catch-up your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. a republican front-runner in the race for the white house playing catch-up today. cashing in on last-minute shoppers. the new numbers adding up to a merry christmas for stores in the bay area and beyond. good morning, it's thursday, december 22. i'm grace lee. frank is off. i'm sitting in his chair. a little strange from this perspective. >> moved over a notch. ladies taking over the chairs this morning. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> you're filling in for lawrence. >> i'm filling in for lawrence. no boys allowed today except we have billy poone our weather producer off to the side. he made us this beautiful graphic. this is what it looks like out the door. temperatures right now a little warmer today actually than yesterday. we got some gusty winds in the

north bay valleys and it's keeping us warmer than yesterday. you will notice santa rosa right now clocking in at 54 degrees. one of our colder spots 32 in concord. so coming up we'll tell you how much warmer we'll get for this afternoon plus a check of your seven-day forecast including what it looks like for the christmas holiday. so we will have all that in just a little bit. in the meantime, here's gianna with traffic. >> it's been a pattern all week "holiday light." we'll keep you updated because traffic is unpredictable. a service street problem in san mateo, details on that coming up. police move to close the last "occupy" camp in the bay area. anne makovec is in berkeley where most of the tents are now gone. good morning to you, anne. >> reporter: good morning. there are still several tents though here behind me in civic center plaza in berkeley and that is after police contributed this notice yesterday evening saying that everybody has to clear out by

10 p.m. but several dozen people remain in the plaza and several tents, as well. you can see one guy over there even decorating for christmas. here's some video that "occupiers" streamed on the internet overnight. there were several pop-up confrontations between them and police. this is one of them just after 1 a.m. police did take a few swats with their batons and then backed off. this is posted by a man named spencer on twister. this camp has been here for months and has been growing since other camps were razed in the area there. were 60 to 100 tents earlier this month and there was a lot of infighting also amongst the campers. police say there were growing sanitation concerns, arrests for battery, theft and assault with a deadly weapon.

>> these occupations become social service centers. they are not going to homeless shelters, they will come here for a free plate of food. but we're not here for a free plate of food. we're here to build a social missouri. that's the problem. >> reporter: and again, there has been growing tensions within the camp but some of it because of those reasons. back out here live now in berkeley, that is berkeley high school just across the plaza. this has been a unique location for an "occupy" camp that's right by city hall, right by a high school, as you can see. and the police department is just across the street, as well. so that caused some of the problems, as well. police say that high schoolers were trying to come over here for lunch and were being confronted by some of these people. police said it was just time to go. we'll see what their next plan of sacks going to be because we don't see police here now. back to you. >> anne, you mentioned the guy who was decorating the tree for christmas. is that an indication that maybe some of them are digging in their heels and they're not

going to leave? >> reporter: oh, certainly, certainly. that definitely is a small population, i would say a few dozen here, that are not planning on leaving. a lot of them are people who have been through confrontations before, some of them who came over from oakland, the "occupy" protests over there. some of them have gas masks here so they are ready to rumble with police. hopefully it's not going to come to that. >> thank you, anne makovec live in berkeley. about 4,000 bay area nurses are set to stage a one-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. they will be walking out at eight local hospitals operated by sutter health by plans to use replacement workers. this will be the second strike since the contract expired six months ago. one of the hospitals, alta bates summit medical center in berkeley plans to lock out the striking nurses tomorrow. the dispute is over benefits and other issues. a special ceremony tonight to honor a slain police officer. james capoot was killed while trying to catch a bank robber

last month. tonight section flags discovery kingdom in vallejo will honor him and other vallejo officers at its tree lighting ceremony and the park is giving free admission today to vallejo middle and high school students as well as police officers. an officer-involved shooting at richmond's marriott courtyard hotel injured one man yesterday. officers responded to reports of an armed man fighting with others at the extended stay motel nearby. the man ran away when police arrived. officers chased him into the courtyard marriott. one officer fired and injured the suspect. the suspect is expected to recover. a registered sex offender is in los gatos police custody. richard williams is accused of molesting an underaged boy. he allegedly lured local high school boys by offering them car washing jobs. investigators say he required the boys to shower with him before he paid them. polls show newt gingrich is

still one of the republican front-runners in the race for the white house. but he may not be on the ballot in key primary state unless his staff meets a deadline today. tara mergener has the latest from the campaign trail. reporter: newt gingrich is scrambling to meet virginia's filing deadline. >> with your help, we're going to get on the ballot. >> reporter: he fired up voters at a last-minute rally wednesday night and will continue campaigning in the state today. the former house speaker must turn in 10,000 voter signatures to qualify for virginia's primary. he says he will have more than enough. instead, he is staying focused on his biggest rival. >> i have challenged governor romney to meet me for 90 minutes in iowa next week anywhere anytime, timekeeper, no moderator. >> reporter: gingrich dared romney to a one-on-one debate hours after the former massachusetts governor slammed him in new hampshire for complaining about negative ads. >> if you can't stand the relatively modest heat in

kitchen now, wait until obama's hell's kitchen shows up. >> reporter: romney already turned in san francisco,000 signatures to get on the virginia ballot in massachusetts, 16,000 signatures. he is hoping to knock out gingrich before then. >> this election is rather important. as a matter of fact this election in iowa is significant. >> reporter: ron paul is emerging as a wild card who could take the iowa caucuses in less than two weeks. the latest poll shows him leading the gop pack. but with gingrich and romney close behind, it's still anybody's race. tara mergener for cbs news, washington. eight u.s. soldiers now face charges in connection with a fellow soldier's suicide in afghanistan. 19-year-old army private daniel chen apparently shot himself to death in october. his family says he was hazed and bullied because he is chinese. the charges range from dereliction of duty to involuntary manslaughter. the next step is a hearing to determine if there is enough

evidence for court-martial. and a wave of bombings killed at least 60 people today in baghdad. no one claimed responsibility. but the coordinated nature of the 14 attacks suggests that planning by "al qaeda in iraq." the bombings are probably not a direct response to a confrontation that's been going on all week between sunni and shiite political leaders but will likely increase tensions just days after the final american troops left. on a happier note, two california women are making military history. it is navy tradition for sailors to kiss loved ones when return from sea. for the first time they are both women. they are both navy petty officers separated by a tour of duty. and they won the right to the ceremonial first kiss through a lottery before the uss oak hill docked at virginia beach. >> i feel good about it. it's nice to be able to be myself. it's been a long time coming. >> i think it's great to be open about our relationship since we both are in the military. >> the kiss was reminiscent of

this, a famous photo of a times square kiss at the end of world war ii. the two women met as roommates at naval training school and hid their relationship until "don't ask, don't tell" was repealed earlier this year. we have a cold start to the morning. elizabeth, it's chilly. i had to turn on the seat warmers today in the car. >> i thought it was colder today when i was first heading into work but it's warmer today. >> really? >> i know, than yesterday. [ laughter ] >> i believe you. >> we're always cold. we're cold in the studio right now. yeah, let's look at the temperatures outside. like i said, not too bad out there right now especially in santa rosa. you know, yesterday at this time they were at or near freezing so right now they are actually at 54 degrees one of our warmer spots out there right now. 32 in concord. chilly there. 41 in oakland and 49 degrees out in fairfield. so we're staying dry once again today through this afternoon. this is the reason why. high pressure, breezy morning, why we're seeing warmer temperatures especially in some of the north bay valleys. now, we have this low bringing

us a few extra clouds by this time tomorrow. but for right now later on today, we're keeping things mild temperatures mostly in the upper 50s, mid-60s in some spots. over the next seven days, we are staying dry and mild until about midweek next week and then it looks like we have a chance of rain coming in by wednesday. we'll talk more about that coming up. we are checking an accident on the freeways. live look at the bay bridge toll plaza, no delays just yet. everything clear across the upper deck into san francisco. the one trouble spot we have is along the peninsula on surface streets. it's isabel avenue at 29th avenue. vehicle hit a pole. looks like it may be clearing very soon. again, only bothering surface streets there. the main lines of the freeway, 92, 101, no delays. a flight to catch at sfo, you're in luck. roadwork eastbound 4 between bailey and railroad will be in effect until 1:00 today and no delays westbound 4. a look at the south bay coming up. back to you.

>> thank you. 4:40 now. online shopping fails for a major gadget store. why that company is telling customers they may not get what they ordered for christmas. >> last-minute shoppers hit bay area stores. what may be boosting consumer confidence. >> plus, where community members are pick up the slack when it comes to toy donations. we'll have it all for you when we come back. ,,,,

toys for its annual giveawao underprivileged kids. as of last night they only d about two hundred to the east palo alto police department needs hundreds of toys to give away to kids. as of last night they only had 200 but the department is looking to serve at least 1500 children. in the program's 13 years, no child has ever walked away. hety away empty-handed. >> it's depressing that you have to turn away hundreds of children. >> word is getting out. toys are still coming in. people have also donated about

$1,000 in cash and checks. the police department is open from early in the morning until late in the evening if you would like to contribute. an unexpected surprise for retailers this holiday season. spending is up. according to a gallup poll, americans are spending $756 on gifts this year. more than last year for sure. ann notarangelo has more on that bottom line. she was at the mall. reporter: helicopters are flying off the shelves at brookstone. retail sales had been slow in recent weeks, something that was seen nationally. but in the last week, shoppers apparently felt the urge to splurge. >> they are ready to spend the money and they seem to be happy this time of year. last year a lot of grouchy customers. >> reporter: and would you believe it? what's making shoppers happening is spending $40 for dave the funky monkey. >> he'll wave hi and by, fart and burp. >> reporter: they are sold out. everyone wonders if this year

will be better than last if somehow this could be the light at the end of the tunnel. >> i think it's coming around actually. i really do. i think that next year, i believe next year will be a better year. >> reporter: and her optimism is shared by economists who don't believe we'll see a double-dip recession. consumer confidence is also up and the shopping season is shaping up better than forecasted. >> i have confidence i'm not going to lose my job next year so if i overspend now i can make up for it. >> reporter: sun valley shopping center in concord says all sorts of records are being broken including the lines of people waiting for a visit and picture with santa. >> we're breaking our own records there, probably up more than 10% over last year and that's expendable income. people don't have to spend money on that and yet they are. >> reporter: they also get an extra saturday in this holiday season and saturdays are the busiest shopping day of the week. they expect it to be a madhouse

on christmas eve at best buy mobile which is already having trouble getting kindles in stock. >> we'll be sold out in one day. >> reporter: employees are engraving purchases until 3 a.m. these days. some items are almost sold out and yet they told us today was a slow day. >> this is slow. yeah. normally when we are what i would call busy is standing room only. you are saying excuse me to every other person, squeaking by. it's a whole new world. >> reporter: ann notarangelo, cbs 5. >> $40 monkey. the commander-in-chief also taking part in spending. he did some last-minute christmas shopping with his dog. petsmart a rubber chew toy. best buy where the president bought the wii just dance 3 for his daughters and two apple gift cards before going out for a pizza pie. his grand total, nearly $300. coming up, bank of america is set to shell out millions to

settle a civil lawsuits. next the victims who are charged higher fees and interest rates. >> and the bad news one retailer is delivering bay area shoppers instead of the christmas packages that they actually ordered. a lot of people are heading out of town for christmas so we're checking in for officials at sfo so clear skies this morning, sunny afternoon, highs in the upper 50s. so no delays reported there. checking some other major airports across the country, houston has rain, denver snow, chicago they have sleet and snow showers delays possible there. new york not too bad. partly cloudy skies. coming up, a look at your seven- day forecast a little closer to home after the break. ♪

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bank of america will pay 335 million dollars to resolve justice department claims it is the biggest settlement ever over residential fair learning practices. bank of america will pay $335 million to resolve justice department claims against its

countrywide unit. it was accused of discriminating against more than 200,000 black and hispanic borrowers. the justice department says the victims were charged higher fees and interest rates. >> they were thrilled to have gotten the loan and realized the american dream. they had no idea they could have and should have gotten a better deal. >> the settlement will go to compensate victims of countrywide loans from 2004 through 2007. those loans were made before bank of america bought countrywide in 2008. we are hearing from a woman who says that a golden state warriors basketball player sent her inappropriate pictures and texts. erica smith accuses monta ellis of repeatedly sending her sexual text messages last season. she says it ended only after ellis' wife contacted her after finding the texts in january. she worked for the team and said she was fired in august when she complained about ellis' behavior. she is suing ellis for sexual harassment and the warriors for

allegedly covering it up. >> treated unfairly, i was let go. >> you really don't even want to ruin mr. ellis' career. we just hope that it goes -- that it stops, there's an apology and compensation. >> golden state warrior's ceo and president rick welts denied the investigation and questioned the motives behind the security. >> we live in a litigious society in which lawsuits too frequently are driven by money and not the pursuit of justice. we will vigorously defend the reputation of the warriors organization in the courts. >> he confirmed having knowledge of a relationship between ellis and smith. he says the two had a consensual relationship and were ordered to end in. so far ellis hasn't responded to the allegations. a little chilly but the good thing about the bay area it warms up in the afternoon. very tolerable. >> lately, i know. it was really mild yesterday. >> it was! >> people talking about it in

san francisco, sunshine, cruising shopping. tank tops and shorts, right? >> not quite. >> all right. let's check out what it looks like in denver right now. we took this picture behind me. it's actually snowing. it's a winter wonderland there. so yeah, pretty picture this morning out in denver area where a high is only expected of 20 degrees. so obviously, that is not the case here. closer to home, here's what you can expect out the door. temperatures are actually not too bad. we have some gusty winds that are keeping us warmer this morning. so not warm but warmer than we saw yesterday. and yeah, by later on this afternoon, mild temperatures, sunshine once again and some of these temperatures are at or slightly above average especially if you are inland this morning. so high pressure remains intact and once again it's really not going anywhere for a while so we have this low, it could be bringing us a few more clouds by this time tomorrow. but really high pressure is pretty much keeping it on the mild side and once again we're expecting sunshine really throughout northern california. so if you are trying to get out of town going to grandma's house or grandma is coming to you for christmas looks good

sunny dry up in redding, eureka and lake tahoe. so here's your forecast for the bay area for this afternoon. highs kind of like yesterday mostly upper 50s, 65 in santa rosa, 60 concord and 62 vallejo. so we are check the next five to seven days and once again, these temperatures are slightly above average for this time of year so not too bad. a few clouds roll in tomorrow, friday. and then a few more clouds on saturday, sunday and monday. again, we're remaining dry until wednesday where we do have a possibility of showers. so we'll be talking much morning about that coming up. in the meantime, if you wonder what it's going to be like, mostly clear skies and temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s. that's your weather. for your traffic, here's gianna. >> thank you. easy on the roads right now. south bay roads, a live camera here at -- a photographer standing by at 101 and mckee. just a few cars out there but overall a nice ride throughout

san jose. the rest of the south bay, on the maps northbound 280 couple of cars there as well and not too many delays. just roadwork construction on and off throughout the south bay but not too many problems this morning. elsewhere a live look at the golden gate bridge. we are just wrapping up the lane changes this morning. no major snags. we heard it was windy in the north bay so use caution. 15 minutes to go south 101 from 580 to the golden gate plaza into san francisco. bay bridge the status quo. no delays here. you're clear all the way across at the upper deck into san francisco. no delays into oakland. if you have a flight to catch at sfo, no worries. 101 both directions looking good. 280 also clear along the peninsula and roadwork east 92 connector north 280 closed until 6 a.m. that's traffic. over to you, grace. >> like all the elves are sleeping in. >> they are. only two shopping days left christmas. and a major retailer has messed up. we have learned that the san francisco district attorney's office is looking into best buy for a potential bad business

practices. julie watts reports that's because best buy is telling some customers that the gifts that they bought are not going to be delivered ever. reporter: >> that sucks. that's a bummer. >> that would upset me. >> pretty crappy. >> reporter: best buy customers were shocked when they heard the electronics retailer will be responsible for some unhappy kids this holiday. >> we have had a bunch of complaints related to best buy. >> reporter: and brad wilson says his users are echoing complaints like these on best buy's own website explaining how best buy singlehandedly ruined christmas by waiting until the week before the holiday to inform customers it would be canceling many of the black friday purchases they were counting on. >> you know, every once in a while that happens for legitimate reasons. but, you know, a playstation 3 is not something that is hard to find right now so it's not as if best buy is out of playstation 3s. >> reporter: brad says it's about the bottom line. he thinks the retailer sold too many items like these at deep discounts and is trying to

recoup its losses. in a statement, best buy tells us, due to overwhelming demand of hot product offerings we have encountered a situation that has affected redemption of some of our customers' online orders. >> reporter: last year due to a computer glitch a variety of online retailers oversold limited black friday deals. the only difference, those retailers eventually made good on the deals because according to experts, legally they had to. >> they broke deals with their consumers, deals that they are obligated by law to honor. they advertised the deal. they told consumers they could count on that deal. >> reporter: and former u.s. attorney anthony brass explains, under california law, they are obligated to honor those deals, especially when it comes to black friday. >> what the consumers lost was opportunity. they lost the opportunity to seek deals elsewhere and when they lost that, they gained the right to seek redress. >> reporter: best buy tells us it has no intention of honoring the purchases and even points to a disclaimer on its website

that allows the company to cancel any order. but legal experts say that does not supersede california law and consumers have the right to sue for the difference between the sale price they were promised and the current price. on the consumerwatch, julie watts, cbs 5. >> a lot of parents will be scrambling. coming up next, how the stalemate over the federal spending bill may affect more than a million californians without jobs. and a republican front- runner playing catch-up. the deadline looming for former house speaker newt gingrich. >> reporter: a deadline police gave "occupy berkeley" campers has come and gone and there are still dozens of people here. we'll give you the latest from overnight and talk about some of the unique situations going on here. thousands of nurses are expected to strike this morning. a strike that could last up to 24 hours. we'll tell you which hospitals are affected and why nurses are striking in the first place. the full story coming up.

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. . will they stay or will they go?