good morning, everybody. we're live in the noe valley area of san francisco, where arson investigators are looking for a person or persons who lit several cars on fire early this morning. we'll bring you another update -- coming up. growing safety concerns tied to a controversial comedy about north korea. how it's now prompted an unprecedented move by a major movie studio. plus -- heavy rain last night leads to a very close

call at this santa clara apartment complex, where a huge tree comes crashing down on top of the place. we'll tell you about the damage here. we'll also tell you about flooding issues because of all of the rain. helping people in need during this holiday season. these are live pictures. the reason hundreds of people are lining up right now at glide memorial church in san francisco. "mornings on 2" begins right now. breaking news in san francisco, where police are investigating at least three separate car fires. you are looking at a result of one of them. ktvu's brian flores is there. coming up, he will tell us what else is unusual about this potentially dangerous situation. good morning. welcome to "mornings on 2." i'm tori campbell. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i'm dave clark. did you dress in layers like steve said? >> i had a very warm coat and

scarf. >> and a rain coat. >> and a rain coat. >> and umbrella. >> thank you. another system is moving in. there are breaks. if you get the break, it's brisk. a lot of 40s. hit and miss rain in fremont. our next system is flying down the old weather highway. boy, i will tell you, that storm door is open. it won't take much. the air and ground is so saturated. we'll need a break. we'll get one after friday. hit and miss. not a lot here. parts of the north bay, east bay, san francisco, oakland. this is very light stuff. the heaviest stuff went right there. now it's pushing off to the east san jose foothills. so for the morning commute, mostly cloudy if you get any breaks, i don't think they will last too long. scattered showers and then rain develops later this afternoon into this evening again. our next system drops in. pretty good line along the smast, santa cruz coast. skyline, the santa cruz

mountains. those kind of areas favoring a northwest direction seem to be picking up the precip more so than others. 40s and 50s on the temps. the next system, not the intensity or punch like last night. heaviest rain will be after 4:00, 5:00. i've been listening, sal, so far so quiet unless something has changed. we had one pesky crash that's messed things up for 680. if you are driving from pleasanton or san ramon, you hope to make your way into fremont, 680, it's not just the freeway. we had a truck on 680 about the 3:00 our hit the center divide and traffic has been backed up into pleasanton solid. a lot of twitter complaints. people are on niles canyon road getting over to mission and getting from mission over to 680. that's not a great alternate. through castro valley, it's slow and also very slow on 880 from hayward on 880 down to

fremont. this whole grid of the bay area here, this east bay grid is very, very slow because partially because of that truck accident. just because a lot of people are on the road. let's take a look at the bay bridge toll plaza. that's about a 25 to 30-minute delay with no major issues. i want to take a quick look at downtown san jose on northbound 280. a little bit wet weather. i'm seeing steve and -- getting some tweets about how the weather is moving through the area. definitely it will slow you down. 7:04. back to the desk. thank you, sal. we're fooling breaking news as arson investigators in san francisco look into several car fires set off this morning. brian flores joins us live now from san francisco with more on what you are learning about the situation. good morning, brian. >> reporter: hi, tori, good morning. we're on liberty and rayburn in the noe valley. this is one of the cars that was suspiciously lit on fire this morning. in fact, san francisco fire arson investigators say at

least three other cars were suspiciously lit on fire just before 4:00 this morning. now, arson investigators say at least, again, four cars hit on fair, mainly in the knowwy valley area -- noe valley area. owner was woke up by his car alarm. he went outside and saw the flames coming from the car. he called 911. fire crews came here and put it out. the owner us used a -- used a garden hose to try to protect his home as well. san francisco fire investigators responded quickly to putting this fire out and three other suspicious car fires early this morning. >> i can see the flames coming up over the wall. i knew that my car was parked right in front. totally freaked out. yelled to wake up my neighbor or my roommate. we came outside and the car was billowing smoke and flames. >> we have taken some evidence.

we're talking to owners of the vehicles. we're canvassing the neighborhoods for witnesses. >> reporter: there are no known suspects at this time, but again, as you heard, investigators also asking residents for any surveillance camera footage or witnesses to couple forward. the other locations are not far from here. we're on liberty and rayburn but the investigators say all of these fires happened, again, four, within a 15-block radius. a mercedes-benz was also lit on fire not too far from here. this is damage this morning to this jeep here this morning and three other cars as well. there was another incident that we're hearing about that happened in november of this year, similarly in the castro valley. i asked arson investigators whether there is any headway on that accident. they say not at this point. but they are asking any witnesses to come forward. back to you, tori.

>> very frightening. fortunately, nobody was hurt. brian flores live in san francisco, thank you. 7:06. cleanup crews in the south bay have a big job ahead of them. that's where a huge tree toppled down onto an apartment complex. alex savidge is there in santa clara. you are outside of the building. you've got a close look at that damage, alex. >> reporter: dave, good morning to you. yes, the soil just oversaturated because of all of the recent rain, and this is what you tend to get. check out the huge tree that came crashing down last night on this apartment complex. the building was damaged. we understand a parked car was smashed as well. this happened last night during a period of heavy rain here in the south bay. this tree is on burbank drive in santa clara and it gave way and toppled over again last night during the storm. the good news in all of this, is that no one was hurt out here. all of the rain triggered flooding across the south bay. that included an underpass that

was overwhelmed by floodwaters in san jose. there were also flooding issues on a nearby freeway as well. this is what 280 looked like near bird avenue in san jose. one car got stuck in floodwaters after a crash in that area. caltrans crews, they worked into the night to pump out water from the freeway and all lanes of the freeway now back open to traffic. as we bring you back out here live in santa clara this morning, this huge tree, again, continuing to rest against this apartment building this morning. obviously, a major cleanup job. you can see some of the branches have been cut away. they were cut away overnight. but still there's gonna be an extensive amount of work that has to be done to clear the tree from the building. no one can stay here for the time being, dave. >> that is incredible. it's gonna take hours to clear all of that away. >> reporter: you can imagine. >> thank you, alex. >> reporter: sure. marin county supervisors have declared a state of emergency following a week of

heavy rain. the declaration issued yesterday allows the county to apply for state and federal aid. the cost of repaving just one levee in novato is expected to cost $1 million. the stormy weather has also washed out roads and taken down trees and power lines all across marin county. marin joins these other bay area counties in declaring or considering a state of emergency due to the december storm. 7:09. the family of a south lake tahoe teenager who was found dead after he was reported missing last week, they are criticizing the police for not responding quicker. police say 14-year-old dejuan smith was fatally struck by a 50-foot tall tree that fell during last week's storm. the family reported him missing thursday night when he didn't come home after saying he was going to meet some friends. they say the police didn't start searching for dejuan until almost 24 hours later. the police say an officer did go to the area and searched the

area described by witnesses. but they say there's no indication it was anything more than a terrible accident. happening today, state senator jerry hill will introduce a bill. it's aimed at certain kinds of athletic fields. right now, some synthetic turf is made with ground-up recycled tires. there are fears those pieces can cause cancer. this proposed bim would require a new study examining possible health risks. schools and local governments would also be banned from installing new synthetic turf before that study is completed. >> you are not allowed to burn them or bury them. they are deemed unsafe, yet we can spread them around the playing field. >> the study would have to be completed in a year and a half. the ban on that turf would be for two years. 7:10. new this morning, at 9:00 a.m., pacific time, president obama is expected to announce he will

work to normalize relations with cuba which includes opening an embassy in havana. this announcement comes after a prisoner exchange in which cuba released an american contractor who it had held captive for five years. 65-year-old alan gross was convicted by a cuban court in 2011 of trying to overthrow the cuban government. the u.s. will now free three of the so-called cube an five found guilty of spying on anti- fidel castro groups. alan has serious medical problems and was convinced he was gonna die. probably ecstatic. >> this will be a major political story on both side of the issue. wow. new questions tied to that deadly hostage incident in australia. coming up at 7:30, why the critics say it was a tragedy that should have been avoided. how many mothers have told their children to stop

fighting? hello. what about on national television live. up next, the unusual scolding of some arguing political pundits. right now, traffic is moving along okay in some area and really terribly in others. this is a look at san rafael where marin county traffic is not all that bad but we'll tell you about the east bay commute which is not good. well, the weather is okay but it's really not good because we don't need any more rain. but we'll get some more rain. not only that, it looks like one more system on friday. we'll have updates coming up for your wednesday forecast.

welcome back. 7:14. pakistan is preparing for mass funerals for 145 people, most of them children, killed in a taliban attack on a military- run school. the three-day official mourning period started today, one day

after seven taliban gunmen stormed the army public school in the city of peshawar. students were gunned down. some of the female teachers were burned alive. army commandos stormed that school and killed the attackers. the taliban says it was a revenge attack for a military offensive against their safe havens in northwest pakistan. in response, the prime minister of pakistan has lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism cases. right now, pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row. meantime, students at uc berkeley gathered last night to take a stand against the taliban's war on education. many of those who gathered have ties to pakistan. they say they are heartbroken. hearing about the attack on that school and watching the images of the little coffins. >> the least we can do is acknowledge that we are here and we are getting an edge education which is something those kids will not be able to

do. >> i will be going back home on saturday and going back home to a nation which is mourning. >> those students say coming together helps them get through the emotions they are feeling after that horrible attack. 7:16. former florida governor jeb bush says he's taking steps toward running for president. bush said on twitter i'm excited to announce i will actively explore the possibility of running for president of the united states. jeb bush said today -- said he made the decision after talking with his family, which includes two former presidents, his father and brother. other potential republican candidates include fellow floridian senator mark rubio and new jersey governor, chris christie. it seems you are never too old to be scolded by your mother. watch what happens when two brothers took a phone call from north carolina during an appearance on c-span. >> you are right i'm from down south and i'm your mother. i disagree that all families

are like ours. i don't know many families that are fighting at thanksgiving. >> i love their expressions. >> oh, it's mom. >> dallas and his brad were shocked when their mom called in. she told them she had had enough of their arguing and expects a peaceful christmas but it wasn't all tough love. she did end the call by saying she was proud of them and loved them both. i know you said you could see your mom doing that. >> definitely. >> sal, i know, you were saying your mom would tell you to sit up straight or behave yourself, straighten your tie. >> i'm in a little bit of trouble. my mom called me yesterday and i didn't call her back yet. i'm gonna call you light after this traffic report. >> call her back. >> let's do this because i have to call my mother. oh, yes. we're going to the maps. >> yeah, you are going to the maps. >> i kind of lost my train of

thought. >> hi, sal. mom. >> look who is on the phone. >> now, wait a minute. >> are you there? >> is that mom on the phone right now, sal? >> oh, my. mom, i'm sorry i didn't call you back yesterday. >> hi, sal. >> how are you? oh, jeez. >> sit up straight, please. [laughter] >> thank you. thanks, mom. that's crazy. okay, mom. don't say anything else. [laughter] >> just put the phone on hold for a second. i'm gonna do my traffic. okay. >> love you. >> i love you, too, mom. [laughter] >> oh, boy. all right. let's go out and take a look at -- there ain't no other place to go other than the traffic now. >> no. >> 680 southbound as you pass pleasanton. it's awful, heading down to the fremont area. it's been a bad commute. that's because of an earlier truck accident. i am glad to let you know that that truck is finally gone from

680 at vargas and people have been tweepting at me saying -- tweeting at me saying what the heck is going on? well, that truck accident is still causing slow traffic even if it's gone. the alternate route is a horrible mess. 880 southbound from 238 all the way down to fremont, we've had a couple of fender-benders. people are trying to escape the east bay by using the san mateo bridge. if you are going to use the san mateo bridge, don't say i didn't tell you. it's terrible right now. it's hideous heading out to the peninsula. let's go to the bay bridge toll plaza, where that's kind of a normal commute, 25, 30-minute delay getting into san francisco. northbound 280 as you drive through downtown san jose, it's been raining there in the last few minutes. but the traffic isn't so bad right through here. 7:19. let's go to steve -- hem -- hello, steve. >> can we get your dad on the phone? >> i'm sure he's right next to my mom. don't give him any ideas.

>> thank you, sal. call your mom back. his parents are the best. i kid you not. they are. breaks in the clouds. not going to last. some of the rain totals coming in, yesterday thank goodness that system did not stall out, slow down or we would have been in trouble. that was intense rainfall. the winter outlook if you haven't seen, above normal from about central california, southern california through much of the four corners, texas, much of the deep south and into the carolinas. you are saying we should draw that line farther north. it's not winter yet, it starts in four days. this weekend officially. our wettest months, january and february. terry, she sent me a note that said only 2.75. i said only. 2.75. cazadero 1.50. sleepily hollow, 1.30. sfo, .75.

oakland, .75. san francisco .23. many people have brought this up. we've mentioned it. the sierra nevada is not in on this party. they are getting some snow but i mean, we take the bulk of the precipitation heavy and then these systems are sliding more south and east. by the time they get in the sierra, they all part. it doesn't mean they are not getting know. they are not getting the heavy snow or the winter storm warnings or the blizzard warnings. it's getting general snow, which is good. it still adds up. we get the rain and it continues from vallejo wrapping back -- an intense system around fremont/union city. just like that. it disappeared. it's moving rapidly into the san jose foothills. there's still some coming down out of the most direction. and some of that might give us -- this next system, they've been woefully underdone on the projections. this will be a weaker system that comes in this evening overnight. so showers this morning. mostly cloudy, some rain develops by this afternoon. it won't be heavy. but you can see coming down out

of the northwest from -- it looks like sfo right along the peninsula down to the santa cruz mountains, we're still getting some rain. this is a little guy. it's moving quick. that's the good news. 40s on the temps. 50s. 31 reno and lake tahoe. 40s for many, including ukiah and also monterey. one more system -- one and a half really. there will be system on friday. that one is looking weaker. i still think we'll get rain out of it. clouds, showers, maybe a few breaks. some sun in the morning. 40, some of the higher elevations. 50s for the other temps. rain develops takes us into tonight. we get a break at least mostly dry on thursday/friday. it does not look that heavy. the weekend should be okay except for fog in the valley. that can be a serious problem. >> maybe mid-60s along the coast. >> thank you, steve. tensions run high at a city council meeting addressing

recent protests in berkeley. >> do not go home and think this is our problem. i promise you each one of you, i will make it your personal problem. >> the demands some of the protesters are making of the city and what the mayor is doing in response. plus did they or didn't they, the new evidence that three inmates could have survived escaping from alcatraz and the unlikely way researchers stumbled upon it.

a new public lights sculpture in san francisco has the green light from supervisors. take a look. each time a muni light rail vehicle travels underground beneath market street, l.e.d. lights will streak along the upper part of the street reflecting the movement of the trains. the artist plans to string 124,000 leds along the overhead system that carries the muni power lines. >> the idea came from wanting

to reimagine the every day and take something we all experience on a daily basis and help transform it into a moment of wonder and awe. >> the project will be completely funded by private donations. fund-raising starts next month. the creators hope to have the light rail project up and running by june. >> that's fascinating. 7:26. so is this -- we're hearing. new possibilities surrounding one of san francisco's great mysteries. did these three men who escaped ail ka vez in 1962 survive -- alcatraz in 1962 survive? now, the three men made it out of their cells but their bodies were never found. now, a team of dutch researchers now say there's a chance they made it safely to shore but only if they left at the right time and rode in the right direction in their makeshift raft made out of 50 rain coats. now, the researchers originally designed a computer model sea

level rise. one of them realized that could apply to the escape. so they tweaked it. each dot represents a different time of departure. it shows if they left between 11:00 p.m. and midnight and they paddled north, they could have made it from alcatraz to the shore on the north side of the golden gate bridge. but if they left any time after midnight, the tide reverses. their raft would have been pushed back into the bay which would have meant almost a certain death from hypothermia. >> what should you do if you fall into the san francisco bay? the u.s. coast guard held a demonstration of cold water safety yesterday to gift folks an idea how to survive until helps arrives. experts caution the first thing to watch out for is an involuntary reflex when you hit the water. after that they recommend conserving heat by crawling up, crossing your hands over your chest, bringing your knees up to your elbows an crossing your ankles. volunteers who tried to do it

yesterday said they were shocked at how cold the water water felt and how quickly it affected them physically. 7:28. fallout over the sony pictures hacking has now exploded. up next, how the shadowy group is threatening violence now against moviegoers. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the another. >> reporter: we're live at the beach blanket babylon for their holiday performance. we'll give you a live look -- coming up next. ♪ it's the most wonderful time ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ the holiday season is here,

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♪ >> great costumes. this is live. good morning. we're live giving you a behind- the-scenes peak at san francisco's iconic beach blanket babylon, the hoyle version. it's actually a holiday tradition for many people. coming up in minutes, tara moriarty will introduce us to one of the central stars of

this always unpredictable, one- of-a-kind production. look forward to to that. welcome back to "mornings on 2." >> they sing so good so early in the morning. let's talk about weather and traffic. i ran outside. ran. >> okay. >> got back. >> yes? >> it's still chilly. it's not raining. but it's a -- dash. >> a damp cold out there. >> we're not done yet. actually 1.50. we'll get one more coming up this afternoon. this evening. and then one on friday. that one doesn't look that strong. scattered showers this morning. clow i do mostly cloudy. rain develops. won't be -- won't hold a candle to the one that came through and blasted last night. we'll still see rain picking up. for the afternoon and evening commute. it looks like a low is forming on it. might slow it down a little bit. it will give us any breaks in the clouds. won't last. they will fill. to the north, not a lot. some areas in lake county pick up with scattered showers.

that looks pretty light. also stretching from napa airport, back to parts of the east bay, oakland, hayward, also to san mateo. that seems to be one area, around san mateo, highway 92 some rain. maybe heading toward the dumbarton bridge to union city and hayward. fremont and union city had a quick downpour. highway 9, skyline, puerto da valley -- portolo valley. our next system is not as well organized but it will give us rain. it doesn't take much once you are saturated. clouds, showers and a few sunbreaks. won't think they will last long. 50s on the temps. rain moves back in. i think you said one issue the last time i talked to you. >> 680 is the commute that has everything very slow because an earlier truck accident in fremont. we'll talk about that in just a moment. i want to show you the bay bridge. a lot of people always ask

about this, 880 is jam packed. bay bridge is jam packed. any thought you were gonna have a lighter commute today doesn't seem to be happening at all getting in san francisco. 25, 30-minute drive time from the bay bridge tone -- to the bay bridge toll plaza. 101, the bayshore freeway, northbound and southbound, show in san mateo. 280 is not too bad. i want to show you the map of the east bay i mentioned to steve. southbound 680 very slow out of pleasanton right from the 680/580 interchange. solid traffic in fremont. 880 slow from 238 solid into fremont. the freeways getting in are terrible. if you have the option of going later, that might be the best thing. if not give yourself extra time. let's go back to the desk. this morning people in australia continue to deal with the aftermath of this week's deadly hostage situation as a memorial grows for the victims, australian authorities are

being asked why the man responsible was not being closely monitored. during the monday morning rush hour, man haron monis took 17 people hostage inside a cafe in downtown sydney. after police stormed the building, 16 hours later, two hostages and the gunman were dead. man haron monis had an extensive criminal background as was known for his public radical views. despite that, he was not on any government watch list. we're hearing from one of the survivors of the hostage situation. 83-year-old john o'brian was one of the first people to escape from the cafe. he's offering condolences to those friends and family of the victims. tori johnson died when he tried to grab the gunman's weapon. katrina dawson died when trying to shield her pregnant friend from the gunfire. >> my thoughts are with those affected by this terrible

event. >> he says he wants to thank the police officers and everyone who helped end the siege. he says he cannot talk about what happened inside the cafe because of the ongoing investigation. 7:36. a new terrorist threat is affecting a major motion picture due to be released in theaters, christmas day. pam cook is in the newsroom now. you have the details pam and how it's related to that hack attack on sony. >> yeah, the movie, "the interview" is a comedy about television journalists involved in a cia plot to assassinate the leader of north korea. it premiered in los angeles last week without incident. but now the manhattan premiere set for tomorrow has been canceled at this point. the hackers behind the sony pictures attack on its computer systems are now threatening a real attack on movie theaters. the threat makes references to the 9/11 attacks and a warning to theatergoers about showing the movie. >> take precautions.

make sure the movie theaters are as safe as we can make them. >> now, the two stars of the film seth rogen and james franco have pulled out of a number of public appearances after the threats. investigators say they are uncertain if the hackers would issue a cyber response or a physical attack. they also say it does appear that the threat is coming out of north korea. now, over the summer, north korea denunessed the film and -- denounced the film and the government warned the release would be an act of war. in our next hour of "mornings on 2," more on what homeland security department here in the u.s. says about this terrorist threat. reporting live in the newsroom, pam cook, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. back here at home, today is a special and a sad anniversary in a tragedy that really hits close to home for us here at ktvu. 16 years ago, a hit-and-run driver intentionally ran over and killed 37-year-old rick debecce. investigators say it hatched

while he was walking in -- happened while he was walking in front of the family owned trucking company. police are still searching for the drive who was driving a light-colored cadillac with a dark top. rick's brother, randy, is a long-time ktvu photographer. 7:38. well, happening now in san francisco, volunteers at glide memorial church, they are passing out free bags of groceries to the needy. we're out there live. we're right on the lines. they are waving at us. a lot of people happy. these are live pictures from glide. these volunteers have been bagging groceries since 6:00 this morning. the people have been lined up for hours to get those bags of groceries so they have everything needed for a really good holiday meal, including turkey or chicken, oranges, bread, pasta, rice and vegetables. the giveaway will end at 11:30 or whenever the bags ran out.

this saturday glide will be doing the toy bag giveaway for children who are less fortunate. last year, they gave out 8,000 christmas gifts and then there's the annual prime lib luncheon on christmas eve. of course there's a christmas breakfast and dinner on christmas. thousands of the homeless and needy and their families take part. 7:39. it's america's longest running musical. this morning we are getting a back stage look at beach blanket babylon. san francisco joins us live with a sneak peek at some of the talented actors. it's so fun hearing them sing this morning, tara. >> reporter: it's been a treat for me to be here and listen to them practicing and seeing all of the hats back stage. there is a lot that goes into this production. right now, they have their holiday performance going on through new year's. joining me live is kurt, one of the actors. in your king louie attire.

the holiday addition. >> yes. >> reporter: you have been with this show for 20 years. >> i know. can you believe it? >> reporter: no, that's a long time. >> it's the great of the job in the world. it's so much fun to come in and dress like this. this is one of just 12 characters i play. >> reporter: this is quite the getup. is it really heavy or how do you juggle the hats? >> it's fabulous. the people who make these hats, they are light and fabulous and easy to wear and they kind of wear us but we've learned to really work with them. >> reporter: obviously had to have some training. you had to sing and dance with this thing on top of your head. it's so easy to do the show without the hat and then you go what am i doing? but they really have been the creative juices of the show. they really are what the show is all about, is the hat and the heart of the show. >> reporter: we don't want to explain how all of these hats work because that's part of the

magic. >> it is and we like to keep -- we like to keep our secrets at beach blanket to keep people coming band an enjoying the creativity and the fun and the joy we bring them. >> reporter: speaking of joy, i know you are gonna bring us holiday cheer. >> yes. >> reporter: get on over there and let's hear you and your side kick christmas tree here. >> all right. >> reporter: let's hit it, bill. ♪ he knows when you're awake ♪ he knows if you have been bad or good ♪ have you been bad ♪ no ♪ you better watch out ♪ you better not pout i'm telling you why ♪ san taupe -- santa claus is coming to town ♪

you better not cry you better not pout santa claus is coming to town ♪ >> bravo. >> reporter: i know. were they amazing? we have tickets available. it's almost sold out. if you want to come to the show, log onto your website. we have information about tickets but they are going fast. >> it's a great show. >> tara, i want to ask about the physicality of not only your neck and everything holding up those hats and costumes, but also king louie who steve says is one of the best in the show, changing all of the costumes, the physicality of doing all of that, they must lay down and chance at end of the show. >> reporter: let me ask them. one of the anchors had a question about how difficult it was physically for you guys to make all of these costume changes and juggling with these big, huge hats on top of your head. i mean, are you back there -- do you have a team of people helping you? >> we have an amazing team of

people. they are spectacular. it is the hardest part of the show, i find, are the changes. once you get out on stage, it's easy. it's pure joy. it's the changing of the socks and the pants and the shoes. >> we're choreographed back stage as much as we are on stage. we all know exactly where we're supposed to be. so that's what makes it a much easier flow. so the audience, it looks like it's something really, really easy but we're back stage working and making sure we are all in the right place at the same time. >> reporter: you must shed pounds at the end -- >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: five pounds lighter. >> eight or nine shows a week, yeah. it's the greatest workout in the world. >> reporter: coming up in about an hour, you are gonna sing a number for us. >> i would love to. >> reporter: and it involves bells. >> all right. we look forward to. thank you. well, with all of the recent rain, the question on a lot of people's minds, how much more do we need to end

california's drought. coming up in the next hour of "mornings on 2," the astounding number nasa just released and the scientific way it came up with the figure. and thanks to a recent breakup, one lucky woman is getting a trip around the world for free. but there is a catch. very strict criteria she had to meet. good morning. northbound 101, getting a little bit of slowing approaching the 880 interchange. we'll run down the traffic getting to the south bay, coming up next. actually, a little bit of blue up there. not a lot. but there is something. we get a break in the clouds. there's scattered precipitation. if you are listening, there will be more rain this afternoon. we'll show you that system -- coming up.

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tom bates has scheduled a special meeting on january 17th focused solely on police tactics. the hearing comes after getting an hearful from protesters at last night's city council meeting. [chanting] >> more than 100 people attended the meeting which was moved from city hall to longfellow middle school to handle what was expected to be a laurk crowd. speakers representing a wide range of groups, including students, parents and civic leaders, criticized berkeley police for using tear gas to break up a crowd of protesters on december 6th. >> i was arrested for being in a peaceful protest and charged with a felony. what for? >> we have the best police force in the united states. i think they do things properly and use a right amount of force

for the situation. >> the speakers demanded that an independent prosecutor investigate police actions. 7:48. if you like sports we'll talk about sports after 16 straight wins, it's tough, the golden state warriors' win streak is over. the warriors kept it close, though. but they lost last night to the grizzlies 105-98. despite that loss, the warriors still have the best record in the nba, at 21-3. they are gonna try to start a new streak tomorrow night. they will be hosting the oklahoma city thunder at oracle arena. a toronto man who has been offering a free round the world trip to a woman with the same name as his ex-girlfriend has finally found a traveling partner. 28-year-old jordan and his then- girlfriend elizabeth gallagher booked the trip this year. but the two broke up. the tickets were nonrefundable so jordan offered up the extra

ticket for flee to anyone with a canadian passport named elizabeth gallagher. after hearing from 18 elizabeth gallaghers, he picked her. she's 28 years old who actually has a serious boyfriend. so the trip will be platonic. the two were set to leave on their three-wek trip this sunday. he said he was removed by all. responses. he's launched an oh, called a ticket forward which raises money to send people on trips who would not have the opportunity to travel otherwise. i was kind of curious. you can't necessarily change the ticket to someone with another name but they didn't have the passport information that's why it didn't have to be that one specific elizabeth gallagher. >> any. >> any elizabeth gallagher. hey, sal, highway 24. >> it's pretty slow, dave. i want to show it to you now. taking 20 minutes to drive a relatively short stretch

between pleasant hill roond and the caldecott. there's not any big problems but there's slow traffic. when you get to the bay bridge, it's a pretty big backup. it's a little worse than yesterday. 30, 40 minutes waiting here at the toll plaza driving across the bridge into san francisco. it continues to be a really bad commute in the east bay on 680 on 880. i will put the map up here to show you that the traffic on the fremont approach is very slow due to earlier problems now gone but the slow traffic remains. 7:50. let's go to steve in the weather center. >> thank you, sal. i had to to reach over and groob my clicker there -- grab my clicker there. breaks in the rain. we are still getting some scattered showers out there. there will be another system moving in later on. not much of a break. we'll zoom out. sounds good to me. go ahead. a couple of reports, blue sky. i know. enjoy it while you can. the system is already getting very, very close to moving in here. some of the rain totals, make

this quick. cazadero, 1.50. clearlake oaks, 1.40. daly city, 1.20. prody sanders .91. el cerrito, .61. for your morning commute, scattered showers, mostly cloudy as we talked about breaks. we cloud it up and rain develops later this afternoon into the evening. you can see why. the system is right there. the system does not have the oomph that last night did. rain is picking up around lake county. duncan mills is getting rain. not too much. picking up for parts of the bay area. right across the san mateo bridge and the dumbarton and around los gatos, coming along the northwest around highway 1. san mateo/santa cruz coast. it's cold. 40s on the temps.

50s. not a lot of snow in the sierra. we're taking the bulk of this. even southern california, i've seen pictures of snow from higher elevations, san diego and l.a., they are getting some snow. in fact, maybe more than the sierra. 50s on the temps. higher elevations, napa county, up in the hills, maybe upper 40s or low 50s. santa cruz mountains as well. cloudy to mostly cloudy here. rain develops, takes us into tonight. we do see a break on thursday. one more system on friday. not that strong and then it looks like things calm down. >> we need to dry out. >> it's damp and soggy everywhere. it seems compulsive phone use may reflect a person's ability to deal with other aspects of their life. a kent state university study found students who were the biggest smartphone users had the hardest time filling leisure time. that group was on their phones an average of more than 10 hours a day. a professor says they theorized

compulsive phone users are easily bored but don't have the skills to deal with their free time in a more creative way. do you know anyone who might be compulsively using their phone at all? >> no one i know. no respect for those kinds of -- oh. i'm sorry. i'm guilty of it. i know. i get hollered at a lot. i will do better. still ahead, a very prestigious east coast college broke the hearts of many hopefuls, not once but twice. coming up next, the embarrassing mistake that's making headlines this morning. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] get your taste of the season, at raley's, bel air, and nob hill.

it's a christmas display with an interesting spin called robo lights. it's a home in palm springs. it features eight robots made

from recycleled goods made from trash cans and old vacuum cleaners. it has 300 pieces of art and 8 million lights. >> there's over 300 mon unmental artwork that people will see when they come to experience robo lights. it's a fantasy wonderland that's completely out of this world. >> the artists there, kenny irwin is a practicing muslim who does not celebrate christmas. a new report says americans will spend less for gasoline and motor oil in 2015 than we have in the last 11 years. the department of energy says the average american household will spend 1,962 on gasoline and oil next year. that's down $554 from this year and it's the first time the total is under $2,000 since 2009. the energy department says dropping energy prices and more fuel-efficient vehicles are the reason for that big drop.

and they say you can also expect to pay less for birless plans next year. the experts say a price war between wireless carriers will continue and will intensify next year as four companies cut prices and try to steal market share from each other. new york city's times square is getting ready to ring in the new year. the giant number 15 there you see delivered today on the flatbed truck. the day after christmas, the 7- foot high numbers will be installed next to the 20 on the roof of one times square for the tradition ball drop. more than 1 million people pack times square every year to watch that waterford crystal ball come down and millions more watch it on tv. i usually celebrate east coast time for new year's eve/new year's day because it's 9:00 p.m. can't stay up. >> can't stay up. i know. we're getting a little bit of a break from the record-

breaking rain. but the problems from the stamp, far from over. after the break, we're live, we'll show you a big problem this morning in santa clara.

well, good morning. welcome back to "mornings on 2." these are live pictures. the fire department out there,

the police. this is san francisco. that burned, charred jeep, this is just part of a developing story this morning in san francisco's noe valley. at least three other cars were set on fire this morning. all of them within a 15-block ray deyuts. ktvu's brian flores has been out there. he's been talking to arson investigators. coming up in two minutes, he will have the very latest on this suspicious string of fires. what a heartbreaker to wake up to. >> absolutely. >> welcome to "mornings on 2." wednesday, december 17th. i'm dave clark. >> i'm tori campbell. a quick look at weather and traffic. heavy rain. getting a little bit of a break? >> there will be some rain. winter starts in four days. it feels like it's already here. i mean, we've had an incredible month. the beat goes on. some areas coming in, san francisco the wettest first 16 days in december ever. mill valley 1.75. cazadero over 1.50.

clearlake oaks. 1.40. kaoakmont, highway 12, kentwood, 1.10. danville, clayton point 91. el cerrito .61. these systems are favoring us. they are not so much in the sierra nevada. that's the direction they are going. the next system is right there. it's not going to take long to fill in. looks like rain beginning to stack up in the clearlake area. you can see the last few frames. i mean, any breaks won't last very long. also from sonoma, petaluma, highway 37 back to american canyon. vallejo, crockett, benicia, maybe to cordelia. from hayward, it looks like to east palo alto. right over the dumbarton bridge. had a pretty good cell go through about an hour and a half ago. right on the peninsula, los altos hills. san jose, we're not done yet. it's only going to thicken up.

40s or 50s. here's our next system. it's not that strong but it will give us steady rain stacking up to .50. a little higher for few. 50s on the temps. 680 south still something going on. or is that better? >> it's a little better. the crash has been cleared. we'll talk about all of the east bay traffic which is kind of a mess. but first we'll start with 880 northbound which is also east bay. we have slow traffic heading up to downtown oakland. so this wednesday has been the busiest commute day of the week so far and in the morning, northbound, traffic a little bit slow here. 580 is slow as well through the lakeshore area. when you get to the bay bridge phone, 40 to 45-minute delay. this is no joke getting into san francisco. southbound 680 is improving a little bi. we had anker earlier truck accident at vargas. finally things are getting slightly do-able here. 880 seslow from 238. both the san mateo and

dumbarton bridge is slow. when you get to the peninsula, 101 is slow. 280 is slow from daly city down to the crystal springs area. really no way around it. a lot of slow traffic out there. let's go back to the desk. now to developing news in san francisco, where several cars were torched early this morning. ktvu's brian flores is with arson investigators who are telling us these fires all happened within blocks of each other. good morning, brian. >> reporter: hi, tori. good morning. arson investigators remain here in the noe valley area. we're on cumberland and church. behind me, this is one of four cars totaled that were torched by a person or persons. this is the first car that was lit on fire just before 4:00 this morning. if this looks familiar to where we were earlier this morning, it is another jeep wrangler that was lit on fire. again, fire investigators still here this morning. again, the second jeep lit on fire. four cars total. the other was on rayburn and

liberty. about 100 yards away from that a mercedes was also lit on fire. but that car only got tajed to the year of the -- damaged to the rear of the car. we spoke to one of the owners of the cars, the jeep, he said he was awoebenned to the sound of the car alarm going off. he yelled for his room nate to call 911 -- roommate to call 911. he said the fire department arrived quickly. >> i could see the flames coming up over the wall. i knew my car was parked right in front. totally freaked out. yelled to wake up my neighbor. my roommate and i came outside. the car was billowing smoke and flames. >> we've taken evidence. we're talking to owners of the vehicles. we're canvassing the neighborhoods for witnesses. >> reporter: there are no known suspects at this time but investigators are also asking residents if they have any swins camtra footage.

as we take it back out here live. investigators looking at four suspicious car fires. there was a similar incident in late november. that was actually in the castro valley area around the 500 block of noe street. i did ask investigators about that case. they say there are no lead to that case, no suspects either. but someone definitely lighting fires this morning. four cars lit on fire this morning in the noe valley. no one suspects. a lot of frustrated people this morning. back to you. >> as dave mentioned, a terrible way to start your morning to come out and find your car all torched. 8:05. well, cleanup crews in the south bay, have a big job ahead of them. a huge tree toppled down onto an apartment complex. alex savidge has been outside that building in santa clara and you just talked to a witness who heard that tree coming down. >> reporter: good morning. i did. i just spoke with a neighbor who watched this tree topple yesterday afternoon. she told me it was quite squarery to see. she was worried about the

family who lives in this apartment. the good news, everybody was okay here as this large tree came crashing down and, of course, the real problem is this soil that's oversaturated from all of that rain we've been getting recently. you can see the roots the tree sort of ripped out of the ground. this raurge tree hit the building, smashed a parked car. it came down on burbank drive in santa clara. it gave way at around 1:30 in the afternoon yesterday during a period of heavy rain. no one was hurt again but there was someone would was home at the time. obviously, that had to be a frightening situation for them. we spoke with the woman who lives across the street. she told me that she heard a rumbling sound while she was outside and turned around and watched this tree falling in slow motion. >> all of a sudden, i was like oh, my god. oh, my dmod. what's going on? what's going on? oh, my god. fortunately, there was nobody around. i was like oh, my god. what's going on?

where is everybody? >> reporter: meantime, all of that rain overnight triggered flooding across the south bay. that included an underpass that was overwhelmed by floodwaters in san jose. there were also flooding issues on a nearby freeway. this was the scene on 280 near bird avenue in san jose where a car got stuck in floodwaters. caltrans crews worked into the night to pump all of the water out and the lanes back open to traffic. as we bring you back out here live, we understand the family who lives in this apartment, they are being helped out by the red cross and being put up elsewhere this morning. and we also understand it will be an extensive cleanup operation here. it will take a number of hours to clear this tree, dave, from the top of this apartment building but the good news, no one hurt out here. >> has the work -- have workers been out there this morning -- all right. i'm looking over your shoulder. they are climbing -- >> reporter: i was just gonna tell you. let me step out of the way. as i speak, almost right on cue, yeah, we have seen -- no work has happened yet but this

morning but we've seen a number of workers from tree trimming companies come out here kind of af sing the -- kind of assessing the damage and trying to see how long it might take. i talked to one tree trimmer a few minutes ago. he told me it would probably take hours. so probably a good part of the day will be spent clearing this tree. you can imagine. look at the size of that trunk. >> sure. >> you can imagine that it's gonna take a long time. of course, you have to get in there and assess how much damage was done to the apartment building as well and -- this will be at the very least a full-day operation here, if not it might take even more -- several more days. climbing down. i hope -- he has to be careful here. >> it's slippery. >> reporter: this is a slippery tree. >> and then you have to try to peat the rain at well. marin county supervisors declared a state of emergency after a week of all of the stormy weather. yesterday's declaration allowed the county to apply for both state and federal aid.

now, fixing just one levee in novato that will cost about a million dollars. roads have been washed out, trees and power lines, they've fallen across marin county. marin joins these bay area counties that have declared or thinking about declaring a state of emergency because of storm damage. 8:09. despite the recent rain, experts are reminding us, yes, california is still in a drought. we're learning how much more water it will take to end the crisis. nasa says we need 11 trillion gallons of water to refill the sacramento and san joaquin river basins. nasa used its climate satellites to determine that figure. last thursday's storm was a start. it dumped a billion and a half gallons of water on resserrer voyeurs in the east bay and the -- reservoirs in the east bay alone. senator jerry hill will

introduce a bill aimed at certain kinds of athletic fields. right now some synthetic turf is made up with ground up, recycled tires. but there are fears that can cause cancer. this would require a new study examining possible health risks. in the meantime, schools and local governments would be banned from putting down synthetic tougher before that study is cleat. >> you are not allowed to burn them or bury them. you are not allowed to do a lot of things because they are deemed unsafe, yet we can spread them around our athletic playing fields. >> that study would need on completed in a year and a half. the ban on synthetic turf fields would be for two years. 8:10. san francisco mayor ed lee said the city is taking another step at improving the service of muni while protecting the environment. the mayor has announced the purchase of 61 additional hybrid diesel buses. muni bought 112 buses last year. they run on less fuel and emit

less pollution. the new buses cost $68 million and they help replace an aging fleet. the money comes from federal grants, bridge tolls and a voter approved proposition. i love the big red bow. >> i like that, too, tori. 8:10. there's more fallout this morning from that sony scandal. it's rocked hollywood. coming up in 21 minute, the attack allegedly planned for christmas day. it threatens innocent moviegoers across the country. but first, don't mess with mama. the live on-air moment that left arguing brothers speechless. good morning. we are looking at a commute that's getting a little bit better in some areas. still very slow. here in san jose, northbound 280 actually looks good passing 17. a couple of breaks in the clouds. it won't last too long. mostly cloudy skies. scattered showers. we're waiting on our next system. it's not that far away.

we'll show you that and other rain totals that keep pouring in. (vo) nourished. rescued. protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. female announcer: sleep train's ends sunday.e for 3 event! it's your last chance to get three years interest-free financing on beautyrest black, stearns & foster, serta icomfort, even tempur-pedic. plus, get free delivery, and sleep train's 100-day low price guarantee. but hurry! sleep train's interest free for 3 event ends sunday. ...guaranteed! ♪ sleep train

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time is 8:14. pakistan is preparing for mass funerals for 145 people, most of them children killed in the taliban attack on a military- run school. a three-day official mourning period started today, one day after seven taliban gunmen stormed the army public school in the city of peshawar. students were gunned down and some of the female teachers were burned alive. army commandos stormed the

school and killed the attackers. the taliban said it was a revenge attack for a military offensive against their safe havens in northwest pakistan. in response to the attack, pakistan any's prime minister lifted -- pakistan's prime minister lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism cases. right now, pakistan has more thanle,000 prisoners on -- more than 8,000 prisoners on death row. some uc berkeley students came together to take a stand on the war on education. many who turned out have ties to pakistan. they stay there are heartbroken hearing about the attack on the school and seeing the images of the small coffins. >> the least we can do is acknowledge that we are here and we are getting an education which is something the kids will no longer be able to do. >> i will be going back home hon saturday. i will be going back home to a nation which is mourning. >> the students say coming together helps them get through the emotions they are feeling following the attack. 8:15. former florida governor jeb

bush, taking steps towards running for president. bush said on twitter "i'm excited to announce i will actively explore the possibility of running for president of the united states." jeb bush said he made the decision after talking with his family, which, of course, includes two former presidents. his father george h.w. bush and his brother, george w. bush. other potential republican dits include fellow floridian, senator marco rubio and chris christie. it seems you are never too old to be scolded by your mother. i know i still get scolded. watch what happens when two brothers took a phone call from north carolina during an appearance on c-span. >> you are right i'm from down south. i'm your mother. i disagree that all families are like ours. i don't know many families that are fighting at thanksgiving.

>> is this your mother? >> my mom. >> dallas and his brother, brad, were shocked when their mom called into the show. and she told them she's had enough of their arguing and expects a peaceful christmas. but it wasn't all tough love. she did end the call by saying she was proud of them and loved them both. >> like most men you say there quietly and listen until she is absolutely finished like sal showed us how to do it when your mom called this morning. >> i told her not to call again. [laughter] >> we'll be talking off the air. >> she's great. i had a chance to meet your parents. lovely, lovely people. >> we love mom. >> they like all of us here. let's take a look at what we have now. we have a rockslide and mudslide on highway 84 pleasanton, sunol grade. this is just adding insult to injury because that whole area has been terrible. we've had rain moving through and steve will talk about that but the east bay commute is not

doing well. let's start with highway 4 which has improved. it's improved coming up to the willow pass grade. 680 traffic has been a little bit slow heading down to walnut creek. but when you get to the bay bridge toll plaza, we've had a big delay here of 30 to 40 minutes getting into san francisco. then you look at the east bay. i want to show you the maps here. almost everywhere you look, there is slow traffic. and traffic getting out of pleasonton is going to be slow on 680, although it's improved a little bit now that they've removed the truck at vargas road. southbound 880 from 238 solid traffic all the way down to milpitas. and then 84 and the dumbarton bridge and the san mateo bridge are slow. last time i didn't mention the south bay, 85 and 280 are better than 101 which is very slow. again, i was kind of hoping we would start to see a lighter commute, traffic as we get closer to christmas. we will. but not today. 8:18.

hello, steve. >> twitter enjoyed your mom calling in. >> they sure did. got a little glimpse into what the sal life is all about. >> have not seen you blush like that before, was one comment. >> as red as the maps. >> thank you, sir. good morning. a lot of fog reports as well. jenny out in partly sunny on said it's gotten foggy quickly. there's rain picking up. not only to the north but also to the south. it will only take a matter of time before we start to cloud up again and see the rain return. it will not be as heavy but it looks steady. mill valley 1.30. cazadero, 1.50. clearlake oaks, 1.50. yountville, 1.44. oakmont, kenwood, 1.10. clayton almost an inch. el cerrito .23. that was after last night's intense system. thankfully that continued to march forward. you can see what's going on.

this is noes as well organized as last night's system. not much is representing on -- developing on it. nothing too heavy yet. also extending from highway 37 back to american canyon, hitten brook -- hidden break, vallejo. benicia. and picking up from petaluma, novato, into marin county. not heavy or anything. but it's starting to show a little bit more coverage in intensity. east bay even towards 680/580 split. and right back into san jose over to the peninsula. east pal, dumbarton bridge and then into sunnyvale, cupertino and right back into the santa cruz mountains. we're getting there. there's not a lot here. if you are getting some of that rain, it's the leading edge of our next system. it's already getting very close here. we'll move this in. get some steady rain. it looks like another day where we continue to add to these incredible rain totals. 40s and 50s. kind of a cold, damp morning.

29 tahoe. some snow, nice, beautiful picture. fb it was snow in the sierra, we would be saying feet. that's not the face. they are getting rain and snow in southern california. therein lies where the systems are going. clouds to mostly cloudy here. scattered showers in the morning and then we'll cloud it up and get rain later this afternoon. 50s on the temps. some of the higher elevations. it's tough to get above 51, 52. showers will turn to rain later on. mostly dry on thursday. one more system on friday, sunday through maybe christmas eve. after that i'm not touching it. >> okay. >> there's signs we might get back into the rain around coms evening. >> you are sending people out today, you say bundle up. >> take the umbrella. >> take the umbrella. >> thank you. johns hopkins university is apologizing to nearly 300

students who got acceptance e- mails by mistake. the prestigious university blames human error, 294 students got the news this week they had already been told they had been rejected for early admission. the university says it regrets adding to their disappointment. >> yikes. >> yikes. exactly. 8:21. well, protesters in berkeley want the city to hold the police accountable. >> should be free now. >> coming up in 31 minutes, demands last frit pro-- last night from protesters inside a city council and how the mayor is responding. first it was the bay bridge lights. after the break, the spectacular new light display along a major corridor in san francisco.

8:25. happening today, british and german soldiers are marking one of the most memorable holiday events ever. it was 100 years argue. it happened on christmas day 1914 during the horrific bloody days of world war i. soldiers climbed out of their muddy trenches, shook hands and played soccer. this match became known as the christmas truce of 1914. today teams representing great britain and germany will meet in southern england for an emotional rematch of what they call football. >> that's fascinating history.

8:25. back here at home, a new public light sculpture in san francisco gets the green light from city supervisors. take a look at this. every time a muni light rail vehicle will travel underground, beneath market street, l.e.d. lights will light up along the street, mirroring how the trains are moving. the artist plans to string 124,000 l.e.d.s along the overhead system that carries the muni power lines. >> the idea came from wanting to reimagine the every day and wanting to take something that we all experienced on a talely basis and -- daily basis and help transform it into a moment of wonder and awe. >> the project will be paid for by private donations. the fund-raising starts next month. the creators hope to have that light rail project up and running by june. 8:26. we're just days away from one of the biggest shopping days of the year. coming up in 18 minutes we're

talking live. i gotta find this person. a consumer expert has tips you should know before you step out for supersaturday. ♪ fa-la-la-la-la ♪ >> we're behind the scenes of beach blanket babylon holiday edition -- next. ♪ fa-la-la-la-la law (vo) nourished.

rescued. protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. welcome back. we're live amongst all of the

folks. we are at glide memorial church in san francisco right now. a lot of people, thousands, volunteers, are passing out free bags of groceries. coming up in minutes, we'll tell you just what's in those bags that people are willing to wait here in these lines for hours to get them. we're in line right with them. wednesday morning, december 17th. i'm dave clark. thank you for joining us. let's talk about weather and traffic. things are changing and it's a chilly, damp morning. >> dave, was that tara singing? >> tara was singing. >> tara moriarty. >> and sang very good. >> we'll hear more from her soon. nice job, tara. there are breaks in the clouds. look at this. it's on its way, more rain. general about .50 to 1.50 for most. some areas picking up in rain. courtney in santa rosa, steve it's cold.

a couple of reports it's cold. i know it's cold. a lot of reports. bundle up. not only need a sweater or parka but also the umbrella. things are picking up. parts oflake county, santa rosa beginning to get rain and also starting -- you can see more coverage wrapping back around towards mill valley. much of marin county to the east bay, around san ramon. dublin, pleasanton, hayward, san leandro as well. and then from san jose, it looks like back to sunnyvale and right into the peninsula. santa cruz mountains. some of this can be brief, heavy at times it's all in advance of the system it will start to work its way in. more rain in the afternoon. 40s on the temps. it listen another cool day for many. this system does not have the energy like the one before. a few breaks in the morning. a lot of cloud, showers will give way to cloudy skies and rain. the afternoon commute looks worse. here's sal with an update on your traffic. we have a mudslide, steve,

on the -- on niles canyon road between 680 and mission boulevard. i'm gonna put it on a map. they've issued a sig-alert. they've closed this road. a lot of people try to use it, especially this morning. people were using it because 680 was such a mess. they wanted to avoid the freewayen. that's not a good idea. this is also known as pleasanton and sunol grade. don't use it. stay on 680 which has not been good. 880 has been slow from 238 and northbound 880 slow from 238 all the way up into downtown oakland. this wednesday, i don't know. not getting a good grade from this traffic reporter. if you get to the bay bridge toll plaza, you will be waiting for about 20, 25 minutes. so it has improved a little bit. steve -- you heard steve say we might see rain and that would make for another bad evening comu. keep that in mind. b.a.r.t. has 10, 15-minute delays. nothing major on b.a.r.t.

back to the desk. the group responsible for the hack attack on sony is now threatening moviegoers. pam cook is in the newsroom now to explain the reason behind this threat on how the u.s. government is reacting, pam. >> the hackers who broke into sony pictures are threatening a real attack on movie theaters. it makes reference to the 9/11 attacks and a warning to theater owners about showing "the interviewer." this movie premiered in los angeles last week without incident. but now the manhattan premiere set for tomorrow has been canceled as a precaution. the u.s. department of homeland security says there's no credible evidence that the threat is real. >> we believe and i personally believe that most of this is done to put terror through

messaging into the people of america. if we react to that, then to use the phrase that gets overused, the terrorists win. >> the two stars of the film have pulled out of a number of public appearances after those threats. investigators say they are uncertain if the hackers would issue a cyber response or a physical attack. this morning, there are reports that carmike cinemas has canceled all plans showing "the interview." no official comment from the national association of theater owners but there's talk of demanding that sony provide heavy security if they play the film. back to you. >> thank you. 8:34. new this morning, in 30 minutes from right now, president obama will announce he's working towards full diplomatic relations with cuba, including opening an american embassy in

havana. the announcement comes after cuba released 65-year-old alan gross in what is called a humanitarian gesture. he's an american contractor. he's been in failing health. he was convicted by a cuban court in 2011 of trying to overthrow the cuban government. we're getting a report now that he may be inside the united states right now. we'll be checking on that. cuba is also releasing an unidentified american spy who has been held for almost two decades. in exchange, the united states is releasing three members of the so-called cuban five. they were accused of spying on anti-fidel castro groups in cuba. improved relations would include banking and trade. now, ktvu will carry president obama's announcement on improving relations with cuba immediately after "mornings on 2" at 9:00 this morning. you can see the announcement at ktvu.com. the united states and cuba have not had diplomatic relations

since 1961. 8:35. back here at home today, a sad anniversary in a tragedy that hits close to home for us here at ktvu. 16 years ago, a hit-and-run driver intentionally killed 37- year-old rick debekke. he was walking on second street in front of the family-owned trucking company when he was killed. police are soil searching for the driver -- still searching for the driver driving a lincoln or cadillac with a dark top. rick's brother, randy, is a long-time ktvu photographer. 8:36. happening now, volunteers at glide memorial church in san francisco are passing out free bags of groceries to the needy. these are live pictures from glide. see all of the volunteers there in the orange vest. they've been bagging groceries since 6:00 a.m. this morning. people have been lined up for hours to receive them. the bags contain everything

needed for a holiday meal including a turkey or chicken, oranges, bread, pasta, rice, and vegetables. the giveaway will end at 11:30 or when the bags run out. this saturday glide will be doing its toy bag giveaway for less fortunate kids. last year they gave out 8,000 christmas gifts. then there's the annual prime rib luncheon on christmas eve and the christmas breck fast and dinner on christmas day. thousands of homeless and needy families all take part. and this morning, still in the holiday theme we're giving a behind-the-scenes look at san francisco's beach blanket babylon. classic musical. ktvu's tara moriarty has been showing us the costumes. she joins us one more time with another sneak peek at what fans can expect for the special holiday show there. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning. this has been so much fun this morning. we are just having a great

time. we have renee luben. she's the veteran performer here. and you have been doing this a long time. you love it just as much as kurt did. we spoke to him last night. >> i do. i've been with the show for 28 years. it's a lot of fun. >> reporter: what's it like for the little boys and girls out there who maybe want to do what you do when they grow up. >> it's gas paced. you have to remember if you have a dream in mind, set your sights on that and never give up. >> reporter: you started off in the choir, right? >> i did. i did. i started out in the church choir. i was a very shy singer and i went to school for something totally opposite of what i'm doing. you can -- singers come from all walks of life. >> reporter: and you have a total normal life outside of this. >> oh, yes. >> reporter: you have a son and you get him from school and you do your grocery shopping, occasionally recognized. >> oh, yeah. we have a normal like just like

everybody else. >> reporter: we really want to hear you sing. you've been doing such a great job. you are gonna do a special number for us. i'm gonna -- hit it again, bill. here we go. ♪ silver bells ♪ silver bells ♪ it's christmas time in the city ♪ ♪

♪this is for you ♪ city sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style ♪ in the air there is a feeling of christmas ♪ children laughing people passing meeting smile after smile and on every street corner you'll hear silver bells ♪ silver bells

♪ it's christmas time in the city ♪ hear them ring ♪ soon it will be christmas day ♪ [ applause ] >> reporter: bravo. great -- great performance. i know you want to tell dave something. >> dave, you have never been to beach babylon, get over here. >> i can't believe i've been ringing these bells for 28 yearsed a i've never seen there. >> you will. i will be right out front to

see you. >> fabulous show. >> we want to thank bill. he's the muse ikeal director here -- music amal director. if you would like to come to the show, almost all of the shows are sold out. you want to check out our website and i know they have a special performance on new year's eve with the champagne and truffles. >> yes. >> fabulous. you've done a great job. thank you and tell everyone thank you, tara. >> and tara, you sang terrific, too. >> she has a great voice. >> reporter: i would love to do what she does. a fun job. tough work. you have 13 costume changes, don't you, per show? >> i definitely do and costumes and characters to go with it. >> absolutely. thank you. >> thank you. 8:42. we need to nov onto other news. the beleaguered donald sterling

and the revered derek jeter on the same list? it has nothing to do with sports. the tie between these two men that's making news this morning. what's in a name? after the break, how a trip to splitsville for one woman, it's turning into a trip of a lifetime for another. female announcer: sleep train's interest free for 3 event!

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8:45. we want to check back in with sal keeping a close eye on the commute. you are saying you were hoping it would start to get a little lighter. but not quite yet. >> not today, unfortunately. but i think as we get closer to the end of the week -- we're already here. we're here on hump day. we'll start to see some people take off for the holiday. 880 northbound, is just not that way. it's backed up from 238 all the way into downtown oakland. going the other way, we do have some slow traffic as well. i will show it to you when i put up the maps. i want to show you the commute at the bay bridge toll plaza, that's backed up for a 30- minute delay. we have a closure because of a mudslide. niles canyon road is closed between 680 and mission boulevard. i will circle it on the maps. when something gets closed, they put it in purple. you can't use that. 680 is backed up again even though it had been okay. now it's backed up again out of pleasonton heading down to fremont. let's go to steve in the studio. all right. thank you, sal. cloudy to mostly cloudy.

we do get a few breaks here in the morning but they will fill in really fast here. more rain on the way. already had scattered showers this morning. occasionally brief downpours. this next system is not as strong as the one we had the last couple of, especially laugh night -- especially last night. this one is taking aim to the coast and points south. some of the rain is picking up already in add vance of that. marin county, wrapping over to novato. there's another two systems and then things will start to calm down a little bit. over to the east bay, out to the delta, you can see east bay not a lot. pleasanton, livermore, but some areas are picking up near milpitas. some of these are quick downpours. wrapping back over towards los altos, up into the higher elevations. this is close to the radar site but some of that rain is beginning to move out of the northwest peninsula into the santa cruz mountains. part of the santa clara valley and the next system is very, very close.

it will sweep in here giving us cloudy skies and rain developing by later this afternoon. not just showers. 50s on some of these temps. a very cool pattern. probably about .25 to maybe .75. it wouldn't take much. mostly cloudy, showers in the morning. 50s and 60s on the temps. i should say 40s and 50s on the temps. not 60s, we had some yesterday. it looks like shower activity and then we'll hold for one more system friday. that looks like a weak system. onto the couch with dave and tori. a littler is terrifying. don't be haunted by plaque friday, now that supersaturday is around the corner. if you are not familiar, dave, you might be aware, supersaturday is the term retailers use for the saturday that falls right before christmas. >> it's made for people like me who wait until the last minute and really -- it's

traditionally one of the busiest, if not the busiest shopping day of the year. joining us live from washington, d.c., consumer expert regina lewis with some tips on savings and shopping to help keep us sane at the same time. regina, thank you for joining us. >> reporter: of course. thank you. >> look, now that we're in the holiday home stretch, we've got a week to go, what's the best thing that people like me can do to find some great deals? >> reporter: well, you still have runway online. amazon just announced it's extended the two-day free shipping. you have time to work with online. certainly supersaturday expected to be crowded offline and resist the urge to shop for yourself when you are out and about. stay focused on gifts. you will have a lot of buying power, focus. head down. >> gadget gifts are big

sellers. you say there's hidden costs. what are they and how can we avoed them? >> reporter: yeah, a great point. on the smartphone side, there's something called an app attack that happens on christmas day when downloads for apps spike 90%. not all free. be mindful of the toast at costs. with tablets, the best products demand the best service. think ahead to christmas morning. is your household well positioned to absorb all of these new gadget gifts. also working with comcast and san francisco people familiar with xfinity, you can get a spreed upgrade or blast -- speed upgrade or blast. with tvs, people are paying for content multiple times. in my own household we were gifty. they've created a winter watch list. what happens, people go and subscribe to all kinds of streaming services not realizing they already own it and have access to it in their

on demand library. don't double and triple play for content. >> is it hype -- how do you think sales will be this supersaturday? >> you know, it really depends. i will tell you gas prices could be rebel helpful. most people pay for gas on a credit card. they are getting their credit card statements and realizing there's more wiggle room than thought. it will be a big day. it's not over until it's over. but i have to think gas prices will help particularly for retailers like walmart. >> do you think is it worth waiting until december 26th? will we see good sales after christmas? >> reporter: i'm glad you asked. i think the 25th is an artificial deadline. we talked about self-gifting. i do this with my own sister. if you are not gonna see team people on the 25th -- gonna see people on the 25th, wait. bring it on new year's. it will still be great and a whole lot cheaper.

>> absolutely. great tips. thank you. this is from consumer expert regina lewis joining us live. certainly appreciate it. well, time is 8:52. there is a man in toronto who has been offering a free rornd the trip -- a free round the world trip to a woman with his same ex-girlfriend's name. they booked the trip early this year but then they broke up. the tickets nonrefundable. so he offered up the extra ticket for free to anyone with a canadian passport named elizabeth gallagher. after hearing from 18 elizabeth gallaghers, he finally picked his companion. she's 23 years old, a student, who has a boyfriend. the two are set to leave on their three-week trip this sunday. he says he was so moved by the responses, he's launched a ticket forward. it raises money to send people

on trips who wouldn't ordinarily have the opportunity to travel otherwise. >> yeah. kind of cool. >> happy ending. >> yeah. well, the former owner of the los angeles clippers has a new title. worst communicators of 2014. the title comes from decker communications which is a leading communications training firm. robin williams was named the best communicator of 2014. richard branson who founded the vir yin group came in second. coca-cola executive wendy clark, retired short stop derek jeter and jimmy fallon round out the list for the top five communicators. jeter did more commune nip kates with his bat and gov and his -- communicating with his bad and glove. all right. go ahead. lie about your age. >> oh, yeah. >> after the break, the reason it may be the very thing that help us live longer.

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you don't think much about it... you never dwell on how it was made...

it's just a blanket after all. but when everything else has been lost, the comfort it provides is immeasurable. the american red cross brings hope and help to people in need every 8 minutes, every day. so this season give something that means something. support us at redcross.org los angeles will buy 7,000 of these uniform body cameras for their officers. the mayor of l.a. says the cameras can help restore trust between the public and police. the aclu says it generally supports this kind of new effort as long as priorcy rights are protected.

the police department says the footage will not be released to the public. it would be available for court proceedings. go ahead. lie about your age. in fact, it may be the very thing that helps you live a longer life. a new study found that if people who lie about their age truly believe they are younger than what it says on their birth certificate, they tend to live longer. that's compared with people who feel their age or even feel older than their years. researchers say their findings add to a list of studies that show optimism is the keat to living a longern life. >> that makes sense. >> it does. >> psychologically. i'm not lying [laughter] >> i know you are not. sal, you are telling us the truth about our commute. >> i'm 72. i lie a little bit. i tell people i'm 68. let's take a look at the commute now. it's not good. we have improvements. i will tell you. niles canyon road has just reopened. they listed the slide. so that's going to reflect on

our maps here any moment here. watch for some slow traffic. let's go to 101 approaching 880. that traffic is okay. let's go back back to steve. rain moves in this afternoon this evening. a dry day. a system on friday then a break 0 on the week. up next, we want to let you know, we're gonna take you live to the white house for president obama's announcement on opening relations with cuba. we'll have a complete wrapup of this major international story on the news at noon. thank you for joining us. 22 bucks!

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the all new keurig 2.0. >> this is a fox news special report. >> from the knocks news world headquarters in new york i'm bill hemmer. a significant announcement about to take mason the relationship between the united states and communist cuba. a live look at the white house we are awaiting on president obama to make it a statement to make it official. as we've been reporting throughout the morning american alan gross age 65 has been released from a cuban prison after being held captive for five years. gross was detained in december of 2009 while working for an american aide agency, an american government program that cuba considered as illegal. illegal attempts by washington to undermine havana's government. gross was tried, originally sentenced to 15 years in jail. this is all part of a new era