get basic stuff. >> yep. retail theft in oakland now at five. how police are adjust ing tactics to reprioritize safety during the holiday shopping season. and why not? everyone thinks it's enough . plus. boats in oakland estuary. >> the reason for the destructive cleanup and why some

say it's creating an even bigger problem. but first, my two cars in the driveway there, there totally flooded the water, got up to this height and my garage and everything started to float. >> everything, everything is destroyed. >> the holiday weekend, getting off to a flooded start for many down in southern california, the mudslides, evacuations has flooded streets, jamming up the busyness of holiday travel and more rain is expected today. >> good morning. it is friday, december 22nd. >> it's going to start the check of our forecast. yeah. >> good morning. sue was telling me in the north bay we have some dense fog out there. you look at the visibility map, you can see areas like novato, petaluma, santa rosa, napa. we're down to anywhere from a quarter to three quarters of a mile. visibility so this is thick fog out there this morning outside of the north bay. we're doing just fine. you can see the number ten from oakland hayward down through san jose and along the peninsula. that is where you have clear skies. this morning. the wider picture live doppler

seven along satellite. southern california is still getting slammed by this area of low pressure. more heavy rain is forecast today for us in northern california. this dry, cold front moves through here today will bring about some breezy conditions and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. to start out. our morning 44 in sonoma with that fog with 53 in hayward at 54. in the city, 52 in san jose. the day planner. we have that dense fog through 9 a.m. in the north bay, but after that it is a sunny day. it is gorgeous. today by 4 p.m. it is bright and breezy, with temperatures on the mild side in the upper 50s to the mid 60s. let's check in with soon. see the traffic soon! on this friday. >> all right drew, take a look at san rafael. this is what the dense fog looks like there. i just drove through it a little while ago, and it's right down on the roadway. heavy mist and limited visibility. so please, as we are probably going to mention most of the morning, extra caution and use slower speeds once you get to southern marin, it is beautiful. there is absolutely no fog on the golden gate bridge and smooth sailing all the way into san francisco and we'll take a look at your

mass transit holiday schedule. there's a quick look. we'll be back with more after this. >> thanks, sue. and now a live look at san francisco international airport as holiday travel is in full swing, the tsa has screened more than 2 million people at our nation's airports every day this week. this morning, flightaware is reporting 20 delays and three cancellations out of sfo and a live look at oakland international airport. not nearly as busy as sfo, but it has seen its share of delays and cancellations to weather in other parts of the country are behind. some of those delays. and if you're flying out of oakland today, this is the day that you can get free gift wrapping. it will be past the security checkpoint that's between terminals one and two. the service starts at nine this morning. it goes through noon. they take a lunch break and then they're back at it at 1:00. remember if you're traveling with gifts, they should be unwrapped when you arrive so security agents can expect can inspect them whether you are flying or hitting the road. >> it is a mad dash to make it home for christmas. aa is predicting nearly 104 million

people are going to be driving to their holiday destinations. abc seven news reporter leana howland live in the east bay with everything you need to know. hi, lina. >> hey, kumasi. good morning to you. and while the airports are expected to be packed today, really the majority of folks nationwide are going to be driving to their holiday destinations, which means very likely clogging up a highway near you. triple a says the number of people driving this year is up by 1.8% compared to last year. those numbers are the second highest on record since prepandemic back in 2019. in the most congested time to hit the roads ahead of christmas is tomorrow anytime between 11 and 7. the best time to leave is going to be anytime before ten in the morning tomorrow after christmas, triple a says the best time to hit the roads is before noon next thursday the 28th, and the worst time is expected to be between 2 to 8:00 that afternoon. in >> you're trying to leave for a trip and you're leaving at noon.

chances are you're going to encounter some bad traffic, so we always say leave early or leave late. also, if you travel on the holiday itself, usually there's less traffic. >> as the holiday travel rush is on, the good news for drivers is that they can expect to pay about the same or less for a gallon of gas than they did last holiday season. today's state average is $4.58, according to triple a, although gasbuddy says the cheapest gas you can find out in this area is actually 399 at the costco in livermore. live in livermore, lena howland abc seven news. lena >> thank you. a storm that brought heavy rain and flooding to santa barbara and ventura counties yesterday. it's pushing south this morning through l.a. and towards san diego. so. rain started wednesday night. it just kept on coming roads were flooded, but despite the dangers of driving through flood waters, some decided to do it anyway.

>> it didn't look that bad. 30 minutes ago. halfway through, car just turns off, so always a good time. >> always a good time. okay, okay. at one point the rain was coming down in some spots at a rate of three inches per hour. one area outside santa barbara saw more than eight inches of rain in l.a. some areas got as much as six inches. the national weather service is calling it a once in 500 year event, but it is a tale of two. >> oakland's today residents and business owners are planning to rally to demand the city do more to stop crime. as mayor sheng tao is touting new numbers showing a crackdown is working. the mayor held a news conference last night with the city's police department to reveal the new numbers. they show commercial burglaries have dropped from 256 this time last year to 120 now for the investments are starting to bear fruit. >> as we have seen, the decrease in the property crimes in the areas that we have actually stood up.

>> the statistics are little comfort, though, for people in oakland who say the city is not doing enough to solve the problem, they are pointing to three high profile burglaries. just this week, colonial donuts, lululemon, benner automotive, which was hit for a third time. >> we want to emphasize that there has to be consequence when people are committing crimes and especially in all these many repeated offenders, city officials say. >> despite statistics, public perception is a key component in making people feel safe. >> if you pass by the oakland estuary today, you may notice a change. a dozen neglected boats have been removed and destroyed. abc seven news reporter tara campbell tells us some people who live on them believe that authorities are creating an even bigger problem. >> reporter a crushing scene thursday at the oakland estuary. >> today we woke up to police trying to take everybody's boats. >> we are pulling out 12 boats that we have marked abandoned, and we have given proper notice and tagging to each boat.

>> pulling out these abandoned boats is part of a multi-year agency effort to clean up the estuary. the last time it happened was ten years ago. this is an effort to make the estuary a safe, fun place to come down. earlier this year, oakland passed an ordinance giving police and marine patrol the go ahead to also remove illegally anchored boats with people living on them. >> so what we're doing with the liveaboard boats is we're educating them on the recent policy that's passed. >> officials say they're working on a plan to relocate the occupied boats. >> they're not being forced to move today. we haven't scheduled a date for that yet. like they say, we're pirates. >> pirates are thieves. we're not thieves. over here. >> amanda nguyen says a lot of people who live here are misunderstood. good. and she has no plans on making a move. >> they're complaining about people not having places to stay, but when they do have a place to stay, they want to destroy it. it's ridiculous. this is what i can say. how long

have you lived here? more than a year. me and my husband and a couple friends of ours lived here more than a year. >> i think that the homeless problem in the bay area is severe, and there needs to be greater opportunity for people to have housing, but living on end of life boats on the water is not a an appropriate solution. brockton lap is a former harbormaster and says the abandoned boats also pose an environmental threat. they release a fuel oil into the estuary. we have fuel spills and it's again, it's just far, far more expensive to deal with these boats. after they sink. >> and so the cleanup continues, along with calls to make sure the waterway is properly patrolled. >> the marine patrol unit needs to be properly staffed. if you stop it at one, then you'll never have this problem again. >> tara campbell, abc seven news. >> 509 on this friday morning, we start out with a dense fog advisory that includes all of solano county and the valleys of

the north bay, where we have visibility in parts of napa, santa rosa, down to a quarter of a mile. and this fog will linger probably until 11 a.m. outside of these areas, we are beginning the day with clear skies. here's live doppler seven. there is a cold front. you can see it on satellite. this area of cloud cover will swing through here this morning. it's not going to bring any rain with it. what it will do, it will kick up our winds a little bit today, but it will bring us sunny skies in the afternoon. in the wake of that front. southern california again, we're highlighting this region because a lot of folks may be traveling to the la metro area. even san diego, santa barbara, those areas are inundated by heavy rain still today. it's not until tomorrow, though, that southern california will dry out. so if you're traveling across the state today, northern california, you have no problems traveling to tahoe today. you're good to go, sunshine. temperatures in the 30s and 40s, but then southern california, la palm springs, san diego. we have that wet weather to deal with. if you're taking to the skies today, chicago, one of the areas we're watching for rain heavy at times, 46 degrees.

everywhere else we're looking just fine. and then you look at the east coast. no no issues along the east coast. if you're flying there, you should have easy travel from the bay area. here's how the region breaks down today. expect sunny skies out there, mild temperatures and the upper 50s to the mid 60s. guys >> drew. thank you. investing in san francisco. coming up we're hearing more from the real estate developer betting big on the city's recovery. >> artificial replacement, how industries and workers are keeping an eye on ai, and its ability to take over at the workplace. >> wine enthusiasts are toasting to 2023. winemakers say this year wl be known as a legendary there is nothing like it dancing is my passion. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema, it hasn't always been easy.

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the same poll found. 43% said i will have a positive impact on their lives. abc7 news reporter zach fuentes has a reaction from tech experts and how california lawmakers will address the concerns. >> how concerned are you, if at all, about losing your job due to being replaced by artificial intelligence in the next five

years? that's one of the questions asked in this politico morning consult poll. more than half of california voters asked fell into very concerned or somewhat concerned categories. >> it's a legitimate fear, there is no question about it, because the whole thing about ai is efficiency, meaning doing things faster, more accurate and cheaper. >> a study done earlier this year by the pew research center found that in 2022, 19% of american workers were in jobs that are the most exposed to ai. some high exposure jobs included budget analysts, tax preparers and web developers. medium exposure jobs included chief executives, veterinarians and interior designers, low exposure jobs included barbers, child care workers, and firefighters. regardless of the exposure, officials at different levels say they've been working to protect jobs, microsoft saying earlier this month that it will include labor unions in discussions on ai's impact to workers. the california legislature is set to vote on proposals in its next session. >> how ai is used in the hiring process shefs how ai is used used in terms of displacing

workers. those are all relevant issues that we're going to really tackle over the next few years. >> one of the ways is through newly proposed legislation following the sag-aftra strikes, it would place requirements on studios as it relates to using ai to replicate a performer's likeness. state assemblyman asakura introduced it. >> some of the impacts of ai aren't so obvious, so if we can't even get movement in an industry that that the public is generally aware of, it's going to be really hard to get movement in an office environment or a warehouse environment, or at a fast food restaurant or grocery store environment. >> as officials continue to work those things out, some tech experts encourage employees to consider embracing ai to make them better at their jobs. >> don't just shy away from it by saying, well, it's either you or i and we cannot. we cannot coexist. uh- the future is actually for both for the ai and for the human to work together in silicon valley. >> zach fuentes, abc seven news one developer is hoping $1 billion investment will encourage workers to return to

downtown san francisco and inject life back into the area. >> he bought the iconic transamerica pyramid and tells abc seven news insider phil matier he believes in the city and its ability to bounce back. >> there is no doom loop. there is no doom loop. writing off san francisco is not something i would do anytime soon because, like i said, it's an attractive city. the people are great, the food is great, it's a beautiful city and it's been through a lot. i mean, it's been through fires, through earthquakes. it's always survived when it's finished. >> this could bring in 7000 jobs and millions of dollars in revenue every year. but the road to that goal will not be easy. >> the biggest challenge to get this done? it's the city saying yes at every move. they used to say no around here. now they're just saying mayor london breed says you can't do it fast enough. the biggest challenge is going to be getting the people in there. i mean, he's going to get done. you have the money for that uh- $1 billion investment. can he get the people in? >> you can find this entire story on our website, abc seven

news.com or on the abc seven news, bay area app. >> napa valley winemakers are excited for this year's vintage. they say it's possibly one of the best ever for reds and whites, following the longest growing season in a decade. they say this year's harvested grapes have big energy and complexity. wow. big energy. i know, i'm not even sure what that means. some grapes were harvested late because of the cool spring and drought busting rains. those factors slow the ripening process, but also created lots of hang time on the vine. i was telling someone the other day that i'm not sure we'll see another vintage like this in our lifetime. >> i'm. i feel very. as a winemaker, i feel very lucky to have experienced this vintage. >> okay, the 2023 harvest year should be ready to taste in 2 to 3 years. >> cool. >> all right. hang time. not just for surfers. got that big energy. you know, big wine energy. >> we'll see. 2 to 3 years though. all right. patience

2025. >> let's remember that outside this morning. we're having issues in the north bay. visibility. we have a dense fog advisory in effect until 11 a.m. you can clearly see why with those low numbers in napa, santa rosa, novato, even fairfield outside of the north bay, we don't have fog to deal with. so for a lot of us, it is a quiet morning out there. we're expecting a lot of sunshine. even in the north bay. that fog is going to burn off between nine and 11 a.m. this morning, and it's a bright afternoon for everybody. it's a bit breezy, especially along the coast as a cold front moves through here, kicks up our winds a little bit upper 50s for half moon bay, but most of us low to mid 60s for daytime highs overnight tonight it's a quiet night. we'll have mainly clear skies and some chilly numbers. if you're going to be out later on this evening, you definitely want to have a couple of layers because overnight we're dipping into the 30s and into the 40s. future tracker temperatures tomorrow. if you have to travel here locally, no issues. temperatures pretty close to average for this time of the year. it's a similar setup through sunday as well. we have this dry pattern underway and it will continue into

christmas day to christmas day is looking very lovely around here. let's break it down for you on monday. as we celebrate christmas, we'll find temperatures chilly in the morning. we'll be in the 30s and 40s, but it's a mix of sun and clouds. nice but cool afternoon temperatures in the upper 50s to the lower 60s. the ravens are in town on christmas day as well. levi stadium taking on the niners for going to the game. it's a nice forecast. we'll have partly cloudy skies and temperatures falling through the 50s. you can watch that game right here on abc seven. here's the accuweather seven day forecast. morning fog to sun today. some bright days over the weekend. clouds move in late on sunday, but it is a dry day on christmas for monday and then next week our next chance of rain coming on wednesday. it is a level one sue. >> all right, i'm watching the fog roll in to the bay bridge toll plaza. we'll take a look live in just a second. overall, we've got that dense fog advisory in the north bay, primarily, and it's kind of rolling and moving around, ebbing and tightening and doing its thing. and so just if you come up on it quickly, make sure you slow down. and those brights

are not a good idea. those bright lights on the headlights. it's southbound 880 near marina. two left lanes are blocked with a spin out. and i am starting to see some slow traffic through hayward. and we do have a sig alert. this was a fatal accident overnight on the pacheco pass. for those of you traveling today east of gilroy, it's one way traffic control. for the time being, we'll check back on that in just a few as well. >> thank you. sue. coming up, the seven things to know this morning, plus a special ceremony in hawaii. >> big degree, big graduate, big graduate. why some san jose state students, athletes took their graduation walk in the islands. >> now a live look outside right now at 520, we'll be

sore throat got your tongue? mucinex instasoothe sore throat medicated drops. uniquely formulated for rapid relief that lasts and lasts. that's my babyyy! -ow! get mucinex instasoothe. it's comeback season. speaker 1: dwight was a 13-year-old kid with cancer when he came to st. jude. dwight: this kid is now 73-years-old. speaker 1: that's what we do at saint jude. speaker 2: give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and join us to make a difference that could last a lifetime. as tomorrow is expected to be one of the worst days to drive over the holiday's peak congestion between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. and triple a is predicting nearly 104 million people will be driving to their destinations. >> number two, parts of southern california and arizona are under the threat of flooding again today. yesterday, downpours swamped coastal areas northwest

of l.a. and ventura and santa barbara counties. and number three, we are dealing with dense fog here locally this morning, a dense fog advisory in effect for the north bay until 11 a.m. >> you can see why we have some low visibility there. elsewhere, we're doing just fine. we will get a lot of sunshine this afternoon. get ready for a bright and mild day back into the 60s. we have number three. >> we are following your friday morning commute with as drew mentioned, the fog. it is affecting your commute as well. it's moving towards the bay bridge toll plaza. as you can see right here. traffic is flowing nicely. in fact, it's pretty light all the way around. but just a heads up, you could hit that fog bank in a hurry. >> number five today, president biden will sign an executive order allowing the u.s. to increase sanctions. enforcement on russia. the order will go after financial institutions that are still doing business with the country. >> number six, oakland business owners plan to rally today to call for a crackdown on crime. they claim the city hasn't done enough to solve the problem, despite new numbers from the mayor's office showing commercial burglaries are

actually down this year. >> number seven, if you are looking for something cozy and i would argue warm this holiday, don't forget about the abc seven yule log. you can stream it now with the abc seven bay area streaming app, or you can go to abc seven news. .com. >> traffic could be a major issue if you're heading to the christmas showdown between the 40 niners and the ravens at levi's stadium monday night, the niners and the city of santa clara reportedly can't agree on who will cover overtime costs for police, fire and city employees who need to work the game, according to sfgate. the city is considering paying double overtime because they can't find enough police to work on the holiday. we've reached out to both sides for comment and we're waiting to hear back. and don't forget that christmas day game is right here on abc seven. no need to even leave the house. all the action starts with the warriors in denver at 11, followed by the celtics at the lakers at two and then the niners kick off against the ravens at five.

>> and at first with san jose state university. 13 football players were honored in a special certified commencement ceremony in hawaii. the team is playing in the hawaii bowl tomorrow. abc seven news south bay reporter justin dorsey shows you all the excitement. >> this is a really cool thing. this has never been done before. >> in a year full of history for the san jose state football program, one more unique moment to end the season in the island paradise of hawaii. >> let's get this ceremony going to start. >> sdsu celebrated graduation ceremony stateside this week, but the team missed them already in hawaii for their bowl game on december 23rd in a special ceremony more than 2000 miles away from the sdsu campus. 13 players were honored and recognized for earning their bachelor's or master's degrees, including quarterback and hawaii native kevin cordero, linebacker matt tago and charlie rogers. >> it was it was getting rowdy. that was pretty fun. everyone's cheering, hooting and hollering. the whole team was there. i was lucky enough to have my family

come out, so that was that was a pretty cool experience last night. since taking over as san jose state football coach brant brennan has highlighted the importance of academics and of course, graduation. >> holding the school's first football graduation at a bowl game in hawaii was a priority for coach to recognize the pride he and his staff have for their accomplishment. but that was one of the coolest things i've ever been a part of. >> to be able to do it with their friends and their family and their teammates here while they're preparing for the bowl game, was incredibly special. it was a really, really neat night. >> on this day, there were no classmates or professors, but there was family. the football family of coaches, staff and players were there to celebrate a moment. none of these players will forget the ceremony itself is awesome, but getting to have that special with just the football team there, the guys who spend pretty much your whole your entire experience in college with and then having the family there as well, there's nothing better than that. >> i know my family wasn't here, but having all my boys here, that, uh, that we did this thing the whole season together and it was just nice to have them cheering in the background and just being there, supporting the whole time. it's a feeling that

i'll never forget. and i'll cherish that moment forever. >> i now confer upon each one of you, your masters or bachelor degree, with all the attendant rights, responsibilities and distinction as congratulations to the spartan football class of 2023, dustin dorsey, abc seven news. >> the czech republic now grieving what's being called the worst mass shooting in its history. >> i'm abc's justin finch in washington with more on the gunman and the investigation nation ahead. an eruption from a new perspective. >> we're getting a bird's eye view of the volcanic activity in iceland. >> a live look outside at sfo.

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thanks jb. for all that is me, for all that is you, kaiser permanente. this is abc seven news. >> a rare rebuke from california senator alex padilla, now at 530, why, he says the biden administration is failing when

it comes to immigration policy. >> tensions in the middle east impacting the world economy, how attacks on ships are now causing a big concern for ikea. >> new details emerging about a mass shooting in the czech republic. a day of mourning as we learn what may have motivated the gunman. >> and millions of americans will be worried about making it home for the holiday weekend. but health experts say you need to be worried about what would you bring back? don't worry. be happy. it's the holidays. >> just be prepared. >> yes. good morning. it's friday, december 22nd. >> you already should have gotten the shot. hi, drew. >> hi. good morning. we're preparing for some fog out there right now in the north bay. a dense fog advisory until 11 a.m. you can see some areas like novato, down to zero miles. visibility that's thick fog outside of the north bay. we do have clear skies. the statewide forecast live doppler seven along with satellite southern california still getting inundated with heavy rain. one

more day with this storm. then tomorrow they will dry out just be aware of that. if you are traveling to southern california today or tomorrow, temperatures back here locally 40s and 50s. you don't need the rain gear today. we are dry. take the winter jacket with you, especially in the north bay. we're in the low 40s in some of our chillier spots this morning, like napa at 43 degrees, that dense fog will stick around in the north bay until about 11 a.m, but for the rest of us, it is a bright day into the afternoon. it's looking lovely, a bit breezy along the coast, but temperatures in the upper 50s to the mid 60s. that's the forecast. let's see how we're doing. the roads with sue. good morning. >> that's right. we are headed to san mateo bridge. i'm expecting a pretty light commute this morning. a lot of folks will be traveling and heading out, but not so much going to work. so you've got about a seven minute drive from the causeway up and over the high rise toward foster city on the san mateo bridge, and 280 is looking great from san jose up towards cupertino. that's the northbound direction where you see the headlights. it's elsewhere, as drew has been mentioning, the fog is affecting

your drive in the north bay. patches of it very heavy down on the roads. we do have this accident out in hayward south 280 near marina. it's still out there blocking two lanes of traffic in a brief slowdown approaching guys. >> thank you. sue, an investigation is underway after a stabbing along the peninsula. this morning. we've learned one of the victims is out of surgery . the attack started and the vallemar neighborhood of pacifica yesterday morning. sources confirmed the suspect in this case, jason gillenwater, took his own life in ukiah after he fled from authorities after the attack. gillenwater was a firefighter. law enforcement tracked him for hours to mendocino county after he stabbed his ex-wife and her boyfriend. the woman survived the attack. the boyfriend did not. we've since learned gillenwater was suspended last week and arrested for domestic violence. >> a day of mourning in prague after a mass shooting killed 14 people and hurt 25 more, investigators found the gunman's body on a sidewalk. they believe

that he took his own life. new video shows that gunman walking across the roof of charles university, targeting people below during the shooting. here's abc news reporter justin finch. heavy hearts at a candlelight vigil at charles university in prague. >> students honoring victims of a mass shooting on their campus now called the worst in czech republic history. >> i think everyone was just in a state of shock. again, these things don't happen here. >> the harrowing scene playing out near a prague christmas market packed with tourists. video capturing frantic moments at a university faculty building , some students climbing through windows to crouch atop high ledges to escape the gunman. >> it was a couple of uh- uh- banks. i didn't even realize it's a it's a shooting. then, uh, suddenly there were students and teachers running out of uh- uh- out of the building. >> terrified students with their

hands up. later met by armed officers who rushed them to safety. >> i was really shocked. and yeah, i, i tried to check that everybody who i knew know is from the faculty is okay. >> czech republic authorities identify the shooting suspect as a 24 year old male charles university student who legally owns several guns. they say he was heavily armed as he opened fire inside that faculty building before he was found dead minutes later on a sidewalk. investigators say they have evidence the gunman was inspired by a similar shooting in russia. police say the gunman also killed his father before the university massacre and may have been plotting a far bigger rampage given his cache of weapons and ammunition. authorities suspect the gunman is also behind the killing of a man and his two month old daughter in prague, just last week. the czech republic, now declaring tomorrow a national

day of mourning. justin finch, abc news, washington. >> new this morning president biden will sign an executive order today, putting more pressure on russia. the order will allow the us government to target financial institutions that have not cut ties with the country. the goal is to cut off money that's indirectly being used to allow russia to continue building its war arsenal. >> president biden is urging mexico's president to address the migrant surge into the u.s. the leaders spoke on the phone yesterday morning and agreed additional enforcement is needed at the border. the u.s. has shut down multiple border crossings over recent weeks, despite these efforts, more than 10,000 migrants have crossed the border daily. senior officials will be traveling to mexico in the coming days to discuss further actions. california senator alex padilla is no longer staying quiet. he is criticizing the biden administration's handling of border security. padilla says concessions made as a part of a larger funding bill to help ukraine, israel and other

nations security needs are a return to trump era policies. >> as far as i can tell, the negotiations on the border policy has not even considered providing protections or a pathway, not even to citizenship , just to a legal resident status. for these folks that we applauded so much during the covid 19 pandemic. >> but diaz says he's especially disappointed in the lack of movement to protect dreamers. last month, he led a coalition of ten other congressional colleagues to call attention to that issue. >> now to the middle east and the latest updates out of gaza. health officials and the hamas run territory say more than 20,000 palestinians have been killedd twice that wounded in the 11 weeks of the fighting, nearly 85% of gaza's people have been displaced in that time, israeli officials say their forces have killed about 7000 hamas militants, but it has not presented any evidence to back

up that claim. israel is facing pressure from the international community to scale back its military offensive to protect civilian lives, a request the country shows no sign of acknowledging a vote in the un is expected today on a revised resolution that calls for creating the conditions for a cease fire. it's a scaled back resolution that now has the united states support. ikea is the latest big name to announce product delays and disruption because of attacks in the red sea. the ongoing attacks are from yemen's iran backed houthi militants in protest of israel's military action in gaza. ikea says it's looking for other ways to get its products to store shelves. starbucks wants people to stop targeting stores for protests over the war in gaza. ceo laxman narasimhan says false information has led to vandalism at a number of stores. starbucks has recently tried to distance itself from pro-palestine positions taken by some of its employees, and by starbucks workers united the union for starbucks workers.

>> happening now the mad dash for the holidays is officially underway. triple a is saying nearly 104 million drivers will be hitting the road over the christmas and new year holidays. abc seven news reporter lena howland live in the east bay with a look at how it's going there. hi, lena. hey kumasi. >> good morning to you. things are looking so far, so good here . overlooking the interstate 580 here in livermore. but that's going to change fairly quickly in just a few hours. as more people start packing up and heading out on the roads to their holiday destinations. triple a says the number of people driving this year is up by 1.8% compared to last year. those numbers are the second highest on record since pre pandemic back in 2019. the good news for drivers is that they can expect to pay about the same or less for a gallon of gas than they did at this time last year. today the state average is $4. and $0.58, according to triple a triple a is projecting 115

million americans are going to travel over the ten day period between saturday, december 23rd and january 1st. >> and we're projecting this to be the second highest year end holiday following 2019. what we're seeing is that travel demand has been off the charts all of 2023, and this holiday season is no different. we're also expecting this to be the busiest holiday at the airport. >> they're projecting 7.5 million air travelers this holiday season, with today being one of the busiest days to fly. that surpasses pre pandemic levels of 7.3 million back in 2019. now if you are driving over the next few days, tomorrow and next thursday, the 28th are expected to be the most congested days out on the roads for tomorrow. triple a says the best time to leave is going to be anytime before 10:00 in the morning, and the worst time will be anytime between 11:00 and 7:00. so if you are driving to

your holiday destinations this year, be sure to shop around for gas using platforms like gasbuddy to help you get the most for your money. live in livermore lena howland, abc seven news. >> all right, thank you, lena. now let's talk about staying healthy for the holidays. abc seven spoke with two bay area doctors. ucsf doctor peter chin-hong and stanford's doctor, dean winslow, about this new covid 19 variant right now, the biggest risk of covid is in the midwest. >> um, but we're seeing it nationally as well. and the new variant, jn1, is most common in the east coast. but it's spreading across the country. the air is very clean. >> you know, again, because the hvac systems in modern, uh, air aircraft, you know, have very, very high turnover rates. they even use hepa filtration. so actually being on the airliner itself is relatively low risk. but of course, you know, again, you've got to walk through the

terminal through the tsa lines. and the other little bit of advice, which, you know, i'd like to give, you know, your listeners, is that those little vents that are over your seat in a commercial airliner, they're called gaspar fans and i strongly recommend people actually turn them open all the way. doctor. winslow says it will help to increase airflow, and it could benefit you when it comes to staying healthy. >> when i just picked this up, i was just like, kind of in shock that there would be a barbie like this. >> she is a different kind of barbie with a message we're hearing from the group behind these limited edition eco activist barbies. >> the self-proclaimed queen of christmas, paying a visit to president biden, the honor she received after visiting the oval office. of course we're talking about mariah. check on the weather now with meteorologist drew tuma. unofficial member. >> we cannot. >> that's right. she was sued over that. >> we tried. here's sfo this morning. we have clear skies here, but in the north bay we have dense fog with a dense fog advisory until 11 a.m. this

morning. so for the morning drive, just be aware that in the north bay areas like napa, sonoma, santa rosa, even fairfield, we have that thick fog outside of the north bay. we are dealing with mainly clear skies. so after about 11 a.m. in the north bay, that fog lifts. and for everybody we see a bright afternoon. it is looking lovely today with temperatures going into the 60s. here's the travel forecast that the pacific northwest we will see some rain and snow with the system moving through in southern california. they are dealing with flooding rains. one more day of that wet weather tomorrow. southern california does dry out some rain moving through chicago today. 46 there, but the east coast nice and quiet and temperatures near average for this time of the year. if you're traveling to tahoe over the next couple of days, have no issues today. sunny skies for your forecast, a high of 46. saturday will have scattered flurries won't accumulate to anything. unfortunately, it's a cooler afternoon in the upper 30s. we're looking nice and dry. sunday and monday. the christmas holiday. 44 degrees around lake

tahoe. here's how the day breaks down locally. region by region. some dense fog in the north bay, but a bright afternoon everywhere. breezy along the coas my name is josh sanabria and i am the owner at isla veterinary boutique hospital. i was 5...6 years of age and i knew i was going to be a vet.

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forced the evacuation of an entire town. they flew over the volcano yesterday. they say lava flows have slowed and volcanic activity is reduced. however, the danger is still very real. another eruption could happen at any time and there is still hot lava and underground lava tubes filled with magma. while residents have been gone for weeks, crews are still in the area training to respond to other eruptions that could happen in the future. >> so this is highly important for us to do this. uh- during the night. and yeah, it's a lot of hazard involved. the people who were forced to leave their

homes were allowed to return to visit yesterday, but they won't be allowed to go back permanently until it's determined it's safe. >> new developments with the ongoing pollution issues in richmond, we know about the air problems. and now there's something else chemicals known to cause cancer were found in the soil of an old dry cleaning business on barrett avenue. it was there from 1960 to 2001. richmond's pollution problem started late last month with flaring at the chevron refinery, which is now happened multiple times. then earlier this month, a stench started coming from a wastewater treatment. it was so bad, the mayor held an emergency meeting last week to developments. the united states supreme court will be taking up the good neighbor smog and climate rule. this is a regulation to reduce the amount of smog and air pollution that blows from state to state. it's part of the clean air act to cut back pollution that harms human health and aids in global warming. republican led states and groups claim that the legislation threatens the u.s.

electrical grid. arguments are set for 4th february. a new imitation barbie doll found on store shelves in new york is getting a lot of attention. >> the so-called eco activist dolls are creating a new way of bringing awareness. the dolls are on display in the barbie aisle, and they're for sale, but they're not actual barbies, and stores aren't aware that they're on the shelves. barbie liberation, the organization organization behind the doll, says it's about raising awareness. they have five different eco warrior dolls that represent targeting climate issues and leading activists. >> when i just picked this up, i was just like, kind of in shock that there would be a barbie like this. there are about 300 of these dolls in stores across the country. >> organizers say the hope they hope the message gets to mattel, the creator of barbie, to start making the dolls out of renewable products. >> it's the point of this is to demonstrate that we need to do something about plastic, and we can start with kids toys.

>> new york police say the reverse shoplifting thing could be a violation of trademark counterfeiting. okay a lot going on there. this is something i'm not worried about. i'm worried about people stealing from stores. i'm not worried about people putting things in storage . but okay, adding, you know, barbie was big this year. >> i'm not mad at them for they're using the moment for yeah, they just got on the tv. >> that's right. that's the point. >> that's the point we did it are trapped again. >> good morning everybody. it's a nice day. it's a nice day today. we do have some areas of dense fog in the north bay. a dense fog advisory is in effect through 11 a.m. in the north bay. elsewhere visibility is just fine. this afternoon, even the north bay sunny skies, a little breezy along the coast, but it is a bright afternoon and for the holiday day, even through sunday, monday it's looking very nice. christmas eve and christmas day. the weather

is quiet. live doppler seven along with satellite for us in northern california. satellite showing you a front. this is a cold front that will move through here later on this morning. it will not bring any rain with it. it will just kick up our winds a little bit today. southern california still dealing with that flooding rain fall for one more day. that low pressure will exit southern california tomorrow. traveling to la today. it will be wet tomorrow. we'll have drier weather in the forecast back here at home today. it's all about that morning fog in the north bay. bright skies this afternoon, a bit breezy, upper 50s to the mid 60s. certainly a very pleasant afternoon when it comes to our temperatures overnight tonight gets chilly, a lot of us dipping into the 30s away from the coast, mid 40s around the bay shore line. future tracker temperatures tomorrow we have sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 50s to the low 60s, and pretty much a carbon copy forecast for christmas eve on sunday. no issues traveling locally over the holiday weekend. christmas day it's a mix of sun and clouds. we start out chilly in the morning, but the afternoon we'll have those numbers in the upper 50s to the lower 60s by 4

p.m. here's the accuweather seven day forecast next seven days for you. it is morning fog to sun here today. it's bright saturday sunday we'll have clouds late in the day we're dry for christmas on monday of course the niners game. you can watch it right here on abc seven. next chance for rain comes on wednesday. a level one on the storm impact scale. sue good morning and taking a look at san rafael. >> the fog is looks like it's lifting a little bit. we can see a little bit more of the roadway here. so it's moving and coming and going as fog does. just a heads up when you hit it though, it is very dense. this is a southbound 101 near the north gate mall that will also be very busy today. it was crazy yesterday over there. most of the malls are just going to be jammed. have your patience when trying to park southbound 880. clearing from an earlier accident near marina in hayward. it's looking much better there and we do have an accident reported north 101 near tully. temporarily blocking two lanes of traffic. and you can see the stack up is starting to build

towards 880. thanks to new at six, the price of stamps set to rise again. >> the hike you're going to see next year. >> first, though, the best and brightest in the bay when it comes to holiday lights, one city claims they do it the in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yup, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network.

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as they are putting together a pretty strong argument. abc seven news south bay reporter laura martinez spotted one home that's drawing serious buzz around town, and shows why the south bay doesn't mess around when it comes to holiday magic. reporter. >> san jose residents are serious when it comes to making spirits bright. it takes luis trejo a week to set up his christmas lights and displays off santa teresa boulevard, to

the neighbors and the kids and the grandkids and the family they enjoy it, so i enjoy it, too. when trejo and his wife got home from shopping on wednesday night, there was a line of people waiting. >> that makes me feel very good. it gives me the chills like, oh my god, they're here for me. so i get up and run, turn everything on so they can enjoy it. >> this year, luis trejo received a neighborhood holiday spirit award from nob hill. >> it makes me happy that, um, all his hard work is seen, is appreciated. >> kids in the neighborhood appreciated and recognized the effort it takes. >> i personally think that i would not put in this much work just to take it out like three weeks later. it's good. it's fun to have a neighbor like this. >> earlier this week, the tran family in san jose started abc's the great christmas light fight. they were one of four families competing for $50,000. >> i post my picture to many christmas decorations. facebook

and the casting director saw my pictures and they liked what they see. >> tony tran and his family didn't win, but just being a finalist was an honor. he starts setting up the weekend before halloween. >> it's something about magic, about christmas and the air and the light that really brings peace to me. he kept running around with laughters and, you know, the ooh and the ah that make us really, really everything we do is worthwhile. >> while in san jose, lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> mariah carey got into the holiday spirit at the white house. she visited this week with her 12 year old twins. >> i'm a fan. >> i'm a fan. >> i just want you to know, oh, we love it. >> come on. thank you. >> this is wild to me. >> oh, i really do want to watch

the entire tour. same i want to hear everything that's said between them. >> yes. okay. outfit so mariah got a chance to view the white house holiday display. she went to the library of congress that same day. she got a certificate from santa commemorating the introduction in production, i should say, of her christmas hit into the national recording registry tree. and now we got to go on the instagram to see the pictures. >> wow, mariah looks amazing. >> she does. and i really love this outfit. yes peep shoes. she did it all and it's cool to see her kids there too. oh, the tree . >> i'm why am i so fascinated by this? >> i want to see the entire video and what they did. >> i also want to know what is president biden's favorite if he's a fan, if our mariah, i say name my top three. >> okay, you are not about to ask and also give me a favorite deep cut. >> and is it the roof from butterfly? it should be in

today's gma first look, with just three days until christmas, retailers are offering deals for those last minute holiday shoppers. here's abc news reporter erica reshef. >> this is for after work in this morning's gma first look. >> get ready holiday shoppers in just a few days. santas coming to town a lot of consumers are still out there shopping. >> we are expecting to see more deals from those retailers that do have a physical footprint. >> believe it or not, there are still deals to be had like on electronics at best buy. you can pick up this hd chromebook plus laptop for $249. that's $250 off and on top of the deals already out there. super saturday coming tomorrow. >> it's kind of like the last gasp of the holiday shopping season. >> according to the national retail federation, an estimated 142 million shoppers will be closing out their holiday shopping season this. saturday and coming up at 7 a.m, we'll have the expert advice on how to find the best last minute deals

out there with your gma first look i'm erielle reshef abc news new york. >> this morning. we are dealing with areas of dense fog in the north bay a dense fog advisory until 11 a.m. but the afternoon pleasant with temperatures in the 60s. ♪tasty glazed turkeys that won't be forgotten♪ ♪their warm mac and cheese has us feasting like kings♪ ♪these are a few of my favorite things♪ every bite is a celebration with the honey baked ham company

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