closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc good morning i'm katie marzullo in for cheryl jennings. and i'm kristen sze. today a major step forward in the new long awaited bay bridge. crews are installing the first strand. amy hollyfield was invited to view the construction site and joins us live from oakland. >> reporter: here's an example of the cable or the strand that will be bundled together to make up the cable. it is an important one. it is going to be 2,000 feet long and makes this bridge the first of its kind. >> today is a huge milestone in the construction of what will be the world's largest self-anchored suspension

bridge. this week we begin putting the main cable the piece that holds the entire bridge up. >> reporter: it took months to construct the apparatus that will move the cable across the bay. similar to a ski lift. it will grab strands of wire that make up the main cable. >> this is not your grandfather's suspension bridge not going to pull this cable wire by wire like what happened with the golden gate west span. this bridge is special we are going to pull bundles of wire across the bay at a time 127 wires will be pulled across and made connect. 137 different times. >> reporter: that will take several months it something to see. caltrans asking that you keep your eyes on the road when you are crossing over the current bridge. instead, watch all of this on the cameras they've provided that will have a stream online. officials point out, you're definitely witnessing history. >> when tourists come to this

area or when your family comes in and you take them down to the pir or jack london square you go into shops and see pictures of the bridge this is one of the operations their grandchildren will bring their family to see in the future. >> reporter: they are drilling home the point this is a big deal. but, they don't want you watching when driving across the current bridge. watch it at your computer. we've provided a link to that camera. go to our website abc7news.com. amy hollyfield, abc7 news. will do, thank you amy. this morning parishioners are counting christmas blessings after holiday worship claim to a crashing haute in hercules. a parishioner -- slammed in the nursery 10:00 last night no children were inside. witnesses state was a close

call because the children and parents had just left a few minutes earlier. the church had been holding a christmas holiday event. no one was hurt. it is unclear how much structural damage was done. authorities in san mateo county have seized a quarter million dollars worth of marijuana after a three month undercover investigation. task force agents served five search warrants and found -- 640 pot plants, seven pounds of processed marijuana and $1700 in profits. members of an asian drug trafficking organization face multiple drug-related charges and one for theft of utilities the electricity panels had been bypassed at the grow site. suspects have been released on bail. san francisco police will hold a town hall meeting tonight touh]÷"á(uá$p shooting involving its officers last week. investigators say it began after a man took off during a

traffic stop as police chased him, he fired two shots. the officers fired back and killed him. today's meeting will include san francisco's police chief at 4 p.m. in the community room at the northern police station. we are learning that san francisco police have run up half a million dollars in overtime cost. police saying -- policing occupy san francisco. demonstrators resurfaced over the weekend with tents set up in a park near embarcadero one. they later took them down. the police union president tells the chronicle the real money drain is the need to post 20 to 30 officers around the clock at the foot of market street making sure protesters don't camp out near the federal reserve bank. banjo-picking billionaire warren hellman died last night of complications from leukemia. he spent as much time distributing his wealth as he

did acquiring it. using his fortune to fund the san francisco free clinic and development of aquatic sports at uc berkeley. he was well-known for bringing the blue glass festival to san francisco. hellman was 77-years-old. ago secretary of state clinton said she hopes for improved ties with the north korean people. that, as north koreans mourn the death of their leader kim jong il. president obama spoke to south korea's president last night and reaffirmed the u.s. commitment to stability in the region. karen travers has the latest. >> reporter: the word is watching waiting to see how north korea responds to the death of kim jong il. south korea's military on high alert concerned about its nuclear neighbor taking action to show strength. >> this situation should not be a threat to peace and qfs korean peninsula. >> reporter: kim jong il took

power in 1994 after the death of his father. famously vain he favored designer clothes and wore platform shoes. he was depicted as a playboy. he loved women, wine, fast cars and hollywood films. inside the impoverished nation he was revered as dear leader to the international community he was a tyrant who starved his people as he built a nuclear weapons program and an army of more than one million soldiers. >> north korea re arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of he vim. >> reporter: by october 2006 north korea conducted its first successful underground nuclear tests and carried out provocative missile tests with weapons capable of reaching the u.s. in 2008 he suffered a stroke and began to look weak and frail. abc news saw the leader last october.

also at that event his 20 something son kim jong un the heir apparant. >> we have to assume he is going to be as bad and evil as his father. >> reporter: north korea conducted two short range missile test today, officials said think were preplanned. karen travers, abc news. another recall for nissan. what is wrong with thousands of sentra's? >> showdown on capitol hill over payroll tax cuts with strong words from house speaker boehner. toys-for-tots giveaway begins for kids who might not @

house speaker boehner says republicans plan to defeat a short term bill that prevents a tax hike on americans. he says democrats should stay in washington through holidays until they can agree on a one year payroll tax cut. >> i've seen congress kick the can down the road. it is time to stop the nonsense. we can resolve these differences and we can do it in a way that provides certainty for job creators and others in our economy. >> the bipartisan bill senators passed last week only extends the payroll tax cut for two months. harry reid says there won't be a renegotiation until the house passes that version. if congress does not act 160 million americans will see

their checks cut by 2% january 1st, when this year's payroll tax reverts to 6.2%. nissan recalling 34,000 nissan sin s. the recall affects 2010 -- sentras affects 2010 and 2011 there's a car with the battery cable that can cause the car to stall while moving. sometimes the cars won't restart which increases the chance of a crash. nissan will replace the battery cable for free. san francisco-based twitter getting a handle on new funding. saudi prince and his investment company have agreed to buy 300 million dollar stake. his company won't have voting rights or be on twitter's board. an executive says twitter plans to go public with an initial stock offering within two years. san francisco fire

department's annual toy give away is underway. people began lining up this morning to receive a toy through the oldest and largest firefighter toy program in the united states. organizers expect the need to be great or great -- as great or greater than last year when they handed out toys to more than 40,000 families. >> these kids wouldn't have presents without us. no one will get turned away we are making sure that happens we will be here through christmas day. >> it is not too late for you to help the firefighters' toy program if would you like to co-nate a new toy or make a donation find out how to help on our website, abc7news.com -- and click on see it on tv. 100 kids went on a holiday shopping spree this morning thanks to glide family services and the gap. frosty helped the kids get into the holiday spirit. the kids 4 to 12 got a $100

gift card to spend on clothing and accessories from old navy. gap and employees volunteered to serve as personal shoppers to help kids pick out what they wand for the special open shopping event. -- they wanted for the special open shopping event with in san jose the holiday program will provide food books to more than 3,000 families. toy force 5600 children this holiday season -- toys for 500 children this holiday season. they served more people thank than ever before, 12% increase over last year and 78% increase over the past four years. sacred heart has been helping people in need for more than 47 years. economy is not slowing holiday travel. two million people are expected to pass through sfo over the next two weeks. 5% jump from last year. the increase is welcome news to airport officials who say they've ed to overcome the down economy -- they've

managed to overcome the down economy by adding carriers and roping terminal two after 10 years -- and reopening terminal two after 10 years. happy flying if you can get out. we have a spare the air today northerly winds kicking in that chased the clouds away. you can see the haze let's talk about how long this pattern laughs and see if we can find rain or seer -- lasts and see if we can find rain or sierra snow. >> a look at what you can expect if you are heading into the sierra for a hole day getaway.

. homeless pets deserve a special holiday meal too. today they will get one with a special delivery. ellen degeneres teamed up with a 15-year-old oregon girl who  kibble.com. they are distributing 400,000 holiday meals to animal shelters across the united states. this morning a semi truck pulled up to pet food express on market street and five bay area shelters were there to

accept the donations. degeneres co-owns halo a pet food company. sierras hoping for a white christmas this year the biggest ski week of the season is missing natural snow. most resorts will rely on machines. it has been cold enough at night to make snow. lake tahoe snow pack was 24% of average. >> bummer. >> horrible. k3 pointed for everybody. for what going to happen this spring and summer and the folks trying to work up there. the best snow is in the mountains around san diego they had 18 inches during the weekend. >> go there for skiing. >> doesn't make any sense. >> head down to southern california for skiing around san diego, really instead of going to hear, heavenly? look at it, 9 ski lift is

running not many people on -- the ski lift is running not many people on it. you can see the snow not plentiful up there a little snow shower it looks like but it is not going to amount to much. let's talk about here at home clouds breaking up, beautiful sunshine some haze developing in the north bay where we expect the poorest air quality to be today. remember sprinkles this morning? check out where they are now. they've moved off the shore around monterey and king city some are developing around santa barbara, up towards santa maria even oxnard, l.a. and more showers around san diego. the farther north you go, look at how quiet it is as high pressure comes back in taking await clouds as we speak. they hung around napa, a little longer still 43 there upper 40s novato and oakland. monterey bay clouds retreating to the ocean even inland low to mid 50s.

first highlight the poor air quality. we are going to have a real bright afternoon. the clear air that is coming in the drier air means cooler conditions tonight watch out for patchy fog and frost. breezy at our highest elevations. dry easy travel but dry all the way through probably the middle of next week. spare the air until midnight no burning of wood poorest air quality even though confined to the north bay all of us have to heed the warning or pay a lot of money. mid to upper 50s in the east bay valleys today as you head to the east bay shore mid to upper 50s here we may may touch 60 in the south bay around los gatos. mid 50s all along the coast into south san francisco downtown we could hit 57. inland upper 50s, 60 around santa rosa. head back down south mid to upper 50s monterey bay upper

fives near 60 gilroy and hollister. tule fog hanging around central valley. 57 sacramento, you go mid 40s no precipitation in tahoe nor yosemite. low to mid 30s inland valleys upper 30s to low 40s around the bay shore to the coast. waking up tomorrow in san francisco 47°. slightly breezy tonight on the ridge tops that's that drier air moving in it will warm nicely tomorrow a few degrees warmer throughout the seven alongvyzhi÷$ the coastórh low d the bayyz upper 50s to?gzj÷ nea0 inland. év> california christmas. better for shoppers, i guess, thanks. christmas has come early for commuters, the 511 traffic page is being made over. starting today you can test the version of the new page. it features a larger

expandable and more interactive map as well as real-time traffic predictions that update automatically, just to name a few changes. the tests will go on for a few months. once the kinks are worked out the new site will replace the old one. go to abc7news.com and click on the see it on tv button. facebook has a new home this morning. it spent the weekend moving out of its palo alto office into new world headquarters menlo park. the nine building property that was sun microsystems spans one million square feet that still may not be enough room. they barely moved in and ceo mark zuckerberg has announced plans to expand. more than 2,000 employees are reporting to work at the new location today. some residents are worried about the extra traffic. new study finds a link between tobacco use and skin cancer in women. the study found women who

smoke have a greater risk of developing a type of nonmelanoma skin cancer those who smoked for 20 years were twice as likely to develop it. the results not the same for men. men who smoked had a modest risk for nonmelanoma skin cancer. the study appears in the journal cancer causes control. >> new title for dancing with the stars champ and iraq war vet

. today, a michelin star chef shows you how to make easy holiday gourmet meals. at 4:00, what are you willing to do to avoid atm fees? the makers of a new machine want a little bit of your time. at 5:00, new national experiment that federal officials believe will improve medical care for seniors and save taxpayer money. these stories and more at 4:00 and 5:00. the new "dancing with the stars" champ will soon add another title to his resume, dad. >> people magazine reports j.r. martinez and his longtime girlfriend are expecting their first child. the baby girl is due next spring. >> the couple met in 2008 when martinez started on "all my children." she was working as assistant to the soap's executive

producer. >> martinez took home the trophy last month, a real fan favorite. now you have to wonder if that ability to dance is genetic. >> i guess we'll find out. big year for him. >> thank you for joining us today on abc7 news. that will do it for now. >> who wants to be a millionaire is next. >> keep track of the latest news on twitter and

the droid razr by motorola. the newest droid armed with motocast. granting you wireless access to files on your home computer from almost anywhere. 4g lte equipped to pull pictures, music, and movies. all at mind-melting speeds. powered by verizon, this droid is too powerful to fall into the wrong hands.