summer galer/concord police department: "he produced a handgun and demanded money from the two employees inside the back office">concord police investigators say the robber took the store's cash... then exited through the rear of the store and was last seen running away.police say the suspect is described as a white male 40 to 50 years old, between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 8 with a thin buildsot the goodwill store is located in the 1600 block of willow pass roadsot this time of year felipe roxas makes goodwill donations to help those less fortunate. he says he can't believe someone would rob a place like thissot robbing a goodwill store at gunpoint is a new one on concord police as wellsot

police department: "i haven't seen it before and it is not something that has been going on so it is definitely something new for our police department">investigators are checking surveillance cameras in and around the goodwill store for any possible leads...in concord haaziq madyun kron4news (vicki) tonight, a different way to try and prevent homeless encampments from popping up and creating a health hazard. (grant) as kron four's terisa estacio reports, city officials have put in boulders to try to deal with the issue. these large boulders undernearth 101 near cesar chavez avenue in san francisco - the latest attempt to try and prevent another homeless encampment from springing up . you heard correctly large rocks playing a part in dealing with the homeless. larry stringer. try something different this was relatively inexpensive. larry stringer is the deputy director for operations in the public works department for san fransisco.

he says just a few weeks ago, there were about 80 homeless people living here and about 30 tents. with help from the cities outreach team they steered homeless into services then cleaned this area all up.larry. think of it this way we were using crews, cleaning. it was a health and safety hazard. stringer goes on to point out, the rocks are way cheaper then using cleaning crews who can then be dispatched to other parts of the city that need some attention. so far the new strategy seems to be working, kinda. you can see there are no new encampments here but down the way on ceasar chavez several new tents set up.gail meadows. they are using my parking lot as a bathroom.gail meadows, who runs this school says she is glad the large encampment is gone, but now has a new problem.stringer says he will get on that issue - in the meantime, he says, it is possible, this new boulder strategy might work in other parts of the citystringer. we will just have to see. in sf te

(grant) the city of san francisco is also announcing new steps to help get the homeless off the streets. starting on saturday... there will be 75 new beds at homeless shelters through out the city. there will also be 70 new supportive housing units for homeless military veterans. san francisco's acting mayor... london breed

says this program is part of an effort to uphold a pledge made by mayor ed lee. just before his death... mayor lee pledged to remove an additional one thousand people from the streets before the end of winter. (grant) and happening now... a vigil to honor the late mayor lee who suddenly passed away last week, at the age of 65.(vicki) and tonight, he is being honored in chinatown by city officials and community members. kron 4's justine waldman is live in san francisco for us tonight... as the vigil gets underway. justine?

(vicki) christmas is just four

days away! and today is expected to be the busiest day to travel at s-f-o. more than 174-thousand travelers are expected to pass through s- f-o today. the busiest travel day at oakland international and san jose mineta is expected to be tomorrow. airport officials recommend you get to the airport at least two hours early ... in case there are delays. (anchor) time now to check on our weather... with chief meteorologist brittney shipp.

(grant) happening now. police are looking for the driver...in connection with a deadly hit and run in the south bay. it happened around two-3o this morning near mabury...and north king

roads in san jose. a man on a bicycle was in the bike lane...when he was hit by a car. the victim was taken to the hospital...where he died. the suspect left the scene..and is still on the run tonight. (grant) and in the east bay-- sideshows have become all too common in oakland... but the spotlight is now on union city. early saturday morning...more than 100 cars and some one-thousand people were spotted gathering at the food maxx parking lot on industrial parkway. the event actually began in oakland... and worked its way south to union city. the group was being followed by several law enforcement agencies. in all... approximately 100 citations were issued for various vehicle-code-related offenses... nine vehicles were towed... and four arrest were made. nat of house vote ... laid on the table(vicki)

within the last hour, the senate gave its approval to a stopgap spending bill adopted by the house just a few hours earlier.(grant) the stripped=down bill will only keep the lights on until the end of the holiday recess.and no one seems too happy with the result.steve aveson is in the newsroom to tell us why. steve? (steve) in political circles it's known as "kicking the can down the road" ... putting off hard decisions in order to take care of less divisive matters.that's what happened in congress as tomorrow's deadline drew closer and closer. "this is serious business. this is the united states of america. "'twas the night before a government shutdown, and all through the house ... the clock was ticking and frustration growing.< rep steny hoyer (d) maryland> "you have 36 hours to keep the government open"president trump tweeting that house democrats want a shutdown for the holidays in order to distract from the very popular, just passed, tax cuts. nancy pelosi firing back. "wait a

minute, wait a minute. newsbreak! the republicans control the congress. they control the house, they control the senate."but republicans had a hard time agreeing among themselves on contentious issues like continued obamacare subsidies and military spending increases.in the end, they settled on a stopgap spending bill that addressed neither issue. "i think it is a dereliction of duty in the highest order." democrats saw an opening for their agenda, "i'm all in favor of keeping our government open the difference that i have is that i want to keep it open for everyone."nat "dream act now!"children of illegal immigrants brought here as children came to demand restoration of the daca program.unless congress acts by march, they could be targeted for deportation. republicans did agree to take up the issue but not until congresss returns in january. "not everyone gets what you want in this town" (steve) the house also passed

an 81=billion dollar disaster relief dollar 81=billion passed an 81=billion dollar disaster relief bill ... the biggest in u=s history.but the senate won't vote on it until congress returns next month. democrats say too much of the money would go to texas flood victims, and not enough to people who lost homes to california wildfires, and to hurricane irma in puerto rico and the virgin islands. (vicki) weeks after the president recognizes jerusalem as the capitol of israel.... the united nations votes to áácondemn his decision. we'll explain. (vicki) and even more package thefts in the bay area are caught on camera.. the steps police say you can take to make sure yours don't get stolen.

a warning as you do your last minute holiday shopping online... tonight we are learning about even more package thefts in the bay area. this is new video from the berkeley police department. they say two thefts happened earlier this month at an apartment building on fulton street. that's right near the cal campus and the downtown berkeley bart station. in both cases... the suspects waited outside the locked entrance door of of the complex. when a tenant left... they were able to get inside. police are still looking for the suspects tonight. (vicki) and police in mountain view are looking for this woman who is wanted for multiple package thefts in the past month. they believe her name is trisha donley. they say she has been stealing packages on annie laurie street since the beginning of the month. right now police believe she is in the san jose area.

this picture shows the suspect with a pony tail.... but donley may have recently shaved her head. she also has tattoos across her chest and may have missing teeth. (grant) hayward police say they used a decoy package to catch a thief... and it worked. the alleged thief and his getaway driver .. thought they hit gold with the package. but they didn't know the amazon box had a tracking device inside. police say they pulled the two over... and found more stolen stuff inside their car. now... they're both behind bars. (grant) this is an ongoing investigation. police are looking into whether the thieves have even more stolen goods at their homes. (grant) and there are several ways you can prevent having your packages stolen. palo alto police have posted

tips on their facebook page. they include having your packages delivered to your job. also... you can request that the shipper hold your package at their pick-up facility, so you can pick it up in person. or you can request a specific delivery date.. to make sure you are home when the package arrives. you can also sign up for delivery alerts... you will get an email or text when your package is delivered. (vicki) new tonight at 5... governor jerry brown is asking president trump to make a major disaster declaration due to the wildfires raging in the state. brown got a presidential emergency declaration for federal assistance earlier in december. he is making this new request because several major disasters this year have stretched state resources... including the north bay wildfires. the deadly "thomas fire" is now the second largest wildfire in state history. it has scorched more than 270- thousand acres and destroyed over a thousand structures. (vicki) an update on the thomas fire... all

evacuation orders in southern california have been lifted except for a remote valley in ventura county. santa barbara county lifted its remaining evacuations this morning-- but said firefighters will continue to work in the area. an overnight wind brought an increased risk of flare-ups but luckily little activity happened. the deadly fire has killed two people... including a firefighter. (anchor) time now to check on our weather... with chief meteorologist brittney shipp. lear and cool conditions tonight with widespread lows in the 30s. dry weather returns thursday with cool daytime highs followed by a

colder night into friday morning. high pressure keeps things dry and seasonable through the weekend. clouds may increase by christmas day as the next front approaches.

(grant) the united nations has voted overwhelmingl y to condemn president donald trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. (vicki) catherine heenan is here more on what happened today... (catherine) the u.n. general assembly defied president trump and rebuked the united states today... denouncing its decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital.. in doing so....the u.n. ignored the president's threats to retaliate by cutting aid to the countries voting against it.

today's resolution is non-binding and mostly symbolic. but it's another signthat the move has unsettled world politics and contributed to america's diplomaticisolation. many argue president trump's decision will only hurt efforts to bringabout peace in the mideast. u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley had an angry response to today's rebuke. nikki haley / u.s. ambassador to the united nations: the united states will remember this day, in which it was singled out for attack in the general assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation. we will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world's largest contribution to the united nations. haley called the vote "null and void" - saying it won't make any differenceto u.s. plans to move its embassy to jerusalem from tel aviv. major allies like britain, germany and japan voted for the resolution.... although some allies, like australia and canada, abstained. grant and vicki?

(2-shot/grant) there will be a few more gifts under the tree for some needy south bay familiesthis year.(vicki) as kron four's rob fladeboe reports now, a south bay company and an army of volunteershave stepped in to make glad the hearts of some folks who are having trouble making ends meet over the holidays. christmas is still a few days off but you wouldn't known it judging from the scene here at san jose's greater katherine r. smith elementary this afternoon where santa appears to have made an early visit says 5th grader aaliha fernandez.aaliha fernandez/student ",,,everybody deserves to open a present this holiday..."and so they will thanks to a generous $10,000 dollar donation from the san jose based republic urban properties. mike van every is the c.e.omichael van every/republic urban properties "....we live in a vibrant area economically but not everyone has the same opportunity so we just want to give something back, especially to the kids which is the most important thing about christmas..."there were refreshments to go along with the good will. a little of which goes a long way for these economically challenged inner-city folks says city councilwoman sylvia arenas. sylvia arenas/san jose city council"....this is a neighborhood that is a little

disadvantaged, it has gangs and violence and blight.." teachers did the shopping while firefighters and other community volunteers helped wrap all these gifts. a feat in itself. inside those gifts are toys for the children and clothing along with everyday necessities for their parents. sweaters, shoes and of course, socks. gifts that mean a lot to people like alicia fazal.alicia fazal/parent"....you are touched by this aren't, you, yes, i see a tear coming, yes, this is what christmas is supposed to be all about..."in san jose rob fladeboe kron 4 news (vicki) still ahead... a chaotic scene as a driver mows down a crowd of people in melbourne australia. and tonight we are learning new information about the driver who is responsible (vicki) still ahead... a

chaotic scene as a driver mows down a crowd of people in melbourne australia. and tonight we are learning new information about the driver who is responsible for injuring more than a dozen people. (grant) a warning if you plan on going to any warriors games soon... why the team is telling people to be cautious about who you buy your tickets from.

(grant) in the south bay... the santa clara county district attorney is urging scam victims to apply for refunds. western union is refunding more than a half-billion dollars to victims of scams... over a 13-year period. (vicki) a total of 586 million dollars will be available for people who wired money ... using western union to scam

artists... between january first, 2004 to january 19, 2017. some of the scams involved people posing as fake tax collectors or fake law enforcement officers.(grant) the deadline to apply for a refund is february 18. you can do that through the federal trade commission's website. (vicki) and a warning if you're buying tickets to see the warriors at oracle arena. the team issued a fraud alert today. (grant) they say 17 fans were not let into the game last night against the memphis grizzlies... because they bought phony tickets. now they are warning fans not to buy tickets from a non-verified third party... as they have six home games in the next 10 days. (vicki) fans who want to buy tickets should get them directly from the team. since opening night... over 300 fans have been denied access to oracle arena due to counterfeit tickets. (grant) it's the season of giving... and tonight we'll show you how one charity in the south bay is making sure thousands of kids have a

happy holiday. (vicki) and new tonight at 5... an arrest is made after a mail bomb is sent to someone in east palo alto... we'll tell you who is behind bars.

(vicki) new tonight at 5:30... a man has been arrested for mailing a bomb to a home in east palo alto.

(grant) 56-year-old ross laverty of oakland has been arrested. police say he mailed at least one explosive device on october 11th. the person who received the package was suspicious... so he opened it in his back yard. he was injured when he opened it. last month... a mail bomb was also sent to a police officer's home in alameda. it's not clear if laverty is also connected to that crime. he is now facing 20 years in prison and a 250-thousand dollar fine. (vicki) are you ready for winter? the winter season officially kicks off today. and it has been particularly cold in the bay area... there was a freeze warning overnight in the east and north bays. (grant) the high temperatures in san francisco remain in the 50s. and because of the cold temperatures--- p-g-and-e is warning about some of the hazards that come with heating your homes. here are some tips... put space heaters on level, hard, non flammable surfaces. don't put objects on space heaters or

use them to dry clothes. keep all flammable materials at least three feet away from heating sources. also... never use stoves or ovens to heat your home. (vicki) here now to talk about the cold temperatures and how long they are going to last... is chief meteorologist brittney shipp.

(grant) in the australian

city of melbourne - police say a man deliberatelydrove an s-u-v into a crowd of pedestrians today.(vicki) catherine heenan is here with more on the incident - which left 19 people injured. (catherine) among the injured -- a young boy and an elderly man -- both in critical condition. it happened at a busy downtown intersection - where police say lots of people had beenchristmas shopping.. an off-duty officer is being praised for grabbing the driver and pulling himout of the s-u-v just seconds after the crash... this is a photo of that suspect. he's a 32-year-old immigrant from afghanistan known to police. they say he's a drug user with a history of mental health problems....and a criminal record of assault. while calling the act 'deliberate' - it's not believed to be connected to terrorism. witnesses, meantime, say it was hard to take in what they were seeing and hearing... witness - heard this big, sounded like an explosion. screaming. i sprinted down

seconds after the crash. there were bodies everywhere. police commissioner - at this time we don't have any evidence for intelligence to indicate a connection with terrorism. having said that however we continue to support this investigation with the counterterrorism command to ensure that there isn't that connection and that there is no ongoing threat. the s-u-v was removed from the scene a few hours ago. the driver remains under police guard at a hospital. police arrested a second man who was carrying a bag of knives near the scene, but he was later released. vicki and grant? (vicki) in the east bay... a man is killed when his car overturns in a crash with a fed-ex truck. it happened early this morning on southbound interstate 8-80... near the 66th avenue off ramp in oakland.. that's right near oracle arena. kron 4's lydia pantazes reports on the mess it created for the commute. southbound 880 in oakland shut down for several hours after a crash involving a big rig.we

know the crash started here about 120 yards from where the fed ex truck is now overturned. (take vo)the crash happened just before 3am.two cars were involved, the fed ex truck and a person driving a sedan.the person driving the sedan died in the crash.the fed ex driverwas not hurt and investigators say he is cooperating with the investigation.we talked to chp about the accident.sotthe highway reopened at about 8am. reporting live in oakland, lydia pantazes kron 4 news. (grant) it's the season of

giving... and today the richmond police department hosted their annual "shop with a cop" event. this morning... kids in need were fed a pancake breakfast by the officers... the cops then drove the kids to the hilltop mall.. where they were given 100-bucks each and got to pick out some presents. some kids chose to spend the money on gifts for their families... rather than themselves.

thousands of children in need. (grant) the giveaway will continue tomorrow... and as kron four's will tran reports... there is still time to donate. this is not the north pole and these aren't elves but they might as well be as they're making christmas wishes come truethousands of kids from low income families will get a christmas morning surprise thanks to the generosity of countless people who donated thousands of toys. (reporter-you know these families. a lot of these families refuse to go on camera and i don't blame them. there's a lot of pride. but what are they saying to you?) (efrain segundo/sacred heart community service-they're grateful. they're grateful to the community. it's not just one person. it's the staff. it's the entire community coming together and helping each other out.)sacred heart community service in san jose started off the day about 3900 toys short of their goal but that's an improvement from monday when they were looking a 8000 short.parents were given black garbage bags to hide the toys they picked out while their kids were playing in another area so they wouldn't ruin the surprise. (efrain segundo-you see a lot of new families. you see a lot of old families. a lot of these families can't afford to live here. they're going through their struggles. so you might see an old family roll out but then we see a new family roll in so the numbers

are the same)(will tran/san jose-sacred heart will be handing out toys tomorrow as well so if you didn't get a chance to donate you still have time. if you can't make it down here.. .you can always donate money on line as they will find buy the toys and make your donation stretch.in san jose will tran kron 4 news (grant) coming up... a bay area football player takes on quite the school workload... to help his mother battle serious health issues. now he is headed to a big name university. (vicki) apple admits they are áápurposely slowing down older models of i-phones.... but tonight--- they say there is a good reason for it.

(grant) apple is confirming long-standing rumors...that it slows down older i-phones. but the company says there's a good reason behind it. reports say that apple purposely slows down i-phones because of battery issues. older batteries can cause i-phones to shut down without

warning. in order to prevent that issue....the company reportedly says they've created software to manage batteries as they age. the software only slows down the phones to keep them functional. apple says the i-phone s-e, i-phone 6, i- phone 6-s and i-phone 7 are all affected. (vicki) still ahead... life expectancy in the u-s drops once again... we'll explain why people are not living as long as they used to.

(grant) a surprise change in the silicon valley the executive chairman of google's parent company alphbet is stepping down. let's check in with steve aveson in the newsroom now for more details. (steve) for most observers it was an unexpected change for the high tech giant. eric schmidt will step down from his position as executive charman in january. according to a company

statement... schmidt will become a technical advisor and continue to serve on alphabet's board. schmidt first joined google in 2001 as c.e.o. at six.. we'll tell you what else he says he plans to do now. and we break down the stats on the most competitive neighborhoods to buy a house. you may be surprised to learn .. that the bay area is not number one in the country. we'll see you at six.. but now, back to the news at five. (vicki) new federal numbers are out for life expectancy in the u.s..... (grant) and for the second year in a row -- they're down. catherine heenan is here with details.. (catherine) we used to expect life expectancy to keep edging upwards - but that's no longer the case.it's dropped again following last year's decline. on average, in 2016 life expectancy was 78-point-6 years in the u.s.

down from 78-point-seven the year before. and while all the information isn't in yet -- it looks like 2017 could bring 'another' decline.government researchers believe that the epidemic of drug overdoses is at least partly to blame. meantime, the leading causes of death remain the same - including heart disease, cancer and stroke. another unchanged factor -- women are living longer than men. they can now expect to live a full five years longer, in fact. about 81 years -- versus the average of 76 for men. vicki and grant? (vicki) it's a story of football, overcoming the odds, and love. tonight, a football player at city college- san francisco .... announced that he accepted a football scholarship to the university of tennessee.(grant) the young man says his inspiration is his mom who has been in and out of the hospital for most of his life. kron 4's j.r. stone is following the story and has more from fairfield.

sot people would tell you you're not gonna make it i've heard my whole life you're not that good you're not gonna make it you're stupid but i always believed in myself.and right now 19 year old jordan allen's haters are no where to be found. allen is a defensive end at city college san francisco. he attracted the attention of major college football programs across the county this year. but football isn't his only focus. his mother has been in and out of the hospital for most of his life due to kidney failure which led to an eventual kidney transplant.sot if she can go to work for 8 years on dialysis every day non stop then i can go to practice and go to class and get what i have to get done. and he has gotten things done.allen who was once at uc davis wanted more and believed he could do better, he left uc davis and took extra courses at city college while playing football. his hard work led to recruiting trips to tennessee, colorado, tcu, michigan state, and arizona state. due to a recent surgery his mother missed one of the trips but was able to go on the other four. something that has been a motivation as she battles new health issues with her colon. sot he feels like he's paying me back because i get all these fancy steak and lobster dinners and airfare and hotels and big bath tubs i think

that's the best part for him. wednesday night dozens showed up in allen's hometown of fairfield to see what school he will be attending next semestersot i just picked what i thought was the best opportunity and the best platform.i'll be playing at.. sot the university of tennessee.cheeringrocky top rocky topan example that hard word does pay off.even in tough situationssot the big thing was is playing the game i love in front of 102 thousand of the most loyal fansyou can't beat it.j.r. stone kron 4 news.

(anchor) time now to check on our weather... with chief meteorologist brittney shipp.

lear and cool conditions tonight with widespread lows in the 30s. dry weather returns thursday with cool daytime highs followed by a colder night into friday morning. high pressure keeps things dry and seasonable through the weekend. clouds may increase by christmas day as the next front approaches. (vicki) next on kron 4 news at five... it's the 12 days of tamales on dine and dish. (vicki)

approaches. (vicki) next on kron 4 news at five... it's the 12 days of tamales on dine and dish.

(grant) scratch the fruitcake... for lots of folks, it's just not christmas without the hot tamales.(vicki) tonight on dine and dish - i'm serving up this traditional mexican holiday treat. no egg nog in sight... here at copita in sausalito - they have a different way of celebrating the season.(vicki liviakis "when you think of christmas, of course you think tamales!" they're celebrating 12 days of tamales. and diners are delighted. (copita diner) " it's a

brand new thing, we just walked in the door."(joanne weir, copita) "we have them on the menu all the time but at christmas we specialize in them in tamales, and we have them to go or come in to get them." these corn husk wrapped delicacies - made by hand one by one.(copita diner) 12 days of tamales. so popular, copita's joanne weir says it's an annual tradition thanks to chef daniel tellez who makes these little masa and meat bundles with a lot of love.(chef daniel tellez, copita) " how did you learn how to make these beautiful tamales? these ones in particular with my aunt and my mother, they just make a lot of tamales at christmas and for special occasions. i love to make these ones. so this is your little gift to everyone here? yes. they're wrapped up like little presents. yeah, half the fun of tamales is you open them and you don't know what is in there. you want to surprise someone - which is a great touch."(joanne weir, copita) "mexicans have done this for a very long time and daniel our chef just amazing, he learned them from his mother and grandmother. and for

us he brought the tradition, especially the christmas tamales and what could be better than just sharing those with your family. it's a wonderful thing to do." and for a little holiday cheer - there's the ever popular margarita plus a special seasonal cocktail.(joanne weir, copita) "also the other one is the hot passion. put a little over your head and you're going to have some hot passion." (vicki) that wraps up kron 4 news that wraps (vicki) hot passion." (vicki) that wraps up kron 4 news at 5.(granti) steve aveson and pam moore are here with kron 4

news at six. (pam) at six.. the plight of the homeless in san francisco takes a new twist... while the city may be rolling out help... it is also rolling in large boulders to keep people who are homessless out. we'll explain the logic of this latest effort.(steve) and a federal judge in san francisco... ruling on birth control and contraception... issues as blow to the trump administration. (pam) plus, the big change coming for alphabet... the parent company of google. the news continues in 70 seconds... on kron 4 news at six.

(steve) one city tonight is looking at a very alternative way to try and

prevent homeless encampments from returning. good evening...im steve aveson... (pam) and im pam moore... san francisco city officials have placed massive boulders... trying to deal with the issue. kron4's terisa estacio has more. city officials here at san francisco public works say this plan so far as cost only a fraction of what it normally costs to deal with the homeless situation. the boulders running about 8700 dollarsthese are the boulders. located undernearth 101 near cesar chavez avenue in san francisco - the latest attempt to try and prevent another homeless encampment from springing up... larry stringer. try something different this was relatively inexpensive. larry stringer is the deputy director for operations in the public works department for san fransisco. he says just a few weeks ago, there were about 80 homeless people living here and about 30 tents. with help from the cities outreach team they steered homeless into services then cleaned this area all up.larry. think of it this way we were using crews, cleaning. it was a health and safety hazard. evelyn bilal. i hope they got some help.this school is located near the intersection

where they cleaned up the encampment. so far the new strategy seems to be working, kinda. you can see there are no new encampments here but down the way on ceasar chavez several new tents set up.gail meadows. they are using my parking lot as a bathroom.gail meadows, who runs this school says she is glad the large encampment is gone, but now has a new problem.stringer says he will get on that issue - in the meantime, he says, it is possible, this new boulder strategy might work in other parts of the citystringer. we will just have to see. in sf te (pam) and san (pam) (pam) and san francisco is

taking even more steps to get the homeless population off the streets. starting on saturday... there will be 75 new beds at homeless shelters through out the city. there will also be 70 new supportive housing units for homeless military veterans. san francisco's acting mayor... london breed says this program is part of an effort to uphold a pledge made by mayor ed lee. just before his death... mayor lee pledged to remove an additional one thousand people from the streets before the end of winter. (steve) the homeless issue was one of the top concerns of the late san francisco mayor ed lee. he died suddenly last week of a heart attack. (pam) what mayor lee did for the city.. and what he meant to the community is being felt tonight in san francisco's chinatown. right now... a celebration in his memory... kron 4's

justine waldman is there live tonight ... justine (pam) we are in the countdown

to christmas. just four days away .... and it feels like everyone is on the move. whether that is going to a holiday party... running in stores for more shopping... or just trying to get somewhere else. they say this is the busiest travel day of the year. so we sent kron 4's chuck clifford to san francisco international airport to check on the holiday hustle christmas is less than four days away people are trying to get a jump on the weekend. today is the busiest day of the holiday season. 174,100 travelers are expected to travel through sfo today. 6.7 million over the entore holiday season from thanksgiving to new years. that's up 3.6 percent from last year. wheather is good no

cancelations but they are a few delays due to weather in different locations. i talked to a couple passengers who say they are prepared for the travels. "dealing with the crowds, dealing with the security lines. if you don't have pre checked you have to deal with the lines and make sure you are you know prepping enough. a lot of families and kids which will take more time. so you got to, you know just have to plan ahead"

(steve) now to the east bay ... where even the police are disheartened. a business was robbed -- the place... a goodwill store.(pam) the incident has alot of people shaking their heads... and keeping an eye out for the robber who got away. kron 4's haaziq madyun has our story. an armed robbery at the goodwill store during the winter holidays?sotsot

closure. he produced a black handgun and demanded money from the two employees in the back office counting the drawer. he did get away with the money leaving out the back exit">bah humbug says this goodwill christmas season donatorsot concord police say the gunman covered his face with a mask and was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt under a dark jacket. investigators are checking surveillance cameras in and in the south bay.... investigators have wrapped up a sting operation aimed at human trafficking... they say they were targeting men suspected of the armed robberiesof local sex workers. catherine heenan is here with the story. (catherine) police in santa clara county released photos of two of the three suspects arrested for conspiracy and attempted robbery. investigators say they arrived at an arranged meeting with an undercover officer armed with weapons - including a stun gun. they believe the men have been holding up local sex workers...in earlier armed

robberies. now the task force - working with milpitas police and state probation and parole authorities - areasking any victims or witnesses to come forward with information. the suspects have been identified as gilbert gaeta and nehemiah jimenez - both 18. a third man - 22-year-old ahmad altanimi - is out on bail. officers also arrested 19 men for solicitation of prostitution. steve and pam? (steve) in oakland. one person is dead... after a collision involving a fed-ex truck on interstate highway 880(pam) the fatal accident... shutdown southbound lanes of the highway for several hours. the crash happened just before three -this morning . police say, two cars were involved... the fed-ex truck... and a person driving a sedan. the person driving the sedan died in the crash. the fed-ex driver was not hurt... and officers say, he is cooperating with the investigation. kron four spoke to c-h-p... about why officers closed the

highway. (sot) southbound lanes of 880 were closed for several hours... but reopened around eight -this morning. (steve) a 67-year old woman was killed in a five vehicle crash in santa rosa. it happened wednesday evening--just before 5 thirty- - on highway 101 south of mendocino avenue. a man was driving when he noticed that the car the woman was driving was completely stopped in front of him. he tried to break in time but ended up rear-ending her vehicle. the scene turned into a multi-car crash from that point. the weed woman was pronounced dead at the scene by the santa rosa fire department. her identity has not been released at this time. (pam) a bodega bay bicyclist who was injured when he was struck by an s-u-v....; has died. the collision happened monday, just before 11 p-m on guerneville road-- west of santa rosa. the

driver of the vehicle said, she did not see the man until it was too late. he was taken to the santa rosa community hospital for his injuries. officials say, the bike may have been on the white line of the shoulder, when the accident happened. (steve ) today is the first official day of winter... and it's chilly out there. to keep you safe in during the cold weather... we have a few tips... be extra cautions when using a space heater... put it on a hard surface not carpet. also, do not put clothes on space heater... and turn it off when you leave the room. never use cooking devices like stoves to heat your home. install carbon monoxide detectors... and do not use products that generate carbon monoxide. lastly... if you are using a fireplace to stay warm... be sure to open the flue. a live look outside right now... (steve) as we get our first look

at the four zone forecast with chief meteorologist brittney shipp. lear and cool conditions tonight with widespread lows in the 30s. dry weather returns thursday with cool daytime highs followed by a colder night into friday morning. high pressure keeps things dry and seasonable through the weekend. clouds may increase by christmas day as the next front approaches. ( pam) coming up... one bay area

community has come up with a new tactic to try and thwart package thieves .. you can determine if their plan will help your community too. ( steve ) last minute action - the clock was ticking down for members of congress to avoid a federal government shutdown .. but what they did .. will not last for long.. (pam) and next... hundreds of gifts donated to families in need in the south bay .. all from a company that acknowledges, the benefits from nations bustling economy are not filtering down to everyone..

(2-shot/steve) to the south bay now where we can report that $10,000 bucks buys a lot of christmas presents . (2-shot/pam) and those presents might be the only presents for some needy families in san jose. christmas has come a little early for about 160- families in thekatherine r. smith elementary school community. this was the happy scene this afternoon, as those families were presented with more than 500- gifts. the money was donated by the san jose- based "republic urban properties" ... whose c.e.o. tells kron four, that the company recognizes there are a great many people who are being left behind by a vibrant local economy. michael van every/c.e.o. republic urban properties

"....we know that not everyone is able to participate in the vibrant economy and we just wanted to give somethi g back especially to the children because that's the most importnt thnig about christmas..." there were about 500 gifts in all. teachers did the shopping, while area the shopping, teachers did the shopping, while area firefighters and other community voluneers ... did the wrapping. let's take a look outside right now...(pam) chief meteorologist brittney shipp joins us now with the four zone forecast.

(steve) new at six...

a federal court has blocked the trump administration from rolling back obamacare's birth control mandate.(pam) a preliminary injunction was filed against the white house's interim rules today. the trump administration issued the rules earlier this year ... making it easier for employers to deny insurance coverge of contraceptives. employers could cite religious or moral objections to deny the coverage. the justice department says, it disagrees with the ruling... and is evaluating its next steps. (steve) we are now learning eric schmidt-- the executive chairman of google parent alphabet-- is stepping down in january. the company says he will become a technical adviser and will continue to sit on the board. schmidt joined google in 2001 as c-e-o in october 20-15... google launched a new structure-- making alphabet a holding company for google and related businesses. schmidt said in a statement that he felt the alphabet

structure was working well, with google thriving. he says he plans to spend more time on science and technology issues and philanthropy. (pam) residents and police in hayward join forces to catch a package theif. earlier this week... kron 4 viewers reached out to us to say, their neighborhood his been plagued with package thefts.(steve) several of them setup surveillance cameras... but it did not stop the crooks. that's when the hayward police department stepped in. kron 4's ali reid explains how a decoy helped land two people behind bars. we put it down at 11 this morning, and by 2 o clock it was gone.lan van lam and his getaway driver thought they hit gold with this package.. but instead, they hit silver. the bars they'll be behind tonight. that amazon box was a decoy. with a tracking device inside.we found their vehicle. and when we got behind it we could actually see our box. the thieves were pulled over, and police found an array of other stolen items.what we

found was, there were additional packages inside the vehicle belonging to other victims. we have one confirmed in fremont, and we're working on some others. lam and his counterpart won't be going anywhere soon. they were both on probation for theft related crimes. now that they have violated probation, police say they'll be off the streets for at least a number of months. i hope anyone considering package theft will see this and wonder if there's a tracker in the package. (steve) police are now looking into whether the duo has more stolen goods at their homes. (pam) coming up.. the governor asking the president for additional support in the wake of the disastrous wildfires that devastated much of california.. details ahead. (steve) at the same time... we have an update on the massive southern california

"thomas wildfire" which is still raging tonight.

,$8drw (pam) in southern

california... fire officials are finally getting the upper hand on the thomas fire. the thomas fire has scorced more than 270- hundred acres... and is now at 60 - percent containment. fire officials say, all but one evacuation order has been lifted. the fire has also destroyed at least 750- homes and scores of other structures... and killed two people... including a firefighter. (steve) governor jerry brown is asking president trump to make a major disaster declaration due to the wildfires in the state.(me 3 vo) gov. brown got a presidential emergency declaration for federal assistance earlier in december. he is making this new request because several major disasters this year have stretched state resources... including the north bay wildfires. (steve) the cost of natural and man-made disasters

jumped sharply in 20-17 to 306 billion dollars. that's according to global reinsurance firm swiss r-e. hurricanes harvey, irma and maria, which cut a path of destruction across the caribbean and the united states this summer-- helped push annual damages far beyond the $188 billion dollars posted in 2016. swiss r-e says the three storms combined to cause almost 93 billion dollars in insured losses. (pam) coming up... wedding bell excitement building in britian as the royal engagement pictures are released to the public.. you'll get a look .. coming up. (steve) the details on the short term fix to prevent a federal government shutdown and when the fight will pick up again in the new year..

(pam) in national news... congress averts a shutdown and approves funding to keep the government open for another month.(steve) lawmakers also provided money for a children's health insurance program that was running out of money. washington correspondent drew petrimoulx(pet-trim-mo) reports both parties are frustrated with the deal. rep. bradley byrne, r-al:"i think it is a dereliction of duty in the highest order."

alabama congressman bradley byrne is frustrated over a lack of long term funding for the military. rep. bradley byrne, r-al:"i do believe that we are endangering the lives of young men and women that wear our uniform all over the world."hours later -- texas democrat lloyd doggett took to the house floor to vent his anger. rep. lloyd doggett, d- texas: "im all in favor of keeping our government open the difference that i have is that i want to keep it open for everyone."drew petrimoulx, reporting: "without action -- the government would run out of money for many operations on friday. lawmakers have been working on a last minute funding measure to keep the lights on through mid january." but byrne says short term funding puts the military at risk. rep. bradley byrne, r-al:"we have not properly provided for them and i gotta tell you im not gonna feel too good at christmas about that." republicans like byrne are pushing for a longer fix. but democrats are loathe to approve longer term military funding without doing the same for domestic programs. democrats also want the year end funding bill to include help for undocumented

immigrants who were brought into the country as children. rep nancy pelosi, d-ca: "this isnt an issue for us its a value. its about who we are as a nation and how we respect who we are." republicans don't want to consider that without also addressing border security. christmas right around the corner those fights will have to wait for next in washington in drew petrimoulx (steve) the united nations voted 128 to 9 in favor of condemning the trump administration's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. in doing so....the u.n. ignored the president's threats to retaliate... by cutting aid to the countries voting against it. many argue president trump's decision... will only hurt efforts to bring peace in the mideast. u.s. ambassador to the u.n.... called the vote "null and void" - saying it won't make any difference to u.s. plans to move its embassy to jerusalem...from tel aviv. major allies like britain, germany and japan voted for the resolution.... although some allies...like australia and canada...abstai ned. here in san francisco...using boulders to try and prevent homeless encampments from coming back.

these are the boulders. located undernearth 101 near cesar chavez avenue in san francisco - the latest attempt to try and prevent another homeless encampment from springing up... larry stringer is the deputy director for operations in the public works department for san francisco. he says just a few weeks ago, there were about 80 homeless people living here and about 30 tents. with help from the cities outreach team they steered homeless into services then cleaned this area all up. here in san francisco...terisa estacio...kron4 news. investigators with the concord police department are looking into a robbery that occurred wednesday night at this goodwill store on willow pass road.sot

from the two employees in the back office counting the drawer. he did get away with the money leaving out the back exit">concord police say the gunman covered his face with a mask and was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt under a dark jacket...in concord haaziq madyun kron4news southbound 880 in oakland shut down for several hours after a crash involving a big rig.we know the crash started here about 120 yards from where the fed ex truck is now overturned. the crash happened just before 3am.two cars were involved, the fed ex truck and a person driving a sedan.the person driving the sedan died in the crash.the fed ex driverwas not hurt and investigators say he is cooperating with the investigation.we talked to chp about the accident.the highway reopened at about 8am. reporting live in oakland, lydia pantazes kron 4 news. thousands of low income families in the bay area have toys tonight thanks to sacred heart community service in san jose. they went through here starting at 9 this morning. but they still need your help. at the end of the day they are still thousands of toys short. a lot of the parents are going through here with black hefty bags. the kids are in another room, the parents pick out the toys and then stuff them in the bags so the kids don't see them. and then they can still have that christmas surprise. if you can't make it down here.. .you can always donate money online as they will find buy the toys and make your donation stretch. in san jose will tran kron 4 news.

here in san jose no one in the greater katherine r. smith elementary school community will go wanting this christmas. a $10,000 dollar donation paid for some 500 christmas presents that went out to 160 families this afternoon. the money donated by the san jose-basedrepublic urban properties. more than a few of the recipients were moved to tears by the generosity. in san jose rob fladeboe kron 4 news chief meteorologist brittney shipp joins us now with another look at the four zone forecast... lear and cool conditions tonight with widespread lows in the 30s. dry weather returns thursday with cool daytime highs followed by a colder night into friday

morning. high pressure keeps things dry and seasonable through the weekend. clouds may increase by christmas day as the next front approaches.

(pam ) coming up... the hottest neighborhoods for home buyers... we have the newest list..

(steve) real estate website 'redfin' is out with a new list of what it considers the most competitive u.s. neighborhoods for homebuyers.. (pam) catherine heenan is here with the results - which some find surprising..

(catherine) you already know that the bay area will be somewhere on a list like this...but redfin says that 'seattle' has run away with 19 of the top 25 neighborhoods in the country... redfin looked at areas where the competition to buy a house is the most intense. the designation is earned by homes with at least a 7 in 10 chance of going into contractwithin the first 2 weeks on the market. seattle and its surrounding suburbs - are way ahead of everyone else..but also scattered throughout the top 25 spots - are 4 bay area neighborhoods. they're in sunnyvale, santa clara, palo alto and campbell. all of them - with plenty of bidding wars. but the country's single most competitive neighborhood is in redmond, washington. where homes are snapped up in 6 days or less -- and 73% of them go over the asking price. steve? (steve) new at six... the just-passed tax bill is

going to give a big boost to the alcohol industry. the senate slipped in a provision gives beer, spirits and wine producers a two-year reduction in federal taxes. small brewers will see their tax rate cut in half for the first 60-thousand barrels. and big brewers... their tax rate on the first six million barrels produced or imported will go down from 18-dollars to 16-dollars per barrel. tax rates for hard liquor will drop even more, from thirteen-fifty per gallon to two-dollars and seventy for the for the first 100-thousand gallons produced or imported. in sports -- the raiders are getting ready to face, arguably, the best team in the n-f-l... the philadelphia eagles on christmas day. plus -- the 49ers new hope... jimmy garoppolo... shows us exactly how he was able to guide the team to their thrid straight victory. grant lodes has all the sports coming up.

the raiders need a miracle at this point to make the playoffs. and for fans hoping to for a win on christmas day... it won't be easy they're taking on the 12-2 eagles. the raiders are nine-point underdogs heading into monday night...even though the eagles without their m-v-p candidate, carson wentz...the quarterback's out for the year with a torn acl. the silver and black... looking to avoid losing their third straight game. wide receiver, amari cooper remains questionable for sunday... he didn't practice today. in order for the raiders to make the playoffs they need to win out and hope buffalo, baltimore and the l-a chargers don't win this week. "we've all seen crazier things, that's for sure, especially playing this game. you're not out until you're out. if we were out or if we're still in, it's not going to change how i prepare. it's not going to change who i am. i owe it to my teammates, this organization, my coached, everybody, the fans, to give my all, all the time".

richard>"you kind of want to say how the year suppose to go, but it went the way that we earn it. its just finishing the season strong and with some pride and being a man about it just trying to win and maybe just possibly mess up anybody else's situation". after last sunday's index card fiasco the n-f-l is telling officials to not use a piece a paper to measure a first down. it played a major factor in the raiders loss to the cowboys. dallas capped off the drive with the game-winning field goal . as you can see in the video -- raiders head coach, jack del rio was heated by the unusual move. the raiders disappointing

season is not dampening their holiday spirit. this week the raiders wide receivers...leading a bike giveaway for boys and girls in san leandro. amari cooper and michael crabtree among the players in attendance. and they made sure to offer a complete package... handing out 80 bikes, helmets, locks and more so each child received what they need for safe riding. the raiders walter payton man of the year nominee, bruce irvin...along with cornerback, t-j carrie recently fed the homeless in oakland. they were giving out fried fish. by the way...the day before the superbowl... the n-f-l awards one player the walter payton man of the year award...for that person's for the work in their community.

along with thewarriors... jimmy garoppolo is the hottest thing going right now in the bay area sports world... he was mic'd up for the 49ers 3rd striaght win last sunday...inclduing that game- winning drive in the final minute of the game..."let's go to work boys huh. let's go to work baby! come on, let 'em know today. let 'em know today. hey, get out of bounds if you can. get out of bounds. set hut!!"wide open! it's kittle. the tight end. quick pass, marquise goodwin has it! and san francisco alreay in field goal range black! black! hey, protect... protect the ball, no penalties. protect the ball, no penalties. "ball's snapped. kick's along the way by robbie gould... " "come on robbie." kick on the way... and it is good!! "hey, that's how we go in the two-minute-drill huh?! that's a dub bbaby. that's a dub 49ers."

this sunday jimmy garoppolo will have a big test, but so will the 49ers defense. over the last three weeks, q-b blake bortles and the jacksonville jaguars offense has been on fire. he's the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for more than 300 yards in three straight games. heading into to sunday -- the 49ers are about four point underdogs. 49ers head coach, kyle shanahan explains why the four-year veteran has been successful this season. not everyone is a bortles

fan... texans defensive end, jadeveon clowney said he was "trash" after jacksonville beat houston... 45-7. jaguars fans are clapping back on twitter... dustin hegedus put this picture up. he sent clowney a trash can for christmas. he wrote to him -- wanted you have something to sit on while you watch bortles in the playoffs. the warriors rolling along without steph curry... draymond green... or zaza pachulia... last night... behind the hot shooting of klay thompson... who mad his first nine... finishing with 29 points... and kevin durant... who had 22 kevin durant... 29 points... and finishing with first nine... finishing with 29 points... and kevin durant...

who had 22 points and 8 rebounds... the dubs won their 10th straight game... they are only the 4th team in n-b-a history to post double- streaks in five straight other three from 20-10-2016... the celtics from the seattle from 1992-1997warriors go for their 11th against the oracle arena tomorrow a couple ofmplayers with deep bay area ties are up for the "naismith basketball hall of fame" in their first year of eligibility... jason kidd... who prepped at st. joseph high school in alameda and played a couple of years at cal... should get in right away... he was a 10-tme all-star and won an n-b-and is also a two-time olympic gold medalist steve nash... played his college ball at santa clara before moving on to the n-b-a...where he was a 2-time league m-v-p and 8-time all-star... nash came back to the bay area a couple of years ago as a special assistant for the wariors... he also should be a shoe in for induction on his first ballot ( steve ) coming up.. the sparkle

and beauty of the holiday season.. we have the pictures that will help you get in the spirit... (pam) kensington palace

just released the official engagement photographs of prince harry and megan markle earlier today. the british prince and american actress met last july. it all started with a blind date set

up by a mutual friend. the couple announced their engagement last month and are set to wed on may nineteenth at the windsor castle. the newlyweds will begin their life in nottingham cottage at kensington palace in london. the pair plans to spend christmas with the queen and other members of the royal family. (steve) another kardashian baby is on the way. khloe kardashian confirmed rumors in an instagram post this week. the reality star says having a baby with n-b-a boyfriend tristan thompson is her "greatest dream realized." the couple have been dating for the past year. khloe is just the third kardashian-jenner sibling expecting a baby. younger sister kylie is said to be pregnant along with kim and kanye expecting their third via surrogate. this will be the first child for khloe. (pam) acts of kindness and sounds of the season are making their own headlines. (steve) from our partners at cnn... here's reporter reid bannion ... who wants you to take a look at this.

this is a show stopper.well more like a traffic stopper. sot officer jeremy turner"oh night divine."it's not everyday you see and hear a singing cop.meet portland, maine police officer jeremy turner.his performance of o holy night in downtown portland has gone viral on facebook with more than 70- thousand views.but why was he singing you ask?sot officer jeremy turner"there were people walking by and they started to stop and listen so i just kept going with it." officer turner, we're glad you did. you're putting a lot of smiles on people's faces this holiday season.sot officer jeremy turner"oh holy night. the stars are brightly shining" now to cincinnati, ohio.where this 5 year old little girl is celebrating the real spirit of christmas by giving back, with a little help from dad anda lot of time spent playing games at dave and busters.sot chuck sambuchino, geneva's father"we've played a lot of games and bonded and it's been a ton of fun."two years worth of fun.geneva has saved up her winning tickets playing arcades and games for two years. but she's not spending them buying prizes for herself. sot geneva sambuchino, buying

toys for kids in need"we're getting toys for kids that need toys. dave and busters heard about what geneva was up to and doubled her tickets to more than 100-thousand.that's a lot of toys.for take a reid binion.look at this i'm for take a toys.for take a look at this i'm reid binion. (steve) and a reminder... kron 4 is the place to be to bring in the new year. (steve) this year... we will have expanded new year's eve converage. starting at 8-p-m we will bring you new years live from las vegas with musical and entertainment acts. then at 11:30... justine waldman and grant lodes -- along with j-r stone and along with j-r grant lodes -- waldman and grant lodes -- along with j-r stone and spencer blake -- will host new years live from san francisco. we will bring you the fun and fireworks from along the embarcadero. join us starting at 8-p-m on new years eve.

final look at the weather with chief meteorologist brittney shipp.

♪[ music ] holiday terror alert. >> the warning from homeland security. >> first and foremost, be alert. be conscious of your surroundings. >> then, what a dress. and how you can wear meghan markle's $75,000 sheer gown for a lot less. plus, a new me too accuser comes forward. what she says embattled music mogul russell simmons did to her when she was a college freshman. >> the next thing i knew, my head was between his han >> then the woman who sent her fiance to a watery death after sabotaging his kayak. what the fiance's