>> behind me can you see they are pumping water out this mobile home park. this family just had an opportunity to come home. flood victims battered bit last two storms have returned home to assess damage. for many them, help is on the way. the flood waters took a big hit at the mobile homework especially the families with children. because of the kindness of the community and the elementary school principal in particular, it is about to get better. it is like a family. everyone is asking, what can we do? that makes you feel good. >> it is more than just words. what started on monday as cash donation is now a to help families get on their feet with gift cards from safe

way and target and it continues through tonight with information on how to help but imagine coming back home and finding out that not only have you lost so much of your possessions but there is still damage to be cleared out. we hope to speak to the families when they wake up later today. >> kudos to the nesbit school. in san francisco the soil is saturated. a tree fell and blocked public stairs in the park. no one was hurt. you can track the rain with live doppler hd with the weather app and it is tree on the apple app store. we have more information at abc7news.com/apps. >> a report finds the 2,000 and bolts on the bridge pay not have to be replaced after 32

cracked bolts were found in the new span. the issue is whether to replace the 2,200 at a cost $6.5 billion to taxpayers. the rods anchor the main cable from the tower to the deck of the bridge. a new report from the program oversight committee found the bolts would not fail if extra steps were taken to protect the steel fasteners. our reporter will have a full report in the next half hour. >> new numbers show the mix of an improving economy and plummeting gas prices are causing an unfortunate side effect which is more cars on the freeways and roads. california residents drove five billion more miles this year than last. traffic congestion often goes hand in hand with a strong economy. researchers found three-quarters

of workers commute alone and the average person in california drives 28 minutes to work each morning 10 percent higher than the average in the u.s. >> a woman faces felony d.u.i. and vehicular manslaughter charges after hitting and killing one person and severely injuring a dozen others after running a red light and driving into a crowd leaving a christmas concert after church. the woman's car collided with another driver head on and at least two children are among the injured. >> oakland officials did not know plainclothes officers were dressed at protesters last week according to the "san francisco chronicle." c.h.p. said a lane clothes officer pull add gun to protect his partner who was aning attacked. our photographer snapped a picture of the officer pointing the gun on december 10. the officers have blended into the crowd until someone determined they were officers

and the c.h.p. said it placed lane clothe officers among the demonstrators with approval of the respective city's police department but oakland said they were not informed. >> officials are trying to improve the tense relationship between community leaders and law enforcement. this is after evening a of protests in oakland and around the country after the deaths of eric garner in morning -- york and michael brown in america in america son, missouri. >> the goal of meeting was to gather information and create solutions to improve policing tactics. the people including the mother of oscar grant killed by a bart officer want the miss to undergo more training in the social aspect of policing. >> the police coming out and know the people in the community

>> you are afraid of what you don't know. if they come to the schools and the communities they will know each other and deal with each other better. [ inaudible ] >> others want more emphasis on restored justice to focus on the need of the victims and offenders opposed to unpushment. officials in law enforcement assured them more would be done to fine better solutions. >> i have her you loud and clear. everyone has. we have to organize. this is about organizing. >> everyone here was encouraged to write and lobby local officials to pressure government interest make changes in policing tactics. this is the first morning in 56 years the united states views cuba as something other than an enemy. president obama told the nation yesterday it is time to end america's outdate approach to

dealing with the communist island nation. ties will be expanded and travel restrictions will be eased and the united states will open an embassy in havana. not everyone is pleased. mostly republicans. some accuse the president of being naive others say the regime should not be rewarded. we will have a report on cuba at the to which the hour. >> san francisco d.a. who draw up in cuba has mixed feelings saying "we will have to wait-and-see what will transpire from all of this without an open democratic process and free media the cuban people will not get the freedom they rightfully conserve." >> san jose police investigate a rape investigation involving former 49er star ray mcdonald. he was released yesterday an hour after learning of the investigation. police served a search warrant at home on tuesday. he has not been arrested. on tuesday, a local hospital called police to report a woman may have been sexually

assaulted. she told police she was at his house on monday. officials say they talked to him previously about the behavior and put him on notice. the g.m. said it is not a matter of guilt or innocence. >> ray has demonstrate add pattern of poor decision making that has led to multiple distractions for the organization. and the football team. it can no longer be tolerated. >> i am not angry. i understand why they did what they did. outside of that, it is not my business. >> two weeks ago, the owner addressed the players about their behavior off the field. last month, a domestic violence investigation involving mcdonald's pregnant fiance was dropped. >> we are seven days away from christmas. >> today, a south bay charity will hand out food for the holidays, with volunteers have 3,200 food boxes ready to go and each is filled with dry pasta,

fresh row and canned food, everyone getting a food box today already signed up. some slept in the cold and waited if line for hours to reserve a box for christmas. distribution begins at 9:00 this morning and families in need will receive toys for the little ones next week. >> we still have widely scattered showers around the bay area and that will dry up. >> look how light they are: 880 and union city to newark and around 84 off the dumbarton and the strongest radar return is light only. the commute is going to be dry other than moisture that is on the ground from last night. headed into san francisco, everyone is in the low 50's until the ferry building is 53 and downtown or across the golden gate bridge it is 52. low 50's across the bay shore

into the south bay and inland east bay we are cooler and walnut creek is 45 and pacifica is 49 for cooler spots. in san jose, 101 and 880, more dry than this time yesterday and through the afternoon hours, you will need the sunglasses from time to time and in the mid-50's to increasely 60 at the coast and upper 60's for the rest of us. in san rafael, it is dry. we have a chance of rain tomorrow. turning to showers. a slight chance of rain across the north bay saturday night to sunday morning and otherwise the rest of us are dry. >> we will go outside again and lookç at the richmond-san rafal bridge with a little bit of moisture on the camera lens and you can see the slickness of the road, shiny on the road so take extra care. light traffic as you make director way into marin county from the richmond side to walnut creek southbound 680 the tail lights headed to 24 through walnut creek and traffic is slowing nicely through the san ramon valley with no delays and

we have a problem in union city, northbound 880 at whip people, high speeds cause a solo spinout and they are waiting for a tow truck. be careful in that area. >> kristen sze and eric? it is 4:40. we have not seen him in a year and a half and that is in store as the man accused of the boston marathon bombing appears in court. >> sony is forced to stop the release of a controversial policemen and critics say it is a bad move. bay bridge toll plaza is light and moving along and not so wet on the deck as we have seen in the past few days. we will keep you in the know throughout the commercial break with weather and traffic. with weather and traffic.

covering novato. oakland. sunnyvale. this is abc7 news. it is now 4:43. a roast is planned in san francisco against the allowing of pg&e to charge fees on smart meters program to opt out which eliminates the need for meter readers. >> can you opt out but it will cost. the commission currently allows pg&e to charge customers $75 to opt out and an additional $10 a month to go back to meter reading and is expected to discuss the opt out program today at the meeting. the meeting is what many have been waiting for the final meet egg over the president would will leave the post at the end of the year after e-mails showed he had what many called a

"cozy" relationship with pg&e, which is what he is charged with regulating, trading favorable commission reading to donations for a favorite political cause. the boston marathon bombing suspect is scheduled to be in federal court for the first time in nearly a year and a half for the final pre-trial conference. 21-year-old has not appeared in public since being arraigned in july of last year. he is charged with the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others in april of 2013. the prosecution says he and his brother build two pressure cooker bombs and placed them near the finish line. he died following a shootout with police and faces the possibility of death penalty if convicted. the jury selection is scheduled to start january 5. >> unprecedented move this morning by hollywood because of threats from north yes a comedy has been pulled from release and

distribution and is called cowardly and smart. here is that report. hello, important korea. >> this cyber war has hollywood surrendering pulling the plug on "the interview," canceling christmas day release. the studio says it has been the victim of unprecedented criminal assault. the decision coming after thousands of theaters including regal and amc decided not to show the comedy of a plot to assassinate kim jong-un. >> we believe the film should have gone to theaters and we showed it at a theater and we had a great screening. >> san francisco film society director showed the interview at the castro theater last month hosted by rogan and goldburg. it is unbelieve an. >> to see this level of self censorship is not good in the

film industry, a chilling effect. >> what was a hollywood breach exposing embarrassing e-mails became a threat to national security. those responsible for the hack warn theaters and movie goers if your house is nearby, you better leave. despite the scandal, this woman want as ticket. >> i will it will probably see it. more will try to see it now more than ever. >> it is fought clear if sony will every lease "the interview," and we are learning the lands for an untitled thriller set in north korea have reportedly been scrapped by 20th century fox. >> did you get showers on the way in? one of dying few? >> i took a shower before i came in...but why, i didn't see any. all right. glad you asked. >> i found the natural variety coming from the sky.

>> nice, you must be the special >> nice, you must be the special one. okay, moving on, 4:47, a few light showers headed to san francisco and possibly the marin head lands and otherwise it is quiet. there is a light shower moving through young city. that could hit the sunol grade in the next 15 or 20 minutes. we have fog cross the north bay and otherwise it is quiet visibility-wise. you can see it is quiet on the embarcadero but it is wet. it is wet even without the rain. moving forward, we will have light rain this morning. it is very spotty and light. however, by the afternoon hours, we will need the sunglasses and the sun will protect through for a couple of hours.

another storm arrives tonight and there is a slight chance of rain across the north bay saturday night through sunday morning. during daylight it should be dry. the temperatures have a lot upper 50's to low 60 with mostly cloudy conditions and tonight you can see the future radar returns are more numerous with rain changing to showers with the next system and low-to-mid 50's for most of us and we will be immediate again tomorrow morning. overnight while you were sleeping the trough moved through and because we are between storms we will have drying. here is the next system, most of the energy we is along the alaskan coast and into canada and along the canadian coast but we will get a healthy dose of rain with urban flooding and mud and rock slides at at the same strength as last night. we did not have much damage. you can see the scattered nature of the light rain through noon and it dissipates in the

afternoon and the evening rush and it will be quiet. midnight you can see the rain moving into the north bay and across all of our neighbors for the rush hour. it could be moderate. when the cold front passes we will have a few showers. by action on friday evening, we are out. by 11 o'clock if you are out doing last help minute shopping or enjoying watching everyone else panic you will be quiet. and dry. >> .1" to half an inch in the lower elevation and 1" in the mountains. the seven-day forecast show it is warmer this week especially on sunday when it is dry. low-to-mid 60's as win destarts at 3:03 and morning fog and afternoon sun and mid-60 next week. to the golden gate bridge you are looking at four lanes coming into san francisco. two lanes headed in the northbound direction. you can see the shimmer on the

roads. they are slick. center caution on the roads and give yourself plenty of time. minor backup for the cash-paying folks with reports of a stall and possible accident in the right lane. heads up for that coming interest san francisco. solo spinout northbound 880 at whipple because of high speed and c.h.p. is on the scene. and c.h.p. is on the scene. not too much slowing. or fruitvale to alameda. >> thank you, sue. >> a heart hugging letter to santa, the one thing a 12-year-old girl wants more than anything else for her family. also, violent turbulence caught on camera, new video of terrifying midair moments. we will take you for a look

at embarcadero in san francisco with wet roads from the early showers and keeping tabs on showers and keeping tabs on weather and traffic with abc7

a san francisco supervise report says it is time to end property crimes after posting video of someone vandalizing a tree, which is "disturbing."

someone rips a huge branch off of a newly planted tree and walking off with the him and is calling for increased police presence and neighborhood watch programs. the tree vandalism has been an issue for years in golden gate park. police officials say many of the culprits are believed to have significant mental health problems. a trip to the jersey shore ended in lost memories for a family who left the camera at a candy shop on the boardwalk. >> 16 years later they learned camera was found and here are the home votes discovered in a camera bag last on the beach at the boardwalk, put in lost and found which was relocated over the years as the board walk expanded and a few months ago an employee found the camera but it no longer worked so he put the tapes it his new camera and voila! he her the girls names and then dad said, their last name, and a reporter with our sister station

wabc was there when dad called to claim the tapes. >> it was unbelievable discovery. completely surprised. >> how old are the girls? they are beautiful. >> 23 and 21. >> we imagine part of holiday will be a loving family laughing together in memories lost and now found. you can put the tapes in a new camera and it works? they are compatible? mindboggling. high surf advisory tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to saturday at 3:00 p.m. with official breakers over 20' for the north bay coast, the next storm coming in on saturday night. as far as our wettest december in san jose and we are second place at 7.45. we need a little more than 1.75" to max out.

>> as far as san francisco we are in 11th place with 10.10" but we need 15.25". without a day of heavy snow our percentage goes down and only 47 percent. no snow at lake tahoe but mainly mid-50's. >> we have problem on the upper deck of the bay bridge with a stall that is blocking lane five, the right lane, just outside of treasure island. you can see sluggish traffic but so far, so good, asking for two tow trucks. elsewhere, if union city we have a solo spinout because of high speed and wet road off of whipple. and westbound 580 a major pothole in lane two causing one car to get a flat tire. it could jam up the commute from the central valley.

if you are a white knuckle flyer, newly released video shows an encounter with severe turbulence on american airlines flight that landed five people in the hospital. >> anyone who was not buckled in went airborne during the flight from south korea to dallas, texas. the shaking starts off the coast of japan as the map flew through a storm. the american airlines crew made an unplanned landing in tokyo with most passengers arriving safely in dallas. yesterday. >> a touching story about all the letters to santa, rather than asking for colleagues or a new bicycle a young girl asked for something much more special. >> dear santa, my christmas wish has changed. >> that is 12-year-old jay lynn, her family home burned down in october so she asked san to for wood, wiring, heaters and a new

fridge, stuff her dad, a contractor, needed to rewill their home. the story has received amazing response and people offering on social media flow supplies and all the man power the family needs to help build them a new home near nashville. make me: is billionaire's challenge to a court order forcing him to allow access to the prosecute to a popular breach. >> breezing easier the ambitious plan to cut pollution from bay area refineries. and looking live at the eastern span of the bay bridge with traffic moving all right and no showers right new. we will keep on top of breaking we will keep on top of breaking weather and traffic

we will keep on top of breaking weather and traffic you've been part of this family for as long as i can remember. and you just mean so much to all of us. the holidays wouldn't be the same without your crescent rolls. we got you a little something. we got you jeans. it's about time. pipin' hot pillsbury crescent rolls. make your holidays pop! [ female announcer ] holiday cookies are a big job. everything has to be just right. perfection is in the details. ♪ pillsbury cookie dough. make the holidays pop!

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good morning to you on this thursday, december 18. 5:00 a.m. i am with sue and leyla gulen and meteorologist mike nicco checking out a calmer morning. >> calmer.