here >> 2023 is now san francisco's deadline best year ever for drug overdoses, and we still have weeks to go. now at 5:00. why? some believe the new way to solve the crisis may be lurking in the city's wastewater. >> give it a fair shot. that's the advice from sfmta about the controversial bike lanes that run in the center of valencia street. the agency's new

response as businesses and neighbors push for a change. >> san francisco is, you know, in the past, mostly notorious for saying no. and our new motto, how do we get to yes? an update to the city's planning code. >> how the changes can make it easier for businesses to recover, and others to open, and a gift for those making it home for the holidays. >> how one bay area airport making things a bit easier for people. traveling with presents. >> good morning. it is friday, thank goodness. december 15th. yes, happy friday. >> we're going to start with a check of our forecast with drew. >> yeah. good morning. so we do have a decent day on the way. the only issue is our air quality. we'll talk about that in one second. live look from sutro tower this morning is showing you we have mainly clear skies from this vantage point. but it is a spare the air day today. you notice yesterday probably a lot of haze in the atmosphere. some smoke. it's the time of the year. a lot of folks are burning wood to stay warm, but that is making it a little bit harder to breathe, especially for unhealthy,

sensitive groups that what we're seeing for the north bay, the coast, the inland east bay. so a spare the air day is in effect today where wood burning is prohibited. a bit better here tomorrow, but you will notice hazy sunshine throughout your friday. here's a look at temperatures right now 30s, 40s and 50s. pretty typical for this time of the morning. it is certainly chilly out there, but just like yesterday, we're going to bounce back pretty nicely in the afternoon. here's how the day shapes up. we have that cool morning right now in the afternoon. those temperatures back into the 60s. but we do have that hazy sunshine. thanks to that moderate to poor air quality. now the weekend starts out dry, but we finish with a return of some showers. we'll talk about that coming up in eight minutes, but let's check in with gloria and see how we're doing on the roads this morning. good morning drew. >> so far we have no major issues to report on the roads today. so that is some good news on this friday morning. here's a live look outside at our highway 80 camera in emeryville. traffic is starting to build up a little bit right now, but not too bad at this time, guys. >> thanks, gloria 2023 is now

san francisco's deadliest year ever for drug overdoses. the city does have a new tool in the fight to prevent more. here's where we stand right now. the previous record was in 2020, when 726 people died from overdose. this year, there have been 752 deaths, according to data that's been updated through the end of november. so that number could be significantly higher. the city says fentanyl played a role more than 80% of the time to combat the crisis, the city is now turning to wastewater. earlier this month, officials began testing for several different types of drugs. they hope this process can help them identify new street drugs and react more quickly. >> san francisco is specifically testing for fentanyl, methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine and xylazine. >> we expect the data to help us assess trends as increases or decreases as a way to predict what we might see in terms of both nonfatal overdoses and

fatal overdoses, believe me, some people held a vigil outside city hall last night to honor the unhoused people who died over the past year, data from the city shows. >> nearly one third of overdose deaths involve those living on the streets. >> fentanyl isn't just a san francisco issue. the drug is having a profound impact in los angeles, too. it is the deadliest drug in l.a. county. fentanyl was linked to nearly 60% of overdose deaths. county wide last year. the county's department of public health reports fentanyl is disproportionately affecting black people. the overdose death rate for black angelenos was more than three times that of hispanic residents, and almost two times that of white residents. the state is taking action on the crisis with a new website. the department of public health launched the site, which is full of resources, information on the crisis statewide, nearly 7000 people died from opioid related overdoses last year. we want to make sure you and your loved

ones have every tool available when it comes to tackling the opioid and fentanyl crisis, our our own full list of local vetted resources is right on our website, abc seven news.com in san francisco. >> new developments involving valencia street's controversial bike lane. officials are now responding to a lot of complaints. there are many merchants along valencia who hate this. they blame the center bike lane for the decline in business. even some cyclists say that they need to have a new design. the valencia street bike lane was approved in april of this year as a 12 month pilot program, leading to the removal of about 70 parking spots. that lack of parking is partially why some say it's killing their business. two top sfmta officials, including the board chair and the director of transportation, are addressing concerns, saying they've made some adjustments to the parking situation to allow people to park in the loading zones at certain times. in a blog, they wrote that there are three potential options for valencia street. that includes going back

to the way things were with painted lanes, sticking with the current pilot and making changes as needed, and the third option is to go back to the original parking protected bike lane plan, meaning that a bike lane runs between the sidewalk and parked streets on the on the car, i should say parked cars on the streets. the post continues to say. the key point right now is that this is a pilot. we are trying something and seeing how it works. pilots are meant to be evaluated and either adopted, adjusted, or redone with new information. san francisco is looking to boost small business and fill vacant storefronts and stimulate nightlife. mayor london breed just signed two measures that will make it more. that will make more than 100 changes to the city's planning code. supporters say it will remove barriers that make it difficult for small businesses to open and grow. >> it's so important for our decision makers and our government, um, to continue to remove any of these barriers, uh, and encourage entrepreneurship and encourage

things that make our communities thrive. and and grow, among other things. >> the rule changes will make it easier to open a business on the ground floor of buildings and lift restrictions on opening new bars and restaurants in certain neighborhoods. it also incorporate a new type of liquor license that will allow music venues to serve beer, wine and liquor without excluding minors from those businesses. >> the transamerica pyramid has an ambitious new owner, a new york developer purchased it in 2020 for about $650 million and is making major improvements. abc seven news insider phil matier spoke with him. san francisco is one of my favorite cities in america. >> i've invested $1 billion here, and i can tell you that i've always been positive. and i've said to you, faith is something that you always need to have, not just when times are good, when times are tough, when things happen. you have to believe. and i'm a big believer in the city and i just i don't just talk about it. i have $1

billion invested behind my belief. >> phil, explain the changes that could be coming not just to the transamerica pyramid, but the entire neighborhood around it. >> this is an icon. this is this is more than a building. this this is an icon of san francisco, right along with coit tower and the golden gate bridge. uh. and he knows that. and that's what makes this building and what goes on in it and around it so heightened, both visibly in the business world and in the political world. and what we have here is a developer that bought it for what, $600 million? he's putting $400 million in it in a time when we were talking about the doom loop hitting san francisco and office is cratering and trying to revitalize the downtown, well, here's somebody that's betting big on the downtown. but in order for the deal to work, he wants to add on to the buildings around it. one of them in particular. and it's not just offices. he's talking about exclusive bars, exclusive clubs, sort of exclusive. and you know how that goes over in san francisco. yeah >> you can see phil's entire

interview with the developer next thursday. philip here, of course, is a part of a live conversation with abc seven hosted with san francisco's mayor, police chief and district attorney to tackle the city's chronic issues, including the slow recovery of downtown. the commercial free conversation is now streaming online. you can find it on demand on the abc seven bay area app. i was also there. >> we always leave that out. but anyway, with just under a week and a half away from christmas, the end of the year holiday travel season officially begins today. here's a live look at san francisco international airport for thanksgiving travel at sfo this year was 14% higher than last year, and christmas travel is expected to see the same boost. and now to the south bay, a san jose mineta international airport is expecting travel to be almost 10% higher than last year. here's a live look at our abc7 oakland airport camera. and if you're flying, remember the tsa recommends leaving gifts unwrapped because screeners may need to unwrap items for inspection. there will be a

special gift wrapping service at the airport next friday. talking about oakland airport december 22nd. it will be past the security checkpoint between terminals one and two. now nationally, more than 115 million americans are expected to fly or drive to their destination over christmas and new year. that's a 2.2% increase over last year. it'll make it the busiest since 2019. in >> all right. let's take a look. your three day forecast. we'll get to that in one second. but we'll take you outside. and here is sutro tower looking lovely right now. we are going to find on live doppler seven along with satellite that we are still seeing those high clouds streaming in. you notice them yesterday we called it that dirty ridge of high pressure. the reason why the high itself is way down here off the coast of southern california. it's supplying us with the mild weather, but it's also allowing some high clouds moving in. so hazy sunshine on the docket today. remember, we do have that spare the air in effect today.

future weather showing you it's filtered sunshine. by 10 a.m. we're into the 50s later on this afternoon. quite pleasant. 60s, if not some low 70s developing in parts of the south bay later on this afternoon. friday night plans. you've got no worries. just take the jacket with you. we'll be dipping into the 40s and into the 50s. highs today under that partly cloudy sky, hazy conditions. remember, spare the air in effect, wood burning is prohibited to kind of cut down on the pm 2.5 levels 60s and low 70s today. so it's a mild finish to the week. now. the three day forecast will show you hazy sunshine today, sunny and mild tomorrow, and then scattered showers return the level one storm and it gets wetter early next week. we'll show you those details coming up in just a few minutes. >> drew. thanks a new warning this morning for weight loss drugs like ozempic and wegovy. they're extremely popular, but they're also leading to an increase in calls to poison control. >> as the war in gaza continues, nations around the country, around the world. excuse me?

working overtime to fend off terror inspired attacks, the tension affecting a new year's tradition in southern california , a new way to celebrate the san francisco giants. >> the big changes in store for the upcoming fan fest. >> a live look outside at 511. we'l

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time now is 513. this morning, the biden administration is calling on israel to scale back its war against hamas. those calls come as several people have been arrested in connection to terrorism plots against jewish people in europe. and gloria, now there is more concern about potential attacks during the holidays. that's right. >> kumasi. authorities in denmark arrested three people accused of plotting terrorist attacks against the jewish community. three others are in custody in germany, along with one detained in the netherlands. and german prosecutors say that they are members of hamas, the militant group denies those claims. it comes as president biden is urging israel to be more careful in the war and find ways to save civilian lives.

this morning, national security adviser jake sullivan is in israel to discuss a lower intensity operation. abc news confirms it would involve smaller israeli troops to eliminate hamas and rescue hostages. >> we are now in the middle of a high intensity phase with ongoing ground operations. there will be a transition on to another phase of this war, one that is focused in more precise ways on targeting the leadership and on intelligence driven operations that continues to deal with the ongoing threat that hamas poses. >> the senate will reconvene on monday to take up the president's defense request, which includes aid for israel and ukraine. talks stalled over republican demands to include tighter immigration policy. they were planning to begin their holiday break today. hey, reggie. >> the city of pasadena is in the crunch time for its annual rose bowl parade. hundreds of workers racing to put the final touches on the 45 floats running

on new year's day. safety is a real concern this year, especially with heightened tensions overseas and protests here at home. >> we are prepared for it. we prepare for the worst. expect the best. that is the way we're going to approach it. but i am hopeful that our advanced parties and our intelligence is accurate and that we should not have any of those types of issues to deal with. the american red cross is setting up first aid stations every half mile along the parade route. >> law enforcement from the city, county, state, and federal level are all going to be there. you can watch the rose parade right here on abc seven starting at 8 a.m. on new year's day. >> it's a few years before the super bowl returns to the bay area, but you can get a taste of the fun this february in vegas. >> allegiant stadium hosting the big game. the season, which means sin city becomes a center of the football universe. tickets are on sale right now for the nfl experience, which is held in every host city. former raider and current las vegas resident rod woodson says the league has definitely made a better effort to get fans closer to the sport.

>> when i was a player, fans didn't go to the combine, but now fans can go to the combine. fans can go to the media day right? but they can now. so i think the one thing they've done in recent years is to really involve the fans and everything they're thinking about doing. >> super bowl festivities kick off on february fifth. >> now this is the game. the only game i'm worried about. the celebration bowl florida a&m university, my ama mater, and this is when i'm really missing jobina because howard university , her ama mater, both hbcu s facing off tomorrow at 9 a.m. inside mercedes-benz stadium in atlanta, georgia. and you can watch it right here on abc seven. it is like an hbcu showdown. the minute that we found out that both of our teams were going to be in there like everyone's like, it's on in atlanta. i'm like, jobina are you going? we're having i'm not going to go, but we are having a

brunch tomorrow at my friend's place. all of a few of my famu rattlers here in the bay area. we're all going to get to strike, strike and strike again and we better win. that's all reggie. and you got on the green, friend. thank you for thank you. you know you represent he follow sports. >> yeah. >> follow sports famously. you bad. >> we got to see whose band is better i'm just excited that we could watch it on abc seven. have a good. >> that is cool. yeah. it's awesome. and have a blast. >> this morning we are starting out with clear skies, but we will have hazy sunshine later on today a spare the air is in effect here with that hazy sun tomorrow. it is a lot brighter. we'll get rid of some of that smoke in our atmosphere and it's warmer. saturday certainly is going to start out with a lot of sunshine. and then on sunday we are tracking wet weather, returning the timing is changing just a little bit. it looks like the best chance of finding showers. our sunday is likely in the evening, so we may get away with a big portion of sunday

without the wet weather. this morning. 30s and 40s for the most part, as we look around the bay, shoreline and inland in the north bay, 38. santa rosa 49. in mill valley, 48. in vallejo. the big takeaway today is a spare the air day. and in the winter time that means wood burning is prohibited. trying to cut down on the particulate matter in our atmosphere. 60s and 70s. under that hazy sunshine. it is a mild day today. then overnight tonight, we'll find temperatures mainly just dropping into the 40 heading into saturday, which will be a mild day. looking at our rain chances, here's the big difference we're watching. it looks like sunday night is the best chance of finding thatrillionain returning. and those showers do linger through the middle portion of the week, so let's just break down the rain chances starting on sunday. look at sunday morning. this is through noon. very isolated showers. it's probably in the evening. here's 9 p.m. we start to see those showers really move in widespread and then monday does look to be a pretty wet day, especially in the morning on monday. here's the accuweather seven day forecast.

next seven days for you. hazy sunshine today, mild and sunny tomorrow. the scattered shower is the best chance likely sunday evening. monday now we've upped it to a two on the storm impact scale. looks like the heaviestrillionain will occur in the morning on monday. those showers continue through wednesday, with winter officially arriving here on thursday. gloria, good morning drew. >> well so far kind of a quiet morning. it is friday. we tend to see just lower traffic levels today on friday. but check this out. this is a live look at our san mateo-hayward bridge camera. and actually in that area, traffic is starting to build up a little bit at this time. and let's get a look right now at your mass transit. right now everything is on time. bart, muni and ac. >> thanks, gloria. coming up, the seven things to know this morning. >> new hopes in the battle against skin cancer. the promise of ear results of a new treatment

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valencia streets controversy. >> center. bike lane. sfmta officials are responding to complaints, saying they've received mixed reviews from small businesses and bike lane users. they say they're now considering three options to make the new bike lane work better for everyone. >> number three, president biden is urging israel to be more careful in its war with hamas and focus on how to save civilian lives. the call comes as european authorities say they arrested several people in connection to terrorism plots against jewish institutions. >> number four, a major pre-holiday storm is threatening to disrupt travel from millions of americans. 20 states will feel the impact through the weekend. in florida, people are being told to move their cars to higher ground because of possible flooding. >> and number five, it is a spare. the air day today with hazy sunshine. you can see air quality today across the north bay along the coast, in the inland east bay. it is unhealthy for sensitive groups. wood burning is prohibited on days like this. expect temperatures this afternoon. in the 60s and in the 70s. >> and number six. here's a live look outside at our bay bridge

toll plaza camera. right now, the metering lights are not on yet, and you will have no wait at the pay gates number seven, google is making it easier for pixel phone owners to fix their own devices. >> so there's a new app to help you diagnose the issues and redesign repair manuals. >> there's promising news in the fight against skin cancer data from a new trial of an experimental treatment shows it cuts the risk of melanoma returning in half over three years. the treatment combines moderna's cancer vaccine and keytruda's immunotherapy drug. the combination also kept the cancer from spreading in 62% of patients. moderna ceo says the treatment could be approved and on the market by 2025. the first oral pill that treats the symptoms of postpartum depression is now available by prescription at select pharmacies. one out of seven mothers in the u.s. struggle with postpartum depression, which can lead to serious mental

health struggles. the drug, which is called zuzu, was approved by the food and drug administration earlier this year . the pill, however, remains controversial, with a $15,000 price tag before insurance. >> hundreds of thousands of americans can expect some of their prescription drugs to cost less. next year. companies will have to pay penalties for drugs whose prices increase faster than the rate of inflation. >> for too long, americans have paid more for prescription drugs than any advanced nation on earth. you can have the exact same drug made by the exact same company in the united states, and you buy it in america for one price. you go to toronto, paris, berlin, or any other major capital in the world. in fact, you'll find they're paying 2 to 3 times less penalties are a part of a new law that came about with the inflation reduction act. >> there are 48 drugs on the government's list. weight watchers has a new membership plan for those on weight loss medications like ozempic and wegovy. >> members will have access to

doctors who prescribe these medications, as well as nutrition plans, insurance help and weight loss programs. i-team's. the launch of the program follows oprah winfrey's revelation that she takes a weight loss drug. oprah is a weight watchers board member and shareholder in today's gma first look poison control centers are seeing a surge in calls related to accidental overdosing on those weight loss drugs. here's abc news reporter rhiannon ally in this morning's gma first look weight loss warning as a drug becomes more and more used in the community and people will accidentally take it and correctly or have side effects from it. >> since 2019, the percentage of patients receiving a semaglutide prescription has increased well over 900. a surge led largely by their use helping patients lose weight. charles mcpherson has been taking ozempic since april to manage his diabetes, but he says he initially took the wrong dosage and this morning he's

sharing that experience with gma. >> it's like i had the flu or something. i still didn't feel well for a couple days, so i went into the emergency room. >> it's really important to make sure that you're not making any mistakes and coming up at 7 a.m, we'll have the expert advice on the most common dosing errors and the symptoms to watch out for with your gma first look. >> i'm rhiannon ally, abc news, new york. >> details about the upcoming san francisco giants annual fan fest. normally, it would be just a one day event at oracle park, but the team has decided to turn it into a four city tour. the first stop, sacramento. that's january 20th. then it moves to san jose january 27th and napa on february third. it will wrap up in march at oracle park. fans will get the opportunity to meet current and former players draymond green out for the foreseeable future. coming up at 530. the silver lining coach steve kerr is hoping will come out of green suspension. >> plus the efforts to stop organized retail crime in the south bay. how a combinati of

techniques is leading to positive

this has been very much expected in recent weeks as the fallout from the crash in san francisco. >> now, at 530, a major wave of layoffs happening at crews, the company now cutting a quarter of its workforce as winter preparations underway across the bay area. >> what communities are doing now to avoid additional damage after a very wet start of the year? >> plus, there's a major storm moving across the country already impacting early holiday travelers this morning. >> good morning everyone. happy friday. it's december 15th. >> let's check on our weather. hi drew. >> hey good morning guys. let's go to san jose looking at mineta international where it is quietrillionight. now we have partly cloudy skies up above. no weather delays expected at any of our area airports this morning, but we do have issues with our air quality. a lot of

you notice it yesterday. it was very hazy out there. there was a lot of particulate matter. that's what we call it, kind of lingering in our atmosphere. and a lot of it this time of the year in the winter months is because of wood burning. and that's what we're seeing over the next 24 hours. so a spare the air day is in effect today. the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups in the north bay, the coast, the inland east bay. so if you do have respiratory issues, you do want to limit your time outside today because of all that particulate matter. and on days like this would, burning is prohibited. so we don't add more of that to our atmosphere temperatures right now, 30s and 40s, to begin our morning, here's the day planner today we're getting you into the 40s and 50s. by 8 a.m, you'll notice that hazy sunshine this afternoon, but it is a mild day once again. 60s for most of us. a couple of us may go into the low 70s today. rain does return over the weekend. we'll show you that coming up in seven minutes. let's check in with gloria and see how we're doing on the road this morning. good morning.

>> you know, on fridays we tend to get lighter traffic. and that's definitely what we're seeing right now at the richmond-san. rafael bridge. you can see not too many cars out there this morning. however, that could change of course, later on as more people head to work and also if you drive here, keep in mind that single law is still in effect. the three lanes there are still blocked and they're not allowing wide load vehicles there. guys >> thank you gloria. happening now. contra costa county crews are at the scene of a fire in pittsburg. bailey road between bay point and concord is shut down in both directions. the fire captain on scene says calls came in shortly before two this morning, with people saying there was a car on fire when crews arrived on scene, they found the burning vehicle had a fire extend to the vegetation, which then burned approximately 50 acres near some residential structures. >> i was surprised to see such a big fire, but it is there is a lot of dry grass behind us. they used to have cows that would uh- eat the grass, and it wasn't that big of a hazard. but now it

has become the fire captain says the wind and the uneven terrain made it challenging for crews, but the fire is now under control. >> there are no reports of injuries. >> more job cuts coming to self-driving car company cruise. the general motors company is laying off more than 900 workers after a series of problems with its cars here in san francisco. abc seven news reporter suzanne fan tells us the layoffs were announced just one day after crews dismissed nine key leaders, including their chief operating officer. >> i'm concerned about it. >> edward escobar is really worried about self-driving cars on the streets of san francisco. >> we ourselves had said that san francisco residents are not guinea pigs and techs should not use us as guinea pigs. >> cruise just announced that it slashed more than 900 jobs from commercial operations. >> very sad day. in many respects, technology reporter pete bigelow covers the automotive industry. >> he says the cutbacks reflect further fallout from how cruise

handled a critical incident in san francisco on october 2nd after being hit by human driver, a woman was launched in front of a cruise robot. taxi got trapped underneath the vehicle and was dragged 20ft. >> in some ways, this has been very much expected in recent weeks as the fallout from the crash in san francisco kind of continues, and general motors announced plans not to make the cruise origin and to really scale back their ambitions of being in more than a dozen cities by the end of next year. >> in response to the layoffs, cruise released this statement saying, quote, these changes reflect our decision to focus on more deliberate commercialization plans with safety as our north star. >> there's really a lot to work through before san francisco or anywhere else in california to kind of becomes uh, practically speaking, a viable market. >> again, there are big questions about the future of cruise in san francisco. >> and when the short turn, i mean, it looks like cruise is going to slow things down. scott moore is a uc berkeley associate

professor of civil and environmental engineering and an av expert. >> we asked him about the future of the av industry. >> we need to set up entities within our state or federal government that can help push this forward in a way that improves safety, because that's really the goal. improving safety and mobility. >> cruise says the company will focus on relaunching in just one city in the future, but experts say it won't likely be in california. as for the av company still up and running, you know waymo has been kind of quietly inching along. >> they've been operating in for five years now in both phenix and more recently in san francisco. >> as for escobar and other concerned san francisco residents, we continue the fight and we are trying to wake the people up and say, hey, we need to be aware of what's going on with technology. >> it can be your friend, but it can also be your foe. >> that was suzanne vaughn reporting. cruise says laid off employees will get paychecks until february. they'll also be receiving severance pay. >> the fremont facility that makes some of the world's most

powerful batteries is expanding and prius technologies just unveiled a major expansion to power even more products. this battery is silicone. a lithium ion cell is helping to power breakthroughs in aviation technology. so we're talking things like drones, air taxis, solar cars, and it's also powering critical military technology. and prius says it has a backlog of customers waiting for these batteries. and the expansion is going to help them increase capacity to ten times. >> we sold out this year's capacity and the next year's capacity. so this new facility is very, very important for us to grow our business. >> the mayor of fremont says this expansion highlights the city's efforts to become a hub for advances in innovation in the south bay. >> san jose is stepping up its effort to keep shoppers safe and protect businesses during the holiday. shopping season. san jose police report a 25% increase in retail theft from 2021 to 2022. they have a dedicated team that's going to

be putting in extra hours this season, officers will also lean on automated license plate readers to help try to catch suspected thieves. >> we're hoping that these patrols will assist not only in building relationships with business owners and community members who are going shopping, but also just be a visual deterrent for anybody who is committing additional crimes in that area. these extra patrols will be for four nights a week for six hours. >> a strong start to the holiday spending season is boosting optimism about the economy. sales rebounded in the month of november, beating out expectations on wall street. it's a welcome sign that the us may beat rising inflation without having to suffer a significant recession. >> another welcome sign for the economy. mortgage rates dropped below 7% for the first time since august. the rates have steadily declined for seven straight weeks after hitting a 23 year high back in october, experts predict rates will continue to drop in the coming months. a health alert for you ahead of the holidays, according

to data from the cdc, cases of the flu, covid and rsv are all spiking right now. covid is leading to the most hospitalization. experts say we should all take precautions to protect older people or people who are immunocompromised, which means keeping up to date with vaccinations as usual. >> at this time of year, we expect to see increases in things such as influenza and covid, and we are seeing that, according to the latest data, we've also seen quite a bit of rsv in the last couple of months, and this can be concerning because having all three disease causes circulating at the same time can put an extra burden on our health care system, health experts say. >> if you feel sick, it's best to stay home instead of trying to pass on an illness to a loved one. more help may soon be on the way. for parents who are hoping to vaccinate their kids against rsv. the white house is urging drug makers to make 230,000 more doses available for infants next month. the cdc announced the supply shortage back in october and is advising health care providers to prepare

patients who are at high risk for rsv. roughly 300 children under the age of five die every year because of the illness. >> this morning, a storm moving across the country is impacting travel for millions of americans. as we get closer to the holiday, gloria is at the live desk with the storm's timeline ahead of the weekend. >> good morning reggie. the storm will impact nearly 20 states as it moves up the east coast, slamming the region with heavy rain and strong wind. and check this out. it started in the west, bringing nearly a foot of snow to new mexico and treacherous driving conditions in colorado, so heavy rain has already been coming down in texas, where the head of the state's power grid is reassuring residents that there will not be a repeat of the 2021 power outage crisis. >> the power grid is as ready and reliable as it has ever been for the winter season. we have more generating and dispatchable resources available to the grid than we have had in any prior winter in history. >> the system is now heading

east and is expected to help a new storm take shape in the gulf of mexico tomorrow. that's when conditions get messy. in florida, crews are preparing for flooding and possible storm surge. some parking garages are even lifting fees to allow residents to move their cars to higher ground. on sunday, the storm is expected to make its way up the atlantic coast and kumasi that will complicate holiday travel for millions of people. >> all right. thank you gloria. people here in the bay area are doing everything they can now to avoid additional winter. winter storm damage at the start of the year, places like santa cruz county got battered by a brutal storms in. some neighbors still haven't recovered from it. abc seven news south bay reporter laura martinez shows us how one resident is getting ready so this is trenched all the way down through our farm. >> sandra hunt is giving us a tour of her small farm in boulder creek. hunt and her husband own hill house farm. they started making rain preparations in september.

>> i feel confident we're more prepared this year. >> last winter, the santa cruz mountains were inundated with nonstop storms. >> it literally picked up that entire work tent with weights on it and moved it like it was nothing. >> hunt lost a crop of squash and flowers to flooding, which put the farm months behind schedule. >> this part of our farm, we lost this entire bed. um, this arch wasn't here. we put that in this year. we couldn't even plant in this until about june this year. >> hunt installed more mesh tubes and wattles to redirect water. she also planted a type of radish to help break up the clay soil for water infiltration. >> a lot of the plants we have in now, hopefully they'll be food, but it um, in reality we just wanted something in the ground to hopefully have that root structure to help hold the soil. >> from storm damage to wildfires, santa cruz county has been accumulating repair costs.

public information officer jason hoffman said the county has already spent 75 million on work this last winter. one major project included repairing a massive culvert that was completely washed out in socal. 400 residents were briefly stranded sometime early next year. >> we should finish up the permanent repair so that's what i mean by these things. layering on top of each other. we're just now finishing that. we're going into another winter, so we'll have to see what this winter holds for us. um, we're crossing our fingers that it stays light, but of course, that is not what a lot of people are telling us at this moment in the south bay, lauren martinez, abc seven news as a spacex, tesla and the social media app formerly known as twitter were not already a handful, elon musk now setting his sights on higher education. >> the holiday tree that is more than just a decoration where you can visit the tree of hope and add your wish. this season, right now that we're checking the weather with drew. hey, good morning reggie. >> here's a live look at the golden gate bridge. no issues with fog. this morning. great

visibility out there as you go about the next couple of hours. live doppler seven along with satellite. we have a ridge of high pressure right now. it's across southern california. it's influencing our weather pattern and the form of those mild temperatures in the afternoon. but it is allowing cirrus clouds to move in throughout the day. today you will notice hazy sunshine in the forecast. let's break it down. region by region, inland. starting out in the 30s and 40s, we'll get you into the mid 60s under that hazy sunshine later on this afternoon around the bay shoreline. no issues with fog. mid 60s later on today and as we head along the coast low to mid 60s with that hazy sunshine as well above average across the board. so today it's not only sunny and mild, it's also a spare the air day. in effect, we have poor air quality in some spots. it's unhealthy for sensitive groups out there the next 24 hours. the main reason particulate matter in the form of wood burning. so wood burning is prohibited on days like this. it's mild 60s and 70s

for daytime highs. here we go. with the return of rain, you can start to see an area of low pressure trying to get its act together right here. and this will impact us as we head into the back half of the weekend. and right now, the latest information we have this morning looks like the arrival of the rain will probably hold off until the evening on sunday, so we may squeak out much of sunday under dry conditions. here's a look at the three day forecast. hazy sunshine today. tomorrow is a bright day. maybe a little bit warmer. and then sunday those showers return the best chance in the evening. a level one storm. we'll go hour by hour on the rainfall totals. show you how much rain you could expect. sunday and early next week. coming up in nine minutes.

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line for ending. that's the word from the warriors. after green

was suspended earlier this week for hitting another player during the game with the phenix suns, coach steve kerr told reporters yesterday he believes the suspension could be beneficial in the long run. >> give him an opportunity to make a change that will not only help him, help our team, um, but help him for the rest of his life. it's not just about it, you know, an outburst on the court. um, it's about his life. >> green's suspension with the nba is dependent on required council voting. this is the third time this season green has been ejected over a physical altercation. it's the second time he's faced a suspension. you can enjoy the warriors on christmas day right here on abc seven. we have coverage that starts at 11. they're facing off against the defending champs, the denver nuggets. that game is followed by the celtics taking on the lakers at 2 p.m. then monday night football as the niners host the ravens coverage of that game starts at 430. and we wrap it up with after the

game. >> here's a way that you can help the make-a-wish foundation this holiday season. you can donate your airline miles. united airlines will match miles donated by its mileageplus members. make-a-wish says nearly three quarters of the wishes they grant require traveling, and it needs 3 billion airline miles every year, united will match up to 2.5 million miles donated by customers. the world's largest origami tree is shining bright at grace cathedral in san francisco. the world tree of hope is now on display for the season, and it's adorned with 17,000 wishes. >> unlike christmas trees in general, this one is decorated literally in wishes and hopes and dreams from people all over the world. fold it into thousands of origami cranes. the origami crane is a symbol of world peace. >> every origami crane on the tree has someone's wish for the future on it. blessings and

wishes that are really meant to take flight and to see the whole tree filled with them is really inspiring. it's to shine light against the darkness in the world. >> this is the 17th year of the tree. you can visit it in person at grace cathedral in san francisco until january sixth. you can also still add your wish to the tree, either in person or by visiting world tree of hope .org. this has nothing to do with that, but it did remind me. did you make the links in elementary school? oh yeah. you know, count down. >> oh the like the rounds. yeah yeah. >> there's a green and red and green and red. yeah. >> counting down the days. uh something and like one person each day got selected. you have to rip it. i don't remember the significance, but i remember making those. >> i do that with, like, construction paper. right? yeah. >> there was a lot of effort spent on that. and yet the point of it lost on me. >> and years later. >> yeah. and memories. >> joyce up a lot of time. it does. i know students are they're busy. keep us busy.

yeah, yeah, yeah. uh we'll have to ask a teacher out there. >> what the significance. >> if you're a teacher and you know what that is, please find us. >> no, because i found joy ripping it every day. ooh. ten days closer, nine days closer. >> so it was like an advent calendar? >> yeah. without, like, the prize. um, you know, just you get to rip the ring and you're like, well, don't i get, like, a chocolate? no, no, it's not sure. >> it wasn't. >> let's go outside. we are going to find that we have hazy sunshine today on the accuweather headlines. it is a spare the air day in effect, which means in the winter time, wood burning is prohibited to try and cut down on some of that particulate matter. saturday we start out the weekend sunny and warm rain is returning to the forecast on sunday with the latest information we have. looks like the arrival of the showers is a little bit more delayed, likely starting off in the evening on sunday, so that means much of sunday may get away pretty dry. here's a look at highs today. we're in the 60s and 70s. this is above average

for this time of year. typically we should be in the 50s for daytime highs. again spare the air. so it is a hazy sunshine we'll have throughout the day tonight. temperatures not too chilly. we will have serious clouds up above, which means we have a little bit of a blanket keeping temperatures mainly in the 40s. as we get you into saturday looking at our rain chances, here's the big takeaway. you see, the daytime chance of showers on sunday has significantly dropped. it goes way higher sunday night, so it looks like the arrival of the showers is sunday night and then they're just on and off throughout the upcoming week through wednesday. and then we start to turn drier on thursday. let's break down the rainfall totals. we'll start it out here sunday morning. stop the clock at noon, maybe an isolated shower in the north bay. but look at the evening. that's when we have a better chance of finding those light showers. that is a level one on the storm impact scale. but by monday, that's when we see heavier rain start to move in. and that's when we do upgrade the storm impact scale to a level two, a moderate storm. here's the accuweather seven day forecast.

hazy sunshine today, sunny and mild to start out the weekend. scattered showers on sunday with the best chance in the evening. then heavier rain arrives here monday morning. that level two is with us and then we're still unsettled tuesday and wednesday. gloria >> yeah, well, happy friday to you. i know a lot of you work from home today, but if you are driving to work today, so far everything is looking pretty good on the roads here in the bay area. this is a live look outside right now at our 8-80 camera at the oakland coliseum. and you can see that traffic is flowing smoothly there. no slowdowns there at all. and then a look at your drive times for this morning. everything is in the green right now. even our usual slow spot on westbound 580 from tracy to dublin. that will only take you 32 minutes right now. >> thank you. gloria, new at six. the giant defending san francisco go after buster posey and other players point to the city's problems as a reason for not signing better players. >> but first, the first of its kind show coming to vegas and the tickets going on sale today right now, though, this live

this holiday so... you can get more of what you want. with our lowest price guarante. this holiday if you find a better price we'll match it. get more for your home and your family. you got this. we got you.

does what elon musk is working on next. bloomberg first reported on the filings. they show musk donated $100 million to his charity, called the foundation, to open a primary and secondary school in austin, texas. later, the charity would seek accreditation for a university. the foundation says the curriculum for the schools would combine traditional learning with hands on experience, including simulators , design projects and labs. students will be admitted based on merit, and funding would come from private donations and tuition fees. >> rapper and entrepreneur 50 cent taking his company to shreveport, louisiana. the city

council just agreed to lease a studio property to his film and tv production company for the next 30 years, with the option for a 15 year extension. the mayor says he hopes the move will help to revitalize the film and tv industry, in that city. happening today, tickets go on sale for las vegas first rap residency with the wu-tang clan. grammy nominated group is going to be performing at the theater at virgin hotel starting in february. so far, the residency is only four days. the weekend before the super bowl, which of course, we just told you earlier in the show is in vegas this year and it's the first weekend of the march madness college basketball tournament. it's a lot going on for days for a residency. >> that's just a concert. >> i know, but you know how that's a residency? >> it is. so anything over three days is a residency. >> and then and then, you know, they got to be like extended and right short time only but extended. >> got it right. they tease you with like limited supply and then like oh just kidding. and you're like extended. >> and if it's a flop arena then

they act like it never happened. >> yeah. it was just a concert. >> people are about to be there for wu-tang clan. yeah, okay. >> vegas is getting everything, man. who's ever in charge of pr for vegas? i give them all the raises. okay? spare the air. in effect today, our air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups in the north bay along the coast , around the bay shoreline, the inland east bay. it is just hazy out there. it is because of wood burning this time of the year. so you get that additional particulate matter in the atmosphere. so if you have respiratory issues, limit your time outside 30 and 40, right now the day planner shows you it's a mild day but hazy sunshine with that spare the air. we're going into the 60s this afternoon. kumasi thank you. drew. >> new at six. the perk from southwest airlines getting them some good praise online. >> prince harry wins a phone hacking case. how much the royal is set to get as part of the lawsuit, and why several starbucks, starbucks stores here in california are being forced to open back up

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along valencia street. the adjustment they're trying to make to come, fears over business impact and this year is now officially the deadliest ever for drug overdoses in san francisco. >> some are looking at our wastewater as a possible solution. >> then upside down doesn't stuc