good afternoon. i'm dan ashley. larry beil is off. >> i'm ama daetz. new details revealed today about the sexual assault claims against former 49ers defensive lineman ray mcdonald. court documents indicate the woman behind the claim says she met mcdonald earlier this month at a san jose bar and began feeling sick after having two drinks there. >> she says she had also been drinking before she went to the bar. she says the attack happened after she passed out by mcdonald's pool. she says she woke up the next morning naked in bed with mcdonald. after the woman went to police with her claim, a detective pretended to be her and began texting mcdonald as part of the investigation. >> he responded i don't understand why you're bothered. you chose to stay with me for

another day. the detective wrote back quote, yeah, but you shouldn't have had sex with me after i was knocked out. mcdonald then texted that he did nothing wrong. he has not been charged in the case. the tide was unusually high across the bay area today and that was a very big concern for residents of a peninsula mobile home park that is still waterlogged after heavy rain earlier this month. >> that's right. abc 7 news reporter sergio quintana is live in belmont with a look at what's happening there. >> reporter: belmont mobile home residents were able to get back into their homes in the last few days but they have not been able to get there using this main entrance because as you can see, there is a series of cubes that have been set up. this is the temporary drainage system to help address one of the problems as to why the mobile home flooded. cal trans crews and san mateo county crews are still trying to address some of the other problems associated. the drainpipe leads back to this contraption of hoses and pumps.

it's supposed to trap runoff that residents say rushed in from the other side of this freeway sound wall. >> they just don't maintain that stuff. >> reporter: leo has lived at the belmont mobile home park for 17 years. he says last week's flooding is the worst he has ever seen. his neighbor red, who has lived here 20 years, agrees. >> it was at the top of my highest porch and if someone had walked through it or a car surged through it, it could have splashed into the house. >> reporter: san mateo public works and cal trans officials say there were a number of reasons why the flooding was so bad here. one reason was a buildup of debris over the years along u.s. 101. we did see a cal trans crew dredging out the creek that runs right along the freeway sound wall. he was worried today's high tide might cause another flood because of what he says is a badly maintained drainage system. >> there's a door that's supposed to when the water

floods, supposed to lift open the door, but the door is completely shut and rusted so it doesn't stay open. >> reporter: we found one of those drainage doors. it spills into belmont creek and redwood shores lagoon. the high tide didn't cause any problems but at low tide, we saw that the door is rusted shut. right now, residents are simply trying to clean up from the flood. he, along with his neighbors, have been told to inventory all of their damaged property but it's not yet clear who they should give those lists to. san mateo county officials say they will have more information about that in january. san mateo county officials are going to be hosting a homecoming dinner for residents of the belmont mobile home park just down the alley here so residents will be able to get dinner and may also get a few more of those answers. in belmont, i'm sergio quintana, abc 7 news. the king tide left some areas of marin county under water this morning.

happened around 11:00. this is shoreline highway in mill valley near highway 101. the water was a few inches deep here. you can see drivers were able to navigate through without serious problems. at 6 1/2 feet, this was the highest tide of the year. commuters heading home in the north bay won't have to deal with the mud slide that caused headaches during the morning drive. sky 7 hd captured the scene above southbound 101 just a short time ago. all lanes are open this afternoon after the slide closed two lanes this morning. a water saturated hill dumped the mud on to the highway about 2:30 in the morning. cal trans crews cleared the mud slide just before 11:30. dense fog made for a difficult commute this morning. this is what it looked like along the embarcadero in san francisco. the fog didn't stop the ferries from running but the boats had to run a little bit slower. there was a 20-minute delay on some routes. the fog blanketed the city with only the hills and the taller buildings in view here. this is from the mount tam cam. the chp reported that vif

visibility was down to less than 100 feet in some places. you can see here it was just pea soup in places. here's what it looks like now from the east bay hills camera as this first full day of winter turned out to be quite mild. spencer christian is live outside with our first look at the accuweather forecast. certainly doesn't feel like winter today. >> it does not at all. if this is winter, i will take it. things are looking really nice outside right now. you cannot hear my mike? here it is. it fell. my mike fell. can you hear me now? all right. lovely day, lovely first full day of winter. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd. we have mainly sunny skies around the bay area right now. low clouds near the coastline but not along the coast. all that fog has burned off. there will be more fog developing tonight. a live view from emeryville camera. under mainly sunny skies right now, it's 63 in san francisco and oakland. 65 in redwood city. san jose, 62. 60, morgan hill.

59, half moon bay. here's a beautiful view looking down towards ocean beach. it is 68 right now at santa rosa. 61, napa, novato. 67 apiece in concord and livermore. here's the fog forecast. starting 7:00 tonight, we will see the fog increasing in the central valley during the overnight hours and pushing in towards the delta but it will be pulling away from the coastline by about 9:00 tomorrow morning so we probably will not have widespread problems with visibility and lingering fog tomorrow morning that we had this morning. shaping up to be a lovely day tomorrow if you are not in the central valley. i will have the full accuweather seven-day forecast coming up in just a few minutes. >> spencer, thanks very much. the highway patrol officer charged with e-mailing nude photos of two women he arrested is close to accepting a plea bargain. sean harrington has pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally copying computer data and although a deal is still being worked out, his attorney told the judge today there will be a change of plea.

harrington is accused of searching the phones of two women he had stopped and sending the pictures to himself and to other officers. a 17-year-old driver was killed this morning in a crash that left his pickup truck dangling over the highway 4 overpass in brentwood. this happened after a head-on collision with a utility truck. the 17-year-old girl who was riding in the pickup is hospitalized. the utility truck driver wasn't injured. investigators are looking into whether the pickup's driver fell asleep before drifting into oncoming traffic. a trio of armed robbers stole some very precious memories when they held up a newly wed couple and their photographers. it happened saturday during a post-wedding photo shoot outside oakland high school where the couple met. our media partner, the oakland tribune, reports three men robbed the couple, flower girls and five others hired to take pictures and video. the robbers got away with nearly $14,000 in equipment. the photographers hope the pictures are returned to the couple at the very least. can you believe that. still ahead on abc 7 news at

4:00, coach jim harbaugh reacts to the latest rumors about his uncertain future with the 49ers. plus a south bay charity handed out thousands of toys to needy children today but the need is still great. how you can help out. new at 4:30, a plea from new york's mayor today as the city mourns the death of two officers killed in an ambush. 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions on twitter and facebook. he will answer them here live a little later. you can contact michael at facebook.com/michaelfinneyabc7. and on twitter, atmfinney. checking your traffic on this monday, the san francisco skyway is at a crawl both directions. on the right-hand side, traffic approaching 101 south. on the lends ft-hand side is trc going to the east bay. it is slow going.

we have an update on the condition of the window washer who survived that fall from an 11-story building in san francisco last month. just an incredible story. pedro perez has now been moved to a rehabilitation center to begin physical therapy. since he isn't working his family is asking for help to make ends meet during this really tough time. abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez has the story. >> reporter: it's been a month since this family's life was turned do you understand. upside down. pedro, an experienced window washer, fell from an 11 story window in san francisco's financial district, landing on this moving toyota camry.

it helped break his fall. he miraculously survived but was badly injured. just as surprising is that perez is now talking and ready to start physical therapy. the family talked to us from oakland. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> his spirits are good. he's really eager to get up and move. >> reporter: his family says perez doesn't remember the accident. his medical bills and physical therapy will be covered but today, the 58-year-old san leandro resident worries more about how he will be able to provide for his family. the family says they are going through some tough times. while they are getting some money, workman's comp doesn't cover what he made. his wife is working full-time and his daughter dropped out of

college to take on more hours as a caregiver. >> insurance, clothes, groceries, we need to pay the rent. we are barely scraping by. >> reporter: the family says they will celebrate christmas and have dinner at the rehab center with their dad, who is eating again. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> he asks for food from outside the hospital. hospital food isn't very good. >> reporter: given what they have gone through, they say they are fine with postponing christmas. lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. the federal aviation administration is out with a new campaign urging drone users to fly safely. >> -- excited when they unwrap the box and find an unmanned aircraft. how do you make sure you stay off the naughty list? we want you to know before you fly. >> the short video offers a variety of safety tips. if you have a drone, fly it below 400 feet and not near airports. take a lesson before your first

flight. today, 49ers coach jim harbaugh had an opportunity to respond to a report that his future with the team is to be decided imminently. predominant speculation has the niners firing harbaugh or trading him to another nfl team. >> jay glazer, go back and asked his source for more clarification, but i haven't participated, i don't intend to now. this has been a good 12 months of this kind of thing. what will happen, will happen. what won't happen, won't happen. let the organization have the floor on that. >> it's also been reported that michigan has offered harbaugh a six year, $49 million contract to return to college ball. a san jose charity needs

your help to make sure children in need receive gifts this holiday season. sacred heart community service today began giving away some 17,400 toys and books to the parents of 5800 kids in need. this morning, the organization said it fell 4200 toys short. the community responded right away. >> just giving back to our community, taking care of people that are hard up right now. and basically give them a start for the new year. >> each child gets two toys and a book. close to 700 volunteers helped make this massive giveaway happen. 1200 toys have been donated since this morning and another $8,000 in cash. to donate, head to sacred heart community center on first street in san jose. st. anthony foundation in san francisco is hosting its annual christmas curbside donation drive. volunteers are collecting food, new socks, clothes, blankets, money, whatever you can give.

it's going on through wednesday. volunteers will be using the donated goods to make gift bags to give to guests on christmas day. we invite you to join us and give where you live this holiday season. abc 7's parent company disney recently donated $10,000 to toys for tots to help deserving bay area children have a brighter holiday. you can find out how to help toys for tots through a link on abc7news.com/toys. a massive storm could disrupt holiday travel plans as a record number of americans prepare to hit the road. it may not be the white christmas people dream of. abc news reporter emmitt miller has the story. >> reporter: with some 99 million folks hitting the roads and another 45 million traveling by air, mother nature may put a wet blanket on holiday plans. more than 140 million americans are expected to travel between now and january 4th, the highest levels in more than a decade. blame gas prices, which are at a five year low. >> my own personal belief is because gas prices are down,

people have a little bit more money in their pocket and are willing to travel a bit more. particularly longer distances. >> reporter: the same weather system in the pacific northwest that brought 75 mile an hour winds to southern california and heavy snowfall to colorado and utah -- >> to me i would rather deal with snow than wind. >> reporter: -- may cause travel headaches on the roads and flight delays. on christmas eve, the storm is expected to gather strength, lashing areas from tampa to boston. >> i wouldn't characterize it as a travel nightmare but there's going to be delays. no big storms but there will be a little snow from minneapolis toward green bay and along the east coast, a little bit of rain, little bit of drizzle and we're worried about fog. with only the mountain areas expected to see snow, this promises to be a mostly wet, not white, christmas. in los angeles, emmitt miller, abc news. >> there you go. >> christmas is looking pretty good so far. >> it may not be a white christmas but we will roast chestnuts over the open fire. >> we are indeed.

tomorrow is going to be even warmer than today. we are expecting possibly some record highs tomorrow. here's a look at live doppler 7 hd. we have mainly sunny skies right now on this mild first full day of winter but of course, we have had the king tide to contend with. coastal flood watch remains in effect until tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. minor tidal overflow near high tide time is possible. low tide will occur this afternoon at 5:40 at the golden gate, then tomorrow, high tide, 11:44 a.m. be on the lookout for rising coastal waters. here's a live view from the east bay hills camera looking towards the golden gate right now on this lovely afternoon. forecast features, pockets of dense fog will form overnight. record highs are possible tomorrow, quite a few, as a matter of fact. chance of showers on wednesday, christmas eve. here's the satellite image showing high pressure the dominant feature in the weather picture bringing us this unusually mild weather, even warmer tomorrow. next chance of showers will be from this system which is steaming in our direction. we will start the forecast

animation wednesday morning at 7:00. notice how the clouds increase and by 3:00 in the afternoon wednesday, christmas eve, you see showers and light rain developing in the north bay, swinging down past the golden gate through the heart of the bay area by 4:00 p.m., then beginning to move through the south bay and santa cruz mountains by 6:00 p.m. should be all over by wednesday night. it will be a nice smooth ride for santa and the reindeer. looking to tonight's lows, we will see cool weather in the north bay valleys, mid 40s will be the lows there and upper 40s to low 50s elsewhere. tomorrow, sunny and warm day. upper 60s in the south bay, san jose tops out at 67. that will be a record high for tomorrow's date, as will 71 in gilroy. on the peninsula, mid to upper 60s, up to 68 at mountain view and if that occurs that will be a record for tomorrow's date in gilroy. mid 60s on the coast. downtown san francisco, a high of 66 tomorrow. upper 60s to around 70 in the north bay tomorrow. santa rosa at 70 would be a record high for the date. 67 in san rafael. over on the east bay, upper 60s. we expect 67 at oakland.

that would be a record for tomorrow's date. mid to upper 60s inland. the accuweather seven day forecast, chance of afternoon showers on wednesday which is christmas eve but should be over by wednesday night. thursday, christmas day, looking cooler, sharply cooler, with highs only in the mid to upper 50s. but it does look like it will be a mainly sunny and dry day and then we will get sunny and pleasant and dry weather right on through the weekend and into early next week. it's a lovely week shaping up. we need a break from all the rain, drenching rain we had last week. looks like we will get that break. >> excellent. >> thank you, spencer. coming up next, certified ace on the golf course. the lucky shot this 103-year-old made and he's not done yet. plus later, how many helium balloons does it take before you can fly? new after 4:30, one man's thrill ride.

♪ british singer joe cocker has died at 71 after losing a battle with lung cancer. he was known for a memorable woodstock performance and the cover of the beatles song "with a little help from my friends." his songs reached the top of the charts. in spain, children sang the winning numbers today on live tv in the biggest lottery in the world. it's an annual tradition in the country. the jackpot this year is about $3 billion. a half million or so will go to one big winner. the rest will be divided among thousands of players across the country. a man old enough to be a great grandpa at least hits a hole in one for the ages.

>> at 103 years old, gus recently became the oldest golfer ever with the impressive feat. he started golfing back in the '20s and says this was his eighth hole in one. >> he's at the course three times a week even at the age of 103. >> i never had a bad day at golf. golf might be bad but it's not a bad day. golf has been good to me all these years. outside of three years in the service, that's been my life. >> check him out. gus looks forward to doing it again. he credits his longevity to luck, faith and having a good attitude. the 103-year-old isn't just a lucky golfer. he has also won lottery prizes twice. how about that. still to come on abc 7 news at 4:00, a serial arsonist in the south bay makes a deal in court. reaction from the neighbors who lived in fear for several days. plus new york police on high alert. the message from the city's mayor today after the murder of

two on-duty police officers. and children lighting candles. the global campaign one bay area mother wants you to be part of tomorrow.

in news making headlines at 4:30, court documents released today reveal new details in a

sexual assault claim against former 49er ray mcdonald. the woman told police she met mcdonald at a bar, then went to his house and injured her head in a fall by his swimming pool. abc 7 news reporter lvic lee is covering this story and says court documents show she was unconscious when she says mcdonald assaulted her. a progress report on a window washer who was severely injured in san francisco when he fell off the roof of an 11-story building. pedro perez's wife and daughter spoke about his condition today a month after the accident. they are asking for donations to help provide for the family. perez's wife says he's now talking and eating and is not a big fan of hospital food. he's currently in a rehab center in fairfax. a san jose man will get a lighter sentence for admitting he set 13 fires earlier this year. the january fires had an entire east san jose neighborhood on

edge. abc 7 news reporter david louie has the story. >> reporter: patrick brennan put an east san jose neighborhood through hell for five consecutive nights last january, and now he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. >> we're just happy that he's locked away and won't be doing society any harm anymore. >> reporter: jeff levine is one of brennan's 13 victims. he woke up to discover his front porch on fire. brennan was caught on video returning four times in 45 minutes to set a fire with a lighter. brennan called abc 7 news over the weekend. the audio quality is poor, but brennan explains why he was setting the fires. [ indistinguishable ] >> reporter: jeff levine says he feels sorry for brennan. >> the only way that he i guess knew how to deal with stress is to set fires. i don't understand that. to me, that shows just a total

emptiness inside of him. i feel sorry for the guy. >> reporter: imagine the fear gripping this east san jose neighborhood. the overnight fires were all set within about a mile of where brennan lived. prosecutor bud porter says brennan would just take a walk using a lighter for ignition. he was a serial arsonist. >> he was convicted in 1999 for setting wildfires and he was convicted in federal court in 1994 for setting wildfires in the grand canyon area. >> reporter: besides the warehouse, brennan admitted to setting fires at a san jose church as well as homes. he told abc 7 news that he was glad he was caught, because he couldn't control his behavior. he will face formal sentencing in mid-february. in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. in new york city today, mayor bill de blasio asked that protests and political debate over police tactics be put aside until the funerals are held for two officers. officers rafael ramos and

wenjian liu were shot execution-style on saturday. the killings have widened the rift between the mayor and his police force. here is a live picture now of the memorial that continues to grow as residents and officers have been paying their respects since the weekend. people have been dropping flowers, pictures, candles off at this site to pay their respects. abc news reporter susan solney is in new york. >> reporter: mayor bill de blasio and police commissioner bill bratton paid respects to the families of officers rafael ramos and wenjian liu. even as tension remains high in the wake of the execution-style killings that have police departments around the country on high alert for copycat attacks. in new york city, anger fueled by the belief that mayor de blasio and attorney general eric holder haven't been supportive enough of police amidst national protests over the deaths of eric garner and michael brown. police officers turning their

backs to the mayor as he arrived at the hospital the day of the shootings. mayor de blasio urged the city to focus on the grieving families. >> put aside protests. put aside demonstrations. until these funerals are passed. >> reporter: police say the ambush happened so quickly, the officers never even saw their attacker coming. a man authorities have identified as 28-year-old ismaaiyl brinsley. even though brinsley shot himself, police are still looking to the public to help them finish the investigation. >> did he have conversations with people to flesh out his motivation, what was going on in his mind in these last two hours of his life. >> reporter: meanwhile, on the sidewalk near the crime scene, a makeshift memorial is growing with well wishers bringing flowers and stuffed animals to honor the murdered policeman. big city police departments and union leaders are recommending that rank and file officers wear bulletproof vests at all times.

san francisco police chief tells us his department will send a contingent of officers to new york this week. some will represent the city at the memorial. others will help the nypd patrol the street so officers there can attend the service. in milwaukee, a white police officer who was fired after he fatally shot a mentally ill black man in april will not face criminal charges. the prosecutor says christopher manney won't be charged because he shot the man in self-defense. hamilton's family is now demanding a federal investigation. protesters expressed their outrage over today's decision in downtown milwaukee. police say manney was performing a welfare check on hamilton when hamilton grabbed the officer's baton and hit him with it. that's when manney opened fire. north korea has been knocked offline in the wake of the hack scandal. it's not known if the internet problems were an act of retribution or who was responsible. north korea is firing back at accusations it's behind the massive sony hack, saying the worst is yet to come.

the communist regime accuses the obama administration of making the controversial film "the interview." north korea wants the u.s. to agree to conduct a joint investigation proving the communist regime is not responsible. if not, the country says it will attack the white house, the pentagon and all of the u.s. the state department responded this afternoon saying it's still confident the communist country is behind this cyberattack. >> the fbi and the president and everyone who has now made clear we are confident the north korean government is responsible for this destructive attack. we stand by this conclusion. the government of north korea has a long history of denying responsibility for destructive and provocative action. >> the u.s. wants north korea to admit it is responsible for the attack and compensate sony for its losses. a san rafael mother is leading a new global effort to remember the 140 lives lost when taliban militants stormed a pakistan school. most of the victims were

children. heidi is ceo of the nonprofit roots of peace. she is asking people to take part in a global candlelight vigil. she wants people to light a candle tomorrow on the one week anniversary of the attack. leaders from around the world are pledging to join her in her effort, including afghanistan, rome and the middle east. these are pictures from a candlelight vigil by children in kabul. to participate, facebook and tweet your pictures and prayers using the hash tag children deserve peace. cuba announced today it is open to every proposal by president obama to improve relations with the united states. in its first detailed response since last week's historic announcement, the communist country welcomes the entire package offered by the president. that includes new equipment to improve cuba's internet and help for private business owners, two areas that are heavily regulated. coming up at 4:55, cuba's mission to provide free medical training for people from around the world and the local doctor who took part in that program. stay with us for that. dozens of young immigrants lined up in arizona today to

apply for driver's licenses. today is the first day they can get licenses under an obama administration policy meant to shield thousands of immigrants from deportation. that policy was initially blocked by arizona governor jan brewer. the state expects a rush of applicants. many immigrants say they are excited to finally get the chance to drive here legally. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a bear attacks a teenager. she was saved by her dog. >> amazing story. here's another one. up, up and away. a daredevil goes to new heights using balloons and a lawn chair. how this whole experiment ended. i'm michael finney. today's 7 on your side q & a is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook which means you can contact me right now at facebook.com/michaelfinneyabc7 and over on twitter at mfinney. i will answer your questions live later. i'm spencer christian. the emeryville camera gives us a beautiful view of the setting

sun on this second -- rather, first full day of winter. the second full day of winter may bring record highs. the accuweather forecast in just a moment. let's take a look at traffic in walnut creek along 680. southbound on your right moving better than northbound on your left. at least it's moving. it's getting a little sticky through that area. stay with us.

no, it's not pixar's movie "up." a daredevil soars to new heights using helium balloons. eric roener inflated close to 90 balloons, sat in a lawn chair and let the balloons carry him up and away, 8,000 feet up, to be exact. equipped with go pro cameras, he soared for awhile. he began popping the balloons one by one with a shotgun before taking a giant leap of faith. he free-fell for awhile before deploying his parachute and safely returning down to earth. he called his balloon journey epic. >> people are different. you see him grinning the whole time? >> i know. best time of his life. >> he's smiling, having the time of his life. when we were kids, my brothers and i tried that exact same thing. we did. cut a piece of plywood and stapled a bunch of helium balloons. we went nowhere. spencer is checking our weather.

hopefully you're staying nice and grounded. >> grounded firmly on the roof. lovely weather today for the first full day of winter. looks like another one coming our way tomorrow. live doppler 7 hd showing us current conditions, mainly sunny skies across the bay area. got off to a bit of a foggy start this morning but it went away by afternoon. tomorrow, the national weather picture looks loike this. snow showers, light snow over the upper midwest, light showers over the northeastern corner of the country and thunderstorms south from atlanta to new orleans. most of the western half of the nation will be dry tomorrow with the exception of coastal washington and oregon, where it will be rainy. across the state of california tomorrow, mainly sunny skies from north to south. it will be cool in eureka with a high of 57. mid to upper 60s through the central part of the state and down south in the coast, mid 70s in l.a. and san diego. in the bay area look for mainly sunny skies and a chance for record high temperatures from santa rosa to san rafael to

oakland to san jose. if they reach those temperature levels tomorrow, they will set new record highs for tomorrow's date. it will feel spring-like on the second full day of winter. >> spencer, thanks very much. still to come on abc 7 news at 4:00, a mother's invention gets oprah's approval. how she's helping other moms and newborns around the country. plus -- >> there's a lady who came in with a child. >> is he choking? >> yes, he's choking. >> caught on video. the hero who rushed in to save a toddler choking on a piece of candy. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. is it safe to use apple pay for your last minute holiday shopping? we will be talking about that in my q & a

it's the time of year for making lists... at chevrolet, we've made it onto a few lists ourselves. in fact this year, we've been at the top of more awards lists than any other car company. now during the chevy year end event, put us on yours. choose an impala in stock the longest and get cash back for 20 percent of the msrp. that's over sixty-five hundred dollars on this impala lt. find new roads at your local chevy dealer.

a teenager's dog helped her fend off a sudden attack from a bear over the weekend. the bear suddenly lunged at the 15-year-old girl as she was walking her dog outside a supermarket in the florida panhandle. the teen suffered serious injuries but remembered to play dead after the bear dragged her to a ditch. then her dog came to her rescue and scared off the animal. the girl is recovering in the hospital. florida wildlife officials are trying to track down the bear. >> bad wounds on her face, poor

thing. now to a scary moment caught on video. a 3-year-old boy choking to death on a piece of candy. his mother desperately tries to get him help and the happy ending thanks to a police officer who arrived just in time. abc news reporter david wright is on the story. >> reporter: a 3-year-old boy upside down on a police officer's knee and choking to death, accidentally turns on the officer's body camera as the officer struggles to save him. >> 911, what is the emergency? what's going on? >> we need a medic. >> reporter: it was the cashier, ray sanchez, who first called 911 after two panicked parents rushed into his store in mesquite, nevada with their son. >> there's a lady has come in with a child. >> is he choking? >> yes, he's choking. >> it was just scary. >> reporter: the little boy was semi-conscious, choking on a candy. a jawbreaker the size of a

quarter like this one that he got at a birthday party. off-duty police officer quinn averette was less than a block away when he got the call. >> i took the child from the father. i turned him upside down over my knee and began a reverse heimlich maneuver. >> come on, buddy. >> reporter: the body camera footage captures the moment the officer saves him. >> you okay? >> reporter: you may not be able to see the jawbreaker pop out but you can hear the relief. >> is he breathing? >> he's breathing. >> reporter: days later at the police station, an emotional reunion. >> when i saw him i just started crying. >> reporter: damien's family got to thank the man who saved their little boy's life. >> she cried, i cried a little bit because it really touched me because i have children of my own. >> reporter: another reunion is set for next month, when the mesquite police department and city council will honor the officer with a life saving award. damien, his brother and their parents all will be there.

>> it was a good ending, a happy ending. my son's still with me. >> what a merry christmas. paramedics arrived at the store shortly after the officer saved damien's life and determined the little boy was in good enough shape not even to have to be hospitalized. >> wow. oprah winfrey has honored a mother for her invention helping infants at neonatal care units around the world. she recently rewarded a $25,000 grant so she can create more zackies, mothers first sleep with the glove-like invention, then when they place it next to their baby it smells like them. jackson first invented the glove to help her baby zachary during his five-month stay at the nicu. >> about three weeks after sackary was born, the nurses from the nicu called me and said you know those little gloves that you make for zach, can you make them for the rest of the unit. because they could see how it helped zachary, how he was calmer.

>> jackson has since sold zachies to 300 hospitals in 50 countries. now zachary is 13 and loves math, science and archery. >> that's a clever idea. 7 on your side's michael finney is here answering questions sent to him by facebook, twitter and e-mail. first up, a question from a twitter user. is apple pay entirely and completely safe? >> entirely and completely? nothing is entirely and completely safe. nothing in the world. apple will probably tell you absolutely. look, the bottom line is anything can be hacked. this is apple, they do a fabulous job. as long as you are using your credit card along with apple pay you should have no problem at all because remember, with a credit card, you get a say, not charge before they take the money. >> pam e-mails we traded in our

car and received a release of liability from the dealer. but we have received two toll evasion tickets since then. can i ignore them? >> yeah. i mean, because you have that release from liability, you are absolutely fine. there's nothing to worry about because you have got it in your hand. please tell me you still have it, you didn't get rid of it. what i would do is call up the dmv and make sure they have it, check into it. they will tell you they have it and it will knock it off. you do want to check in because these will eventually pile up and it will be a bigger and bigger hassle. >> deal with it quickly. mary e-mails i'm allergic to dogs and i'm concerned about being seated next to one on a flight. do you have any suggestions for getting around this? >> this is the oddest thing. when you are talking in terms of service animals, there is nothing you can do. the service animal has a right to be there, we want them to be there so they will be there. but airlines also fly a lot of

animals in the people compartment of a jet and they kind of say tough luck. the best thing you can do to get away from them is maybe buy a bulkhead seat. you generally pay a little more but they don't allow any animals there, service or otherwise. we have checked with the faa about this in the past. they really don't care. they just say something like there's dander there no matter what. live with it. i'm kind of shocked. if i had to sit next to certain animals i'm allergic to i would have to leave the plane. >> some people are reallyallerg. coming up, a unique perspective on the changing relationship between the u.s. and cuba. >> hear from a local doctor who went to cuba, where she got free medical training to help the underserved back here in the bay area. i'm cheryl jennings in the abc 7 newsroom. coming up new at 5:00, we talk to a legal analyst who breaks down the newly detailed allegations made against former 49ers star ray mcdonald. and a holiday spectacle that

has brought joy the a bay area community for the past 36 years is coming to an end. we are live at a special tribute. or a helping paw!ater, everyone needs a helping hand, so mattress discounters good deed dogs is raising money to help train assistance dogs for wounded veterans. veteran: i live independently because of what all it provides for me. and it's huge! there's a lot of wounded, ill, and injured out there just like myself, who just maybe need a little bit of help. tag: you can lend a helping paw too. give at mattressdiscountersdogs.com or any mattress discounters. mattress discounters good deed dogs-- helping dogs help people.

a sonoma county family has transformed their windsor home into a gigantic gingerbread house. it's not an easy job for theresa and jim mortonson. first they have to wrap the entire house in brown tarp. then they drew the candy. jim says he didn't want to be the average joe. he wanted to be the wow guy. their spectacular display will be featured tonight on the great christmas light fight right here on abc 7 at 8:00. cuba may be an improoverish nation but it has developed a first rate medical system. they even train doctors from other nations and one of those cuban-trained doctors is working here in the bay area. abc 7 news reporter carolyn tyler joins us with more.

>> reporter: as you said, cuba is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere yet offers its citizens universal health care and comprehensive medical training to students from all over the world, including the doctor we talked with. dr. ramos knows more about cuba than most americans. she got her training there. six years free of charge at the island nation's most prestigious medical school. the cuban government program enrolls thousands of international students, requiring only that when they graduate, they work in underserved communities. dr. ramos now helps the uninsured and underinsured in contra costa county. influenced by her experience in cuba. >> i relate to people on a very human level, not on a kind of doctor/patient, no, it's we're partners in this. >> reporter: the 31-year-old doctor has made lifelong

friends, learned spanish and how to play an afro-cuban drum. when president obama made his surprise announcement last week -- >> we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. >> i was like finally. i was just thrilled. just thrilled. >> reporter: but there are many americans who are not. those who oppose cuba's political system and human rights record under the castro regime. dr. ramos welcomes the thaw and the opportunity for more americans to experience even a fraction of what she has. >> i don't think the purpose is necessarily to get rid of an ideology because that's not something that a policy can do. that's something that evolves over time. but opening up the dialogue and having more free exchange to me is what i take from this major step forward. >> reporter: as for the critics, dr. ramos says it's healthy to have that dialogue between

opponents and supporters of this historic change. in the newsroom, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. thank you for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm ama daetz. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now with dan and cheryl. tonight on abc 7 news at 5:00, our first look into detailed sexual assault accusations made against former 49ers lineman ray mcdonald. we hear from the family of a window washer who fell 11 stories and survived. why the family is optimistic this christmas week. and holiday travel like we haven't seen in decades. how you can keep from getting lost in the crowd at busy bay area airports. i'm spencer christian. rising tides and rising temperatures. i'll have a look at the unusual early winter weather in just a moment. good evening. i'm cheryl jennings. >> i'm dan ashley. we have new details about a sexual assault allegation made against former 49ers lineman ray

mcdonald. >> the court released a search warrant affidavit today with more information on accusations from that woman. >> abc 7 news reporter vic lee is live at the hall of justice in san jose with this new report. >> reporter: well, this is the 32-page affidavit, a summary, if you will, of the san jose police investigation into these accusations of sexual assault made against mcdonald. if you will recall, this is the second time in four months that he has been investigated by san jose police. he was arrested in late august after his pregnant fiancee called 911 saying that mcdonald had physically abused her. the d.a. subsequently or ultimately dismissed that case. he did not press charges. now this. the night of december 13th, the woman claims the sexual assault happened here, at ray mcdonald's home. she met him earlier at the willow den bar where she was drinking with friends. she ended up at mcdonald's home

where they continued drinking. the last thing she says she remembers is falling by his pool and hitting her head on the ground. the next morning, she says she woke up naked in his bed. the woman told police mcdonald said he just let her sleep in his bed because she was tired. later that day, she says 49er linebacker aldon smith showed up at the house and the three of them began drinking. that's when she says mcdonald told her they did have sex. the next day, the woman went to the hospital, where police interviewed her. an investigator got her permission to send a text message to mcdonald from her phone as if she were texting him. legal analyst steve clark says it's a common investigative tool. >> they try to get a suspect to start talking about the allegation even if they don't admit it, are they lying about little things. >> reporter: the in the text conversation, mcdonald says s just happened. we were just enjoying the moment. police sergeant, i don't even remember anything. i don't know how i could h