right there. >> confronted with a desperate robber. [ mom ] the one no one could get. toy stores are reporting long lines and empty shelves. a robosan 4000. [ mom ] and i mean no one. so i did most of my holiday shopping on citi specials. with the money i saved, i bid online -and got exactly what he wanted. -a robosan 4000! [ television ] introducing the new robosan 5000. [ mom ] at least for now. [ male announcer ] make your happy holiday stories come true with citi specials. what's your story? citi can help you write it. we begin with breaking news. engine failure forcing a flight out of sfo to make an emergency landing in oakland. our reporter one of many people trying to get away for the holiday weekend on that flight. good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. full engine failure, as we said. an emergency landing for a southwest airlines flight out of sfo. a fire in the engine forcing it

to land just 20 minutes after takeoff. flight 1226 left san francisco at 8:45 heading to lax, when suddenly, and without any advance notice, it had to land in oakland. our own tracy grant was one of the passengers on board. she was stunned to hear the phrase catastrophic engine failure, telling me minutes earlier on the phone she did hear initially some rumbling on the plane and suddenly noticed they were starting to descend, knowing they weren't even close to los angeles. then they were told they were forced to land because they had suffered catastrophic engine failure. they were taken into the airport, stunned by what they had heard from that pilot. shortly after, another flight was brought in, and tracy and the other passengers, who were a

little rattled, did take off to los angeles. all right, let's talk about this next story here. a south bay man carjacked by a rifle-toting robber after a rampage at the vail valley fair mall. tonight the victim is talking exclusively to us, telling us how he kept his cool in order to keep his family alive. george kitiyama has been on this story since last night. >> she only owned it five months, but she's more happy her son wasn't hurt as he came face it face with this valley fair robber. he was about to get into his mom's brand new altima when he saw the robber standing in a bush. he saw a long knife slung across the robber's body. he ordered shawn to drop the car keys and actually told shawn he wasn't going to hurt the car, he was going to drive it for a few blocks. shawn went into the home, and he

and his mom watched as the carjacker drove off in the altima. >> the guy fumbling, starting the car and driving up the road. it was kind of hard to watch someone taking off with my car. >> they found out the man had earlier tried to rob a men's wearhouse and police are looking for the altima which is pearly white. keep an eye out for a circular white, red and blue sticker on the back window. nbc bay area news. just in time for christmas, there is a happy ending to a dog abuse case tonight. clint is back with his family, including his furif you arfurry kevin, who we told you was found last night shot and beaten. clint was found by the family last night in the bay area. the dog ran out last thursday after a door was left open in

the home. a day later an oakland police officer found kevin, a four-year-old schnauzer, shot and beaten, but there was no sign of clint. the dog wandered into the backyard in the rain and stayed with the family, and now both dogs are finally home. a drunk driving test provides more than a bump in the road for a well-known councilman. chp officers, we have to tell you, were out in force. part of their christmas maximum enforcement period, to keep roads safe. and the candidate ignacio de la fuenta found that out the hard way last night when he was arrested on a misdemeanor dui charge. he was stopped on 580. police said de la fuenta was drifting in between lanes and going 80 in a 60-mile zone.

he was only given a citation, but it had nothing to do with his position. >> it was a misdemeanor charge, he had good identification, there were no out standing warrants for his arrest. he was very cooperative. the violations ceased when we contacted him and there were no other mitigating circumstances. >> we are told de la fuenta submitted to a blood test and was released with a temporary driver's license. hold off burning that yule log. you're looking live tonight at san francisco, the bay bridge. gorgeous night, the city all lit up and not very wet. but it's not going to stay that way. a voluntary spur of the air. the bay area quality district is asking people not to use their fireplaces and to give the gift of clean air to all their neighbors. now let's talk about that storm that's headed our way on christmas day. it is going to kind of wallop us. the holiday expected to be

windy. here's the conditions and what's ahead next. >> yeah, jessica, we have a power ful storm moving our way. it's going to pack a lot of wind. we have a winter storm watch for the sierras above le tahoe, about 4500 feet. that actually starts tomorrow afternoon. so you do have a chance, through the midday hours, to make a run for the high country and get ahead of that storm system which will hit the b area, by thehe way, first. wind advisory in effect for coastal sections of the bay. also above 1,000 feet we're looking for gusts on the order of maybe 45, maybe 50 miles per hour. this one is packing a punch, as mentioned. that cold front is going to slice through rather quickly, so if there's any good news here, it's in and out in a hurry. in its wake, though, quite a bit of rain. >> we all go through security these days. not even the flight crew or

pilots are get out of the checks. we have more on the sfo whistleblower. >> it's just smoke and mirrors, folks. >> you're watching a youtube video shot at the sfo airport. this is for ground personnel while most everybody else goes through these metal detectors. >> as you can see, there is only a card slide and one door. this is the joke about airport security. >> we're keeping the sacramento pilots' identity sdreecret. he posted this video over a month ago. >> i think it should be pretty equal all the way around. >> now this pilot is under investigation. the tso said he may, quote, have violat

violated sensitive information. >> we spoke to the pilot. >> their response was extremely over the top. >> federal agents and deputies also showed up at the pilot's home, confiscating his government-issued handgun and concealed weapons permit. the only explanation: the pending investigation. >> he's not the story here. the story here is why isn't tsa doing an adequate job in protecting us? >> top military leaders are praising the tsa warnings about those insulated mugs, though. the head of the u.s. northern command says it's an example of federal leaders doing their best to anticipate terror tactics. yesterday tsa officials said terrorists could use those cups to conceal explosives and they could slow you down at the security gate because they'll be checking them. passengers have their doubts about those new precautions. >> it's just another hassle we

have to deal with with travelers. the next thing, you won't be able to bring your purse or lip gloss. i guess if it keecps us from being blown up in the air, we'll deal with it. >> no specific threat has surfaced. a pair of vallejo men got a surprise. the two fell overboard around 2:00 this afternoon. luckily a nearb boater saw what happened, called the accident in, raised over andea hauled bo men out of the water. it's not clear how they lost their footing, but the coast guard said they weren't hurt. of course, they were a little shaken. they're calling it fantastic friday. coming up, what a shopper pulled off in the last 24 hours that hasn't been seen in years. a bay area foodie turns here of delicious sweets into a low career and a new trend.

we're packing a punch of storms slated to hit us tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon if you live in the southern part of the bay. the forecast just ahead. hi, this is staff sergeant elizabeth cappleman. i wanted to send a greeting to all my frechbiends in and aroune bay area. i love you and i'll be home soon. lightning fast. lightning strong.

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well, you can finally sigh. the christmas eve crush finally come to go an end. just a few hours left before the big morning. time is up for the few pro contrast narlts out there. there's the rush of shoppers going out to the mall to get, at that point, any gift at all. >> this is the age group i have to shop for, do you have anything, this is the sizes? i just need something in this

size. >> of course, they're men. sales across the country are up. consumer analysts say a strong spending week after christmas could make this the biggest holiday shopping season in a very, very long time. and here's something that you can put on next year's christmas gift list. it's a bay area original, in fact. nbc's bay area's lauren scott introduces us to chiki chan and how she's making a cornucopia of cash. >> inside her studio in the city, twiki chan has a keen eye for treats. >> i've been crocheting for 20-plus years, but i've only been doing the food scarfs for about six years. >> it's the warmth of scarves that got her started. >> i just wanted to create fun stuff for myself, and next thing

you know, you get addicted. you have 12 scarves ask one nnd neck, so i decided to start throwing them up on the internet. >> now she has a book called "20 creation you can do on your own." it's a colorful, cute, happy place, and i need a place to create garments that for my people, we live in a cute and colorful world. >> now it's a full-time job. >> it seemed like a pipe dream. i wanted to it for a living but it seemed ridiculous. it seemed to just work out. so that was cool. >> spinning yarns. i'm lauren scott. >> those are adorable. if you want to eat your cake,

twi twinkie.com. >> keith is a car buff. in fact, he restores old cars. he restored this 1919 dodge that jimmy stewart plows into a tree in the movie. he put it up for sale and he sold it. smith wanted the car shipped to his colorado home, but the weather made it to a more appropriate time, today, the day before christmas. it turns out it is a wonderful life for him. >> do you ever get tired of watching that movie, by the way? >> no, you could watch it a thousand times. >> the big man already made his way here safely. but tomorrow, not so good for the rest of us. >> we're looking at a pretty powerful storm system. if your plans take you to the high country or back from the high country, over the next 24 hours, i think your window is between now and about 2:00 or

3:00 tomorrow afternoon. we're going to get socked with some pretty decent wind and some good mountain snows. in fact, another foot and a half of fresh powder. if you wait for this to pass, you'll have some nice, fresh snow to enjoy. around the mountain area, it's fairly quiet. we're going to take you to a live picture. the cameras began to bounce around just a bit. the winds will pick up from the south. today, not add bad at all. we made it into the low 60s in the santa clara valley. san francisco, 58. we saw the light winds, the filtered sunshine. not a bad day to get out and about and a lot of us took advantage of it. temperatures are cooling down just a bit right now. we're at 48 degrees in oakland, 51 sunnyvale, you're 34 in livermore. maybe a little patchy fog in our inland valleys, but it will get swept out in a hurry as that storm approaches. wind advisory goes into effect tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m.

until 4:00 p.m. this is mainly for coastal sections and the hills above 1,000 feet. we're talking about winds gusting to 30, 45, maybe 50 miles per hour. you couple that with the rain and it's going to be some tricky travel for a time. if there's good news here, this system is actually moving in rather quickly. it will move in quick, it will move out quickly. for the second half of our weekend, i think things are not looking too bad. in the meantime, we have to deal with some bumpy conditions tomorrow. rain heavy at times, spreading in from the north toward the south, maybe a couple isolated thunderstorms. winds gusty as mentioned and then sunday we start to dry things out. this picture tells the whole story. you can see that moisture coming from the south. this time, though, unlike last week's storms, we had a lot of cold air pushing this off toward the east. so, again, it's in and out in about 12 to 18 hours as opposed to, you know, 24 hours of heavy, steady rain. computer models are saying, yes, by tomorrow morning, we're

actually still relatively dry. 8:00 a.m., rain starts to push into the north bay and by noon it's pushing into the south bay. maybe a rumble of thunder and some hail here and there, but by sunday we're dodging a couple sprinkles in the north bay and that's about it. here's a look at your rainfall accumulations. i think for height terrain for the santa cruz mountains, for example, we're talking about maybe an inch, inch and a half. for the lower terrain, we're talking about maybe a quarter to three-quarters of an inch as this system passes on through. temperatures tonight are going to be mainly in the 40s to low 50s, winds picking up through the early morning hours. forecast temperatures tomorrow are going to be pretty uniform just about anywhere you go. mid to upper 50s. again, the winds will be a factor out there through the midday. pacifica 55, 59 san jose, 56 richmond and 55 san francisco. watch out on the bridges. that's where it's toughest to drive when the winds are up and

we've got all those pondings on the roadways. how about that extended forecast. this graphic probably makes it out to be a little worse than it is chlts is. a couple showers on sunday, mainly north of the golden gate bridge. most of us stay dry sunday, monday and tuesday, next storm arrives on wednesday. >> good to know. so tomorrow, after you've opened up all those presents and you're kind of laying around, maybe a good thing to do is go to the movies. a couple of us might do that. rafael shows us the weekend's box office releases and what you might like. >> gobble, gobble, everybody. it's turkey time. spending the holidays with the focker family in "the little fockers." ben stiller and robert deniro just might leave ben stiller outside the circle of trust. >> congratulations, you've

graduated from marauder to wet nurse. >> this week he's a can tank russ gun slinger in "true grit." bridges plays brewster cogburn helping a young girl find the man who murdered her father. "true grit" is rated pg-13. jack black takes on the biggest role of his career? "gull ver's travels." he's a regular schmo in the remake of this tale. it's rated pg. ♪ >> gwyneth paltrow is a country singing sensation in "country strong." she plays kelly cantore trying to make a comeback. but her husband may have his focus on an up and coming beauty queen. it's rated pg-13.

that's the box office preview, nbc news. >> some good choices there. when we come back, we're tracking santa tonight. but first some holiday greetings from our troops. >> my name is carolina south. my son andre in california, pyisnd a happy holidays. i'll be home soon. i love you and i miss you.

craig mia in southwest asia.

hello to my family in california. lover you and miss you and i'll see you soon. scott sheer wiis here with and a list of gifts. >> what do you get for the man who has everything? you want it to be something they'll use and we think we know just the right thing for each of them. sports is next. save $523! 16 minutes could save you 16%!

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good evening. they bring us so much joy and now it's time for us to give back. if we could give just one gift to our various sports teams, this is what we think it should be. here in this season of giving, we think we know what our bay area teams could really use in the coming year and let's start with the 49ers. stability is the best for your check on the field and also to get a new stadium built. perhaps the three wise men can help. they think building a solid foundation can lead to a championship in the ballpark people enjoy walking to. for the a's, you've got to give them a spring-loaded bat. their new pitcher could do some damage, and it could be theirs

for the taking. the warriors have new owners but could use some meat in the middle. the raiders need less blackouts in the black hole. they own the division. they've got the chargers, chiefs and broncos on their heels. one last thing for the 49ers, don't feel too bad for the embattled head coach. he knew what he was getting into. and he's a solid man and a motivational speaker. our gift to you seen on the motivational cd "get coach" with mike singletary. >> it's almost like a super bowl shuffle. and for that big gift we all enjoy unwrapping again, let's see this again in 2011. the giants series win was such a great present, we'd like to see it next year.

orange is the new primary color in fall around these parts, it moves us to our winter dream of what's yet to come in our bay area sports team. it was a solid night in the world of sports. not much going on, but one college basketball team representing the whack, the hawaii bowl, and tulsa just taking them apart. the golden hurricanes running offer to a 62-35 win. but that's nothing like santa has been doing. he's been running around all day and we're going to show you where he's been and where he's going next. we're tracking santa with google technology, coming up. i'd like to give a shout out to marlan cosllo in california. i love you, mother! i'll be home soon! lightning fast. lightning strong.

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well, there's lots of anticipation. i daresay even jitters because santa is on his way to the bay area. he's on the move, and there's

lots of kids trying to get to sleep right now and they're wondering, is he close? >> he's close. >> scott, you're here and you've been monitoring. >> i am, with santa watch. perhaps the best use ever of sergei's money. >> santa made a beeline for asia and past the taj mahal. he grabbed some fish and chips for lunch and washed it down with some bourscht. he swung by seattle to drop reindeer droppings on the seahawks. he's back at the golden gate bridge, bringing the bay area bountiful gifts for the new year. >> i think he's really closing in. >> what does he have on that sleigh for you? >> not much this year. >> because you haven't been good?

>> no, i haven't. i'm trying. is that the red -- >> i think that's rudolph's nose. >> it looks nice. >> very bright. with your nose so bright, won't you lead our sleigh tonight. i could do an entire rendition of rudolph the red-nosed reindeer for you, but instead, it's time to rush off, wait for san a. have a very merry christmas and we'll leave you with a troop greeting from overseas. good night! now, a special christmas presentation from nbc ne