tonight. breezy and then heavy rain as we go into the bay area weekend. what we're going to do now, when we come back i'm going to show you live storm tracker and i'm going to show you where it's impacting our rain on friday. not just the freeways, it's slow going for air travelers at san francisco airport, not only have there been delay, some flights have been cancelled. we go to david stevenson. >> reporter: many have waited for hours in hopes of catching a flight. i just talked to airport officials who say inbound or outbound east coast flights could see delays from 90 minutes to two hour delays for short flights. that with a combination of cancellations are putting a damper on the hopes of many holiday travelers. >> any warning that you were going to have to deal with a

line like this or delays like this. >> no, not at all, no. >> reporter: a line of 165 southwest airlines passengers had hunkered down at terminal one at sfo, waiting for news of whether the rain had ruined their weekend travel. >> i didn't think it rained that much out here. >> reporter: the low ceiling of visibility prompted the faa to delay flights. >> we go from 60 arrivalling down to 27 and that results into delays. as you see, we have 80 to 90% of the flights delayed. >> if you're not connecting, you can walk right up to the kiosks. >> reporter: southwest airlines saw one of the biggest delays. >> if it happens in the coastal

flight, you might see a longer delay. >> reporter: some passengers were sent to other airports to try to make misconnections. >> we need to go to oakland to take my flight. >> reporter: while other airlines sported shorter line, the disaappointment level was still high. this family waited 2.5 hours only to learn their flight to raleigh, north carolina had been cancelled. >> it ruins our plans. our son is getting engaged tomorrow. oakland officials just told me to expect a 40 minute delay for flights out of there. maneta says they are not expecting any delays on flights this evening. reporting live, david stevenson. getting around on the highway can be a dangerous combination. but you can't blame the rain. let's go straight to christien kafton at one of the slowest

spots in the area. it's slow for a very important reason, we just watched chp crews clear an accident here. you might still be able to see patrol cars. they just cleared an accident that was off to the right on the road. you can see the effect the accident had on the road. traffic hear has slowed to a crawl. for many commuters here that has been the story of the day. as a series of storms rolled into the bay area, navigating the roadways got more and more difficult. and drivers on those roadways have advise for their fellow motorists. >> there are a lot of bad drivers, you just have to keep your eyes on the ro and be defensive. we're all going to get home, just don't rush. >> the worse thing about it is when it first starts, people are still driving like it's just as dry. and that's when you see the most accidents like within the

first couple of hours. >> reporter: but it wasn't just drivers enduring a slow commute today. shora train officer spotted a fire in oak land. o akland. b.a.r.t. service was backed up for three hours. meaning a lot of late commuters. >> we're about 25, 30 minutes late to work right now. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. crews had to remove part of the third rail to get access to the fire. >> it's a morning problem and we don't anticipate it being an afternoon problem. the work meant bart had to restrict traffic to one set of tracks through the area. meaning long delays and detours for riders. >> i have to be in dublin. i have to go to fremont or something. i'm not happy. coming back out to our live shot here on interstate 80

going west bound at university. there's a lot of delays for those folks. in just the last hour i did call b.a.r.t.'s spokesperson linton johnson, they said they were back up by noon. and he said they spent much of the day playing catch up because of the delays this morning, but for now they are running at normal. snow is falling in the sier r-rbg r a this is a live look at what's happening. if you plan to drive up to the sierra and driving through this heavy snow. chain requirements are in effect both on interstate 80 which is what we're looking at here and highway 50. now keep in mind for all the latest weather news all around the bay area, you can always log on to our website ktvu.com. an arbitrator reinstated a b.a.r.t. police officer fired in the

aftermath of the oscar grant's shooting death. the arbitrator said the 14 day appeal hearing found no basis that officer domenici was untruthful. investigators are looking for the cause of an early morning fire in oakland it started at 4:00 a.m., a woman and h her two young children were among some of the people inside. she did not want to appear on camera, but her quick action helped everybody get out safely. >> i got the kids and we took them across the street to the neighbors and tried to come and put the fire out. because it was like kind of on the porch. >> reporter: the red cross helped the family find another place to stay. two people are behind bars in connection with a burglary in sonoma county this morning.

it happened around 9:00 in the home on the 300 block of milbery avenue in santa rosa. authorities say jesse david bruslocker and lean davis was in the home when the officers showed up. one of the suspects hit the victim in the head before fleeing. police took the two suspects into custody. calling it good news for the american people, today president obama signed the most significant tax legislation in almost a decade. with it millions of the people are being spared a new year's tax increase. ktvu's consumer editor tom vacar explains what it means for all of us. >> what the president signed means not only will your taxes not rise next year as scheduled, your payroll taxes will actually be cut, meaning more money in your pockets. so for example, if you make $50,000 next year, you'll pocket about 900 extra dollars in tax cuts and avoid almost $1,000 in new taxes.

that won't change for at least two years. >> for me, any little bit helps me. okay, i'm not speaking for everybody, but for me, it's good for me. another benefit, the thousand dollars child tax credit stays and will not expire. and if you're unemployed, you are up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits will not expire. for the irs big last minute changes. >> now that we have this new legislation, the irs has issued new withholding taxes. that lets employers helps set. >> reporter: they may come to you or be available later than usual. >> we're going to issue more guidance in coming days on the 2011 filing season. >> reporter: to palo alto based steve leavy all of this is a double edged sword. >> the good news is that it

will add to the income of people who are working but people who are unemployed so it will have a stimlative effect in 2011. >> reporter: but says leavy the other edge of the sword adds a trillion more dollars to the deficit. >> short term good, long term, we're digging a deeper hole. >> reporter: nothing in today's bill creates one new job. >> as you just heard, the tax cut bill president obama signs renewed unemployment benefits for millions of the people but it does nothing for hundreds of thousands who have been up employed for so long they've used up all benefits available to them. in the 25 states with unemployment of at least 8.5%, people can receive up to 99 weeks in aid that includes california. in other states, the unemployed

get up to 99 weeks. in some cases it can be 60 weeks. there are fewer jobs to be had in silican valley. a state report says the number of jobs in the metro area dropped by 500 from october to november. the unemployment rate adds slightly hering to 11%. still that's .6% lower than it was a year ago. pharmaceutical stocks helped push the dow lower today. in all the dow finished this day seven points lower. the nasdaq closed up by five. the oakland police department carried out a toy give away with a twist today. >> santa delivered gifts on a motorcycle. it's all part of the fourth annual toy give away by the

oakland police department's traffic division. with a police escort, santa started at the east substation and made his way handing out toys all along the way. >> we find young children. we spontaneously give out toys. it completely surprises them. it's just an awesome event. we've done it. we go all the way down international and we end up here at children's hospital and we give out toys to the kids here. officers said they were going to give out about 75,000 toys this morning, all of them donated by the oakland motorcycle drill team. shoppers are using new tactics to get those holiday bargains. and a growing number of those shoppers are finding those bargains in the palm of their hands. we'll tell you which companies have seen a spike in the number of online shoppers using iphones to buy.

stormy weather might be putting a damper on holiday shopping or is it? allie rasmus is in san

francisco with details on how shoppers are avoiding the crowd and the weather, allie. >> reporter: the national retail federation has noticed the trend. soave companies like paypal and ebay. more people are using their mobile devices to do their shopping. on a day when the weather is like this, many shoppers told us it's an attractive option. >> reporter: huddled in their coats and armed with umbrellas, these shoppers appeared to be unphased by the weather. >> i feel a little more confident so i'm spending a little more this year. >> reporter: a growing number of shoppers are doing that in a different way this year. >> ebay, apple, h & m. things like that. >> reporter: on his smart phone. >> what comes up, compare offers and you just click. >> reporter: he's not alone. what percentage of your shopping is done this way?

>> i do most of my shopping online. it's just easier to send pjs home and knock it out. >> reporter: sales to its sites from mobile devices are up about 300% compared to last year's holiday season. retail consultant says that it's not a surprise. >> something that wasn't an option to us everyone two years ago. >> reporter: shopping on a mobile device is still a novel for now. much like shopping on a computer years ago. but she thinks it will become popular. >> basically the phone becoming a new retail channel. >> reporter: smart phones and mobile devices are adding

shopping tools. tolls like that are going to make things very competitive for brick and mortar stores in the next couple of years. allie rasmus. today the more than 17,000 online retailers have pledged to pay for shipping charges for orders purchased today. more than 1,000 firms have pledged whatever you buy they will ship it for free. even though most will use standard ground shipping, people who buy today will receive their purchases before christmas. go to ktvu.com for a link to all the participating retailers, including the codes you will need when you purchase. monday is traditionally the busiest day for usps. usps says that tuesday is the last day to get your christmas

deliveries in the mail if you don't want to fork out the extra money for express service. that mail carrier and the fedex driver, everybody is getting wet out there. let's check in with chief meteorologist bill martin to see what's happening out there. >> this is the reason why. check out storm tracker 2. here's the jet teem flying over the -- here's the jet stream flying over the area. i'll show you where it's raining right now. most bay area roadways especially south and central bay are seeing showers. san jose, san francisco, out toward the great highway. this is rainfall, these darker greens representing rainfall over toward san leandro. rainfall amounts, figure your wipers are at medium.

redwood city showers. pretty much everybody getting wet through tonight and into sun. as we - - into sunday. the moisture is going to continue to focus on the west coast of central california, or the central part of california and into the weekend. you notice the rain has not been very heavy. it's going to pick up again saturday night into sunday. rainfall totals not all that impressive for this event. it's the consistency of this event that will last into next week. it's the cumulative effect of one to two inches of rain through this week that will give us accumulation of perhaps a half foot of rain, maybe eight, 10 feet of snow in the mountains. we'll forecast with the computer model, i'll try to pinpoint the showers over the next few days. the showers are going to go past six day. i'll see you back here in just

a few minutes. let's put this in perspective. there is a silver lining to all of this wet weather. recent storms have given california the best early season water supply outlook in five years. farms and cities can expect half the water they request next year. the department says next year's delivery outlook for water districts should continue to improve. >> some children in san francisco's china town will have a happier christmas because of the generosity of b.a.r.t. employees. they delivered more than 200 toys this morning to the development center. most of the toys will go to cities of low income families. in many case, entire families living in one room. >> this really is a small token of what we can do for these young children who were just born here, but get the sense of what christmas really is about and it's not about the presents, it's about people who care. >> this is the fourth year of

the holiday toy drive conducted by b.a.r.t. employees. a new recall is in effect for general motors vehicles. hear why thousands are using the wrong commuter cards on b.a.r.t. >> and san francisco draws hundreds of people but there were many who were turned away. we'll tell you how many and why. new at 6:00, she was accused of lying during the b.a.r.t. shooting investigation and fired. now this b.a.r.t. police officer is getting her job back. we uncover why the transit agency was forced to rehire her. kids, helping kids. >> it's nice seeing the whole school come together for a good cause. the bay area school playing santa to needy families. gear up for wild weather. we're getting a look at preparations under way right now in the south bay to prevent serious problems. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00.

it is a wet day out there and travel specifically highway travel is taking a beating because of it. this is a live look at what's happening on interstate 80 in emeryville and it is packed in both directions. we just checked ktvu.com, and looks like traffic is moving only 10 to 15-miles-an-hour in each direction. it's the way from the mcarthur all the way to the i80 split in el cerrito. authorities today identified a body found at big basin state park. jonathan frank had been the subject of an intense search after rangers found his car in a day use area tuesday. his astranged wife said he had been despondent over their marital problems and over losing his business. officials say it appears frank

shot himself. and a man accused of shooting a sheriff deputy today let not guilty. the attorney for maurice haynesworth asked the judge to hold a hearing next month on the other eight charges. he's been held in lieu of $2.3 million bail. tens of thousands of b.a.r.t. riders are still plugging up the pass system. should there easy rider be declined, passengers are being urged to carry cash. b.a.r.t. stopped guaranteeing those passes would work. and it is asking passiers to

switch over to the clipper card -- passengers to switch over to the clipper card. honda is recalling over 100,000 -- gm is recalling over 1,002,011 model vehicles. the auto maker says the seat belt bucker anchor for the front seat could break apart in a crash. the recall is expected to begin in mid-january and dealers will modify the seat belt buckles free of charge. forget getting grounded, forced to go to your room. seems like the popular new punishment that parents are handing out to their misbehaving children is no more internet. according to a new study, 57% of parents withdraw online privileges when their kids are disobedient. 2/3 of parents say that's their preferred type of punishment. with donations down this

year, san francisco's clyde memorial church says that it has to turn people away. clyde gave out 5,000 bags of groceries compared to 6,000 last year. the church handed out another 600 chickens but many people left empty-handed. one volunteer said it was a blessing to help others. >> we wanted to get out here and show people that we had changed. show our community and that i'm out here. i want to give back for all the things i did wrong. the grocery bags contained fresh poultry, potatoes, bread, pasta, beans and vegetables. a vallejo center is

searching for a man accused of sexual misconduct. the community is trying to put on an alert.

that is a tremendous concern of ours not knowing how many other victims are out there. a north bay child care center is the focus of a child molestation investigation that includes two young victims but could there be more out there. we have new information about a story we first told you about last night. vallejo police say may be more victims of a man arrested the for molestic two children at a vallejo day care. ken pritchett is in with late details. >> reporter: vallejo place made

that arrest yesterday afternoon. a few hours ago i spoke to the co-owner of that day care who says the allegations against her son are false. this is 30-year-old samuel cowper, he was living at his parents home, a home which is also licensed as day care for ten years. but not now, the license was suspended after two girls claimed the suspect molested her. >> the second girl is now eight years girl, she last attended this care facility about two years ago. she's saying that during that time, mr. samuel cowper caused her to disrobe and take pictures of her while she was nude. >> reporter: the day care did not report that cowpert was living in the home so no background check was conducted. the day care's owner, cowper's

mother says her son has never been in trouble. and there may be more victims. >> that is a concern of ours not knowing how many victims are out there that be unwilling to come forward. >> reporter: investigators took cameras, computers and other evidence from the home. cowper faces two counts of lewd conduct with a minor. he is being held on nearly $1 million bond. ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. two fairfield sisters pled not guilty to child endangerment for a fire that killed their children. leticia is charged with involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors say they charged the women everyone though investigators have not determined if cause of the fire because the two women left the children unattended. >> the children were left alone inside the apartment with burning candles.

so, how the sequence of events we'll never know exactly what happened, we just know that the fire started and they died. >> tonight both women are being held in lieu of $250,000 bail. but the prosecutor says she will ask the judge to hold shatara without bail. petro santos got into a fight with another man and stabbed a man several times in the chest, back and face. the victim underwent surgery and is expected to survive. the stabbing comes while vallejo had other crimes. >> if there's more cops laid off, people are going to know there's no cops around and they are going to be more liable to do bad things. antioch hopes to renegotiate it's labor contract with officers to avoid lay offs. if you're headed for a

holiday party this weekend, be aware that police are going to be setting up dui check points to help arrests. over the limit, under arrest. there's no crying in baseball, but there's been a lot of boohooing on capitol hill. and the tears come not from the losing side but from house speaking set to take over nancy pelosi's seat. >> reporter: the country is about to be headed by a new kind of leader who is quickly being known as the weeper of

the house. >> i think when you're in a position that people are counting for you to be strong, you need to be strong. >> reporter: his emotional outbreaks, the talk of the town. in a city accustomed to a more stoic leader. >> i'm sure i would be mocked a little for that. >> reporter: many are incredulous they are in agreement with palin for any issue. >> if john bohener were a woman, you would be hearing by nothing other than emotionality. >> reporter: boehner has had his share of knocks and throughout the day. >> this guy has an emotional problem. >> reporter: both this week and

throughout his career. san francisco psychiatrist says bohener may have a problem but it's not a condition with a name. boehner's tears may come from an internal conflict, which comes from his humble roots and his growing position.

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the series of storms are making for a slow commute. this is another look in oakland right near the coliseum, you can see traffic is backed up in both directions. according to ktvu.com's traffic section, speeds are in the teens for all those people who are headed southbound. but things are a little bit better if you're headed north, traffic up through oakland through the bay bridge is moving at about 35 miles per hour. but keep in mind it is wet out there. if you're wipers are on your lights should be on as well. a 29-year-old man accused

of sexually assaulting a child inside a wal-mart store told police he had thoughts and fantasies about doing it. carlyle villazon wrote a letter of apologize to the girl's parents shortly after he was arrested. prosecutors say he was captured on wal-mart surveillance camera walking around the store for half an hour, possibly looking for a victim. villavon will be back in court next month to enter a plea. thousands of students from across the country are waiting to find out if they'll have a shot at citizenship. >> the u.s. senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow on the dream act. the bill which would create a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants provided they enroll in college or the military. the u.s. house passed the bill last week over the objections of those calling it mass

amnesty. >> we're going to be open to gallery so that whenever they take that vote we'll be there and they'll see us. >> reporter: both california senators will be supporting the dream acts but insiders say getting the 60 votes needed in the senate to pass is a long shot. senator joe lieberman says he is confident there's now enough votes to repeal the military's don't ask don't tell policy. the independent from connecticut says the vote could come as early as tomorrow. and he hopes it will go to the president for his signature into law. the house voted wednesday to repeal the ban on openly gay and lesbian people serving in the military. today aids to four republican centers say they will support the measure if they keep the project funded. the bill will provide $7.5

billion to first responders who became ill. the house passed the bill earlier this year. democratic senators plan to reintroduce the bill next week. the bottom line is it's a question of right sre suggestion wrong. these are the men and women who climbed the towers when everybody was running down. they were the men and women looking for survivors the first day and remained thereafter. >> the vote failed two short of passing. could where your live affect the chance of your child developing autism? children living within 1,000 feet of a freeway were at a higher risk of developing autism. they believe it may be due to the high level of pollutants on the freeway. how far would you go to check out a coworker you barely know? a texas man was told by a

doctor he needed a kidney transplant. no one in his family was a match. delgado posted a letter at his school's bulletin board and -- and we're going to talk about that weekend, i have the update ready to go. new at 6:00, she was accused of lying during the

b.a.r.t. shooting investigation and fired. how this bart police officer is getting her job back. >> we uncover why the transit agency was forced to rehire her. kids helping kids. >> it's nice seeing the whole school come together for a good cause. the bay area school playing santa to a needy family. gearing up for wild weather. we're getting a look at preparations on the way right now in the south bay to prevent serious problems, tonight on ktvu channel 2 news.

if you're a big beatles fan. here's a good idea for them, if you have a little extra cash, ax actually a lot of extra cash. memories of john lennon can be yours. the ivory suit he wore on this album cover, abbie road will be up for grabs. also the jacket he wrote on this video for his video imagine. there's also a very special car for sale. >> we have a 1972 green

chrysler station wagon which was john and yoko ono's car. they chose that car because they felt they could remain anonymous and drive around new york and nobody would recognize them. >> no word on how much all of these items are expected to go for. yahoo is making more cuts, the services you could soon see disappear. julie haener is in our newsroom tonight for a look at the other stories we're working on. authorities are getting ready tonight, what they're doing to make sure they are prepared for the storms and the extra rainfall it could bring to the area. and students with a mission. what some high school students did to make sure others did not go without a christmas. it's all coming up next at 6:00. he may be the president of the united states but when it comes to one job, he says he's just like everybody else. president obama was at a d.c.

school to read stories to school children. but it was a story that he told that got everybody's attention. it had to do with his dog bo. >> a lot of times i walk bo at night. sometimes i run around with bo although sometimes i have to pick up his poop. >> you hear the kids eeww. and the president told the kids, you just have to do it if you're a dog owner. the long family decided to travel yesterday to avoid any problems from the snow. >> because of the big storm, we figured we'll just take the kids out of school one day early and then we came. it was smooth sailing. it was great coming up last night. drivers reported light traffic today on the sierra highways. but anyone traveling should be sure to check on road conditions before going up

there. chain controls are in effect. bring some munchies and some drinks because you could get stuck up there. >> a lot of snow going up there. it's been snowing up there all day, nearly a foot in count, that's at lake level, up higher perhaps a couple of feet. winter storm warning in effect there. for us the rain is coming down now. heavier than it was during the day. as you look at live storm tracker 2. you see this darker green, look at the topography where it's located. as moisture streams in from the pacific it hits the coastal hills. it rings itself out. it's clear that the moisture, the yellows, that's where the heaviest rain is. once you get out over nevado the rains die down. the showers in san jose, they are running a little bit

moderate. some of those heaviest showers off of piedmont. so what did i just say, santa cruz mountains, coastal hills. that's where the most rain will come out over the next one to two to three, over the next six days. you look at the totals up toward jenner. we're going to tkpwáet rain. it's due to the warmer system. it's raining when you wake up. tomorrow night's overnight saturday into sunday morning should be some of the heavier rain with some of the heaviest winds. the computer model, you can come back and join us. winter storm warnings not going any where. it's up all weekend and beyond. rain continues to fall steady. it's not just the bay area it's the west coast. saturday morning there are showers and watch it start to pick up again saturday afternoon. and saturday evening, i think this is going to be the brunt

of this next system saturday night overnight into sunday. but it just keeps coming. this is sunday morning at 8:00, i mean we're in the breaks. if you don't get the breaks. and we'll be watching this because this definitely is going to be something to watch. as we get into sunday morning, it keeps going. the systems to time them is very difficult. because they haven't developed yet. this is like a little fire hose pointing at the west coast. disturbances will develop. so we're going to have to watch it 24 hours by 24 hours. winter storm warning as you know in effect. daytime highs tomorrow in the upper 50. and the five day forecast looks like this. rain right on through the period. am i worried about flooding? not right now i'm not.

we get a little break in here tuesday. half inch of rain in the heaviest locations. the drainage basins can handle a lot of rain. it's going to be an accumulative thing and it's going to go right into next weekful. >> we can cope - - into the next week. >> and you said six feet or more. >> i'm hearing numbers like 10 feet. >> wax up the boards and get ready to go. >> but watch the road conditions for sure. >> thanks, bill. >> thank you, bill. as many of us are welcoming our loved ones home for the holiday, hundreds of families are saying goodbye to national troops heading off to war.

business owners will now have more time to comply with the new tough diesel standards. they say given the economic environment it would be too difficult for some business owners to come comply with the changes. a federal appeals court upheld a ruling of b.a.r.t.'s

recruiting of minors. military recruiting serves a vital national interest. however, the federal appeals court disagreed and upheld the ban. as many americans prepare to be home for the holidays. 160 military families in northern california are being separated. a farewell ceremony was held today at diablo valley college to send off 160 men and women from the california national guard. tomorrow they'll be deployed to fort bliss texas for six weeks of training before taking off to the middle east for a year. one man is leaving behind his wife and two -month-old son to take part in the mission -- 2 -month-old son to take part in the mission. >> i wanted to join when i was in middle school. i even wrote in my yearbook that i wanted to join after 9/11. >> the soldiers will teach

afghan police to take over operations in that country. 90% of guards men and women are from right here in the bay area and sacramento. there is much more news just ahead. ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00 is next. we're going to have more on that former bart police officer who is reinstated to the force. we'll tell you about the jobs she'll be giving up to return to her old job. plus -- stormy weather has hit the bay area, we'll tell you what's on the roads and what you may want to do to prepare. that story is coming up on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00.

a start to a series of storms aimed at the bay area, where the rain will hit the h ardest and how long it will last. and b.a.r.t. is reinstating one of the officers that was on the platform when oscar grant was killed. good eving i'm ken wayne, frank somerville is off tonight. >> i'm julie haener. we were warned and today the

first in the series of storms hit the bay area. we're on storm watch tonight and have live team coverage. we begin with david stevenson at sfo where the weather is hindering travel at this hour. >> reporter: officials tell us to expect delays of 90 minutes for eastbound coast flights and up to two hours for west coast flights. many disappointed by cancelled or severely delayed flights. anyone on the nonstop or direct flight? >> reporter: southwest airline passengers lined