days before christmas, a search for his killer. >> then doctors worry people may be coming home from the holidays with more than just presents. the latest warning about a rise in sickness, including covid. i just came anywhere else i'd be eating okay. >> just in time for christmas. ryan gosling dropping a new version of his hit song from the barbie movie. >> good morning and it's thursday, december 21st. yes >> let's start the check of our forecast. drew doing a lot better this morning, guys. >> we're drying out and we'll find dry conditions for the next several days outside. this morning we'll take you to our abc seven oakland airport camera where if you are taking to the skies this morning or throughout the day today, you should have no problem. at our area airports, we are finding clear skies later on today. low pressure that soaked us yesterday. it's now southern california's problem. they're going to see heavy rain around l.a. today and tomorrow. temperatures this morning are in the upper 40s to the mid 50s.

keep the umbrella at home, but certainly take the winter jacket with you. we are dry throughout the day today. here's how the day planner looks. we'll have partly cloudy skies throughout the afternoon. it is dry. it's also mild temperatures in the 60s. let's see how we're doing on the roads with sue. good morning. >> pretty light this morning guys. a lot of folks over the hill and through the woods to grandmother's house. we've got a very dry conditions, very light conditions on the roadways, no metering lights at the bay bridge toll plaza. it's looking good for your thursday morning. and here we go to the east shore freeway. this is actually the nimitz by the oakland both directions of 880 moving at the limit. and we wanted to check in again. we told you about your mass transit schedules for the weekend. we do have some changes to ace train. they are one of the mass transit agencies. tomorrow that will be unlimited service. service for your friday. caltrain on christmas eve and christmas day will be servicing you just like they

would on a weekend. and bart also on christmas eve and christmas day, will be running sunday service schedules. so check ahead before you get on mass transit this sunday and monday. >> all right. thank you. sue happening now. one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season is underway. you can expect to see a lot of people at the airport if you are flying. recent abc seven news reporter lina holland to sfo this morning. and what's it looking like out there? lina well, kumasi so far this morning at sfo, they are already experiencing 43 delays and four canceled lines. >> the number of delays are up by eight just in the last hour. the triple a is projecting 7.5 million air travelers this holiday season. that surpasses pre-pandemic levels of 7.3 million passengers back in 2019. transportation secretary pete buttigieg said. earlier this week that this year has also seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years to take care of your passengers.

>> and if you don't, there will be consequences. we will hold you accountable. >> there's a lot of people going in many different directions. just got to bring your patience. as for those long security lines that travelers will be running into over the next few days, the tsa says the most common thing that slows down a traveler at a tsa checkpoint is having a prohibited item in a carry on bag. >> that's why they're urging all travelers to know before you go by making sure everything packed inside is permitted to go on a flight. still, the majority of folks nationwide will be driving to their holiday destinations. saturday, december 23rd and thursday, december 28th will be the most congested days out on the roads. if you are headed to southern california, please plan for some extra time. a big storm is hitting there now and there is already some flooding reported and with all these delays and cancellations already reported here at sfo, it's

another very good reminder to check your flight status before you go live at sfo. lena howland , abc seven news thank you. >> lena, there's concern for people traveling about what they might pick up at their destination. covid and flu cases are on the rise right now, with the peak expected to come by february. travel experts say despite the risk, people have made traveling a priority. >> i really do think it's a mind shift that happened during the pandemic that people were like, look, they took stock of their lives and they said, what do i want to do if i survive this pandemic? i want to travel and they're going to travel come hell or high water. >> if you aren't already vaccinated or up to date with your vaccinations, ucsf infectious disease expert doctor peter chin-hong tells abc seven news. it's never too late, although you won't be fully protected before christmas, the vaccines will provide protection for the rest of the season. >> new data shows just how those how low those vaccination rates are here in the bay area, only about 20% of people in alameda, san francisco and santa clara counties are up to date on covid

shots. >> this is according to the state department of public health. it's lower among some communities. just 10% of black and latino people in santa clara have received the latest vaccines. experts say one reason could be that the covid shot is now harder to access, particularly for people who are underage, assured or even uninsured. the cdc does have something called the bridge access program, which helps people get the shot for free. santa clara county is working to make sure pharmacies are able to take advantage of it. >> doing some secret shopper action. i'm here at the health department where we're calling pharmacies that uh- receive vaccine through the bridge access program and making sure that it's easy for clients to call and get the vaccine and that they're not facing hurdles. >> the latest covid variant is called j and one and makes up about 20% of the strains here in the us. this morning. >> the search is on to find the people who are responsible for the deadly shooting of a pizza delivery driver sitting in his

car in oakley. it happened just before five last night on rutherford lane, right across the street from an elementary school. police say the victim was inside his car on a break. they say another vehicle pulled up next to him. the passenger got out and shot the man multiple times before taking off the victim's mother was there. she called 911. investigators say she was inside the home as her son was parked out front. >> she did not see the incident occur. she heard the shot and came out and saw her son had a gunshot wound. well, first responders say they tried to save the delivery driver, but he died from his injuries just moments after they got there. >> oakleys police chief hopes neighbors will check their surveillance footage. >> this neighborhood is a relatively quiet neighborhood. it adjoins owns uh- vintage parkway school. so we take safety very seriously in this neighborhood. >> police did not say which pizza company the victim was

working for, but a nearby domino's was closed and had a sign on the door saying that all orders for the evening were canceled and refunded. we reached out for comment. we have not heard back. >> a bold new state law is going into effect at the start of the new year. >> it's going to require large retail stores to have gender neutral toy sections. the new law doesn't take away a boy or a girl section. it only adds the gender neutral section. putting similar products that had been marketed for girls or boys side by side in an aisle, along with toys that could appeal to everyone. but the california family council believes lawmakers need to start focusing more on things that matter and less on toys. >> a little crazy that sacramento seems so intent on breaking down the distinctions and differences between men and women, between boys and girls. it's not enough that we are having gender neutral bathrooms. we're even trying to extend that to the toy section the way we are feeding their minds and the materials we choose to use it is narrowing their ideas and the

ability to really negotiate the world for them. >> if the law is violated, a store will be fined $250, then $500. if there's a second offense. coming up, how audits and investigations into local law enforcement will now be handled. then, if you want to ski over the holidays, you may be in luck. >> the resorts in tahoe open for business despite not getting much

♪give me something sweet let's celebrate♪ ♪a little bit for me, a little bit for you♪ ♪no need to be greedy there's enough for two♪ ♪a little bit for me, a little bit for you♪ [distant music] ♪oops, oh, it's gettin' late♪ ♪and i almost forgot to celebrate,♪ ♪invite everybody, yeah, you're coming too♪ ♪i've been waitin' all year to get down with you♪ ♪we snackin'♪

they're ready for you. despite not having much snow so far this season.

three of its lifts, 14 in total, are open right now. but that could change if more snow arrives in the coming days at heavenly. about half the lifts are up and running. >> we had about four feet of snow, so everything was open. the whole mountain. um, right now it's, you know, we've had 17in the whole season. the ski resort hopes it will cool down enough tomorrow and saturday night to keep up snowmaking operations ahead of the christmas rush. >> kumasi may have a couple of flurries there over the weekend, but if you're traveling to tahoe over the next several days, you have no problems. we have a little bit of morning rain right now giving way to sunshine this afternoon. friday it's mostly sunny south lake tahoe and then saturday a chance of flurries. it's cooler, but those flurries won't amount to anything. it just kind of adds to the holiday weekend. feel back here at home today along the coast we have mainly clear skies. we'll have some sunshine this afternoon. it's dry. we'll go into the low 60s around 4 p.m. around the bay

shoreline. we're drying out. it's a mix of sun and clouds today. temperatures in the low and mid 60s this afternoon, and our inland communities. it is shaping up to be a nice day. we will find those temperatures maxing out in the upper 50s, lower 60s, and again, just a mix of sun and clouds. our next best chance of rain is on the seven day forecast. we'll show you that coming up in a few minutes. kumasi. >> thank you drew. >> still to come. why san jose seems unlikely to replace the statue stolen and damaged by vandals. then crab season delayed yet again. how long we will have to wait for the next decision to be made and as we head to break, we're taking a live look outside at when it's time to go into protect mode. nothing kills more viruses on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. ♪ ah mornings! cough? congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief

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general wylie was a long time alameda county prosecutor who lost election for district attorney to pamela price last year. former mayor willie brown swore him in yesterday. >> our office will stand on the pillars of accountability and open, transparent, tsay fairness , integrity and honesty. >> wylie's appointment comes three years after voters approved new oversight measures for the san francisco sheriff's office. his role will include directing policies and hiring investigators for his office. san jose is unlikely to replace a statue that commemorates its relationship with its sister city of pune, india. the 440 pound statue of a 1600s era indian leader on horseback was stolen from guadalupe river park last january. the mercury news reporters found it days later at a scrap yard with its legs sawed off, according to officials. san

jose's sister city, the sister city program, does not have the 80 to $100,000 that it would take to repair and reinstall that statue. officials are now looking at other options to commemorate the relationship. >> if you're hoping to have fresh crab from northern california on your table for christmas or new year's, you're out of luck. fish and wildlife officials have just delayed commercial crab season for a fourth time this year. the goal is to protect migrating whales from getting tangled in crabbing gear. a group of whales was recently seen in a fishing zone near san francisco. officials will reassess it next month. >> ryan gosling is out with three new renditions of his grammy nominated song. i'm just kin, from the blockbuster barbie movie, and one version is christmas themed. i'm just kidding. >> anywhere else i'd. be ten. >> all right then. this is a

part. let me just tell you of his new ep titled kin. the ep >> why is christmas spelled with a k? >> because it's the holiday version. i don't know, okay, so because it's ken, i guess. >> is that what it is? okay, okay, okay. >> so it also features the in my feelings acoustic version and the purple disco machine remix version. >> oh, i love purple disco machine. do you i do, they do really good remixes. okay so it's up for a grammy for best song written for a visual for visual media and a golden globe for best original song. okay, it's getting all the awards. >> all right. ken. >> that sequence was a little long for me in the movie, ken is getting his due, though. you thought you like. you like to. okay. oh no. >> okay. >> he's in his feelings. >> it was so long. was funny to me. okay >> we're still. >> that was part of the comedy. >> are we going to get him?

>> while he felt some things this morning? we are drier, a lot drier compared to this time yesterday. we're entering a dry pattern that will last into early next week, so enjoy the sunshine. you don't need the umbrella today. leave it at home tonight. winter official arrives here with the winter solstice at 727, so that does mean today is the shortest day of the year from here on out, we'll start gaining daylight as we head towards june. and then this weekend with some chilly mornings, but a lot of sunshine. no saturday and sunday. partly cloudy skies today. temperatures going into the 60s. a bit above average for this time of the year. enjoy the dry conditions, the mild temperatures tonight. we'll see a little bit of coastal fog developing, but we will have mainly clear skies away from the coast and some of our chillier spots will be dipping into the 30s overnight tonight. heading into friday. now, future tracker temperatures . the dry pattern continues tomorrow as well and into the weekend. temperatures upper 50s lower 60s. and then we just kind of ebb and flow over the weekend . upper 50s on saturday. that's where we should be this time of the year. pretty much a carbon copy forecast on sunday. if you

have to travel here locally over the weekend or even on monday, we don't have any concerns when it comes to the forecast. we'll take you into christmas day itself and we'll have that morning chill temperatures in the 40s. it will be a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day, and temperatures getting to the upper 50s. pretty close to average for christmas day. here's the acura. the seven day forecast that winter begins today. we'll have some morning fog to sun tomorrow. chilly mornings over the weekend, but bright sunshine saturday and sunday. looking nice for christmas. our next best chance of rain coming on wednesday. level one on the storm impact scale. so good morning drew. >> good morning everyone. it's not only the shortest day of the year, but it might be one of the shortest drives. you have all year to on the roads. very quiet . picking up a little bit on the san mateo bridge, but still not a bad ride from hayward across the causeway, up the high rise over towards san mateo, you're looking at about a 20 minute drive from 880 to 101, popping over to contra costa county. this is our walnut creek camera. it's a relatively new camera that's 680. those headlights are

headed in the northbound direction. the opposite side of the freeway is headed right there at the 24 interchange. so everybody's moving nicely from concord southbound all the way to 24. and in fact, let's take a look at some of your drive times in uh- hercules from antioch contra costa county's looking great. 30 minutes all in the green. and then if you're merging onto westbound 80, highway four and hercules all the way to the maze, that's that's really, you know, pretty good timing. 15 minutes, is it? and no metering lights yet at the bay bridge toll plaza popping to the south bay north 87. you are slowing towards just a little bit towards san jose airport. guys >> so thank you. good morning america. coming up at seven right here on abc seven. >> and ginger zee has a look at what's ahead. >> hey there reggie and kumasi. it is great to be with both of you this morning. so coming up here on gma the story that we are all tracking the busiest day for air travel for the holiday season. gio is all over that. then matt gutman is there in your state. but in southern

california where they're getting drenched some elevated flood risk that actually moves right through the deserts. i will track it across the nation. if you're traveling on christmas eve, santa is going to need galoshes and some record warmth that we're going to be talking about. also, our interview with the family of the young girl who was kidnaped while camping in new york state and found days later they are speaking for the first time on tv only on gma. and with so many of us shopping this weekend, we are looking at the safer way to pay. how tapping the digital wallet on your phone compares to swiping your credit card. and we are getting in the holiday spirit, testing out some holiday hacks to deck your halls and then we've got to show you how to make the hottest food trends of the season. from the charcuterie wreath to the shrimp chemistry. it is involved, but it will inspire you for this holiday. coming there is nothing like it dancing is my passion. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema, it hasn't always been easy. i was constantly itching. whatever i was doing now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema

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the central portion of the country from oklahoma down through texas. a cold front will bring some showers through dallas later on today, but it's very quiet on the east coast with temperatures pretty close to average for this time of the year. numbers right now here locally mid 40s to the mid 50s. so certainly take the winter jacket but leave the umbrella at home. here's how the day breaks down. region by region. expect partly cloudy skies and temperatures low to mid 60s later on. today guys. >> drew thank you. new at six. about half of california voters are worried i will cost them their jobs. this is from a new poll by politico. the same poll found 43% said i will have a positive impact on their lives. about 39% said that it will have a negative impact. california lawmakers are set to return to sacramento in a few weeks, where they're going to consider several bills that could regulate artificial intelligence . toyota is recalling about a million vehicles over a potential problem with the passenger airbag. this covers very popular models of 15 toyota and lexus cars, including the

camry, sienna and rav4. the model years are between 2020 and 2022. toyota says a sensor in the recalled cars could short circuit that sensor helps identify if the person sitting in the passenger seat is an adult or a child, based on the weight. owners will be notified of the next steps by february. early last week, we told you about volunteers working with the farm worker caravan, making thousands of tamales for farm workers in half moon bay. yesterday teams made those deliveries and brought a lot more than just tamales. a caravan of trucks and vans made its way to six farms in half moon bay to surprise workers. they dropped off food and some toys. thanks to donations from the nonprofit. a loss. for many, this means they'll have food and gifts for christmas. it's a welcome sight as a community. still recovering from a mass shooting and the pandemic. >> epic moments of celebration in the moments of pain. if we are in those moments, then we know that we are doing our job. >> volunteers say in total, they

were able to deliver more than 2000 bags full of food and gifts. christmas came early for hundreds of kids in oakland, and the oakland police department hosted the annual toys for the town event yesterday. santa was there, along with food and gifts. officers say it's a way to give back to the community and build new relationships. we spoke with one oakland mom who wants her kids to spend time with law enforcement. >> it just shows support uh- from the police and the bay area for our young children to come together. >> several groups donated gifts for the event, including opd staff, local organizations, the oakland black officers association, and the latino peace officers association. next, at 630, could california be the next state to try and boot donald trump from the primary ballot? the lieutenant governor weighs in. then a second anti-semitic incident in as many weeks in the south bay middle school, students will now undergo sensitive tra

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now at 630 bay area travelers flocking to the airport today, it's expected to be one of the busiest holiday travel days of the season. we've already seen some delays and cancellations this morning. >> heavy winds and rain flooding streets in southern california. dozens of people already have had to be rescued from their vehicles. >> and then just four days until christmas. but for one family, the holiday is already here. they celebrate christmas year round and they're giving back to others as. whom? that's possible. >> good morning everybody. >> it's thursday, december 21st. >> let's see your forecast. it seems like it's going to be a nice day. it is starting a nice pattern.

>> we're drying out after days of rain this week. here's live doppler seven along with satellite kumasi alluded to the fact that southern california now getting slammed by rain and wind. that was the same low pressure that brought us the heavy rain at times yesterday that is now out of our neck of the woods. but if you are traveling to la, just know that it is a rainy pattern. the next couple of days. right now back here at home, we're in the upper 40s to the mid 50s. leave the umbrella at home. take the winter jacket though it's a chilly start to the day, but we do expect partly cloudy skies and a pleasant afternoon. temperatures by 4 p.m. in the low and mid 60s. hi sue, good morning drew. >> we do have some fog affecting your drive over the altamont pass this morning. otherwise looking good. no metering lights, just a few cars in the center lanes getting through and you can see the sun just peeking over the horizon on the eastern sky. it's looking great this morning. no delays into san francisco on the bay bridge, here's san rafael. those tail lights headed southbound past the northgate mall that i'm sure will be very busy the last few days of shopping. also past the

civic center and you're at the limit. all the way through central and southern marin to the golden gate bridge. that is clear this morning, and we'll take a look at some of your drive times as 680 from highway four and hercules to walnut creek, a mere seven minutes under ten minutes, everything is looking green this morning, with the exception of our altamont travelers. probably slowing just a hair for the fog guys. >> thank you sue. with just four days to go to christmas, the holiday travel rush is underway. today is expected to be one of the most crowded days at airports across the country. abc seven news reporter lena howland is live at sfo with some of the trends you're going to see, lena, we've already seen some delays this morning. reggie >> that's right. and so far here at sfo, they are experiencing 43 delays and four cancellations. but the good news is that number has not changed at all in the past 30 minutes. we were seeing it rise over the past hour and a half. but that number has stopped for now. nearly 49,000 planes are expected to be in the air today for the faa's busiest

day in the skies. major airlines say most passengers will be flying between today and saturday. united airlines says they are projecting this christmas season to be their busiest on record. transport around 9 million passengers over the holiday, with nearly 4000 flights a day. >> those planes are going to be full the airports are going to be full. i'm not going to sugarcoat it that what our focus is, is making sure that we get those planes out on time and get those planes to their destination on time with their bags. as for those long security lines, travelers will be running into over the next few days, the tsa says the most common thing that slows a traveler down at a tsa checkpoint is having a prohibited item in a carry on bag. >> that's why they are urging all travelers to know before you go by making sure everything packed inside is permitted to go on a flight. still, the majority of folks nationwide will be driving to their holiday destinations on saturday,

december 23rd and thursday, december 28th will be the most congested days out on the roads, and with these delays and cancellations we're already seeing at sfo, it's a very good reminder to check your flight status before heading to the airport. live at sfo. lena howland, abc seven news. >> thank you lena, if your travel plans today take you to southern california, be aware that they are getting a lot of rain. the second of two strong storm systems is moving through right now. we saw flooding in oxnard overnight to 30 million people are currently in areas under a flood watch business owners spent yesterday scrambling to prepare. >> it's prone to flooding, so you just got to prepare for it. so we have sandbags and we have uh- lots of plastic and we have seen it flood quite a few times. so we kind of are prepared and so hopefully we'll just see what this storm does. >> forecasters say if thunderstorms develop some areas could see rain falling at a rate of one inch per hour. >> heavy rain in the north bay

caused some problems. in santa rosa, we got a glimpse of this flooded street yesterday. the santa rosa fire crews are saying that they had to go in and clear it out by hand in sonoma county, the fire district says crews rescued a family along mark west station road near the town of windsor, because their car stalled along a flooded road. >> it was still dark. they may not have seen the water. i'm not quite sure. we always are telling people turn around, don't drown. also in sonoma county, this home and the summer home park neighborhood was red tagged. >> a massive 250 foot redwood tree came crashing down right by it and also took down several power lines. >> check out this freeway on ramp underwater in oakland, we also spotted potholes on i-680 and pacheco slowing traffic and causing at least one flat tire. the chp quickly coned off the area before more cars could be damaged. in walnut creek, it was all about preparing for the worst sandbag stations were open and ready for customers. don't

forget you can get the latest weather conditions and access the same doppler seven weather radar that drew and our weather team use. just search abc seven bay area in your device's app store and download it in the south bay. >> police are investigating after swastikas were found on some lockers at block intermediate school in los altos. this is a second incident in the district in as many weeks. students are now going to go through a training session as part of a partnership with the anti-defamation league. >> it is important that every student, in order to learn, comes to school feeling safe, feeling respected, feeling seen, and when our environment is breached in some way, which this is a breach of that we want to make sure that kids understand their role. >> a recent report by the jewish community council of the bay area found more than 60% of bay area jews feel less safe in their day to day lives. abc seven stands with those during

times of discrimination. if you want to be an ally, go to abc7 news.com slash. take action. >> a federal judge in san francisco is rejecting no prison deals in some tenderloin drug dealing cases, according to the chronicle, a u.s. district judge william alsup, is criticizing the proposed sentences because he says they were far too lenient on the dealers. in two plea deals, the defendants would not spend any time in prison before being deported to their home country of honduras. he's concerned the dealers will just come back to the us and continue selling drugs. >> developing news authorities describe a situation at the southern border as a, quote, disaster after as they are overwhelmed by the surge of migrants. texas governor greg abbott released new video and announced he is now flying migrants to chicago 120 arrived on the first flight because the city, quote, started obstructing and targeting our bussing mission, end quote. it comes after abbott signed a law earlier this week. now, if it's upheld, it would allow local police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border

illegally. a record 12,600 crossed in one day alone need a surge. >> immigration judges to the border. this is america. people need to get their cases heard in days, not years. and if they do not qualify for asylum, they need to be deported. >> there's now growing concern about the economic impact of the surge of migrants. officials recently closed some rail crossings at the border, stopping freight trains that carry everything from produce to auto parts. one rail company says the shutdown cost them $200 million a day. >> a new effort could make california the second state to remove donald trump from the 2024 primary ballot. lieutenant governor eleni kounalakis says she sent a letter to california's secretary of state urging her to explore legal options. the colorado supreme court disqualified trump from appearing on their state's ballot under the constitution's so-called insurrection clause that case could end up at the us supreme court if the colorado supreme court decision is upheld, then i think california will move forward.

>> there is another lawsuit pending in addition to the letter that you talked about and other states will move forward as well and say that the former president is not eligible. >> trump is appealing colorado's ruling. fellow republican candidates, including nikki haley and chris christie, have come to his defense, saying that these issues should not be decided in court. a federal judge has temporarily blocked a state law that is supposed to prevent people from carrying guns in most public places in california, the judge ruled. the law deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and violates the second amendment. the state law was set to take effect january 1st. governor newsom released a statement last night saying his administration plans to, quote, keep fighting to defend our laws. still to come, buyers revolting against general mills saying cereal prices are just too high. and let's look live right now at the big board, the new york stock exchange, you can see we are up 315 points. >> another update on the markets next, a bay area man detained

and held in venezuela for months is now back in the u.s. this morning. >> and a reminder to stay with us on the abc seven bay area streaming app at seven for abc seven at seven. we're live every weekday from 7 to 8 a.m, and this morning we are taking you well. kumasi is taking you, and i'm tagging along to automate the new rooftop hotspot that is now open in downtown san francisco. drew, you know all about that. >> it has great views. if you have never been, you want to check it out. we'll see you at seven with that story outside this morning, our rooftop camera at kgo. it is dry. we are seeing a dry pattern set up over the next several days. you can leave the umbrella at home. winter does arrive tonight. it is the winter solstice. today and that means it is the shortest day of the year. that's when the sun's rays are directly over the tropic of capricorn, and winter officially begins at 727. this evening. take a look at the forecast region by region along the coast today to mix the sun

and clouds with dry temperatures. quite pleasant in the low 60s around the bay shoreline, we will find dry conditions, partly cloudy skies, low to mid 60s for daytime highs and as we head inland it is looking quiet, nice, dry and pleasant. this afternoon we'll have temperatures in the low 60s. the three day forecast shows you a dry pattern begins today and it will last several days. some chilly mornings as we head into the weekend. but we do expect a lot of sunshine on saturday. now for some more high temperatures. where you live. sponsored by the exploratorium, discover the art of light this winter at the exploratorium. >> lumina artworks invite you to connect and play in their globe. >> don't miss this wondrous seasonal expansion of our exhibits on light you can make the stars align.

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with us this morning. berkeley native savoy wright is talking about his release in exchange, the u.s. is extraditing a notorious fugitive. some republicans are blasting the deal. here's abc news reporter justin finch this morning, a first look at six wrongfully detained americans in route to a texas army base after being freed in a prisoner exchange deal with venezuela. >> the white house national security adviser posting this image online and welcoming the men home. california businessman savoy wright, have been held in venezuela since october. >> so much gratitude for the moment for the united states of america, for all of you and for the opportunity to come home. >> los angeles attorney ivan hernandez heading home after being detained in venezuela

since march of 2022, accused of being a spy. >> i want to thank president biden because i know he made a difficult decision that will have a lot of pressure on him on capitol hill, but he got us home and we're with our families. >> senate republican marco rubio slamming the exchange as a disgraceful decision. the biden administration brokering the deal with venezuela, the white house agreeing to grant clemency to alex saab, who faced money laundering charges. president nicolas maduro, embracing his close ally at the presidential palace in exchange for saab venezuela sent back ten americans plus fugitive malaysian defense contractor leonard glenn francis francis, also known as fat leonard, escaped us custody last year. francis pleaded guilty to the $35 billion scheme, which used prostitutes, luxury travel and cash to bribe us naval officers into steering lucrative

contracts to his companies. as part of that deal, president biden says president maduro also gave assurances he would allow fair elections. biden also saying lifted sanctions could snap back if venezuela doesn't uphold its end of the deal. justin finch abc news, washington. a new study suggests driverless cars are safer than cars with humans behind the wheel. >> mountain view based waymo says it's fully driverless. taxis have a 90% lower crash rate than human drivers in san francisco. the study covered a little more than 7 million miles in three cities, including more than a million and a half miles in san francisco. >> we compare those to with each other. we see that we're involved in far fewer crashes as we're involved, involved in far fewer injuries and police reports, you know, 7 million miles sounds like a lot, but it's really a small sample size. >> so when you start to think about how that translates over hundreds of millions of miles of

driving uh- again, i think this is early innings, but but encouraging. >> waymo submitted the study to scientific journals to be peer reviewed. that process is likely to take several months. for more on what it's like inside a driverless car. abc7 news reporter lyanne melendez put crews and waymo to the test, a reminder that cruise is not on the roads right now. you can check out the adventures that she had on our website, abc7 news .com. south iceland is still in a state of emergency. >> this morning, as a nearby volcanic eruption is continuing. it got a lot of residents wondering if they'll ever see their homes again. the town magma that is coming up is around 1200 degrees hot. >> when it comes to the surface and it takes a long time for the surface to cool down >> so the town of grindavik, it's still under a mandatory evacuation in some of the lava spewing has subsided. >> but experts say there's this underground magma tunnel that's still active and dangerous. and that's what that geologist was

just talking about. this volcano sits about two miles outside of grindavik and has a population of about 4000 people. maui residents say there is new hope for lahaina now that they are seeing signs of life return. >> it comes after those wildfires, death stated that part of the island, the cultural center at the epicenter of lahaina, lost several irreplaceable artifacts, including books signed by hawaiian kings and queens. despite the loss, residents are pointing to signs of life and hope. >> looking at this at the same time, looking at that, this gives me hope that that can thrive and live again. >> residents say they are committed to restoring lahaina. >> anyone who owes back taxes will soon be hearing from the irs. the agency is about to start sending reminder notices to individuals and groups. it's a practice that stopped last february because of a major backlog coming out of the pandemic. in addition, the irs will be informing some 5 million

taxpayers that they are eligible for penalty. relief group includes individuals, businesses and tax exempt organizations earning less than $400,000. >> now for your morning money report and a backlash over the skyrocketing price of cereal, general mills just released their latest earnings report and profits are down 2% compared to a year ago. the ceo admits it's because prices are too high and people simply stop buying cereal. since 2020, the company has raised prices about 20, which is higher than the rate of inflation. it's not clear what general mills plans to do to get people back. take a live look at the new york stock exchange as trading gets underway this morning. we are significantly up almost 300 points. it is the season of giving for the warriors, fresh off of a big game against the celtics. >> you can see some of the warriors players. they're going on a shopping spree at target with some underserved kids in their families. they were picking out the items they

really wanted for the holidays. this is one of several holiday events that the warriors are taking part in this year, and you can spend christmas day with the warriors right here on abc seven. they're taking on the denver nuggets in denver. the game and the coverage starts at 11:00. after that, the celtics are playing the lakers at two. and then at five. it's all about football. the 49 ers taking on the ravens at levi's. abc seven's after the game wraps it all up. >> families usually start decorating for the holidays around thanksgiving. but one family in michigan what do they do it year round. lisa hicks had her christmas trees up in the summer putting together this display requires help from friends, friends, family, a local designer. lisa says the key to the magic is planning and strategy. >> you can look at these trees and you say, oh my, they look like they cost a lot of money. they don't cost a lot of money because our plan throughout the year for this, i'll wait till the end of the year, catch the bulbs for 80% off, and i'll

start collecting you better 80. >> lisa says every year she works with her church to make sure mothers who don't have much have a special christmas, too. she says the giving spirit is her favorite part of the holiday season. >> oh, look at that. that's amazing. >> that is good, i love it. >> spirit for half the year. >> mhm. that's good. >> you love putting up trees in the summer. >> no but i like getting deals right after christmas. that's the thing. yeah get the deals. >> but why does that mean you have to put up the trees in the summer once it brings her joy. >> yeah. >> don't yuck her yum. >> if you walked into a living room. yes. >> it would be strange trees. >> and it's july. yeah >> fa la la la la. >> so hop right into that spirit. the spirit of christmas entered her body. >> yes, i would, she's like, i guess it's christmas in july and sit down in the heater lies fairy tales of palaces. >> i do believe you would turn on the yule log in july. i do believe that. turn it on. one

time she's like, oh, my heat was on last night. i'm like, come on, she is august. she it was chilly. it was cold. >> i remember it was cold. >> love you. i was like, look at the action for the headlines. what you'll find is that we are drying out. it is a brighter day. fa la la la la. hahahahahahahahahahaha. oh man all right. uh, the dry pattern sets up shop here today, and it lasts through the weekend. tonight? winter officially begins at 727. so today is the winter solstice, marking the shortest day of the year. and this weekend, some chilly mornings, but lots of sunshine. partly cloudy skies. today leave the rain gear at home. don't need the umbrella? take the winter jacket this morning though later today it is mild. we're going into the 60s tonight. we'll have some coastal cloud cover, clear skies as you head inland and some chilly temperatures. some of our coldest spots dipping into the 30s as we head into friday. future tracker temperatures a dry pattern continues friday into the weekend. temperatures pretty close to average. we're not finding any inconveniences if you're traveling when it comes to the weather over the

weekend, and christmas day is looking very nice. in fact, here's your christmas day planner. we will find a chilly morning, a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day on monday, and those temperatures getting into the mid and upper 50s. by 4 p.m, the ravens are taking on the niners christmas day. if you're headed to levi's stadium, we'll have temperatures dipping to the 50s. of course, you can watch that game right here on abc seven. here is the accuweather seven day forecast for the next seven days. you'll find that we have winter's arrival this evening will find us with temperatures in the 60s this afternoon. fog to sun on friday, some chilly mornings over the weekend. christmas looking nice. partly cloudy skies. our next best chance of rain coming on wednesday. sue. >> all right, we've got a couple of issues. let's first go to a beautiful look at the bay bridge. solid packed in but traffic is moving across the span into san francisco. we had an accident towards harrison street. the reason for a little bit heavy traffic this morning that's been pushed off at the harrison street exit, but looks very festive and clear. and a gorgeous morning. let's pop over

to the golden gate bridge. everything's moving at the limit here. in fact, no issues throughout all of marin county. it's a nice drive starting from novato all the way through, and your mass transit holiday schedules. bart will be running on a sunday service for christmas eve and christmas day, caltrain weekend service and ace train has limited service tomorrow, and then it's also offering limited service on new year's. pardon me, christmas eve and christmas day, guys. thank you sue. >> 500 local families will get all the food they need for a nice christmas dinner today. bay area rescue mission is doing a turkey dinner in richmond. the box of hope will include turkey dressing and other staples. you're looking at video from thanksgiving, when the nonprofit did a similar event. here's kumasi favorite thing the abc7 yule log. we're streaming at 24 seven. go to abc7 news.com or put it on your big screen with the abc7 bay area streaming tv app. you can open your presents in front of it and put a little heater in front of the tv.

>> so it's like, get the warmth mm.hmm. >> it's just like, you know what? >> i was just thinking? also you could probably get like a candle uh.huh that kind of smells like like a fire and you could burn that. >> that's a good idea. friends, don't forget to put it out before you walk away. >> please. >> merry christmas, a 70 style centerpiece, apparently, is making a comeback for the holiday season. can we see it this this is really not okay >> i mean, what's wrong with the shrimp tree, friend? >> it's a christmas tree. >> i don't know, but i don't like it. it gives me the heebie jeebies. like it's just there's something about it. it looks like giant fingers. >> yeah. >> they have, uh. i mean, look at this. >> i think if this pile in the front was not here, you might be more on board, because then you could just focus on the tree. >> uh huh. >> but listen. >> yeah, it's made of cooked

shrimp, edible greenery. >> i hope it's cooked in 1974, bon appetit featured the shrimp tree. >> yeah, as a part in olives as a part of the christmas bread. and now people have, like, revived it and they're posting it and they're enjoying it. hmm not for you. that's okay. but do you like shrimp like that? >> period. i don't, it's the olives to me, it's too much. yeah, okay. well up next, the seven things you need to know today. sorry to the shrimp. >> you can watch all of our newscast live and on demand through the abc seven bay area connected-tv app. it's for apple tv, google tv, amazon fire tv and roku. you can download the app now and start streaming. >> and as we head to break, let's see what we see. >> oh, is our friend out here? oh, that's a new friend. >> that's a new friend. >> is she coming home or

the rush is kicking into high gear today. triple-a is saying 115 million people are traveling this year, but if you are going to southern california, look at the map. there is a strong storm bringing the risk of flooding from santa barbara to san diego. >> and number two, winter officially arrives here today and we are drying out. look at those temperatures going to the 60s under partly cloudy skies. >> number three, we've got bay bridge metering lights on late, then. better late than never, i suppose. we had an earlier accident on the westbound side towards harrison that's been pushed off, but it's heavy across the span. >> number four oakland police are searching for the person who shot and killed a pizza delivery driver yesterday afternoon. the victim was sitting in his car outside his home during a break. >> number five, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a new law that would ban people from carrying guns in most public areas in california. the judge says the law violates the second amendment. number 610 americans freed in a prisoner swap with venezuela are back on u.s. soil this morning. >> the exchange includes a

fugitive wanted in the u.s. and the return of a close ally of venezuela's president. >> number seven, a homeowner in illinois transformed his home into a life size gingerbread house using light projection. has icing, lollipops, candy canes. homeowner says he was inspired by similar technology that he saw at disneyland. >> yeah, it's projection mapping and i'm telling you, this is how to do it because you don't have to do anything. >> yeah, you just put the light up there, right? >> and it's done. is it cheap? there's no lights to hang. >> i don't know how much is a projection map or cost. >> how much is your time worth? >> that's true. >> the