a few hours ago, meryl newman was released from north korea and is in beijing tonight. he was held for more than a month and concern about the 85- year-old's health. andrea is at sfo and that is where newman will fly to next. andrea. >> juliette, that's right. meryl newman is back in the hands of the state department and u.s. custody tonight and apparently told gathered reporters in beijing, china, he cannot wait to get home and see his wife. you're about to see video of newman arriving at the airport in beijing, china. the 85-year-old koreaen war vet was apparently released or in the words deported by kim jong- un because of his age and medical condition and reading off a confession. in newman's old neighborhood, the yellow ribbons are up in support and neighbors thrilled to hear that he is returning home. >> we got a chance to speak briefly with meryl after having arrived. he is in excellent spirits and eager to be reunited with his family. >> he seemed to have gone there with every good wish and intention and it just seems like one of those missions. i'm very glad he'

this video emerged showing meryl newman making an alleged apology.will be released. >>> a 2-year-old boy is in the hospital after being submerged. they took him to the hospital late this afternoon. >>> actor paul walker was killed in a fiery car crash north of los angeles. walker is best known for his role in "the fast and furious" films. his publicist says he was a passenger in a car that crashed and burst into flames. >>> eight people have died in a helicopter crash in scotland. a police helicopter slammed into a crowded pub yesterday afternoon. three people on board died along with five others in the pub. today investigators from throughout the united king dom sifted through the wreckage looking for clues as to what brought it down. >>> an alaska an woman is being called a hero tonight after she survived a plane crash and walked a mile in frigid weather to summon rescuers. the crash killed melanie coffey's brother on board. >>> today is president obama's self-imposed deadline forgetting the kinks out of a health health care website. how well it is

this is meryll newman in a video we brought you last friday. he read from a prepared statement. newman talks about what he did in north korea in his last trip. >> i asked my guide to help me look for their families and relatives living with ktrp. i gave them names and addresses to the guide in the hotel. >> reporter: north korea does have a history of coercing statements from detainees so the circumstances surrounding the maybing of the video is unknown. vice president joseph biden was in south korea as the last stop of his tour of asian. he offered to fly newman back on air force 2. but instead he's back in a commercial flight on it way to san francisco that is expected to land sometime tomorrow. amber lee, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> new visit corrode here just into our newsroom of a hidden run in oakland. it happened around 6:30 tonight right near interstate 880. a witness told ktvu that a car hit a pedestrian and kept ongoing. our pe -- >>> a plan to fix oakland's public safety radio system could cost the city tens of millions of dollars. a city commission recommends oakland rep

this is meryll newman in a video we brought you last friday. he read from a prepared statement. newman talks about what he did in north korea in his last trip. >> i asked my guide to help me look for their families and relatives living with ktrp. i gave them names and addresses to the guide in the hotel. >> reporter: north korea does have a history of coercing statements from detainees so the circumstances surrounding the maybing of the video is unknown. vice president joseph biden was in south korea as the last stop of his tour of asian. he offered to fly newman back on air force 2. but instead he's back in a commercial flight on it way to san francisco that is expected to land sometime tomorrow. amber lee, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> new visit corrode here just into our newsroom of a hidden run in oakland. it happened around 6:30 tonight right near interstate 880. a witness told ktvu that a car hit a pedestrian and kept ongoing. our pe -- >>> a plan to fix oakland's public safety radio system could cost the city tens of millions of dollars. a city commission recommends oakland rep

a round of applause greets meryl newman as he walks through san francisco's international terminal.mecoming, and i'm tired, but here with my family now and thank you all for the support. and very much appreciated. >> newman declined to talk about his experience. news crews waited for hours at the retirement home for a chance to learn more. he didn't show. newman advised south koreaen during the 1950 to 1953 war. on october 26, as he prepared to fly home, north koreaen agents entered the plane and removed him. last week, they released this video reading a so-called confession and apology. >> information of the kpa and attack communication system and kill three innocent operators. >> north koreaen video signaled an impending release according to the research director, daniel schneider. >> it was a stupid act on their part and the good thing is they didn't keep it going and hold him for ever and ever, which they are certainly capable of doing. >> suggest an effort to avoid offending north korea as they try to get another american released. many wondered why newman with his history of w

meryl newman landed at sfo to a lot of fanfare. 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 shoul

. >> reporter: this is video of meryl newman arriving in beijing china, a few hours after the north koreaegime deported him because of his age and medical condition. >> we had a chance to speak briefly with meryl who was in beijing. he is eager to be reunited with his parent. it was last month that the tape him admitting wrong was released. >> he seems to have gone there with every good wish and intentions, and it seems like it's one of those things that went array. >> reporter: and now meryl ask headed black to the bay, back to family in time for the holidays. >> it's been a difficult ordeal for us as family, particularly for him. we want to thank everyone who gave us the opportunity to bring him home. >> reporter: he will arrive this weekend. it's unknown exactly what time, but tomorrow morning, there are two flights headed here from beijing. kpix 5. >>> bad weather is forcing searchers to scale back their efforts to find dale smith after his a plane disappeared into the wilderness. he radio he was having engine trouble, and there's bullpen no sign of them since sunday. the weather is e

meryl newman was detained in october on accusations he committed hostile acts against north korea.try state news agency said he was deported from north korea as a humanitarian act, arriving in san francisco this morning. >> it has been a great homecoming. i'm tired, but ready to see my family now. thank you all for the support we got. and very much appreciate it. >> newman thanked the swedish embassy, pyongyang, and the u.s. embassy in beijing to help secure his release. his release came as vice president joe biden toured the demilitarized zone between north korea and south korea. sorely --newman shortly after he learned of his release after wrapping up his trip to asia. organizers of a charity race involving prince harry are suspending the race because of bad weather conditions. they plan to continue the journey to the south pole. harry is a member of one of three teams involving injured soldiers who left last week. the teams will now be driven part of the route, then finish the final 70 miles on foot. 7 on your side with a health alert. doctors are reporting a major advance. they

korea to release an elderly american who has been detained for more than a month. 85-year-old, meryl newman was pulled off a plane last month after a ten-day visit to north war. the news agency released video reportedly apologizing for quote, hostile acts against the state. newman has been visiting north korea last month as a tourist. >>> and the white house wearing a big red ribbon tonight on the eve of world aids day. the president named december 1, world aids day to call attention to the global pandemic. they called attention to those who died from aids and the estimated 35 million people living with hiv or aids. health insurance plans will be required to cover hiv testing. >>> and today, the self-imposed deadline for healthcare.gov to be all set after shaky start, that is. some parts of the website out of service for longer than usual as it continues to undercorepairs. questions remain about the stability of the site. the volume of traffic and the qualit tit is delivering to insurers. >> in an exclusive interview with abc news' barbra walters that aired friday night, president obama dis

meryl newman was held in that country since pulled off a plane in october. they are releasing video showing him apologizing for the korean war. he's a korean war veteran. they're also holding an american, kenneth bey. all of this happening as vice president joe biden heads to asia. karl, good morning. newman is 85 years old. what do we know about his health at this point and how he's doing? >> george, there is some good news here. meryl newman was been able to send a message to his family. he said i'm well and the food is good. that was brought out over the weekend by swedish diplomats. u.s. does not have diplomats with this state. and they're saying newman is receiving his heart medication. we're worried about that and also receiving doctor visits several times a day to ensure his health stays well. >> what are the koreans accuse him of doing and how serious is this? >> that's the worrying bit, because the north korean authorities, are accusing newman of crimes of war crimes against them, because they are accusing him of training and advising an anticommuni

. >>> a day after returning home to the bay area from north korea, korean war veteran meryll newman says he was treated well during his confinement. he reunited with his family yesterday after landing at sfo. after declining to be interviewed today he did tell the santa cruz centinal that he was well fed and kept in a hotel room. he also confirmed he did not write the letter heard last week. >>> today was designated as a day of reflection for the late african president mandela. countless prayers were said for nelson mandela. >> reporter: 64-year-old cofana has been coming here to the regina church her entire life. >> it's a special mass for mr. mandela. every time he came up from the islands, he would say peace. so that he'll be very pleased. >> reporter: during a struggle against aparthide people used to run to this church when they were trying to hide. there's still bullet holes on the windows. >> we used to run and come to this church to pray to god so that he can come and assist us because we were in trouble during that time. >> reporter: life for his 4- year-old grandson starkly dif

. >>> some south korean war veterans are questioning why 85- year-old meryll newman visited south koreahis video of him confessing to crimes during the war. he acted as an advisor for korean fighters called the white tigers. former members of the white tigers say they are still the most despised and feared in the north. in fact, one korean general who escaped said he would never go back. >> in science, americans are in 22nd place just below average. and in math 29th with 28 countries ahead of the u.s. students from asian nations were at the top in all three categories. >>> new at 10:00, ballerinas taking center stage in a special holiday performance of the nutcracker. >> the whole land was in celebration for clara and the nutcracker. >> reporter: san francisco ballet dancers have been visiting the children's hospital. >> tons of snow flakes dancing around. see they're all on points. >> ballet. >> it's a great reminder for us why we're really out there and it brings the joy to the children. so, that's what nutcracker is all about. >> the first american performance of the nutcracker was i

one is 85-year-old meryl newman he was taken into custody minutes before his plane was scheduled to take off at the end of a private tour of north korea. north korea is state run news agency released this footage in which the korean war vet apologizes for killing civilians and troops. it is not clear if he made the statement voluntarily or was coerced a second american detained in coria has been accused of hostile acts against the north korean government. >>> a beautiful holiday weekend taking place. saturday we saw temperatures in the 60s with lots of sunshine around the area some locations like santa rosa and fairfield and redwood city close to 70 degrees although low clouds at the coast and that cap things cooler in the 50s and ocean beach. tomorrow, more sunshine, less low clouds and we will see readings warm-up but first we have to deal with a cold evening. clear skies right now and as we get in tomorrow morning look for temperatures to drop in the mid to upper 30s with low to mid 40s and some upper 40s by the david as we go through the day despite the cold start are going to see su

this photo shows meryl newman posing. he is alleged looy apologizing for helping the guerrillas. they are trying to help them get their families out of north korea. >> that lead to him seeking some of the people in north korea and it lead to those people picking him up off the plane and detaining him at the present time. >> in palo alto they have tied yellow ribbons outside the retirement facility where newman and his wife live. the swedish embassy is working with north korea to get new map released. >>> the thanksgiving holiday rush appears to have ended at bay area airports. about 124,000 people traveled through san francisco international today. sfo peaked on the friday before with 130,000 travelers and that compares to 116,000 on a typical day. none of our local airports reported major delays today. >>> fewer people are flying through oakland airport than a few years ago. passenger traffic has dropped five million people since 2007. that's when virgin america launched in san francisco and fellow discount carrier southwest and jetblue both began serving sfo. >>> still to come

the family of meryl newman is relieved he will be home for christmas. >> reporter: they shot this video of the 85-year-old walking through the beijing airport hours after his release. >> we can appreciate the tolerance that the government has given to me to be on my way. >> how do you feel now? physically? >> i feel good. >> newman, a korean war veteran went to north korea on a tourist visa. but as he was leaving the country in october, a military officer escorted him off. he was accused of killing innocent civilians during the war. congressman adam shift told us it's wonderful news he is home in time for the holidays. >> this korean war veteran will be coming home now and have another story to tell. >> he is in excellent spirits and eager to be reunited with his family. >> outside his home, jeff newman thanks the u.s. state department and swedish embassy for helping his father return home. >> we also want to thank the many americans. as you can imagine, this has been a difficult ordeal for us as a family, and particularly for him. >> first thing, what would you like to do? >> go home a

this photo shows meryl newman posing. he is alleged looy apologizing for helping the guerrillas. they are trying to help them get their families out of north korea. >> that lead to him seeking some of the people in north korea and it lead to those people picking him up off the plane and detaining him at the present time. >> in palo alto they have tied yellow ribbons outside the retirement facility where newman and his wife live. the swedish embassy is working with north korea to get new map released. >>> the thanksgiving holiday rush appears to have ended at bay area airports. about 124,000 people traveled through san francisco international today. sfo peaked on the friday before with 130,000 travelers and that compares to 116,000 on a typical day. none of our local airports reported major delays today. >>> fewer people are flying through oakland airport than a few years ago. passenger traffic has dropped five million people since 2007. that's when virgin america launched in san francisco and fellow discount carrier southwest and jetblue both began serving sfo. >>> still to come

. >>> some south korean war veterans are questioning why 85- year-old meryll newman visited south korea. last week north korea released this video of him confessing to crimes during the war. he acted as an advisor for korean fighters called the white tigers. former members of the white tigers say they are still the most despised and feared in the north. in fact, one korean general who escaped said he would never go back. >> in science, americans are in 22nd place just below average. and in math 29th with 28 countries ahead of the u.s. students from asian nations were at the top in all three categories. >>> new at 10:00, ballerinas taking center stage in a special holiday performance of the nutcracker. >> the whole land was in celebration for clara and the nutcracker. >> reporter: san francisco ballet dancers have been visiting the children's hospital. >> tons of snow flakes dancing around. see they're all on points. >> ballet. >> it's a great reminder for us why we're really out there and it brings the joy to the children. so, that's what nutcracker is all about. >> the first american p

in a statement, meryll newman said he ran into trouble after asking about the north korean partisans he helped train during the korean war. he was accused of being a war criminal and delivered a video tape apology. but newman says the words were not his and were not delivered voluntarily. he returned to the bay area on saturday and is now resting at a family home in santa cruz. >> he seems a little tired. but that's to be expected. it's been a long month. probably emotionally taxing. you know and he seems okay. he seems like he'll be just fine. >>> newman says he plans to share more about his experience later after recovering his strength. >>> and at ktvu.com we have posted newman's entire statement look for the hot topic segment right on our home page. >>> air force one arrived carrying president obama and michelle obama. it was a 15 hour flight from maryland also on board former president george w. bush and his wife laura along with former secretary of state hillary clinton. former presidents bill clinton and jimmy carter are also traveling to south africa. the memorial at a sports

state department says swedish diplomats have been given access to meryl newman. veteran being held in north korea. video has been released of the 85-year-old man confessing and apologizing for killing troops and civilians during the korean war. his family says he was detained while on a ten-day tour there in october. the white house is calling for his immediate release along with the release of another american. kenneth bay who has been held inside north korea for almost a year. >>> white house officials say the obama care website is getting better. traffic heavier than usual. more upgrades are being planned. the president's poll numbers have plummeted. those are your headlines this hour. >> reporter: from almost the very beginning after the attack, tiffany hartley seemed to be everywhere telling her story. >> i think it would be difficult for anybody in my situation, and i know, you know, there's been stories out there before, and people question. but i know what i know. i know what i saw. >> reporter: not only interviews with local television stations but netwo

meryl newman is spending time at his home. this photo was provided by the santa cruz sentinal. newman who came back to the u.s. was kept in a comfortable hotel room and not a cell. he was well fed and he said that is not my english when asked about the apology he read from north korea more than a week ago. he said his wife is in control of his passport. >>> demonstrators outside the consulate in san francisco. many ukrainians believe an agreement with the european union will open the board with a trade and help to modernize the country. >>> a possible witness is helping in the search for a bay area family missing after their plane crashed in idaho. they were heading from oregon to montana when the pilot reported engine trouble. weekend storms hampered the search for gail smith and his family. a witness says he heard the plane bank and then drop. >>> firefighters cleaned up a huge mess in san francisco tonight. a large tree fell along pine street and blocking all three lanes. nobody was hurt. the tree did damage a pick up truck. >>> the 49ers played their last regular season day

just about 90 minutes from now the once detained meryl newman will hand at the airport. he was held for what they called hostile acts committed 60 years ago. we are live outside sfo where newman's wife will soon land. >> reporter: good morning. the flight is supposed to arrive at 8:58. local media is here, national media. we have yet to see family but i imagine they will arrive soon. it'll be a warm homecoming for this man who has been away for more than a month at this point. let me show you video of him last night as he was china. it started when he visited north korea in october but just as he was about to board a flight home he was defined. that was on october 26th and he was charged with hostile acts against the state. the associated press said newman served in a top secret military unit that trained south koreanns. during his time the north released a video of him apologizing for his actions. the north government has a history of forcing statements from detainees. we may learn more about the circumstances around the statement as newman returns to united states soil.

meryl newman is spending time at his home. this photo was provided by the santa cruz sentinal. newman who came back to the u.s. was kept in a comfortable hotel room and not a cell. he was well fed and he said that is not my english when asked about the apology he read from north korea more than a week ago. he said his wife is in control of his passport. >>> demonstrators outside the consulate in san francisco. many ukrainians believe an agreement with the european union will open the board with a trade and help to modernize the country. >>> a possible witness is helping in the search for a bay area family missing after their plane crashed in idaho. they were heading from oregon to montana when the pilot reported engine trouble. weekend storms hampered the search for gail smith and his family. a witness says he heard the plane bank and then drop. >>> firefighters cleaned up a huge mess in san francisco tonight. a large tree fell along pine street and blocking all three lanes. nobody was hurt. the tree did damage a pick up truck. >>> the 49ers played their last regular season day

state department says swedish diplomats have been given access to meryl newman.eteran being held in north korea. video has been released of the 85-year-old man confessing and apologizing for killing troops an civilians during the korean war. his family says he was detained while on a ten-day tour there in october. the white house is calling for his immediate release along with the release of another american. kenneth bay who has been held inside north korea for almost a year. >>> white house officials say the obama care website is getting better. traffic heavier than usual. more upgrades are being planned. the president's poll numbers have plummeted. those are your headlines this hour. >>> larry hall had confessed to killing jessica roach, tricia reitler and two other women. and then he took it all back. claiming it was just his imagination. >> i did confess to certain policemen that i had dreams, that i did things. >> but investigator gary miller had other evidence. like the witness who drove by this cornfield the night of jessica's murder. >> that person testif

in a statement, meryll newman said he ran into trouble after asking about the north korean partisans he helped train during the korean war. he was accused of being a war criminal and delivered a video tape apology. but newman says the words were not his and were not delivered voluntarily. he returned to the bay area on saturday and is now resting at a family home in santa cruz. >> he seems a little tired. but that's to be expected. it's been a long month. probably emotionally taxing. you know and he seems okay. he seems like he'll be just fine. >>> newman says he plans to share more about his experience later after recovering his strength. >>> and at ktvu.com we have posted newman's entire statement look for the hot topic segment right on our home page. >>> air force one arrived carrying president obama and michelle obama. it was a 15 hour flight from maryland also on board former president george w. bush and his wife laura along with former secretary of state hillary clinton. former presidents bill clinton and jimmy carter are also traveling to south africa. the memorial at a sports

north korea state media released this video of meryl newman.reading what it says is a handwritten apology. the california man admits he is quote, guilty of big crime for fighting the u.s. and koreaen war and killing civilians. swedish diplomats have been able to visit newman and given him medication for his heart. >> another body was found today in the wreckage of a scottish pub. the discovery was made as a police hell cop tear helicopter. the pub was packed with people was listening. dozens of people are in the hospital and police say the recovery operation will last for days. >>> still ahead, president obama makes a $100 million pledge to mark. >>> a lot of clouds right now, but not too much falling from the clouds. most of the showers out in ohio and the midwest. we'll let you know if any showers get in here tomorrow. we'll also come back and tell you when >>> a chinese lunar probe is in space tonight dropping off a robotic rover. this is a first for the chinese. the spacecraft is the first vessel to explore the moon since the soviet mission

meryl newman arrived at san francisco international airport just a few hours ago. s released for humanitarian reasons, but it happened just one week after he made a public apology for his service during the korean war. dan simon joins us live outside newman's home in palo alto, what do we know of newman, is he expected home anytime soon? >> reporter: well, it's a good question, debra. apparently he's not heading here. they've made some kind of alternative arrangements for him to stay for the next few days. you can see behind me there's yellow ribbons at the entrance, this is the retirement home where he lives. as you can imagine his family and friends grateful to have him home. this is what he said a few hours ago when he arrived at the san francisco international airport. >> good morning, i'm delighted to be home. i want to thank the swedish embassy in pyongyang and the american embassy in beijing for all their help. it's been a great, great homecoming, and i'm tired, but ready to be with my family now. and thank you all for the support we got. and very much apprec

authorities to to grant them amnesty and immediate release and the urge the immediate release of meryl newman who was detained more recently given mr. newman's advanced age and health emissions -- conditions. we urge them to release mr. newman so he can return home and be reunited with his family. i don't have an itemized list of topics of discussion for the vice president but in addition to all the important issues we discussed with the governments of the countries he is visiting i'm sure that those that are getting a lot of attention right now will be among those issues discussed. >> back on health care for second. since the new system has been activated, why has this been done and how much traffic is -- on the web site? >> let me say it couple of things. one of the improvements that has been made since october 1 was the improvement to the queuing system. we absolutely anticipate that on this day in particular because it is the first workday after that deadline was set for ourselves to make sure that the web site was functioning effectively for the vast majority of users, we would see a sur