to salvage what they could from christmas presents from important documents. >> my birth certificates from my family. and my husband's death certificate. i don't know if i'll need that but it's in there. >> got most of the christmas presents? >> most of them. we have a lot more stuff. >> primarily damage estimates in highland alone are at $17 million. a state of emergency has been declared in nine counties including los angeles orange, and santa barbara. more rain is in the forecast. home for the holidays has a very different meaning for people in san bruno today. because 37 families there's no home to come back to not since the pg&e pipeline disaster. wane friedman reports what has become a surreal christmas for survivors of this blast. >> this is where yvonne and then her son and her grandson lived.

>> on the theme of christmas home comings some will be better than others this year. in the san bruno fires of carolyn gray she would say it's a mixed bag at best. >> we wanted him to see what his old house wasn't anymore i guess you would say. >> in a place now charred by flames there are 37 home sites where four months later only the numbers remain. >> everybody's going down this path of life and all of a sudden here comes the detour. >> even residents whose homes survived feel the burden. try living across the street from this landscape as bob sherlock does. >> it's there but i never get used to it. sometimes i leave my blinds shut during the day. >> locals say they've seen enough of this hole in the ground the now infamous gas pipe that killed eight of their neighbors. >> for all the damage here, for all the loss of life it really could have been worse. the saving grace, that on the night of the explosion, many families kids and parents, had

gone to a back-to-school night. otherwise they would have been here. >> some of them we had been holding, there would have been more injuries. >> the last time we saw bob mcnichols, he was counting his blessings. his house survived the fire but only by inches. >> i've got a pretty good appreciation for some things i didn't. life is precious and every day's a good one. >> every day he sees progress. san bruno most people do one way way or the other. moving on. >> this is like a funeral coming back over and over and over again. realizing it's really gone. >> wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> othernews, work on that sewer line that ruptured in marin county is wrapping up but it turns out much more raw sewage spilled than anyone initially imagined. the total is nearing 3 million gallons. the general manager of the rock

valley sanitary district blames wednesday's spill on a 30-year-old sewer pipe that failed. another 840,000 gallon spill is blamed on construction debris that clogged the line. >> rags were in there. we have large pieces of drive, black asphalt drive. piece -- big big chunks. >> jmp construction of south san francisco say it's cleaned and video inspected the line prior to being placed in service in august. some place the blame on the district for turning off a pumping station just before storm water filled the pipe. there's gift-giving to those you know and gift-giving to those who don't. charity was given way up along with o'doul's. lillian kim has the story. >> the toys kept coming. some chose to drop them off by foot others took advantage of this curbside drop-off. >> little boys and i thought it would be nice to give to a

little child who is not my own. >> last year o'doul's restaurant and the san francisco firefighters union have been working together this holiday season to provide toys for needy children. their goal? 10,000 toys. they appear to be on track thanks to people like rachel of san francisco. >> we're very lucky. we've been incredibly lucky and wanted to do our part hoping people would help us in the same situation. >> lefty o'doul's owner presented the firefighters union with a check for $25,000. johns that was fired when he told a joke that some thought inappropriate, they charge $10 for photos with santa. >> i was definitely surprised by the amount. that amount only came from the pictures alone. people are still donating cash money and gift cards here. >> the season of giving is also

in high gear. the saint santa foundation in the tenderloined here it's not toys but scarves coming in. >> the scarves come in every day. the staff is like, oh, did you see this one! >> saul hand-knit especially for the scarf giveaway. word went viral over the internet. knitters around the world started working at their craft and now saint anthony has 7,000 scarves which they plan to hand out christmas day. abc 7 news. >> all those presents they collected at lefty o'doul's will be delivered to children this morning. a real life case of a grinch that stole christmas. this time it happened in the north bay. an east bay dog owner is reunited with both pets. the first came home with a gunshot wound. we'll tell you about the secondllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. pope benedict xvi ushered in the season with a midnight mass attended by thousands. the pope led a procession up and down the aisles of saint peters basilica before and after the mass without incident. there was some concern because of a package bombing in recent days at two roman embassies. 2008 and 2009 there were security breaches. this year nothing disrupted the services and called on people to become more like jesus. downtown san jose christmas was celebrated with a special midnight mass. ♪

>> this video is from a christmas eve mass last night where hundreds took part at the cathedral basilica of st. joseph. st. joseph became a parish as early as 1803 and the abasilica is a national landmark. you heard about the grinch who stole christmas. one looking for a person who stole a grinch. here you see the christmas grinch from last year but in broad daylight yesterday someone made off with the 8 foot grinch. the owners were home when the robbery took place. how gutsy is that. it would take two people or two grinches to carry it away. if you are planning to take public transit be aware of the holiday schedules. bart caltrain and muni all running on a sunday schedule this morning. for those driving into san francisco, there will be no street sweeping at all. and parking meters are free

except one exception. a couple. no parking at fisherman's wharf, of course, and along the embarcadero and some of the other port properties. somebody has to be working to get those tickets. >> okay. yeah. >> they can't give us a break. we're not going to get a break in the rain? >> no we're not. right now we have enough visibility that we can see the lights of the city from the east bay. this is pictures from emeryville. bay bridge, no wet streets. in fact we still have fog this morning. but we are looking at a storm that's rain, snow and gusty winds. we'll tell you all about it coming up. >> thanks, christine. the shopping frenzy right up until closing t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t

t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t

t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t today, we gather to recognize the selfless decision of one of the most influential women of our time. the woman who, after having one too many drinks

chose not to drive home buzzed. here today to honor rachel is the family whose lives she spared. for itchy dry skin. try cortizone 10 intensive healing. the strongest itch relief medicine now has three vitamins and seven moisturizers. feel the heal. home this morning for the christmas holiday but last night lots of last-minute shopping going on all around the bay area. this is toys r us. they stayed open until late giving procrastinators one last opportunity to spends. the national retail federation prodict sales will top $451 billion. that's up 3.3% from last year. abc 7's laura anthony has the

story. >> things are looking up for retailers this holiday season and the rush of last minute shoppers could turn good sales figures into great ones. at concord sun valley mall the hot sellers include high-priced jewelry, a big change from last year. >> a very strong season here saturday, sunday valley. some of the strongest seasons in years. maybe one of the strongest seasons we've ever had. >> at brook stones last-minute shoppers were clearly going for items that wouldn't exactly be considered essential. >> the helicopters up front there, they're huge. we've been selling pretty well our drone hovercraft. >> much of the last-minute rush was by men who make up 60% of the christmas eve crowd here at sun valley, about twice the normal number.

>> just the spirit on the last day. people starting to get into it. >> then there are those who are into getting some bargains. >> lots of deals. i bought some nice sweaters for a person friend. >> i think we have more this year. definitely from the economy. but we have kids in college, we're helping them through. >> shopping wasn't the only last-minute task in sun valley. it was also the final day to get a picture taken with a certain someone. >> you're just now coming to see santa, huh? >> yep. work a lot. so definitely. 'cause i work a lot. shopping got done but not santa. >> here at sunday valley, also a big business. sales of those photo packages are also up considerably this year. in concord, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> well, it is christmas morning. merry christmas, christine. >> merry christmas to you! >> if anybody's driving they could have some rain.

>> well not right away. but certainly early this morning. it's been quiet outside. patchy dense fog but we will get a little rain midday if you're driving to the mountains which you should if you've got the day because we've got lots of snow as we've been talking about record snow there. here in the bay area, very quiet. take a look from ballmer peak and h. d. you can see the embarcadero center lit up and the bay bridge and the lights of christmas this christmas day morning. good morning to you. and along the embarcadero again, you can see the outline of the buildings and the city is just lit up the ferry building just off the embarcadero. also red and green this morning. we're also seeing our live doppler 7 light up as a storm system sits offshore. it doesn't look like much right now. i'm gonna put this in action and you will be able to see that the storm system is actually picking up a little bit. see how that moves through.

picking up energy to the west and that will continue to move our direction. but we have to go out into a bigger picture to see where all that is happening. it is going to shape up though to be a midday wet, wind day. with showers maybe early tomorrow but i think most of that's going to move through late tonight. we've got some rain. now tuesday and wednesday looks to be pretty good intense storm system. santa rosa this morning, 49 napa, 48 fairfield. a little fog in the central valley across the carquinez bridge. otherwise 50s around the bay 48 san jose and just a little fog there. here's how things shape up for our accu-weather 7 forecast. 8 a.m. still dry. a little bit of rain moving into north bay and then this storm system isn't very big but there is that downpour. and with that downpour, strong winds accompany it. the steady and intense downpour that will come with the system

itself, by 1:00 this afternoon already starting to break up and then we start to see some scattered showers by this afternoon and even overnight tonight clearing skies means fog tomorrow morning. and in the sierra, we'll continue to see some snow as that cold air moves in that direction. rainfall totals do not look to be real impressive from this system. but there's the front. it's very narrow but moving through and the cold air behind it producing snow down to about 5,000 feet. once again it is going to be cloudy and our rainfall totals expected to be heavier in the north bay, up to an inch of rain about a half inch of rain around the central portion of the bay area and lesser amounts in the south bay. wind advisory, 20 to 30 mph winds and also a winter storm advisory has been downgraded for the high sierra. here's our forecast for christmas day. our temperatures starting in the 40s. we'll see 50s. a little bit of wet weather throughout the mid afternoon period and for the south bay

similar forecast with some scattered showers and rain this morning. your accu-weather 7-day forecast, weather sunday and monday a pretty good storm system midweek but right now dry for new year's eve and new year's day. just in and out again of winter weather. but it is all producing some fabulous weather for the sierra. >> flooding up there. >> and great for a business owner as well. >> thanks so much, christine. getting word of a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that just hit. a tsunami warning has been issued for that immediate region which also includes fiji and some of those south pacific islands. no confirmation that any tsunami has occurred. the quake hit 15 miles below the ocean surface. no immediate reports of any damage or injuries. we'll keep you posted on that. talk about sports now. the raiders face a big challenge

if they hope to make the playoff. and two college players apologize for getting into a brawl in the stands. here's larry beil. >> good morning and merry christmas, everybody. if the raiders are going to keep their playoffs hopes arrive they have to stop peyton manning. not sold out so it will be blacked out locally. only 8-6 fighting to make the playoffs themselves. but they've got one of the best quarterbacks ever. manning's like a maestro at the scrimmage. the raiders know very well what they're up against. >> chance to play against probably one of the greatest quarterbacks ever lived, peyton manning. going to be on top of his game with the quick counts and no huddle. nobody panicking everybody stay calm. >> i think this game is going to be just a great physical challenge. you know, every time you play in

the nfl, a mental challenge. this is a physical group. >> the 5-9 niners must win for san francisco. 6 and 8 but tied for first in the west. forget about the record the rams are way ahead of schedule. >> i think before the season if you asked anyone they would have told you we have no shot of making the playoffs. the only people that would have told you different are the guys in this building. the fact we're still in it right now contributes to all the hard work that everyone on the team's put in. >> college football last night. the hawaii bowl the host team, hawaii my alma mater against tulsa in a shoot-out. let's all do the hawk eye. the only highlight in this game. john flaners thank you very much. nobody seems to be interested intacteling mr. flankers.

46 yards. brian moniz fires the strike but it's to tulsa linebacker arnick. 24-7 tulsa third quarter. get within 6. brian moniz, 200 yards receiving. 34-28 tulsa wins demeritries. and helllloooooo! questions hawaii in this game wow! 62-35. >> hope to have curry back with that sprained ankle. steven silas leaving to join his father in charlotte. steven silas number two on the staff. had a great relationship especially with curry. when cyrus was called, dad called and offered his son a

position. the war years hired lloyd pierce to replace steven. an nba doubleheader coming up on abc 7. celtics and magic followed by heat and lakers at 2:00. miami versus l.a. being built as a possible final preview but the team's not quite buying into the hype. >> for fans. 'cause fans are very excited about it. pretty much like sort of going to the finals seems like right? >> not a playoff game. it's a christmas day game. so you go out there and play and play hard. you know enjoy the day after it's over. >> holidays in hawaii turned into fight night at the arena for two members of the mississippi state basketball team. they ended up brawling in the stands. sidney and bailey were in the crowd after playing earlier in the diamond head classic. right in the middle of everybody. 6-10 280.

big guys. what started this? apparently bailey wouldn't move his legs out of the aisle when sidney wanted to get out. the mother trying to get her child out of harm's way here. both players have been apologized but they have been sent home and suspended indefinitely. that's a wrap on morning sports. have a merry christmas everybody. i'm larry beil. >> thanks larry. and a programming reminder a christmas day nba special live nba doubleheader this afternoon. first the boston celtics versus the orlando magic. the miami heat take on the lakers. settle in and spend your christmas day here at abc 7. we appreciate it. next at 6:30 how our troops in afghanistan and iraq are celebrating christmas. but first this holiday greeting from a service member.

♪ good morning, everyone. i'm jenelle wang. it's december 25th just about the 6:30 a.m.. let's check in with christine hanson. >> merry christmas to you. we expect a little rain. you can see from doppler that showers are still offshore but they're starting to pick up in intensity. seeing some in northern california. behind this cold air that will bring snow to the sierra. wind advisory for the bay area. some fog this morning and we've got snow for the sierra. we've got a mixture of weather to talk about. your completely accu-weather 7 forecast coming up in just a minute. >> a storm is expected to bring

rare snowfall to parts of the southeast. delta airlines is cancels 500 flights nationwide. that includes 300 of the 800 scheduled departures from its atlanta hub. all the passengers have been advised. it's recommending passengers not to travel today if they can help it. delta, continental, united america and airtran are waiving penalties for those that have to reschedule their trips this weekend. residents still digging out from all that mud left behind and another storm headed their way. the national weather service has issued a warning for that system that's expected to hit. reporting from san bernardino county. >> it is our number one priority all of your safety and all the incident personnel that are going to assist you. >> after a safety briefing, residents were allowed to go back home but only for a short two hours to retrieve critical documents they will need in

order to apply for aid. >> my birth certificates for my family. and my husband's death certificate. i don't not if i need that but it's in there. >> gloria's soggy documents survived but her home did not. it was filled with 5 feet of mud. the only way in was through a window where her children and grand children collected her belongs. i'm a doll collector. those items are important to me. i wanted them to get out. >> three houses down diane torres and her husband were helping their son-in-law stuff clothes and christmas decorations into plastic trash bags. the items were stacked outside the home that has been in their family for three generations. >> a lot of work but it's gonna have to get it back the way it was before. we have no choice. this is our home. >> meanwhile residents' sense of loss has turned to anger directed to the flood control district and a drainage channel built through the neighborhood. >> a total mistake here.

it's just horrible that all the runnage from that came and destroyed these people's lives. it's just not right. >> governor schwarzenegger has declared this area a disaster. that declaration is now in washington awaiting the president's signature so that disaster relief funds can begin flowing into this area. abc 7. >> overseas in pakistan, a grim first. what may have been the first suicide bombing by a woman. at least 41 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in this attack. workers rushed to the scene to transport victims to a nearby hospital. pakistani military officials say she was dressed in a traditional woman's burqa. she threw hand grenades into a crowd and blew herself up. the military twice claimed victory over the taliban and al-queda fighters. the bombing though seems to indicate that is not the case. in neighboring afghanistan a

brief respite for u.s. troops. they may not be home for the holidays but that doesn't mean they still can't celebrate christmas. there is a christmas tree and a christmas turkey for all and a chance to just kick back. in iraq some troops had more solemn moments attending services at our lady of salvation church in baghdad. it was also a show of solidarity. 68 people were killed in an attack on that church back in october. passengers aboard a southwest airlines plane did make it to los angeles last night after their flight out of sfo made an emergency landing at the oakland airport. a cockpit indicator showed a possible mechanical problem on board. the plane landed safely in oakland and passengers were put aboard another flight to l.a. after a short delay. southwest officials say the indicator light was faulty and there was no actual problem with the plane. a northern california pilot to blew the whistle on perceived security gaps at sfo and other airports is now the subject of

an investigation. his southern california attorney says the transportation security administration is looking whether the video he uploaded to youtube.com revealed sensitive information. his attorney disnot want him on camera since he's employed by a major airline. >> you know, i just saw the whole fallacy of the whole system. >> the airline pilot who posted his cellphone video on youtube.com is really to talk about why he did it, even though he's not quite ready for us to reveal his identity. >> you know, i just tried to address my concerns and voices on youtube.com. >> night i.d. to reader. hmm. i'll try personnel. >> in the video the pilot points out what he considers a bizarre security arrangement where flight crews must pass through a tsa checkpoint while ground crews are able to simply swiemilar

swipe a card for the same access. >> everybody on board is screened and everybody on the ground isn't. >> what's up? >> within days of the video appearing on youtube.com a team of four agents and two deputies arrived at the pilot's driveway to confiscate his federally issued gun and badge. >> i could have dropped it off in a fedex box for 20 bucks. they sent six people over to pick up a handgun and a badge. >> the army reserve helicopter test pilot and commercial airline pilot says the government's response was an obvious attempt to intimidate him. in the video he shot on the driveway, he never lost his cool. >> why am i on suspension. >> i really don't get intimidated. you know i fly helicopters. we're trained to handle emergencies without panicking.

>> this little video project has cost the pilot his position as a gun-toting, deputytized flight officer. >> really the only way this news story got traction is because of the government's response. >> in sacramento, george warren abc 7 news. >> since george warren's exclusive report aired, a spokesman has gone on record saying crews at sfo must pass vigorous security checks and identification procedures before they get access to aircraft. a beaming president and an equally smiling first lady the president's weekly web address. we don't have that right now but we want to let you know the obama's opened up the white house to 100,000 visitors who got to see what the home of the

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>> we have an amazing home to show you that's all decked out for the holidays. powered by youtube.com this home is located in roaner park. the owner says he decorates every year and it takes him 30 days to make up this display of lights. it's beautiful. you can upload your videos or pictures. please be sure to tell us your name and a location of the display so we can give you a little shoutout. one thing officials are asking you not to do this christmas morning is light that wood-burning fireplace. officials are asking residents to refrain from making a fire to prevented need for a spare the

air alert. this time of the year many use their fireplace. families gather around. wood smoke is the largest source of wintertime air pollution in the bay area. we are going to have a little bit of rain today so it's going to be tempting. >> it is going to be tempting. >> to light a fire. >> yeah. little snuggy. snuggy bag! (laughter) >> you know, they're still selling them. >> so popular. >> never did have one of those but you might bring it out so -- >> that's a good idea. >> let's go outside where we still have some fog and a few clouds and this beautiful picture for you. this is from ballmer peak in the east bay. high definition picture of the bay bridge so it lights up the embarcadero center. and you can see -- is that the ferry building blinking back there? i don't know. but, anyway, lots of lights out and a merry christmas to you. we do have dry pavement and dry streets at least at this hour this morning. we've got our live doppler 7

showing that there is a line of rain offshore. and it's not real strong quite yet as far south as most of us. it is still though producing rain in the north end of the state and crescent city eureka starting to see heavier downpours there. we're going to look for more rain as the morning progresses. it is still going to be a wet and windy christmas day with some showers still into tomorrow morning. i think i'm going to take those out and probably just do it tonight but we'll still see snow tonight and tomorrow morning in the sierra and there's a pretty intense storm system tuesday night into wednesday. right now our temperatures are in the low 40s in santa rosa. some locations we saw some 30s but everybody staying in the mid-40s well inland and even low 50s around the bay. we've had some dense fog across the carquinez bridge. santa rosa reported dense fog

with a quarter mile visibility. here's the storm system. look at this cold air offshore. guess where most of this is going. it's going back into southern california. so the southern edge of this if this is a narrow storm system it's going to blow in. as a result wind advisories in effect from the san francisco bay area from 7 a.m. this morning to 4:00 today for 20 to 30 mph winds out of the south. southeast. and then gusts along the coast up to 45 mph. in the sierra the cold air following this storm system will keep the snow level around 6500 feet but lowering tonight. so we expect another 1 to 2 feet of snow. staying on the decks up at tahoe. i just keep seeing the snow pack grow. and as we have heard record-breaking snow packs for this time of year. gusts at 60 mph over the mountaintops. but it will be fabulous weather as the weekend progresses. so christmas day there's your

forecast. santa had a dry run of it last night and early this morning. i don't know how many cookies he's had but i understand they're in the thousands. 50 degree temperatures are forecast highs for today and light showers, most of that ending by this afternoon and early evening. santa cruz 56. 58 gilroy. here's your accu-weather seven-day forecast. still damp this afternoon. very narrow storm system so it is going to blow in drop a lot of rain, and then blow out. we could see up to an inch of rain in the north bay. lesser amounts around the central portion of the bay area and then dry weather for tomorrow and monday. still looking for a very good storm system tuesday into wednesday and then we dry out for next weekend. >> well, finally some dry weather. >> nice to have that. >> something to look forward to. >> yes midweek. >> thank you christine. as we inch toward the last week of the year we ask our wayne

friedman saving favorite stories for the past 12 months. it has to do with a member of the greatest generation. only a few remain and this one made a journey with his son last spring. >> when a b-17 landed at moffett fields, the sights and smells of it brought back a lot of memories. >> roy's son dennis and perry had been counting on that. >> a lot of the fuels came out of the '40s and i think my father is one of them. >> the only time he talks about it is when someone brings it up behe doesn't initiate it. >> perhaps the urge to let up a bit. >> getting tired? >> no, no. >> before running the admissions office at san jose state university, roy spent 20 years in the air force, a career documented by photos and all these other things on the boxes on the kitchen table. >> this piece of flack hit me in

the leg in one of the missions. i don't remember which one it was now. >> he flew 24 missions to be exact over germany in world war ii a plane that roy named ruthless after the new bride he milled back home. >> well we hoped to be ruthless in the vicious sense, but i was ruthless without my wife. her name was ruth. >> actually three world war ii planes flew into moffett this week part of see them, touch them walk through them as a museum that honors history and the men who made it. and many of them haven't spoken about it. it's the first time their children or grand children really found out what it was that grandpa did. >> or in this case what dad did. >> stepped right on my leg. right here. >> i don't know how much longer we'll be having him. and to capture this moment with him going in the plane again with our remaining family is just -- is really important.

>> the flight would last 30 minutes. but it carried roy and his sons 65 years into a family's mostly unspoken lore. roy could easily have been one of the 30,000 americans who died in b-17's. >> we all knew what we were doing. and if it happened it happened, that's all. ohhh! >> but for all the fun they had up here, there was also an irony eating at roy the fact that having flown ruthless 24 times during the war, he did so again this day in the most literal sense. she passed away six years ago. >> i'm sentimental about my marriage. >> roy did not linger on that for long, however. >> whoa! >> when the flight ended he posed for maybe his last picture ever with a b-17. it shows a father and two sons connecting on the day a life and a family history came full

circle. >> roy, is anything easier at 91 years old? >> loving my sons is easier. >> from moffett field in mountainview, wayne friedman abc 7 news. >> what a wonderful story and a wonderful family. don't go away. "7 on your side" is next. michael finney shows us how a special kind of gift card is making it easy to give to charity but first this holiday greeting from another service member overseas.

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this holiday season, chevy's giving you more. like a 100,000 mile/5-year powertrain warranty. that's 40,000 miles more than ford. and now we're giving you our best offer of the year. 0% apr financing... plus $1,500 holiday allowance... plus no monthly payments until spring. on most chevy models. but hurry, because your chance to get our best offer of the season ends soon. see your local chevy dealer now. >> welcome back, everyone. you're looking at a live picture from our mount tam hd camera.

you can see a little gusty winds. christine hanson will be here a little bit later to talk about our forecast. there will be some rain and wind today but in and out she'll have all the details coming up in just a few minutes. >> never too late to helpless fortunate families around the bay area and a local supermarket chain making it easier than ever to get in the giving spirit. a new take on a familiar form of giving. >> these racks from safeway are getting a good going over by shoppers. you know about gift cards but probably not this one. it's different. causes charity gift card. donate to your choice of 1 million charities. what we're trying to do is make giving more available. we think giving is a social activity. call the gift card the gift of giving. >> he heads up the charity and activism sight causes.com. there have been single charity gift cards but they didn't catch

on. where's the fun or activism in that. but this idea? people like it. these two both bought the cards as gift cards after hearing about them from friends. >> it's the season to give and hopefully something like causes will be able to keep us in mind for the rest of the year as well. >> you're shaking your head yes. >> i feel like i'll give it to people who want to give. i have people in my life that prefer to give to charities and organizations rather than get gifts. >> here's how it works. the recipient goes online to causes.com signs up and then makes decisions on who gets how much. >> it's a game almost, too. like buying somebody energy on some social network games thing so -- we can do that. >> the fun tacker all a part of this as well. >> absolutely. >> specific impact projects. you for $25 you can feed a kid in india for a year or send a care package to the troops in

afghanistan. a lot of great impact for people to have. people like to choose that impact. >> come in 25 and $50 denominations. here in bay area only sold in safeway right now. still to come, the state's next lieutenant governor and his wife have a new family member on the way. we're going to telllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllls

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>> there's another baby newsom on the way. the wife of gavin newsom confirmed their baby montana

will have a little brother in june. the due date is june 19th. that's also her birthday. the family plans to stay in san francisco while the soon to be lieutenant governor commutes to his new job in sacramento. congratulations to them. a dramatic increase in the past 20 years in the number of women giving birth early. that's according to california watch, a project of the independent center for investigative reporting. concerns the well-being of both mothers and their children. here's carolyn johnson. >> pregnant women in america are giving birth a week earlier than they were in 1992. that's the finding of california watch reporter nathaniel johnson. >> from 10,000 bc to 1992 it's pretty much been the same. the norm birth is 40 weeks. the average now 39 weeks, a full

seven days earlier. >> it's undoubtedly true that there is a general decrease in the average age of birth in america. >> dr. elliot is chairman of gynecology in san francisco, also director of the california maternal care collaborative that evaluating best practices of delivering babies. he says a full term pregnancy is 39 to 41 weeks. the week of pregnancy lost in the last 20 years is probably not having a significant impact on the health of most infants. >> what we are telling all our mothers is that you really ought to wait the 39 weeks if everything is going fine and not intervene earlier than nature would intend. >> one reason for the increase in early delivers may be because more women are actually scheduling childbirth for convenience. one study of nearly 18,000 delivers in 2007 showed 9.6% of early births were scheduled c-sections. the doctor said that may explain some of the early delivers.

others may be simply a matter of better care. >> we're doing a much better job of identifying the true due date with ultrasounds. we no longer have mothers going three or four weeks past their due date. >> a number of groups are encouraging doctors not to deliver babies early including the american congress of obstetricians and the march of dimes. >> the interesting thing is this is something that everybody has known about for a long time. and now they're finally saying we should do something about this. >> carolyn johnson, abc 7 news. >> you can read more of the watch report this monday in the san francisco chronicle or online at californiawatch.org. final check of the forecast. >> let's check outside the nation's capital. first of all washington d.c. 34 degrees. northwest winds at 9. it is a snow which picture there, major winter storm hitting the up thor midwest. meanwhile we have dry conditions up at lake tahoe. the sunrise this morning, 7:23.

but you can see the lifts are already rolling. nobody on them quite yet but it is just going to be absolutely fabulous weather in the sierra. a little rain moving in our direction. you see it offshore on live doppler 7 hd. we are looking at wind advisories in effect in the san francisco bay area today. the rain will give way to showers and it will be a dry day tomorrow. sunshine finally. >> thanks so much, christine. and thanks so much for joining us this christmas morning. i hope you guys have a wonderful holiday! our next newscast is 8