. making news in america this morning -- severe weather. much-needed rain causing major problems. entire towns being evacuated for fears of mudslides. we have the storm's latest track. and new this morning, another woman accusing bill cosby of sexual assault. the details overnight and what's different about the case. lucky, a car careens into a river. the good samaritans who saved the driver's life. that doesn't make any sense. >> finding fault in fake fatigues, the viral video of a man pretending to be an american hero.

good morning to you all, we begin with the extreme weather out in california. >> start building an arc. 50-year-old rainfall records are being shattered and there are flash floods in areas stripped bare by wildfires. it's provided some relief from the three-year drought, but too much all at once. >> and thousands of people are ready to evacuate at the moment's notice. we have the latest. >> reporter: california, suffering through the worst drought in more than a century, suddenly inundated with water. a super-soaking pacific storm is bringing record-breaking rain. sparking a crisis on hillsides threatening mudslides. and there's much anxiety for weather-weary residents. >> let's just hope it comes graujly versus heavy poun dour.

>> reporter: some are evacuated, others are ready to leave at a moment's notice. >> get the family and the dog out. grab the computer and the pictures. just like in the fire. >> reporter: it's causing problems, coming down too hard too fast. it takes just half an inch to cause flash flooding in areas scorched by fire. an hour north of los angeles, mud is already flowing down a hillside hours before the heaviest rain is even expected. weekend downpours triggered a rock slide on the pacific coast highway where a 10-mile stretch remains closed. and major headaches on the road. the california highway control responded to more than a hundred calls in los angeles alone. with the heaviest rain expected in the early morning hours, up to 5 inches in some areas, countless californias will be keeping a close eye on the mountains. >> i wasn't scared until now.

>> reporter: abc news, washington. >> by the time it tapers off, as much as 6 inches of rain over southern california. >> the west isn't out of the woods. accuweather's jim dickey is tracking these. good morning. >> good morning. beneficial rain continues across california this morning. often this area of low pressure is swirling offshore. not tough to make out, and dragging in the moisture across the southwestern u.s. switch over to the rainfall. and departing l.a. after a good soaking on tuesday. heavy rain san francisco on northward and snowfall in the sierra nevada. into the northeast, continuing with the wintery mix, changing to plain rain. could be icy spots on the roadways. give yourself extra time. back you. >> jim, thank you so much. it appears president obama will likely pick a nuclear

expert to replace chuck hagel as defense secretary, carter is in charge of buying weapons for u.s. troops in iraq and afghanistan. >> reporter: he spent a good part of his career in academia. but with his prior pentagon experience, knows budgets, bombs and the building very well. what he hopes he will bring to the job that some perceive chuck hagel did not is a real depth of knowledge and focus on isis and the problems in iraq and syria. of course, the drawdown in afghanistan is on the horizon as well, but this is going to be a very critical period at the pentagon with very little time left for the president and his team to try to turn things around. >> meantime, the former wife of isis ladier abu bah keer

al-baghdadi is seen here. she and one child were caught a week ago trying to sneak into lebanon. they hope she will lead them to them. michael brown's stepfather was heard screaming after he heard that darren wilson will not be charged for michael brown's death. he could be heard screaming, quote, burn it down. investigators are looking at whether his words helped start the riots. brown's family attorney called it raw emotion but completely inappropriate. and a 46-year-old man in washington state is in custody for making threats against former officer wilson. he was arrested after posting inflammatory messages threatening wilson for months.

abdul jabbar could face up to 15 years in prison. an unidentified person is being tested for ebola in massachusetts. reportedly showing symptoms after a trip to an affected area in west africa. it will take several days for a full diagnosis, but initial test results are expected today. explosive new allegations against bill cosby. a woman claims she was molested when she was just 15. judy hough filed a lawsuit seeking money damages for emotional distress. it's the first time any woman has claimed to be under age when the assault took place. the white house is defending its nomination of a soap opera producer as the next ambassador to hungary. she helped bring in millions of dollars for the democratic party. they told abc's jonathan karl

that bell will do an excellent job. >> where does the president get that confidence? in her confirmation hearing she couldn't name a single strategic interest the united states had with hungary. >> she is somebody who has had her own distinguished private sector career. >> as a soap opera producer, right? >> and somebody who has succeeded in the business world. >> well, bell didn't seem to know much about hungary when she was grilled by senator john mccain. and you heard jonathan karl allude to that, talking about the central european country of hungary, she would be the ambassador to. big diplomacy outside of the capital building. and there is speaker john boehner and a 10-year-old fighting brain cancer shared the honors of lighting the capital

christmas tree. >> it's adorned with 10,000 ornaments hand made by school children from across minnesota. and we have a sweet treat switch. a major change possible could be coming to the country's biggest chocolate maker. and bad batteries, sounding the alarm about a major hazard on plains. and busted by a real vet. an accused fake soldier is confronted in a now-viral video. the serious charges he c

well, falling gas prices apparently have plenty of people in the mood to buy cars. november, the strongest month

for car sales since 2003. gas guzzling suvs among the best sellers. the lincoln navigator up 88%. chevy tahoe, up 10%. some showing interest in the used hummer h1, about 9 miles per gallon. hersheys is talking about changing its chocolate. wait. hear me out first. to replace the high fructose corn syrup. they are considering using more sugar and doing away with the controversial corn syrup that has a nasty reputation for fueling weight gain and diabetes. there's no time line. and costco, offering some of the best beef in the world. members can purchase japanese wagu beef for the bargain price of $109 a pound. the catch here, however, you can't just walk up and say give me a pound. you have to have a minimum purchase of 11 pounds. yes, there's the catch. >> that's where they get you.

>> it comes out to about $1199.99. beef lovers and i say it's worth it, however. well, the 1977 pontiac trans am that burt reynolds drove in "smokey and the bandit" is up for sale. it was given to reynolds after filming to be a part of his car election. and now he's getting rid of it. the legendary muscle car has a powerful v-8 engine under the hood and just 12,000 miles. the current bid is at least $75,000. when we come back, caught on camera, a wild rescue after a woman's car plunges into a river. plus neighbors terrified and a woman recovering after an exotic cat goes on the attack in an american city. [ kevin ] this is connolly, cameron, zach, and clementine. we have a serious hairball issue. we clean it up, turn around, and there it is again. it's scary. little bit in my eye. [ michelle ] underneath the kitchen table, underneath my work desk,

we've got enough to knit a sweater. [ doorbell rings ] zach, what is that? the swiffer sweeper. the swiffer dusters. it's some sort of magic cloth that sucks in all the dog hair. it's quick and easy. pretty amazing that it picked it all up. i would totally take on another dog. [ kevin ] really? ♪ [ kevin ] really? new and improved i can't believe it's not butter! 100% taste, 0% artificial preservatives. made with a blend of delicious oils, purified water, and just a pinch of salt. two, please. new and improved i can't believe it's not butter.

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mountains. a winter weather warning above 7,000 feet. by the end of today, could be as much as 3 feet of fresh snow. a lot of road work, but the kids and the parents having a good old time. >> sure are. the morning road conditions, mountain snow makes for treacherous driving. and much of the west, and wet roads across the midwest, slippery into the great lakes and the upper northeast. flying, delays possible in los angeles, san francisco and las vegas. and the bulk shipment of batteries on passenger planes, the new concerns. >> the rechargeable lithium batteries are susceptible to fire or explosions that could destroy airliners. they are cheap to make, lightweight and can hold more energy than other batteries.

a tennessee community is in mourning after a deadly collision between two school buses in knoxville. 20 were injured and two were killed. and frantic parents rushed to the seen to find one of the front of the buses sheered off, one made a sharp turn, crossed over a concrete median and slammed into the second bus. another wild crash, this time captured on camera in china. a driver loses control of her car, plunges into a river running through a road in china. she manages to climb out with the help of bystanders pulling her to safety just before the car sank. a woman in atlanta is recovering after being attacked by a lynx. the owner can keep them, but she was doing a favor, feeding them while the owner was out of town. she got a big cut on her head.

neighbors, as you can imagine, are a little bit concerned. >> i don't think we know how they're being contained. if someone was to get out and bite someone in my family or anyone els, pretty terrifying. >> she was said to be bleeding from her head. one lynx escaped ten years ago, no one was hurt. and a man posing as an army ranger has been caught on tape and being called out by a real purple heart recipient. >> where is is your combat patch at? >> gave it to a little kid. >> why is your flag so low? >> got me? >> that was captured by ryan burke who served in the 101st airborne division. it's sean yetman, who pleaded guilty to impersonating a police officer in 2003.

at least one pennsylvania congressman is kaulg calling for him to face federal charges under the 2013 stolen valor act. but he insists he's the real deal. >> got to be a way to get to the bottom of that one. >> the patch. >> yeah. >> who knew? those guys are very specific and they know when something's not right. >> they do. we have the new college football rankings out now. they make interesting reading with just one week left to go. >> it's alabama and oregon at 1 and 2, and tcu up to number 3. they have lost a game this season. >> florida state, the only undefeated team left, down to number four. the final rankings are out on sunday. more sports news now, including double overtime action in the nba. >> the highlights from espn. good morning, welcome to the "sportscenter" set in los angeles, with neil everett, i'm stan verrett. great action in the nba. >> so great that the kevin

durant and lebron james games we are not showing you. whoa. what was that? the bulls and mavericks. five minutes remaining, bulls down three, derrick rose. yes. i call bank. going into a second overtime. that was the first overtime. ellis, hit three big free throws early, hits a big three right there. he had 38. but with nine seconds remaining, the bulls down three. didn't you say -- oh, no. mavericks 132-129, rick carlisle, rocks. >> and the franchise record for consecutive wins is 11. beat the magic, ten in a row. under 2:30 to go, warriors down three. and now it's tied. clay thompson said so. he had 22. under a minute, game tied, harris, that's a tough bucket. he had 17 points. less than 10 seconds to go, steph curry.

created some space. never had doubt. 20 for curry. the warriors win it 98-97. also, lebron james and the cavaliers won. four in a row. >> kevin durant's return, they did not win. pelicans beat them. >> that's all we have. denied by saint nick, why a little girl was turned away from santa at the maul. and why this lovely image of tony blair is all over the place this morning. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, no discomfort, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? lactaid®. 100% real milk. no discomfort. and try lactaid® supplements with your first bite to dig in to all your dairy favorites.

transferred money from hisy bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season". and before he quit his friend's leaf-raking business for "not offering a 401k." larry knew the importance of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. introducing... a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until... the am. new aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve.

well, time now to check "the pulse." stories you'll be talking about today. and start with the grinchy santa. >> this is awful. a california mall apologizing after a little autistic girl was

turned away by santa because of her service dog, a pit bull called cupcake. >> the 7-year-old waited in line for 30 minutes and santa refused because pit bulls, quote, eat people. you can see how upset santa was. santa and the elf have been fired. >> sounds awful. we have some explaining to do, santa. >> and we are familiar with the awkward family portraits, the christmas cards. >> you do these. they come out well? >> i focus on the kids. >> it's hard to find words for this one. former british prime minister and his wife, this is taking on a life of its own on twitter. they compare it to the awkward photo of chandler sort of smiling for the photo. >> and then there's the one that has him as a vampire. >> they confirm it's the real

deal. it's not so bad. >> i don't know. really? that was the best take? >> christmas cards, they're a bad idea all around. fans of the new england patriots, their team is among the best in the nfl, but this morning, they are hoping to avoid a dubious distinction. >> that would be the next team to fall under the curse of justin beiber. he was posing with them after the clippers game in l.a. they are in southern california ahead of the next game in san diego. >> the last three teams that justin beiber visited, they went on to lose their games. >> blame the biebs. >> yes, exactly. just play better. >> there you go. it is the season to be dressed in ugly sweaters. >> you can rent them online. a cardigan, rent the runway.com renting them for as little as 15 buck opinions. >> a skiing snowman, available

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good morning on wednesday, december 3. >> good morning to you. a day that leyla gulen and meteorologist mike nicco have to work especially hard. there is a lot going on. >> what did i miss? i was at home. i was experienced it also, especially the drive in with sheets of rain going sideways across the bay bridge and eight bolts of lightning in 30 minutes live doppler hd is zoomed in on the strongest storm south of san rafael where the san rafael richmond bridge comes into marin county. the storm is headed a minute or two into san rafael and heading over to the higher terrain.

a lost yellows and oranges. it is always moving north. most of the thunder is over but that is not the norm. we will have more thunderstorms and heavy rain in an hour we have had .5" of rain in san francisco. >> we ran into the size of flooding lake tahoe size flooding. >> a sig-alert on 101. in san rafael, this is the drive along 101, to the north we had a closing southbound 101 at 116 which is re-opened. that is good news if you are headed out of petaluma. to the south, that is the golden gate bridge traffic is light but i will let you know where the closings are because of flooding. the storm is producing so much rain so quickly many city streets and freeways and cars

are flooded. amy hollyfield is if san francisco in the mission district where some drivers were surprised to learn how deep a pool of water is. it rose on them so quickly. look what happened to three drivers. their cars are submerged. they had to climb out of the cars and wade to the guardrail, the center divider and walk long that lick a balanced beam. the driver of the taxicab told police it happened so quickly like a flash flood when he drove into this area it wasn't like this. it rose up so quickly. there was nothing they could do. everyone is okay. we are on 101 southbound headed westbound and hit this. this is portrero avenue above us.