here's navideh forghani. >> these criminals were watching the victim. the victim had her purse in the car. it was completely open and these men waited for the moment she turned her back to take everything she had. >> i'm trying to go inside to buy diapers and groceries. >> the minute she walked into the wal-mart this victim had a bad feeling. >> i noticed them one when i was walking to get my cart. i went to use the restroom and the man s i went up and down the aisles and he was still there. >> she didn't want to be identified but she's in school for criminal justice and knows she should have reported them immediately but she let her guard down. >> you don't think people are going to follow you and take your stuff. >> the second she turned her back she felt her cart move. >> i thought my phone was taken until i went to pay for my stuff.

>> customers helped grab these pictures as they rushed out of the store. days later her car found abandoned in avondale. >> it wreaked of drugs. it's disgusting. i'm missing my stuff. >> the car seat, her stuff for work, even christmas presents all taken. the bad guys did leave plenty of evidence behind. fingerprints, even underwear. she's hoping that will help find them and sharing her story tonight to serve as a warning >> it's not christmas yet but people are out there to take your stuff. >> this might seem obvious but we all let our guard down at times. keep your purse zipped up and on your body at all times. to make it harder for these criminals from targeting you. if you see anyone suspicious alert store employees or security and let them know. of course if you recognize the

peoria pd or silent witness. why it's so prnt for parents to know -- parents to know -- why it's so prnt for parents to know -- parents -- why social security so important for parents to know -- why it's so important for parents to know cpr. this little boy alive because of his mom. maybe you can help this woman solve this mystery. cristin crable was last seen in she was at her apartment in scottsdale. police are very concerned she's not safe. police say her 2013 gray honda is gone, her wallet and cell phone left behind. one of the most unusual animal crimes sheriff joe arpaio says he's ever seen. 15 different breeds of dogs, hedgehogs, lizards found in a house. abc 15's melissa blasius has

four walls surrounded a zoo. >> i've ridden my bike past the house many times. i've never heard animal noise. >> but today you can hear them. >> oh yeah. >> the stench poured in as investigators went into the house in hazmat suits. we tried to get answers from this lady sitting outside. >> the animals aren't ours so. >> but you were living at the hous >> there could be as many as 40 dogs, a hedgehog, and birds. >> this is a very serious abuse of animals. >> public records show the owner of this house also owns a business. investigators do not think this is a case of an animal lover who got in over her head. they think some dogs were being sold to pet stories for profit. so -- stores for profit.

>> we're concerned with the protection of the animals to make sure they're taken care of. that's our main objective right now. >> with this strange collection of animals this is tricky. >> what do you do with a spiter? i don't know. -- spider? i don't know. >> melissa blasius abc 15. the latest wrong-way driver. a man accused of slamming his truck head on into another car monday night in anthem. they suspect he was impaired. everyone i survived. a tragic story out of gilbert. two people dead in what police say is probably a murder- suicide. a man says his son had a gun. the two later found dead. no other details released. a woman badly burned in a mobile home fire. she's listed in extremely critical condition. neighbors saw the flames overnight near the apache

60s lying in the living room. crews broke a window, pulled her out. she was flown to the hospital. tragic news last night as 6:00. a 1-year-old boy who lost his life in what's being called a tragic accident. xavier hernandez slipped away from a family gathering and a neighbor backing out of the driveway didn't see him. his distraught parents tried to get him to the hospital but it was too late. police looking for whoever stole a with her baby in the back seat. we're told the crooks drove about three miles before dropping off the baby with complete strangers on the sidewalk. only abc 15 was there as he was reunited with mol and dad. those who -- mom and dad. those who took the truck still on the run. seven lives lost and 150 buildings burned in tennessee. thousands of people evacuated in gatlinburg alone may be

dozens of people also injured. some rain this morning, so that is helping the 200 firefighters out there battling the flames and hot spots. and from wildfires to tornados the south dealing with a series of disasters this week. twisters across alabama and tennessee leaving at least five people dead. dozens of buildings damages or destroyed. tornados and hail in louisiana and msz. several -- mississippi. several homes destroyed there as well. 27 reports of tornado have come in in -- tornados have come in since yesterday. a tornado warning for the charlotte area of north carolina. this area in white a slight chance of an isolated tornado in that threat area for tonight. here's the line of storms marching to the east. it's affecting the northeast to florida at this hour. and as we take a look back to the west we have another system

through nevada and utah right now. this is the next one that's going to impact our state. not a huge threat for the valley. what we will see as it sinks going into friday morning a chance for snow showers in the higher terrain. lots of wind in some spots. everything you need to know coming up in minutes. he was once accused of terrorizing the valley as the freeway shooter. he's not getting his gun back any time soon. the fight over the begun is getting comply -- over the gun is getting complicated. charges against leslie merritt jr. were dropped earlier this year but they're fighting to keep the gun as evidence. he was arrested for violating a protective order. prosecutors saying he's not allowed to have a gun. that could change. >> when those conditions change if mr. merit -- merritt asks

>> he's suing the state and county. a phoenix cop won't be facing charges after accused of pepper spraying a homeless woman. officer logan also indicted for changing a police report. it happened in may of last year. county attorney saying the victim did not want to pursue charges and prosecutors couldn't move forward. a big win in the fight against identity theft. the agency busted thieves who want to ruin your good name using facial recognition technology. you wouldn't associate adot with this but that's where it's happening. sonu wasu looking into how exactly this works. what do we need to know? >> as soon as they take your picture and it's in the system technology can get to work. this is what it looks like. facial recognition. i'm told a computer is constantly can scanning your

scanning your picture. then they're flagged by staff and turned over to detectives. that's how they caught terry rice using the identity of a man in georgia for years. he's wanted in several states on felony charges. a good reason to want to hide. he is one of dozens of suspects busted by adot detectives. >> one picture might have three different names to it. that's a good red flag there that that person is using fake ids. >> it's a shame because, you know, people work all their lives to build up their credit, their identity, and it can be stolen in an instanlt. all gone in an instant. >> here at the mbd the clerks are considered the first line of defense. they are trained to look for anything suspicious in your driver's license application and then turn that information over to detectives. back to you. new developments in a double shooting in a phoenix

died. the victim identified as 46 -year-old raymond wolfolk. a man in a hoodie police say may have fired the shots. it happened at the station at 24th and jefferson. 37-year-old corey harrell was also killed. call police if you recognize the man in the video. a long day for the president-elect. and busier tomorrow. mr. trump to start the victory tour. he cut ties dollar company. he made the decision to focus on running the country. meantime trump's team hinted he's down to four finalists for secretary of state as he continues to fill cabinet positions. a big win for minority leader nancy pelosi. she held on to her job. her caucus reelected her despite rumblings from inside and outside the caucus that change and fresh ideas may be

representative tim ryan from ohio. today's vote was done by secret ballot. last, but certainly not least. an update on bryan, the only dog that didn't get adopted from the humane society. the things you learn riding with some of the most critical people this time of year. we're going for a ride with these guys. so you want your tv and internet services bundled? joe lets you know what happened when one valley man couldn't get what i promise id let you know when the 202 opened up, and it has. plenty of delays. we can let you know that rescuers made a successful rescue out there. once again, big delays out

it is a match made just in time for the holidays. a partially blind dog was the only one left after an adoption special. but now bryan has a home.

story of the underdog who captured thousands of hearts this thich. >> -- this thanksgiving. >> post after post with the simple #313 made plenty of noise the week after thanksgiving. bryan, a partially blind german shepard was the only one left. 313 cats and dogs all found a home except for bryan. then the power of social media kicked in. within days his story reached thousands. all match. it took one person to step up and give bryan his forever home. >> he needs to be with people that love him. and he'll be secure. >> oh he's beautiful. he's just, you know, curious. that's how german shepards are. >> in less than a year he'll have gone from living here to this kennel at the humane society to finally an acre of land in queen creek.

deserves glos gros abc 15. it's a pot of gold but this guy is no leprechaun. watch as he peers into a truck steals that bucket. inside, gold flakes weighing about 86 pounds. and worth about $1.5 million. you can tell it's heavy for him to carry. police think he didn't know what was in the bucket. they want to track him down. a final journey. the remains of fidel castro returning to where his revolution began. they're being taken across cuba. a joush knee that retrace -- journey that retraces the path he took to seize power but in reverse. a host of world leaders plan to be there. the officer will not face charges the world from prosecutors today after a police officer shot and killed a man outside an apartment complex in september. the city says the officer was justified and is encouraging

it led tonights of unrest. scott's family has not decided whether to file a lawsuit. you see these deals if you bundle tv and internet, buying them at the same time, great price if you can get it. >> 11 days left to get this special offer, call now. >> he had high hopes for this price. >> we were looking to bundle. >> tv, internet, and phone a low price through direct tv. workers st melvin moved on. there's a hitch. century link is not available. >> i said you have to be kidding. i have a satellite on my roof. >> and he had to pay to cancel. >> it will cost you $150. >> no great deal of visa gift card either. >> i said you got to be kidding. >> so melvin let me know and the volunteer team went to work. mj directed melvin where to call and email the business.

didn't want to change. days later. >> they solved my problem and i'm happy. >> melvin said he got quote a call from the office of the president of direct tv. true or not it sounded impressive and so was the deal they offered. >> we'll send you the $150 visa gift card and i'll give you four months for free. and i said okay. >> and he liked the monthly price. problem solved. >> glad it worked out. >> it did. >> says -- owns direct tv says they apologize for anything he experienced. thanks to direct tv for taking care of that. whenever you sign up for anything read the fine print and get all verbal promises in writing. go to abc15.com and click on sections and let joe ducey now how to protect your money. you got a problem? let me know. abc 15 sports brought to

for tiger woordz. he play -- woods. he played in a public round for the first time in 465 days. tiger put on a show knocking in a pair of eagles. follows two back surgeries. brave enough to head out to the courses tomorrow morning it's going to be a cold one. i don't anticipate frost delays in the metro. outlying areas awfully close. 8:00 a.m. 43. 53 at 10:00. and by noon 60. there's a look at the freeze warnings in effect. a lot of the same spots that were in the freeze warnings early this morning will be tonight into tomorrow morning. let's take a look and what to do. the four ps, pipes, plants, pets, and people. tonight it's going to get all the way down to the upper 20s

coolidge dropping to 21. queen creek down to the mid-30s tonight. that's what i by the outlying areas -- what i meant by the outlying areas being close. 40 in cave creek and anthem as well. and 37 out in buckeye. here's what it looks like hour by hour. 53 at 10:00. and 60 at noon. clouds stream in throughout the day. partly cloudy skies with tempat or so warmer tomorrow than what we felt today. here's futurecast bringing the cloud coverage in particularly in the afternoon and evening. this as the next storm system passs to the north -- passes to the north. a slight chance in the higher elevations for snow up there. temperatures on the rise again as we head into the weekend for the valley. we dry out. flagstaff 10% shot for snow showers tomorrow night and friday. and then it will clear out by

if you're headed to snow bowl mostly sunny skies throughout the weekend. sunrise temperatures a couple degrees colder each day. a dry forecast up there. hopefully with new, fresh powder on the groungd. a look at the next four -- ground. a look at the next four days. next half hour your seven-day and the next storm we're tracking after this one that will bring a big impact to next week. apparently it was opposite day. the reason why was dumping not collecting. tons of trash in one neighborhood.

caught on video. it stinks in more ways than one. garbage trucks are supposed to pick up trash not dump it. neighbors couldn't help but wonder if this was intentional. >> this is so disgusting why would u our valley and drop it off. >> more than 50 bags of garbage. enough to block cars from getting out. who did this? city officials say it wasn't them. it was a private company. their response? it was an accident and the driver wasn't aware that it happened. things go from very bad to worse when a navy veteran's home is destroyed in florida. it was torched and ransacked

painted. >> f trump. crackers written on the back of the door. there's cracker written on in the living room wall. >> matthew smith and his wife and children were not home. he did vote for donald trump and he believes whoever did this were copying other protesters across the country. looking out for your holiday packages. we tag along with ups to see how they watch fo pirates. the effort from one valley neighbor to fix a problem park. a serious situation. how one worker ended up trapped

your cyber monday buys should start showing up and porch pirates are out there too trying to take them.

with ups drivers today to see how they protect your packages. >> they require anybody on the truck to wear the ups brown so all right. we're ready to meet our driver and show you how ups gets your packages from here to your house. >> this is michael. and when he pulls up he wants to make sure you actually get what he's delivering. >> do you live here? is this >> just because there's strangers. i don't want to leave it. >> his favorite? is seeing someone at the door. >> this is for angela. >> but when nobody's home. >> i won't give them the opportunity to steal. >> there's a bunch of different things mike and ups are looking out for. >> if i think a vehicle is following me i stop delivering. do something else for a minute try to lose them. >> they call a supervisor and

and if porch pirates have hit a home before he won't leave anything there. they won't leave expensive electronics, alcohol, or apple products. >> this is one of those packages where it's not signature required but i'm not allowed to leave it. >> all those packages go to a store for quick pick-up. >> four packages for two customers. >> then on to the next. i'm jason valentine abc 15. want to get you updated from the live and knife attack at ohio state university. may have been inspired by isis. the so ma -- somali student hurt 11 people. he may have been inspired by anwar and the islamic state. they have not found a direct link to contact but here's what they're doing. they're looking to confirm some of the facebook rants posted in his name and look into when exactly he bought the knife

to stop the attack. a smile that could light up a room. a passion for life. family members letsing us know about who -- letting us know about who cameron kay was. he was killed at roosevelt lake this saturday. he was an avid fisherman. a celebration of life is set for friday morning. for the neighbor next door fire truck lights and flames from the attic in the home kyrene and baseline. everyone got out safely. tonight unclear what caused the fire. staying on top of a rash of car windows shot out. salt river officers arrested someone for busting a window. it's unclear how the window was busted or if it's connected. car windows shot out in several cities this month. more than 50 in phoenix alone. dps investigating a deadly crash in mojave county.

two cars involved in this crash on state route 95. no word on the number of victims involved by troopers did confirm that this crash turned deadly. detectives fear there may be more victims after a man is arrested for molesting children. brandon butler accused of assaulting four young girls. he's being held without bond. detectives are asking anyone victimized by butler or if you know of abuse call. it can create problems for drivers and animals, dumping waste along the road. jackson fink is accused of dumping large palm trees near route 66. tense moments for parents and students in surprise. a suicidal person led to a lockdown. there was never a threat to any

was precautionary. jagged edges, dangerous holes, ugly graffiti, a park plagued with problems. how a valley mom is taking action to get it cleaned up. >> 9-month-old everest loves the park. his mom says the park could use more love from the city. >> i mean there's still a little bit. >> pieces of plastic flaking off are just some of the found. >> it seems like there's funding issues. sam mentioned that a lot. not a lot ofsxour money. >> -- of manpower and money. >> it's one of more than 10 parks throughout phoenix. -- 180 parks the throughout phoenix. some parents are fed up with the lack of care at this park. >> we are tax paying people

beautiful park -- to have a beautiful park. >> a spokesperson says parks are inspecked once a month -- inspected once a month. and they're repaired when they have money. >> it makes me feel bad. it's like our money is going to waste. >> the city has taken action. the playground steps will be replaced in four to six weeks and the graffiti power washed. for this mom she's glad everest joe bartels abc 15 news. >> if you see something and you think it needs attention call the folks at phoenix parks and r ric -- rec. it's been another chilly day. 41 the low this morning in phoenix. the coldest morning in nine months. it wasn't since early february that we've seen temperatures this cold. 62 our high today. several degrees below average.

temperatures through the end of the week. mid to upper 50s across the valley. tonight temperatures in the 50s through 9:00 p.m. before we drop into the 40s under clear skies. overnight we get down to 41 once again. tomorrow 63 as clouds start to stream in. we have a disturbance to track. this one is going to be bringing some impacts to our state. more clouds in the valley at this point looks like that's it. up north a chance for snow. some pretty stiff winds in we'll take a look at the spots under a wind advisory. a close call for a kansas city construction worker. he was working a water line when the walls of the trench caved in. he was trapped in dirt up to his chest. took rescue crews several hours to get him out. he was being treated for hypothermia. a terrible discovery. a missing mother and her two young children found shot to

it was found at a convenience store. she was seen picking her kids up from school. they were 5 and 2. take a look. no, this is not a water fountain. it's a broken fire hydrant. roseville california police say a driver lost control and slammed into the hydrant. he also hit cars at a dealership he was arrested for dui. two developments in pipeline blast. what's keeping crews from making repairs. how this valley store is helping you get ready for the holidays. an unusual way to get the point across. how a familiar band is being

they were simply and tragically out o of fuel.

soccer team was out of gas. 77 people were on the flight. six people were rescued. six detained tonight in a fire that killed a dozen in turkey. flames broke out at a middle school dormitory for girls. crews say the cause appears to be electrical. the six people detained are being questioned for possible negligence. more than 20 others were hurt in the fire. getting a look video of that pipeline explosion in missouri. no injuries here. but a lot of flames. authorities saying an investigation into what caused this will have to wait until the heat from that fire actually cools down. that also means it's going to take a while for repairs. going big, how a business ploy is causing all kinds of controversy. >> banning santa from school. it is happening in one district. why administrators made the

friday is over but you can get great deals before christmas. and lots to do this weekend across the valley as well to celebrate the holidays. if you're headed to zoo lights

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from the live desk, honoring a fallen police officer. a visitation for collin rose, the officer shot and killed officers across michigan and the u.s. gathering today to remember him. hundreds with their police dogs by their sides. he was a k-9 officer himself specializing in detecting explosives. controversy in colorado. a university professor under fire for a racially charged facebook post. it's from dr. michelle harrin. a picture of michelle obama

just calling it like it is she says. the reaction by many? outrage. >> hiding behind the excuse that you're not racist doesn't negate the fact you're being racist. >> she says she didn't realize that the term monkey face is offensive. she also works at children's hospital colorado. check it out. a sign flipper causing quite a flap in southern california. it's a large cardboard cutout of a gun shop manager in oceanside made it to create business. it's triggered a big backlash. >> a couple of people flipping me the bird. scolding me or yelling some type of on centi. >> he said -- obscenity. >> he said they called the cops on him. they asked him to change it. he says it's happy it brought in business and created a first amendment debate.

tonight. a snow employee catching fire and exploding right on the road. a worker trying to use a fire extinguisher but the flames too intense. fire crews took care of it. nobody was hurt. only in florida on this one. a manatee recovering after getting stuck in a storm drain. crews working for hours to get the animal free. they had to cut pipes away to make the rescue. people gathered to see what was going on. that animal taken to sea world. a facelift for a west valley favorite. a food city store has reopened. from an array of fresh peppers to all sorts of salsa the store says they hope to -- that shoppers will consider it their tamale headquarters. . 7500 elementary -- 3500 elementary school students. they broke the world record for

the students from grades three through eight did this on the field. a judge did make it official. in one oregon school district santa is being banned. the school district telling staff not to use religious- themed decorations like santa. it's to make sure all cultures are comfortable at school. some parents say that's bogus. >> i'm from that generation where we believe in santa. and my kids believe in >> santa rocks. >> and they should be able to celebrate it. >> a school administrator says it's just a reminder for people to be sensitive. several other school districts in the portland area have similar policies. you can download movies and shows to watch offline on netflix. you don't have to buy expensive wi-fi on the plane.

netflix memberships. the competitor amazon prime offered this more than a year ago. ? look at this photograph. every time i do it makes me laugh. ? ? >> takes you back doesn't it. a funny approach to tackling a serious problem. what better way to discourage drunk driving than having cops blast nickelback in their cars while they take drivers to jail. this is a real thing in the canadian you'll be subjected to canada's most questionable gift to the world. tracking your forecast. another chilly night in the valley. down to the 50s right now. dry out there. humidity at 19% as we sit at 59 in phoenix. 57 in glendale and scottsdale. 54 in mesa. and 50 at apache junction, cave creek and anthem. colder to the north and freezing in the 20s for

rock. all three at 27 degrees. winslow at 38. prescott in the 30s. casa grande at 53. winds not bad across the state. not much to deal with in terms of windchills for the high country. winds are going to pick up into friday as this next storm system digs down. snow showers through parts of nevada, utah, idaho. as it comes to our state going into tomorrow winds are going to pick up and they'll be even stronger going into friday. northwest arizona under a wind advisory. this includes lake havasu through the day on friday. here's what it looks like. downright windy going into friday afternoon. sustained winds as high as 35 miles per hour. gusts near 45 miles per hour up there. winds not bad at all across central arizona. a little breezy along the rim. the northwest pocket definitely feels the strongest winds.

precip. but a slight chance for isolated snow showers in the higher terrain for friday. clouds tomorrow and friday morning a little bit of an opportunity to get some more snow up near the flagstaff area before the weekend. in the valley dry. partly cloudy heading into tomorrow afternoon. low 40s in the morning. 60 at noon and highs in the low 60s across the valley. 63 in tempe. 60 in cave creek and in anthem. 62 in litchfield avondale and glendale at 63. upper 30s to low 40s for lows. the northern half of the state with the exceptions of the locations like lake havasu will be freezing. casa grande down to 30. 60 tomorrow. warmer than today. staying chilly into friday as well. sunshine return and a little bit of a warm up upper 60s for the weekend. another storm system to track next week.

a big drop to the 50s by wednesday. it is officially the holiday season. the decorations are up. a lot of us have done shopping already. there are still deals to be had if you know where to look. you might be feeling a little guilty after the food last week. now is not the time to buy memberships and exercise equipment. wait on that until january. retailers will have sales to accommodate a lot of resolutions on getting into shape. this month is a better shop thrift stores since many are getting rid of the old and getting ready for more holiday visitors. it's a great month for toys. especially next week. editors say the second week of december is when you find the best deals. gift cards are a way to save. many stores offer freebie promotions. as hard as it might be, hold off on the electronics. the consumer electronics show

wait then for the old models to go on sale. tell us what you plan on buying. chime in on our smart shopper 15 facebook page. i'm dan spindle abc 15 news. it is one of our favorite times of the year. we hope that you'll join us and help out operation santa claus money, toys, clidz, clothe -- kids clothing, and nonperishable food items. stop by sanderson ford or lincoln, the abc 15 studios or a ups store to donate. you can also donate at givetotheclaus.com. for every $25 an entry to win a ford or lincoln. this weekend a great event to get you in the holiday spirit. the 30th annual aps electric light parade on saturday. i'll be hosting with danielle lerner. starts at 7:00 p.m. at central and montbello. you can catch a replay on abc

take a look at some of our top stories. sheriff joe arpaio says it's the most unusual animal crime investigation he's seen. dozens of dogs, birds, reptiles, and even a hedgehog are rescued at southern. they're investigating the owners for possible animal cruelty. a woman fighting to stay

in apache junction. crews broke a window to pull her out. a woman in her 60s in extremely critical condition. we know the name of a 1- year-old who died in a tragic accident. family members say xavier hernandez slipped away from a gathering in phoenix. a neighbor driving a car didn't see him and backed over the bay. oh christmas -- boy. oh christmas tree oh christmas tree. a compromise after talk of taking it down. plus three ways to save money. and go ahead, complain, your gripe could help save a life. all right a look at your bus stop forecast. a day to bundle them up. a cold start and the chill is going to stick around for a

adult adam: in high school in the '80s, you had to get creative when it came to finding your place at school, and i knew exactly where i wanted to belong. ? ta-ta-ta-ta-tah, da-da-da-da-da-dah ? oh! [ laughs ] you are the greatest tin boy the world has ever seen! [ gasps ] oh, i'm sorry. tin man. my delicious, little tin man! you don't think auditioning in full costume is too much? you're too much! [ squeals ] unfortunately, not everyone shared my mom's enthusiasm. hey, bro! yeah? ow! why!? i have a well-established rep at school as basically the coolest human of all time. and you'll embarrass me and yourself if you do the musical. sure, i'm no ben vereen, but i'm really growing as a performer. i don't care if you act better than jean-claude van damme! you're in high school now.