we are getting a little bit of a break in between storms right now but another round is coming. you can see it coming in from the coast on live doppler 7 hd, really heavy up north. heavy rains earlier today caused big problems for morning commuters all around the bay area, especially on bay area bridges. good afternoon. i'm larry beil. >> i'm ama daetz. that break is allowing cities to assess the damage from a big downpour this morning. in san francisco, crews are cleaning up several trees knocked down by winds and rain. the rain was coming down heavily on 280 this morning in hillsborough. drivers had to deal with a few pools on the highway that can cause hydroplaning. >> the chp answered four times the number of collision calls,

about 400 in all. one of those crashes came in lafayette. a driver slid off the road right into a traffic signal and that backed up traffic. in marin, the park and ride lot is flooded over not only because of the rain but also due to high tide. it's more than half a foot deep in some spots. let's take a live look outside from the emeryville camera. you can see dark, stormy clouds remain out there. spencer christian live outside with today's rain totals and also a look at live doppler 7 hd. >> it's raining lightly right now here where we are up on the roof at abc 7. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd. i will show you what's going on around the entire area. as you can see, we've got light to moderate rainfall over the santa cruz mountains and parts of the south bay. some in the east bay as well. it's up in the north bay where the most intense activity is occurring. right now, a cluster of thunderstorms just in the last half hour or so moved onshore on the northern sonoma county coastline and beyond, moving inland just east and south of sea ranch. meanwhile, over in the area of napa, fairfield, out towards rio

vista, we have a trail of light to moderate rainfall and scattered across the santa cruz mountains and into the south bay, mainly light to moderate rain with some pockets of locally heavy rain occurring. once again, there's that little bit of a break you referred to. we're not getting a complete break from wet weather but a break from the waves of intense and heavy downpours. rainfall totals from the last 24 hours, quite impressive and quite uniform across the bay area. san francisco, nearly an inch and a half, 1.45 inches of rain the last 24 hours. this is the greatest calendar day rainfall total in san francisco since march 14th of 2012. nearly three years. redwood city just under two inches. over an inch and a half at mill valley and more on the way. we'll have some more heavy rain developing later in the evening, possibly more thunderstorms. i will give you a look at what's coming in the days ahead in just a few minutes. >> spencer, thank you. we do have live team coverage of the storm around the bay area. let's begin with abc 7 news reporter david louie live in the

santa cruz mountains. david? >> reporter: i can confirm what spencer just reported. it is raining moderately here in the santa cruz mountains. today's storm did not trigger any mud slides but it did trigger small rock slides and a few power outages. the big concern is the next storm that's coming that could pose a greater risk, especially as the soil gets more saturated. the rain was so heavy at times it overwhelmed the downspout feeding water from the roof of a store. but the bursts of rain were followed by lighter showers and sometimes even breaks. so the santa cruz mountains didn't experience any mud slides or flooding. even in the san lorenzo river seemed rather tame as it passed by the town. by the time all the storms make their way through the mountains, the total rainfall should be about six inches, nearly double how much rain has fallen here since october. but this small rock slide reminded people more serious slides could be coming. three years ago, a major slide

blocked nelson road in scotts valley, cutting off about 33 families from their homes. >> we have all wondered what they were going to do about the hillside that came down. once it gets real wet it will want to keep coming. apparently it stayed up there for many years. >> reporter: work on a new road finally started in september but much of the original slide will remain in place to prevent further movement. for others, especially children, it's time to get reacquainted with rain. have they forgotten what rain is about? >> yes. yep. >> reporter: no jumping -- >> they are starting to remember. oh, yeah, rain! >> reporter: that's a good thing. >> it's great. yes. >> reporter: kids do have a lot of fun in the rain. mountain residents maintain they are prepared for whatever mother nature doles out this week and of course, we are all concerned about the mud slides. the residents say they have plenty of food and an abundance of patience. live in scotts valley, david louie, abc 7 news. >> sounds like they are

prepared. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman continues our storm watch coverage live in san rafael. wayne? >> reporter: actually, we have moved from san rafael, now we are in san anselmo. where else would we be but in front of the much maligned, often unfairly maligned san anselmo creek which is doing its job right now, moving the water to the coastal hills, into the bay down below. it's been very uneventful for the most part here in marin county today. but there have been some exceptions. let's begin in san rafael, where at 12:30 this morning, laura and mike collins thought they felt an earthquake. a few hours later, in the light, they discovered the source of all that shaking. one coastal oak. >> i think oh, no. >> reporter: oh, yes. and the folks at tree masters warn we will have more of this ahead as winter wears on. did you expect this to happen today? >> yeah. we were geared up ready for some mayhem. >> reporter: is it over? >> no. big one's coming tomorrow.

>> reporter: at the park and ride in mill valley, big ones come for eight more days. this is what happens when rains and tides especially converge in a lot owned by the state, run by cal trans, patrolled by the chp, served by the golden gate bridge transportation district and sworn at regularly by mill valley residents. get the picture? it's a regular flood caught in bureaucratic cracks. >> i'm sure there's a lot of ideas to fix it but it's probably low on the list. >> reporter: but water, that's been high on everyone's list since the drought begin. let's finish at cascade falls in mill valley which hasn't flowed like this since last year. even then, it didn't particularly impress. today, it did. take a moment to savor this. while we're live, let's take another moment to favor the creek which hasn't run like this in quite awhile either.

if you're worried or concerned about rainfall totals, we are told right now in marin county, reservoirs are at 94% of where they would be this time of year, that's roughly 65% of capacity. so we still have a ways to go but it's a good jump on filling up the reservoirs. wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> thank you so much, wayne. in san francisco, a huge cypress tree came crashing down this morning. it uprooted at geary and presidio. a public works crew spent the day chopping up the massive tree. it's one of about 15 trees or large limbs that have come down since the rain started last night. >> any time there's rain, it's busy, especially when it's early rain to the season. the tree roots are just getting loose and can come down. also, a lot of leaves on the trees right now, so water accumulates and makes the weight

heavier and that can bring a limb or tree down as well. >> at least two cars were damaged today. a limb from a ficus tree snapped. no one was hurt. san francisco's cable car service was suspended all morning because of the wet weather. muni crews had to clear mud and debris off the tracks. the cable cars started running again around 1:45 this afternoon. the powell mason line stayed closed a little bit longer because a tree fell across the line at powell and bush. muni says it takes extra care because the cable cars systems are about 100 years old. commuters faced an epic backup because of flooding in san francisco. the intense rain caused water to flood lanes of southbound highway 101 near paul avenue. traffic could only pass in the right lane. that caused bumper to bumper traffic that extended all along the bridge and well past the maze into highway 24. the backup lasted until well past noon, when cal trans crews were finally able to unclog drains overwhelmed by the rain.

continuing the team coverage, abc 7 news reporter sergio quintana live in emeryville with a look at conditions there in the east bay. >> reporter: well, the rains this morning caused those big issues for those commuters in the east bay because freeway traffic basically slowed to a crawl in part because of that flooding. in the city, some reports, the commute from the east bay into downtown san francisco lasted more than an hour and a half. the steady rains made for a slow and soggy commute. east bay traffic heading into san francisco was backed up for most of the day, causing significant delays. in berkeley, some storm drains were overwhelmed by the combination of leaves and rain causing them to back up. power did go out for an hour and a half in the area around fourth street and delaware in berkeley. but the staff over at betty's diner jumped into action to make sure people who needed to warm up from the rain had some place to go. >> we have all these lamps and we have all these power supplies

and so we stay open and we end up feeding the street. >> reporter: even with no power, cooks kept humming along cooking up homestyle potatoes and flapjacks. >> there were a whole bunch of guys in line with aprons on from the other restaurants who couldn't work and needed coffee and muffins and things like that. >> reporter: wind did kick up around midday but like the rain it was nothing too serious. >> it's nice, not too much, not torrential, not causing floods. it's just great. i'm sure there will be trees down but you know. >> reporter: alameda county public works says there were some branches that snapped off trees but they had no calls of whole trees coming down or reports of major damage. there was a pretty good break in the rain for the last couple of hours but right now, it's starting to sprinkle again. everyone that we talked to this afternoon said they are hoping for more rain.

live in emeryville, i'm sergio quintana, abc 7 news. >> if that's what they're hoping for, they are going to get it. it's coming. if you're traveling today, or picking somebody up from the airport, call ahead. we have a live look right now at san francisco international airport. officials say inbound flights are delayed an average of two hours and 45 minutes. earlier in the day it was about four hours. a total of 137 flights have been canceled there today. meanwhile, in san jose, delays are about 25 minutes for departing flights. flights were canceled this morning because of rain there. in oakland, all flights are on schedule. the morning downpour caused the tunnel to flood under the palo alto station. this picture was taken by todd valentine. >> thank you, todd. let's get a check of the roads with leyla gulen. >> reporter: i'm happy to report that today is actually much better than it was this morning in terms of our commute home again. we have about 35 incidents that

are currently running and earlier today, we had about 100 incidents, most of those accidents. we do have a couple of accidents, many of them solo spinouts. we also have flooding and that is quite the risk this afternoon. as rain is expected to increase once again, be careful of certain areas. we have flooding near the k rails as you make your drive into antioch. as we drop farther to the south, as we take a look at westbound 580, greenville road, another area of pretty significant flooding. this area of green is indicating where rain could be affecting your commute. as we take it to our live cameras, this is walnut creek. northbound side of drive 680 coming away from highway 24 to highway 4 going to take approximately 15 minutes. nothing out of the ordinary. as we take a look at the golden gate bridge, the drive out of the city actually moving along fairly decently. now we are starting to see cloud cover increasing once again so the rain starting to sprinkle and so be careful out there as you head back home again. ama, larry, over to you.

in southern california, a mandatory evacuation order is now in effect for neighborhoods in camarillo springs, 50 miles north of l.a. heavy rain is raising concern about mud slides in that community where hillsides burned more than a year ago. the same concern also in place in silverado canyon in orange county. officials issued a voluntary evacuation notice for 60 homes there near an area that also burned over the summer and has been the site of previous mud slides. the storm system has been dumping snow in the sierra. take a look at this. it's a live picture from the heavenly mountain camera. no tally yet on how much snow they got today but another 12 to 18 inches is expected to fall above 7,000 feet tonight through thursday. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the effort to identify three suspects in the beating death of a homeless man. san francisco police say it's one of the worst cases they have ever seen. also, a bizarre sight on the golden gate bridge. we will explain how this car got here and how crews got it out. new at 4:30, what's being

blamed for the power failure that caused the lights to go out today in a major city in the midwest. i'm spencer christian. as we can see on live doppler 7 hd, light to moderate rain continues to fall over much of the bay area with thunderstorms up north and more waves to follow. i will show you where we stand right now in terms of percentage of rainfall, of normal rainfall for the season to date.

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three men who beat and killed an elderly homeless man in the financial district. >> take a look at surveillance video of the three men smoking on the steps of the crocker gallery late on november 23rd. police say they then walked over and brutally kicked an elderly man sleeping nearby. they left, then returned to beat the man again. police are not releasing video that's even more graphic of the beating. >> i have 25 years in. this is a really awful attack, probably one of the worst i have ever seen. i think all of us who were investigating this case were personally affected by what we saw. >> investigators say the three men may have taken muni or b.a.r.t. to attend an event in the area. the victim, a 67-year-old, was alive after the attack but died before morning. really bizarre sight for commuters on the golden gate bridge this morning. traffic had to be stopped briefly in both directions when a large crane was brought in to move a stuck car. the driver was using the

pedestrian walkway as a traffic lane, or trying to drive through it, and got wedged in tight into a really tight spot. abc 7 news reporter nick smith has the story. >> when i heard about this i definitely had to make a few calls and confirm that i was actually reading it correctly. >> reporter: what he heard was correct, but seeing is believing. look. the driver of this blue mustang wedged his car on the golden gate bridge sidewalk after crashing through the area marked for pedestrians. >> this individual went over metal pylons, squeezed through very tight areas. >> reporter: and ended up here stuck between a fence and, well, a hard place. >> to any normal person it would be obvious that you are driving somewhere you're not supposed to. >> reporter: but there's nothing normal about what happened. the officer says it all went down after 5:00 p.m. chp received a report a car headed south on 101 had entered the pedestrian on-ramp speeding. >> after he finally got far enough, he came to a narrowing in the sidewalk where the vehicle became wedged. when that collision occurred it

appeared the airbags were deployed. >> reporter: they identified the driver at 22-year-old daniel soto and arrested him for dui. he wasn't seriously injured but his car versus sidewalk versus bridge has created a problem never seen by bridge workers. >> it's good that the golden gate bridge crew likes puzzles because they got a challenge this morning. >> reporter: officials were stuck on how to remove a car too big to fit the way it came in. >> crews have to figure out if they are getting a crane and picking it up or if they are going to take part of trailing down. whatever way it happens, we will likely be blocking off one to two lanes of traffic. >> reporter: eventually doing just that. stopping traffic in both directions and lifting the car up and over. >> we have learned that the crash was caught on bridge security cameras. they are not sharing it with the media but they have told me they will review the tapes to see what security improvements can be made if any. nick smith, abc 7 news. >> that is just odd.

>> that's a new one. time for a check on our weather. spencer christian is here with today's accuweather forecast and all the rain we are getting. >> well, the rain continues to fall and it will be heavier in some spots later in the evening. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd and see what's happening right now. we have pockets of light to moderate rainfall scattered over the santa cruz mountains in the south bay, some portions of the north bay and east bay as well. but the most intense activity remains in northern and northwest sonoma county, where an area or batch of thunderstorms moved onshore just within the last hour or so and now is pushing inland northwest of cloverdale and over in the sierra, more widespread snowfall right now. just over an hour ago it was rain and rain mixed with light snow but much more of that cold air is beginning to settle in now. so the snow has become more widespread. let's get back to the bay area. take a look at our percent of normal rainfall or average rainfall for the season to date. you can see from san francisco to sfo, moffett field, san jose,

we are at or above the average to this point in the season, and near the average in livermore, oakland and ukiah. sacramento lags a little behind. this doesn't erase the deficit over the last three years but it certainly puts us in good position for this season so far. winds gusty right now at napa and half moon bay but light to moderate winds over most of the remainder of the bay area. here's a live view from emeryville. you can see how cloudy and dreary and dank and damp it is. these are all forecast features. waves of showers will continue tonight and tomorrow with a chance of thunderstorms and this unsettled pattern will remain with us into next week. here's the satellite radar composite image. there's the cold front pushing through or pushed through earlier and brought us heavier waves of rain. there's another wave of steady to moderate rainfall about to move onshore later this evening and near that center of low pressure, you can see the area of thunderstorms that will accompany some of these waves and showers.

starting the animation, at this point it will be wet and we will see periods of heavy rain becoming steadier and more widespread by about 2:00 in the morning tomorrow, then by about 5:00, the start of rush hour, still widespread areas of light to moderate, locally heavy rainfall. it will be a wet and no doubt slow morning commute. 9:00 tomorrow morning, similar picture. that will continue through the day into the evening. by 11:00 tomorrow night we will see scattered areas of light rainfall and by 11:00 tomorrow evening we project rainfall totals, additional rainfall totals up to three inches in the bay area mountains, half an inch to an inch and a half in lower elevations. winter storm warning remains in effect until 4:00 thursday morning in the sierra. foot to a foot and a half above 7,000 feet. chain requirements over the passes will likely be in effect. overnight, low temperatures in the mid 50s tomorrow with areas of showers and thunder showers, highs in the low to mid 60s. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. showers and thunderstorms tomorrow and an unsettled pattern with periods of rain

right on into early next week. much needed rainfall, we like it. larry and ama? >> yes, we do. thank you, spencer. >> you can see what's showing up on live doppler 7 hd any time with the abc 7 news weather app. it's free on apple's app store or google play. we have more information at abc7news.com/apps. up next, the spirit of giving. one airline's christmas miracle to bring holiday wishes to struggling families across the globe. new after 4:30, from 7 on your side, what you need to do to get your cell phone bill cut in half. in the abc 7 traffic center, tracking your drive back home this afternoon. we are looking at the richmond san rafael toll plaza. it's quite wet indeed. we will have all the details on your commute coming up when we return.

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26-story building in san jose to help kids fight drug and alcohol addiction. it's called the shatter-proof challenge this giving tuesday, today. dozens rappeled from the rooftop, most after a slight rain delay, to help bridge the gap between funding and resources for the disease affecting children. it's the second year for the challenge that's raised $1.5 million since last year's event. on a rainy day, if you're not doing that, a lot of guts. good job out there. west jet airlines is a small canadian air carrier with a very big heart. >> yes. it is once again made the holidays brighter for a small and deserving town. this time, in the dominican republic. >> this video posted by the airline on youtube shows a blue sleigh set up with a video screen so kids and adults alike could tell santa their christmas wishes. well, the kids' requests were pretty simple, dolls, skateboards, bikes. the adults were practical, washing machine, crib, even a horse for a broken down carriage.

>> the next day, the townspeople were treated to a holiday party complete with real snow. then one by one the presents were brought in. each christmas wish, granted, even that horse for the broken down carriage. there was one last gift, a brand new playground for the kids. we have a link to the entire video on abc7news.com. >> i remember them doing this last year and i'm waiting for other airlines to step up. >> come on, get on board. >> absolutely. just ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, we are back on the storm watch with live doppler 7 hd. we will also have a live report on the problems that today's rain created in the south bay. also, the president's immigration action is debated for the first time on capitol hill. republican leaders find themselves in a tight spot. the high profile nfl abuse cases taking center stage in both washington and new york city where one super star running back is fighting to get ba

we are on storm watch. it's been a wet and dreary day around the bay area. live doppler 7 hd is showing another storm moving in, a wave of heavy rain hit earlier today. but don't let our recent rain fool you. the state is still suffering one of its worst droughts on record. abc 7 news reporter elissa harrington is live in palo alto

where officials are still urging people to cut back. >> reporter: water district officials say today's rain is a good start but it's not nearly enough to make a significant impact. they are still urging people to cut back on water use. a storm is exactly what's needed in drought-stricken california but marty grimes with santa clara valley water authority says don't get too excited. >> please remember we're still in the middle of a drought. >> reporter: the message is still to conserve. last week the board agreed to extend a call for a county-wide 20% reduction of water use. the lexington reservoir was just at 13% capacity when the rain started falling. >> the watersheds above these reservoirs have been so so dry because of the drought that a lot of this water, even though it's a lot of rain, it's just soaking right no the ground. >> reporter: in palo alto even though it's wet, there are still rebates to re-landscape your yard with drought resistant plants.

the owner of this house took part in the city's buy-back program. homeowners are eligible for rebates of up to $4 per square foot of turf grass removed. >> landscape is low-hanging fruit. generally the most water using intensity of anybody's given home, sometimes the larger businesses are actually in landscape irrigation. we just want to make sure that people are being as efficient as possible. >> reporter: katherine elder says since spring, about 50 homes and 10 businesses have applied for the program. elissa harrington, abc 7 news. a tree fell on to wires blocking highway 116 in sonoma county this morning. cal trans was able to reroute traffic while crews cut down the tree and cleared that road. let's get another check on the afternoon commute. abc 7 news morning traffic reporter leyla gulen on double duty this afternoon. >> yes, indeed. good afternoon. good afternoon, everyone. now that the flood advisory for the bay area has been canceled, we are still dealing with residual flooding in our

roadways along highway 4 in antioch, also it was quite evident in san jose. that's where i want to take you right now. we do have this accident right now. northbound side of highway 17 to the northbound highway 85 connector. we are seeing significant delays in that area. 37 miles per hour is going to get you out of cupertino towards highway 17 but this is where we saw significant flooding today. doesn't mean we are out of the woods just yet because we still have the risk of hydroplaning and also spinouts which we have had a lot of those today. 35 incidents so far to speak of at this moment, not like the 100 we saw earlier this morning. want to show you a couple live pictures. this is another live view of san jose, your drive southbound side of 87 past the tank looking quite busy there. this is the skyway out of san francisco, in and out of san francisco. looks like a still picture. it is not. they are moving ever so slightly. very significant slowing as you head through san francisco at this hour. ama, larry? >> leyla, thank you. two children and one adult

died when two school buses collided in knoxville, tennessee today. police say the adult who died may have been an aide. 23 people were sent to the hospital. most of them children. three are believed to be seriously hurt. school officials are in touch with parents giving them up-to-date information from the police. there is no word on what caused the crash which left one of the buses on its side. president obama's new immigration policy got its first official hearing on capitol hill today, giving house republicans a chance to weigh in on a move that they say oversteps the president's powers. abc news reporter karen travers with more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: their hands are tied. that's the reality that house speaker john boehner said most of his fellow republicans accept when it comes to president obama's executive action on immigration. >> frankly, we have limited options and limited abilities to deal with it directly. >> reporter: that's because anything house republicans approve would ultimately be vetoed by the president. during a closed door meeting

today, speaker boehner presented republicans a plan to avoid a government shutdown, still show their opposition to the president's actions, which they say are unconstitutional. several lawmakers told abc news members could cast a vote of disapproval on the immigration executive action but still move forward on a short-term funding bill next week. they will vent frustration but keep the government running. homeland security secretary jeh johnson was on capital hill today defending the president's executive actions that provide protections for more than four million undocumented immigrants. >> as someone who has been a lawyer for a government agency, i'm fully comfortable with what's in here because i know that at the end of the day i will have to be the one here to defend it. >> reporter: conservative republicans say they want more than just a symbolic protest vote over the president's immigration actions. but aides say that speaker boehner and republican leaders want to avoid any risk of a government shutdown over this contentious issue. karen travers, abc news, washington.

the wife and son of isis leader al baghdadi are now in custody in lebanon. the woman contained is one of al baghdadi's two wives. they were detained about ten days ago, carrying fake identification. however, sources say her arrest came as part of a planned operation. lebanese authorities may use the two as bargaining chips in their attempts to win the freedom of 20 lebanese soldiers and policemen held hostage since august. a man is now in custody for the attack last friday of a mother carrying her newborn son in the bronx, an incident caught by surveillance camera. police reviewed the video and arrested 18-year-old alonzo brown. the video shows the suspect watch that 24-year-old woman walk by. he then turns and follows her, breaking into a run before drop kicking her to the ground on top of the baby. he then grabs her phone and runs off. brown has 11 prior arrests. the woman and child are

thankfully fine. the lights are slowly coming back on in detroit after a major cable failure caused parts of the city to go dark. the lights flickered and went out around 10:30 this morning. this is how it looked in the detroit courtroom when the power went out. the outage prompted schools to send students home early. there were also evacuations throughout downtown detroit. officials are blaming this on a power grid that has not been upgraded in decades. detroit's mayor says improvements are coming. >> d.t.e. is in the process of building a $200 million system to serve these customers because the d.p.d. system was so far gone, it just could not be salvaged. >> electricity is now back on to nearly half of the customers served by detroit's public lighting department. the outage is another black eye for the city which is slowly emerging from the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s.

history. "world news tonight with david muir" will have the latest on exactly what's happening in the motor city coming up at 5:30 here on abc 7. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a 3-year-old with a big heart. why a lot of people are talking about her very first haircut. plus, there may be some angels after all. how members of the biker gang making a big difference in one central valley community. i'm spencer christian. live doppler 7 hd shows areas of light to moderate rainfall scattered across the bay area right now, some thunderstorms up north, and we may have more waves of heavy rainfall overnight and tomorrow. i will have the accuweather forecast in just a moment. i'm leyla gulen in the abc 7 traffic center. that is a look at the east bay. the drive as you head away from the maze, it is nasty indeed. we have all your bay area traffic updates coming up when we continue.

the first haircut is a milestone for any child and it was even more special for a 3-year-old in maine. >> for sure. ariana smith voluntarily donated her hair to locks of love, a nonprofit that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged kids with medical issues. she was all smiles as her hair came off. her dad says the family got the idea when she saw a video of a little girl who was bald in a hospital bed. >> the video piqued her curiosity, and she told her parents without a second thought quote, she can have some of my mayor. >> what a cutie.

>> just the sweetest. merle hefferman is proof there are angels in the hell's angels. he and other members of the biker gang waited for five hours outside a walmart to buy up every single bike they had, hundreds of bikes. the bikers will give them away this saturday in their annual toy run benefiting kids. >> a kid runs up and he jumps on this bicycle and he rides around, it's a good toy. it's not a jacket, not a glove. it's a bicycle. you ain't got enough money in this basement that makes me feel the way i feel when we give these kids these bikes. >> this act of generosity has touched people worldwide. the photo of merle waiting in line to pay for bikes has generated nearly four million likes on facebook. >> how can you not like that? kids getting excited for a new bike.

we needed the rain and we definitely got it. >> we are getting some more. spe spencer christian with umbrellas. >> here's live doppler 7 hd. we have light to moderate rainfall scattered across the bay area right now, santa cruz mountains, south bay to the north bay, where we had a couple thunderstorms earlier moving through sonoma county. looks like just pockets of rainfall now. right through the central part of the bay area, lower marin county, the golden gate, san francisco, scattered rain and of course, there's a wider area of rain, light to moderate generally over the santa cruz mountains and south bay. there's a lot more offshore developing. the next wave of rain will probably swing through the bay area in ujust a few hours. here's a look at what's happening. you can see waves of heavy rain building out there. the storm risk for tonight and tomorrow, medium risk for thunderstorms, urban flooding, mud sliding and rock sliding and slight risk for wind damage. we could see three more inches of rain over the next 24 hours. tomorrow, showers and possibly some thunder showers, locally heavy downpours. high temperatures mainly in the

low to mid 60s. sandhya will have a closer look at what's happening in the seven days ahead at abc 7 news at 5:00. larry, ama? >> thank you, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the dangerous game that caused this. the bay area police department's warning for high school seniors. plus emotional testimony on capitol hill as lawmakers addressed domestic abuse in professional sports. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. the big deadline for the auto parts maker involved in that massive airbag recall. and the big deal being offered by a major wireless carrier.

livermore police want high school seniors to stop playing the game assassin. teens buy in to get the name of another senior they want to assassinate using mock weapons. the game continues until only one person is left and that person wins the cash prize. livermore police say the game can be dangerous since they get calls from people who think they see someone with a real weapon. take a look at this picture. one girl attempted to flee from her assassin in her vehicle. she lost control and crashed into a house. domestic violence in pro

sports a big topic on capitol hill today. the hearing comes as another nfl star tries to get back the right to play again. abc news reporter marcy gonzalez has the latest. >> domestic violence was a way of life in my home growing up. my brother and i watched  helplessly numerous times as my mother was beaten. >> reporter: personal, emotional testimony today on capitol hill. >> i relate to the 20 million victims, survivors of domestic violence. >> reporter: a senate committee addressing domestic violence in professional sports hearing from representatives from the nfl, nba, nhl and mlb as well as the players unions. >> i want to know if you're developing uniform policies that will effectively and appropriately punish players who commit what are criminal acts against women and children. >> reporter: while lawmakers question if enough is being done, one player says his punishment goes too far. after agreeing to a plea deal with no jail time for hitting his son with a tree branch --

>> i stand here and i take full responsibility for my actions. >> reporter: today, minnesota vikings star running back adrian peterson was in new york, appealing the nfl's decision to suspend him indefinitely. his hearing comes after former baltimore ravens star ray rice's penalty for attacking his wife in an elevator was thrown out. an arbitrator ruling on friday that rice can now return to the nfl. that case was part of what fueled today's conversation on capitol hill with lawmakers saying there needs to be a standard in responding to domestic abuse cases even when there isn't a criminal conviction. marcy gonzalez, abc news, new york. the government imposed deadline for airbag maker takada to expand its recall is quickly approaching. >> 7 on your side's michael finney here with the latest. >> this is a real standoff. pretty amazing. the deadline for them to voluntarily expand the recall of airbags is midnight tonight. then the auto airbag maker shows no sign of giving in.

this as major auto manufacturers announce a joint investigation. toyota, honda, ford and other auto makers all said they are getting together to hire an independent engineering firm to investigate why airbags made by takada are exploding. federal regulators say if takada doesn't agree to a voluntary recall it will face civil fines and legal action. they say the problem is limited to high humidity areas and denies there's a need to expand the current recall. eight million vehicles in the u.s. alone have so far been recalled over this issue. five deaths have been blamed on those airbags. a new federal report says more cable companies are putting caps on the amount of data their broad band customers can use. those customers or i should say those companies are also imposing penalties on their customers going over their allowance. the federal study says these companies' networks do not face widespread congestion and these fixed data plans may not be

warranted at all. the u.s. attorney -- excuse me, the u.s. general accountability office says the lack of competition in the broadband industry could result in more caps with no benefits to consumers. if you saw my special report last week, you know there is growing concern over this issue. the cell phone wars are heating up. at & t and verizon customers can cut their monthly bills in half if they are willing to switch to sprint. sprint is calling it the cut your bill in half event. it begins on friday. sprint says it will provide unlimited talk and text anywhere in the country on the sprint network and match your current data plan. the move is an aggressive bid by sprint to regain some of the market share it has been losing. no response yet from at & t or verizon. >> wow. >> it will be beneficial to all consumers. >> absolutely. competition. that's what this is all about. black friday and cybermonday are over and that means it's time to welcome giving tuesday.

>> charities around the bay area soliciting your help and that includes san francisco based swords to ploughshares, on a mission to raise $20 million to at-risk veterans. >> it started two years ago as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-thanksgiving season. next, an unforgettable journey. why a short walk for one bay area father is one he will never forget. i'm cheryl jennings in the abc 7 newsroom. coming up new at 5:00, the ferguson protests in oakland last week, why police say the investigation is just beginning. plus, why a soap opera producer and the bay area businessman are incurring the wrath of senator john mccain. that's next.

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tonight on abc 7 news at 8:00, it's "toy story" followed by marvels, agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. and forever. then join us for abc 7 news at

11:00. a san jose man who was paralyzed in a tragic accident is home from the hospital. he took his kids to school for the first time since that accident with his entire neighborhood behind him. abc 7 news reporter lillian kim has the story. >> i go out and half a dozen people are outside my door. >> reporter: for chris it was a walk he will never forget. ever since his spinal cord injury, he's had only one goal, to walk his two kids to school just like he used to every day. >> all i was doing was walking my kids to school. but it was one of those circumstances that ordinary became extraordinary. >> reporter: neighbors along the route joined in on the walk holding signs along the way. chris' wife was overwhelmed. >> it was amazing. i didn't expect to see that many people. teachers, the parents, the friends, the kids. >> reporter: many in this tight-knit silver creek community were there the moment chris got hurt. they were vacationing when chris dove into shallow water. the accident left him paralyzed

from the waist down. >> i remember the sky up above and i remember thinking i'm in trouble, i can't move. >> reporter: since then, the neighbors have been pitching in to help chris and his family, delivering meals, doing the laundry and raising money. they say it will cost $200,000 a year for in-home care. his friends are determined to make sure chris gets the care he needs. >> they say in circumstances like this that people go through different stages of grief. from the very beginning, chris just wanted to survive. this was a second chance to him. you don't come across that kind of strength, that kind of fiber in a community. >> reporter: this community says they are in it for the long haul, to be there for whatever extraordinary moment comes next. lillian kim, abc 7 news. >> if you would like to help, we have put information on abc7news.com. thank you so much for joining us for abc 7 news at

4:00. i'm ama daetz. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins now with cheryl and larry. >> fallen trees, flooded streets. today's heavy rain even shut down the city's cable car system. >> this is the hardest it's ever rained i think since i have been here. >> we are nowhere near done. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. i will let you know when the next round of showers and possibly thunder hits, coming up. golden gate bridge officials say they have never seen anything like this. coming up, how this car was finally freed after being wedged on to the sidewalk. those ferguson protests in oakland last week. why police say the investigation is just beginning. public works crews going 24/7 now cleaning up after the rain and the wind brought down trees in san francisco. >> the highway patrol took more

than 400 collision calls during the morning commute, four times more than normal. let's hope tonight is much better. rain in the south bay. perhaps finally starting to make a difference. good evening. a welcome sight. not me, necessarily, but the rain. >> you're always a welcome sight. >> i'm larry beil in for dan ashley. >> i'm cheryl jennings. thanks for joining us. we have live team coverage of today's storm. david louie is in santa cruz but -- >> we begin with meteorologist sandhya patel, always a welcome sight. >> as we take a look at live doppler 7 hd, right now just a little drizzly out here. we are seeing some rain still falling in the form of showers but i do want to take you back a little bit. i'm going to track these systems here. we are seeing scattered showers but thunderstorms develop with dozens of strikes near sea ranch earlier today and as we pan

around parts of the bay area, let's get down to street level here. i will show you where we are, still tracking some light showers. in petaluma, bodega avenue, adobe road, as we head towards the santa cruz mountains, the summit, morgan hill, gilroy area, around highway 101, we are still seeing pockets of light to moderate rain. santa theresa boulevard. as i pull out here, what's showing up not too far off the coast? yes, some more lightning. we have to keep it in the forecast. as we take a look at the rainfall the last 24 hours, impressive. san francisco, wettest calendar day since march 14th, 2012. almost 1 1/2 inches of rain. over an inch in san jose. oakland, six tenths. when you take a look at the season to date, we have pushed above normal at sfo 114% of normal, 125% in san jose. we are making a difference with this storm and we are not done. pa