thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that the governor issues an order to remove encampments after a supreme court ruling and amidst kamala harris's run for the

presidency. good afternoon, i'm kristen z. no more excuses. that's the word from governor newsom as he orders state officials to remove homeless encampments across the state. this morning, he issued an executive order to move the process forward, saying it is time to act with urgency. he's calling for camps to be cleared in a humane and dignified manner. the directive is in response to last month's supreme court decision, which gave local leaders greater power to actually remove unhoused people from the streets. homeless advocates are condemning the decision. >> the executive order that the governor just put out is very troubling. we have over 100,000 unhoused people in the state of california who are homeless because they can't afford the rent, and now here, the governor is making a statement that he's going to crack down on folks and where are they going to go? they have nowhere to go. arresting them is not going to solve the

issue. >> newsom is calling on local cities and counties to act, but he cannot order them. but his administration can apply pressure by withholding money. he says the state has invested one dollars billion over the last year to help close and clean up encampments. now to a story we've been following for the last three years. uber, lyft and doordash workers will remain contractors after a judge ruled in support of prop 22, the california supreme court. this morning upheld the voter approved initiative it passed in 2020 and classified gig workers as contractors instead of employees. on abc7's midday live, we talked with state san francisco state university professor of labor studies john logan about this ruling. he says workers comp insurance was the driving issue behind this years long legal challenge. >> the union and the drivers who were challenging prop 22, said only the state has the authority to regulate to grant workers

comp uh. but the court rejected this argument. it was a unanimous decision. it said that it was not going to overturn prop 22, meaning that the delivery drivers will remain independent contractors. they want to have the right to workers comp, they want to have the right to unemployment insurance, to minimum wage, to overtime, but it also said that there's nothing to prevent the state from, enacting new workers comp laws, which would in the future, grant workers comp to this. so it's not over yet. >> prop 22 gives app based gig workers some benefits, but not full employee protections. uber calls the court's decision a victory for drivers and democracy. developing news a person is under arrest in connection with a fast moving wildfire near chico. it is burning in butte county, not far from the town of paradise. you may remember the 2018 camp fire leveled paradise. the butte

county da says an unnamed man now faces charges. he was last seen pushing a cart that was on fire into a gully. at the time. the wildfire started yesterday afternoon. this fire is forcing evacuations in both butte and tehama counties. the park fire exploded overnight, burning 71,000 acres. more than 111mi■!. this is the largest wildfire in the state so far this year. it's only 3% contained. if you're wondering why traffic across the bay bridge into san francisco was backed up early this afternoon, now you can see why drivers had to hit their brakes when a car going westbound lane of the bay bridge just burst into flames, bringing traffic to a halt, the chp says just one car was involved. the fire happened around noon on i-80 west just east of harrison street. a total of three lanes were blocked as crews removed the car and cleaned up the charred debris. all lanes were reopened around 1:00. traffic

was still slow in the area. it's not yet known what caused that car to go up in flames. let's give you a live look at the bridge now from our south beach camera. you can see traffic is moving, but still kind of slow heading into the city. not sure if it's just the usual because it is 3:00 or if it's residual delays. southwest airlines announced a major change today saying it is ditching open seating on flights and will begin assigning seats instead. it's an historic shift for the airline, known for its first come, first serve seating policy. abc seven news reporter lena howland has reaction from san francisco bay oakland international airport after more than a half century, the unique first come, first seated boarding policy on southwest airlines will be departing for good. >> i mean, this is pretty revolutionary for southwest uh- shocking news that they're getting rid of open seating. >> southwest announcing thursday morning plans to switch to

assigned seating. >> i don't think it's going to go faster. i don't know what the goal is. >> that's a bummer. yeah, that's rough for us. >> i think once they start having availability to do assigned seating, that means the fares are going to go up too. >> the airline says when a customer chooses to stop flying with them and picks a competitor instead, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the change. according to their own research, 80% of existing southwest customers prefer an assigned seat and 86% of potential customers prefer an assigned seat, too. >> maybe it might be good, because that way i can make sure that he sits right next to the window, or i can have the aisle. >> southwest will also offer premium seating options. the airline says they expect about one third of seats across the plane to offer extended leg room, similar to what passengers see on other major airlines. southwest does have an investor day coming up in september. that's when experts say we should expect to learn more

about how the airline plans to roll this out in oakland. lena howland, abc seven news. >> strong reaction from southwest customers on this change that reflects also a lot about the airline industry. joining us live to break it all down, consumer travel reporter at the new york times, christine chung. christine, thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> i saw you wrote a whole article about this in the new york times. so i got to ask you, why is southwest, after some 50 years of doing this? and correct me if i'm wrong, but i think they're kind of the only major airline doing this with the open seating after all this time. why the change? >> yeah, they did have this policy for more than 50 years, and it's something that they have really been proud of and said differentiated them from that of other airlines, it seems like they're making these changes for a number of reasons. the biggest one being that they're really struggling financially lately, this is a bid to increase revenue, they need the cash bad, the other thing they say is that this is

in part a response to what passengers reportedly want. they said some 80% of customers that they surveyed said that they actually supported this change. >> okay. so let's dive a little more deeply into this. right? 80% of the customers they surveyed who were these people, because i don't think they are just existing loyal customers that they have now. right. aren't these the people who left southwest and they said, what made you leave? >> yeah, i'm really not sure who these people were. i would love to know. so if you are one of those people, please let abc seven and we would love to hear from you, but yeah, allegedly, they they talked to a number of passengers who signaled that this was something that they wanted, a shift. they wanted, but this really hasn't been the sentiment that we've seen online today, i have spoken to a number of different types of travelers, whether it's longstanding southwest southwest travelers or recent converts who've all said that they really support open

boarding for a number of reasons. it's flexible. it's more egalitarian, it's more efficient. they say, they're also a fair number of detractors who name a couple of other reasons why this isn't a great system, namely that, it is rife with passenger bad behavior. people saving seats, people using assistance pre-boarding assistance that maybe isn't actually required, like wheelchairs, that actually delayed the process. so it's really a mixed bag. >> whatever the real reasons are. right, haven't they been kind of tiptoeing in that direction for a while now? because i noticed a few years ago, i think they started allowing you to pay for, like, an earlier boarding, like in an earlier group or something like that, that's true. right? was that part of the whole we just need money? >> i'm not sure, but it is true that the airline has kind of introduced a number of different tiers in which people can actually board a little earlier

if they do pay extra, whether that's, that they've accrued a lot of miles through credit card spend or through traveling a lot with southwest, or paying to check in early and board early as well. so there are other avenues which i guess, this system has been tweaked a little bit, but in all, i guess it shouldn't come as a super big shock to people today, because the airline has been saying for a few months now that this was something that they were considering. >> okay, what else are they changing? i mean, this was so integral to their identity, but what else? i think they're starting a couple other things, right? >> yes. they will also be next year. we don't know exactly when i think it's february. and rolling red eye flights for the first time. a couple of routes, mostly out of las vegas and los angeles to start with, and then they're going to be building that, another thing, in addition to assigned seating, which is really the biggest news out of this, is that they will be enrolling premium seating with more legroom, and this is a change that's definitely for

yes, that you can pay for. and that's in line with what delta and united and other big, you know, legacy carriers in the us have been doing for some time to great financial results. >> are they still going to offer free check in bags, you know, two pieces for free. and other airlines are already charging like 35 bucks or 40 bucks for each one. >> right, that two free check bags per customer is a hallmark of southwest's customer service and inflight experience. i think that would be a huge revolt if that went away, and we haven't heard anything about that going away yet, but customers are really panicking, you know, that that might be the next act. >> yeah. because let's talk about that in the sense that you know, southwest used to be thought of as a low cost carrier. right? and you get on get off quickly. you sit wherever you like, sort of like a bus, almost, and like you said, you know, friendly, egalitarian. now, if you're taking away some of these hallmarks piece by piece, does it become just another airline? and is that foundationally what

the airline wants to become another airline? >> southwest has said, that it is evolving. and i guess it remains to be seen if you know, the passengers that are so loyal evolve with that airline, is this really what those loyal customers want, but it is signaling with these shifts. signed seating, premium. boarding that it's kind of becoming more in line with our biggest legacy carriers in the us. >> right. and is that why it wasn't making money? some of the things that made it what it was or is there something else going on, you know, with the company? why it wasn't making money? >> i can't say for certain whether you know, the open boarding policies, which it had for decades, are the reason why it's struggling so much financially lately. i know that it has really been impacted by the boeing. you know, crisis as of late. it has gotten deliveries really late. and that's definitely affecting its

finances and its schedule. >> all right. hey, so you said these changes will take place next year, but we don't have an exact date. >> no, we don't know when. we just know sometime in 2025, but hopefully we'll know in the coming months as the airline feels ready to share more details. >> i mean, i guess this is a calculated gamble because do you suppose, don't you suppose they'll lose some loyal southwest customers? >> i think that that's very possible, people are very shocked by this news, even if it is something that maybe, you know, the airline signaled was going to happen, but people are really upset about it. and we'll see what ends up happening with their loyalties. >> right. whether it's net plus or net minus for them. time will tell. christine chung with the new york times, thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. a new pledge of support today for a likely democratic presidential nominee, kamala harris. >> a union today endorsed her campaign. while some members of congress, including a number of

democrats, launched their campaign against her. and we're enjoying milder weather as we look live outside, drew will fill us in on

the stage for a rally in houston. meanwhile, in congress, house republicans and a few six democrats passed a resolution criticizing harris for her work on the border. abc news reporter christiane cordero has the latest from washington. >> while speaking in front of a major teachers union today, vice president kamala harris rallied supporters to fight against former president donald trump and what she calls his extreme

allies. >> while you teach students about democracy and representative government extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote teachers union, one of several organizations now formally endorsing harris for president. >> the party's top leaders also appear united behind the likely democratic presidential nominee. >> she has a vision for the future that includes everyone and reflects the needs and priorities of women from every corner of this country. >> across the aisle, house republicans and six democrats currently running vulnerable house races approved a resolution against harris regarding policies related to the southern border. speaker mike johnson again calling her the border czar, saying, quote, today's resolution condemns the biden administration and vice president harris for their total dereliction of duty. christiane cordero abc news, washington. >> to the accuweather forecast now, a foggy day along the coast

as cooler weather arrives in the bay area. abc seven news meteorologist drew tuma tells us about some below average temperatures. >> take a look at the cooler days ahead today compared to the start of the weekend. on saturday, as we start to see that trough that area of low pressure, bring cooler air in from the north, we'll see about a 10 to 14 degree temperature difference between today's afternoon highs and saturday. by saturday, you see in that middle column, we're basically all stuck in the 60s and 70. so certainly below average for this time of the year. looking at the weekend preview saturday, it is much cooler than we have been for much of the week. morning fog to sun, slightly warmer on sunday, but both days lots of sunshine in the afternoon. it will be a nice weekend on the way. turns breezy later on this afternoon. we'll have daytime highs in the 90s inland, so it's warm, just not as hot as it has been. 70s and 80s around the bay shoreline will keep it in the 60s and 70s close to the coast overnight tonight we have that cloud cover right now banked up along the coast that spills into the bay shoreline. a cooler

night on the way with temperatures mainly in the 50s. now heading into friday. it gets even cooler around here. temperatures starting to get close to if not below average. we're in the low and mid 80s, inland 60s and 70s around the bay shoreline. then saturday those temperatures are significantly cooler than we have been and that continues into sunday. sunday, maybe 1 or 2 degrees warmer. but both days we are going to keep it below average. here's the accuweather seven day forecast. the heated heat rather is easing today with much cooler conditions friday and saturday. by monday we'll start to see some minor warming, but we're not expecting any heat advisories the next seven days. >> the author and civil rights activist with bay area roots is getting a tribute in the cities she once called home, honoring (banker 1) let's hear it! (vo) with wells fargo premier a team can help you plan for your dream. (woman) i have this vacation home... (banker 2) so, like a getaway? (woman) yeah, but... it's also an eco-friendly artist retreat. (banker 3) so, you're expanding your business... (woman) ...and our family!

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also worked as a streetcar conductor. the tribute is called portrait of a phenomenal woman. it's a bronze sculpture styled in the form of a book, and is the creation of artist laura thomas. the project has been in the works since 2017. a public unveiling of the maya angelou monument is set for september 19th. a treat for bay area soccer fans as chelsea fc and wrexham a.f.c. took to the pitch at levi's stadium. wrexham has gained huge popularity in recent years thanks to their hollywood co-owners ryan reynolds and rob mcelhenney. abc7 sports anchor chris alvarez spoke with mcelhenney. >> they far exceeded our our wildest dreams just to be embraced by the community in the way that we were. and uh- was just a massive step forward and we were we were really hoping that things would pan out the way that they have. but you just never know. with football, you

never know. >> the game ended in a two two draw. wrexham's journey is documented in welcome to wrexham on hulu and disney+, owned by the same parent company as abc seven. remember, abc7 news is streaming 24 over seven. get the abc7 bay area app and join us whenever you want,

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audi dealer. fast food restaurants now have gratuity expectations, but a number of bay area hair salons are bucking the trend and eliminating tipping. our media partner, the san francisco standard, takes a look at this in a new article. no tip, no problem. hair salons are going gratuity free and cutting out

the awkwardness. joining us live now is standard culture reporter zara stone. hi, zara. >> hey, thanks for having me. >> welcome to the show. yeah. hey, what what made you write this article and kind of look into hair salons and tipping culture there? >> so i was actually just trying to find a new hair stylist. and as i was looking at different salons, i started realizing more and more of them had kind of got rid of a pricing structure where really familiar with and instead kind of bundling it into an hourly gratuity free price. >> oh, okay. i don't even know what that means. the new bundling and the hourly what are you talking about? >> sure. so i think like traditionally before you might go, you might pay, i don't know, $200 for highlights. and it would take another 2 to 3 hours for the service. and then potentially you would take, you know, tip like maybe 20% on it. but equally a bunch of people like maybe they would never tip. maybe they would over tip and

hair stylists were finding it really difficult to figure out what their income was. so they started charging by the hour. the hourly fee includes a tip, so like you never ever have to give them a tip. and they said that this is just a more equitable structure in terms of like being able to calculate their income. >> you're right. i mean, that does take out the guesswork because before the pricing was based on oh, i think your highlight will probably cost me about two hours. so i'm going to price it at this. and then there's the is it 15% tip. wait, she's the owner. so maybe only 10%. oh no. but maybe i should do 20. it's so confusing. it has gotten kind of out of hand. so give us a couple examples of what you found and also tell us how the stylists themselves and the customers like it. >> sure. i mean, so i mean, from the customers end there's like this huge tipping fatigue, like everyone is really just, you know, sick of tipping $2 on a coffee or, you know, going to like a slime museum and being asked to tip at the end, which, which is a real thing. and so i think there's this like huge,

like excitement for this new transparency and the idea that you come in and you know exactly what you're going to pay. and on the stylist end, they're like, you know, they look at your hair and they're like, well, you know, your hair is thicker. this is going to take, you know, three hours. somebody with finer hair might take two hours. so they also know how to slot their time. they know what their income is going to be. and it's just really nice all around. >> all right. so how widespread is this kind of new model now? is this just a few in the city, or are you actually finding quite a few? >> i mean, it's still relatively grassroots. >> i would say, like you know, there's more and more salons doing it, like across the san francisco bay area and some stylists who are kind of independent stylists who rent a chair at salons. they're also doing that, the no tipping model there. so it's kind of a mixture, >> you know, this is kind of strange to us in the us, but isn't it true that actually a lot of countries, especially i'm

thinking asia, europe already do this? >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, in asia, you know, generally if you try and tip, it's kind of seen as an insult. and if this is really just taking it back to the idea of being able to pay people fairly for their time rather than, you know, having to kind of account for it in tips because they're not getting a proper wage. >> can i just ask you, have you talked to some hairdressers about their bottom line, like when their salon implemented this, are they actually taking home more pay or less pay? >> so i have spoken about their bottom line and some have been doing this for a couple of years. there's a couple people who started this year and pretty much across the board, they say they're making the same or they're making more, and it doesn't mean clients are paying more because this kind of evens out in terms of, you know, some services take longer and some don't, but they're really being able to make more and, you know, declare on their tax returns as well. >> seems like not really negative consequences financially, but less stress and confusion. so i stone this is

very interesting. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> you can check out more of the san francisco standard's other original reporting, and read zara's story on the website sf standard.com. and of course, abc7 will continue to bring you more segments featuring the standard city focused journalism twice a week right here on getting answers at 3 p.m. or abc7 news at three. thank you so much for joining us. world news tonight with david muir starts now. and i'll see you back here at four. tonight, several breaking stories. homes burned to the ground, the evacuations, the raging wildfire. did someone push a vehicle down an embankment to start the fire? also, vice president kamala harris