lisa amin gulezian joins us live from the mission district with details. reporter: firefighters put the fire out pretty quickly. started on the second under of the building, and that pile of burnt odds and ends on the sidewalk, all of that was pulled out but everything else is still inside, including the pot plants. the firefighters found the plants as soon as they got the building. it looked like an electrical fire caused by the lamps used the growing the plants. the investigators believe they malfunctioned and started the fire. it was dangerous for the firefighters because most hoff the rooms were enclosed in large plastic sheets to keep the marijuana smell from escaping. officers told me this would be a medium size grow, but according to the buildings owner and the man on the bottom floor said the second floor was supposed to be vacant. >> are you surprised police found all these marijuana plants? >> i'm surprised. i just got the place here. i move in two weeks ago. i thought it was some kind of electrical problem in the back or so but i never saw anyth

abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian joins us to explain. lisa? >> one nonprofit expects a 75% drop in dough mageses in a few weeks. at the same time the pool of people they help could double. now that unemployment benefits for so many have ended. >> the total budget is 10 million. >> lisa cheryl works hard for the contra costa and solano county food bank. the e-mail blast will go out tomorrow. it is a last-minute end of year push to get donations. >> immediately after december ends, the donations do start to decrease. >> at this food bank $2 million was added just this month. but outside of the holiday season, $600,000 comes in. that's more than a 70% difference. they are bracing for an additional search in clients. >> now more people are looking for help as well once their unemployment benefits end. there will be more people looking for assistance. >> more than a million american benefits will cutoff tonight. lawmakers left washington without voting on an extension. >> i am in a panic. i don't know what i will do. >> she has been unemployed for

live in union city, lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> lisa, thanks very much.en it comes to getting packages to your house by christmas, santa won't let you down, but it looks like ups is going to. the company is taking heat for some serious delays. abc7 news reporter john alston is live at the ups center on san bruno avenue in san francisco. a lot of customers showed up there fingers crossed. >> and it was hit and miss. there were a lot of deliveries for hole lay and nonholiday -- holiday and nonholiday deliveries. air delivery was so gummed up that a lot of gifts will not be under the tree tomorrow morning, but stuck somewhere in a warehouse. drivers may have good cheer, but not all of the gifts that were supposed to be delivered by christmas morning. ups for the first time it was swamped by an over well ming number of -- overwhelming number of packages. julie showed up at the ups store hoping for the best. >> i was waiting for my husband's big christmas gift at my office. it is the last day before christmas. i waited for hours and hours for it to show up and

live in union city, lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> lisa, thanks very much. when it comes to getting packages to your house by christmas, santa won't let you down, but it looks like ups is going to. the company is taking heat for some serious delays. abc7 news reporter john alston is live at the ups center on san bruno avenue in san francisco. a lot of customers showed up there fingers crossed. >> and it was hit and miss. there were a lot of deliveries for hole lay and nonholiday -- holiday and nonholiday deliveries. air delivery was so gummed up that a lot of gifts will not be under the tree tomorrow morning, but stuck somewhere in a warehouse. drivers may have good cheer, but not all of the gifts that were supposed to be delivered by christmas morning. ups for the first time it was swamped by an over well ming number of -- overwhelming number of packages. julie showed up at the ups store hoping for the best. >> i was waiting for my husband's big christmas gift at my office. it is the last day before christmas. i waited for hours and hours for it to show up

lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> another spare the air day. sandhya patel is here with live doppler 7hd. when is the bad air going to get here? >> it blb blowing out -- it will be blowing out. let's check out live doppler 7hd. our radar is tracking a few sprinkles southwest of monterey. don't be surprised if you do see a few in the south bay where visibility is poor. look at that. six miles in san jose and there is a low in livermore, five miles and as you look at this view from the sutro tower camera, spare the air has been issued and it is the 11th straight for tomorrow. moderate air quality for all parts of the bay area. santa clara valley will be poor. east bay hills you can see all of the pollution trapped near the ground. the end is near and we will be talking about fresher, cleaner air in the bay area. back with the details in a few. carol a lynn? >> thank you. >> today the state measured the air quality at more than four times the safe amount. smoke can be seen burning in space. nasa released this satellite image. firefighters have it

abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian is live in downtown san jose. it looks like the holiday season there. >> a lot is going on. you know, it feels like the holiday season as well. it is very cold. right now it is 45 degrees here in san jose. the cold may help some get into the holiday spirit, but it is definitely not a good thing for everyone. >> these push into the ground. >> she has a lot to do. she is protecting her citrus and avacado and guava from the cold temperatures. >> it it gets into the 20s and i don't do any protection the fruit and the avacado could be ruined. >> the plants could freeze and that's why she is stringing incandescent lights in them and trapping the heat. >> it is a 150-watt incandescent flood light. >> flood lights are another way to keep these trees warm and frost free. >> freezing. freezing. >> a heat source would be nice for those who are working outside. their only choice is to bundle up. >> scarf up and jacket up. >> thermal, jacket. i have a separate jacket inside. >> there are still those who couldn't wait for a col

lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> another spare the air day. sandhya patel is here with live doppler 7hd. when is the bad air going to get here? >> it blb blowing out -- it will be blowing out. let's check out live doppler 7hd. our radar is tracking a few sprinkles southwest of monterey. don't be surprised if you do see a few in the south bay where visibility is poor. look at that. six miles in san jose and there is a low in livermore, five miles and as you look at this view from the sutro tower camera, spare the air has been issued and it is the 11th straight for tomorrow. moderate air quality for all parts of the bay area. santa clara valley will be poor. east bay hills you can see all of the pollution trapped near the ground. the end is near and we will be talking about fresher, cleaner air in the bay area. back with the details in a few. carol a lynn? >> thank you. >> today the state measured the air quality at more than four times the safe amount. smoke can be seen burning in space. nasa released this satellite image. firefighters have it

abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian is live in downtown san jose. it looks like the holiday season there. >> a lot is going on. you know, it feels like the holiday season as well. it is very cold. right now it is 45 degrees here in san jose. the cold may help some get into the holiday spirit, but it is definitely not a good thing for everyone. >> these push into the ground. >> she has a lot to do. she is protecting her citrus and avacado and guava from the cold temperatures. >> it it gets into the 20s and i don't do any protection the fruit and the avacado could be ruined. >> the plants could freeze and that's why she is stringing incandescent lights in them and trapping the heat. >> it is a 150-watt incandescent flood light. >> flood lights are another way to keep these trees warm and frost free. >> freezing. freezing. >> a heat source would be nice for those who are working outside. their only choice is to bundle up. >> scarf up and jacket up. >> thermal, jacket. i have a separate jacket inside. >> there are still those who couldn't wait for a col

lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> another spare the air day. patel is here with live doppler 7hd. when is the bad air going to get here? >> it blb blowing out -- it will be blowing out. let's check out live doppler 7hd. our radar is tracking a few sprinkles southwest of monterey. don't be surprised if you do see a few in the south bay where visibility is poor. look at that. six miles in san jose and there is a low in livermore, five miles and as you look at this view from the sutro tower camera, spare the air has been issued and it is the 11th straight for tomorrow. moderate air quality for all parts of the bay area. santa clara valley will be poor. east bay hills you can see all of the pollution trapped near the ground. the end is near and we will be talking about fresher, cleaner air in the bay area. back with the details in a few. carol a lynn? >> thank you. >> today the state measured the air quality at more than four times the safe amount. smoke can be seen burning in space. nasa released this satellite image. firefighters have it 20% cont

abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian is live in downtown san jose. it looks like the holiday season there. >> a lot is going on. you know, it feels like the holiday season as well. it is very cold. right now it is 45 degrees here in san jose. the cold may help some get into the holiday spirit, but it is definitely not a good thing for everyone. >> these push into the ground. >> she has a lot to do. she is protecting her citrus and avacado and guava from the cold temperatures. >> it it gets into the 20s and i don't do any protection the fruit and the avacado could be ruined. >> the plants could freeze and that's why she is stringing incandescent lights in them and trapping the heat. >> it is a 150-watt incandescent floodlood light. >> flood lights are another way to keep these trees warm and frost free. >> freezing. freezing. >> a heat source would be nice for those who are working outside. their only choice is to bundle up. >> scarf up and jacket up. >> thermal, jacket. i have a separate jacket inside. >> there are still those who couldn't wait for a

lisa amin gulezian has the details we learned about the korean war vet. lisa? >> meryl newman left his home a month ago for a much anticipated trip to north korea. tonight as you can see behind me, yellow ribbons were tied by friends and neighbors to act as a symbol of his safe return. >> using explosives obtained from attacking the mine. >> it is what they call an apology letter. in it he confesses to acts against north korea committed betweens the war and even during his recent trip. according to routers he served in a top secret army that trained a south korean guerrilla group. >> the hoover institute fellow wrote about north korea in his book, america and the rogue states. he is not sure if newman will be released especially if the regime considers him a war criminal. but he thinks newman is being used. >> there is a real possibility that the confession will be used you to extract something from the united states. >> like in 2009 when kim jong-il demanded a meeting with president bill clinton before releasing two american journalists. but the released of th

abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian has more. >> the total budget. >> reporter: lisa works hard for the contra costa food bank. this e-mail blast will go out for a last minute push to get donations. >> immediately after december ends, donations do start to decrease. >> at this food bank, $2 million were donated just this month, but in an average month outside of the holiday season, $600,000 comes in. that's more than a 70% difference. the food bank is bracing for an additional search in clients. >> there will be more people looking for help, as well, once the unemployment benefits end. if they haven't already found us, there will be more people looking for food assistance. >> lawmakers left washington without voting on an extension. >> i'm in a panic. i don't know what i'm going to do. >> federal aid has run out for kathy, who has been unemployed for more than 26 weeks. that's the new limit for unemployment benefits. democrats are pushing for a three-month extension. >> we don't abandon each other when times are tough. >> others argue the program is too expensive, costing $25 billio

lisa amin gulezian has more. >> the total budget. >> reporter: lisa works hard for the contra costa food bank. this e-mail will go out for a last minute push to get donations. >> immediately after december ends, donations do start to decrease. >> at this food bank, $2 million were donated just this month, but in an average month outside of the holiday season, $600,000 comes in. that's more than a 70% difference. the food bank is bracing for an additional search in clients. >> there will be more people looking for help, as well, once the unemployment benefits end. if they haven't already found us, there will be more people looking for food assistance. >> lawmakers left washington without voting on an extension. >> i'm in a panic. i don't know what i'm going to do. >> federal aid has run out for kathy, who has been unemployed for more than 26 weeks. that's the new limit for unemployment benefits. democrats are pushing for a three-month extension. >> we don't abandon each other when times are tough. >> others argue the program is too expensive, costing $25 billion a year. and that people ar

lisa amin gulezian has more. >> the total budget. >> reporter: lisa works hard for the contra costa food bank. this e-mail will go out for a last minute push to get donations. >> immediately after december ends, donations do start to decrease. >> at this food bank, $2 million were donated just this month but in an average month outside of the holiday season, $600,000 comes in. that's more than a 70% difference. the food bank is bracing for an additional search in clients. >> there will be more people looking for help, as well, once the unemployment benefits end. if they haven't already found us. there will be more people looking for food assistance. >> lawmakers left washington without voting on an extension. >> i'm in a panic. i don't know what i'm going to do. >> federal aid has run out for kathy, who has been unemployed for more than 26 weeks. that's the new limit for unemployment benefits. democrats are pushing for a three-month extension. >> we don't abeen done each other when times are tough. >> others argue the program is too expensive, costing $25 billion a year. and that people

in san francisco, lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >>> a two alarm apartment fire in san jose has left 17 people without a home. flames broke out on delmos avenue just after 4:30 yesterday afternoon. firefightersen count every body happy smoke and flames when they arrived. they put it out about an hour later. no one was hurt. the fir started in a bedroom but firefighters are still work to go pinpoint the cause. >>> today san francisco police will mark the 7 seventh anniversary of the fatal shooting of one of their own officer brian tavares was shot and killed december 22, 2006 in the sunset district by an escapee from a state correctional work camp. another officer opened fire, killing rupp a short time later. those who wish to honor him and visit the community room dedicated to him at the police station between 3:00 this afternoon and 10:00 tonight. >>> as the deadline to enroll for health insurance looms, covered california, the state's health insurance exchange, will have extended hours today to help consumers enroll. tomorrow is the deadline to apply for insurance in order to have

lisa amin gulezian has the details. >> reporter: inside each of these burlap sacks, a marijuana plant. 200 in all. they are secured as evidence of an illegal grow operation that went unnoticed for months. >> i did heard some steps, but i had no idea who was the one. >> the owner of this auto body and painting moved into his space earlier this month. he was told there were no other tenants in the entire building. so he ignored the random noises he occasionally heard coming from up above. but there is no ignoring the fire potentially sparked by these grow lamps. firefighters quickly realized the situation as soon as they got through the front door. they entered a maze of false walls, a sectioned-off rooms and rows and rows of pot plants. everything was encased in thick sheets of plastic. >> they wrapped the building with a lot of plastic to minimize the smell coming out of the building and it keeps the room warm, but there is also the potential for an accident to take place in there. >> those who live nearby are angry. >> we live here. there are three generations of my family here, and

here is abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian with the developing store. >> meryl newman held on tight to the ones he missed most after being detained in north korea. and after traveling some 24 hours he is finally back in the bay area. >> it has been a great homecoming and i am tired and i am i am ready to be with my family. >> he and a man of few words. >> what is the first thing you will do when you make it back to your door? >> probably take my shoes off. >> after leaving sfo, the newman family came to their second home in santa cruz. it is a house they owned for decades and once inside they have been relaxing and spending time together. >> this is a photo taken this afternoon. they are not returning just yet to their primary residents in palo alto. yellow ribbons were tied as a symbol of meryl's safe return. the vice president joe biden who is in south korea had this to say about the korean war veteran's released. >> there is a good piece of news. they released someone they should never have had in the first place. >> the north korean government accused him of war crimes and the s

here is lisa amin gulezian with more. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: merrill newman held on to the ones he missed most while being detained in north korea. after traveling some 24 hours, he's finally back in the bay area. >> it's been a great homecoming. i'm tired, but ready to be with my family. >> the 85-year-old was a man of few words while at san francisco international airport. >> what's the first thing you are going to do when you make it back through your door? >> i think probably take my shoes off. >> after leaving sfo the newman family came here to their second home in santa cruz. it's a house they have owned for decades. once inside they have been relaxing and spending time together. this is a photo taken of merrill and his wife leigh having lunch. they aren't returning to their primary residence in palo alto, where yellow ribbons were tied by neighbors as a symbol of merrill's safe return. vice president joe biden had this to say. >> there is a piece of good news. the dprk today released someone they never

here is lisa amin gulezian with more. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: he held on to the ones he missed most while being detained in north korea. after traveling some 24 hours, he's finally back in the bay area. >> it's been a great homecoming. i'm tired, but ready to be with my family. >> the 85-year-old was a man of few words while at san francisco international airport. >> what's the first thing you are going to do when you make it back through your door? >> i think probably take my shoes off. >> after leaving sfo the newman family came here to their second home in santa cruz. it's a house they have owned for decades. once inside they have been relaxing and spending time together. this is a photo taken of merrill and his wife leigh having lunch. they aren't returning to their primary residence in palo alto, where yellow ribbons were tied by neighbors as a symbol of merrill's safe return. vice president biden had this to say. >> there is a piece of good news. the dprk today released someone they never should have had

it strictly used for growing marijuana lisa amin gulezian is at the scene right now gathering information and will have a live report on the situation on abc7 at 6:00. >>> pg&e is investigating a smoky underground vault fir that knocked out power to 100 people in san francisco. their service has been restored. the fire happened around 11:00 am. it sent thick smoke pouring out of the manhole and closed down the street. no one was hurt. >> a massage therapist faces sexual battery charms involving his clientses. police say this man of menlo park sexually assaulted four women while giving them massages. accused of assaulting a customer here at this spa in palo alto. three other women say they were also assaulted by the therapist during massages at the same spa at the stanford shopping center. >>> a doctor approved by both sides in the case of an oakland teenager placed on life support after a tense -- tonsillectomy will be remain on the life support through the weekend. dan ashley spoke to the mother in an interview you'll only see on abc7. >> i'm grateful just to have three more days with he

lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> power is back on for more than 100 pg&e customers in mission district after a smoky underground salt fire this mening at 11:00 a.m. the fire sent thick smoke oil of a manhole at the intersection and knocked out electricity for people living nearby. nobody was hurt and the cause of the fire is under investigation. >>> a massage therapist in the south bay turned himself in to police after being accused of a string of sexual battery involving clients. the 35-year-old surrendered to the palo alto police department this week. one of his clients at the spa accused-of sexually assaulting her during a june 2012 appointment. authority says three additional women have come forward with similar allegations. the suspect has been charged with misdemeanor sexual battery charges. >>> the search continues for four teenage boys accused of shooting a high school teacher during an attempted robbery at a fresno high school. the teacher was shot in the stomach and leg in a classroom thursday night. he survived the attack. the teenagers barged into the classroom and demanded

here is lisa amin gulezian with more. [applause] >> reporter: he held on to the ones he missed most while being detained in north korea. after traveling some 24 hours, he's finally back in the bay area. >> it's been a great homecoming. i'm tired, but ready to be with my family. >> the 85-year-old was a man of few words while at san francisco enter in the airport. >> what's the first thing you are going to do when you make it back through your door? >> i think probably take my shoes off. >> after leaving sfo the newman family came here to their second home in santa cruz. it's a house they have owned for decades. once inside they have been relaxing and spending time together. this is a photo taken of merrill and his wife leigh having lunch. they aren't returning to their house yety yellow ribbons were tied as a symbol for his safe return. vice president biden had this to say. >> there's a piece of good news. they never should have had it in the first place. >> the north korean government accused newman of committing war cri

lisa amin gulezian has the details. >> reporter: inside each of these burlap sacks, a marijuana plant. 200 in all. they are secured as evidence of an illegal grow operation that went unnoticed for months. >> i did heard some steps, but i had no idea who was the one. >> the owner of this auto body and painting moved into his space earlier this month. he was told there were no other tenants in the entire building. so he ignored the random noises he occasionally heard coming from up above. but there is no ignoring the fire potentially sparked by these grow lamps. firefighters quickly realized the situation as soon as they got through the front door. they entered a maze of false walls, sectioned-off rooms and rows and rows of pot plants. everything was encased in thick sheets of plastic. >> they wrapped the building with a lot of plastic to minimize the smell coming out of the building and it keeps the room warm, but there is also the potential for an accident to take place in there. >> those who live nearby are angry. >> we live here. there are three generations of my family here, and we

lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> meantime, the mother of a homeless man found dead in hayward believes that more could have been done to save her son. 50-year-old joe white was found dead on sunday and possibly from hypothermia. he was in a courtyard behind the foothill boulevard safe way in the freezing cold. authorities say he was wearing just shoes, a hooded sweatshirt and shorts. he was second on the waiting list for a permanent housing program called rapid rehousing. the cold came up before a room opened up. >> he was a human being waiting to get help. he was trying to survive just like all of these other people are trying to survive. >> they help people on the striets with cold and food, but it does president want to make it too easy to stay out there in the cold and not seek shelter. authorities say two adults did an excellent job keeping four kids safe while they were stranded in freezing temperatures overnight. it is remarkable how thisy were able to survive. here are the parents, two cousins and two parents arriving at a nevada hospital. on sunday their jeep flipped off the r

lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> meantime, the mother of a homeless man found dead in hayward believes that more could have been done to save her son. 50-year-old joe white was found dead on sunday and possibly from hypothermia. he was in a courtyard behind the foothill boulevard safe way in the freezing cold. authorities say he was wearing just shoes, a hooded sweatshirt and shorts. he was second on the waiting list for a permanent housing program called rapid rehousing. the cold came up before a room opened up. >> he was a human being waiting to get help. he was trying to survive just like all of these other people are trying to survive. >> they help people on the striets with cold and food, but it does president want to make it too easy to stay out there in the cold and not seek shelter. authorities say two adults did an excellent job keeping four kids safe while they were stranded in freezing temperatures overnight. it is remarkable how thisy were able to survive. here are the parents, two cousins and two parents arriving at a nevada hospital. on sunday their jeep flipped off the r

lisa amin gulezian joins us live from the mission district with details.e out pretty quickly. started on the second under of the building, and that pile of burnt odds and ends on the sidewalk, all of that was pulled out but everything else is still inside, including the pot plants. the firefighters found the plants as soon as they got the building. it looked like an electrical fire caused by the lamps used the growing the plants. the investigators believe they malfunctioned and started the fire. it was dangerous for the firefighters because most hoff the rooms were enclosed in large plastic sheets to keep the marijuana smell from escaping. officers told me this would be a medium size grow, but according to the buildings owner and the man on the bottom floor said the second floor was supposed to be vacant. >> are you surprised police found all these marijuana plants? >> i'm surprised. i just got the place here. i move in two weeks ago. i thought it was some kind of electrical problem in the back or so but i never saw anything else. reporter: the last

li lisa amin gulezian, abc7 news. >> meantime, the mother of a homeless man found dead in hayward believeseen done to save her son. 50-year-old joe white was found dead on sunday and possibly from hypothermia. he was in a courtyard behind the foothill boulevard safe way in the freezing cold. authorities say he was wearing just shoes, a hooded sweatshirt and shorts. he was second on the waiting list for a permanent housing program called rapid rehousing. the cold came up before a room opened up. >> he was a human being waiting to get help. he was trying to survive just like all of these other people are trying to survive. >> they help people on the striets with cold and food, but it does president want to make it too easy to stay out there in the cold and not seek shelter. authorities say two adults did an excellent job keeping four kids safe while they were stranded in freezing temperatures overnight. it is remarkable how thisy were able to survive. here are the parents, two cousins and two parents arriving at a nevada hospital. on sunday their jeep flipped off the road northwest of tahoe.

live in san leandro, lisa amin gulezian. >>> nelson mandela is being laid to rest at his ancestral home tonight in south africa. this is a live picture of the burial service in nelson mandela's hometown of qunu. he was 95 years old when he died on december 5th. denounced as a markist terrorist by critics he spent 27 years in prison, became the country's first black president, overthrew the apartheid system, won the nobel peace prize and devoted his later years to ending poverty. he's regarded as one of the most important figures of the 20th century. the funeral procession had a heavy military quality. armed servicemen from south africa's navy, army and air force lined the dirt road to the church. 5,000 people came to the mandela family compound and a large number of those were invited for the services. south africans refer to mandela as the father of our country. >>> u.c. berkeley today a large crowd gathered to hon honor nelson mandela. because of their protests the university was the first to divest themselves from businesses trading with south africa. >> the recognition of the iniqui

abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian has the latest. >> laid the munitions for it, using explosives obtained from attacking the mine. >> reporter: merrill newman read from what the state news agency calls an apology letter. in it he allegedly confesses to acts against north korea committed during the war and even during his recent trip. according to "royters" he served in a top secret army unit that trained a south army anti-communist group. >> that's what they will say. >> a senior agent wrote about north korea in his book, america and the rogue states. he's not sure if newman will be released, especially if they consider him a war criminal, but he does think newman is being used. >> there's a real possibility that the confession will be used. since this phony confession has been used, to extract something from the united states. >> like in 2009 when kim jong-il. demanded a meeting with president bill clinton before releasing two journalists. but the release of this video has shaken those back home in palo alto. >> i saw the video. i think it's terrible. it's awful. the poor guy. f