will be focusing on. also today we spoke with an oakland city councilman a day after his arrest for alleged drunk driving. >> there's an investigation going on, then a report will be issued, then that's when i will probably make a common base on that. >> council member ignacio de la fuente white house been a city leader for 18 years, was pulled over by an officer last night. >> turned out to be city councilman mr. de la fuente. >> reporter: the initial stop came because officers say mr. fuente was speeding. >> you have perhaps jail time,

you have court fees, you're going to have mandated alcohol awareness classes. you're going to have attorney fees, your insurance is most likely going to go up. >> reporter: de la fuente said very little as his attorney stood by his side. but he did acknowledge the need for chp crack down for drunk drivers. >> we're not supposed to drink and drive. i think it's a season where everybody wants to celebrate but i think we just need to be cautious, we have to be careful. >> reporter: coming up at 6:00, we'll show you a little bit of the process an alleged drunk driver faces when arrested by the chp. a petaluma man escaped when a fire broke out in his home. it was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived and quickly escalated to a two alarm blaze. two men live in the home but one of them is spending the holiday at lake tahoe.

the other was inside when the fire began. >> he was in his bedroom and he woke up to a fire in his bedroom, he escaped with his two dogs. >> reporter: neither the man nor the dogs were injured investigatorred have not determined the cause of that fire. and there's wet weather headed our way. bill martin has a first look now at this incoming storm, bill. >> reporter: i'm taking a look at this next weather and it's significant in that it's going to drop a good inch in your neighborhood. it's a quick mover, you can see the clouds track this way. so right now that's where the focus is. but as we head into tomorrow, this area is going to drop down. this low center is going to move through the bay area. let me clear out right now, and let me show you where there's rain at this hour. we can pick up some showers, should be able to pick up some

showers. let's see if we can pick something up on that radar. you see it shows up, that's at the humble radar. you can see showers starting to move in. that system has some legs, it's got some wind associated with it. we're going to see a winter storm warning going into effect in the mountains. we could see small -- urban and small street flooding in the area. i have the computer model loaded up and ready to go but it's going to impact your christmas day. we'll see you back here. and a group of people enjoyed a festive christmas eve thanks to some volunteers. seven members of the duffee family pitch ped in to bring christmas chief to homeless families. they joined alumni from the phi beta signa fraternity in serving up meals and giving out christmas parents. >> there are a number of people

in this world that are less fortunate. and i want my children to understand what's going on out there. >> for people in our facility, it may just be christmas. so we're trying to bring happiness to kids. >> reporter: the ministry served meals to about 450 families and handed out about 500 toys. deals driven, gift buyers and procrastinators packed bay area stores. just a few hours remain, tom vacar is live now in pleasanthill with details on today's shopping rush. >> where it is busy, busy, busy, this is the toys r' us. it is bustling inside. toys toys r' us will have ended a 90 hour marathon that has left parking lots like this packed across the united states. and it's expected to last until

its 10:00 closing. >> it's a long line. >> why did you decide to wait so long? any particular reason? >> no, not really. just procrastinated. >> reporter: this is different than the recent past. >> the last couple of years it's been not as many people shopping, but this year is really crowded. people are very happy. >> reporter: earlier at the tony san francisco center on market street be high ticket items are found everywhere, they also saw a difference. >> i see the restaurants are busier, more people and just looking around here, seems like the chaps are doing quite well. >> preliminary sales sales figures show that christmas sales are up, way up and climbing. >> i think people are more optimistic of what is going on, i know i spent more this year. >> the stevens family visiting from colorado say they found another way to celebrate. >> we're not even into the

shopping thing at all. we spend a lot of time just doing one to one traveling with our family and seeing them, that's kind of our gift to each other. >> well, a lot continues to be more jammed. it's said that a rising economic tide like this lifts all bodes. but coming up like this, retailers that are not seeing such benefits is a story we're seeing. reporting live, tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thanks, tom. now to that california pilot under fire tonight. he went behind the scenes to show what some of what he says are loopholes in airport security. federal officials wasted no time going after him visiting his house, and then confiscating the weapon he's licensed to carry on flights. ktvu's ken pritchett is live now at sfo on the very latest with this security flap. >> reporter: that pilot used his cell phone camera to snap

the security that we're all used to. but it's what he shot behind scenes, his security blind scenes he says shows a gaping hole in airport security. >> reporter: he has kept both the airline he works for and his identity a secret. this is the pilot from sacramento that shot video at sfo. video he posted to you tube in september. >> you can see airport security is a farce. it's only smoke and mirrors. >> reporter: the pilot claims that people are checked by sfo but not the people behind the scenes. >> how secure is the airport when everybody inside is checked but everybody on the floor is not. >> authorized personnel, slide card through reader.

>> reporter: the videos were removed from you tube. the pilot who was authorized to carry a gun on board, says this videos show federal agents confiscating his gun after what he calls a security lapse. pilots we spoke to were not mixed on the situation. >> i think he did nothing wrong. he should make it public. >> i think he should talk to the security people. because he would feel more security understanding everything. >> the only way this story got traction is because of the government's response. >> reporter: the tsa released a written statement in which he said it was confident in the security here at sfo but it did not address the pilots concerns, his claims of a

security lapse, the pilot is still employed at sfo. holiday travelers can escape higher prices when they hit the road. the average price for gallon of regular unleaded is up 16- cents. in san francisco the price is $3.00 on average, that's up 10- cents from a month ago. gas in oakland is also up 10- cents, in san jose gas rose 11- cents in the last month to $3.31 a gallon. a san francisco toy drive is headed into its home stretch. find out how many toys are collected and how many more are needed tonight.

hi this is lieutenant colonel anthony green. i would like to wish my mother

louis and sister a very merry christmas and happy new years. i love you, i will see you when i get back. go raiders. people have been filling up the square not only for shopping, but giving. >> reporter: take a look, the toy barrels here in the street continue to fill up here as people drop off last minute gifts for needy kids. >> thank you. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: drivers opened up their hearts and rolled down the windows to drop off toys, for the san francisco fire departments annual toy drive. >> we wanted to start a new holiday tradition at our house and to teach our children to

give. >> the toy drive includes cab drivers who made at least 40 trips to san francisco homes today to pick up toys for free. even the department of homeland security got into the giving spirit. >> i drove by earlier and saw a toy, thought i would pick up some toys at the store that's all. >> reporter: the goal is to collect as many as 10,000 toys at o'doules to give away next year. >> this year has been great, because santa has been here. >> reporter: santa has been getting credit for this year's toy drive. >> after 30 year as a santa, and giving out toys it's so wonderful to be sitting here and getting toys. >> reporter: firefighters are expected to give away up to 10,000 gifts to needy kids

tomorrow. though most of these dolls, balls and stuffed pets are supposed to be warehoused for next year. >> it's like guaranteeing us that the beginning of the season next year we have something ready to go. >> reporter: young children told us they were happy to give away gifts they had purchased with their parents. >> so that other kids can have them. >> and you can see, some of the celebration still going on out here. santa is here to actually receive some of the gifts that are being dropped off. wee told that they have received up to 6,000 toys so far. they are aiming to get another 4,000 in this evening, the donations can be dropped off here at lefty o'doules or to a fire house until the new year. david stevenson. >> i was atfire station a couple of nights ago, they said they were 15,000 toys short. but looks like they're making it up. >> still time to go out there and make those donations.

and the weather was cooperating. >> it turned out to be nice. and as we head into this weekend, we have more rain to talk about. this is the system i'm tracking. it's a nice looking weather system, on a scale of one to # 10 it's probably, eight maybe. 8.5. it's a fast mover. the clouds are going to increeds tonight. i give it an a because you're going to see some wind with this. tomorrow the winds will gust 35 maybe 40 miles per hour. it'll feel like a storm. we will get a front passina fas rainfall accumulations will go up to .5. still sort of a dynamic pattern, the jet stream has sol energy and there's more weather headed our way next week. specifically on wednesday or tuesday. 54 in oakland.

that's right now. a little bit of valley fog maybe in the morning hours. tonight at 10:00 partly cloudy. after midnight you're going to look at partly cloudy. rain showers should get going around 4:00 a.m. and work their way south as we roll into tonight. here's how it looks. let's look at our computer models, we'll start saturday. friday morning at 8:00 a.m., saturday at 10: 10:00 a.m., it's raining. that's your christmas day. you can clearly see the frontal passage. there's going to be a strong pressure gradiance difference. >> we'll see you then, thanks bill. the weather outside might be a little frightful for christmas. but you might want to think

twice before throwing a log in the fireplace. it's not a mandatory spare the air day alert, but the air district would like to keep it that way and it's asking anyone not to burn wood or wood products over the holiday. a state of emergency has been declared now in 11 california counties. flooding, mud slides, sewage spills. damage in southern california alone is expected to top 5,500. emergencies had already been declaired in los angeles, kings, santa barbara, kerns, river side, san luis obispo. and the secret service got a little scare while protecting the president in hawaii. also ahead. the pope celebrates midnight

mass at the vatican amidst tight military security. and what the vice president is now saying about what don't ask don't tell has to do with same-sex marriage.

my name is amber lee solfino, i would like to say seasons greatings to my family

in -- season greetings to my family in vacaville, california. love you, miss you, think about you every day. the pope proceeded with christmas eve mass at the vatican. the pope celebrated mass before a packed house at the basilica. security was heightened after packaged bombings. security also kept an eye out for a woman who has disrupted service before. including last year. and in the west bank, christians believe this is the town where jesus was born: the latin pay

vice president biden says attitudes toward same-sex marriage is shifting. speaking on good morning america, mr. biden said the repeal this week on the military's don't ask don't tell will probably lead to officials tackling the defensive marriage act. earlier this week, president obama said his feelings on gay marriage are evolving and that he believes strong civil unions can provide the same protections as marriage. there was some excitement in a hawaii village today where president obama is vacationing. the driver of a pickup truck trying to get away from police actually drove right through a security check point. leon rodriguez was not trying to get the president or his family, instead he was reportedly trying to avoid getting arrested on several driving related warrants. >> when i saw this truck flying

through our village. a few seconds later, a whole bunch of police chasing him. he happened to work with one of our villages ten years ago. but he's not part of our village or our nation. >> reporter: the suspecwas later arrested and appeared in court. president obama was playing golf near by at a marine base at the time of the incident. planes, trains and automobiles, the rush is on. some people still trying to get home or pick up people for the hol day, we'll have a live report.

actually i left early morning from sacramento and it was pretty clear all the way here. so far it hasn't been bad. good news for holiday

travelers, at least so far. if you're heading to the airport to travel or pick someone up for christmas there are few problems to report right now. but that could all change due to weather conditions in other parts of the country. christien kafton is at the airport with the conditions there. >> reporter: a lot of bay area travelers are hitting the road for the weekend. we are here at oakland international airport right now. travelers are telling us that so far things are running smoothly. now today's smooth traveling will likely change as those storms move into the bay area and the eastern seaborgu. today was the last day to travel. >> long lines, crazed people,

screaming children. aggravated seniors. >> what did you find? >> nothing. we breeze right through. we got our boarding passes. >> reporter: but american airlines is warning that the return could not be as easy. some holiday travelers opted to avoid air travelers riding the rails instead. passengers on board bound for southern california say the trains were on time, and the whole traveling experience was easier than they expected. >> you know it's pretty easy to come in here, trying to see my family from oakland to stockton. >> reporter: aaa california is predicting 2 million californians will hit the road. instead of packed freeways they found a lot of open road. >> actually i left early

morning from sacramento and it was pretty clear. so far it hasn't been bad. >> reporter: we've seen a lot of happy reunions curb side at sfo international. we're live at oakland international airport, christien kafton, ktvu news. 1/3 of the flights in paris were diverted today when the airport ran out of deicing fluid. air travel throughout europe remains in turmoil tonight with weather related delays from ireland to italy. if you are flying this holiday, there's something new to consider as you head to the airport. federal security officials have

issued a warning about thermoses and other insulated beverage containers. they are not banned from planes but tsa agents will conduct additional screenings because of concerns that those containers will be used to carry in explosives. >> i think it's slightly ridiculous. but given past experiences i guess, it's, i guess it feels like it's necessary. >> now no specific incident has been given as the reason for the new security procedures involving those containers. well the problems they just keep coming for those dealing with a sewage spill. not only is this latest spill much larger than anyone expected. efforts to contain the spill is causing concerning. >> reporter: this bypass line you see here is wrapping around the corner of magnolia and bonair here.

it's here because of yet another break in a sanitary district line. there's a bit of consternation because the above street bypass line is blocking streets. >> it's just a little tricky. >> reporter: some business are suffering. >> i just hope, just hope that this isn't up here for very long. >> reporter: down magnolia avenue, a smaller line runs the middle of the street. >> i got water. >> reporter: there are monitors trying to keep traffic moving and safe. this is the result of the latest of several breaks in the rozsivally system. the underground sewer pipes are old. this is not connected to the clog pipe over the weekend which officials say was the work of vandals. but after as much as 3 million-

gallons being released into the san francisco bay in multiple incidents, locals are more than a bit tired about the situation. >> i am you know devastated by the current state of affairs. it's just, i've had people concerned about their drinking water for their children. i had someone ask me that yesterday. and i really don't know what to think. >> there's no indication that any drinking water in the area is affected by any of the spills. district general manager brett richards told me yesterday that there is little danger from the spills. about five years ago, the marine county said the sanitary district didn't do a good job on its maintenance updates and they are playing catch up. the highway patrol in cal

osha are investigating the death of a man crushed by a dump truck. the highway patrol says the man was adding fuel to a small tractor when a dump truck backed into him. the highway patrol says drugs or alcohol did not play a role in the accident and so far no charges have been filed against the driver. a man hunt is on in vallejo for a convicted felon accused of kidnapping and assault. john spenter is wanted for felony nester -- john spencer is wanted for felony domestic violence and assault. police say spencer kidnapped his estranged wife from her home and beat her. he was released from a louisiana prison the past few years. a california company announces a major food recall, why, and the brand affected, next. air fares are on the move. what passengers can expect to pay now. a bay area city is about to

raise it's parking fines. find out where and what it's going to cost you.

the next, you start one feeling a bit off.ne. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. hi i'm staff sergeant daniel hall, i want to send a holiday greeting to my

wonderful girls. happy holidays everybody. authorities have sited a teaching hospital in boston after doctors there operated on the wrong vertibrae on three different spinal patients. the incidents happened incidents happen between september and november. one patient is suing saying she suffering from additional pain. a los angeles company is recalling two tons of imported capalin fish sold in the u.s. the fish labeled seshamo imura came from seat man . it should not be eaten even if it smells okay. an analysis of airline pricing looked at five

different routes over different periods of time. one example is a flight between chicago and new york. back in 2006, that trip cost an inflation adjusted $176. passenger flying that same route today would pay $248 and that's without the new baggage fees. boeing is expected to resume test flights of its 787 dream liner last month after an electrical fire grounded that plane six months ago. boeing says it has now fixed the problem. the first planes were supposed to be delivered to japanese airline back in 2008. but industry analysts say it will likely be four to five months before the first planes can be handed over to that japanese airline. fines for parking meter violations in oakland will go up on january 3rd. three dollars increase will raise the cost of the average meter fine from $55 to $58. none of the additional money goes to oakland.

the rest goes today to the state for court costs. the new fee actually took effect on november 7th: but enforcement was delayed to give holiday shoppers a break. the santa clara valley trance poration authority will be running 14 lines today. we have some dropping news, almost 3,000 south bay pg & e customers are spending this christmas eve without any power. a pg & e spokeswoman said a car hit a powerful this afternoon near el camino real and knocked out power to 200 customers. the car hit that pole about 4:15 and the power has been out since. there's no word on when the

power will be restored. >> three, two, one. volunteers bring christmas cheer to kids. we'll bring that story coming up. i'll show you the computer model, i'll show you where it's raining now and what you can expect for the holiday weekend.

hi i'm specialist maisha barton currently stationed in after ban stan. i would like to say hi to my family and friends and my son

back in berkeley california and the surrounding area. i love you guys and i'll be home before you know it. riding a bicycle is just not a luxury some families can afford. as ktvu photo journalist greg brandell says giving is as special a gift as receiving. >> well thank you everybody for showing up. >> we're number 11 on the right hand side. >> thank you. >> we have a great day planned. >> it's pretty touching. you come in here and you unload bikes and it's just a big pile of boxes. >> it's an easy way to give back to the community, to give something to people that are having a tough time. >> i'm here to help the community, so some kids can get bikes who don't have bikes. >> five, four, three, two, one.

>> good job. >> you want people to be happy during the holidays. you want them to feel the joy of the season. and part of that for kids, flat out we all know it is to get a gift that they love. >> getting a bike, meant like everything to me. i had a source of transportation. >> i was like really like excited when i got the bike. >> so after we gave him the bike and he was in shock. on the way home, he actually had tears in his eyes. he says mom, he goes, i can't believe this happened to me. he goes, i'm just so happy and he had tears in his eyes and i told him it was okay to cry. i felt for him, he brought tears to my eyes when he was crying. >> to be able to do that for them. to give them a bike, for many of them it's the only

opportunity to get a gift like that. >> we've been participating for a while, returning bikes. these are kids that would never have an opportunity to really get a bicycle, parents can't afford it. the bike is a way they get around to their community activities. they kind of stay in trouble. >> i'm very thankful for this, i'm very happy to be out here helping people and the less fortunate. >> christmas day when you wake up, would you be excited to have one of these bicycles under the tree? >> thank you so much, thank you so much.

>> congrats to all those volunteers. look at all those smiles. we are minutes away from the start of a statewide effort to keep drivers safe this holiday. our julie haener is in the newsroom with a look at what's coming up next. more on the arrest of the the two time council member. plus santa isn't the up only one busy tonight. we'll take you to a bay area company that's working to fulfill a bay area order. the epa was ordered by the

courts to regulate greenhouse emissions as part of the clean air act. california and other states have met systems, while texas has refused to take action. the white house says it will use the epa mandate to combat greenhouse gases. santa, just off the coast of west africa right now. probably going to have some good weather when he hits the bay area, bill. >> things are looking pretty good out there if you're tracking santa, i know you are heather. if you're waiting for santa tonight you are in good shape. there are the clouds offshore. they are thickening up. we've been talking about this. there's the cloud cover throughout the bay area right now. partly cloudy, mostly cloudy. what happens here in the next few hours is, all this this brighter white stuff starts to fill in. so here's how it breaks out. tomorrow night or tomorrow

morning, temperatures on the cool side, late night showers, that's north bay they'll start to shower up there probably around 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. tomorrow is mild, not that warm because of the cloud cover. here comes that weather system, tight, remember what i said, it looks tight out here. and the winter weather advisory will come in tomorrow. then blows out. it's not going to be here a long time. we go out to the pacific, just because it's neat to do. not a lot of moisture wrapped into this thing. that's what we got out in southern california and that's where we have so much rain. we're going to be wet but not a drenching like you saw. here we are at lunchtime christmas day. okay, and here we are 1:00, you see the back ends. this is scattered showers and winds out here. saturday at 8:00 p.m. still showers and then it's out of here. so you get the picture, we're

in pretty good shape. should be snow in the mountains, throughout the evening hours. it will last with the winter storm watch through saturday into sunday and a little bit into sunday as well. snow level 5,000 feet. a five day forecast then that brings rain into the bay area on sunday. disregard that saturday because that is incorrect. saturday it's going to be raining in the morning. the day is mixed up on that but you get the picture. saturday is the wet day. saturday is going to be a day of clearing. then as we get into next week there'll be a little bit of shower activity. >> thanks, bill. tahoe area ski resorts have some of the best skiing conditions this holiday. royal mountain resort has seen 28 feet of snow in the last two months. the most in 30 years. resorts closer to the tahoe basin report 25 feet of snow. that's 25% of the total snow they see in a normal season. all of this snow of course is great news for the water supply. the snow pack and the water

basin is 219% of normal for this time of year. some bay area residents now have a new and easy way to donate money to their favorite charity. also ahead,. >> christmas comes early to oakland as santa and the oakland police department making some very special deliveries.

hi this is staff sergeant christine polvorosa. i wanted to wish my brother chris back home in concord california a very merry christmas and a happy new year. don't spend too much money, love you bro. this christmas a number of military veterans who made a huge sacrifice in the country will have a special place to spend the holidays -- sacrifice for the country will have a special place to spend the holidays. former marine steven kerden lost both legs at the age of 20 while serving in iraq. it's been a tough recovery, but things have gotten a little easier after a group gave him

his own house. it has wider door ways, and lower counters. a website that connects people to nonprofit organizations in san mateo county is making it easier to make holiday donations. the website is called community wish list.org. it has grown a lot since being started six years ago by the berlin gdale mayor. you can learn more by going to ktvu.com, click on the the local charities need help link on the front page. some of santa's elves from the police department started working their magic early today. they were looking to make sure families had a happy holiday. christmas came early today thanks to the oakland police department. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: dozens of families

across oakland woke up to santa and his helpers at their door brings bags of toys and boxes of food. >> tell us what you think about waking up this morning to this kind of delivery? >> i was surprised. caught me off guard. >> it did catch you off guard. >> it caught me off guard this morning, but i'm thankful that they are able to bring a lot of toys and food to my children. >> reporter: taylor says she's not working right now and says every present put under the tree this morning makes an extra special christmas for her family tomorrow. >> it's going to be fun. >> it's a great gift for the kids and we appreciate it. >> reporter: officers came to union headquarters before the sun came up to load up. these toys are going to families these officers know. >> they find a needy family. they see it on the ground.

>> we hit 75 this year, we've never hit 75. >> here's a bag of toys here. and here's a bag of toys here. we have lots of bags of toys, huh. >> reporter: today some of the officers brought their own family, teaching by example how to make a difference in someone elses life. >> i think it's special for them to do that. i think it's really a good cause because it will help them have a good christmas too. >> reporter: today it's about reaching out. it's about the christmas spirit. >> you can't open them yet. you have to wait until tomorrow, right. give me five, you give me five too. >> reporter: today is about letting people know that people care. joyce duncan says it means a lot. >> a new beginning of life. >> merry christmas. >> bye bye. >> thank you, santa. >> so it's back to work and back to life for the opd and everyone else. but they say on this day more than ever, they felt like they

made a difference in this community. in oakland, claudine wong,ktvu news. we saw where santa spent a little bit of his morning. but we're looking at the tracker here and he is in. >> heading toward tierra del fuego. >> wherever that is. >> that's the very tip of south america and he's working his way to us. >> of course keep it right here, there's much more news coming up tonight at 6:00. >> including the mysterious discovery of a body in an east bay park. hear what investigators are learning tonight. ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00 is next. here in the south bay, a rash of attempted armed robberies and violent carjackings all in the same area and police say all by the same man. details coming up.

a big critical name in the east bay gets picked up for dui. just as officers lead out in force to find drunk drivers. an armed robber hits store after store in the east bay. and police are trying to figure out why he walked away from most stores empty-handed. good evening i'm ken wayne, frank somerville is off tonight. >> and i'm julie haener. officers are out in full force to try to get drunk drivers off the streets. they warn you, if you drink and drive this holiday season, they will find you. this all comes as ignacio de la fuente is arrested for su