>> complete bay area news starts right now. this is bay area news at 7:00. good evening. it is monday, december 27. i am gasia mikaelian, and this is bay area news at 7:00. a house fire has taken a life of a man described as a beloved neighbor. it happened in walnut creek who that is were ken wayne -- and that is were ken wayne is live. >> reporter: firefighters cut a hole in the roof to let smoke

outs. it was quite a lot of smoke. the call came in at 2:20. firefighters found heavy smoke and they opened up the front door. they found a man who has been identified as keith brooks. neighbors say he was popular and well-liked in this area could he was also a distinguished world war ii veteran. >> he was very active with the veterans association. i think he was helping them with their website. >> when they opened up the front door, there was thick, black smoke. they initiated a quick search and located the victim upstairs. they put the fire out relatively quickly. at this point the cause of the fire itself and cause of death

are under investigation. >> reporter: firefighters say they are certain there was not a christmas tree involved in the fire, but it's possible that a space heater was involved. we are learning more about mr. brooks. we understand he served in the 86th black infantry division and had some contacts with general patton in world war ii and also served in the pacific. his son said his father sailed under the golden gate bridge three times in world war ii before he was able to drive across the bridge. we are learning more about his history and his contributions during world war ii. we will have more and pictures coming up at 10:00. the christmas weekend blizzard on the east coast created a mess for thousands of

air travelers. here in the bay area, thousands of flights were canceled today. most flights are booked solid soap one is canceled it is not that easy to find seats on the next plane. >> you have lights running at near capacity and you have flights that are canceled. before 9/11, they would send out other airplanes. >> filed here in the bay area caused flights to be delayed and some passengers missed their connections. instead of flight delays, some airport simply closed down. >> reporter: along the east coast, up to 23 inches of snow and wind gusts as fast as 80 miles per hour cost airlines to cancel more than 2500 flights, stranding thousands of

passengers. the windy, whiteout conditions forced new york's three major airports to come to grinding halt. >> even if the airlines wanted to operate, they couldn't. until we have one-way systems in safe conditions, then we will be open. >> reporter: at laguardia airport disgruntled travelers slept on cots. >> it was uncomfortable. >> reporter: at jfk one passenger says the restaurants are running out of food. >> as the hunger starts to build you will find people getting more testy. >> reporter: problems also extends to rail and road travel. amtrak canceled circa sunday and resumed limited service monday while roads continue to be a problem from virginia to massachusetts. the ripple effect is stretching

across the atlantic. in washington, i am nicole collins. if you want to get a feel for how fast that snow piled up, take a look at these pictures from new jersey. he placed his camera on the picnic table and took a picture every five minutes. in some parts of new jersey people woke up to almost 30 inches of fresh snow. you can stay updated on holiday travel conditions. click the tab on our homepage at ktvu.com. officials in marin county are watching saturated hillsides, and bracing for possible mudslides. they surveyed unstable earth where houses are built on the hillside. bulldozers and other heavy equipment are ready to go.

a fire captain says the problem with a proactive approach is that you can spot them but you cannot stop them once they start. caltrans crews say they hope to be finishing repairs on a group of potholes that cost traffic headaches all day long. it happened between highway 101 and rohnert park. they hope to fill the holes before more rain moves in tomorrow. bay area military members are being honored in the east bay. jana katsuyama is live with how they are being welcomed back. >> the special coins were handed out, it is part of operation welcome home for the holidays. >> reporter: flags were flying high outside the dublin civic center with colors of the red, white, and blue. into the public library was a ceremony honoring troops that are serving to defend those colors. it was a welcome for troops from dublin, danville, san

ramon, and black. >> it is nice. it makes you feel good about what we are doing. >> reporter: mike conklin started the event years ago. >> my brother went to vietnam. i just decided i was not going to let that continue to happen. >> reporter: he founded the scholarship foundation in 1988 to help wounded troops and understands the emotional stress. his three sons are army rangers and one was wounded in a rock. >> it has been 10 years for my family with multiple deployments. you build up some armor but it does not get easier. >> i feel honored. people are really thinking about us. >> reporter: p sullivan, who

has been deployed to iraq three times is happy to be home with his pregnant wife. >> just to have him home, it is truly a blessing to have him here and hold him as much as i him -- as i can. >> everybody scene, we care -- saying, we care. >> reporter: more than 100 troops have been honored since the program began. jana katsuyama, ktvu channel 2 news. investigators are working to determine the cause of death of a woman who was found in the oakland hills. a passerby found her nude body on the outer edge of the park. police are waiting for toxicology tests because the

autopsy was inconclusive. police identified their prime suspect in the shooting of a pittsburgh man. michael pulliambanks is wanted in connection with the death of arnold muckleroy. muckleroy was found shot in the head and died two days later. they say that's pulliambanks is known to frequent the bay area and sacramento. a suspected dui driver let highway patrol on a cheese on the freeway. they saw an erratic driver on interstate 580 just after 3:00 a.m. investigators say the chase lasted one hour on freeways and city streets, up to speed to 90 miles per hour. it ended in oakland where the driver jumped out of the car and was tackled by officers. the marine mammal center in sausalito say they will not release a sea lion back into the wild. the animal is blind in both ice

due to a gunshot wounds. they hope to find a home for him in the zoo or aquarium. players are celebrating a big milestone at the same time they are trying to protect their field from vandals. they are celebrating their 50th year of operation. their long-running success has been dampened by repeated acts of vandalism including graffiti and fires. officials are hoping the public will help. >> just watch out, keep your eyes open. if you see anything, call the police. >> a nearby committee center is being built and they hope to increase lighting and traffic in the area will put an end to the blight. gavin newsom has another incoming addition to his family. he and his wife are expecting their second child, a boy, in mid-june. he is slated to take the oath

as california's next lieutenant governor in january. the 49ers explain the sudden firing of mike singletary. >> my uncle is probably the best person for me to talk to. >> how one legendary person could factor into the issue. >> there is some wind and rain in the weather forecast. i will let you know when it will get here and how much you will see.

>> the effort to restore a marshland just got a shot in the arm. the park district says the

money will be used to repair 66 acres along the shoreline. the money comes from the federal government national grant program. there will be a whole new list of what is legal and what is that a california including allowing restaurants to serve a nation rice noodles at room temperature, targeting cyber bullying making it illegal to impersonate others online and require people under the age of 21 to take a safety course before getting a motorcycle permit. for those who think california has laws that are too silly, one person agrees with the. there is a contest called "there ought not to be a law" and will propose legislation to repeal the law offered by the winning submitter . it is open

to constituents in the fourth senate district in the northern part of our state. it is not just lines that are usually crowded, bay area traffic continues. claudine wong takes a closer look now. >> reporter: even before the stores opened their doors, debra terry and her mother were making a list and checking it twice. >> i never get anything i want for christmas. i am shopping for myself. >> reporter: that seems to be the theme. get what other people did not get you and get what you really want. >> this is my first time. >> reporter: how have the crowds been? >> it was okay. i went yesterday for a little

while. >> reporter: retailers are hoping for the crowds. while men made up the majority of last-minute christmas shoppers, in this post- christmas bargain hunting crowd we saw more women than men. >> i will be a home on the couch watching tv. >> reporter: you do not like to shop? >> no. i am not back i. >> reporter: this retail holiday shopping season has been a success. they expect spending to end up reported 3% higher. >> this year i have been saving all year. i spent more than usual. >> reporter: retailers say they expect things to slow down the next couple of days. they hope for a strong finish for 2010. despite a strong holiday shopping number, wall street remained relatively quiet today. many may have been impacted by the nasty east coast weather.

the nasdaq gained 1.1 points. toys and gifts at the other end of the lifecycle got the heave ho. they got rid of tons of televisions and computers. they say 75% and up in asia or africa. ecs says they can guarantee all information is destroyed. a patent recently granted to apple computers bring speculation that it may be developing a 3-d display screen. it would allow the observer to move around the image and view it from different angles without the need for special glasses. right now there is no timetable for when such technology will see the light of day. into 2011, concertgoers can expect to pay less. sales this year for some asked

to cancel shows. the biggest discounts will be for the cheapest seats. analysts say the most popular acts probably will not have toslash their prices. with one game left in the season, mike singletary is out. what led up to the firing and what will likely happen before a replacement is found? >> reporter: verbal sparring matches are commonplace but sunday's ugly incident between singletary and troy smith looks like the final straw. clearly a change was needed and jed york did officially fire singletary last night. it is something that most everyone knew was coming in the wake of another season with no playoffs. the only question was when.

>> i thought about it but i think we had a chance to be a playoff team this year and i do not think that making that change would have been the right decision for the team. maybe in hindsight that was the wrong decision. >> reporter: the organization has let it be known that job one will be hiring an experienced football minds to take over as general manager and then a coach will be selected by the new general manager. he will convert with several people before the decision is reached. >> i think my uncle is the best person for me to talk to. he is the personality of the most advice from. >> reporter: with one game left, the 49ers find themselves in a familiar position, having their season and at the end of the regulations schedule. >> all of the guys, we would still respect him for everything he has done here and for the man that he is.

>> coaching the team for this one game is jim tomsula. the state run fishery run outside of sacramento would be open to the public tomorrow. a fish hatchery orchestrates a spawning every year and the eggs are captured and will be released into the sacramento river. less than 2% survive and return to spawn. president obama's popularity may be declining but he is still well thought of. more rain is on the way. chief meteorologist will be here to tell us when to expect the most rainfall -- bill martin will be here to tell us what to expect the most rainfall.

you can watch bay area news at 7:00 on your computer. we are streaming live on the web at ktvu.com. w t ileororr li irore

>> san francisco city leaders are urging residents to recycle, not throw away their christmas trees. they are turning to mulch and

birds to create electricity. roadside pickup starts january 3rd and runs through january 13. it should be off its stand and make sure all decorations are removed. more rain is coming. as you look at live stormtracker 2, i want to show you the extent of the storm. the entire western united states is bracing for this. there is a winter storm warning that includes our own mountains that will go into effect tomorrow and lasts 24 hours. here's how it breaks down. there will be a little patchy fog and maybe a sprinkle in your neighborhood. the showers are coming. somewhere around 6:00, 7:00 it will start to rain and the winds will come up. it is a rapid mover.

it will be in and out of here pretty quick. we could have some issues with some urban and small stream flooding. that could have been. here's a system that i am tracking from midmorning. pretty heavy rainfall and storefronts will hang up in the mountains. they will get a lot of snow in the mountains. here's the next 24 hours on the computer model. it is raining in san rafael and richmond. very light rain. watch the action shifts south down towards the monterey area in the santa cruz mountains. i will have live stormtracker 2, and we will be watching it. at the front will be laying across the state and the winds

will start to blast. the santa cruz mountains will be taking a real hit around midnight. and then it tapers down. you see what is left on wednesday, thursday, and friday. we will get a break as we go into the next few hours and then it will start up. winter storm warning in effect in the mountains tomorrow. maybe 12 to 24 inches of snow. the five-day forecast is rainy pc tonight at 10:00. a gallup poll released a list of the most admired men and women. president obama topped the list. the list of women most admired had hillary clinton in the top spot followed by sarah palin,

oprah winfrey, michelle obama, and condoleezza rice. that is a report for tonight. i am gasia mikaelian. our coverage continues online and with a 10:00 news. "tmz" is up next right here on tv