your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. i couldn't believe monday night football was a blackout. >> two blackouts and a bomb scare at candlestick park. a scramble to find out what went wrong. a win for the pg&e customer. the big about face on smartmeters. it's tuesday, december 20. i'm dennis o'donnell. frank is off. yeah. dennis is here. and, uhm.... -- [ laughter ] >> blinked his eyes after 191, can you believe that. >> how much sleep did you get? >> those two blackouts kept me here until 11:45 last night. we're here. we are going to find out what went wrong with this strange event at the ballpark last night. i have been to quite a few at candlestick, by the way but

that was a doozy indeed. >> it's funny hearing the coach last night describing the mood in the locker room. it was very dark. [ laughter ] the lights were out. he didn't realize he made a joke. if you are about to head out, it is chilly out there. lawrence is off today. so we are holding down the fort for him in the weather department. as you can see, these temperatures out there now it is pretty cold. you know, a little colder any way than yesterday. mostly in the 30s and 50s. but all of this is expected to burn off by later on this afternoon. we do have some fog out there now but we're expecting sunshine and mild temperatures later on this afternoon. we'll tell you how much warmer it's going to get. let's check traffic. here's gianna. >> not too bad this morning. we're off to a good start. here's a live look at the golden gate bridge.

foggy but nice. we'll have details coming up. this is what we're talking about. it was the blackout seen around the world. this morning, pg&e trying to find out what caused two power outages at candlestick park before and during the 49ers game. >> that's right. at the same time, police are investigating a fake bomb threat against the stadium. gil diaz is in san francisco with the latest. the lights are on at candlestick when no one is around except for us so what a way to make an impression live on national television. not with just one but with two blackouts. take a look at this. the game was supposed to kick off at 5:30 but was postponed until 6:00. 49ers fans thought the first blackout was part of the kickoff show. then the lights went out again. then lights out again around

6:45 and was restored around 7:00. this might be embarrassing but police are taking it seriously. it turns out police received a bomb threat for the park just prior to the kickoff. police check the stadium, determined the threat had no merit. then all of a sudden the blackouts occurred. the team's managers believe it was a blown transformer. nfl security chief said he saw a transformer blow up while he was monitoring a game outside the stadium. nevertheless, some football fans can't believe this happened. perhaps maybe this is just an incentive to move to santa clara. >> i couldn't believe it on monday night football that it was going to be a blackout. that's why we need a new stadium. >> on national tv, man! the lights go out. you got to be kidding, huh? >> reporter: last night was a very important game for the 49ers not only for the team but also the bay area. this is the 49ers' only monday

night game of the season. they are check and rechecking hoping this won't happen next month when san francisco hosts a play-off game. back to you. >> it was a difficult situation but fans always look at these fans as positive omens because when they had the earthquake in '89, 9er fans thought it was a wake-up call to the team because they were down in the world series and it wasn't quite the case but last night it was a different outcome for the 49ers , huh? >> reporter: right. also turned out a good outcome for us here in the bay area. we won over the steelers 20-3. so good news. >> stay warm. pg&e is doing an about-face of issue to customers. smartmeters, the utility has just announced an opt out program. so customers who still have animal rescue in a log meter can keep -- an analog meter can

keep it and others can have the old devices reinstalled. but there will be a monthly fee and reinstallation charge. >> should they choose not to participate that they had the meter of their choice on their homes. that's important to our customers. >> pg&e is trying to recover from a pr hit last week t cut off power to customers who complained of health problems and who removed the smartmeters on their own and that left some customers in the dark with no heat during chilly weather. how far can police go to protect oakland's port? tonight, the city council will vote on how to prevent future port blockades. and if that resolution passes it will give the police the power to, quote, use whatever lawful tools that we have to prevent future shutdowns or disruptions. last week a shutdown cost the port about $4 million. also tonight the oakland city council will discuss the idea of giving id cards to the poor and undocumented. it is a concept that has taken hold in several cities including san francisco.

but oakland will become the first to create in effect an alternate banking system with the id card doubling as a debit card and the point is to free people from carrying cash and relying on check-cashing outlets. the race to recall oakland mayor jean quan getting complicated. >> dueling recall campaigns are being allowed to circulate petitions calling for quan's ousting. but only the first campaign to collect enough signatures will be considered valid. in either recall effort -- if irrelevant recall effort collects enough -- if either recall effort collects enough seconds, then the date of the recall will be held. a union representing 100,000 county workers says the money the city would have to spend on a recall effort would be wasteful. >> the recall efforts are designated to get rid of corrupt elected officials, who are misusing finances, who are getting pay backs. mayor quan is none of those.

>> whether you're liberal, moderate or conservative, there are a lot of people who want to recall mayor quan. >> the most recent poll shows 47% of oakland voters supported the recall while 34% opposed it. a standoff on capitol hill is jeff advertising a payroll tax cut as well as -- is jeopardizing a payroll tax cut as well as unemployment benefits for millions of americans. house republicans are moving to reject a senate-approved stop- gap measure. that would extend the benefits two months beyond the january 1 expiration date. they want senators to return from their christmas vacation and work toward a longer term extension. >> our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. >> negotiating with some of these folks is sort of like trying to pin jell-o on the wall. >> today republicans hope to set up a house-senate conference committee to explore their options. democrat harry reid the senate

majority leader says that he will not negotiate until the house passes the short-term plan first. today president obama will mark the end of the war in iraq at a ceremony in maryland. he will be joined by vice president joe biden. they will be receiving a flag with the united states forces iraq colors. it was lowered in a staff in baghdad just last week. the last combat troops left iraq on sundaying ending nearly nine years of war. the body of north korean dictator kim jong-il is now laid out at a memorial palace in pyongyang. among those who visited the body during a solemn ceremony today, kim jong-un his youngest known son and successor. there's varied speculation about how kim jong-un, a man in his 20s, will rule the communist nation. most world leaders are taking a wait-and-see attitude. >> we both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in north korea as well as in ensuring

regional peace and stability. >> kim jong-il died of a massive heart attack over the weekend after ruling north korea since his father's death in 1994, the country is in an 11-day period of official mourning leading up to a state funeral next week. kind of foggy coming in. did you see anything? >> i only had a three-minute drive thank goodness. [ laughter ] i heard it was rough. >> considering he got about an hour of sleep, good your commute was short. there is a little fog out there this morning especially along the coastline, along the delta and in the central valley but our big story this morning is the colder temperatures in the 30s and 40s for the most part so cooler than yesterday. current temperatures, 44 redwood city, 45 pacifica and a cool spot right now 31 in santa

rosa. frost and fog will burn off. chilly start but then mild afternoon. so temperatures will soar to the mid-60s in some spots. taking a look at your pinpoint forecast for later on today, santa rosa one of the or warmer spots. mid-60s there. 60 in livermore. we're in a holding pattern now for the next several days. looks like plenty of sunshine dry conditions. cloudy later this week but dry and mild for christmas. we'll have much more weather coming up. first let's check traffic. >> thank you. we are going to head to the bay bridge toll plaza right now where so far traffic is very light this morning. a lot of kids off school for the next couple of weeks. a lot of folks on vacation so pretty easy commute expected. clear in the upper deck. we have road construction on

880 near fruitvale, both directions no problems. accident on surface streets daily street, looks like a vehicle down the ravine on the side. some activity there on the shoulder. also right shoulder problem in novato indian valley rolled at old ranch road an accident there, as well. tow crews just arriving on the scene so look out for that. the battle for smart phone supremacy . the big win for apple over a major competitor. a surfing stunt goes wrong for a hollywood actor. how cheated death at mavericks. a holiday trend of giving is taking off in the bay area. how some secret santas are surprising local shoppers. an investment opportunity you didn't see before.

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one of the most dangerous sf spots in the world. gera movie at the a hollywood star learned the hard way that make mavericks one of the most dangerous spots in the world. gerard butler was filming a movie there sunday when a set of 15-foot waves hit him.

he was under water for two waves and washed into some rocks. a lifeguard on a personal watercraft rescued him. butler was checked out at stanford medical center and was not seriously hurt. at&t is throwing in the towel giving up its attempt to buy t-mobile usa. tage was hoping to pay $39 billion for its rival and become the largest cell phone company in the u.s. but the federal government objects concerned that the merge we're raise prices, reduce innovation and give customers fewer choices. at&t now has to pay t-mobile's german parent company a $3 billion breakup fee. a breakup fee! score one for apple in its patent fight with software and smart phone makers. the international trade commission has ruled that taiwan-based htc infringed on a feature that allows a user to tap on a phone number in an email and be connected immediately. this is the latest development in apple's fight against

android the software made by google that powers htc phones. this is somewhat of a phenomenon coming across the country this christmas season. they are called layaway angels. strangers paying off thousands of dollars in someone else's layaway debt now taking off in the bay area. angels paid the money and most of the donors aren't rich. >> he told me, i'm not rich, don't take me wrong. but i have a little extra to give so i want to give. >> the idea seems to have started in the midwest last week and has gained nationwide he would mentum. a lot of people feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to finish christmas shopping. count me. >> probably too many hours of the day. toys 'r us has a solution to. that start, at 6 a.m. today, toys 'r us will be open for 112 hours straight up until 10 p.m. on christmas eve. this is the second year they

are offering 24 hours shopping and this year, 14 macy's stores are doing the same thing. time now 4:45 a.m. and the new list of the worst christmas movies has been released of all time. >> and we have a dramatic chase in southern california. the driver clinging to his 4- year-old daughter. the quick decision from police that ended it all. and more late night laughs from gop candidate. how mitt romney poked fun at his rivals and himself. ♪

secondhand smoke affects everyone's health. it's not just irritating. it can cause heart disease and even death.

speak up about secondhand smoke. your health and the health of your family depend on it. especially tense when a dadk off with his 4 year we all know los angeles is known for wild police chases but things got especially tense when a dad took off with his 4- year-old daughter in the car. officers followed the suspect last night with their doors open for a time. he finally came to a stop in silverlake and opened his door and police quickly swarmed him and grabbed the child as you see right there. the man is in custody and the little girl is safe.

police in foster city are dealing with their first homicide investigate in five years. the body of 71-year-old clause doctor was found friday afternoon on his home waterbury lane. they don't believe it's random but so far there are no suspects or people of interest. investigators aren't releasing details. a theme park is offering free admissions to hundreds of kids to honor a vallejo police officer to died in the line of duty last month. thursday six flags discovery kingdom for james capoot day. 600 kids will be admitted free as well as members of the vallejo high school basketball team that he once coached. chainsaws busy in the marin headlands. crews are clearing several kinds of trees from hawk hill. the trees are not native to the area. they are being removed to create more habitat for the endangered mission blue butterfly. wetlands and butterfly habitats

were lost during road and trail construction over the past two years. >> you never know where the next scientific discovery will come from, from a fungus, butterfly, tree. it's important to look at the larger picture and try to maintain as much of the natural world as it was given to us. >> the feds kicked in more than $8 million for the road and trail construction and part of that money is being alwaysed to restore the mission blue butterfly's habitat. the work will continue into next month. there is a snowstorm with fierce winds that continues to hammer parts of the southwest and plains being blamed for at least 6 traffic deaths. about 10 inches of snow fell in western kansas before dawn today. the storm has turned roads to ice and reduced visibility to 0 and may have been a factor in a single-engine plane crash last night that killed five people in central texas. the theme around here seems to be, grace, if you talk to people on a daily basis, you

know, the seven-day forecast, 10 days out, we're not seeing any precipitation. it's causing concern certainly in the ski areas, as well. >> we haven't had rain or snow. >> come on, elizabeth. get with the program. [ laughter ] >> don't you like sunshine? you like the wet stuff, yeah. but it was a big deal if you're traveling so if you are traveling towards texas or heading towards the midwest, you may want to call ahead to check for possible flight delays. we're not hearing about anything like that right now. as they mentioned it's pretty good out there now. we have colder temperatures. there is some fog mostly along the coastline, also portions of the delta and the central valley but as far as rain showers go we're not seeing much. this afternoon miles and plenty of sunshine. we have a high pressure in place so that low that brought us slight rain yesterday morning is continuing south.

we are left with this, a chillier start but once again, by this afternoon, mild temperatures, climbing up into the mid-60s in some spots. so here's a look at the temperatures we're expecting for later on this afternoon into the south bay. mostly upper 50s, low 60s. 58 in antioch and 61 in danville. and getting a quick check of the north bay now, one of our santa rosa with a high of 65 degrees. right now out the door expect some fog but again for later on this afternoon, we have sunshine looks like the sunniest days should be today and tomorrow. a few clouds roll in by later on this week but not too bad for the christmas holiday. mild and warm temperatures and sunshine. that's weather for you. for your traffic, here's gianna. we are going to start off in the south bay now. no accidents to report.

that's the good news. just checked in with caltrans and not a lot of construction, either. same for 880/237 through milpitas. everything is free and clear in both directions. towards the bay bridge this morning, all clear, no metering lights on. nice across the upper deck into san francisco. hi, liz. [ laughter ] >> 880 looking good here, as well. we had some earlier roadwork near fruitvale wrapping up and again you can see in our camera no major delays. everything is clear as you work your way. the golden gate bridge, looks like our sensors are updating on the drive time so there is no red. everything is all green southbound 101 out of marin county into san francisco. you can see very few cars on the road as you head across the golden gate bridge this morning. and we're still monitoring a couple of surface street problems daly city. carter street at garden of

eatin' canyon, vehicle down the ravine. surface street problems near indian valley road at old ranch road a wreck on the side. back to you. >> you think elizabeth would know better than to walk across your traffic cameras. [ laughter ] >> all right. 4:54. eating less may lead to a healthier brain. italian scientists say they have discovered a molecule for brain longevity that kicks into action when a person's calorie intake is lower. the molecule regulates important brain functions like memory, learning and anxiety control. there is hope now among doctors that the discovery will lead to new treatments for alzheimer's as well as other illnesses. sunless tanning products may be helping young women avoid harmful uv rays. doctors at emery found one in three women cut back on exposure to sun and tanning beds when they started using

those sunless tanning products. what's the worst christmas movie? fandango polled customers to come up with the ultimate holiday promises there. top worst movie was 1964 santa claus conquers the martians. according to the "new york times" the flick cost only $20,000 to make and features a cardboard set. the other top contenders include home alone 3, hulk hogan's 1996 flick santa with muscles. and schwarzenegger's holiday family comedy, jingle all the way. >> sometimes though the worst movies are the best movies unintentionally. >> exactly. if you're spending $20,000 on a movie, it's going to still be a huge hit. >> 20 grand is nothing. >> what was that horror move have you out in the jungle or the woods, right, help me out? about $20,000. it started a story and i can't deliver the goods. >> we'll let it slide.

think about it. david letterman has joked about the road to the white house and now it gets to him. mitt romney hopes so. >> the republican presidential hopeful appeared on last night's late show delivering the top 10 things that he would like to say to the american people. >> here we go. number 10. >> isn't it team for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host? >> yes. >> yes, it is! >> my new cologne is now available at macy's. mittsified. [ laughter ] >> number one by the way is, a hair piece. [ laughter ] >> great stuff, i'm glad i was able to see it. the blair witch project. low budget movie that became a blockbuster. >> i couldn't watch it. too shaky. makes me sick. >> did the same. it is 4:56 right now. tax cut for millions of

americans is in jeopardy. the standoff on capitol hill and a crucial vote today. >> a major smartmeters reversal. how pg&e is giving in to customer concerns. 49ers fans are left in the dark in candlestick park twice during monday night football. we'll tell you how these blackouts occurred and why police were taking the incidents very seriously. those details coming up. i'm anser hassan live in oakland where "occupy" protestors will go head to head with the city inside city hall. the full story just ahead.

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. i couldn't believe it on monday night football that it would be a blackout in the stick. >> two blackouts and a bomb scare. the embarrassing moment for candlestick park and the push to find out what went wrong. how far can police go to protect the port? the controversial vote today on the "occupy" protestors. cold start but we're looking good-bye later on this afternoon the how warm these temperatures are going to get. we'll have all the details on that coming up. we have some roadwork on the peninsula. i'll tell