>> abc 7 news crew is on the way. we will bring you the latest developments in this newscast, online and on twitter. good afternoon. i'm dan ashley. larry beil is off. >> i'm ama daetz. commuters are facing delays on bay area transit systems because of today's high winds. crews scrambled to remove a fallen tree from the b.a.r.t. tracks near the balboa park station in san francisco. trees are still falling in lots of communities. check out these few in shellville in sonoma county. a large eucalyptus brought down power lines along east 7th street. nearby, a large pine tree landed on live wires causing them to spark. >> flags trees, you name it just about everything that can is swaying in the wind across san francisco. people are holding on tightly to bags and even their clothing as they brave today's really powerful gusts. it is so blustery. here's a live look from the exploratorium camera where you can see whitecaps on san francisco bay. >> we have live team coverage on today's wind storm and the damage that it caused around the bay area. >> let's begin with abc 7 news reporter vic lee live at the glen park b.a.r.t. station. several problems on b.a.r.t. right now. >> reporter: absolutely. i can attest to the fact that it is cold and windy out here. here at glen park b.a.r.t. station, service has been stopped in both directions and that's because of debris on the tracks. as you can imagine that's caused a major disruption on b.a.r.t. and it's all because of the wind. at about 1:20 b.a.r.t. stopped service between balboa park and 24th street and mission. this was the reason. a large tree fell on the northbound tracks between the glen park and balboa park stations. crews were chopping off the limbs and attempting to get the large trunk off the rails. but the tree collapse stopped b.a.r.t. traffic in both directions because of the danger to the crews. passengers at glen park station were, to say the least, inconvenienced but the chaos was orderly. >> not sure what's going on with the tracks going towards daly city. >> all my friends came down so it's like -- >> reporter: you were going to party? >> just a little bit. >> reporter: these folks are en route to the airport. where is your friend coming from? >> germany. >> reporter: you are supposed to pick him up? >> yeah. >> reporter: meantime passengers were told of their options. >> i'm new to the area but i'm not sure what bus station -- what buses i got to hit to get to the buses i do know. >> reporter: gate agents were giving riders stickers. >> show that to the agent before you come in. go out the emergency gate. >> next time show them. >> reporter: a freebie. okay. here's the latest on b.a.r.t.'s problems and there are many. debris has closed service between pleasant hill and concord stations. service between castro valley and bayfair has also been stopped because of debris on the tracks. on top of everything else there is a power outage on b.a.r.t. to oakland. service has been reduced to ten minutes as opposed to the normal five-minute intervals. that's the very latest. again, this is freezing weather and it is cold. that's the very latest. vic lee abc 7 news. >> thanks very much. let's get right to spencer christian with more on just how gusty the winds are right now. >> we have got clear skies of course as you can see on live doppler 7 hd and the strongest gusts have actually occurred in just the last few minutes as winds have been intensifying through the late afternoon hours. in fact just a moment ago napa had gusts up to 52 miles per hour, just a few minutes before we went on the air down to 38 miles per hour right now. we have seen gusts between 35 and 45 miles per hour, 43 miles per hour at sfo, 41 at oakland. those are the strongest readings at this moment. here's a look at the wind advisory which will be in effect until noon tomorrow. winds will be generally out of the north-northeast at 20 to 40 miles per hour. those are the steady winds. gusts 45 to 55 miles per hour. the higher gusts will be in the higher elevations and of course this could bring down trees and power lines. this is for the entire bay area. this advisory is. here's the wind gust animation starting at 5:00 this afternoon. notice that as we get to 7:00 p.m., not much will have changed. wind will still be gusting from 35 to 45 miles per hour in the windiest locations. small craft advisories in effect over the coastal waters and the bay. small craft warning over the bay waters north of the bay bridge. 7:00 tomorrow morning, winds still quite strong but they will be diminishing just a bit. late tomorrow afternoon winds will moderate just in time for new year's eve revelers. it will still be windy and cold. >> thanks, spencer. abc 7 news reporter laura anthony continues our coverage now. >> laura looks pretty brisk where you are, too. >> reporter: well, it is dan, and there's plenty of evidence on what this wind has done. we were shooting one downed tree when another one, a big eucalyptus, went down right in front of us near buchanan field golf course. this is a different tree. this is an ash in somebody's front yard landed on their car and i can tell you from our travels just in concord today, there's a lot of this going on. >> just saw it coming down. like oh no. >> reporter: the driver of this corvette said he saw the big eucalyptus in front of him start to fall but he had nowhere to go. as it turned out it's a good thing he was on the inside lane, a position that left him and his car mostly unscathed. what are you thinking as you're standing here? >> i'm thinking wow, wish i had been driving my beat-up truck. >> reporter: the 50-year-old tree belongs to buchanan fields golf course. a few minutes later, one of its fellow trees also hit the pavements. across town after being told a city crew wouldn't arrive for hours, this north concord resident decided to pull this fallen pine out of the road himself. >> that was laura anthony reporting in concord where lots of trees came down. getting across the golden gate bridge was anything but a breeze today. you could feel the force of the wind pushing against vehicles, especially the taller ones. drivers had to keep both hands on the steering wheel to fight against the gusts. bicyclists had a harder time. the winds made the trip across the span a real adventure. >> especially on the first round turret we were practically blown off. it was an exciting ride. >> it was a fantastic view and that wind was so strong, it almost blew me over. >> blew him over. i think san francisco bayers are showing off for the tourists. the high wind warning was up on the bay bridge. you can see the palm trees fighting against the 40 mile an hour gusts. man, just listen to that. the winds were so fierce it was hard to even get a steady shot of the traffic with our camera. well, the power poles were no match for the winds through vallejo today. gusts also brought down trees which in some cases knocked out power lines as well. all of the wind-related damage has kept firefighters and utility crews quite busy around the bay. >> boy that is the case. thousands of pg & e customers are without power right now because of the wind. the east bay has the most outages at more than 6300. 940 people and businesses are without power in the north bay. the south bay is reporting 400 outages at this point. fewer than two dozen on the peninsula. no outages being reported in san francisco at the moment. now, keep tabs on this big chill and the wind with the abc 7 news weather app. it is free to download from apple's app store or google play. get more information at abc7news.com/apps. overseas today officials confirm they found the wreckage of the missing airasia jet in the waters off of indonesia. >> search teams pulled debris and at least seven bodies out of the java sea today. there were 162 people on board when that plane went down in bad weather three days ago. >> elite military divers will be joining the search and recovery effort. now the focus is on the investigation to determine what happened. >> abc news reporter lana zach has the latest. >> reporter: the grief is heartwrenching. 162 souls on board, 17 children one infant. search and recovery officials say they are not hopeful they will find any survivors. the ceo of airasia positively apologized to familiar dlifsyies devastated by the loss. found in relatively shallow waters, the debris remnants of flight 8501. the chief of indonesia's search and rescue says his team has retrieved pieces of the plane along with a blue suitcase. several bodies have also been recovered. the pilots reported problems with bad weather but it's still a mystery why this plane went down. the site in the java sea is now being treated like a crime scene. investigators piecing together what happened. >> we don't have answers now. the key here is in the safety investigation, find out what went wrong and make sure that it never happens again. >> reporter: at the center of that investigation of course those two black boxes. with the water in the area only about 100 feet deep, investigators are optimistic that they will be able to find those and with them some answers soon. there are people who know what it feels like to learn that their family's plane just vanished. malaysian airline 370 disappeared ten months ago and has never been found. coming up at 4:30, you will hear from those affected by that tragedy and what they want the families in indonesia to know now. trouble for an airasia plane in the philippines. officials there say the jet with 159 passengers and crew members overshot a runway after landing in windy weather. crew members activated an emergency slide to help passengers disembark safely. passengers say the plane was swerving violently. nobody was injured, though. airasia zest is a subsidiary. san francisco police say these two men are the ones who stole a chronicle delivery truck and led officers on a chase through three counties yesterday. both men are in the san francisco county jail right now. sky 7 hd captured yesterday's chase. it moved eastbound across the san mateo bridge. the chase began in san francisco's bayview district when police tried to pull over this stolen van. it ended when police say rojas drove into a dead end street in san leandro. officers later caught him in a creek. police released these surveillance images showing the pickup that hit and killed a father of 11. the driver of the white pickup sped away after striking the 63-year-old jose lenes. he was riding his bicycle to work last friday. investigators believe the truck is a 2007 toyota tundra. it likely has damage to its front end and right side. it also sheared off a light pole. police want to hear from anyone who has seen that truck. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, harbaugh's homecoming. we will show you the rousing welcome the ex-niner coach received in michigan today. also the sierra's first snow survey of the season. not all that bad but not great either. new at 4:30 hunting the sony hackers. was the fbi premature or simply wrong by implicating north korea? 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions on twitter and facebook. he will answer them here live a little later. contact michael at facebook.com/michaelfinneyabc7. and on twitter,@mfinney. a look at traffic on this last day of 2014. pretty busy and one reason is trees and lines down on interstate 80 a little further up in vallejo, where all westbound lanes are now open but three eastbound lanes are still closed there because of a downed tree. stay with us. the holiday season is here, which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. hurry in to the sign then drive event and get a five-hundred dollar new year's bonus on select new volkswagen models. offer ends january 2nd. jim harbaugh! >> a standing room only welcome home for jim harbaugh, michigan's former all-american quarterback and new head coach. fans packed the arena in ann arbor today and gave harbaugh just a thunderous ovation and yes, there were many wearing the coach's signature khaki pants that niners fans have become accustomed to over the past four seasons. pretty exciting stuff. >> we are joined by sports anchor mike shumann with more about the prodigal son's return. >> it was exciting for everybody, especially in the harbaugh family. jim is returning home to where it all started for him as a player and now a coach, taking the reins of the michigan football program. he was introduced as the 20th coach in school history at the winningest program in college football. harbaugh was rowelaxed in his press conference probably a little loopy in finishing his career with the 49ers flying to michigan the next day and being introduced today as the michigan savior. this has been a job he coveted in the back of his mind throughout his career and now is once again a wolverine. >> dreamed about coaching at michigan and now it's time to live that. i have no other words to really describe how that feels. except to tell you i have great excitement about the challenge of serving the university of michigan as your football coach. i'm standing on a foundation that has been built for over 100 years by some great men. i feel like i'm standing on their shoulders and want to do a good job. >> how do you feel your personality translates to the college game? >> i feel like it's the only personality i have. the other ones were all taken. so i got this one. couldn't be more excited, honored, humbled to be part of this great team. >> lost his voice. he was working the room. knowing jim, he's already working the phones with recruits trying to steer them to ann arbor to become a wolverine. we wish him all the luck in the world. now we can move forward as the 49ers look to replace him. he didn't bring that enthusiasm unknown to mankind act in michigan. i think like we talked about yesterday, he's just exhausted. lot of fun for him. >> thunderous ovation. >> i know. well it is out with the old and in with the new at b.a.r.t. today workers removed the last of the old stain-ridden yucky cloth seats and replaced them with new vinyl ones. b.a.r.t. began installing the vinyl seats two years ago as part of a pilot project. riders found them more comfortable and workers found them easier to clean and replace. they also last longer ten years compared to just three years for the cloth variety. total cost of the new seats $6 million. last time it really snowed in las vegas was six years ago. this is what it looked like back then. check that out. forecasters predict a 70% chance of snow tomorrow with temperatures in the low 30s. organizers of the annual vegas fireworks show are promising to bring the bang, snow or shine. there is more snow in the sierra. more than last year. but state officials caution the water content of the snow pack is still below average for this state. new readings from the department of water resources show the amount of water in the snow is now 50% of its average. a year ago it was only 20%. officials say there needs to be a lot more rain and snow than we have had the past two years for the drought to end in the upcoming year, 2015. >> even though we had all that rain and it felt good to get it we still have a long way to go don't we? >> we do indeed. our rain levels caught up to seasonal norms and beyond but the snow pack really lags behind. it's getting cold here. >> and windy. >> here's a look at live doppler 7 hd. yes, it is certainly windy which makes it feel even colder than it actually is but we do have clear skies and we have improved air quality over yesterday. here's a live view from the sutro tower camera looking over san francisco on to the bay. under clear skies, 53 degrees right now in san francisco and oakland. 52 in san carlo. here's a nice view from the east bay hills camera. if you look carefully you can see the camera shot shaking just a little in the winds in higher elevations. 52 degrees in santa rosa. napa 51. 50 at novato. fairfield, 52. 53 in concord and livermore. live view of the golden gate bridge where skies are clear and the camera is not shaking. just a moment ago you could see flags flapping in the breeze. gusty winds continue tonight and for much of the day tomorrow. it will be freezing cold the next few mornings wednesday through friday and this dry pattern we have will continue from new year's eve into the weekend. here's the satellite and radar composite image showing the movement today of that cold storm that dropped down from the north, pushing southward today through california and nevada bringing cold air along with it and strong gusty winds of course. a little bit of precipitation in parts of southern california. meanwhile here in the bay area we have a freeze watch in effect for virtually the entire bay area except the coast and the bay shoreline from late wednesday night, tomorrow night, into thursday morning. temperatures will drop between the low 20s in the coldest inland valleys low 30s in other locations. protect plants, pets and people too. overnight tonight, low temperatures will drop into the low to mid 30s in inland valleys, mid to upper 30s around the bay, down to about 42 degrees here in san francisco. just a look ahead for the next seven mornings we will use santa rosa as the indicator of how cold it will be. lows dropping into the low to mid 30s for the next five mornings. friday will be the coldest morning with a low of about 31 degrees and over the weekend, we will see sunday and monday maybe monday and tuesday, temperatures moderate a bit. tomorrow, look for high temperatures in pretty much the range we saw today. low to mid 50s. it will be breezy and cool and sunny and dry. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. tomorrow, new year's eve a dry day. it will be breezy and cold tomorrow night so if you are going to be outside celebrating, might be a good idea to bundle up. it will be cold into thursday morning. the new year 2015, gets off to a cold start on thursday morning but we will see temperatures moderating over the weekend. notice a bit of a warmup on sunday especially and tuesday and -- monday or tuesday of next week, we will see inland highs in the low 60s, mid 60s around the bay and up to about 60 on the coast. a much milder forecast milder pattern than we have now. >> i was on the phone with one of those over the phone service people at a call center today from nebraska. she said it's two degrees. i told her we're in a panic about the cold. >> makes it feel mild here. >> thank you spencer. coming up next a 12-year-old gift to the san francisco fire department to make sure other children are taken care of. new after 4:30 how a simple mixup granted a young boy his wish to go on a hunting trip. a bizarre sight in chicago. a spill at the 100-year-old morton salt factory caused a partial wall collapse, unloading a whole lot of salt right into a dealership next door. no one was injured but several cars were buried in salt at a nearby parking lot. engineers will examine the building's structural integrity. the building rooftop read morton salt, when it rains, it pours. a 12-year-old girl gave the san francisco fire department a gift that will keep on giving. >> san diego resident jessica came to san francisco to hand the fire chief joanne hayes white 200 stuff toys. >> since then she has donated stuffed animals to first responders across the country so they can soothe children during emergencies. >> when we have children involved in a fire or car accident they are really scared. even something like a small stuffed animal to give the child kind of makes them less nervous and scared. >> tomorrow, jessica and the organization she founded, we care bears.com will deliver 500 stuffed animals to the san francisco police department. >> what a fantastic idea. just ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the sony hacking investigation and some skepticism in silicon valley that north korea was actually responsible. also, a would-be robber's attempt to break into an atm. it will blow you away. and later, the local officials hoping to turn their ride on a rose parade float into thousands of dollars for a worthwhile community project. all right. here are your headlines at 4:30. high winds have ripped down trees across the bay area, causing problems for commuters. a fallen tree and downed power lines shut down i-80 in vallejo for some time. still a problem. westbound lanes have reopened but some eastbound lanes remain closed, three at last word. b.a.r.t. riders face delays tonight after a tree fell across tracks near the balboa park b.a.r.t. station. another fell on east bay tracks and power problems have shut down the new airport connector. and hayward fire just tweeted out this picture. take a look at this large tree across the b.a.r.t. tracks in south hayward. the problem is affecting obviously the fremont line. the train is not passing that track any time soon. in napa county, more problems. abc 7 news reporter tiffany wilson tweeted out this picture saying winds downed trees severely damaged cars. also happening today a packed house in ann arbor, michigan greeted jim harbaugh. the university of michigan's new head football coach. he thanked fans for their enthusiasm and they were enthusiastic, but he reminded them he hasn't done anything yet. the former niners head coach will have high expectations. he will make at least $40 million over his seven-year contract with opportunities for millions more in bonuses. a silicon valley cybersecurity company says the fbi is wrong about north korea being behind that attack earlier this month on sony's website. instead, a central figure was a former sony employee. abc 7 news reporter david louie has new details about this controversy. he is live in san jose tonight. david? >> reporter: well the company is a cybersecurity company in san mateo and it's telling the fbi that north korea didn't enter the picture until after the sony website and computer networks were hacked. now, there's a second company here in silicon valley another cybersecurity company, that says also that the fbi may be wrong. the fbi says it stands by its analysis that north korea hacked sony's website but it did send representatives to sit down with norse, a cybersecurity firm with offices in san mateo and st. louis. norse says its own investigation points to six people including an insider, a laid-off sony employee who helped a network of hackers called guardians of peace. >> at least one had ties to and critical knowledge of sony systems, i.p. addresses, credentials, et cetera and also had motive for being what i would say it would be upset at sony. >> reporter: a well-known silicon valley cybersecurity firm also worries if the fbi pointed the finger too quickly. >> in this case, under seven days, they declared that this is north korea. we indicted chinese hackers last year and that actually investigation took several months. >> reporter: he says experienced hackers leave no fingerprints and can launch intrusions from anywhere in the world, masking who is behind the hacking. he wonders if there was a motive behind blaming north korea. >> let's build some public opinion because if we need to then do something in this new gray shapelippery area of the law, having public opinion to believe north korea did this is a good thing to do. >> reporter: he points the finger at a woman using code name lena. she was laid off last spring after working for tonesony for ten years. you will recall the issue was over sony's then pending release of the movie "the interview" a comedy about an assassination plot to kill north korea's kim jong-un. david louie, abc 7 news. search teams today recovered the first bodies and wreckage from airasia flight 8501 in the waters off indonesia. as many as seven bodies were brought aboard a navy ship. family members of the 162 people on board the plane broke down when word of the discovery reached them. today, a man who lost his mother aboard malaysia airline flight 370 is offering his sympathy. reporter will ripley has the story. >> reporter: anguish. becomes anger. for the families of malaysia airlines flight mh 370, days of waiting turned to weeks and now almost ten months. for them, the news from indonesia brought everything back. >> the fear about losing someone, the pain. >> reporter: steve wang feels for the families of airasia flight 8501. he knows what it's like to sit at the airport and wait for a plane that never comes to hope against all odds the person you love may still be alive. >> even after ten months, you are still hoping for a miracle? >> yes. though it is painful but i don't want to give up. >> reporter: his mother was only 57. he hasn't spoken her name since march, when mh 370 disappeared. >> i never said it. >> reporter: you never said your mother's name out loud? he still listens to the voicemail she left him just before boarding the plane. >> she wanted me to pick her up from the airport and to bring her coat. it's hard to believe a man my age will cry suddenly. >> reporter: you just turned 26 and your mom wasn't there for your birthday for the first time. >> yeah. >> reporter: he prays for the families of flight 8501. >> i just want them to be strong. you are not alone. >> reporter: he also prays every day for his mother, one of 239 souls on mh 370 still missing. will ripley, beijing. a new york congressman who pleaded guilty to tax evasion last week will resign from the house after all. republican michael grimm will step down next monday. he initially vowed to stay in congress as long as he could but now says he cannot give the job his full attention anymore. in a statement, his lawyer says the congressman fully embraces and accepts his responsibility for his actions. grimm will be sentenced on january 8th. an arrest has been issued for the former korean airlines executive who delayed a flight in what is widely being called nut rage. a court approved the warrant today, citing concerns that she might destroy evidence or flee. this is video of her entering a courthouse in seoul. cho resigned two weeks ago after forcing a plane to return to its gate in new york to remove a flight attendant who served her macadamia nuts in a bag not on a plate. witnesses say cho assaulted and insulted cabin crew members. the arrest warrant comes as korean air faces government sanctions for allegedly trying to cover up that incident. police in australia are looking for a man whose attempt to rob an atm didn't quite go as he planned. as you can see, the man there with a teeshirt hiding his face puts something into the atm then he lights it right here. watch this. boom! >> oh, no. >> oh, yeah. the blast knocked him out of his shoes. he ran away, didn't get a dime. authorities believe the man used some sort of gas to create the explosion. we will see it again here. they say clearly he was not an expert. as for the machine that didn't fare too well either. authorities say they will definitely be needing a new one. >> what an idiot. look at the damage done to the machine. >> and himself. coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00, who doesn't want a free trip to hawaii right? one man is giving one away but there's one big criteria you have to fill. i'm michael finney. today's 7 on your side q & a is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions which means you can contact me at facebook.com/michaelfinneyabc7 and on twitter,@mfinney. i will answer your questions live a little later. i'm spencer christian from the east bay camera, emeryville we see it shaking in the hand. i will tell you when we can expect the winds to calm down. checking your traffic, this is the skyway in san francisco. slow going in both directions. marginally better on the right-hand side. if you are heading south toward 101 south on the left-hand side, that's traffic approaching the lower deck of the bay bridge. there problems on 80 near tennessee because of a tree that came down, westbound lanes are open but there are still shut a man in alberta, canada is giving away a trip for two to hawaii but it won't be going to just anyone. >> cody received the trip as part of a promotion when he bought a new car from a local dealership. he and his wife decided the tropical getaway should be paid forward to someone in alberta who warms the hearts of others instead. the criteria is simple. >> somebody who lives a really good life, is good to others. it will break my heart to choose just one. i feel i'm getting more to this than even the people that will get the trip. >> he set up a facebook page to solicit nominations. he's received hundreds so far. the dealership is lending a hand and will help pick the winner. >> nice place. we could get blown straight to hawaii with the winds going on here today. >> but it will be warmer. >> you're right about that. live doppler 7 hd, sunny skies right now but strong gusty winds and it's pretty chilly out there. maybe not by fargo standards but by california standards, it is. nationwide tomorrow, high temperatures will reach 15 in minneapolis, 18 in fargo and great falls 23 in denver. it will be quite cold in the interior sections of the country. over on both coasts it will be mainly sunny and dry except down in miami way, a little showery there. back to the state of california tomorrow from top to bottom mainly sunny skies but it will be chilly in some spots. a high of 20 in tahoe and windy as well. a high of 25 across the border in reno and in l.a. a high of only 58. in the bay area tomorrow, we will have some strong gusty winds in the morning hours. it will begin to taper off in the afternoon. a breezy cool day but sunny. high temperatures mainly in the low to mid 50s and as we get into the nighttime hours tomorrow night new year's eve it will be quite brisk and chilly. bear that in mind if you plan to be outdoors. bundle up. >> thanks, spencer, very much. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a young boy's wish to go hunting. how a simple mixup turned into a heartwarming holiday story. plus a legal fight over cheap tickets. united airlines and orbitz team up to take down a small startup. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. is it legal for a store to take your personal information and then give it to somebody else just because you want to return something? my answer next. well the barricades are already up in times square as new york gets ready to welcome in the new year. about a million people are expected to crowd the square tomorrow night for the annual festivities. today, they were doing a few test runs on the crystal ball that will drop from one times square at the stroke of midnight. the crowd will be entertained by taylor swift idina menzel and maj magic among others. security will be tight with police using radiation detectors. >> you can watch new year's prime time rocking eastve with ryan seacrest at 8:00 tomorrow night. then catch abc 7 news at 11:00. in san francisco, crews are getting ready for the annual fireworks show. technicians promise a few tricks this year. the fireworks will be launched from barges in the bay so the best viewing spots will be along the embarcadero south of the ferry building. keep that in mind. police are also getting ready. they will be keeping an eye out for pickpockets and rowdy revelers. for more information, ideas on how to celebrate new year's eve go to abc7news.com. you will find a list of events taking place in the bay area and how to get to them safely. former president george h.w. bush has been released from the hospital and is resting at his houston home. the 90-year-old thanks doctors and nurses for their superb care. he has been in the hospital since last tuesday, when he was admitted as a precaution for shortness of breath. he suffers from parkinson's disease. he actually spent two months in the hospital two years ago for a severe cough and other issues. a computer whiz is seeking help in fighting a lawsuit from united airlines and orbitz over his website that offers cheap plane tickets. the companies filed suit last month against the 22-year-old the founder of the company. the site helps travelers find cheap sites by using a strategy called hidden city ticketing where you buy a ticket that has a layover at your actual destination. he claims the site is perfectly legal but united and orbitz say it's unfair competition and allege that it's promoting prohibited travel. he has established a go fund me page to help pay his legal bills. 7 on your side's michael finney is here answering questions sent to him by facebook twitter and e-mail. good questions today, too. via facebook we had a power outage yesterday. the resulting power surge blew out ourinduction stove. is this covered? >> you have to look at your particular insurance policy. most say if the surge was caused artificially, then they are not responsible. what does artificially mean? that gets argued about every single time. what does artificial mean. you should always submit it and hope they will pay for it. some people do have a rider for surges. you can buy that generally $10, $15 a month is how much it costs for a rider. generally not worth it. you are better off going and buying a surge protector strips or one that goes actually in the wall. but they will probably fight you on it. but you should always submit. >> i returned a toy and the store asked for my address and phone number to put into their computer to send to a third party agency. is this legal? >> yeah, it seems pretty amazing. i got to tell you, stores have a lot of ripoffs coming in shoplifting stuff and coming back and trying to return it. for that reason and for those who multiple return items, they like to keep track of that. if they post it if they tell you before you buy somewhere mere the register that they are going to need that information from you before they will accept it back, they are allowed to do it. if they don't tell you before you buy, they cannot do it. what i'm generally seeing with stores, come back with the receipt and everything, a lot of times they take it and just give it back to you normally. if you don't have the receipt, you are not following all their exact rules, that's when they say we need all your information. >> connie e-mailed i often make a donation when shopping. i have noticed on the receipt my donation is added to my total purchase and then taxed. why? >> you know it shouldn't always be that way. if your money is going to a very specific thing like we are buying a teddy bear teddy bears are taxed so that your donation can be taxed but if you are buying food, for instance it shouldn't be taxed. we have had complaints about this before. i have gone out, safeway are famous for taking donations. they do not tax. goes under a separate line so that in fact you can hang on to the receipt and make sure you get a tax deduction. >> thanks michael. a geography mixup led to a holiday bonding experience for a boy from the philadelphia area and a sheriff in south carolina. wild story. 9-year-old alex collins saw a facebook post from the chester county sheriff's office offering youngsters a chance to go on a hunting trip. so he jumped at the chance. he wrote this note in pencil explaining that he didn't have anyone to take him hunting and that his mother was sick. collins local sheriff in chester county pennsylvania received the hand delivered note but the offer came from sheriff alex underwood in chester county, south carolina. >> they didn't know anything about it. i met the sheriff a few months ago at a conference so when she started researching it she realized we were having a hunt. i said if he can get here we will be glad to take him hunting. >> alex collins and sheriff underwood didn't even see a deer on their hunting trip but safe to say they both made a new friend. isn't that sweet? coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00, the local greenies who will be going for the green aboard a float in this year's rose parade. i'm cheryl jennings in the abc 7 newsroom. at 5:00, the partial freeway closure on interstate 80. we are checking out reports of injuries, we are live at the scene for an update. plus today's declaration from the centers for disease control and how the flu is reaching dangerous levels. why certain phone companies may owe you some money, next. latte or au lait? cozy or cool? exactly the way you want it... until boom, it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the sleep number bed. save $300 on the final close-out of the c3 queen mattress set. he's the softy. his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock, at 60. and snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. only at a sleep number store, find the lowest prices of the season, with the c3 queen mattress set only $1199.98. plus 24 month special financing on all beds. know better sleep with sleep number. tonight on espn you can watch stanford and maryland in the foster farms bowl live at levi's stadium in santa clara at 7:00 tonight. abc 7 and espn are your home for college football's biggest games. on new year's day you will see the buffalo wild wings citrus bowl on channel 7 at 11:00 a.m., then on the abc 7 app you can watch it there, too. then it's the playoff semifinals, the rose bowl is at 2:00 p.m. and the sugar bowl at 5:30. you can see both of those games on espn and the watch espn app. two weeks from today it's the national championship at 5:30 on espn and the watch espn app. i hope you were taking notes. the 126th tournament of roses parade takes place new year's day and can be seen right here on abc 7. among those watching will be a number of oakland residents cheering on two city officials riding a float and searching for votes to green community gardens. abc 7 news reporter carolyn tyler has the story. >> reporter: it's not much to look at. some mounds of once cultivated earth, some wilted plants and a few bins that haven't disappeared. >> the lady got some herbs. >> reporter: the project for the lowell park family market farm got off the ground last year. laverne says the idea was to grow crops for her neighborhood in west oakland which has limited access to fresh, affordable produce. >> it is better for us to come out and grow our own fruits and vegetables where it makes us healthy also. >> reporter: that goal could become a reality if oakland wins a $40,000 grant from miracle grow. the company is sponsoring a contest among four community gardens. detroit, new york city orlando and oakland. representatives from each city will ride on the miracle grow float in the rose parade hoping to capture the most votes on social media. as you can see from these park and rec pictures community activists have tried to turn this into a garden for young and old. the money would further that dream and go beyond. >> we could have a family market farm where students of families come together and harvest the food they grow here and it will also be available on a sliding scale to community members. >> reporter: mark hall wrote the grant request. if oakland wins there will be more outreach to the neighbors to get them involved so this garden thrives like others in the city. >> what we have learned once you take -- the community takes ownership in their parks, their gardens gardens, they protect them. >> reporter: the rose parade is thursday. the garden contest has already begun. voting ends february 9th. carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. if you want to vote for lowell park family market garden in oakland we have a link at abc7news.com. thank you so much for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm ama daetz. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now with cheryl and dan. gusty winds snap a utility pole and suspend it midair. power is out. a major freeway struggling to reopen. downed trees are causing big problems for b.a.r.t., muni and bay area ferries. wish i had been driving my beat-up truck. >> instead he was driving a corvette. talk about the wrong place at the wrong time. and take a look at this. planes landing at sfo not for the faint of heart. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. i will let you know when the winds will relax and the chill will settle in. the forecast is coming up. we have actually moved some crews and resources from the southern part of the area up to the bay area. >> high winds had pg & e hopping today. trees are knocked down just about everywhere, including this big one in san jose. this tree in walnut creek just snapped right at the base. and the power poles were no match for the winds through vallejo. gusts actually knocked down three poles and a large tree. >> also in vallejo right now, part of interstate 80 is shut down from a downed tree and power line. good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> i'm cheryl jennings ft. thanks for joining us. let's go live to tiffany wilson in vallejo. >> reporter: well, this is absolutely turned into a commuter's nightmare. if you look over my shoulder you can see one of those downed telephone poles and also the giant blue gum eucalyptus tree that collapsed right behind it. right now crews are working with chainsaws to cut it into pieces. but take a look at this video from the other perspective from highway 80. high wind knocked over the tree and its branches spanned all of the eastbound lanes. a car was even hit by the tree as it tumbled down. then over on the westbound side you can see the wires across the lanes and those are live wires. something even was smoldering that came into contact with them. chp completely shut down highway 80 as crews came to clear the live wires. they have done so and at this point, all westbound lanes are reopened. eastbound, only one lane is getting by and i can tell you from personal experience the traffic all around vallejo, very very slow. a lot of people are taking detours trying to get on to surface streets to avoid the traffic, but it is not going very well. there you can see a lot of crews have just arrived on scene. behind me that is the fire department, it looks like the cal fire department, rather that has just arriv

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