announcer: building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >> well, it is looking like a white christmas for many states across the country. and if you haven't left for the holidays yet, maybe hard to avoid the bomb cyclone. even fort worth, texas, is seeing some snow today. good evening. i'm ama daetz. dan: and i'm dan ashley. thank you for joining us. a white christmas, a white knuckle christmas in a lot of ways. thousands of flights have already been canceled today and tomorrow at airports across the country. although it may look peaceful on the abc7 oakland airport camera and at s.f.o. trouble at other airports is creating issues here. ama: let's take you to the airport. that's s.f.o. where abc7 news reporter suzanne phan joining us live. reporter: here at s.f.o. things are relatively calm but earlier

today it was packed. a lot of people faced delays and cancellations. some people were stuck waiting. others struggling to reschedule their flights. at s.f.o. everyone is trying to get somewhere. some like craig hung of orange county have faced delay after delay. >> been here at the airport for four hours. and i stand in line for three hours and pretty crazy. >> hung says a nightmare to get to bozeman, montana, to meet up with his friends for a ski trip. >> we tried dozens and dozens of different airports. i called the airline and they tried. but there's like no availability until after christmas. reporter: blizzard conditions. freezing temperatures around the country. >> i've never hit -35 degrees ever and that's the low, the high is -16. like that's crazy. i've never encountered those temperatures. reporter: so the only option for hung -- >> i'm headed to salt lake city examine we're all going to drive up six hours. reporter: scott adequatemore is

trying to reach sun valley, idaho and faces a four-you are hour delay. >> they had to de-ice the plane and one plane that goes back and forth and that put a wrinkle in their schedule. reporter: this woman had her flight to vancouver, canada, delayed two days. >> the weather in vancouver canceled the flight. and so i had to wait until i could get another flight. reporter: s.f.o. international airport is seeing plenty of delays and canceled flights. because of ice in some parts of the country and flooding in others. so many of today's cancellations stem from chicago and denver. and as hectic as today was for many travelers, there may be even more headaches tomorrow at s.f.o. >> so we think actually tomorrow will be our busiest day for the christmas holiday. we're forecasting about 136,000 people total in and out of s.f.o. tomorrow. that number today, 124. reporter: despite the delays some people are taking holiday travel all in stride. this family all in flannel for comfort. >> oh, yes, sure.

yeah. jammy time. reporter: looking good for them. delay or not, they say the end result is worth it. >> just happy to see my family. reporter: and that last check at s.f.o. international, there are 206 delayed flights. 25 flights have been canceled. we know those numbers have been growing all day long. and we know they will probably continue tomorrow. live at s.f.o., suzanne phan, abc7 news. ama: all right, suzanne, thank you. dan: if you're thinking about rethinking your travel plans because of this brutal weather, it's not too late to make a change. ama: more on scott's cheap flights, most airlines are currently waiving fees for changes and if your airline cancels your flight you can expect a full refund. >> it doesn't matter what airline you booked on. if for some reason that airline cancels or significantly delays your aircraft, and your plans are now up in the air, you are entitled to a full cash refund for that intended trip. and you're entitled to cash or

rebooked on a new flight. stow people need to remember that. that you can walk away with cash and decide not to take that flight. and it does not matter what type of carrier you're on. that's full service or a "budget airline." they are entitled by law to give you a refund back. if you do not take that flight. dan: and if you're looking to change your flight, do it as soon as possible because rebooked seats are going very quickly as you can imagine. ama: you've seen the conditions. you've heard some expert advice. but what's next? dan: abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel here with the forecast. sandhya: dan and ama dangerous and life-threatening conditions will continue across a good stretch of the country. you will notice that there are cold weather and winter warnings from the pacific northwest through the central and eastern seaboard. so definitely is going to be continuing to be problematic the next couple of days. no flight delays here in the bay area. or out west. but as we zoom around to other parts of the country, certainly chicago reporting 159-minute delays as you will notice

washington, 33. both new york airports reporting delays right now. due to that storm bringing a wintry mix of rain, sleet, snow, freezing conditions, sub freezing i should say, omaha, -8. -11 in minneapolis right now. and you factor in the winds, it's even worse than that. 34 degrees below in des moines, iowa. as we check out what's ahead, the travel forecast, the central portion of the u.s., shifts -- over to the eastern seaboard even more and next couple of days will be dicey as we check out live doppler seven here locally. a weak system is coming through. and it is bringing a few drops right now. i'll be back with a closer look at the christmas forecast coming right up. ama? ama: sandhya, thank you. high water levels known as king tides have hit parts of the bay area today. the video you see here is from san francisco's embarcadero. king tides will bring minor flooding to inland parts early thursday morning through sunday afternoon. and it occurs twice a year when the earth comes into alignment

with the sun and moon. creating extremely high tides along the coast. dan: moving on now, some people who accused the city of san francisco of making homelessness a crime are gearing up for a court fight. the plaintiffs held a news conference today in oakland. tomorrow, there is a hearing on a possible preliminary injunction to stop san francisco from conducting sweeps of encampments while the case proceeds. the lawsuit claims city agencies violated unhoused people's constitutional rights during sweeps by fining and arresting them, taking them from the site and destroying their belongs. -- belongings. one woman shared her experience with the sweeps. >> they don't take inventory and they don't care. like everybody treats you like you're beneath like them. yo. -- i don't know. it's disrespectful and humiliating. dan: the san francisco city attorney's office responded to the lawsuit back in september. they say the city is focused on expanding temporary shelter and permanent housing options.

ama: massive meal preparations are under way to help feed some of san francisco's most vulnerable this holiday weekend. and as abc7 news reporter tara campbell reports helping hands from young to old are making it happen. >> once -- one slice of hal at a time -- of ham at a time and volunteers offering up countless hours at glide memorial church. >> it feels great like volunteering and helping. >> julia and her two cousins are prepping holiday dinners for some of san francisco's most vulnerable people. >> it's like a family bonding kind of way. listening to the music on the radio and just like talking witt like getting to know each other more. >> glide is hosting holiday meals all weekend. serving up 2,000 plates on location and bagging another 1,800 to go. >> what i feel like is accomplished and also feeling like -- satisfied and happy after like how many people will need it. >> from the younger generations to the older.

every hand helping. >> i am a senior. and i want to help other seniors who have to stay home. a trio of seniors inspiring this trio of teens. >> and like just nice that there's others who are willing to help others. >> what does it mean to the organization to see that generation putting in the time? >> i think that -- for me, it's -- to see young folks here, i know one of the cousins have been here before. and brought her her other two cousins. >> let them know that we're here for them and help our generation improve poverty and all that stuff. so yeah. >> that's the generation that's going to have to make a difference. and it -- it gives me hope when i see them. >> tara campbell, abc7 news. ama: and if you would like to volunteer this holiday weekend show up at glide before 10:00 saturday or sunday morning. and they will find something for you to do. dan: coming up next, a big

decision coming down today when it comes to crab season. ama: and we're bringing in a lot of new laws along with the ringing in the new year. at a lot of one of them is being celebrated by workers across the state. abc7 news at 5:00 will be right abc7 news at 5:00 will be right life is uncertain. it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried or frustrated. calhope can help access, calhope free and secure mental health resources today. call our warm line at 833-317-4673 or livechat at calhope.org

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it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today. dan: we're just a few days away from 2023 obviously and that also means we are just a few days away from new laws in california. just take a look at the long list of changes we'll see. they cover traffic, retail, privacy, and crime. you can find every one of them at abc7news.com but we want to focus tonight workplace and wage transparency. annabell munoz interest our sister station in los angeles has more on what sv-1162 is how it's a big win for workers. >> starting january 1, many job postings in california should include more information on what they might pay.

>> it increases pay transparency in a number of important and concrete ways. >> it requires that companies with 15 or more employees include a pay scale for all job postings. and that employers provide a pay scale for the position a current employee holds upon request. >> we believe that this is a fundamental to try to narrow the pay gap. the pay gap between, you know, women, and men. but also the pay gap that we see for some of our underrepresented communities. reporter: a recent report by the national women's law center highlights that research shows pay negotiations are notoriously unfavorable to women. and that salary range transparency helps close pay gaps. >> having pay transparency is just one of many steps to end the gender wage gap. it requires change in culture. and values. and in practice. reporter: among the bill co-sponsors equal rights advocates jari and the california commission on the status of women and girls. which recently published a

blueprint for women's pandemic recovery. >> not only do we underpay female-dominated positions but we also pay women less for the positions that they take up in those sectors. male nurses versus female nurses a really clear example and a lot of data around that. reporter: under current law companies with 100 or more employees must submit a pay data report including race, ethnicity,ender and job category to the civil rights department. jessica says it helps uncover occupational segregation when women and people of color are often concentratessed in lower paying jobs. the new law introduced by senator monique limon will require the same companies with 100 or more contract employees. >> it's a way that companies, large companies in particular try to get around our equal pay laws is by contracting out their work. and essentially legally paying workers who are often women and people of color less for doing

the same job as their direct hire employees. reporter: senator limon on the status of women and girls stresses the law will benefit the state. >> what we know is that when men and women get paid equitably when they get paid for their work that they are doing in a complete and whole way, it helps the economy. reporter: annabell munoz, abc7 news. ama: adults in the u.s. are expected to experience more stress in 2023. great. according to a poll released by the american psychiatric association, more than 25% of adults said they will experience stress next year. results increased 20% compared to the december 2021 poll. two out of five adults rated their mental health as fair or poor. personal finances ranked as the most common source for why adults are experiencing stress. about 30% say they want to improve their mental health as a new year's resolution. ama: here's some good news. there may be crab on your table for new year's day.

in the bay area. fish and wildlife officials decided today to open the commercial dungeness crab season on new year's eve with certain restrictions. fishers will have to reduce the number of crab traps they set by 50% to lessen the rink of entangling humpback whales. the concern is the humpback whales will get tangled in the trap gear. in past years the wheals had migrated earlier in the year which allowed the season to begin sooner. the department of fish and wildlife performed a lengthy risk assessment to determine the start of the season. ama: now, to a story that shows the power of people. a baby was in medical distress in alaska and needed an evacuation at an airport with no working runway lights. abc7 news reporter serrone shaw how a community came together to save a life. reporter: less than 40 miles from the arctic circle a. small community from an alaskan town of 160 people gathering together to help save a baby's life. the wind chill dipping to -20

degrees. airport worker calvin moto, the only maintenance operator for the town's airport, getting a call that a plane needed to land to get the baby airlifted to another clinic. >> it was pitch black out there. reporter: but he had one big problem. the runway lights at the airport had been out for over a week. that meant no planes in or out in the dark. >> if anything were to be done, you know, we were going to have to all get together and do this. reporter: and that's what they did. gathering 150 people in below freezing temperatures to light the runway with 30 a.t.v.'s, cars and snowmobiles. letting the plane land to pick up the baby. replacing every runway light was a vehicle, lighting the way so the plane could land. >> it felt really good once that plane took off. >> the baby's parents deeply grateful for the holiday heroes. >> almost everybody sat there on their vehicles and paused just watching the plane leave. extremely grateful.

reporter: the baby's mom said it was emotional to see the community cop together but felt like they were committed to making sure her child got help. abc news, los angeles. dan: coming up the tale of this disney lego castle is as heartwarming as a disney movie. it involves an' anonymous builder hundreds of strangers and one family that had their christmas completed. stay wit

ama: important weekend holiday weather forecast. dan: no bomb cyclone here. but that is not the case sandhya elsewhere. sandhya: bomb cyclone we'll leave it for the east cost, all right? let me show you some will have pictures from our -- some live pictures from our cameras. a post sunset spectacular shot. all of you would tower cams are -- all of our tower cams are beautiful. air quality not so beautiful. good to moderate but it has been poor at times as we look at a live picture from our walnut creek camera. we do have haze in the air and

the alert through sunday. worst of the air quality for the north bay coast, and santa clara valley through christmas. live leave showing you a -- live doppler 7 a week system some clouds and a few sprinkles as well. we get you in closer around fremont and not all of this is reaching the ground. but keep in mind there might be some slippery spots. 40's and 50's on those temperatures right now. highs today were many in the mid 40's to low 60's a view from our golden gate bridge camera showing some clouds overhead. a look at the highlights. scattered light showers tonight through early morning. dry and warmer for christmas weekend and a stronger storm arighteous early next week. coastal flood advisory in effect until 2:00 p.m. due to the king tides. low lying flooding not out of the question. keep in mind that the high tide will be about seven feet tomorrow at 10:24. and saturday morning if you're doing a little walk, 11:-- 11:14 in the morning watch out for flooding. light level one system for tonight. spotty light showers. some slippery roads.

light accumulations. we're talking .02 inches to maybe .1 inches. 7:00 some showers passing through. 9:00 p.m. just isolated and in the wee hours of the morning i wouldn't be surprised if you do run into a couple of slippery spots due to some drizzle. morning temperatures will be in the 40's. primarily with the fog in the central valley around in patches. otherwise cloud cover overhead. tomorrow afternoon, you are looking at milder conditions. it is going to be dry. this is the start of a transition to warmer weather. numbers will range from the upper 50's to the low 60's for your friday. now, next week, a wet pattern is setting up monday afternoon, evening in the north bay a chance of rain. tuesday a moderate strength atmospheric river that will be bringing us a good soaking. wet weather continues on wednesday. and it's going to be a rain-snow mix in the sierra initially with high snow levels. rainfall totals here, locally, will be pretty good. through wednesday night. i mean, we're looking at one to over three inches of rain.

early projections but keep in mind that it is going to be tough to get around on tuesday. accuweather seven day forecast a warming trend that takes us through the holiday weekend. mid to upper sibs 'tis and the warmest spots by christmas? a chance of some rain monday afternoon and evening. it's a level two moderate strength storm for tuesday. dan and ama we are looking at wet gusty conditions and wednesday and thursday, still some wet weather with a level one. so that atmospheric river will give us a good soaking here in the bay area. and actually looking unsettled. going into the end of the year. dan: great. ama: thanks, sandhya. dan: this holiday season, disney castle is bringing so much joy to a con dramatic costa family. -- cortina costa family. an anonymous donor made their christmas wish come true. >> it's three days before christmas. and the thomas family didn't have to wait to open their main present. the 4,000 lego piece disney castle is already the centerpiece of their home. >> who is that?

>> queen. >> for years they have been eyeing the coveted sold out almost $400 castle. >> we've never had that kind of free money to spend on something like that. reporter: this christmas their wish came true. it all started with this ad on facebook market palatial. >> an ad that basically said free disney castle. reporter: the person behind it wants to remain anonymous. he was going through a personal heartbreak and found peace and distraction building legos. >> i didn't want full of legos as fun as this is and why don't you put out on marketplace. because i was trying to figure out how i could gift it and who i could gift it to. >> he wanted to hear people's stories. within the first hour his post got over 1,000 replies. >> it was unbelievable. i mean, i think i had shared -- getting a response about every three seconds. it was about 800 responses in

less than an hour. and the story that i ultimately chose had to do with bringing a family together during the holidays. reporter: that family is the thomases. >> our mouths dropped and like i won. what? so yeah, i won the castle. reporter: for danielle and jeff thomas, this castle represents more than legos. >> engaged in front of the castle. and we've actually announced -- >> and proposed there. >> two of the pregnancies with two of my daughters in front of the castle as well. so it's been a huge thing for us. reporter: they even have matching tattoos with the coordinates of the castle. >> the wicked one -- the secondary one is the disneyland castle where i proposed. reporter: for two years they lived in this r.v. to save money to buy their first home. a couple of months ago they made the biggest purchase they've ever made. some money for christmas gifts was tight. >> a mobile home but small but it's perfect for us and after living in an r.v. it feels like a mansion.

>> having a home is your human sized castle. >> yes. 100%. >> like legos, we have to come up with our own destructions. reporter: abc7 news. dan: isn't that a great story? coming up next, we are stopping by three straights across the country to show you some unusual sights during this big storm. stay with u your heart is the beat of life. if you have heart failure, entrust your heart to entresto. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body.

don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. norman, bad news... or high blood potassium. i never graduated from med school. what? but the good news is... it's the xfinity hello 2023 sale! now hurry, and you can get xfinity internet for $19.99 a month plus, when you add xfinity mobile, you get the best price for 2 lines of unlimited. i gotta get this deal... and for a limited time, get 500 dollars back. i don't want to miss that! that's amazing doc. drop everything. get to the xfinity hello 2023 sale. -doc? click, call or visit a store today.

ama: finally tonight the tough weather conditions we're seeing across the country have brought us some unusual sights involving people and animals. dan: check out these scenes from three states that crisscross the country storm, this storm. first up, just north is washington. some otters decided to have a little fun on a snow-covered jedy in the seattle area. the four otters slide on their belly on the dock. that's pretty good stuff. ama: let's move east to montana. look at this. it was -17 of the national weather service posted this slo-mo video showing someone throwing water into the air where it immediately forms a cloud. dan: that's really cool and final will he all the way east to pensacola, florida. no snow there of course but some spotted the grinch towing a small christmas tree behind a lawn mower. ama: there you go. dan: world news tonight with david muir is next. we appreciate your time. i'm dan.

ama: i'm ama daetz. for sandhya patel thank you all for joining us. we'll see you again at 6:00.

tonight, breaking news. the monster winter storm sweeping across the country, creating mayhem for travelers as the system moves east. 200 million people on alert for the threat of blizzard conditions, high winds, and life-threatening cold. 45 states in the danger zone. many roads are closed and slick with ice. conditions deteriorating by the hour. but millions still braving the bitter conditions, trying to stick to their holiday plans. thousands of flights canceled. mounting frustration at the nation's airports. we have team coverage of the deadly storm. alex perez in windy chicago. mola lenghi in denver. and rob marciano standing by to time it all out. breaking news here in new york city. the images coming in late today. a fire onboard the iconic staten