the abc seven news i-team's dan noyes explores the issue of car break ins and the story of one

man's repeat arrests and releases from jail. plus are you still doing your holiday shopping? it's not too late to score some great gifts and save some cash. we'll tell you how. but first holiday health risks. it's not just covid and the flu that doctors are concerned about during this time of year. hi there. you are watching getting answers and i'm dionne lim. today we focus on the best gift of all. we are talking about our health. something that is often overlooked at this time of year. so joining us live now is a familiar face. doctor peter chin-hong, an infectious disease specialist at ucsf, here to help keep us healthy. this holiday season. happy holidays to you. >> happy holidays dion. >> all right. it's hard to believe that we are still talking about this many years later. but let's begin with covid. and those reports that cases and hospitalizations, those are rising rate rising rapidly in the bay area. can you tell us why that is? >> well, dion, i think there are several factors. of course, people know that people are

getting together more. we recently had thanksgiving. so what that did was brought people from all over the country together, uh. and then they went back home. uh, the second reason, of course, is that we have a new variant that's rapidly be, uh, rising rose to the top of the charts. now, jn1 it's more transmissible. it has more mutations. so people are going to find out. and they already experiencing that. a lot of people, they know have, uh, covid, right now. >> well, we have to talk about this jn1 because what do we know about this variant? is it easily something that we can tackle with a booster or a vaccine? >> yes. so on the surface, jn1 looks very scary. it has 1 in 30 mutations compared to what was circulating around before, which was the xb, uh, flavor. and the vaccine was based on that formula of xb. so it looks really scary on the surface. but studies have shown that the vaccine actually works really well against jn1 and its parent,

uh, which was also called perola . um, and but what people are going to find out is that strategies they've used before are to escape becoming infected, and probably won't work quite as well this time, and then you'll have two groups of people, the majority who will feel a very mild illness uh- will take them out of work or school for a while, but there will be people, unfortunately, who will get very ill. and that's really the group that i'm really concerned about. >> and i remember in years past there was a peak time for when we saw those cases. now that we are approaching christmas, it has not yet happened. are we approaching that peak here as well? >> uh, that's a great point, dion. last year the three top viruses rsv, influenza and covid took turns. there was rsv first that peaked earlier, then influenza and then covid january february. this year they're kind of coming together. rsv is still

not down yet. uh flu is rising rapidly rising. and covid as we mentioned, is rapidly rising, aided by this new variant rn one. wow. >> and before we continue on the covid track, you mentioned rsv. when i went to my medical care provider, i was told that there is a shortage that we basically can't get it. and for my little infant son, it would be pretty impossible with that knowledge, should we lose hope? should we continue to wait for it? what would you suggest we do? what's the situation on? >> well, rsv is still at a high level, so i would say to parents of those who are younger, so it's approved for three populations pregnant people and the third trimester that vaccine is very available. those over 60 years old. um, that vaccine is very available. but for the young ones, um, those particularly under eight months old, uh, the vaccine is in a shortage for one formulation. so i would say that, uh, try to continue to get it, but that

that rsv may feel like a cold to parents. so if you feel like you have a cold and you're close to, uh, your young ones, particularly those under two years old, be very careful about transmitting it because, um, that may be experienced more severely by those who are younger as well as those who are older. all right. >> well, thank you for hammering that point home. maybe the best course of action would be to just continually check in with your doctor to see if there is more new supply. um also talking about medical professionals and what they're speaking about, you touched upon it as well. this new variant. i have a hard time keeping track of all the letters to be honest, but x, b, b 1.5. tell us about that variant. >> so xb 1.5 is kind of like, uh, the one that has dominated most of the year. so the vaccine formula was based on that because it was anticipated that that would also also be the most common by the end of the year. but of course, covid changed.

but the good news is that what it changed to or what's rapidly rising now, this gen one, uh, variant, uh, acts to the body just like, uh, the xb watched the vaccines based on the end of the day, the vaccine is a, uh, will work well against it. but because it looks so different, people who might have been infected in the summer or in the early fall, and particularly those who are older, immune compromised, who didn't get a vaccine for a while. um there may be a higher likelihood of getting, uh, sick unless you, uh, get the vaccine. but again, just to remind everyone, that's a get out of jail card, which is if you get the diagnosis. and that's why it's important to do testing for those who are at risk for getting ill. um, you can get paxlovid or even remdesivir to keep you away from getting even, uh, uh, sicker. and that's in the first five days or so. >> well, that's a great reminder. you know, i haven't

heard those two drug names in quite some time, so i'm glad you mentioned those to this next question. actually comes from our director, douglas. he wanted me to ask. he says the latest moderna vaccine has a warning about some pretty scary sounding side effects to different heart conditions. says he's worried about this myocarditis. pericarditis. do you know of these side effects? can you elaborate a little bit more on what he's facing, saying with the possibility of this, i guess vaccine? >> yeah. so the mrna vaccine, uh, have been associated with pericarditis. so myocarditis. so that's inflammation of the lining of the heart or the heart muscle. uh, it's mainly seen in those who are, uh, uh, older, uh, adolescents, particularly males and young adult males. but it was seen mainly in the second shot of a two shot series. there's been so much time that's elapsed since the last set of shots. for most people, that it's going to be a lower risk.

but for anybody who's had myocarditis and pericarditis, we'd recommend not getting an mrna shot. but luckily there's an alternative and it's novavax. uh, it's a pretty, uh, good vaccine, and it's available in drugstores. it's a very different technology. tsay kind of an old, older, uh, style of making vaccines based on the protein, not on the genetic material. uh, and it's a good alternative for folks who are worried about, uh, myocarditis or pericarditis. >> i see so douglas has some things to weigh out when it comes to what's next for his vaccine. to wrap things up, can you share with us some things that you would recommend we do to stay healthy during the holidays? because of those gatherings? >> yeah. so you know, i think about the abcs just so that i can keep track of the menu of options. and i would say a grounding principle is that if you are at risk for getting seriously ill, all the person who has been recently vaccinated and immunocompromised individual, the more things you

do, the lower the chances. or if you live with somebody like that. so a is for the area where well-fitted masks are carried it around, particularly in risky situations like public transit. the airports, etc. think about ventilation. b is for boosters and vaccines. it's not too late. flu is just starting right now. um uh- c is for children. don't forget about them. they can get really sick, particularly with rsv and influenza. these for diagnostic testing. so again getting that test early can have you get early therapy to save you from going to the hospital. and e's for everything else like washing your hands, staying home when you're sick. and i've heard a lot of people talk to family members who their visiting now. i think the new holiday etiquette is you touch base with your host to see what they're comfortable with, with, uh, precautions. some people might want to test before try to honor everyone's wishes. and, you know, don't give up on having a good time. yeah, and certainly don't don't forget what it was

like in years past when we were all so incredibly cautious. >> doctor, doctor peter chin hong, always a pleasure. thank you for joining us. >> thanks so much, diane. >> all right. coming up next, crime and punishment and abc seven news story highlights. one of the top issues in the bay area keeping criminals off the streets. we have an in-depth look at the challenges of keeping a repeat offender in

how are you doing between practices? i feel pretty good. surrounding myself with a great team. de'aaron we're going to take a quick look at your knee with ultrasound. everything is looking great. but not just for me. for them. it's great to see you again man. thanks jb. for all that is me, for all that is you, kaiser permanente.

was the best and most memorable stories of the year. we've compiled them together in a special you can stream on demand . here's a taste of what you can expect from the i-team's dan

noyes. >> hey, i'm dan noyes, one of my favorite stories from 2023 was about car break ins and how san francisco keeps letting these guys out again and again, even when they commit felonies and injure officers. it's our job to hold public officials accountable. and i take that very seriously. here is first look at a crime scene that spans several blocks in san francisco's north beach. it didn't receive much media coverage after 930 on a tuesday night in april 2022, police spotted a stolen suv. used in multiple car break ins. that day, the police sort of trapped him. >> this is a one way street, he they trapped him down there. police had the suspect, 24 year old robert sonza, in a dead end on union street past montgomery. >> but he rammed the suv into a patrol car and sped away. he took out this garage on alta

street side swiped cars, and returned to the intersection where officer riley bandy had just pulled up. getting out of his patrol car. >> he just headed right straight for my car and tried to run me over, so i had to jump in back into my car to avoid getting killed. he was aiming for you? yeah. >> your body? >> oh, yeah, because i jump back in and he slammed right into my car. you know, if i had waited a second more, i'd have been dead. so. and then he did it again. i tried to get out of the car. same thing. he backed up, did it again. >> bandy left by ambulance and says he still feels the effects of the back injury he suffered that night. next, santa drove onto the sidewalk, hit this staircase, took out a vespa, made it to columbus and broadway, where he slammed into a civilian's car, injuring him. sonza ran from that scene, officers finally catching him a few blocks away in chinatown. >> he victimized a lot of people that day. wasn't just me at first. >> prosecutors charged sonza with several counts of assault upon a peace officer with a deadly weapon in hit and run, evading an officer with willful

disregard, leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest and a misdemeanor possession of burglar tools. in a plea deal, all the charges got dismissed except a single count of evading an officer, so i was really surprised to know that they that they really dropped, you know, almost everything that court proceeding also included an incident from february 2nd of last year. police responded to the japan town garage for a report of an auto burglary. officers tried to detain sonza as the suspect, but he fled, got in his car, ran over an officer's foot and hit a parked car. that case brought nine more charges, including assault upon a peace officer, burglary of a vehicle, hit and run, and resisting arrest. i wanted to find out why all those charges were dropped, except for a single evading in two incidents that injured officers and a civilian and did all that damage to homes and cars. >> i certainly don't want to see any officer injured while doing their job, district attorney

brooke jenkins discussed the case with me, but through their offices, the public defender, sylvia nguyen, the prosecutor on the case, farah soria, and the judge, linda colfax, declined. >> my requests for an interview. the hearing transcript show that the probation department did not agree with their plea deal. that would let robert sonza avoid prison time by participating in a residential program, quote, probation instead recommended that he be sentenced to serve his time in prison. still sansa got out with time served a little over six months in jail. how did that happen? so so was that a good outcome? do you think so? >> i have looked up at that case briefly. i was left with concern about that plea. it is not something that on its face, i believe i would have done. >> this case began under former prosecutor chesa boudin before his recall, but it wrapped up in the early months of brooke

jenkins administration, when there was a culture that had been established here by the prior administration, in a very lenient plea, offers. >> and it takes time to sort of correct course to have of lawyers understand the true value of a case, the true public safety risk that certain people pose. >> robert sonza got arrested again september 1st. he's accused of breaking into a bait car, taking burberry bags belonging to san francisco police department on the same day. he's also charged with breaking into two rental cars, including this one with out of state plates. at this parking lot along the embarcadero, linda and dan olliges lost cash, a $1,200 ipad and a $3,500 laptop. does it mean anything at all that the police were able to catch your guy with their bait car? it worked. i mean, they're they're law enforcement technique worked. >> it does. but then, you know, let's see what happens to this guy because, you know, it wasn't his first rodeo. you know, it's a professional job. what are they going to do, slap them on

the wrist and let them out in a couple of months? >> one other twist in this case, the court asked officer bandy to write a victim impact statement that he read for us. >> i request leniency be granted to mister sansa and that the charges be dropped. i said mercy always triumphs against judgment . let us in 2022 with mercy and forgiveness and grant mister sansa his freedom. >> there is no indication from the transcript that the judge considered banti's statement, or even read it between him and i, there's forgiveness, you know, i had no idea that he would go out and do it immediately again, as soon as he got out. >> um, that's the bay area for you, though. that's, you know, it's this these. crimes happen so often. >> that was dan noyes reporting building a better bay area best of 2023 is now streaming on demand. you can stream it at our website. abc7 news.com, or from our abc7 bay area apps on your

phone or tv available for roku, amazon fire, apple tv and google tv. well, coming up, we just have three shopping days left until christmas. and if you haven't yet bought all of your gifts, we could see that weight pa off last minute holida

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gap and old navy say you can get guaranteed delivery by christmas with priority shipping fees may apply, but you may be able to get that for free if you spend a certain amount. so definitely look at their offer. best buy says they will offer same local, same day delivery free up to uh- christmas eve. if you order by noon on that day, and even sephora has a free same day delivery option up until christmas eve with the code get gifts. here are some other things you can do amazon. if you're a prime member, you may qualify for a free next day delivery on select items. if you have a shipthe membership, they partner with hundreds of different retailers, giving you unlimited same day delivery. and if you don't have a membership to either of these, sign up for a free trial. this way, you could tap into that rush shipping service for no cost. just cancel before that delivery or before that fee goes into effect. and then remember, you can always order online, pick up in store, perhaps expand the

distance you're willing to drive. maybe there's a store a little further away that has the item in stock. this way you don't have to worry about the delivery coming in on time. and of course, don't have to pay those rush shipping fees. andrea there's got to be a little bit of a disclaimer, too, because i remember i did same day shipping for two different retailers, including sephora and they ran out of stock and they didn't end up getting to send it to me. >> so would you also have some caution for people not to expect a guarantee? >> exactly. you do want to see how many of those items do they have in stock, maybe even calling the retailer if there are only a few, you're better off driving to the store to grab it in hand, because if somebody gets into the store and grabs it before the store, associate was able to pull it off the shelf, it could get out of stock. and that's why i do love those online shipping curbside pickup options. what's so great about this is you can also tap into those cash back sites like couponcabin.com, where you're getting those online coupon codes, you're getting the cash back. it's now pulled for you

off the shelf, and you can pick it up guaranteed. no stress if it's going to arrive for the holiday. >> oh boy, we're on the shopping battlefield at this point. exactly. you know, talking about shopping in store, you say that there are ways that you can utilize mobile apps as well to get better deals. exactly >> tsay super saturday is going to be so busy. and even if you go to the store today, i'm the lines are tremendous. i try to go to costco. couldn't even find a parking spot. so the point is you really want to use savings apps to help navigate those sales to save you time and hassle of going to multiple stores. i love the shop savvy app. this is an app where you take a picture of a product's barcode. they'll provide you a list of other stores selling that same item, so if you see it for less, you might think, okay, i have to run out there. instead, ask the store associate, will you offer a price match? most big box stores will do that. this way you can get the better deal without going to another retailer. i mentioned coupon cabin. they also have a mobile app. this way

you can pull up mobile coupons to scan at checkout for additional savings. or maybe you order on your phone and get that same day delivery. if that store you're at doesn't have it in stock, maybe there's another one nearby and then i also love the fetch app. take pictures of all those last minute shopping receipts. you're going to earn points which you can redeem for gift cards to a variety of stores that could help you out in the new year. when you're paying off your debt and you feel like you're strapped for cash, those gift cards to target walmart could help you out a little. >> yeah, and it's funny because i actually used roku ten in store, which i didn't know i could do, and got a small percentage of cash back. so that seems to be one of those new strategies that are being deployed. exactly. >> you don't want to miss out on that cash back. and of course, sign up for those free loyalty programs. target circle's another great one. that's going to give you a rewards for your purchases. so there's so many great ways to save with those apps. >> okay. and last question here. how do you feel about buying gift cards? i kind of think like it's the last minute lazy gift

to get it works, but but are there any hacks to save even more money? >> exactly. gift cards really are that ultimate gift to give at the last minute, and i like it for a financial perspective because you can stick to your set dollar limit. you know when you're shopping at the last minute in a panic, you're going to grab whatever gift you find and it may cost more than you planned. overspending so gift cards are great in that way. plus, you can send them through email text to somebody who you're not going to see for the holiday. you can even print them from home on your way to the celebration in the event the gift doesn't come to your doorstep so you don't show up empty handed. but there are ways to save. as you mentioned, look for those free promo cards with your gift card purchase at restaurants like california pizza kitchen, or saying you can get a free $20 promo card when you spend $100, you don't have to buy one at 100. maybe you buy multiple that equal 100 to give to different people, and then enjoy that promo card for yourself, or add it as a bonus to the gift. other stores will do this as well. all warehouse stores are also great. you can get 20 to 30% off discount or

gift cards. spafinder. they were giving you $250 gift cards for $70. i also saw a discount on disney gift cards and that's a great one for families or kids. you were looking at a $50 discount off a $250 gift card. there and then you can also get creative with your digital gifts. master class. this is a site that you can access classes for cooking, art, music. they're offering a two for one deal. that's something you can print out and give as well. >> oh boy, so many options. i think i'm in the boat of while i'm driving, trying to figure out what to do. although driving safely while i'm making that last purchase, maybe at a light or something. all right. andrea warrick, always a pleasure. thank you for joining us. >> thank you so much for having me today. and good luck with your last minute shopping. thank you. >> you too. and a reminder to all of you out there. you can get our live newscasts along with breaking news, weather, and much more with our abc7 bay area streaming tv app. you can find it on apple tv along with google

tv, fire tv and roku. all you got to do is search abc, seven bay area and download it for

but we're just getting started. everything going well? oh yeah. let's take a look at this knee. because it's the work behind the scenes, that truly matters. [ physical therapy staff discusses results ] for your mind. for your body. and for the community. -team!

for all that is me, for all that is you. kaiser permanente. bay area world news tonight with david muir >> david: tonight, breaking news as we come on the air, the action from the u.s. supreme court that could delay one of the most consequential criminal cases facing former president trump. the justices dealing a blow to special counsel jack smith and his election interference case against trump. declining to grant an