♪ >> i'm terry mcsweeney live in marin county with the tale of two sewage spills. we're finding out the second one may have been millions of gallons and the first one may not have been environmental terrorism. that story coming up in a live report. >> also this morning despite pressure from other cities and counties, san francisco gavin newsom let a local fire ordinance become law. >> from ballmer peak back down to san francisco. the air's fairly clean this morning. a few high clouds and also a wet and windy saturday. how much snow it will bring to the sierra.

>> good morning. no delays on our roadways right now but we have a couple of mass transit systems operating on a weekend schedule or not in service. i'll have those details coming up. >> water and mud-drenched neighbors in southern california race to clean up the mess as they watch new storm clouds approach. >> good morning, everyone. i'm jenelle wang. merry christmas eve. i'm in for eric thomas. >> jenelle wang, and i'm kristen. thanks for having you here. i'm saying it's about christmastime. my last day of work before my vacation. a lot of news today. thanks for joining us. we're hearing from the construction company whose equipment allegedly clogged sewage pipes. we're learning this morning one of the spills is a lot worse than anybody imagined. terry mcsweeney's live in greenbray with the latest. >> one called by environmental terrorism. the other it seems clear was

caused by a bad pipe. take a look at the video of that second break. this is the one that happened on wednesday of this week that we're now being told dumped perhaps more than 2 million gallons of raw sewage into the creek and the marshlands here at marin catholic high school. this was from ray break in the pipe made of tech-ice. it doesn't stand the test of time. it's being replaced nationwide as it is here. as for sewage overflow, 850,000 gallons of raw sewage on friday called by officials an act of environmental terrorism. well, take a listen. >> that seems pretty far-fetched to me. >> i think we're living in a world where terrorists becomes a convenient excuse for just about anything that goes wrong. >> all kinds of construction-related equipment found in the sewer on saturday allegedly blocking the line including half bundles of wire

and asphalt. the f.b.i. called in to investigate. now, the company working on the pipes out here jmb has this statement: the overflow accidents occurred during heavy periods of rain and when the kentfield pump station was shut down, each a possible cause of sewage flows that overwhelms the system. the whistle blowers are saying the people he heard from a few moments ago are right on the money and that the construction company is right on the money. more on their side of the story coming up in half an hour. terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> thanks so much, terry. we'll talk to you soon. two state lawmakers say budget cuts maybe to blame for security problems at napa state hospital. the facility has been on lockdown after a staffer was murdered by a patient in october. there have been two other serious attacks on workers. a firsthand look at the conditions inside yesterday. >> this facility's been

absorbing budget cuts. they're understaffed. it's an outdated, outmoded facility. they don't have the security technology they need to have. basically we're seeing this system fracture because of the pressure being put on the state budget. >> that director of california's department of mental health which oversees napa state hospital announced his retirement yesterday. dr. steven mayburg will step down at the end of this month. >> the federal judge who put a hold on california's lethal injections wants to tour the state's new death chamber at san quentin. jeremy fogel halted executions in 2006 over concerns staff members were inadequately trained and the death chamber was too small and dark. the judge requested a hearing to look at improvements officials have made since then. san francisco's local hiring ordinance is becoming law after the mayor declined to veto it. gavin newsom didn't sign the legislation either telling the board of supervisors he has

reservations about parts of it and wants the city to pursue reciprocal agreements with neighboring counties. city-funded projects set aside a percentage of the jobs for san francisco residents. that percentage eventually grows to 50%. it will hurt workers there and had urged newsom to veto it. >> the san francisco 49ers have signed on to stay at candlestick park for at least another year. mayor newsom says it settles a $6 million dispute over improvements which could have resulted in a lawsuit. a spokesperson for the team says the agreement does not change its commitment to be in a new stadium in santa clara by 2015. >> acting governor abram maldnado has declared emergencies. emergencies were claimed in six other counties and with more rain expected people are bracing

for the worst. eileen is there with our story. >> family and friends helped salvage what they can from christy jones' garage in laguna beach. her place sits right next to a riverbed. heavy rain turned it into a raging river strong enough to carry a huge container. >> it could have taken the roof off. all the water. it was just a wave coming over. >> down the creek sits a porsche. further down a minivan. an eyewitness news viewer shot this video during the worst of the flooding. downtown laguna beach submerged in water. what a difference a day makes. but the damage is done. officials report nearly 50 businesses flooded. 20 homes with moderate damage. another casuality, the boardwalk at the main beach. >> you are looking at millions of dollars worth of damage. >> cleanup also needed in dove canyon where mud buried cars and

severely damaged five homes. in san juan capistrano, repairing damage along the creek, the evacuation order now lifted for hundreds of residents and businesses nearby. a mile away margarita cleans up around her home. her brother shot video of the flooding. the water more than 2 feet high. >> it was scary. it was scary because you didn't know where it was gonna stop. >> fans dry out their homes. the family grateful no one was injured. >> we've lived here, oh, i don't know about 60 years. my mom's lived here. and never has it happened. ever. >> as you can see there is still a lot to clean up here. officials estimate the damage at at least $4 million to businesses and homes just in the city of laguna beach alone and expect that number to go up as the cleanup continues. abc 7 news. >> appears to be drying out

today but it won't be long before they get rain again. >> a new round of storms. >> but nothing like what they dealt with right then. they'll probably get half to an inch this time. come in a little quicker which means more flash flooding but not prolonged periods of heavy rain. good news it will be a slash and dash for them. this friday morning temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s most neighborhoods. mid to upper 40s san jose and san francisco. as far as compared to 24 hours ago, just about all of us cooler except santa rosa, san francisco and los gatos 1 to 4 degrees warmer. an increase in high clouds. really pretty comfortable conditions from 60 in fremont, san jose and morgan hill with mid to upper 50s for the rest of us. as far as those winds though, they do come in tonight ahead of the system 3:00 in the morning until 10:00 saturday evening near the ocean. the higher elevations everywhere you see yellow here we could

have gusting up to 45 mph. wet and windy tomorrow. yeah, we're going to have a good healthy dose of rain about a quarter to three-quarters inch armed the bay. dry and calmer sunday, municipalmonday. temperatures mainly the 50s all seven days of the forecast. >> we have a new crash right now in oakland at the westbound 24 approaching 580. a car hit the wall on the right-hand side. right now it is on the shoulder not blocking any lanes. a couple things to tell you about in mass transit today. no service for says train. caltrain on the holiday schedule. bart is operating on a normal week-day schedule today with no delays. walnut grove, the real mccoy ferry is off until 9:00 this morning. nice and light. no delays heading southbound 680

into the san ramon valley. >> time now 5:09. one fatal crash will cost toyota millions. the "moneyscope" report is next. >> and giving the gift of giving. 7 on your side's michael finney shows us a new twist on the gift card. but first a service member from overseas.

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the average $3.01. gas prices usual fall this time of year. analysts are blaming rising oil prices. toyota agreed to spend $10 million to settle a lawsuit. three family members were killed and the accelerator of their lexus apparently jammed last year. the car sped up, crashed and burst into flames. a new sign the economy could be picking up. the "wall street journal" reports 4.7 million jobs posted online in the u.s. december 1st and that's 2 million more than a year earlier. that's your "moneyscope" report. >> more than 500 members of the gaza strip's small christian community left the territory today to go to bethlehem. they're there to take part in christmas celebrations in the traditional birth place of jesus. the military coordinated the rare passage to the west. they will join thousands of tour f tourists for the worship services. about 90,000 visitors are

expected in bethlehem this year. >> time is running out for everyone who still has christmas shopping to do. if you need an idea, we may be able to help. 7 on your side's michael finney with a new take on an old giving idea. >> this shopping season gift cards are looking like a pretty good idea. these racks in safe way are getting a good going over by shoppers. you know about gift cards but probably not this one. it's different. causes charity gift card. donate to your choice of 1 million charities. >> what we're trying to do is make giving more available to people. we think giving is a social activity. we call the gift card the gift of giving. >> that's joe green. he heads up the charity and activism site causes.com. there have been single charity gift cards but they didn't catch on. where's the fun or activism in that. but this idea, people like it. these two both bought the causes

gift card after hearing about them from friends. >> it's the season to give and hopefully some of my causes will keep us in mind for the rest of the year as well. >> you're shaking your head yes. >> well, i feel like i'll give it to people who want to give. i have people in my life who would prefer to give to charities or organizations rather than get gifts. >> the recipient goes online to causes.com, signs up and then makes decisions on who gets how much. >> it's a game almost, too. like buying somebody energy on some social net working games thing. so we can do that. all a part of this as well, absolutely. >> not only charity of specific impact projects. with your $25, you can feed a kid in india for a year. or send a care package to the troops in afghanistan. a lot of great impact for people to have. people really enjoy being able to choose that impact. >> michael says the cards come

in 25 and $50 denominations. in the bay area they're sold only through safeway right now. we have links on our website. just go to abc7news.com and look on "7 on your side." >> shipping volumes are reaching their highest levels this weekend. more packages to pack, ship and deliver than ever before. the shift reflects the fact more people are doing their holiday shopping online. overall holiday sales are expected to rise by 4% but online sales are up by three times that much this year. officials say something that may be behind those numbers, the free shipping offer that comes with many online sales. >> a lot of people will be shopping today probably on the last day before christmas. >> today you gotta go to the mall. you have no choice. >> get it all done. and our forecast could be pretty nice for those folks. >> absolutely. no need for a heavy coat, no need for an umbrella, just patience. >> save your arms for the bags.

>> exactly. (laughter) >> i'll show you what's going on. pose while i do the weather, whatever. strike a pose. (laughter) >> 5:17 this morning, beautiful picture from mount tamalpais. gives you an idea how clean the air is as we look all the way to downtown san francisco. the embarcadero with the buildings there with their lights on still this morning. look what's going on temperaturewise. it is much cooler this morning. upper 30s to low 40s in our inland valleys, including redwood city with low to mid-40s from the bay shore to the coast. around the monterey bay, gilroy 37 degrees. yeah, today pretty uneventful weatherwise. completely different tomorrow. becomes breezy tonight and then wet and windy for our saturday. that will push snow into the sierra for saturday and into sunday.

heading that way, looks like you'll get a new dusting. the winds won't be too bad. don't think they'll have to close any ski lifts. good weekend for skiing. 60 fremont, san jose. it will be slightly warmer the monterey bay and inland with upper 50s to low 60s. for tonight the clouds roll in keeping our temperatures up a little bit. 45 palo alto, most of the bay shore and the coast upper 40s to low 50s. inland valleys mid-to upper 40s. drizzle possible tonight from the thickening clouds overtaking the area of high pressure that's holding the system at bay for today. several areas of energy with this storm. i think they'll kind of congeal into one storm and blow through here tomorrow. put a time frame on it. the high clouds coming in during the afternoon and evening hours. by midnight it should be mostly cloudy. by 7:00 in the morning light rain coming ashore in sonoma

county. 11:00, 2:00 the heaviest rain moves in. showery nature as we head into the evening hours. overnight sunday some clearing and a few clouds sunday. maybe light rain just in the extreme northern part of the bay. for the most part it's going to be dry. most of our rain tomorrow and a quarter in the east bay valley to three-quarters of an inch for the bay. the santa cruz mountains up to 2 inches in the north bay mountains. 7-day forecast, once we get past that sunday, monday and most of tuesday we'll be dry with mid to upper 50s. wednesday looks like some rain and then thursday should be dry once again. have a great weekend. here's megan. >> good morning. off to a great start for your christmas eve morning commute. a live look in the south bay. this is san jose 101 right at the 880 overcrossing. these headlights -- they disappeared now but no problems heading up the peninsula now. a live look at 280 at the 17 overcrossing. same story, nice and light

through the downtown san jose area. if you're getting an early start heading out of town towards thes have, no chains required now on 88, 80 or 50. but try your best to get up there today because mike says you most likely will need them for tomorrow. for the latest go to abc7news.com and click on the traffic link. it's right there under abc 7 extras. kristen, jenelle. >> megan, thanks so much. time now 5:20. >> golf superstar tiger woods loses another endorsement. that's next. sabathia pitches in to help homeless women in his hometown.

>> merry christmas eve. >> a bit of a lump of coal for tiger woods. gillette ending its endorsement with woods. used woods with other top athletes as gillette champions marketing campaign. gillette is phasing out the program and won't renew the contract with woods. the company stopped using him after details of his extramartial affairs became public last year. >> a power line fell on top of it for no apparent reason. firefighters couldn't put out the blaze on virginia drive because the wires were hot. pg&e says 37 customers are without power. a short time later a garbage

truck brought down a low wire on bay point. the accident ripped out an electrical meter. c. c. sabathia and his wife are spending christmas back home in vallejo pitching in to help the city where they grew up. their pitch-in foundation, they're renovating a shelter for homeless women trying to get off the streets. the home is being landscaped, rewired, repaired to get up to code. some of c. c.'s sold pals are helping out. >> a lot of the guys i grew up with. some of the guys from my high school, my best friend. like i said, that's just a part of what we're trying to do is getting people to think about other people and get out and help. >> sabathia started the pitch-in foundation last year. primary mission to help disadvantaged kids. >> why state officials say the 2010 census is short-changing

california. >> i'm terry mcsweeney live in greenbray in marin county where it's not going to be a very merry christmas if there's rain on christmas day and these crews haven't fixed this sewer pipeline. could be another spillage of raw sewage. the story coming up in a live report. >> and the pilot who blew the whistle on airport security through a video shot at sfo finally talks about why he did it. >> and temperatures looking a lot like ending parts of december across the country. no real warm spots. no real cold spots. but we have potential hot spots as far as delays, st. louis, chicago, minneapolis, detroit, possibly portland, seattle and

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>> we're finding out this was perhaps millions of gallons. might not have been the work of environmental terrorists. >> holiday travelers make the airport screeners to take a closer look at insulated containers. security officials say they are a potential terror tactic. >> a live look from ballmer peak this morning. a few high clouds and cooler conditions waiting for you as you step out. but a wet and windy saturday. we'll talk about how fast those winds will be, how much rain tomorrow. >> good morning. no delays at the bay bridge toll plaza. if you're taking mass transit, we have a couple of systems operating on a holiday schedule. all those details coming up. >> and stores are braced for the traditional rush of last-minute holiday shoppers. this is shaping up to be the best holiday season in three years. yes, christmas eve and we're glad you're with us at 5:28. thanks for joining us.

>> similar jenelle wang in for eric thomas. the overflowing sewage in marin county is turning out to be a lot worse than first estimated. now the rush is on this morning to clean it up before the next round of storms move in. terry mcsweeney is live in greenbray with the cleanup and the investigation what caused this mess. terry? >> merry christmas eve to you. keep in mind it's not that merry a christmas eve to sanitation workers trying very hard to get this pipe fixed out here before the next rainfall because if they don't have it fixed by that next rainfall and the rain comes down hard, there could be a third sewage spill in the very same area out here in marin county. take a look at the workers trying to get things right. this is video from yesterday. they're trying to replace a pipe that gave way wednesday morning pouring perhaps 2 million gallons of sewage into the creek and the marshlands at marin

county high school. crews were looking to replace that pipe when it gave way. a much larger controversy is the spill last friday of raw sewage. it was environmental terrorism because somebody threw all kinds of stuff into the sewer lines and that backed up the water. the whistle blowers say, no, that's not exactly right. that is a cover story for a lack of pipe maintenance and the pump station that was shut down should not have been shut down. health officials say whatever happened there, stay away from all of it. take a listen. >> stay out of the water. >> anything else? >> keep your dogs out of the water, also. and i would probably not kayak, boat, or do anything like that. >> the construction company that's been working out here for months replacing that pipe agrees with the whistle blowers that the shutting down of the pump station was a major contributor along with the runoff from the rain to the

problem. what's immediately important right now is to finish fixing the sewer pipe out here. and as i said crews are out here right now trying to get it done. if they don't get it done by the next heavy rainfall, again could be a third raw sewage spill coming up. live in greenbray in marin county, abc 7 news. >> terry, thanks a lot. it's 5:31. the water off three san mateo beaches will remain closed until at least monday because of sewage contamination. testing in pacifica and lake shore and aquatic parks in san mateo's marina lagoon show unsafe levels of bacteria. heavy rain from last weekend's storm caused the sewage drainage system to overflow. rock away beach had been closed so bacteria levels there are safe again. airport screeners are taking a closer look at thermos bottles travelers maybe carrying. a potential terror tactic that involves empty drink containers.

an administration official anonymously confirms but stressed there's no intelligence about an active terror plot. a regular update about terror tactics. >> a sacramento airline pilot who exposed what he calls a major security flaw at u.s. airports is finally speaking out. he shot cellphone video at sfo showing how easy it is to gain access is to tarmacs and runways. all they have to do is swipe i.d. cards at special doors. the pilot doesn't want to be identified. >> how effective is security when everybody on board is screened and everybody on the ground isn't? >> the pilot posted the video on youtube.com. some airline experts say he should have been more discreet. >> what we don't want todo is wave a red flag and say hey, take a look at this vulnerability. >> they came to the pilot's home

to confiscate the pistol he's licensed to carry on flight but he's still allowed to fly. >> 1 million californians were missed in the census count. state department and finance records show the state's population at nearly 39 million as of july 1st. this figure was drawn from birth and death certificates, school, data, driver's license and medicare enrollment. california's population was just 37.3 million based on mailed in forms and door to door interviews. the miscount could cost the state billions of dollars in federal funding and prevent it from getting a new congressional seat. >> business leaders in silicon valley are making their business predictions how 2011 is shaping up. our media partner, the san jose mercury news shows the outlook is optimistic. fears are fading fast. housing prices will stabilize or at least not get much worse.

consumer spending will improve and improve small businesses. public sector jobs will continue to decline. >> much of the optimism comes from consumer spending for the holidays. retailers say it's shaping up to be the best holiday season since 2007 but the joy is not shared by all. there's also a sharp increase in need. amy holyfield reports from emeryville. >> what she's trying to say is many organizations can still use more donations and while sales are up they're not necessarily seeing that in terms of donations to charities. if you want to help out, you can go to our website abc7news.com for more information. click on "see it on tv" on our home page to see how you can

help. >> in other news this morning, acting governor has declared a state of emergency in three more southern california counties pounded by a week-long onslaught of rain. one resident shot this video on laguna beach that shoals the worst of the flooding there. mud, debris and puddles of water have created a mess and caused tens of millions of dollars in damages. heavy rains turned creeks into rivers that carried off luxury cars as if they were toys. capistrano, hundreds were evacuated from homes when this creek overflowed. >> it was scary. it was scary because you didn't know when it was gonna stop. >> now people are cleaning up as best they can in a race against the clock before the next round of storms hits. >> even though the heavy rain is out of there for them, the mudslides not diminishing at all. >> any rain at all is just making people really nervous.

let's check with meteorologist mike nicco. >> it will be a quick hit this time. it won't last very long and it won't be very heavy but it will cause some flash flooding. it will be mainly saturday night into sunday. for us that same storm. for right now we have a little light rain showing up in the northern part of the state. you can see the increase in clouds. that's the story for today and the mild temperatures. right now we're still pretty cool with upper 30s to low 40s in our inland valleys. low to mid-40s along most of the bay and out to the coast. that's where we'll be 8:00. notice the clouds thicken during the noon hour. temperatures hitting the mid to upper 50s and plain off there mid to upper 50s all throughout the afternoon hours with those increasing high clouds. now, tonight we could have a little drizzle as the clouds get thicker with that approaching storm and 3:00 tomorrow morning until 10:00 tomorrow evening, watch for gusty winds up to 45 mph. we'll get a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rain around the bay, 1 to 2 inches in our mountains. sunday much calmer and quieter

with temperatures mid to upper 50s also. megan. >> i'm happy to report for your christmas eve commute it's smooth sailing. we're going to start with a live look at the east shore freeway. this is interstate 80 heading through the berkeley area. headlights move westbound and the drive time from the carquinez bridge to the maze just a light 19 minutes. if you're taking mass transit today, a couple things you need to know. no service on ace today or tomorrow. caltrain operating on a holiday schedule today. no service for the alameda ferry today or tomorrow and the golden gate ferry is on a weekend schedule. bart is operating on a normal weekday schedule today. the walnut grove area, the real mccoy ferry is closed for emergency repair work until about 9:00 this morning. >> thank you for the update. 5:37. >> we have a happy ending for a sad story. home for the holidays, a lost dog found beaten and shot is reunited with its owner. >> the families of american

troops serving overseas discover ways of coping with the separation. we'll show you a special reunion next. sapphire preferred are worth 25% more on travel. we're like forget florida, we're going on a safari. so we're on the serengeti, and seth finds a really big bone. we're talking huge. they dig it up, put it in the natural history museum and we get to name it. raus. sethasauraus. really. your points from chase sapphire preferred are worth 25% more on travel? means better vacations. that's incredible. believe it...with chase sapphire preferred your points are worth 25% more on travel when booked through ultimate rewards.

>> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >> welcome back, everyone. what a beautiful shot from our high definition emeryville camera. you're looking at the bay bridge and the glow of the city, the embarcadero center there in the background. a lot of people coming in to do last-minute shopping today. it will be dry but more rain on the way.

we'll check with meteorologist mike nicco in just a few moments. >> more news right now. a lost dog rescued from near death after being beaten and shot with a pellet gun is home this morning. the four-year-old schnauzer was spotted by an oakland police officer by the side of the road on bank croft avenue. he escaped when contractors left the front door open. kevin had a broken leg and pellet wounds on his head. >> what does -- to do that to an animal, just uncome henceable. i don't know. >> no leads who did this to kevin. brad's other dog is still missing. for five months abc news producerses have been embedded with troops and their families. they're showing how they cope with stresses of war. one was hooked up to a live

video feed while his wife gave birth to their baby. they will appear on "good morning america" to share their story. >> took three laptops and a lot of luck with a skype signal. but you were there. what kind of advice did you give her during difficult times in labor. >> i didn't know what to say so i just kept telling her do a good job and keep going. that she was doing a good job. >> ohhhh! (baby crying) >> you can hear more from the families and abc's bob woodruff's report on "g.m.a." after our newscast at 7 a.m. >> the sacrifice they make. >> thank goodness for the web communication technology so good these days. makes it a little easier. 5:42 is our time. the bloomberg business report is coming up. >> by car, train or plane, americans on the move this holiday season. coming up the challenges

trafficers may face. plus google makes a move to extend its reach into the african continent. >> abc 7 news hooking up with the i-pad.

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around the state. mid to upper 50s with sunshine, same thing with big sur. southern california, 60 degree temperatures with sunshine. let's start by going to the sierra. snow moving in saturday and into sunday. yosemite, increasingly harder to get there saturday and sunday morning. southern california the rain will move in saturday and hang around for sunday. temperatures dropping to 60 in l.a. and 59 san diego. time for more news. here's jenelle. >> thanks, mike. we're going to take a look at our top stories we're following this morning. crews are looking to clean up in marin county with spilled sewage before new storms arrive. still not clear whether negligence or maliciousness. >> holiday crowds move through airport security lines. the tsa taking a closer look at

thermos type bottles. advising airlines to check empty drink bottles. no specific intelligence about an attack but part of an ongoing update. >> southern california is reeling from the storms of that been left behind by mud, debris and pools of water. the rains caused tens of millions in damage. residents trying to clean up as much as they can before the next round of storms hitting this weekend. the latest at 6:00. >> holiday travel over christmas and new year's looks to be up from a year ago. more than 92 million people plan to travel more than 50 miles. but this year travelers face challenges beyond just the weather. abc has more. >> travelers hoping to make it home for holidays are being besieged by all kinds of problems. mudslides, even terror threats. despite that millions of americans are boarding planes, trains and automobiles to get home for christmas. passengers traveling by air face

a new security alert this morning as airport screeners will be extra focussed on thermos-type beverage containers. there isn't a specific terror plot but they are concerned. things could be even slower than usual at security checkpoints. >> you gotta do it to keep people safe. if that means extra screening time, it could be more beneficial than in the long run. >> those traveling by automobiles already bedeviled by weather hazard are paying more hitting the nation's highways. for the first time in two years the national average for a regular gallon of gas jumped over the $3 mark. that's up from just last year and 76% higher than two years ago. >> on a national average basis we have never paid $3 a gallon on christmas eve or on christmas. >> despite the potential obstacles, folks are not staying home. aaa estimates that more than 92 million americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday. that is 3% more than last year.

nine out of ten will travel by car and almost 3 million will fly. >> during challenging economic times there's a battle between the heart strings and the purse strings and usually the heart strings will win out. >> abc news, new york. >> a lot of people getting out to see their families. let's check our weather forecast. >> absolutely. should be fine. if you're heading out across the country though, we have a system in the middle that's bringing storms to dallas and snow to st. louis, minneapolis and detroit. could be problems there. tomorrow could be tough here trying to travel. walk you through the next several days. we have a windy, wet system coming out of tomorrow. but for today, very mild, very nice. look how calm it is this morning. the bay almost looking like a mirror reflecting the lights from san francisco and also from the bay bridge there. let's talk about temperatures. they're still pretty chilly. may notice the heater running a little more during the

overnight. the spot with the thickest fog. fairfield, concord, livermore in the upper 30s. everybody else in the low to mid-40s. around the monterey bay, temperatures in the low to mid-40s. that does include inland. salinas and gilroy even cooler at 39. increasing clouds, dry and mild today. no weather worries. becoming breezy tonight with some drizzle but wet and windy tomorrow with a cold front passing through. and that will bring some sierra snow for saturday evening and into sunday. today temperatures 60 fremont and san jose. mid to upper 50s. a lot of us near 60 degrees this afternoon with increasing high clouds. same thing around the monterey bay, possibly warmer with upper 50s to low 60s as you head inland. for tonight temperatures up due to the cloud cover. we'll have mid to upper 40s in our inland valleys. 45 palo alto but the rest of the bay shore and out to the coast near 50 degrees. high pressure holding strong right now keeping the system at bay but being overrun by the

high clouds during the afternoon hours. jet stream's going to push most of the rain into the extreme northwest corner of our state today and drive these area of low pressure as one single unit they will march across the state tomorrow. by 7:00 tonight you can see the thicker high clouds. maybe harder to see santa from the ground but with rudolph leading the way, no problems getting through the clouds. 7:00 in the morning a little light rain moving into sonoma county. heaviest rain rolls in from midmorning to mid afternoon with the cold front. wake up sunday morning with mainly clear skies. a little fog possible in our valleys. by sunday evening a little light rain tries to move back into the north bay. in the mountains 2 inches. inch and a half the santa cruz mountains. three-quarters of an inch around the bay area. don't forget the winds and the higher elevations along the bay

shore. i should say the coast, excuse me, 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. gusting at 45 mph. once that system moves through sunday, monday and most of tuesday should be dry. rain again on wednesday and then dry again on thursday with temperatures in the 50s all seven days of the forecast. have a great safe weekend. here's megan. >> thanks, mike. good morning. no need to rush if you're getting ready to leave the house on this christmas eve morning commute. a live look in san jose problem free. 101 right at the 880 overcrossing. a nice ride making your way out of morgan hill heading all the way up the peninsula. the golden gate bridge, same story. no one's there really. headlights coming in. a beautiful right from san francisco to sausalito. pretty quiet holiday light throughout the bay area. on the san mateo bridge, traffic moving nicely here in both directions. these headlights are moving eastbound into hayward. taillights move westbound towards foster city. getting an early start heading out of town towards the sierra,

no chains required 88 or 50 but get up there today because that's not the same story for tomorrow. for the latest go to our website at abc7news.com. click on the traffic linking. jenelle, kristen. >> megan, thanks a lot. it's 5:53. your smart phone is about to get a lot smarter. >> here's the morning's "moneyscope" report. >> a smart phone that projects a 3-d image of the person calling you. ibm predicts we could see that feature with computer programs that tells you when and where traffic jams take place by 2015. made the predictions after its annual survey of 3,000 researchers to find the next big idea. meanwhile your shopping may be pretty much done for christmas. now get ready for the after christmas sales rush but make sure you get an early start. retailers like target, j.c. penney will open 7 a.m. on sunday, the day after christmas. you can expect deep discounts on

wrapping paper, cards and most winter merchandise. old navy open until 7 p.m. tonight. that may not seem like a big deal but consider this. the retailer's been open for business since 7 a.m. yesterday. old navy is calling it their 36 hour shop around the clock event. customers can win gift cards and qualify for a $1 million giveaway. pretty humbug trading day after a mixed bag of economic data. stocks closing mixed. if you own a cadillac model year 2005 to 2007, you may want to contact your dealer. general motors is recalling 109,000 vehicles because of defect in the present system mat. the flaw can prevent the passenger air bag from deploying. that's business at the new york stock exchange with the bloomberg business report. >> google makes a big hire in africa reflecting the growth and

development of internet there. an activist is joining google as policy director for africa. the 33-year-old is a harvard trained lawyer, blogger and creator of a nonprofit. predicted that the web will have its greatest effect on africa over the next ten years. >> we want to thank you for already counting on abc 7 news for coverage of issues and stories that matter to you. as dan ashley shows us, all the content you demand is now also available on your i-pad. >> this is the abc 7 news i-pad app now available on i-tunes. >> we're very proud because we're the first station in the bay area to feature an i-pad app. >> whether it's news or weather. >> the abc 7 news i-pad app has everything you want from abc 7 news and abc7news.com. >> michael finney is here. >> you can watch slide shows of

hot topics or check in on facebook.com. >> this is really unique because we're going to be able to offer live streaming video and break news situations which a lot don't offer. >> whether it's online, on air, on your mobile device or on the i-pad, abc 7 news has your world covered. >> the i-pad such a popular device for bay area residents, we're really excited to offer this. >> the best thing about the app, it's free! just search the app store for abc san francisco to download it. >> millions of people will be doing that, we hope. just ahead on abc 7 news at 6:00, the criminal that brought more than his wallet as he went shopping at a popular san jose mall. >> i'm terry mcsweeney in marin county where a whole lot of people have the very same thing on their christmas list. all they want for christmas is a fixed sewer pipe. bet it's not on

>> 3 million gallons of sewage and a partridge in a pear