now at noon, san francisco players, ray mcdonald being investigated for an alleged sexual assault. a state of emergency declared in one bay area county because of damage from the recent storms. and the rain's not gone yet. we'll show you the forecast. plus -- a historic day for u.s. and cuban relations, the steps announced today by president obama as we hear from a man who was being held in a cuban prison for the past five years. good afternoon.

i'm tori campbell. san jose police are investigating a possible sexual assault at the home of the 49ers defensive end, ray mcdonald. ktvu's john sasaki is live in the newsroom with what we know so far. john? >> tori, san jose police say the suspect in this case is ray mcdonald himself. detectives served a search warrant at his home in silver creek yesterday. we say the -- they say the alleged victim was being treated at a hospital. the woman said she was possibly asoughted the day before. ray mcdonald was arrested in san jose over labor day weekend on suspicion of felony domestic violence against his pregnant fiance. prosecutors declined to file charges in that case. the district attorney said there was not enough evidence to prove a crime occurred. san jose police say no arrests have been made in this current case. the investigation is ongoing. no reaction from the 49ers but an nfl spokesman said the league is looking into the matter.

we'll continue to work this story throughout the day and you can get updates on twitter and facebook. we are still on stormwatch as the rain continues to fall around parts of the bay area. let's go to steve paulson tracking this system. >> not a big system coming in later this afternoon tonight, tonight. but with the air and ground so saturated, we don't need much in the way of rainfall. we'll get some. after friday, we'll get a break. cloudy, kind of cold for many. we had a few breaks this morning. some of the rainfall yesterday was very in -- was very intense. in mendocino county, reports of 2.50. i know parts of marin county, 2- point a. mill valley 1.75. clearlake oaks, 1.50. oakmont an inch, danville, clayton, almost an inch. the precipitation outlook starts for the winter yuck which is four days away. we're four days and counting here. we can't take that line and

move it north because it's fill fall. it's showing signs of a wetter pattern which would be kind of an el nino technology. the pattern we've been in has been very cool to cold. snow level is around 4,000 feet. winter weather advisory is fought r the sierra, plumas county and lassen. a little wave went down the coast. they are moving fast. that's the good news. it's a cloudy day with scattered showers. not a lot going on. we expect some of that rain to pick up. it's cold. a lot of 40s today. only 50s right now. we'll have an update in ten minutes on our forecast and see after friday if there's more rain if we can keep it dry until christmas. >> okay. kind of need that time to dry out. cleanup is underway in clair where the latest storm tack down a huge tree. it crashed into an apartment complex on burbank drive. the building was badly damaged as well as the parked car. luckily, a man inside the

apartment was not hurt. a woman who lives across the street told us the tree tree came down in slow motion. >> all of a sudden, i start -- i was like oh, my god. oh, my god. what's going on. what's going on. fortunately, there was nobody around. i was like oh, my god. what's going on? where is everybody? >> i don't know how it's not collapsed with all of the weight from the tree. it's quite a job. >> workers plan to use a crane to remove the giant tree trunk from the roof. neighbors tell ktvu the family who lives in that damaged unit are getting help from the red cross. 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 repairing just one levee in novato is expected to cost $1 million. the stormy weather has washed out roads and taken down trees and power lines all across

marin county. marin now joins these other bay area counties in declaring or considering a state of emergency due to the december storm. historic developments from the white house today. president obama says he's taking steps to normalize diplomatic relations with cuba after 50 years. it began with a prisoner exchange to free american alan gross. he arrived in the u.s. today after being held in a cuban prison for five years. in the past hour, offered his strong support for the president and the cuban people. >> i also feel compelled to share with you my utmost respect for and find the people of cuba, in no way are they responsible for the ordeal to which my family and i have been subjected. >> alan gross did not offer many details about his five years in prison. he implied his health had suffered, including losing some

teeth. gross is a former government contractor. he was detained in 2009 for trying to bring communications equipment to religious groups within cuba. a second unnamed u.s. intelligence april gent held in cue bar for nearly 20 years was also freed in the prisoner exchange. president obama spoke with raul castro yesterday. >> going forward, the united states will re-establish an embassy in havana. and high-ranking officials will visit cuba. where we can advance shared interests, we will on issues like health, migration, counterterrorism, truck trafficking and disaster response. >> critics including florida senator marco rubio called the proposed lifting of economic sanctions a concession to a tyrant with no promise of democratic reforms. president obama responded to critics by saying after 50 years it's time to extend a  hand of friendship to the cuban people. and to hear comments from both

president obama and alan gross in their entirety, go to our website, ktvu.com. an oakland woman is in the hospital this noontime after being shot during a robbery in east oakland. police say the 56-year-old woman was shot in the head while trying to stop a man from stealing her purse. it happened before 6:00 last night while the woman was walking near the intersection of 13th and bayview avenues. that's just a few blocks from highland hospital. the suspect left the scene in a car driven by another car. the woman's wound is not considerling life-threatening. arson investigators in san francisco with looking into four suspicious car fires that happened within minutes of each other. this jeep was set ablaze in front of a home on rayburn and liberty. about 100 yards away, a mercedes suv was also set on fire. the owner of a second jeep that burned said he woke up to hear his car horn going off. >> i could see the flames coming up over this wall.

i knew that my car was parked in front. totally freaked out. yelled to wake up my neighbor. my roommate and i came outside. the car was billowing smoke and flames. >> investigators are asking any witnesses to come forward as well as for any surveillance camera camera footage. area. here's a look at where the fires happened -- two cars were set on fire on liberty street, one on cumberland street, and another on 17th street. just a short time ago, we learned that the san francisco flower part will remain despite a recent sale of the building. but not everyone is on board with the plans. brian flores joins us live from the flower mart to explain why. good afternoon, brian. >> reporter: good afternoon to you. speculation had been brewing about whether the flower mart would stay, go. we now know a deal with the flower mart and the developer dill roy will keep it here for

years to come. the announcement came at 11:00 this morning. the flower mart will remain. all vendors and tenants will be offered a five-year extension of their leases at the current rate and tenants will be offered new space in the new facility once it's complete. now, in terms of design, the wholesale flower market will be underground. there will be flower retail shops on the street level on 6th and brandon and office space above the retail shops. the executive vice president of the flower mart says this is a win-win moving forward. >> it's a historic time for us. we are moving forward with plans on remaining here on the site. we're gonna reinvest back into the flower business in the future and maintain this flower business in san francisco. >> reporter: back in july, members of the san francisco flower growers association came to a tentative agreement to sell its portion to kill royal

for $27 million. but there were concerns this space could be a tech building. some say they are pleased to keep the flower mart as is but not everyone thinks this is a good deal. >> it provides thousands of living wage obs to -- wage jobs to folks and is under threat of being demolished. i've bfern work -- i've been working with the vendors to see if they get a good deal. if not, they are prepared to ask the people of san francisco to preserve the flower mart. >> reporter: now the flower mart tentativecy is schedule bed to be complete -- scheduled to be completed by 2018. some who oppose this agreement with kilroy corporation say they have drafted a ballot initiative. they say that ballot initiative campaign will begin in a couple of weeks. back to you. >> thank you. a man suspected of vandalizing property up and down the west coast is under arrest. santa cruz police say 21-year- old derrick murphy was taken

into custody in petaluma. they were initially investigating tags left across santa cruz. they believe murphy and another person left graffiti as far south as bakersfield and as far north to seattle. we're hearing from one of the survivors from that australia deadly hostage situation. >> i never felt so much relief when i turned the corner and saw the police waiting for me. >> and what he said about the two people killed. more drama about the comedy called "the interview." the chilling threat against anyone planning to see the movie. ?.=(=pcpcpcpcpcpcpcpcpc2h

pakistan is preparing for mass funerals for 148 people, most of them children, killed in a taliban attack on a military-run school. a three-day official mourning period started today. one day after seven gunmen stormed the army school in the city of peshawar. students were gunned down. some of the female teachers were burned alive. army commandos stormed the 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 australia, one of the survivors of the hostage situation is now speaking out. 83-year-old john o'brian was one of the first people who escape from the cafe in sydney. he's offering condolences to the friend and families of the victim. tori johnson died when he tried to grab the gunman's weapon and it went off. katrina dawson was killed when shielding her pregnant friend from gunfire. >> my thoughts go out to those affected by this terrible event. >> 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, though, because of the ongoing investigation. the fallout continues in the sony hacking scandal. now the group responsible for leaking miles and other information belonging to sony

is threatening moviegoers. movie stars are backing out of some appearances. >> reporter: the sony hacking scandal growing more serious. the group responsible for the hack, guardiance of peace warning audiences to refrain from seeing the upcoming film. threatening nine different types of attacks on theater. the department of homeland security necessariage investigating the message but law enforcement says there's no indication the threat is incredible. >> we believe and i personally believe that most of this is done to put terror through messaging into the people of america and if we react to that, you know, then to use the phrase that gets overused, the terrorists win. >> reporter: thursday's review of the movie now canceled. the stars backing out of promotional appearances. carmike cinemas, the first to call off all planned showings of the film. >> we've been in touch with the

gibb-- with the fbi. we've spoken to sony and their security people about it and we've been down this road with other films. some of the bin laden films. other controversial films where there have been threats. >> the interview is a comedy about assassinating kim jung un. it's widely speculated the country is behind the hack but so far it's denied any involvement. some moviegoers say recent events will keep them from checking out the film. >> you never know, might be playing a prank. might be real. why would i be there? >> the interview is skill scheduled for a capacity release. back to you. also, just a short time ago, amc and regal both announced they will not show "the interview" due to the threats. the sonoma county sheriff's office is investigating an armed robbery in glen ellen. deputies say the male victim reported he was accosted by three men in the parking lot of the glen ellen grocery store on

arnold drive near gibson street. the man said one of the robbers was armed with a gun and demanded his wallet. investigators say the victim was hit in the head with a handgun. he was taken to the hospital. so far, nobody has been arrested. just in time for the holidays, thousands of bags of food were given out this morning to people in need in san francisco. volunteers at glide memorial church handed out 5,000 bags of groceries to individuals and families. people began lining up hours before the doors opened at 7:30 a.m. the reverend see sill williams -- cecil williams greeted everyone. >> we want to provide for humanity and make it a better world for all of us to live in. >> the bags contain a lot of the things needed for a holiday meal, including turkey or chicken, oranges, bread, pasta,

rice, and vegetables. also in san francisco, some of the city's homeless are receiving some much-needed care and assistance. project homeless connect is offering a one-stop service event at the bill graham civic auditorium. hundreds of volunteers are on hand to provide the homeless access to critical resources, including medi-cal, dental and vision care and also employment assistance. this is the 10th yeerl project homeless connect has offered services to the city's homeless. a good afternoon with some breaks in the clouds. it's not very warm. it's kind of cold. 40s, 50. we have breaks and rainbow weather. had a picture of pescadero sent in. we are a seeing a little bit of a break. we had cloud and rain overnight. and then just some scattered showers. our system is still on track to bring us rain and tonight it looks like things are beginning

to show up a little bit on the mendocino and sonoma cote -- coast. it's under partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies. a few scattered showers around but the line is forming right off san mateo coast. there was a cell that went right by. there is a few cells visiting santa cruz. but overall, most locations at the noon hour say mostly cloudy and mid-50 is on the temps. one band went flying by monterey. it's on its way to big sur. a couple of locations, sfo is in there, santa rosa, 55. 54, san jose. livermore, 56. a little bit of a breeze behind this. not a big one. out of the south for napa, 10, concord's 9. oakland is 9. even fairfield, 10. everyone is pretty close. 39 up in tahoe. winter weather advisory out until 4:00 a.m. tomorrow. plumas county, lassen, the sierra nevada, blue canyon north. snow level around 4,000 feet. that's good. we want the snow level to come down even though they are not getting a lot of snow. we're getting a ton of rain. you can see some of that

snowshower activity from truckee back to quincey. we're waiting for the weak system to come by. it won't be like last night. it will give us some rain. projections are light compared to the last six or seven systems. about .10 to maybe .25. that sounds about right. a lot of cloud cover. we do have a few breaks n clouds. scattered showers. that will give way to mostly cloudy skies and a little bit of an increase in the rainfall. temperatures in the 50s. in fact, i don't think they are going too far for the next day or two. probably all the way through froir. there will be one more system on friday. that will be weak. does not look strong. maybe heavier rain north of santa rosa, mendocino, lake county. looks like a break surkt/sunday. there will be a ton of valley and tule fog. but the coast could be mild as we head into sunday/monday. >> the 11th through the 16th, the westest ever in san

francisco. 10.01 on rainfall. incredible. kids in oakland got a big surprise. we'll show you the major operation that involved the oakland police department and santa on his motorcycle.

an hour ago, the federal reserve plans a patient approach to raising interest rates from the current record lows. janet yellen and other officials wrapped up their

policy meeting for the year. rates have not been raised in more than eight years. the committee considers it likely to begin the normalization process for at least the next couple of meetings. those meetings take place in jan/march. many analysts expect them to start raising rates from historic lows in june or september of next year. this has been good news for investors, all of the stocks were surging after the fed promised a patient approach to raising rates. taking a live look at the big board. at one point, the dow was up over 300 points. the nasdaq is up 74 and the s&p up 30. christmas came a bit early for some kids in oakland today. santa tan clause traded in in his sleigh for an oakland police officer as he rode around giving out toys. it's all part of the oakland police department's motor santa program. it purchases toys for money

donated by employees of the oakland police traffic division and the oakland police found daths. the toys are us store in dublin donated some of the toys. in all more than 175 toys were given out. >> spread a little joy and cheer. it's a littl early for christmas but i thought i would come by a little early. ho ho ho. >> as you can see, some oakland police officers stood in for his elves and helped santa pass out the gifts. the cast of beach blanket babylon is dishing out the holiday cheer. ♪ you better watch out you better not cry ♪ >> we had a chance to go behind the scenes. highlights include a giant yule tide hat and the actress said she has more than a dozen

costume changes. most tickets are sold out but you can check out our website for more information. we're learning to find out more information about the accusations against ray mcdonald. we'll have more on that tonight at 5:00. thank you for making cute your choose -- for making ktvu your choice for news. we're always here for you at ktvu.com. you can follow us on twitter and facebook. have a great day.

- [voiceover] in this episode there are warning signs of potential disasters and evidence of previous catastrophes. - that's what we really care about, right? where is the asteroid going? - [voiceover] join me, philippe cousteau, as we explore the possibilities of extinction earth, on awesome planet. planet earth provides an ideal habitat for life. the temperatures are tolerable, the air is rich in oxygen, and fresh water can be found in abundance.