>> we have some snow in the mountains, as well. lots of snowfalling in lake tahoe. this is video from our camera on

helply mountain. whiteout conditions there. skiers and snow borders are loving this right now. sheldy medina shared this with us. spencer christian is live outside right now. no umbrella in sight for now. >> i had it just a moment ago. i walked through a brief shower or spritz alert. that's how wide lly scattered. as you pointed out, there are areas of green representing moisture in the atmosphere. we don't have any heavy precipitation or at least not widespread. some showers down around gilroy. over in the area of mt. hamilton, just a few little spots of dust falling. there's not enough moisture to support a lot of snow. over in the sierra foothills, a

pretty powerful thund r storm posting this tornado warning. this is the pattern. has been the last few hours. it's going to be cold tonight. we have a winter weather advisory to our north. winter storm warning in the si,rra. mid night temperatures, it's going to be cold. >>. >> a bit of good news if you're driving through the sierra. caltrans made a full closure. you can see the white out condition. chp says it's slow going for drivers on highway 80 and highway 50 and you should expect those long delays. >> the north bay saw all kinds of weather. a little bit of everything, some sunshine, a rainbow, in fact, we

had one behind us a few minutes ago. wayne frill friedman is live wi more. >> today's king tide is not the highest we've ever seen. what we have is the opposite, maybe a king tide in wading. earlier where i'm standing was under water. if you didn't look closely at this video, you might assume we shot it from a boat this morning and you would be wrong. it's just another king tide in mill valley. hope you weren't waiting to catch a bus around here walking might have been more efficient. is this an optical illusion? >> i think what we have to do is get used to this more often. >> the north bay saw a schizophrenic mix of weather today. multiple rainbows popped in the sky like candy. but never for long. that cascade falls, here's more water than we've seen in a long time. sun, rain and mist, sometimes

all at once. >> i like to come here seeing the water coming down the waterfall. it's a very spiritual place. >> for the pragmatic among us, let's talk about a possible freeze tonight. >> you want to protect citrus? cacti, suck ewe lents and subtropicals. >> kevin sadly has been reassuring customers all day saying, in most cases, waterer and wet soil will serve to insulate your plants from damage. some winter hazards easier to guard against than others, however. here is the strangest question of the day. >> how do you protect a plant from a king tide? >> maybe put it on a raft. >> so we asked another question. we said how does the water in the soil work? it's real syrup. simple. the air gets colder than the soil, so the soil doesn't freeze. the roots are okay.

live in mill valley, wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> turns out the water in the soil is an old gardening tip. it's free on abc7news.com. >> this morning, gina bailee appeared in court facing charges in the death of a baby. a judge ordered her on $750,000 bail. police say bailly shook the baby in the home. a richmond man accused of making death threats he pleaded not guilty with a hate crime enhancement. last sunday, police found what they called a homemade pipe bomb

inside of his home after someone called 9-1-1 saying he could be making plans to harm muslims in the bay area community. the islamic council is calling on federal authorities to intervene in this case. >> also, city council president, 17-year-old grandson turned out to be the victim of a murder on sunday. it happened near the west oakland b.a.r.t. station. one of five people shot in the city that day within a two-hour span. plans to attend a prayer vigil scheduled to take police statla spot tonight. no motive or suspected in the death. >> two people were charged with atechted murder today. carlos servanta and salvador agudera will not face hate crimes.

that's despite the comments about the victims being gay before they shot them. an argument began monday night and spilled outside into the parking lot. all four victimings are expected to be okay. >> protesters angry over the police shooting of mario woods stormed san francisco's city hall. the police is calling on the mayor to fire the police chief. woods was shot at least 14 times by officers after they say he refused to drop a knife. >> hard to believe tonight's raider's game could be the last in oakland. >> the team's lease is set to expire at the end of the season. laura anthony is live at the coliseum now. the raiders have to be feeling pretty somber right about now? >> i don't know, larry. take a look.

do they look somber to you? these fans are intent on having fun and beating the rival chargers tonight. but there's definitely concern about where this team will be this time next year. >> you're dead and buried. >> for raider fans, it may be christmas eve, but it's all about making themselves heard on the day the last home game in oak labd. >> do you think it's too late? are they just going to do what they've got to do? >> it's never too late. we believe how important the culture is which can't be duplicated anywhere else. >> at raider headquarters, live demonstrators greeted a writhing staff and players. they included a few charger fans and another team that's making a move to l.a. >> we want them to stay in oakland and we want them to break up this parter in ship.

>> as far as the raiders are concerned, oakland mayor told us by telephone -- >> i would say to the raider nation just win, baby. we're confident that given time, we could get to a win. >> still, there's concern that's a long ways off. >> how worried are you? >> very. the city hasn't come up with a plan to keep them. so i'm very worried. >> santa offered nothing but reassurance. >> we're stay iing with a natio. >> in oakland, laura anthony, abc 7 news.

>> is this ax which youly the last game they can play in oakland? >> nobody knows. the one thing we can say for sure is the raiders, the chargers and the rams, they're all going to file relocation papers after the season. that gives them the option of moving or blocking somebody else from moving. they would do the number one, i would say, if you had to rank them one through three. we could see possibly a ram's charger else deal with both of them in los angeles. i'd rank them third in the scenario.

when the head of disney gets involved, he brings a lot of credibility to the project. they could push it back for another year. so, like i said, it's a very, very fluid situation. we'll just have to see how it plays out. now, where ever they're playing next season, the great charles woodson will not be in silver and black. so tonight will be his final game in oakland. he's played 18 years in the nfl. two stints for the raiders. he's 38 years old. an instant hall of famer. the word is tonight a wide receiver may return a punter. the crowd is going to go ensane. if charles woodson catches a touchdown pass.

>> a long standing tradition in san francisco. >> san francisco is holding its annual last chance where we find abc 7 news in sports. >> hey, larry, definitely feeling the holiday spirit. check it out, we've got dancing christmas trees. lots and lots of generosity from the public. folks have been dropping off toys all day long. nick, 15 years for this? >> yes. we need yoush help, too. we have our superstar here. she's here to ask a shoutout to everybody. come help us. we need your help this year. >> tell me, what it means for you to be here tonight. >> it's a beautiful thing to give back to the bay area. we need toys, especially for the teenage girls.

and thank you thank you for the bubbly. >> so www.leftytoydrive.com. >> lefties will be collecting toys until 2:00 a.m. christmas morning. abc 7 news. >> all right, cornell, thank you. coming up, an abandoned puppy in san francisco. one with a birth defect finds a new home. >> the secrets to getting deals on the most popular gifts of the season. >> deadly storms

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the gets to work by 8:00...ids, and always manages to give them a healthy lunch. the newlyweds seeking out wholesome meals and exciting flavors for their new cookware. the guy who finally decided to kick 35 years of bad snacking habits. you inspire us to do everything we do... ...for goodness' sake.

. this is little daffodil, a young chiauau left in a box. a good samaritan says he saw people pick up the puppy and then put her back in the box because she was born without front legs. look at this, they custom fit the dog for fitted wheels and adocumented her and took her home for christmas. >> this video needs to come with a warning. too cute. >> last minute christmas. star bucks says they expect gift

card sales to hit a record. a look at how to get the very best deals. >> the number one most-requested holiday gift for most years running. >> awkward for the money and buying them a present. >> and with millions of americans still not done with their holiday shopping, a quick trip to that rack of cards seems like the perfect solution. but how can you make sure you don't wrap up a bad deal? >> there's been a lot of confusion about whether cards lose their value over time. it's important that consumers read the fine print. >> rule number one is watch out for fees. >> there can be an activity fee. >> number two, look for discounts. rest rants like outback and

chiles offering a bonus card. >> some will do if you buy one gift card, you can get a percentage off. >> or cash in when you buy the onli online-only e-gift cards. but to really save, go to rule number three. get the card for free. ats target, iphone, apple watches come with a free gift card worth up to $200. fitness trackers and $25 cards with coffee makers. but, most of all, make sure the cards don't go to waste. starbucks expects to shatter sales records tonight for more than 1700 cards every minute until christmas eve to prokrast nay xxs. abc news, new york. >> we've got a rematch of the nba finals this afternoon.

the warriors hosting lebron james with a 2:00 start right here . steph curry knows it's a big deal to be one of ten teams scheduled on christmas. when we asked what's on his christmas list, stefh was at a loss for words. >> that's a great question. actually, a nice home cooked meal, which is going to happen tonight. i'm pretty excited about that: other than that, i don't even have a christmas list this year. >> he has no list because he has everything. greene received a gift at today's practice. a new set of golf clubs with michigan state head covers. that's his alma mater. so how is his put putting?

a little too strong there. it's a work in progress. >> isn't this terrific? two bay air ya artists created this remix called "carol of the bells." get ready for tomorrow's showdown. and one last reminder, you can catch the warriors and cavs, the nba finals rematch here on nbc 7. so open the presents early, get it all done. our coverage begins tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. >> that will be a good choice for a ring tone. >> i like the warriors at home to keep their home winning streak going. >> well, spencer chris yanl, we forced him to stand on the roof because it's not raining right this second.

>> it's a little chilly out here, but it's tolerable. we're waiting for pockets of showers to move by as they are in some parts of the bay area. this has been the pattern for the past few hours. maybe along the coastline moving inland a bilts. rainfall totals have not been terribly impressive, but received nearly three tenths of an inch, over four in redwood city. mountain tops, they see some snowfall. hamilton has already seen a couple of dustings today. but the problem is, we don't have enough moisture in the air to really support great probability of snow. but still between 2500 and 3,000 feet. it's cold up there. 47 in napa, 46 navarro.

the north bay is cooling down ahead of everyone else. this is a view of the golden gate. these are forecast features, scattered showers overnight. testimo it will be freezing cold over the weekend nights. a chanceover scattered showers once again. some snow is possible, about 2,000, 3,000 feet, but only if we get enough moisture moving in those elevations. christmas day begins, maybe a couple pockets of light showers, maybe a little bit of snow near or on mt. hamilton. a mainly sunny and dry but chilly christmas day. freeze watch is in effect saturday and sunday mornings for the north bay interior valley, santa clara valley. overnight lows dropping to the mid 20s in some spots and,

tonight, oh, first, the indicator of cold morning ahead. lows drop to 31 saturday morning, 29 sunday morning. and that's indicative of what inland valley locations can expect. tonight, if you're going to be up, expect it to be cold. in addition to a chance of some scattered showers, low temperatures down to the mid 30s already. tomorrow, christmas day, mainly sunny, dry, cool, the accuweather seven day forecast shows not a hohoho, but a cold, cold, cold. and saturday and sunday for that matter. a storm comes in monday and then we'll have sunny skies for the remainder of next week with a slightly gradual warming trend.

up next, tracking santa around the world and where he's at. >> a political war of words. the warning

. right now, santa claus is flying around the world. >> yeah, it's true. n.o.r.a.d. is tracking his every move. every christmas, hundreds of volunteers ask when santa will arrive. this all started back in the '50s when a sears ad asked kids to call santa, but they printed the wrong number. the colonel who answered it decided to go with it and a 60 year tradition was born. >> he'll be at your house between 9:00 and 10:00 tonight. but he'll only leave presents if you're sleeping. if you're awake, he will come back, but he'll only leave

presents if you're sleeping. >> you can track santa on n.o.r.a.d. he's right off the coast of africa. oh, my goodness. >> stay away from the volcano, santa. he's delivered more than 4 million presents so far. again, if you want to follow santa, we have a link to n.o.r.a.d.'s web site. >> still ahead, wild weather across the country this christmas eve. the east is unseasonably warm. >> plus, we'll take you to other parts of the world already celebrating christmas. >> plus -- >> the hay day for me is when i can make a difference. >> the tax man asked santa? how about a

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checking the headlines now at 4:30, tornadoes and heavy rain left a trail of death and heavy destruction. we'll have more on this tragic christmas eve storm in just a moment. >> spencer christian tweets we won't have a white christmas, but we will have sub-freezing overnight temples. >> these recent rains apparently

aren't helping that much. your site is not deceiving. lexington reservoir is at 13% of recent capacity. you can see people squeezing together beneath the same umbrella as rain pelted this morning. abc news reporter tells us how folks weathered a wet start to christmas eve. >> rain rolled in as prommed while most of you were probably sleeping. it was a good soaking and more is expected which makes life tough for those delivering mail today. >> some customers ask me why is my mail wet? it's really hard to keep it dry. >> rain is also not great news when you're a dog groomer. >> to have them walk right out

of here and into the rain is tough to watch. those caring hope they don't muddy up their salon hair. >> the rain damped the plans of the corvette association. some left their sports cars behind. >> rain impact barely. >> they don't rust, but it's a pain to clean them. >> he doesn't want his treasured car to get dirty. so he'll be in the suv, instead. >> these cars may be fast, but the rain came along at a slow pace. in all, making it tough to complain. >> i love the rain. we need it and it's nice not coming in buckets. >> there has been a sporadic

pattern giving us time to recover before the next one. kind of been that way the whole rainy season. >> thank you, amy. now, moving to the nation'sheartedland. tornadoes have killed at least 11 people. almost 30 tornadoes were recorded in just 24 hours. authorities are still in the process of accessing all of the damage. >> just rumbling thunder. and, with lightning striking and you see it that's when it was really, really intent. >> from tennessee to mississippi, we heard this great big boon.

and then it was calm. >> at least two dozen reported tornadoes touched down. leaving many homeless. >> it's very heartbreaking. i don't even have the words to explain it. >> state officials vowing to help everyone now beginning the process of recovering and rebuilding. >> this is a well-organized effort and we will recover. >> and mother nature is still on the move. this same storm system that wreaked havoc yesterday is now triggering dangerous flash flooding. >> thanks, elizabeth. they won't have a white christmas in new york today.

7 20e degrees b:00 20e degrees this morning. that is the warm eest ever recorded on christmas eve. >> the war of words between donald donald trump and hillary clinton. the front runner warned plsz clinton about playing the war on women card. hillary, when you complain about a pension for sexism, who are you referring to? i have great respect for women. be careful. >> she's urged supporters to express displeasure with a choice of words. last week, trump commented using a term that many considered as a rule ger. >> a manger squared the birthplace of jesus. before today's sell bralgss

began, four palestinians were killed with clashes with israeli troops. >> at the same time, a feeling of resilience. >> months of violence in the occupied palestinian territories have left more than two dozen israelis and more than 140 palestinians dead. >> pope francis unvailed a statue of baby jesus. thousands packed the church. tomorrow, will speak to thousands more. >> coming up on abc 7 news at

4:00, one mother's early holiday surprise. >> when it comes to reaction, this one is priceless. the two surprises she got at her front door. >> i'm spepser christian. how about this view from our camera. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up very shortly. >> some last-minute shopping and all clear at

you've got to see this video. it was trying to land and suddenly, a gust of wind just came up behind it. incredibly, the six passengers walked away without a splash from this. officials still looking into exactly what caused this crash. >> an indiana woman got a double surprise this holiday. >> not only did her military son come home, but he had something very special to share with her. >> that is priceless. eva found out she's a grandmother for the first time.

that is two-week-old lily that she's holding in her arms. eva told abc news she had a flood of emotions and thoughts going through her head at that moment. it's just wonderful to see. >> all right, spencer christian here with an accuweather update. >> merry christmas eve. >> little pockets of scattered showers. we even have a dusting of snow. moving on the coast of morine county. the sky looks mainly like this. lots of clouds and breaks of blue. king tides will still be with us for a couple more mornings at the golden gate.

high tides will be just below 7 feet. could be just below some tial overflows. across the state tomorrow, wintery christmas day. we will experience here in the bay area. high temperatures in the low to mid 50s. rain chances, about 40% on sunday and not much of a chance the other days. a relatively quiet pattern it appears. >> thank you so much, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, big changes after an outbreak sickens doesbles across the country. >> keeping all of those electronic devices for this holiday season charged and running.

come happy birthday. i just had a heart attack... and now i have a choice. for her. for them. and him. a choice to take brilinta. a prescription for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. i take brilinta with a baby aspirin ...no more than 100 mg. as it affects how well it works. it's such an important thing to do to help protect against another heart attack. brilinta worked better than plavix. and even reduced the chances of dying from another one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to doctor. since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers. a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery and all medicines you take. i will take brilinta today. tomorrow. and every day for as long as my doctor tells me. don't miss a day of brilinta.

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california governor has p pardoned robert downney, jr.. downey was convicted in 1996 of possession of a controlled substance as well as driving under the influence. he served a year and three months in prison.

since then, the governor says he's lived an honest and up right life. >> british prime minister that a british muslim family was barred from flying into the u.s. for vacation. and then says they were discriminated against because of their religion. they had saved up $14,000 for a trip to disney land, but the department of homeland security said they could not board the plane. >> the kids were asking, what is the problem? why are we not going? >> the family 5:00 kplully believed that dontd trump created a climate that contributed to their flight. an e-mail address linked to a suspicious facebook page that belongs to a british muslim with a similar name. chipotle is making changes in

the way it prepares food. kenneth gibson has the story. >> this morning, changes are comes from fast food chain chipotle with a second outbreak of e. coli. anuancing overnight, it will start adjusting the way it cooks and prepares its ingredients. including submerging onions in boiling water and covering them with lemon or lime juice to kill germs. testing samples of meat before sending it to stores. and mare nating raw chicken. we will be able to reduce the risk of contamination within our system to a level near zero.

>> i do think that some consumers are questioning if this is the best way to do it, you know, why was this not in place before snand. >> this is coming after struggling to regain customer trust and 140 college students were sickened with nora virus. >> the problem for them is that there's no closure. until the customer feels like they know what's happened and they've made the necessary change, i think this could remain a risk for this company. >> chipotle in boston where nearly 140 people got sick with neurovirus earlier this month did clear inspection. >> lost her job in idaho last week. she gave a tray of food to a 12-year-old student who said she was hungry and didn't have enough money for the meal that

cost only $1.70. the school district cited theft as the reason for her dismissal. a national out krooi offered her a chance to return to work. >> rachel ray welcomed iesha on the show today. some quick decorating tips as well as gift ideas for mom's on the go. >> to we're just starting to build our traditions of the family. one thing that we do every year is matching pajamas. another thing we do, we take a family photo every year. >> you can catch rachel weekdays at 1:00 p.m.

>> i don't know that they ever were. >> in any case, we're going to get lots of toys and electronic devices. >> the question is do you need to buy the expensive brand name batteries to keep your devices running. >> it's all fun and games until the batteries run out. >> consumer reports looked into which batteries you should buy to keep everything chirping, and chugging. but there are so many brands to choose from. >> aa batteries range from 62 cents a pair to $5 a pair. >> 15 aa battery, 13 alkaline and two lithium, simulate the typical use of toys and flashlights. the question, which lasts the longest? >> overall, the lilt yum batteries. but so did the alkaline at half

the price. >> sales impacts cost about $2.50 a pair. consumer reports says signature alkaline from cosca. a pair of these batteries ends up costing only $1. when it's time to change the batteries, always use batteries that are all of the same age, brand and type. and that old wives tale of keeping batteries in the fridge, consumer reports says don't bother. keep your batteries in a cool, dry place and they'll likely last for about 7 years. >> abc 7 news at four continues. some south bay residents where one got nearly $30,000 today. >> a look at what's coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00. >> coming up next, it's raining

fish? new at 5:00, the hope that a week of rain could be the start of something very big. and another senseless killing in oakland. the hope now is to lead to a renewed push to stop the violence in that city. those stories and more when we see you for abc

here's a look at prime time tonight on abc 7. at 8 cloek, it's the charlie brown christmas followed by it's your 50th christmas, dhar lee brown. and join us for abc 7 news at 11:00. making the rounds in alexandria virginia. santa is showing off some water skiing skills. that tradition is now in its 30th year. he's everywhere getting in on the action there. it's like in the x games. big bear mountain resort earlier

in the day getting in some last minute runs. christmas came early today for a family in gilroy who overpaid their property taxes for ten years. abc 7 news reporter chris wynn has more on this multi-milliion dollar mix-up. >> this afternoon, relief for some residents in the neighborhood of gilroy. >> it's just unreal. it took a long time, but it came about and it's a big answer to our prayers. >> for more than a decade, erin and her husband overpaid their taxes. they purchased their home below markt rate. >> we worked in the rain, we worked in 106 degrees weather on aluminum ladders when it was hot, sweat pouring down. >> but the nonprofit agency koord nating the sale never

filed the proper paperwork with 2 county causing their home to be taxed at full markt value. show alerted neighbors who might have been affected and then went to the county. >> i know that i'm right at something, i'll prove it. >> she got the documentation needed to prove her case. >> when the government makes a mistake, we have an obligation to make it right. it's not always easy to do that. >> today, she received a check for nearly $30,000. her refund plus interest. >> i can't wait for all of the neighbors to have the same feeling that i have. >> a small portion of nearly $3 million in refunds that will be distributed to 160 homeowners. >> that makes for a merrier christmas, for sure. thanks for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now with dan and natascha.

>> breaking news, amazing video coming in right now of tornadoes in the sierra foothills. plus -- >> yes, that's rain in the bay area. but is it doing any good? >> i'm spencer christian. we've had the wicked weather vierts pack. cold, rain, snow. we'll have the accuweather forecast in just a moment. >> stop the violence after the murder of a grandson of an oak land woman councilwoman. >> you're in oakland. >> fighting words. could it be the last home game ever? we are live at the coliseum and raiders fans are hoping tonight it's not the seen in oakland. >> abc 7 news starts right now with live, breaking news. >> and it's happening right now. the sierra foothills east of sacramento. check out this cell phone video capturing what appears to be a tornado.

no word on whether it touched down. >> here's another funnel cloud entirely. an intense storm pocket moving into the sierra has been spinning off multiple funnel clouds. >> we are just starting to hear reports of nonspecific damage, but no reports of any injuries. silling on top of this breaking news. we will bring you more information and more video just as soon as we get it. >> thank you for joining us on christmas eve. >> we're having our own weather issues, as you know, here in the bay area. >> and we want to show you live doppler 7 hd still has pockets of green in some areas. >> and take a look now at the toll plaza.

actually, it's moving very well. so far, so good. >> we know many of you headed up to the sierra to enjoy a white christmas. do be careful. >> the storm dutched a little bit of snow here in the bay area. >> spencer is tracking the last of the storm that's moving through the bay area right now on live doppler 7 hd. >> well, let's take a look. right now, i'll show you. you can see those areas of green represent moisture. so, again, mainly south down along the coastline and around san francisco right now. all the way down to half-moon bay. and over in the mt. hamilton area with a dusting of snow earlier. we've had snow levels down between 2,000, 3,000 feet.