pardon me, sir, you're interrupting me. >> no, your time is up. >> a confrontational city council meets in oakland late last night. a warm fire on this cold day might sound like a good idea. i'll tell you why it could end up costing you. >> plus to the high price a fedex driver is paying for leaving a product unattended. mornings on 2 begins right now. good morning to you. welcome to mornings on 2. >> it is wednesday, december 21st. the golden state warriors and one of its star players are about being sued for sexual

harassment. >> reporter: to the warriors will be arriving here for practice. so far neither the team or monta ellis has made any statement. the former director of communications says ellis sent her an explicit photo from her cellphone. a lawyer showed us several texts that he allegedly sent. fans say they're not rushing to judgment. >> i hope they can get it resolved, because he's one of their best players, so i just hope the warriors do good and actually make it to the play- offs this year. they can do it if they have

him. but if he gets suspended, or whatever, they're going to have a rough season, i think. >> reporter: the attorney said the woman was too scared to complain, but ellis complained about the woman. she was eventually fired. he was recently voted as a captain for he warriors, and he has recently made an announcement saying he is a changed man after having his second child. los angeles police say this man, michael downs, has been charged with 29 felony counts of sexual assault. their investigation began last month when the first girl reported being assaulted by downs. police say he would friend the people on facebook, encourage them to meet him, and eventually have sex with them. he is being held on $1.8

million bail. >> some holiday grinches out there stole a large load of apple products. the thieves broke into a parked fedex delivery truck and stole a large want of electronics. if you have information, call the police. mr. there may be a shortage of apple ipads in the coming year because that chinese factory explosion that we reported about yesterday, the one that supplies aluminum parts for the popular tablet computer may be affecting it. so far apple is make nothing comment on that possibility, but they did say they are working with chinese suppliers to try to figure out what caused the accident. >> mountain view police are looking for a man they say burglarized the home of an 80- year-old woman. police say this man was spotted running from the woman's apartment on december 1st by

her friend. he is described as hispanic with a medium build wearing a long sleeved glue and white shirt -- blue and white shirt and blue jeans. victims of that large apartment fire in berkeley may have to wait a while to so far an insure payout. the november 18th fire on telegraph avenue displaced almost 70 residents. investigators have determined that it started in the building's elevator panel, but the mercury news report this fire victims will not receive insurance payments until it is determined who is responsible spore the fire. the paper says the responsible parties could include the elevator maintenance company, building owners, or even pg & e. >> just moments ago, the faa reported new rules to keep tired airline pilots from flying. this comes three years after this deadly crash near buffalo,

new york that involved two fatigued pilots. a medicallial service this afternoon for warren helman. the billionaire philanthropist died sunday at the age of 77 after a battle with leukemia. today's public service will be held beginning at 1:00. today is the 8th spare the air day. so far this season. it's temperaturing to burn wood this time of year, noel. >> reporter: it is. i can see my breath.

a warm fire sounds so great until you think of the fine associated with it. eight spare the air days since december 1st. we had four spare the air days in all of last year. the timing is a bit of a bummer, because i know a lot of people want to gather around the fire during the holidays, but those wood burning fireplaces are the worst contributors for the unhealthy air, that combined with the dry weather that we've had. there are 1.7 million fireplaces in the bay area, and you can imagine that the people who sell firewood are doing a brisk business with this cold weather. the problem is that they cannot use that firewood but once every three days, about, with these spare the air days that we've had, which is a bit of a bummer for the holidays. >> i know, i know, we feel for people, but the truth is some of their neighbors are suffering from asthma, elderly people who are having

respiratory problems, so it's just really important. it's good for your whole community not to burn wood when police levels are up and people are having trouble breathing. >> reporter: i mentioned fines earlier. if you are caught the first time, they'll let you skate bill with a warning, but after that, the fines start at $400 and go up from there. they do have people patrolling around the area, and also some of your neighbors might be calling in to report you if you happen to use your fireplace and get caught. if you're one of those people who have to see it to believe it, there is a spare the air app. you can go on it in the mornings and check it, and if you see a red number, that means unhealthy air like is listed here this morning. if if i were you, i would hit the news and roll back around and catch yourself a few more z's on days like that where you

see the red. back you you. do you do anything differently on spare the air days? we asked that question on facebook this morning. mary wrote: . >> margarita wrote: we want to hear from you, just message the ktvu news team. that leads us to sal who is going to tell us if cars are filling then road. ,you might be surprised by this news. yesterday and today, really light commutes into the city, but yesterday was really slow getting out. this could be because people were leaving the bay area going wherever they're going, because they may have shut it down, as steve said, and they're not going in today. we are looking at highway 4. you can see the fog there at

bay point. maybe this afternoon leaving san francisco will be just a breeze, but i don't know. highway 4 looks pretty good. the bay bridge toll plaza looks nice. i think that a lot of people are out there shopping, obviously, getting their stuff done during the day and then have to all go home. this is northbound 87, all that traffic is moving well in the south bay. much loyalty lighter than you're used to -- much lighter than you're used to seeing it. let's go to steve. >> oakland airport, wind chill at 29. that the oakland airport. sacramento just reported they've had .07 for precip for this month. fourth dryest december ever. so they're in line with us, with reno is parts of northern california. it's dry, dry. i doubt there's anything next

week. travel plans, it's either fog or win. other than that, no rain or snow you have to worry about, and the wind will start to pick up over the sierra. the pattern has been stuck for the longest time. you should be good to go over the next couple of days, but unless the my gets knock -- the high gets knocked down, i don't see any change, but things can change fast this time of year, so we'll see. a lot of upper 20s this morning, and some of that fog in the valley has prompted a fog advisory until noon. that system moving into the north will pick up the wind over the sierra nevada. some of the temperatures, santa rosa now 28. concord 29. fog being report at buchanan

just like yesterday. redwood city 34. the city now 44. there's that 33 at the oakland airport. so, man, that's cold. once you get out of that fog, it won't be that bad. the breeze is not as strong, but it will pick up tonight and tomorrow, which means our temperatures come down and then right back up. so cold morning, pockets of fog, hazy sunshine, maybe a few high clouds. yesterday at oakland, rocking it up to 67. not that warm today, but still 50s and 60 nhl the sun, if you're if -- 60s in the son. if you're in the fog, upper 40s. thank you, steve. it is 7:11. congress is at a stalemate over extending the payroll tax cut. does there appear to be any compromise in sight. >> and the blast off of the

sauz launch, the one going to the international space station. we'll bring

good morning, it's cold out there. a lot of 20s. vacaville is 26, and the wind chill at the oakland airport is 29. >> it is 7:14. republicans and democrats in congress are still haggling over a tax cut aimed at benefiting 160 million americans. the gop-controlled house approved a measure to take the

issue back to the negotiating table. this essentially rejected the bipartisan two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, which the senate passed over the weekend. >> there is no reason why the house, the senate, and the president cannot spend the next two weeks working to get that done. >> where is your compassion? where is your heart? >> senate majority leader harry reid will now decide whether to bring senators back from their holiday break. he had previously said he would not negotiate with the house which wants to make this payroll extension last one year. the white house said this will cost the typical american family $40 per paycheck starting january 1st if if this is not resolved. that works out to about a

thousand bucks a year. time now is 7:15. the faa is announcing some new rules to make sure pilots are rested and not sleepy during flights. these changes come almost three years after a deadly crash in new york state. allison? >> dave, we've been talking to some of the family members of those killed in that air crash near buffalo three years ago. they have been extremely frustrated the federal government has not done more to make sure pilots get more rest. 50 people were killed when the commuter plane went down. the cash was blamed on pilot error, and it was determined that the captain had been awake for 15 hours before the flight, the co captain had commuted from seattle to new jersey the day before and had very little sleep. new rules are being announced this morning that will require more time off for pilots between flights.

it will call on airlines to give pilots nine hours of rest prior to working one more than is currently required. the airlines are already complaining about the cost, but the family of the victims saist about safety. >> they're putting, you know, lives in jeopardy because they're overworking these pilots. we'll have more live coverage from the news conference this morning, and what it means in terms of costs for the airlines in my next update in about an hour. for now, we're live in washington d.c., channel 2 news. >> international airlines that use european airlines will soon have to pay for the carbon gas us they emit. airlines from the u.s. challenged the regulation, but you're's highest court rejected the appeal. the court dismissed the argument that the program was just a back door tax. airlines will now have to pay for 15% of their carbon emissions beginning january is

1st. today the defense will make its case in the trial of an army intelligent analyst blame noticed biggest like of military secrets in u.s. history. bradley manning is accused of liking secret information to the wikileaks website. he has 22 charges, including aiding the enemy. the defense lawyers have described him as troubled man, struggling with gender identity issues.

computer hackers have been helping occupy protesters. the washington times reports hackers have been publishing the personal information of law enforcement officers all over the country. now, in the past week, there have been three different postings, and after the police raid on occupy oakland, the information of oakland police officers was also publish. that includes e-mail addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, and even, if n some cases, their salaries. it's back to the drawing board for a resolution to prevent shut down that the port of oakland. the city council appears to be divide on what to do. coming up at 7:30, we'll get a live report from oakland city hall and tell you how occupy protesters disrupted last night's city council meeting and the council president. a south bay soldier is being honored with a prestigious award four months after being told he might not survive his injuries. last night the palo alto

hospital said 23-year-old brian rgens received the purple heart. the humvee he was driving ran over an explosive device. he lost both his legs about below the knee and sirred severe brain trauma. >> -- suffered severe brain trauma. >> basically was doctors say he he might not ever woke up, and he woke up, and then he might not ever talk, and he started talking. he is just so stubborn and beating all the odds. >> she says with christmas and their first wedding anniversary approaching, this medal is just is one more thing to celebrate. later on today, supporters of the rail transit will be holding a rally. it will serve as a connection between two counties. supporters say many much-needed

jobs will be created. so far $190 million in bonds have been sold to help pay for that train. 7:21. be a international crew began the two-day journey to the international space station. >> three, two, one. and liftoff. >> the spacecraft is now carrying an american, russian,

and dutchman into orbit above the either. the -- the earth. they will be together until march cutting several experiments on the international space station. it's cold out there. just wanted to let you know. up next, steve will be back. this is a live picture outside now. steve will tell you if it will get warmer as the day goes on. >> and to-wit tore the rescue. why too woman is tweeting a mess -- why a woman is tweeting a message of thanks after finding her ring. and we'll tell you about the morning drive to work coming up. ok, you guys wanted a space for entertaining your friends,

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a woman from boston has her engagement ring back thanks to twitter and a sharp-eyed worker. she took the rung offer to wash her hands and then forgot to put it back on. her friends got on facebook and to-wit tore try to find the lost ring. one of the train workers noticed one of the posts. >> i was walking back to the head end of the train when i looked down and saw her ring laying on the floor of the train, and i picked it up. >> when tom booth returned the ring, she burst into tears again. he is now hoping for an invitation to the wedding, which would be a nice way to thank him, so i'm sure. >> you would let him come, he would be a special guest. >> uh-huh.

sal is here to tell us about your commute. >> good morning. 280 northbound. we're all in a pretty good move as we approach the holidays, i guess. northbound 280 looks pretty good. a lot of people have shut down the office today. doesn't mean you won't see traffic jams. there will be traffic jams at the malls, and later on people trying to get home at the same time. yesterday we had a horrible afternoon drive in san francisco trying to get to that lower deck of the bay bridge. let's go to steve. >> thank you, sal. a lot of fog come in.

-- coming in. fairfield, vacaville, anybody in that direction coming back in, it's stuck there, and a lot of cold numbers, 20s and 30s. it will be a cold morning today, probably tomorrow, as well, unless the wind picks up. that's it. that's all you have to worry about. no rain or no snow, just nothing going on. 20s or 30s. the city is at 44. vacaville is 26. the wind chill at the oakland airport is 29. so it's cold across the board and also high and dry. there's just nothing coming in for rain or snow anytime soon that i can see. a little fog on the sonoma

montana coast -- moran coast. the sir of continues for a -- the search continues for a man police say is participated and dangerous. an emergency resolution meant to stop or slow down protests at the port of oakland fails. what the city council must now do. >> also a sad update about a little boy, a tragic accident at a ski resort in lakota he.

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the oakland council appears divide over some of the actions of the occupy movement. council members have tableledded a resolution preventing future port block aids. craig in oakland where the oh emotions really ran high during last night's meeting. craig? >> reporter: they did. and. and i'm not sure in all of that had to do with the resolution itself, or that it runs contrary to the first amendment. you can see there is a presence here, some of the occupy oaklanders. they are not sleeping on the

plaza, but you can see there are a number of umbrellas, and a person sleeping in a sleeping back, as well. the lawn is gradually coming back. still not fully back. now on to the resolution. it was delivered to the full council with a unanimous vote, but when it was time to use the ink pen, just four council members voted in favor. was standing room only in the chambers last night. the resolution implies that requests for permits for those activities be denied if they interinterfere with commerce or workers earning their wages. wages. not all of those who support the resolution -- not all of those who say they are are

against the resolution are those who don't work down at the port. some people say it is time for something to be done. >> i think it's time for us to make sure that it's an unegive oh cal direction and message that we will not tolerate it. >> i'm opposed to it for two reasons. one, as far as i know, organized labor play nod role in it. two, i think the occupy movement should have played a role in development. that didn't happen. that's why i'm opposed to it. >> reporter: the city of oakland says on the december 12th protest alone, there were losses between $4 million and $8 million. now today there is something else happening that has to do with the occupy protest, that is the mayor is directing a city auditor to look into those

occupy protests. she want this the auditor to look into how police used force during those protests. in one of those protests, a former marine, had some damage done to his skull. something was thrown, hit him in the head. there was some talk that maybe police had something to do with that. that was never actually proven, but in either case, there was some other incidents, and today at 10:00, the mayor will announce an independent aid tore to evaluate the use of force and the police response to the protest. san jose police are busy search fog are a man considered armed and dangerous. yesterday police swarmed on to elcajon driver is offing for jeric brown. police say brown ran into a neighborhood, broke into a garage and stole a car.

>> people saw him in the car. he ran over one of our police officers. the bike is over there smashed to bits. he was not been seen -- he has not been seen since. >> police say he has an extensive criminal record, but they gave us no specific details. nevada police are warning residents to block their doors following a series of break ends in novato. most break-ins happened while the residents were out. police say they usually ring the door bell, and if no one answers, they try to find a way inside. a grinch on the loose in a concord neighborhood. neighbors say someone is stealing holiday packages off front porches. coming up at 7:45, what neighbors and delivery drivers are doing to try to stop the

thieves. oakland police are hoping a surveillance photo will help catch a bank robber. you can see it here showing a suspect at a chase bank on december 13th. investigators say this man walked up to the bank teller about 5:40 in the evening and demanded money. a reward is being offered for information leading to his aare rest and conviction. >> the seven-year-old boy who fell off a ski lift at a lake tahoe ski resort has now passed away. the little boy reportedly fell 60 feet and hit his head on the ground sunday morning. he was a member of the sugar bowl ski team. he was wearing a helmet, but we don't know at this time if his safety bar in the chair was done. >> a san francisco man is in the hospital after being hit by

a car. it happened much night south of 0 market neighborhood. police say the man stumbled and fell into the street just as the driver neared howard street. the man suffered life- threatening injuries. police say the drive her not be charged. the case for the woman accused of killing haywood nursing student michelle ley is moving forward. this allows prosecutors to move ahead wit the case without a preliminary hearing. esteban is set to be arraigned on murder charges on january 1st. police say she killed ley in may. one street in san francisco now has the title of the greenest street in the city. it's newcom avenue in the bay view district. it underwent a $1.6 million makeover. city officials and residents

celebrated the projects completion during this ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday. >> as much as half of rainfall could be lessened and just absorbed into our landscape and continue to sustain healthy street, but also a healthy soil for us and reduce the amount that goes to our sewer plant. the avenue was selected for the makeover after a citywide search. thousands of bay area nurses are set to stage a one- day strike tomorrow unless union leaders can reach an agreement with sitter health.

-- sum it's health. nurses say proposal to eliminate charge nurses and paid sick leave are two major issues. let's check in with sal. he says if you went to the toll plaza now, piece of cake, right? >> it is. it's pretty light at the toll plaza. let's go outside and take a look at what we have now. and you will see traffic is move along pretty well, and just got a tweet from one who said there is a car with a flat tire on the bay bridge. so even that, which would normally be kind of a slow thing for the bay bridge, is really not going to affect it, because the cal tran crews will clear it away, and we just don't have the traffic volume in the morning as we get closer to the holiday, and probably will not have it next week. let's take a look at the san mateo bridge. certainly people are out there. the only thing you have to worry about these days is driving too fast. if you're driving on the

peninsula, still looking pretty good. at 7:39, let's go to steve. >> thank you. well, for some areas, just darn cold, clear, and for others, the breeze has kind of tailed off, but some of that fog is really, really tough, and if you have to drive through that, it can be really lousy. this is from jack lynn and trace -- jacqueline and tracy. yes, i would rather drive through rain than that fog. if you don't have to worry about any rain or no, but that fog anywhere out in the valley. you can see some low fog. not much, but some there. its thickest out toward the delta. oakland airport with a wind chill of 29. so it's cold all over. if you're heading up to theses

-- sierra nevada, you will have to worry about some breezy conditions over the pass. santa rosa now 28 degrees. observe land airport 33, wind chill is 29. redwood city says 34. it's cold everywhere. fog makes it even worse. visibility just lousy. high pressure not going anytime soon. wants to hang out here. fourth dryest december so far in sacramento. they've only had .07. getting a lot of fog, but not gets a lot of rain. the west coast is very dry, but very cold morning and some pockets of fog. once that clears, or fit clears, you can get into some pretty mild conditions. really tough in areas that have the fog. it dust doesn't want to burn off. extended outlook, the wind picks up thursday.

that just means warmer. friday things come up down. the weekend really quiet, but warm again on saturday. >> thank you, steve. coming up, why oracle is getting so much attention on wall street this morning. and things are heating up on the curse words are flying. which candidate's numbers are on the rise. festive like champagne, and tastes great! martinelli's: since 1868.

stocks down this morning after word the european central bank is loaning more than half a trillion dollars to hundreds of banks to shore up the financial system. of course under pressure from the debt crisis. that's leading to concern about

the health of banks over there. right now the dow is down 35, and the s&p is down 5. also new this morning, the november existing home sales report shows the number of americans who bought previously-occupied homes rose 4% last month a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $4.42 million, below the 6 million homes a year that economists say reflects a healthy housing market. also the association of realtors revised its stream 2007 to 2010 down 16%. >> also moving the markets, oracle stock is take act tumble this morning. it opened with a loss of nearly 13% after yesterday's announcement. the company earned $2.2 billion in the quarter.

not bad, but fell short of analyst forecast and was the first time in 10 years that oracle did not meet or beat expectations. they blame a slowdown in orders, which could signal trouble for the entire technology sector. in one bay area neighborhood there have been a rash of thefts and people are on high alert. >> we have just four days until christmas, and over in concord, residents who are expecting packages are sticking close to home. christmas lights are out, and so, apparently, is a very administer of-like they've. packages from ups and fedex are being stolen from front porches. the thief or thieves simply follow the delivery truck and then after the truck driver

drives away, the person takes the packages and drives off. >> well, i'm supposed to be at dinner right now, actually, and i'm ivy told my family that i can't -- and i've told my family that i can't be there until ups show is up. >> a ups driver we talked to said he is always looking in his rear-view mirror for anyone who might be following his truck and if he sees anyone, he gives his manager or 911 a call. republican presidential  candidate mitt romney says if newt gingrich can't take the heat from campaign ads, he won't make it in a one-on-one

campaign against obama. gingrich was heckled by a voter in iowa who used a curse word against him. and is a key endorsement from an iowa faith leader went to underdog rick santorum. >> a lot of our supporters said it would make it easier so that we could coalesce. >> in the meantime, ron paul's poll numbers are on the rise in iowa. the texas congressman is set to hit the campaign trail there again today. time now 7:48. well, amy's kitchen is delaying plans to open a new east coast facility. the organic frozen food producer planned to open a new plant in south carolina early next year. now the company says the plant won't be opening for a few more years. in the meantime, they plan to focus an their existingen

plants. today a big day for roundtable pizza. it is expected to emerge from bankruptcy today. delay close down 22 restaurants, but will save some jobs. the wendy's hamburger chain is poised to take a big step in the fast-food world. wendy's north american sales are expected to top burger king's sometime next month, and that's despite having nearly 1800 fewer restaurants than burger king mccormick is still the giant -- mcdonald's is still the giant in the business.

veteran philadelphia sports writer bill conlin is being accused of child abuse. three women and a man have come forward alleging that conlin molested them as children in the 1970s. one of those girls was his niece. he is a hall of fame baseball writer. yesterday he retired from the philadelphia newspaper where he had worked for more than 40 years. the golden state warriors and one of its star players are being sued for alleged sexual harassment. coming up at 8:00, we'll have a live report. there is also trouble on the basketball court. warriors point guard stephen curry reinjured his surgically

repaired right hankle -- right ink until the game last night against the kings. the warriors open up sunday, christmas night, against the l.a. clippers at home. time now 7:50. the continuing investigation into that deadly plane crash yesterday in new jersey. what air traffic controllers are now saying about that doomed fight. >> and how the nfl is stepping in to prevent future power outages at candlestick park.

we're still talking about monday night's power outage at candlestick park during the 49ers game. the nfl says it will work with the 49ers, the city of san francisco, and polyurethane --

pg & e to make sure it doesn't happen again. they will analyze a line that failed during monday night's game. pg & i says they don't know what --pg says they don't know what caused the second power outage. >> the east always -- palo alto police department is seeking toys for his toy drive. they can be dropped off at the police department until december 23rd. police will distribute the toys to needy children on saturday, christmas eve. and saint anthony's curb sides donation continues in san francisco today. they are asking for food and

clothing to help out this holiday season. certainly the time of year to be generous. sal, how is highway 101 now? >> i'm glad you asked that, dave. northbound 101, san francisco, it looks good. perhaps this is not the day that you kind of knock off for the holidays, and if it isn't, at least you have a nice commute to look forward to. we don't a lot of backup because the volume is lighter. there are people out there, the traffic has just been redistributed to the shopping malls at this point. 7:56, let's go to steve. >> sal, thank you. just take a look at our pattern here, does not look like it's going to change much. the next low will drop into arizona.

if you're traveling to las vegas to phoenix, the forecast high for las vegas on friday is 47. it will be very windy and cold throughout much of that area. so in case you have travel plans there. a lot of cold, cold readings out there. vacaville is 26 this morning. cold. and the wind chill at the ike land airport, 33 with a north wind at 5 putting them at 29 degrees at the airport, wind chill. watch out for fog. advisories until noon. the wind will start to pick up over the passes in the sierra nevada, but that's it.

won't have to worry about any rain or snow. 20s, 30s, and 40s. 33 in livermore. i wish i could say there is some rain coming, because we need it, but it's just not coming right now. maybe next week, we'll see. you can get a big difference in the temperatures between fairfield and downtown oakland. friday things calm down with your weekend always in view. it will be quiet, and very warm on saturday. >> if you've been dreaming about an ipad for christmas, we'll tell you why there may be a shortage of ipads in the new year. >> a warriors -- warriors

player is accuse offed of sexual harass -- accused of sexually harassing a former employee. mornings on 2 continues in a moment.

the golden state warriors and one of their stars are being hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit. we have a live report from oakland to find out who filed this lawsuit. >> reporter: it's a late start to the basketball season because of the lockout. this is probably the last thing that the game or the warriors need. here we are at the training center located in downtown oakland, where the warriors will be arriving sometime today to practice. neither the team or monta ellis has commented just yet. a former employee is accusing the star guard of sexual harassment and said the team covered it up. her attorney showed us a log of dozens of texts that he says

ellis send to his client last year. while fans say they're not rushing to judgment, they wonder in the evidence will stack up. >> you are incriminating yourself if you send a picture of something, your body, basically, than they kay identify. so, y, if that comes -- so, yeah, if that comes out, she's in trouble for sure. -- he's in trouble for sure. >> reporter: the attorney said the woman was too scared to complain, but ellis complained about the woman, and she was eventually fired. later today, her attorney will be revealing a cellphone picture. another big problem for the

warriors. this. they may have lost their star point guard, steph curry. he reinjured his right ankle last night a game against the kings. it appears to be a sprained ankle. we don't know his status now for the opening game christmas night. >> some holiday grinches have stole an large shipment of apple products. it happened yesterday at a loading dock in san francisco's stones town galleria. they broke into a parked fedex delivery truck and stole a large amount of electronics. if you have information, you are urged to call police. there is now concern there could be a shortage of apple ipads in the coming year because the chinese factory had an explosion. we told you about it yesterday. this factory supplies aluminum

parts for the popular apple computer. apple did say it is working with its chinese supplier to understand what caused the accident. mountain view police searching for a man they say burglarized the home of an 80- year-old woman. police say this man was spotted running from the woman's apartment december 1st by one of the woman's friend. they are describing him as a latino man with a medium build who was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with blue jeans. if you have news, you are urged to call police. victims of that berkeley fire may have to wait to get an insurance payout. the fire displaced about 70 residents. investigators say the fire started in the elevator panel. however, victims won't get insurance payments until it is

determined who is responsible for the fire. the mercury news said the responsible parties could include the elevator maintenance company, the owners of the building, or even pg & e. the faa has released new rules to prevent tired pilots from flying. this comes nearly three years after a deadly crash in buffalo, new york involving two exhausted pilots. a memorial service will be held this afternoon in san francisco for billionaire philanthropist warren helman who died on sunday at age 77 after struggling with leukemia. he is best known for launching the hardly strictly bluegrass festival. the service will be held at 1:00 today and will be streamed

on the website. winter 2011 officially starts tonight. we are looking at how the air quality in napa is, and how burning wood could be part-off your day's event. >> reporter: today is a spare the air day. last year we had four spare theaire days, all year. this year we have had 8 since december. that's one pair the air day every three days. now, the cold dry weather and wood-burning fireplaces their the recipe for this smoggy mix and the bad air. two things to remember with spare the air days. one, starting a fire in that wood-burning fireplace can lead to fines, and, number two, vigorous outdoor exercise is not a good idea. >> for the sake of their health, would not be a great day to go for a really long tiring run. >> so a ready made excuse to be

lazy today. >> exactly. stay home, read a book, don't turn turn on your fireplace. -- don't turn on your fireplace. >> reporter: the first time you are caught burning a fire you will get a warning. the second time and thereafter, the fines start at $400. that could be a pretty good gift underneath a tree, so something to consider before you start a fire in the wood- burning fireplaces. if you have a natural gas fire with those fake logs, you're good to go. well, here a s a question, do you do -- well, here is a question, do you do anything different on spare the air days. larry wrote on facebook: and then someone else wrote:

you can drop us a line at any time, just message the ktvu channel 2 morning news team on facebook. california's grape crop is taking a hit from the weather. according to the state food and agriculture department, 3.3 million tons of wine grapes were harvested this year, a 9% drop from 2010. the decline is blamed on a wet spring and a cool summer. >> sal, just between me and you, i'm glad we're not working you too hard this morning. >> well, thank you, dave. we're looking pretty good, i would say. yesterday we had a much busier commute. today its light. most of these roads here are doing very well. there are certainly people out there, but you just will find it a lot lighter than usual. the whole trend started on monday, but really today you're beginning to see it. let's take a look now at

interstate 880 in oakland. it will be interesting to see if we get that slowdown approaching the high street overpass there. and this morning at the bay bridge toll plaza, it has been light throughout. we never did have a big backup. >> it's cold out there. vacaville is at 26. 20 nhl sacramento. if you get that -- 20 nhl sacramento. if you get that fog, the temperatures will go up. reno hasn't had any precipitation at all in december. if you have to travel, fog is definitely an issue, and then the wind over the higher peaks in the sierras starting tonight and tomorrow. man, it's a cold one out there. you get those pockets of cold

and the wind together, it's hard to get out of the 40s and 50s. the early breeze has died down, and the pattern, i don't see anything -- in fact, in anything, i think it's going to get warmer as we head into to the weekend. maybe a change, though, next week. we'll see. wind chill at the oakland airport of 29. lots of 30s being of the fog out to the east bay. mineral park saw 31. the systems have been going into southern california. it's not going to be much of a precipitation producer, but really cold and windy for las vegas, phoenix. so if you have to travel to those areas, and the desert as well. cold mornings, pockets of fog. hazy sunshine, a few high clouds, but absolutely no rain

on the horizon. 50s and 60s if you get the sun. there can be a good 15, 20- degree difference between the inland areas and those in the bay. >> steve, isn't today the shortest day of the year? >> yes. well, it's 9:30 tonight, and then a minute longer tomorrow. >> yeah. so it's the shortest day of the year, so from now on, the days will start getting a little longer. we have that to look forward to. coming up, sign tests unknowingly -- >> plus we'll take you live to a ski resort. are the skiers and snowboarders still hitting the slopes? and a delivery man caught throwing a fragile package over a fence. ouch. how fed ex is reacting this morning.

well, all quiet here. a winter storm in the southeast, though, starting to wind down a little bit, but holiday travelers not out of the woods just yet.

a system is predicted to head east. last time i checked, it was 50 and rainy in new york city, so i think they're dealing wait lot of clouds and rain right now, not snow, but always this time of year, as you know, things can change fast. of course in the sierras, ski resorts aring the the opposite problem. not enough snow. december is usually a busy month or resorts. we go to south lake tahoe. brian, are they giving any discounts on tickets, or still having to pay full price? >> reporter: i believe it is still full price. $88 for a ticket. but i was up on the mountain yesterday, and pleasantly surprised by what they have to offer. wow, look at that. look how dry the mountain looks. but once you get over the crest, take a look at what they've been able to do with snow making up here, where most of the primary runs, including those ones with spectacular

views of lake tahoe are all covered in snow. no obstacles on those runs, but a few feet off the run, and you're in the rocks. so stay on the runs. but if you want to get up here and do some skiing for the holidays, some have several runs open. the people out are already lining up, bundled up this morning because of all of this cold air, because of which they've been able to make artificial snow. thank goodness for the cold air and the snow-making. they just might save the holiday season which makes up 60 to 70% of not only their winter, but their total revenue. back to you guys.

in just the last hour, transportation secretary ray lahood announced new rules to make sure pilots get more rest and stay awake on flights. alison has the details. >> reporter: dave, i just got off a conference call with the transportation secretary who said this is a very big deal today because the airlines have been fighting these new rules for 20 years. here is the bottom line. pilots must now have a 10-hour rest period before a flight. their flight time is limited to eight or nine hours, and they must sign a pledge for each flight that they are fit for duty, but the rules don't take effect for two more years. this comes three years after 50 people were killed when a flight went down in buffalo. was blamed on pilot error, and the investigation revealed the

captain had been awake for 15 hours before the flight, and the co-pilot had commuted from seattle to new jersey the day before, and had very little sleep. the airlines have said they'll have to hire new pilots to meet these requirements. the federal government fears scientists may be unknowingly helping terrorists. a government advisory board is asking publications like the new england journal of medicine and science not to publish articles detailing certain bio medical experiments. they say the information could help terrorists create deadly viruses. national guard troops are being cut from 1200 to 300 starting next month. their mission will be to support border patrol officers

from the air. people against the changes say there aren't enough troops on the ground to begin with, others say using the guard to patrol the border isn't court effective. the official death toll from that flash flooding in the philippines has now hit a thousand. this morning, authorities say the numbers are so high they have lost count of those still missing. a typhoon and the flooding afterwards swept through the southern region of the philippines. many of the victims are children, like those here. it is 8:19.

fed ex is promising to track down a delivery man caught tossing a compute monitor over a fence during the delivery. the homeowner posted this on you tube. you can see the driver lobbing the monitor over the fence. it was destroyed. fedex is calling the handling of the package unacceptable. they have not said what will happen to the delivery man when they track him down, but they do say quote "was not his best day. "the homeowner said he was waiting for his monitor, and it just gets tossed over and destroyed. coming up, big stores are offering big discounts, but some local small stores say, hey, there's a good reason you should buy your gifts from them. >> and steve will tell us if it will stay chilly all day. good morning. if you're driving on the san

mateo bridge looks pretty good here. we'll tell you more about the morning shoot and the bay weather.

the big retailers are running lots of ads to try to pull in last-minute shoppers are. but small are businesses can't aced for to do that, so they're hoping good personal service and very unusual gift ideas

will bring in shoppers. this holiday season some say has been good for them, with merchandise selling quickly. >> i've reordered twice. i didn't think i would have to reorder at all, so that's good. >> we've just kind of changed the store a little bit with the new ownership, bringing in a lot of different products. >> and with christmas on a sunday this year, methodist store owners thing -- most store owners think this could be a very busy day saturday. shoppers like dave clark just start shopping that day on the christmas lift, and have to start running around asking for help on the first stores we can find open and we by whatever. >> it's nice to support the local businesses. sal, how are you doing with your holiday shopping? >> i can't hear what you said. i'm go to have to move on. >> just admit it like i did,

sal. >> plenty of time for the men out there to start shopping. let's take a look at the commute. southbound 101 down to the 580 interchange looks good. we've seen a lot of traffic at the malls, and a lot of local shops getting a lot of business. 237 getting a little bit of a backup here. 8:25. let's go to steve. >> sal, they have this thing on the internet, on-line shopping, they even deliver right to your door. >> 90% done with my shopping. frost out there, cold, foggy, no rain. 20s, 30s. oakland dropped to 33 at the airport. the record was 30, 1949, but the wind chill with the north wind put them at 29. it's cold everywhere, across the board, and and that fog

will keep advisories going across the delta until noon. we had some upper 20s, all over the applies. -- all over the place. napa county very close. the fog came in, and temperatures actually went up. it will be cold all the way through noon. i mentioned this yesterday at noon, tahoe was 44. that was warmer than vacaville and concord. no rain in sight, nothing. 60s for some. 67 downtown oakland yesterday. i don't think it will be that warm today. maybe tomorrow. santa rosa is 29. just an amaze egg difference from the lows to the highs. the weekend looks sunny and very warm, dave. >> all right, steve.

congress still in that political standoff over extending the payroll tax cut. >> as a cpa, i'll tell you that handling tax policy on a month to month basis isn't just irrelevant, it's down right -- irresponsible, it's downright crazy. what the mayor plans to do later this morning that will have police wondering if too they have violated their own use of force policies in the up 0 oakland protests.

the city of oakland will

take a closer look at using the police ands for during the occupy oakland forecast. craig is in oakland tell us what happened inside oakland city hall late last night. craig? >> reporter: a lot of litral fireworks, dave. off in the distance, across the plaza, you see there is still a presence of occupy oakland protesters here. you can see the lawn hasn't started coming back yet. it needed two thirds of the city council to pass last night, and the resolution died on a 4-4 vote. the resolution calls for the city administrator to do anything legal to stop another port shutdown. >> i think it's time for us to make sure that it's an unegive oh cal direction and -- un--

give oh cal direction and message that we will not tolerate it. >> when i grew up in oakland, you could go anywhere and get a job. always a place to go to work. there is no place to go to work now. >> reporter: in about 90 minutes, the mayor is scheduled to announce an independent auditor will evaluate use of force and police response to the occupy oakland protest in downtown oakland. an iraqi war vet had a skull fracture during the protest. there there has been no showing yet of any link to the police, but police are accused of using force to stop protesters.

the auditor will be looking at whether police violated their own policy during these most recent protests. an announcement should come in about 90 minutes from now. computer hackers are helping occupy protesters. the washington times reports that hackers are publicking the personal information of law enforcement -- publishing the personal information of law officers over the past weeks. the personal information of oakland police officers was also published, including e- mail addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases, their salaries. just before midnight last night, denver police moved in on occupy protesters. the police chief said he had met with protesters twice telling them that structures were banned in parks, but said

they continue to violate that law and ignore his warning. nine people were arrested, and people were forcibly removed from the park. denver residents say they are happy to see the park cleared of the occupy encampment. democrats and congress are refusing to back down from their positions on extending the payroll tax cut. lawmakers essentially rejected the bipartisan two-month extension of the tax cut, as well as unemployment benefits, which the u.s. senate passed over the weekend. >> there's no reason why the house, the senate, and the president cannot spend the next two weeks working to get that done. >> where is your compassion? where is your heart? where is your soul?

>> senator reid had previously said he would not negotiate with the house until it passes the two-month extension. it is estimated the payroll tax cut benefits 160 million americans. the white house said it will cost the typical american family $40 per paycheck if this is not resolved, which comes to a thousand dollars a year. san jose police are warning people to be on the lookout for a man they say is armed and dangerous. yesterday police swarmed on elcajon drive where jarek brown was spotted. police say he ran into this neighborhood where people saw him running through backyards and coming dangerously close to their homes. >> i saw the guy jump over the fence, and then went behind my

house is my neighbor's house. i didn't know they were hiding in there. i was worried then that he might be in my house, and next thing i know, he went in my neighbor's house and stole his car. >> one man says brown broke into his house, forced him into the garage and stole his car. when police tried to stop him, he ran over one of their motorcycles. police are still searching for brown. the 7-year-old boy who fell off a ski lift at a lake tahoe ski resort has died. the accident happened at sugar bowl sunday morning. the boy reportedly fell 60 feet and hit his head on a mixture of snow and dry ground. he was wearing a helmet, but it's unclear in the chair's safety bar was down at the time of his fall. his name has not been released. thousand of bay area nurses will stage a one-drawday strike

tomorrow unless union leaders can reach an agreement with sitter health. 500 temporary nurses have already been hired by sum it -- sum mitt. a grinch is certainly out there in a concord neighborhood. not him.

neighbors say someone is stealing holiday packages off front porches. coming up at 8:45, what neighbors and delivery drivers are doing to stop those thieves. santa is apparently taking a break from the north pole. in fact, he's coming down to the bay area this morning, and at 9:00 a.m., in just a few minutes, he will board a cal train line and head to san francisco. he will be joined by rudolph and frosty. they will be collecting toy donations for local charities. santa is pretty busy this time of year. >> he'll know if they are naughty and nice around the toll plaza, too, sal. >> the traffic is moving along pretty well, if you are driving to the toll plaza, but there's a little bit of a backup now. some people have woken up and realized, oh, no, i have to get some shopping done. but if you drive this every

day, this is nothing to be too worried about. this will go quickly. this is 880. at the -- on the peninsula, traffic looks good here. if you're driving in contra costa county, we're going to update the maps here. 680 traffic looks good. 8:37. let's go to steve. >> sal, thank you. we have fog or clear skies, but it's cold across the board for everywhere. temperatures 20s, 30s. could not find any record lows, although temperatures did dip into close for some locations. at low will drop in northern arizona. the last three have dropped into southern california. it will not do much precipitation-wise, but it is going to pick up the winds. keep that in mind. the high pressure system kind of weaken force a day and then

refires, but does not budge. so the end result is cold mornings, fog out in the valley. we get the fog, and it's tough to budge it. over the passes, windy tonight and tomorrow. some of that fog continues to work its way back in, so fog advisories until noon. little system right there. that's going to pick up the breeze. that will give some very strong blustery conditions to the mountains. 20s, 30s, and 40s this morning. really cold for many. after that, we start to warm up. the fog can be a huge difference, as much as 15 to 20 degrees number you clear that fog or don't clear it stop 50s for some, low mid-60s for others. weekend always in view. looks like it's going to be sunny, mild to warm on

saturday. it's time for the final performance on x factor. >> santa cruz native chris are rene is one of three final -- chris rene is one of three final singers. he said he has struggled with drugs and alcohol. yesterday marked eight months since he has been clean and sober. >> doing good things in my life. coming from the dirt to now feels like a straight-up diamond in the rough. >> he said it's a miracle he has made it this far, and truly believes that anything is possible. some of his friends and family are planning a road trip down to los angeles to support rene during his final show. rene and the other two finalists will give their final performances tonight. you can catch all of the action here on ktvu beginning at 8:00 p.m. in just about a half hour,

low income parents can go pick up these holiday gifts for their children. this is a live picture from the salvation army's toy and joy warehouse in san francisco. there are a lot of toys there. now, preregistered parents are given the chance to come in, shop for toys. they will also be able to pick out stocking-stuffers and a christmas food bag. it's all there waiting for them. txa is there with the cam -- ktvu is there with the cameras to show you all of the people who will be smiling after this. good news for the south bay. this time next year, san jose international airport will have something no other airport in california will have. >> also, the stunning development out of the courtroom in just the past hour. a former warriors employee

accuses a player of sexual harassment. we'll tell you what she said monta ellis did to her when mornings on 2 continues.

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technology stocks leading the markets lower this morning. a lower than expected report from oracle. their stock is down 14.5% right now. there is also concern about europe after strong bank demand for the european central banks funding operation. right now the dow currently down 69. the nasdaq is down 47. almost a 2% drop there. s&p is down 8. san jose international airport will have something new other california airport will have next year, flights on boeings new dream liner. airways announced it will start flights from tokyo and san jose sometime next year. they will also have service between nareta and seattle.

bringing you up to date on some of the other top stories. today is the 8th spare the air day of the season, compared to own four that we had last year, because of bad air quality, wood burning is banned, both indoors and outdoors. if you're caught, violators could be hit with a $400 fine. this morning, the faa just issue understood rules to make sure that pilots get enough rest. once the rules take effect, airline pilots flight time will be limited to 8 or 9 hours, and they'll get a minimum of 10 hours rest time between their shifts. airline carriers have two years now start following the new rules. and the golden state warriors and their star player montae ellis have been hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit. we take a look at the allegations made by a former warriors employee. >> reporter: in less than one hour, we should be meeting the woman behind these allegations.

so far no comment from the warriors or monta ellis regarding these allegations, but they should be arriving here at the training center in downtown oakland probably within the next half an hour to practice. the woman who is the team's former director of

>> welcome back. republican presidential candidate romney says if newt gingrich cannot take the campaign heat from attack ads, he won't make it through a one-on-one contest through president obama. he claims applicable action committee working for romney is running at misleading and false ads against him. it's been a tough couple days for newt gingrich in iowa. he was heckled by a voter and a key endorsement went to the underdog, rick santorum. it's been a lot of our supporters said, boy, it would make it a lot easier if one candidate would join another candidate were to candidates joined another

candidate. >> in the meantime, texas congress -- congressman ron paul is leading. he's followed by gingrich and romney. >> it is 8:56. immemorial service held this afternoon in san francisco for iledare four in protest war in helmand. he died on sunday at 770 -- at 7:00 after dying of leukemia. he's best-known for launching the bluegrass festival in golden gate park. today's public service will be held at the congressional manual starting at 1:00. it will be streamed on the hardly strictly bluegrass website, a community celebration scheduled in the next few weeks. >> timeout 8:57. let's check in wartime to see what happening out there. >> good morning, once again. looking pretty good on this wednesday before the holiday as we still have some slow traffic here as we approach the coliseum right near high street. here at the bay bridge, there's

a small play. >> hello, steve. sunny for the most part, but still foggy in the valley. highs anywhere from upper 40s, low 50s, to near 65 degrees. wind picks up tonight. call friday, and then the weekend looks quiet. no brain or so to worry about. >> we want to show you one more time the solvation army where they will be handing out toys to some really lucky families right now. thanks for joining us.