. complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is the 10:00 news on kutv channel 2 news. the gift of life on this christmas eve from someone who lost his. the organ transplant that will be performed in just a couple of hours. good evening, i'm ken wayne. >> hello again everyone, i'm heather holmes. >> it will be a heart-breaking holiday for one oakland family after their loved one was shot to death earlier this week. but tonight, that feeling of hope as that family chooses to give the gift of life. ktvu's alex savidge talks to the family about their decision to give others a second chance. >> well, this young man's life

was cut short, but now his liver is set to be donated to a patient at ucsf medical center. it's all going to happen in a couple of hours. a christmas surgery and life- saving gift. a 23-year-old with a promising future, charles butler, jr. was gunned down thursday morning in what his family call a senseless killing. >> no one should ever go through anything like this at all. >> reporter: butler had just graduated from the maritime academy and was planning to work on shipses a merchant marine. his sister says life was heading in the right direction. >> i loved my brother so much and i always let him know, i'm your no. 1 fan. >> reporter: relatives say he was kind and generous and so it makes sense during this season of giving, butler's organs are being donated to help other in need

and, in fact, later tonight daniel murphy who suffers from cirrhosis will receive butler's liver in a life-saving surgery. >> i am so thankful to family and i can lead a normal life and see any grandchildren grow, grow up. >> reporter: his family believes that butler will live on in those he saves. >> charles has given the biggest gift ever, you see? that helps ease the pain. >> reporter: butler was shot to death at 46th and west streets in oakland as he drove home from the store. relatives can't say exactly what the motive was, but they say it was petty. >> you cowards killed my brother. i grieve for your mothers and loved ones. i do, because they are going to have to suffer for the sins that you committed. >> reporter: oakland police haven't announced any arrests in this case yet, but family tells us that detectives are close. the in the meantime that liver

transplant operation set to take place at 3:00 a.m. at curr sf medical center and the butler family is hoping that this is the first 6 many to benefit from the generous donation. alex savidge, ktvu channel 2 news. it happens every year, those who wait until the very last-minute to finish their christmas shopping. ktvu's jade hernandez shows us the shoppers who apparently work best under pressure. >> i kept thinking i was going to buy it all on-line and missed my window. >> reporter: at union scare that man shows us what he purchased so far under pressure. >> i have got some ugs and my mom and sister i got levi sweaters. >> reporter: he is not done. >> i gave myself two hours and have five people off my list and hoping i can finish it up. >> reporter: the holiday spirit may be the force behind spending, but this vendor hopes 2012 is more profitable. >> the economy is going down,

you know? that is why the customer always budget, budget, budget. >> reporter: this driver at tanforan in san bruno managed to snag one of two open spots in an otherwise packed parking lot. department of stores today planning to close their doors at 6:00. today in emeryville, one shopper proves the point. >> i got a gift for my mom from banana republic and an apple phone, you know? >> reporter: what was the hardest part about shopping today? >> the hardest part was getting out of bed. >> more details now on holiday shopping. waiting until the last-minute is apparently a trend and a consumer report found that two days ago 25% of americans hadn't started their holiday shopping at all. presents bought in the final week before christmas can account forasmuch as 25% of the

holiday season. nike is speaking out about yesterday's shopping frenzy over the rerelease of its air jordan 11 sneakers. the launch sparked mayhem and arrests across the country, including here in the bay area. in a statement a nike spokesperson says in per quarter "consumer safety and security is of paramount importance. we encourage anyone wishing to purchase our product in a respectful and safe manner. >> reporter: bay area grocery stores were bustling with people getting ready for christmas dinners this was how it looked this afternoon in piedmont market in oakland. last-minute shoppers were checking their list for everything from dungeness crab to gourmet cheeses and makef saw people on the phone making sure they hadn't forgotten anything. retailers say this was to be the busiest weekend of year. fireplaces will be cold on

christmas day. continued cold and windless weather here in the bay area has prompted our tenth spare the air alert of the winter tomorrow. bay area air quality managers are telling people not to burn wood in their fireplaces tonight or tomorrow unless that is your only source of heat. it's going fib difficult christmas for some alameda tenants who have been left homeless after a fire. >> kutv'ss mike mibach. >> reporter: alameda a fire station one. >> look like we have old navy, colfs. >> reporter: today the gift cards and goods just kept coming and not just toys, but shoes, bedding and much more. alameda residents arza ralph. >> we're all here on earth to help each other and i have had people who really help helped me. >> reporter:

the firefighters are donating the goods to people who lived in this building. a three-alarm fire destroyed at least 18 units. division chief matt tunney was the incident commander that day. >> as soon as we got on scene we had quite a bit of fire to deal with. >> reporter: firefighters went right to work again. this time collecting items for people displaced by the fire. people who lost everything this holiday season. >> it brings the best out of people, let's just say. this community has always rallied behind their citizens and when things get tough around here we get a lot of community support. >> we're all connected. nobody is ever separate and should be alone. >> reporter: they go back to the same apartment complex they rolled to last week, this time to drop off christmas wishes and items donated for those who need, the

same items will be handed out throughout this holiday weekend. some of the people burned out of their homes by a five- alarm fire in san francisco went back today to see what was left. the san francisco fire department says 38 adults and three children were displaced when two buildings caught fire at per share street and golden gate avenue on thursday. the cause of fire remains under investigation of we spoke with one resident today who said he didn't expect to salvage much. >> i think i will be able to save a few books, that were in a bookshelf that were protected, but other than that, i think everything is pretty much gone. >> tonight the red cross tells ktvu it's helping seven residents left homeless by putting them up in a hotel. tens of thousands of people gathered to celebrate christmas in bethlehem. hundreds attend midnight mass in the church of the nativity and the town that

christians believe that jesus was born. among those who attended the service was pakistanian president abbas. thousands came to st. peter's basilica for midnight mass. pope benedict urged the faithful to look beyond the increasing commercialization of christmas and discover its true meaning. the christmas eve mass was moved up to 10:00 p.m. to spare the pontiff a late- night that is followed by his christmas day speech. for a list of holiday events happening in the bay area, go to our website ktvu.com and click on our home page. now to an update on a story from vallejo we first brought you last night on the 10 news

where a stabbing case victim is identified as 22-year-old caesar villalobos. the police found him inside his pickup truck on monterey street. responding officers say he was stabbed many times. this is vallejo's 18th homicide of the year. anothers identified a motorcyclist killed on the bay bridge as 33-year-old aaron peters of oakland. the highway patrol says peters was riding on the upper deck when he apparently rear-ended a toyota at a irate of speed. peters was thrown from his bike and died at the scene. the two people in the toyota were not hurt. police arrested for the oakland men accused of trying to steal copper wire at a pg&e utility yard. they were booked into marin county jail. all four of the men face several charges including attempted grant theft and

possession of stolen property. a young california soldier who survived a suicide bombing in afghanistan is in a san bernardino the hope after being shot at his own welcome home party. >> i'm mad. i'm really mad. because he is a good boy. he is an excellent boy. >> the mother of 22-year-old christopher sullivan said she doesn't understand how her son could find himself insomuch danger back at home. there are reports that he may be paralyzed as a result of the shooting. police station say two party- goers got in an argument and punched sullivan's brother and that is when sullivan stepped in and the gunman opened fire, shooting him twice. no arrests have been made. in southern california investigators are trying to find out what caused a home explosion that left one person dead and another severely burned. it happened at a duplex in san bernardino county. firefighters say when they got there they found a woman dead

inside. they were able to pull a man alive from burning home. he is expected to survive. a san francisco institution set a lot ofy goal this holiday. we'll go live to lefty odowels where volunteers are still collecting toys at this hour. will they meet their goal? the salvation army gets a record donation. also occupy protesters in the sunshine bay do more than just talk about bread-and- butter issues. the 10:00 news continues in 90 seconds. this holiday season

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. >> they met their goal and now comes the next part of a san francisco holiday tradition. we wanted to show you a live picture at union square as firefighters gathered toys at lefty o'doul's. during our 6:00 broadcast we told you they were about 2800 toys short of reaching their goal of 10,000 toys to distribute to needy children in san francisco. we have good news, they now have more than 10,000 toys and they are still coming in and now the good part, they get to start distributing those toys to all of the kids in san francisco who could use them. ktvu's allie rasmus tells us about the effort all day long

to make some kids happy this christmas. >> reporter: christmas carols and santa are part of the season, but most kids will agree on the favorite part of their holiday. >> being with my family and opening presents with them. >> it's about my family. >> reporter: san francisco firefighters and lefty o'douls want to make sure every kid in san francisco gets that wish. >> the real emphasis of christmas is to give. >> i'm originally from san francisco, to me it's coming home. >> reporter: coming home with an extra gift for the toy bin. on christmas morning san francisco firefighters and police will deliver the gifts, a fond memory. >> we drove through the tenderloin and any kid we saw we gave them toys. >> reporter: some faves apply for the

program ahead of time and those applications doubled from last year. many families were asking for help for the first time. >> many haven't had to go through it before, so it's a first time. a lost working families that need toys refrigerate last year they collected 10,000 toys and organizers are optimistic they will hit that goal again. the age group they need for older kids, shrike sporting equipment for teenaged girl and clothing and make yum for older girls. these bins will be out until last call at lefties at 2:00 a.m. tonight. in san francisco allie rasmus, ktvu news. involvements were busy at glide memorial church today helping organized what has also become a san francisco holiday tradition. thousands of people took part in the annual christmas eve prime rib lunch at glide. the free lunch serves the homeless and hungry in san francisco. it's all made possible by the owner of the house of prime rib, joe betz, who has donated

the meat for the big meal for 19 years. at glide dozens of volunteers were busy prepare preparing for tomorrow's big christmas dinner. they sliced and diced and chopped and mixed for the thousands expected there tomorrow. one of the organizers told us that they are goal is to make their clients feel like they are with family on christmas. >> it's going to be a very good day. it's going to be a fun day for all of our clients, a day they can spend with their friends and us, we're family, right? so they are going to be here with their family. >> glide's christmas eve prime rib lunch and dinner are two of the countless services and events that the church provides for those in need if in san francisco all yearlong. a bay area salvation army worker got a big surprise yesterday, thanks to a generous donor. the charity says a young man dropped a $10,000 check into a red kettle outside of a menlo

park safeway. the bell-ringer who accepted the donation said she couldn't believe it when the man told her how much the check was. >> i thought wow, that is a big -- what a bundle. that is really amazing to me. >> a salvation army manager says the $00,000 check is the biggest kettle donation in california in 20 years. it comes just a few days after someone slipped a $5,000 check into a kettle in redwood city. another salvation army branch gets an unusual, but generous donation. coming up in 15 minutes we'll tell you what it was and how it will help out the community. to find out how you can help out bay area charities, go to the ktvu.com charity link. as or doug luzader reports that the president obama didn't leave washington until signing into law a bill that affects millions of families. >> reporter:

it got tove a late start, but the presidential vacation is underway a week later because of the protracted standoff because of the sequence of the payroll tax holiday. he wasted very little time getting into vacation mode. he and the first lady head out to a japanese dinner in honolulu. he and the first lady recorded the weekly media address before leaving washington, wishing the nation a merry christmas. >> giving of ourselves and service to others is what the season is all about. for my family and millions of americans that is what christmas is about. it reminds us part of what it means to playoff god is to love one another, to be our brother's keeper, to be our sister's keeper. >> reporter: this was the last piece of business for the president, signing into law the extension of the payroll tax. house

republicans largely abandoning their insistence of a full-year tax cut. the president attributed his laciness to growing up in hawai'i with its laidback atmosphere. he should have plenty of time to indulge into that, as the first family is scheduled to be here through new year's. >> members of occupy san josi put down their signs and picked up a plate to celebrate the holidays. protesters held a holiday potluck in front of city hall. organizers tell us that the event is important to bring the group closer and keep the occupy movement's message alive. >> you have to hear about the issues of what people are bringing to the table as far as food and issues and they take away a full belly and full ears. >> the food was made by demonstrators as well as supporters of the occupy movement. occupy l.a. protesters could soon pace a

lawsuit from the city of los angeles. the la times reports that the city officials are considering suing the protesters for the losses during the two-month campout. the paper estimates that los angeles paid $2 million mostly for law enforcement overtime and that doesn't include another $400,000 needed to restore the lawn in front of city hall. new figures show new home sales rose slightly. the chamber of commerce says sales rose in november 1.6% compared to the same time last year that. is a 7-month high, but economists say housing has a long way to go. just over 300,000 new homes have been built so far this year. that is less than half of the 700,000 that analysts say should about sold to sustain a he healthy housing market. a voice from the soviet past talks about russia's future and what he said on the day that thousands protested in moscow. >> well, and they can't be home for the holiday, but these

american troops get a touch of home this christmas eve. another cold night and another freeze warning to talk about coming up in neighborhoods that will be notice 20s to start christmas morning and what shower chances could be added to our long- range forecast [ male announcer ] citibank's new app for ipad makes it easy for anne to view her finances from anywhere. like gate d12 for the next three hours. citibank for ipad. easier banking. standard at citibank. is as easy as... making breakfast. omelet? sure. scrambled eggs. [ male announcer ] actually, it's easier. citi financial tools.

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. >> a well-known voice is added it those calling for russian prime minister vladimir putin to step down. mikhail gorbachev says if mr. putin resigns now he will be remembered for the good he did while in power. the former soviet leader's words came as demonstrators say that the parliamentary elections that mr. putin's party won earlier this month were rigged. government denies those allegations. it was the large yesterrest show of outrage since the collapse of the soviet union. the president of yemen said he would leave his country for

the united states, making the promise after yemeni forces shot and killed nine protesters taking part in an anti- government march. gunmen opened fire on the protesters as they reached the capital of sana. of following the incident president saleh says he will allow the country's unity government to prepare for february elections to replace him elf did not say when he would leave. damning words from iraq's vice president, accusing the government of orchestrating thursday's bowlings that killed almost 70 nem baghdad. vice president al-hashemi said such attacks could note have happened without government help. he is in kurdish iraq after prime minister accused him of issuing the death of protesters. a 15-year-old girl showed

up saying she is the long lost daughter swept away from her family in the 2004 tsunami. meri yulanda was 8 years old when the tsunami struck and says she was forced by a woman who forced her to beg, but when she no longer brought in money, the woman kicked her out. the mother lost two girls when the big wave struck and very happy to have her daughter back. a russia satellite came crashing back to earth yesterday, just hours after it was launched. the satellite broke into pieces, in fact, one fragment about 20" long punched a hole in the roof a house in siberia. over the course after a year the russians have lost satellites and a mars probe. on o-n this christmas eve there are 90,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan.

well, service members could not be home with their families they marked the hillsboroughs with a christmas mass and dinner. and they found comfort from each other. >> it's sad being away from my family at christmas, but it's nice being here with my brothers sisters in the armed services from u.s. able all the various countries that we have here. earlier this week military officials said president obama's orders to with draw 10,000 troops from afghanistan this year had been accomplished. the drawdowned is the first step in the plan to wind down the war interest and end the combat role for international troops by the end of 2014. . the best present this year for some military families didn't come in santa's sleigh, but fit just right in a loved ones arms. it wasn't a large check and it wasn't a large cash donation that brought one salvation army bell-ringer to teasers of we'll tell you about the unusual gift from an anonymous donor. pend just 25.

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. tonight is a christmas eve to remember for hundreds of servicemen and women back from iraq just in time for the holiday. elizabeth prann shows us the emotional reunion with loved ones. >> reporter: an emotion reunion at navy air station in whidbey island, washington. >> it's always nice to come home before christmas and spend time with the family. we worked hard to make that happen and we're here. so it's a good day, i think for everyone rcfc just last week a caravan ever us soldier and supplies crossing the border from iraq into kuwait marking

the last american combat troops to leave after almost nine years of fighting:now at fort hood, texas, tears and relief as the soldiers marched to their families. they are among the very last us combat soldiers to leave the country and return home. >> it feels great. i'm really happy. it's been almost a whole year and i'm just ready to get home and spend time with my family. >> reporter: their return, these families say is simply the best gift. >> it's amazing. it's the most amazing, best christmas just to have your son put you are your arms around them. >> reporter: those soldiers traveling more than 7,000 miles from kuwait to fort hood. in atlanta tornado warning elizabeth prann, fox news. andy inspectors says thousands of headstones at arlington national

national cemetery in virginia are flagged for mistakes. of the 195,000 reviewed headstones about 25% still need further review. most of those are civil war graves. there are concerns that some of the 65,000 headstones may have typographical errors. the obama administration is softening its stance on on-line gambling. the justice department now says interstate betting unrelated to sporting events falls outside of the federal law. previously the u.s. government considered that illegal when it crosses state lines. the u.s. top judge taney cantil was a former prosecutor.

new port richey the republican candidate failed to qualify for the supertuesday primary ballot in virginia, where he lives. gingrich's campaign says he will move forward with an aggressive write-in campaign, but state law there prohibits writeins on primary ballots. the former house speaker has been slipping in the polls recently. texas governor rick perry also failed to make it orient virginia's ballot. festive new images from nasa ahe hadhead of the christmas holiday. scientists call it a wreath nebula, because it resembles a christmas wreath. nasa's telescope captured these images and researchers say the green ring is made up of tiny particles ever warm dust, while the red center is likely made of

colder, metallic duster. a new england salvation army chapter received an unusual donation. someone slipped two wedding rings into a red kettle this week. one ring was a gold band and the other had diamonds. the volunteer ringing the bell that day was shockd when she heard what was found in the kettle. >> it brought tears to my eyes. like i sod, we have a great community here. it's just good people, bottom line. >> the money from the rings will go towards buying goods for the salvation army food pantry and meeting other needs in the community. the director where the donation was made says she wants to give that anonymous donor a big hug. there is a call for toys and goodies this christmas eve from those who run christmas in richmond. they fear they may not have enough for the little ones that show up for presents tomorrow. christmas in richmond is a grassroots operation started by women who wanted to make sure that no one went without on christmas. this year they say they don't

have nearly enough for the hundreds of children that they expect. >> in the case the less fortunate has changed and it could be even the middle to low class family. it's hard. we started out intitially going after the homeless community and now you see families that are working, but even while they are working they are having trouble just making ends meet. >> sears said they received about 30% of what they took in last year and desperately fled more. speak of gellering our talented ktvu photojournalists fanned ought over the bay area to bring you stories about people making a difference this holiday season. our special "holiday in focus" airs tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 p.m. coming up a little bitter later we'll hear from the 49ers who earned a tough win on the road. plus alt davis the fortuneteller? coach hue jackson talks about the big road win and the lariat oven's prediction for the season. could it be a little on the

chilly side for santa in the bay area? our meteorologist mark tamayo tells us about the changes coming to the weather pattern. [ male announcer ] how do you say...

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. well, we have clear skies across most of the bay area and as a result temperatures already dropping. but a fairly nice saturday, christmas eve across most of the rein, you can see the water movement with a benefit haze, but still fairly nice. as a mentioned temperatures are cooling off. already at this 10:00 hour, fairfield at 30 degrees, livermore at the upper 30s and santa rosaa, 36. so it will be subfreezing for the inland valleys and as a

result, another freeze warning lasting until 9:00 sunday morning. overnight lows back into the mid-20s, 25 to 32 degrees. so basically for the inland valleys, here is a look at the breakdown of the overnight lows and very cold in napa at 25 degrees. fairfield, 23. san josi, freezing at 32 and oaklan at 35. you will encounter frost as you wake up for christmas because those temperatures already dropping off. high pressure really in command of our weather and the stormtracker, we haven't seen that in quite some time with tomorrow being day no. 10 of dry weather. we could have changes developing late tuesday into wednesday with the possibilities of just a few showers. once again we talked about that very cold morning. a few high clouds sweep into the bay area as we head into the afternoon hours. here is your forecast model tomorrow morning at 9:00, if you look up

during this timeframe, maybe partly cloudy skies by midmorning and into the afternoon hours, especially by 3:00 that. cloud band heads to the south and really not a big threat, but just creating hazy skies out there. as far as the christmas forecast for tomorrow, looking outside over the bay and here you can see tomorrow morning fair skies and i have cold, temperatures in the mid-20s to 40s. >> by 4:00, partly sunny and readings back into the 50s. warmest locations approach, the lower 60s. brendwood 56 and concord in the upper 50s 58 and san josi tops out 59. los gatos right around 60. your extended forecast, cold for christmas morning, but fairly nice into the afternoon showers. monday, partly sunny skies of we do bring in the chance of a few evening sprinkles in the north bay. that will be tuesday evening. a chance of light showers on wednesday and just lingering clouds as we head into thursday, but no real strong storm showing up just yet on

the long-range weather maps. as santa approaches, heather and ken, he will have cold temperatures. >> i just check the norad commuter anne is in edmonton, canada, getting close. >> you have that flight mapped. >> he is being tracked by our air defense system. doesn't that sound good? >> it does. >> don't shoot him down. >> the raiders keep their playoff hope as live as they face kansas city. >> and we hear from the 49ers after their win in seattle. sportswrap is next.

. good evening everyone and

thanks for joining us our saturday night edition of sportswrap. well, the seahawks were able to go something that no team has done this season and that is score a rushing touchdown against the 49ers. but san francisco's defense didn't blink and passed yet another character test. 49ers in seattle to play their third straight game without all prolinebacker patrick willis. coach harbaugh knows how tough this receiver is. 10-0. centurylink field is always loud and tavaris jackson tries this play for 6 points, but rogers knocks him out-of- bound. 10-3 halftime lead. niners office telephone steps up in the second half. 3rd quarter 49ers lead when marshawn lynch with the first rescue touchdown against