that's unusual, there's this outbreak of listeria in caramel apples and he said oh, my gosh, mom brought caramel apples to the kids on halloween. >> reporter: shirley purchased them at her local safeway store in felton. safeway removed all caramel apples from sale. a lawsuit has been filed against safeway to help determine the source and how the caramel apples got contaminated with listeria. safeway said it can't comment about the suit but did tell us quote, the product was supplied to us by a third party and we are looking into this matter further. >> there are ten states involved and they are not all clustered together. all of the people infected with this particular bacteria seemed to all have the exact same strain or maybe two strains that are related to each other. >> reporter: brad frye hopes the lawsuit will provide answers about his mother's death. the family's seattle-based attorney. >> it's unclear as to whether or not we have one manufacturer, whether or not we have a tainted component part.

>> reporter: he specializes in food-borne illness cases. he wants to determine if the apples were tested for listeria and warns that symptoms of listeria infection can take up to 70 days to surface. >> if they are showing any symptoms whatsoever, if they are nauseous, if they are vomiting, if they are having diarrhea, if they are having headaches, they need to seek proper medical attention. >> reporter: david louie, abc 7 news. a demonstration is scheduled to get under way in berkeley to protest the police shootings of unarmed black suspects. here is a live look from sky 7 hd. you can see a few people are starting to gather there. the demonstrators want the police held accountable in the deaths of michael brown in ferguson, missouri and eric garner in new york. a third black man was killed last night by police in berkeley, missouri, a suburb of st. louis. he was armed with a gun. the heads of the san francisco oakland and san jose police unions worry that all of the protests in the bay area are threatening officers' safety.

members of the lgbt community held a protest in san francisco this morning. dozens of people blocked the entrance to 101 near octavia and market streets, then marched to the castro calling for an end to what they call systemic police violence towards minorities. one driver who was stranded by protesters reflected on how complicated this issue is. >> i think many of the people who are out here would call on the police if they needed them, so the fact that they are out here criticizing things that have been done by the police force is a rough situation. >> today's protest was peaceful and respectful but the heads of those bay area police unions say some other recent demonstrations have devolved from legitimate free speech to the vilification of officers. palo alto police have arrested two men in connection with a fight that left another man in critical condition.

they say a 28-year-old from cupertino and a 21-year-old from sunnyvale were arguing with the victim outside the patio bar around 2:00 a.m. sunday. security broke it up but the men started fighting again about a block away on university avenue. the 28-year-old is accused of punching the victim, who has been unconscious since he hit his head on the street. >> a single punch was actually captured in its entirety on dash cam video from a patrol car parked down the street. we're not releasing that video publicly, but we do as a result of it have a very good understanding of what actually occurred. >> police say the getaway car nearly hit officers as they arrived on scene. both suspects are being charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon. we are just getting word that part of highway 1 in marin county is closed because of a fallen tree. the road is closed in both directions in marshall, in western marin county.

the highway patrol has no estimate on when the road will reopen. there is also a large tree blocking lucas valley road which connects san rafael. it could be tomorrow morning before that one's removed. last couple weeks, lot of trees have fallen because of all of the rain and some of the wind that's out there. the bay area is, however, drying out from yet another storm. don't you hate it when that happens? ruined umbrellas from gusty winds, drivers dealing with slick roads. san jose saw a surprising amount of rain this afternoon. >> you can see how quickly today's storm moved through the east bay. in this time lapse video from the emeryville camera. the showers pushed through and then blue skies started to peek out. >> let's get an update now. >> sandhya patel up on the roof with what is happening out there. hi, sandhya. >> hi, there. it's pretty blustery out here. winds are kicking up the waves, the flag behind me is blowing. you can see the trees swaying. it's a cold wind and as we take

a look at live doppler 7 hd, you will notice the rain is long gone. it passed through very quickly as you guys just mentioned. 24 hour rainfall totals very meesly. .07 san francisco. oakland, .02. livermore,.02. here's what i'm watching. the winds are really kicking up out of the northwest gusting to 44 miles an hour in half moon bay. 38 at sfo. secure your holiday decorations. i will be back with the forecast for christmas that's sure to brighten your day and i'm tracking santa for you. that's coming right up. >> awesome. thank you. well, that movie "the interview" is out after days of will they or won't they. sony today released the controversial movie online and on demand. one day before it hits movie theaters. this is the first time a major studio is making a film available for home viewing at the same time as it opens in theaters. abc 7 news reporter elissa harrington live in martinez with more on all of this. >> reporter: this movie was

intended to be a comedy but it quickly snowballed into arguably one of the most controversial films of the year. but now anybody can see it. you can see it tomorrow, christmas day. there's a limited release and sony is making it available to as many people as possible by streaming it online. >> i think people should come out and support the film and the film makers. >> reporter: david shows us tickets to "the interview." he bought them for his brother as a christmas gift. >> he really wanted to see the movie before the controversy and then he was kind of disappointed he wasn't going to get to see it. happy to get three tickets today. >> reporter: starting tomorrow, the controversial film will begin showing on around 300 screens. instead of a typical hollywood release of 3,000. but viewers don't have to wait any longer to see it. it's now streaming online. >> hello, north korea! >> reporter: google play, xbox and youtube all agreed to make "the interview" available. in a statement, google says we

could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech. >> streaming it online is exactly what needs to happen here. >> reporter: stephen, a professor of public policy at uc bs berkeley, says this sends a strong message needed after the film's cancellation and its approval of that decision from president obama. >> putting something online is equivalent one hopes to putting it in move theaters. this movie will have whatever success or failure it would normally have goosed a little bit by the publicity that north korea apparently has brought on itself. >> reporter: bay area theaters are seeing a lot of interest. the elmwood theater added shows because of the high demand. a supervisor tells me extra security measures will be in place. elissa harrington, abc 7 news. a judge is refusing to throw out a lawsuit against facebook claiming the social network giant scammed private messages sent between users. the complaint claims the company

would scan messages for links to web sites, then deliver targeted advertising to users. facebook stopped the practice in 2012 but the company says it's still analyzing some messages to protect against viruses and spam. south korean prosecutors have brought charges against the ceo of uber. he is accused of violating a transportation law. south korea's capital, seoul, may ban the ride sharing service on grounds it's unsafe and competes with licensed taxi services. uber also announced today its users in new york city must pay a $2 surcharge when they book a yellow cab with uber's service. governor brown today kept up with the christmas eve tradition. today he pardoned 105 people who had been convicted of minor drug offenses, completing their sentences decades ago. all of them are posted online. in each notice, brown says each person is now living an honest and upright life. a pardon does not expunge a

conviction but it does restore certain rights such as serving on a jury. one man who had been pardoned says good people make mistakes and should be allowed to make u-turns. he now has that opportunity. a lot more to bring you this christmas eve. >> there will always be this divide in the neighborhood. >> one woman's crusade on the streets and her fight to provide a home for local teenager. also one of the state's preeminent conservationists. we are going to go on a stroll of john muir's trail through martinez. plus -- >> this is the last day and there's still need of new toys. >> a big toe giveaway that still needs help. plus 7 on your side's michael finney on the best laptop for your money.

two police officers are being hailed as heroes. they got to this fire at an apartment building as residents were screaming that someone was still inside. the officers rushed in, found a 20-year-old man and carried him out to safety. he suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation and so did the two officers who saved him. the red cross found temporary shelter for more than a dozen people who lived in the building. now to a big problem going on all around us and most of us are unaware. kids cast off with no choice but to leave home. up until a year ago, homeless teenagers had a place to hang out but it was closed. abc 7 news reporter carolyn tyler on the new campaign to change that. >> reporter: the homeless youth alliance is now homeless itself. after losing the lease last christmas on its drop-in center in san francisco. for 12 years, it served kids living on the street in the hague. no more hot showers, bathrooms

or kitchens. it now takes basic services to the street, offering clothing, food, medical and mental health care. >> if it wasn't for these people, you know, it would probably be a lot more harder out here. >> reporter: mary howell is the founder. homeless herself when she was a teenager. >> this is not the way to operate a public health service to young people who are traumatized. it's not acceptable. >> reporter: they have tried unsuccessfully 34 times to rent a space. a generous neighbor is allowing the staff to use the family's dining room as an office and the garage as storage. >> we think their work is super important. they lost their space and we had space. >> reporter: now they have started a capital campaign called go big or stay homeless, hoping to raise $5 million to buy a building, to replace the center that was more than brick and mortar. >> that building gave everybody

that lives out here a place to feel like they were normal again. >> reporter: last year the city's annual homeless count for the first time looked at homeless youth ages 16 to 24. they counted 914. the city's homeless liaison. >> somehow the notion if we don't provide services, people will go elsewhere, i think that's a tragically bad thing to think to do. >> reporter: he says it's a disservice to the city for the organization to be homeless. carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. these are busy days at san francisco's glide memorial. glide is expected to serve 8,000 meals between today and tomorrow to the homeless, seniors and other people in need. today it got help from the house of prime rib. the restaurant donated more than 2,000 pounds of prime rib for the christmas eve luncheon. the owner and his family helped serve the meals. this is the 23rd year the house of prime rib has donated a day's

worth of holiday meals to glide. lefty o'doole's annual toy drive is runder way and a children's choir added to the festivities. ♪ going to find out who's naughty or nice ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ >> they sound great. i might recognize the man in the middle, san francisco's police chief taking part hoping to get people into the holiday spirit to give. abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez is there live tonight to explain how you still have a few hours left. lyanne? >> reporter: well, with only a few hours to go, they still need about 4,000 gifts so if you have any at home or if you have time to go to the store, please drop by. just come, don't even wrap the gift. now, it has been a day of celebration with a lot of entertainment like you see behind me. my favorite of course, the dancing christmas trees. >> merry christmas!

>> reporter: you know it's christmas eve when santa is near lefty o'doole's collecting gifts. people drop by the well known restaurant to bring toys. the goal is 10,000, more if people are feeling generous. >> the spirit of christmas comes alive. that's what it's about, giving. they start giving and we start distributing. it's a big distribution center. >> reporter: after sorting them out the gifts are put inside a truck to deliver to communities in need. >> wait, wait, wait. got another toy. >> reporter: we went along with santa to drop off toys for kids at the alan chapel ame church in san francisco's bayview district. there, more than 100 kids found what it means to be cared for. >> lego blocks. >> i'm going to share with my little brother.

my little brother loves legos. >> christmas means to me a happy holiday. >> it's such a blessing. it's a very needed time, too. it came right at the right time. >> it's an opportunity to say number one, somebody loves you. number two, says you have value. >> reporter: lefty o'doole's wasn't the only one giving out gifts. the san francisco firefighters union also held a toy drive near union square to make sure no kid in san francisco wakes up on christmas morning without a gift. the elves of lefty o'doole's will be here until 11:00 so you still have time. any extra gifts will be delivered tomorrow morning to a community center inside the western edition neighborhood in san francisco. live in union square, lyanne

melendez, abc 7 news. >> what a festive scene behind you. fantastic. thank you. according to google, the gifts people are searching for the most in san francisco are rain boots. they would have come in handy the last couple weeks. power mat wireless chargers and a pebble smart watch. other folks are still looking for laptops. christmas eve finds a few stores still open and there is always after the holiday, of course. which are the best buys out there? consumer reports is partnering exclusively with 7 on your side's michael finney to find out. >> some high end laptops boast a terrabyte of storage and a super-fast processor. important for playing graphic-intensive games or editing video. but consumer reports says if you do just the basics like word processing, browsing the web and streaming video, some budget laptops are a good choice. these cost $300 or less and come with windows 8.1 with bing.

>> windows 8.1 with bing is the same windows you have seen on other systems except that microsoft bing is the default search engine. these computers don't have the fastest solid state drives that the more expensive computers have so they are not going to boot as fast and some of their applications won't launch as fast. >> reporter: and unlike many more expensive laptops, you won't find a touch screen. extra usb ports or in most cases, a dvd drive. but for no frills computing, consumer reports has this $250 dell as a good value and it gets nearly eight hours of battery life. another option is a chromebook which uses google's chrome operating system instead of windows. all the applications you need are online so an internet connection is important. >> if you want to do something typical like word processing in a chromebook, you would use google docs which is an online word processor. >> reporter: acor's $175 chromebook is a consumer reports best buy.

it gets over ten hours of battery life. also for about $250, consumer reports says the acer chromebook c-720-2103 is another smart pick. i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. on to the christmas weather. >> meteorologist sandhya patel joins us now with the accuweather forecast. >> you might want to ask for a heavy coat or scarf, a windbreaker. it is cold out here. let me show you live doppler 7 hd. of course, windy and we will talk about what's going on. skies are clearing behind that cold front and the winds have been picking up which is making it feel even chillier than it is out there. sierra nevada right now, it is still snowing. chain requirements leading up to tahoe on all roads and there is a winter weather advisory that continues until 8:00 tonight so watch out for blowing snow, poor visibility with the wind kicking up. three to six inches expected

above 4,000 feet. we also have a beach hazard statement up until 6:00 tonight so just a short time longer. increased risk of sneaker waves and rip current, particularly for steep west-facing beaches. just watch out if you are heading to the coast. i'm keeping an eye on the weather but i'm also keeping an eye on santa. tracking santa with live doppler 7 hd and as you take a look, santa's left the north pole. mow 8-year-old daughter alexandria said mommy, are you going to be tracking santa? why, of course. there's santa in rio de janeiro on the way to visit all of the kids. all right. here's a live look from the golden gate bridge camera. we are seeing clear skies, mid 50s, san francisco, oakland, san carlos and half moon bay currently in the low 50s. san jose and morgan hill. the sun has gone down. a nice afterglow from the east bay hills camera. if you listen carefully, the wind is definitely going. it's blustery. low to mid 50s from santa rosa to livermore right now. a beautiful view from the exploratorium camera looking towards the bay. cool and breezy for your

christmas day, much colder nights ahead and we are looking at a dry pattern into the new year. just in case you are wondering and you are going to be out and about partying, it's looking dry. cold front came through, the air mass has changed. temperatures dropped five to 15 degrees in some areas. that cool breezy pattern behind the front will continue for christmas day and we will go with a dry pattern into the year as high pressure builds in. the winds, 7:00 p.m., gusting to about 41 at half moon bay, 44 at point reyes. in the 40s in san francisco, oakland. gale warnings for the coast. the gale warnings continue through tomorrow night. if you are heading out for sunrise services, you want to bundle up. take a look at the winds first thing in the morning. it is still going to be on the gusty side. then the winds will ease up a bit around 1:00 tomorrow afternoon but still remaining on the breezy side. morning lows will plunge, especially once the winds die down. we are expecting some of the coldest mornings to come up, mid to low 30s for santa rosa,

thursday through saturday. we could see upper 20s in wind-sheltered valleys. bring frost sensitive plants inside. a very cold night coming up. 34 napa. 35 santa rosa. if you are doing last minute holiday shopping, bundle up. temperatures down to the low 40s around freenmont, san jose, pal alto. christmas day is bright and sunny, 57, san jose. 57 los gatos. 58, redwood city. 56, pacifica. sunshine, 58 downtown san francisco. in the north bay, upper 50s for santa rosa, vallejo, napa. east bay, 59 in oakland. inland spots, 56 fairfield, 56 in livermore. accuweather seven day forecast, sunshine tomorrow to brighten up everyone's christmas. kids will be able to get out and enjoy their new toys. as you take a look at friday through sunday, some very cold frosty mornings but sunny afternoons with christmas eve looking dry right now.

>> excellent. sandhya, thanks so much. a christmas eve plea to be good for goodness' sake. new at 6:00, park problem. gridlock get tting to a popular national park.

today is the hundredth anniversary of john muir's death. to celebrate his life and work, followers of the legendary naturalist gathered at the john muir national historic site in martinez. they read some of his writings and shared stories about his legacy, especially that americans should take care of nature and not exploit it. >> convince people to care about places they had never seen and to respect places because of what they might represent to other people and not necessarily what you could log out of it in a day, mine out of it in a month. >> muir was instrumental in getting congress to preserve yosemite as a national park.

he later founded the sierra club. his house in martinez is a national historic site. hong kong police are warning people to return the nearly $2 million scooped up after a truck dropped three containers of cash out of its rear door. take a look. traffic came to a standstill as drivers jumped out of their cars to grab as many notes as they could. each worth about $500 u.s. witnesses say people were scrambling for the cash strewn across the roadway. one woman loaded up an armful of money and disappeared. police want anyone using that money to know they are committing a serious offense. the spirit of christmas one bark at a time. coming up, old dogs a

female announcer: during sleep train's hugeom foyear end clearance sale,s! get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory. plus, free same-day delivery, set-up, and removal of your old set. why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now! ...guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00 -- down to the wire. the last minute holiday shopping

rush. why it appears we are willing to dig deeper into our pockets this year. also, making progress. the pioneering discovery made here in the bay area that could treat a disease that kills more than a million people a year. and a social experiment that's kind of trashy that is focusing on more than 70,000 pieces of litter. all that coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. see you then. some lucky dogs won't have to spend christmas alone at an animal shelter. >> today, representatives of muttville dog rescue visited the oakland animal services shelter to look for older dogs. >> the group specializes in rescuing dogs that are at least 7 years old. mutt vill muttville's director says more of these dogs are abandoned during the holiday season. >> a lot of people leave for the holidays so when they can't find anybody to take care of their dog, they just give them up to the shelters. >> muttville has visited shelters in san francisco and martinez. it has taken in 14 dogs this christmas. the year the group will rescue 750 senior dogs. that's a lot of help. >> wonderful.

"world news tonight with david muir" is next. i'm katie marzullo. >> i'm dan ashley. we appreciate your time. have a wonderful christmas eve. welcome to "world news tonight." deadly storms. 150 million americans in the path of extreme weather. tornadoes ripping apart homes. the system now on the move. making a soggy mess of holiday travel plans. our extreme weather team, tracking it all. breaking news. the ebola scare, inside a cdc lab. who may have been exposed? and how did it happen? caught on camera. an officer shoots and kills a teenager, just miles from ferguson. protests erupting. the violent night. and where was that officer's body cam? rushed to the hospital. president h.w. bush. his shortness of breath. what we're learning about his condition tonight. and, gift card mania. the last-minute rush. the one thing you need to know.