clear ♪ merry christmas! merry christmas! ho ho ho ho! >> santa is spreading holiday cheeat a san francisco landmark where firefighters are making a final push for needy children. >> union square is where terry mcsweeney joins us live. >> it doesn't get any easier than this to be merry this christmastime as all you've gotta do is buy a new unwrapped toy. that's all you have to do. you have to call the ca to pick them up. they'll bring it down. firefighters will bring it out and take care of 40,000

children. and they still need a lot of toys. >> ho ho ho ho ho! >> you know the sty of this guy but you may not know the story of santa's helpers. >> one more. >> that man lifting the toy out of the barrel is nick, owner of lefty o'doyl's. he's so lost in the christmas spirit, he's giving away his presents. >> the first year i saw the look on the kids' faces. my kids are coming down and bringing some of their toys. my wife, i to her no presents this year. i'm going to donate the money to the firefighters' program. >> the same santa john who was considered naugy by macy's but is clearly nice here. >> i've been asked for toys and giving out toys for 31 years. now the toy are coming to me

and it's wonderful. because the poor children in this town needs toys. >> the cabs are also in the spirit of giving. >> we'll bring them down free of charge. >> how man toys do they have t have. >> one toy's the minimum. one toy we'll come get it and pick it up. we need a lot of toys, peoe of san fransco. so let's get going. >> all you have to do is call, 415-272-4141. it's a onof a kind effort. it's a san francisco special. >> i don't think it happens anywhere else in the country a bar/restaurant is open christma eve 5 a.m. to midnight -- plus it's in the shopping district. people are out and abt and they'll walk to macy's, bring something by and drop it off. it's very nice. >> organizers say come on now, san francisco. santa can use a little help this year. >> welcome back to outside lefty's. you see sant and one of the

fire department representatives thanking each other, santa waving and kids out in front. it's a heck of a scene down here. if you're anywhere down here near the union air, they'll be accepting toys until 11:00 tonight. ho ho ho! >> ho ho ho to you too, thank you, terry. let's check with lee ann who is live at the church in san francisco where a big lunch is about to be served. lee ann. >> i tell you, what would christmas ev or christmas day be without glide memorial. today is of cour the traditional prime rib dinner served from 11:00 this morning to 2:00 and donated from the house of prime rib. 2,000 pounds will be served and that will help fee about 3,000 people. and, of course, tomorrow will be again the traditional christmas dinner and even thgh it's called a dinner, they begin serving at 9:00 in the morning from 9:00 until 2:00. this year's been slower than

usual in terms of the number of volunteers, donions down by 20% while services are up by 30%. >> it's been very, ry difficult for us this year and last year. there's no dou about it. we had to go throh a number of non-profits and also a number of people who had to give up their homes and cars, all ofhe things that go with a recession and people suffered. we've got people in line who have never beein a line before in their lives. >> and that is what they are serving. it looks really scrum pcious. prime rib dinner. you can smell it. they alway need more volunteers because glide memorial serves breakfast, lunch and dinner as you see behind me, the lines get longer eve year. i'm live from san francisco's

glide memorial, lee ann melendez, abc 7 news. >> we're learning more this morning about the latest sewage spill in marin county. it's much worse than anyon imagined it's the second spill in a week and crews estimated 3 million gallons may have gone into the creek. construction crews are trying to get the mess cleaned up befor the next storm moves into the bay area tomorrow. the wednesday spill was caused by a broken pipe. we're hearing from the first time from jmb construcon whose crews were working nearby. consuction crewed caused the spill by clogging the line with equipment. the company connds therapies not true saying the new lines installed by our firm were clean and video inspected prior to being placed in service. it spilled during heavy periods of rain and when the kentfield pump station was shu down. >> the acting goveor has declared a state of emergency in three more counties pounded by a

week-long onslaught of rain. emergency declarationsre already in places in six other counties. one resident shot this video in laguna beach that shows the worst of the flooding there. walls of water created a mess and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. officials estimate the stms did at least $70 million of damage in just orange, los angeles and san bernardino accountsnd more rain is on the way. >> firefighters in petaluma are trying to determe the cause of an early morning fire that gutted a petaluma home. a fire broke out in a home on lombardi avenue this morning. the residt managed to get out safely with his two dogs but it appear the home is a total loss. investigators say it's possible a cigarette started that fire. >> in san jose firefighters credit three dogs with alerting neighbors after a fire starte inside a garage. it broke out just before 3:45 this morning on purple cliff court. several people called 9-1-1 after being awakened by the dogs

and smelling the smoke. >> so my neighbors on the right side, their dog had started barking, too. she and her husband came out and saw it right away, the fire, and tino, he turned the water hose on and started spraying the fire right away. >> the woman who lived in the home happened to in salinas visiting family when the fire started. investigators haven't determined what sparked the fire but fire crews stopped the flames before they reached the main part of the home. >> if your holiday plans include flying, you'll have something else to think about when pack being before heading to the airport. homeland security says passengers may notice additional securi members related to therm mosses. no specific threats made but warned of possibility of explosives being stored in the insulation. it's an exple of federal officials trying to anticipate terrorist tactics.

the number of holiday travelers is expect to increase significantly for the first time since the economy plunged in 2008. here's a live look at sfo now where things are running smoothly under sunny skies. no major delays at any of the bay area three major airports. according to aaa, more than 11 million californians are expected to travel over the highway. >> shoppers packeded westfield mall with chstmas falling on a saturday this year, today is a holiday for most workers giving them more time to hit the stores. the national retail federation estimates holiday sales could be up more than 3% over last year. the federation also says shoppers who come out on christmas eve tend to be looking for bargains or they didn't have money to spend earlier in the season. >> still about3 hours away from christmas here. >> you're right. >> the peop and animals are beginning to celebrate aroun the world. we'll take you to some of the

festivits, plus... >> even though i wasn't there, i was still there through technology. >> he's thousand of miles away from his family. the grea lengths one soldier went through to be with hisife as she went into labor this holiday season. save $523! 16 minutes could save you 16%! come o.. isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any o of the 40 million drivers who already havetate farm. 40 million. yeah, that's more than geico and progressive coined. by a lot. 40illion drivers. more savings. and discountup to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online.

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christmas is still a few how weres away for people in the bay area. celebrationsre well underway. an estimated 9,000 visitors from around the world are gathered in bethlehem, the bir place of jesus in the chris tradition. they will be focussed on the churchf the nativity. >> for families, for children. for those who are sick and for those who are going through any form of hardship at this time. >> at t vatican, pope benedict with the first of its kind radio address for a christmas mass held later today. >> britain queen elizabeth will give her annual holiday speech tomorrow. a preview of her message reveals she'll promote the benefit of sports in building communities

and showing video of princes william and harry. >> and in thailand -- take a look at this -- elephants dressed as santa aus were handing out presents and entertaining children in a town of north bangkok because the kids were quick to snatch up the toys from the elephas' trunk. >> in afghanist one father is not only apart from his family but he was away when his wife gave birth to their first child but he found a way to witness the unforgettable moment. that's sergeant ken pompilli in afghanistan who spoke about witnessing his wife giving birth to their daughter reilly over the internet. it was on thanksgivg day when his wife melanie went into labor. he turned his vehicle into a

mobile command center to witness. every push via skype. for the next 17 hou he sat by his wife's side 17,000 miles away. >> i felt bad he was sittin' in the vehicle forever. it was dark and by the time we nished it was daylight for him the next day for him. >> thanks to technology, he was able to witness the birth of his first child. reilly will be five months old when her day returns home. >> i can't wait. i can't wait till i getff that bus and see them both. >> well, before he left for his deployment in afghanistan, he actually helped set up the crib and the baby's room. >> they can see that video online and the dad can start bonding. >> we want to thank them for their service overseas. wonderful. >> weather, that's big today for people heading over to th christmas actity. >> everything's pretty good.

even here at home, don't have much to talk about as far as rain until tomorrow. heading out, baimore has flight departure delays. that's the only airport across the country. how much rain and how much wind we're going to get tomorrow. >> we're tracking with the help of america's military experts. a look exactly where st. ni is right now. >> hi! i'm hoy...? [ mom ] yes. honey, ian't find my internet cord. oh, i'll borrow iley's. you're downloang movies. fast! from here? where is her cord?! we switched to at&t high speed internet and got wireless access. more cords. wireless, okay, honestly, can i ju get a cord, please? dad,the cord's . [ male announcer ] for a limited time, call to get high speed internet fojust $14.95 a month with a 1-year price guarantee.

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♪ we are tracking santa's journey around the world today. right now he is in russia and headed to georgia next. he's already been to australia, asia and some of the other places in russia. tracking st. nick over 50 years. the tradition started because of a typo in a sears ad. the number was wrong and people started calling the command center in colorado and voila! atray addition is born. we have a link on abc7news.com under "see it on tv." this is my kids' favorite, the cookie tracker. 4,350 cookies consumed so far in

his journey around the world. >> he fasts the rest of the year so it's okay. >> the doctor told him his cholesterol was getting high. >> oh, look at that at heavenly valley. >> can we look there? the ladies want to go. here we are, heavenly mountain resort. beautiful picture there! you know it's going to be busy up there come this weekend and next week. it will be well worth it with that 200% of average snfall for the year so far. of course, we still have until april 1st before the entire year is over. let's take a look back here at home. mount tamalpais, some of the clouds hanging around and getting a little thicker as we talked about they would during the afternoon hours b the rain is going to hold off for all your outdoor activiti today. fairfield, santa rosa, san rafael, low to mid-50s until you get to fremont, mountain view and san jose. upper 50s there.

montereyay and inland towards salinas the mid-50s but gilroy cool at 43 degrees. highlights, increasing clouds, dry. a nice mi day to be outside. becoming breezy tonight with that cold front drawing near. the cold front comes through tomorr. snow through the sierra tomorrow afternoon. fremont, san jose at 60. the increasing clouds, upper 50s, same thing around the monterey bay and inland. upper 50s to low 60s here, just a touch waer for you. tonight the clouds keep us 5 to 10 degrees warmer than this morning. mid to upper 40s through most of our valleys. upper 40s to low 50s around the bay shore and out to the coast. drizzle possible tonight. looks like the clouds will thicken during the overnight hours as areas of high pressure pull away and the cold front draws near. four aas of low pressure -- i think my mouth already we on vacation -- those are going to

get together and congeal to make this pretty powerful but quick storm. 5:00 you see the clouds. should be cloudy just about everywhere but you saw rudolph with santa. no problem getting through that clou deck. the rain movin through the north bay coast. by 10:00 already reaching some of its stronger rainfall totals. by 7:00 it becomes more showery. disappears overnight. wake up to patchy fog sunday morning. partly cloudy sunday. stray showers through the north bay. dry and much calmer sunday. could get up to three-quarters of an inch around the bay. one and a half to two inches in the north bay and santa cruz mountains and the winds. 7:00 tomorrow morning to 4:00, gusts to 45 mph alg the coast and into our higher elevations. going to be wet and windy tomorr with mid-50s. mid-50s on sunday with sunshine and mid topper 50s monday when a chance of rain rolls back on tuesday, a better chance on

wednesday. prettyuiet today and tomorrow. be careful. >> tnks a lot, mike. vice president joe biden revealed today he believes america is reinvolving on the issue of sameex marriage. he made his remarks on "good morning america." the vice president compared what is happening with same sex marriage to the sue of gays and lesbians serving in the armed forces. those remarks two days after president obama signed a bill that overturnshe military's "don't a, don't tell" policy. >> i think the country's einvolving and i think there's an inevitability for a national consensus on gay marriage. that is my view. >> sam sex marriage remains illegal in most states. president obama recently admitted his feengs on gay marriage aretill evolving but believes they have some of the same rights married couples enjoy. >> jolly old st. nick.

has santa trading in his sleigh for water skis in the national's capil this morning. [ fema announcer ] why watch regular tv when you canxperience

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street michael has a free book download and some medicine you mighteed during the holiday season. lake tahoe celebrating a white christmas with lots of snow and increase in skiers and borders. these stories and more at 5:00. >> a favorite annual christmas tradition played out on the potomac river in washington d.c. the santa proved he can travel fast even without his sled -- sleigh. santa and his reindeer were joined by flying elves and a grinch with spring water on frosty. that's a santa wet suit so he stays nice and dry with his other duties. >> one of his duties is visiting children around the world. the santa tracker has visit his stops, australia and russia. >> guess wre he's going next? >> where >> armenia. kids getting ready. pretty soon he'll be here in the bay area.

>> here's mike nicco. >> if you' heading to the central valley, where santa will be later, dense fog there, highy 4. high clouds, mid to upper 60s. watch out for the wet and windy weather tomorrow. looks like we'll have winds 45 mph, mainly the coast in higher elevations the rest of us dealing with rain. >> does rudolp qualify as a light? >> i think so. >> "who wants to be millionaire" is coming up next. >> merry christmas eve! >> bye-bye! honey...?[ mom ] ye.

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