help those in need. and now a man has both

thank you for joining us on this christmas eve. tomorrow is the big day. for kids, of course, but also for charities working hard to make the holiday bright for those in need. abc7's lilian kim is live in san francisco where volunteers were up late so it would be a special day for a lot of children. >> we are at lefty's. they will be handing them out tomorrow, and there will be a lot to sort through. the outpouring of donations has been overwhelming. the toys kept coming. some chose to drop them off by foot, and others took advantage of the curbside dropoff. >> i have two little grandchildren, little boys,

and i thought it would be nice to give to a little child who is not my own. >> lefty's and 9 firefighters union has been working to provide toy had. their goal is 10,000 toys. they appear to be on track. >> we have been incried -- incredibly lucky. we just wanted to do our part. we hoped someone would do the same in their situation of. >> he presented the firefighters union with a check. santa john told a joke that was inappropriate to some, was key in raising money. they charged $10 for photos with santa. and now it will go to the program. >> people are still donating

cash and gift cards here. >> the season of giving is also in high gear. the st. anthony foundation in the tenderloin. it is scars that have been coming in. >> it is stunning. it comes in every day. the staff is like, did you see this one! >> the call went out and it went viral on the internet. they started working on the craft, and now st. anthony's has 7,000 scars which they plan to hand out christmas day. >> i think a lot of people want to help, but don't know how. so many people said, oh, well, i can do that. that's something i can do. >> st. anthony's was hoping for 2500 scarves. they got three times that. as for this toy drive, about 15,000 toys have been collected, and there is still two hours to go. lilian kim, abc ef is news. >> great to see so many people

making a difference. thank you very much. this is shaping up to be one of the best years ever for retailers. all-around the bay area, plenty of people doing last-minute shopping. this toys r us on winchester boulevard was one of the only retailers to stay open until 10:00 this evening. the national retail federation predicts that sales will top $451 billion. that's up 3.3% from last year. lor -- laura anthony has the story. >> things are looking up this holiday season, and the rush could turn good sales figures into great ones. at concord sun valley mall, it included high-priced jewelry, a big change from last year. >> it has been a very, very strong season here at sun valley. some of the strong eats -- strongest numbers we have seen in years. in fact, one of the strongest we have ever had. >> it will be 62.50. debit or credit? >> at brooke stone, last-minute shoppers were

clearly going for items that would not be considered essential. >> the helicopters are huge. we have been selling pretty well our drone hovercraft things there. >> much of the last-minute rush is driven by men who make up 65% of the crowd here. it is about twice the normal number. >> why do you come at the last minute? >> do see if there is more of a spirit on the last day. people starting to get into it. >> then there are those into the bargains. >> got some nice things for friends. >> definitely because of the economy, but also we have three kids in clemming, and we are helping them through. >> shopping wasn't the only last-minute task at sun valley. it was also the final day to get one picture taken with a certain someone. >> definitely.

shopping got done, but not santa. >> the santa visiting area is also a big business. and i'm told by management that sales of those photo packages are also up considerably this year. laura anthony, abc news. a few anxious moments for people trying to get home from the holidays. a southwest airlines plane made an emergency landing in oakland after an indicator light showed a mechanical problems. the plane was headed from san francisco to los angeles. it landed in oakland safely. officials believe the indicator light was faulty and there was no actual problem with the plane. they are inspecting, of course, to make sure of that. we are about to get more rain here and more snow in the sierra. sandhya patel has a quick look at how much and when. >> dan, it begins tomorrow morning. first in the north bay at 8:00. so the rain will move into the north bay and then it spreads. you notice it heavier with the yellows and the oranges.

and so there will be pockets of heavy rain even into the afternoon. and then the rain will slowly start to taper by evening. it pretty much is ending, and we have a few lingering showers for your sunday morning. but the rest of sunday is looking just fine along with monday. as dan mentioned, we are expecting snow in the sierra nevada. we are expecting rain in the bay area. i'll be back with a full look at the forecast in a few minutes. dan? >> sandhya, thanks. rain here of course means snow in the sierra where 260 inches has already fallen. and that is close to a record. the slopes are jam packed at ski resorts like north star atta hoe. they haven't had this much snow this early since 1997. most ski areas are expecting the busiest week of the year. >> i started boarding about six years ago and it is kind of my stress relief. i have a lot of fun. >> shops and towns like truckee are enjoying the trickle down affect of the influx of tourists including this woman from montreal.

>> we have landed in a cowboy town. it is so cute. >> it is cute. >> roads are clear, but the winter storm watch kicks in tomorrow. down south residents of one of the southern california towns hardest hit by this week's storms caught a small break today. dozens of people were allowed to return to their mud-swollen homes in the san bernadino area of highland. they were given two hours to salvage what they could from christmas gifts to important documents. >> this is my husband's gift. >> got most of the christmas presents? >> most of them. >> preliminary damage estimates in highland alone are an estimated $17 million. the state of emergency has been declared in nine counties including los angeles, orange and santa barbara. unfortunately more rain is in the forecast. it turns out much mora

sewage spilled in marin county during five days of storms than anyone initially thought. the total is now nearly three million gallons of raw sewage. the general manager blames wednesday's spill on a 30-year-old sewer pipe that failed, but another 8040-gallon spill is being blamed on debris that clogged the lines. >> we have large pieces of drive, black asphalt drive. you know, big, big chunks. >> j and b construction of south san francisco says they video inspected the liens prior to being placed in service in august. some sources place the blame on the district for turning off a pumping station just before storm water filled the pipes. officials say the work on the new line will be finished by late tonight. an oakland city leader is in trouble with the law after being arrested in the annual holiday drunk driving crackdown. the chp arrested de la fuente

last night on interstate 580. officers initially stopped him for speeding. they describe him as being, quote, impaired. de la fuente failed a field sobriety test. de la fuente was released after under going a blood alcohol test at the north county jail. he has not responded to requests for an interview on this. much more to come this christmas eve. you heard of the grinch who stole christmas, well this christmas someone stole the grinch. we will have that story ahead. first, an east bay dog owner is reunited with both his lost animals. it is a follow-up to a story we brought you last night. and a look at some of the people making a difference in 2010 including a bay area man who has taught math to tens of thousands of students all over the world. more on that coming up on "nightline." >> i'm terry moran. up next on "nightline" real life," glee." the story of an inspirational

director and her crowning performance. and more music from a fifth grade choir. they find confidence in a

>> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to an oakland man is

celebrating a christmas he will never forget. he was reunited with the second of his two missing dogs. they ran away last week when a contractor left brad's door open by mistake. one dog, kevin, was found yesterday with a broken leg and pellet gun wounds. but he is home pending another visit to the vet. but he is doing okay. a woman found today recognized him from a lost dog notice posted on facebook. so they are united and everyone is safe and sound. >> we all know the grinch who stole christmas, but one woman talks about how grinch was stolen. this is grinch in her yard from last year. during broad daylight, someone made off with this 8-foot grinch. the owners were gone, and they say it will take two people at least or two grinchs to carry them away.

some are household names and others are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. we begin with a bay area father who has helped tens of thousands of students everywhere learn math. >> it is very basic. people feel like it is a human talking to a human. >> that's what music should be about. >> it goes to show the power of small ideas. the important thing is to put them out there and see what happens. >> we wanted the word gone. we wanted to get rid of it so she is not pushed around. >> it is the word retarded. >> it was little things that no one could imagine.

>> it is overwhelming. >> when these kids come up to me and hug me, they don't have to say thank you, they can see it in their eyes. >> they underestimate what -- what our kids can do for others. >> i decided to help. >> we need more people like you in this world to help the homeless people. >> you don't have to have a building. you can have yourself and your own talent and own skills and use it to help other people. >> just got laid off. >> there is goodwill in the community and you help people that really, really need the help. it is worth doing. >> he said, mom, i'm going over there. i'm doing a job. i'm saving soldiers' lives so that these boys can come home to their moms.

my son was brave enough to give his life for this country. >> he always said, every time i put on one of these things i am sending another guy home. >> americans making a difference. let's talk about the christmas day weather forecast. sandhya patel is back with that. >> dan, if you don't mind a little bit of rain and wind, you will be okay with the christmas day forecast. here is the live doppler 7hd. rain is just off the coastline. crescent city has been getting wet weather, and it is coming back into the picture. temperatures in the 40s and 50s, and the clouds are gathering. wet and windy on christmas day. showers on sunday morning and more rain is in store. we do have dense fog in santa rosa and so be aware of this if you are traveling tomorrow morning. satellite and radar.

it has the moisture and the cold air associated with it. we are going with rain and wind on christmas. the wind hats -- has started to pick up offshore. we are expecting the wind to continue to pick up and increase. so a wind advisory has been issued. 7:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. through the coastal areas and the higher elevations. southly southeasterly winds gusting to 45 miles an hour at times. once the wind hits, then the rain follows and you will start to notice that 8:00 the rain will begin to move into the north bay. by 11:00 a.m., we do have pockets of moderate to heavy rain starting to approach. most of the bay area as you can see here. it is right along the cold front. it is brief and intense at times. you can still see pockets of heavy rain, and behind that, steady rain is continuing into the evening hours, and then tapering with a few lingering showers for your sunday morning. so the rainfall totals for our one-day storm are pretty

impressive. santa cruz mountains 1-2 inches. the lower elevations half an inch to an inch. if you are waxing off your skis and getting ready to go to tahoe, a interest wither storm watch goes into affect on saturday evening and continues to late saturday night. that's when we are expecting the heaviest snow with winds to 60 miles an hour. it will be tough traveling up there. it will affect interstate 8 and 9 to 15 inches of new snow. above 7,000 feet with 5 to 10 inches above 5,000 feet. and the snow level will be lowering to about 4,000 on sunday morning when the snow showers continue. tonight a cool night, but not as cold as last night with the clouds around. mainly 40s. and tomorrow afternoon you are looking at temperatures in the upper 40s to the upper 50s. windy and wet for your christmas day. certainly need the umbrellas around the monterey bay as well. mid to upper 50s. here is your accu-weather seven-day forecast, a rainy christmas. hopefully all of you are

indoors and enjoying family and friends and loved ones. a couple of showers in the morning, and then we get a breakthrough monday. tuesday night into wednesday looks like another period of wet, windy weather. by new year's eve as we fast-forward, it is actually dry on new year's eve. that's what the computer models are indicating. >> as we continue here tonight, we have had a great time showing you some of the best holiday lights displays around the bay area. find out where this one is as we continue. >> i am in afghanistan and i would like to say season's greetitititititititititititititi

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rizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. taking place in downtown san jose tonight. hundreds took part at the cathedral basilica earlier

this evening. it became a parish as early as 1803 and it is a national historic landmark. the next christmas mass will take place at midnight. 1k3* we have some amazing video to show you that is of a home all decked out for the holidays. chuck sent this to you report powered by youtube. the report is low caughted on capri way. look at this. the owner says he deck cor rates every year, and it takes 30 days to make up this display of lights. you can up load your video or pictures to you report . abc7news.com. please be sure to tell us the name and location of the display. we will try to get more as we approach new year. in keeping with the holiday spirit, larry beil is here. >> i will take the next 30 days to work on my lights. i have stuff i have to take care of. >> from the holiday lights to the holiday punch your lights out, two college basketball players are brawling in the

stands. you won't

good evening. let me be the the first to wish you a merry christmas. the raiderers need some help. it was not sold out, so the game will be blacked out locally. they are struggling to win the afc south. peyton manning is one of the best to ever play quarterback in the nfl. playing head games with the line of scrimmage with the audibles. it is the ultimate game of chess on the gridiron. i was playing against one of the greatest quarterbacks that ever lived, peyton manning. he will be on top of his game with the quick counts and the no huddle. everybody stay calm out there. >> this game is going to be just a great physical challenge. every time you play in the nfl it is a challenge.

this is a physical group. >> tonight's college bowl game, the hawaii bowl. the host team, my alma-matter against tulsa. let's do some hockey. come on, sandhya. wow, look what i asked for. it is my lump of coal right there. i stepped over the line. maybe we will come back to that, and perhaps we will not. the warriors will spend christmas in portland and hope to have steph curry back in the lineup. they won't 1r* steven sigh los on the -- cylus on the bench. he took over for the charlotte bobcats. he will be the top assist and he couldn't pass up the chance to work with his dad. the warriors hired lloyd pierce. we have a christmas day double header.

good stuff. open the presents and then watch the celtics and the magic. it is heat and the lakers at 2 :00 p.m. to mississippi state -- two mississippi state basketball players will spend the holidays trying to explain why they were punching each other's lights out. they got into a beef after playing in the diamond head classic. sydney goes 270 and bailey is 265 and brawling in the middle of the fans. what prompted it 1234* bailey would not move his leg when's sydney wanted to leave the aisle. are you kidding? look at the mother here trying to protect her child. both players apologized. they have been suspended indefinitely and sent home. >> great to see the christmas spirit. >> the hawaii game -- >> we got killed. >> we did. >> we lost 62 to 35. >> maybe it is not just a bad thing. perhaps somebody was being

nice to me. >> we had defense trouble. >> we were defense challenged. >> not a fun game to watch. >> sorry. it has been awfully nice to spend this christmas eve with my colleagues and with you. i hope you have a terrific day with your families tomorrow. merry christmas and happy holidays. for larry beil and sandhya patel and all of us here. thank you for watching and we appreciate your time. have a good night.

>> an "oprah show" event for the holiday season -- oprah: maria, the captain, mr. plummer, will you do the honors? >> the cast of