tonight death of a dictator. we will have reaction to the passing of north korean eccentric and secretive dictator kim jong ii. >> kim yong inherented power after his father, the founder

died. he followed his father's military first policy devoting much of the country's resources to the military. he defied global condemnation and built up a nuclear arms resource. he conducted a nuclear test understood ground. in july 2009 kim defied threats of united nations sanction to test a second nuclear device and a ballistic missell capable of strike alaska. today we spoke to professor knox who says it will defie the future. >> he had such a style in his tightly woven society is worrisome because you don't

know what you're going to do. >> reporter: kim jong declared his third son as the commander. it is unclear if there could be a power struggle. the white house released a statement tonight saying the president is aware of the north korean leader's death. president obama is monitoring the situation and the u.s. is in close contact with its allies. south korea put its military in high alert. the south korean and u.s. military have beefed up their reconnaissance and intelligence assets as a precaution. the u.s. has 28,000 troops in south korea. the news of kim jong's death is being felt all throughout the bay area. jade hernandez is in oakland with reaction. >> reporter: korea town is an area in the city which

stretches from 20th to 38th street along telegraph avenue. word is now spreading about the dictator's death. the elder 69-year-old died while on a train yesterday. and that an autopsy today confirmed his heart had failed. it is believed kim jong il died of a heart attack. today we spoke to several people, one korean american who in particular who will be watching what this means for his parents homeland. >> they lived through the area where kim jong sung was the leader in korea. he had thoughts about whether it will be safe, war may break out. i think they're worrying about the same things right now. >> i don't expect a major regime change given the fact that he put his son in charge.

i don't think it's going to change the international dynamic between the u.s. and korea. >> we spoke to a man who just received the alert on the way to dinner. he felt he was not informed enough to give his opinion. the san francisco fill -- philanthropist who started the bluegrass festival has died. helman voiced concern in the political arena criticizing other financiers for their greed and pushing issues in the last election. he died tonight over

complications of leukemia at the age of 57. all american combat troops are out of iraq bringing an end to the u.s. led war there. claudine wong reports. >> reporter: as the gates along the border of iraq and kuwait soldiers shook hands and closed a final chapter on a war that lasted almost nine years. >> the stealing of a nation, it really does. to see what we've accomplished in the 9-1/2 years and to be a part of the movement out of iraq is hard to put wards to it right now. >> reporter: there were approximately 100 mostly u.s. military armoured vehicles and 500 u.s. troops in this final tactical road march. the convoy trundeled along the border which housed 100,000

american troops. for iraqis there were many emotions. >> this is a jubilant moment. we feel like we own the country now. >> iraq's future is primarily up to iraq. just as it has been for several years and as we've seen in other countries that we've left, sometimes friendship develops better if you're not too heavy presence inside the country. >> there will still be an american presence in iraq that includes diplomat, security contractors and nonmilitary personnel. but today for the first time since 2003, the soldiers are gone. many leaving on the same road that brought america in more than eight years ago. claudine wong, ktvu news. the pentagon says 4,444

u.s. soldiers died since 2003. of those 483 were californians. approximately 32,300 american soldiers were wounded. the congressional resource service puts the cost of iraqi freedom at $806 billion. there were emotional home comings at the three major airports around the bay area as military personnel returned home for the holidays. patti lee is live where one of the largest groups arrived today. >> reporter: many spent the past year in a combat zone. shrieks of anticipation greeted soldiers as they walked off their planes into waiting arms. parents greeted sons they haven't seen since last december. >> i'm really glad to be back home right now. i've been away for a year.

i just want to spend time with all my family and my loved ones. >> reporter: the freedom riders created a flag lined runway for the soldiers many of whom were stunned by the size of the crowd. >> it is just quite amazing to see all these people here. never expected it. >> reporter: for members of the 185th military police batallion tonight's homecoming is bittersweet. just a month ago they lost sean walsh from san jose. walsh is just two national guards men to be killed in afghanistan. >> his spirit always lives on with us, each and every one of us. he's here with us right now. he wants every one of us to be happy. >> very hard, he's missing so close to them coming home. i'm so glad they're home and they're back in our lives. >> reporter: after a year of

combat the chance to in indulge in every day life in america is on every soldier's wish list. >> in and out burgers, downtown san jose. >> things i take for granted every day, i'm not going to take it for granted anymore. >> reports live in san jose, patti lee. there is still division among some lawmakers about the ending of the military mission in iraq, house speaker john boehner expressed his concerns on meet the press. >> i'm concerned about our very quick and rapid withdrawal from iraq. we sacrificed a lot of lives, a lot of soldiers injured. to help the iraqis to help them. >> reporter: boehner went on to

say he is concerned about iraqis to be able to protect their borders. you can visit ktvu.com and click on the out of iraq tab. police continued to look for a systemed shooter after a large s.w.a.t. team operation last night failed to turn out the suspect. we first showed you these pictures on last night's 10:00 news. a 24-year-old man suffered minor injuries on a shooting. no arrests were made in last night's swath s.w.a.t. operation although three men were detained, it's unknown why. a 60-inch water main ruptured causing a smaller 8- inch water main to break yesterday morning. sending water to el portal drive. a pipeline also runs through that area and it wants to make sure that fuel line will not be disturbed during repairs to the

water line. the bay area's avoid campaign is in full swing tonight to try to keep drunk drivers off the road. this evening at oakland, police checked drivers near the coliseum as a raiders game ended. tonight san francisco police are conducting a checkpoint until 3:00 p.m. on winston drive. officers say the campaign is all about prevention, nearly 1,000 drives are arrested in the bay area last year during the holiday period. oneman is dead tonight after an early morning car crash in richmond. it happened at 1: 1:00 this morning on esmond. genre was speeding alone in his car when he lost control. hit several parked cars and crashed through a picket fence. no word if alcohol was involved in this crash, no one else was hurt. just minutes later and about a mile from that accident, firefighters were called to reports of a car in

flames. it happened just. 3:00 -- just about 3:00 a.m. so far no arrests have been made, fortunately that car was empty and no one was hurt. the occupy movement returned today to san jose city hall. the south bay occupy protesters set up tents outside city hall, the protesters say they do not plan to camp at the site and that the tents are merely symbols of free speech. today they focused their efforts on the case of the 89- year-old father of one protesters. >> his father is on hospice from cancer and he's facing foreclosure right now. kind of the sign of the times of the injustice in the morning business. >> reporter: san jose police broke up the occupy encampment after city leaders refused to grant the protesters a camping permit. hold off on firing after a fireplace. the potential problems it could cause. a morning fire in oakland

claims the life of one man, what investigators are looking at as a cause. what house republicans are threatening to do before they approve the payroll tax extension.

air quality officials have declared yet another spare the air day alert for the bay area tomorrow. it'll be the sixth winter spare

the air day this season. the alert means burning woods or other sources is banned unless it is your only source of heat. tomorrow it is expected levels of fine particulate will be high. it was a long tense night for residents of a menlo park residence after someone opened fire on police. >> reporter: law enforcement with guns drawn stormed the area after a group of men opened fire on officers at 1:15 this morning and one officer fired back. >> first i heard one shot. then 15 seconds later i heard two shots. >> reporter: none of the officers or suspects were hit. >> really scary because that's

never happened in menlo park, like a lot of police and s.w.a.t. and helicopters. >> this morning there was like the tactical team outside and they asked if they could search our backyard. >> reporter: it didn't take long for police to recover this rifle and catch two suspects. but it would take hours and s.w.a.t. teams conducting backyard searches before four other suspects were taken into custody and two other handguns and two rifles were recovered. several roads were shut down for more than 10 hours while teams gathered evidence from the crime scene which covered more than two blocks. >> just wait, we don't have no other choice but to wait. >> reporter: police spent all day interviewing the suspects here at their headquarters and booked three men for parol violations. they're looking into the possibility of these suspects for a shooting in retaliation. but right now they say it's too early to tell. police in foster city are

investigating that city's first homicide in almost six years. officers say they found a male victim's body friday inside a home on water bury lane. investigators have not released details on the victim or how he died but they do say they believe the man was targeted. no word on a suspect or motive. this is the first homicide in foster city since 2006 and the second one since 1996. police say the mercedes was traveling northbound on highway 101 around 6:15 p.m. when it veered off a shoulder and hit a pole. crews mansioned to extricate the second victim. the highway was closed for about 15 minute, traffic backed up for miles but it is now clear. the highway patrol is ramping up enforcement on the bay bridges, the notorious s curve. outside funding has allowed it

to dedicate officers to expressly watch that curve. they'll be slowing down drivers if necessary and acting as a visual deterrent. officers say the extra presence will help keep the bridge safe. >> if responsibility of our officers are quite vast. any time we can have the opportunity to assign people specifically to just enforcing that area it is a plus for us to be able to do so. >> reporter: two years ago caltrans reduced the speed limit to 40 miles per hour after a series of crashes, most of them fatal. some drivers still go as fast as 70 miles per hour there. >> reporter: a major smile stone on the bay bridge is just hours away. coming up in eight minutes what caltrans is doing tomorrow on the bridge's new eastern span. south bay police continue to warn that the man suspected of killing a hell's angel has been spotted in san jose. police say they have good evidence that steve ruiz was seen sometime late friday or

saturday. they would not provide further details. ruiz is considered armed and dangerous. he's wanted for the killing of a rival hell's angel member. ruiz has ties to east bay, campbell as well as fremont. an east bay family is dealing with an unsolved hit- and-run. a driver in berkeley ran down rick devecki. he died three days later on december 20th. members of the family witnessed the crash on second street and berkeley and say the driver of the light colored cadillac deliberately ran over rick. rick's legacy includes organ donation and fund raising for student sports through the arroyo car show which is named after him. it happened just before 2:00 a.m. on the capital parkway off off ramp. chp officials have not identified the victim but say the person is a pedestrian and

that the person was hit by a car. no word on why that individual was on the ramp or if any arrests have been made. san francisco police are holding a meeting to discuss last week's officer involved shooting. i want to show you some video. someone shot at police while that has ran away. police shot back. tomorrow's meeting starts at the northern station at philmore and turk street. a cigarette may be to blame for an early morning fire. the man's death is especially painful for his fellow tenants. >> reporter: the building on arthur looks like a single family home but it was carved into six rooms for rent and the people who lived here were a close nit group. they hugged and cried when they will your honored their friend

and neighbor lenny whi tfield did not survive a fire that started here. >> we smelled smoke, we did hear an alarm. we heard yelling really loud. >> i could not save him, i feel this is my fault. >> it's not your fault. >> you did what you could. >> reporter: the fire started in wakefield's room upstairs. >> the report we have is he was a smoker. that could be a possible cause. we're reluctant to say what it was at this point because it is still under investigation. >> reporter: after the fire was out, arson investigators and police were called in to go through the scene of the fire. officials say that's standard procedure any time there is a fatal fire. >> from what we could tell at this moment, there's no obvious signs of foul play. >> reporter: his family says wakefield worked for the city of oakland's maintenance confer for over a decade before retiring recently. >> he has children and

grandchildren, nieces and nephews, when they got the news it was so sad. it was heartbreaking and it's sad for me as well. >> reporter: the news shocked neighbors. >> i will miss him much. he was a good friend of mine. >> reporter: in oak land, allie rassmus. front running republican presidential candidate newt gingrich is calling for the suspect and even arrest of so called activist judges as a way for congress to control them. >> you have an elite who still has an enormous amount of power and they would appoint very radical judges. you have a bulk american public who are opposed to that but they have no power yet to stop the elite. gingrich is leading with four points but slipped a bit after romney won the elective. tomorrow the house of representatives will take up

the payroll extension bill. but today representative boehner rejected the bill. >> it is very clear that i and our members oppose of the senate bill. it's only two months. the president said we should not go on vacation until we get our work done and frankly house republicans agree. >> reporter: republicans may move to amend the bill to in their view make it more responsible. democrats say if a bill is not passed, middle class families will see their paychecks shrink by about $1,000 in the next year. he oversaw his country's transition to democracy. tonight slovell is being remembered for his pivotal role in his development in freedom. and what emerged after three days of clashing with troops. coming up the fog pattern you can expect first thing tomorrow morning. i will also let you know if we

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a major milestone is just hours away for the new bay bridge. crews are expected to put down the first strand of cable at 10:00 tomorrow morning on the bridges self-anchored eastern suspension span. when it's done the strands will create a massive cable meant to support the bridge. it'll be almost a mile long and weigh more than 10 million pounds. president obama and other world leaders are praising the life of hovel tonight the former president of czech died tonight. hovel turned the country into a full fledged democracy. hovel was nominated several times for the noble prize and

was given the medal of freedom. there was a clash between those demanding the end of -- >> reporter: army soldier clubbing defensive protesters over and over at times stomping on their heads with about a dozen soldiers used a baton to beat this man. we've seen video from cairo of them beating women as well. these people were there to protest police brutality. eventually the protesters tried to storm a government building that was protected by the army and that's when things erupted. also rare for these situations the army brought out live am live army brought out live ammunition. several were bounded. you may remember a few weeks ago we had a huge protest before elections. then things went rather smoothly. the islamic parties took more

than 60% of the vote. these current protests have a lot to do with people who want the army to leave power more quickly. there was also a call for women to come out and form a human barricade to stop this violence. heland vittert, -- leland vittert, fox news. most of the victims were asleep friday night when the flash floods hit. thousands of homes were washed away. from indonesia, 200 people are feared lake after an overcrowded ship sank. the ship carried nearly five dozen asylum seekers who were all trying to get to australia. the fiberglass ship hit a wave and broke apart. only 33 people have been plucked from the waters including an 8-year-old and 10-

year-old who were both found clinging to the bits of the broken ship. items from the home where michael jackson died have been auctioned for close to a million dollars. jackson lived there with his two children as he was getting ready for his come back concert. the items included art work, furniture, and the rug where paramedics trying to revive the pop star. the jackson family barred the sale of his head board saying that was too morbid. get ready for surf and sun. the beach boys plan to reunite and go on tour. the founding members of the group bryan wilson, mike love and art jardine are getting back together to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary. they plan to set off on a 50 day tour and record a new album. wilson's two brothers who were part of the original line up have since passed away.

the beach boys will attend the billboard where they will quote, do something really exciting. a look at the last push to make sure children will have a happy holiday. also health officials expand their recommendation for whopping cough recommendation. who they now suggest should get vaccinated against the illness.

a call tonight for you to think of others this holiday season. ken pritchett stopped by several organizations today counting on your donations to make this a holiday to remember. >> reporter: these will be familiar scenes this week. the chp handing out toys to children in need as they did in antioch. the leaps still taking in toys for tots this afternoon, they tapped fanned outside of raider

games, and all week saying anthony needs much needed curb side donations. >> nay will drop off foods, socks, canned goods. things we can use immediately and make sure pollables have what they need -- sure folks have what they need for the holiday season. >> reporter: volunteer of 12 years, maria costello says warm clothes are needed and she is seeing donations pick up. >> monday they brought in three bags of brand new jackets that she went and bought at macy's. they were some for the little ones, i think that's really great because people are really thinking of people in need. >> reporter: the need based on the number of meals they serve is up between seven and 10% this year. lines for meals are long every day. >> we're seeing a little bit more of the newly unemployed. folks who have just lost their jobs. >> reporter: at the chips for kids, hundreds of people lined

up outside the salvation army hall. >> the requests have increased without having a count. but i would say the generosity is up as well. >> reporter: many are hoping the generosity continues. an update to a story, that is the death of north korea leader kim jong il. the news agency says that the nation should revere and respect kim jong. he is believed to have the exleaders third son. it is not known what support he

has. anyone who comes into close contact with infants is now being urged to be vaccinated against whooping cough. the new vaccinations will include even those 65 and older. it comes after a nationwide surge in whooping cough. a one day nursing strike is set for next week around the bay area. the california nurses association says 4,000 nurses are getting ready to walk off the job on december 22nd. that's exactly three months after their last strike. the action is supposed to take place at eight sutter facilities. sutter and nurses are in the mist of a bitter confrontation. is there any rain in sight, ktvu's meteorologist mark tamayo will join us next to tell us if this dry spell is ever coming to an en. -- coming to an end.

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we had stubborn cloud cover today across parts of the bay area. this is looking out into the bay, most areas are reporting mostly cloudy skies and also some areas of fog forming. as far as that fog it's up to .25 of a mile. in the upper 30s for napa as well. san jose and livermore checking in at 44. a spare the air day in place for sunday. the north bay counties

unhealthy for the unsensitive groups. overnight lows pretty chilly. coolest locations will be the lowest 30s for santa rosa, napa, antioch right around 33. hayward starting out around 40 with partly to mostly cloudy skies. here's a weather set up for tomorrow morning, this cold front will be moving into northern california so with that we're going to have quite a bit of cloud cover out there and areas of fog. the real nasty fog will be focused on the central valley first thing tomorrow morning. things will begin to check rapidly as we head into monday afternoon. high pressure returns that will set up more of a northernly flow. as a result clearing skies by monday afternoon. a bit of a breeze out there with temperatures 55 to 60 degrees. once again we're going to hold off to a dry weather pattern. here's that nasty fog in the central valley, then i will put this into motion in the afternoon hours. the clouds clearing from north to south. so with that mostly sunny skies

for tomorrow. and that is all reflected on your forecast as we head into your afternoon hours. so still partly sunny by 3:00. temperatures on track to reach the mid- to upper 50s. few neighborhood right around the 50-degree mark. you see santa rosa around 50. san jose tops out 59 degrees. also we have a football game to talk about for tomorrow evening at candle stick with the 49ers playing. mostly clear skies, temperatures will be dropping back down to the mid-50s. temperature right around 50 degrees. here is a look ahead, your extended forecast and another cold morning. that will be the theme over the next few mornings as you can pick out into tuesday. breezy conditions for wednesday. especially by wednesday afternoon and into thursday. partly cloudy skies into friday. with your weekend always in view the holiday weekend coming up. no rain clouds here as well. partly cloudy skies. heather and ken in you're missing the rain clouds -- if you're missing the rain clouds, possibly the last of the week

we could have some chances of rain. >> i hear the snow pack is 29% of normal right now in the sierra. >> we can use the rain, and they can use the rain in the sierra. right now they have the man maid snow. >> thanks, mark. san francisco police helped people in the city get into the christmas spirit with a tree give away. officers spent the day giving away christmas trees to anyone who wanted them. the trees were donated by the guards man charity for at risk youth. 49ers fans may want to plan ahead if you're going to candle stick park for tomorrow's game against the steelers. that game starts at 5:30 p.m. during the rush hour commute. transportation officials say fans and drivers heading home you should try to car pool or take private transportation to avoid the gridlock there. those going to the game were

encouraged to get there 90 minutes before kick off. it was a wild sunday in the nfl. we will have complete highlights. and that includes the crazy game for oakland. sports wrap is coming up next.

good evening everyone and welcome to this late sunday night sports wrap. three weeks ago the oakland raiders were 7-4. very much in control of their play off destiny. after three straight losses the raiders are now 7-7