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tv   ABC7 News 500PM  ABC  July 31, 2024 5:00pm-5:30pm PDT

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millions and millions of people that happen to be taking black jobs. you had the best. what
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exactly is a black job, sir? a black job is anybody that has a job. that's what it is. anybody that has a job. all right. >> awkward and tense moments during an appearance today by donald trump at a gathering of black journalists. and during that interview, trump questioned vice president kamala harris's racial identity. good evening. i'm ama daetz and i'm dan ashley. >> thanks for joining us. so that interview took place just hours ago at a convention in chicago and was met at times by jeers from the crowd reporter craig wall from our sister station in chicago, has a look at the interview and the fallout from donald trump's visit here prompted the co-chair of the convention to quit, saying she was not consulted on giving trump this kind of platform. >> nevertheless, as the former president continues to court the black vote, this was a chance for him to address concerns and talk about his record. donald trump taking the stage at the national association of black journalists convention and right off the top, got combative when asked by abc's rachel scott about his disrespectful treatment of black female journalists and why black voters should support him.
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>> well, first of all, i don't think i've ever been asked a question. so in such a horrible manner, a first question, one of the top questions many journalists had on their minds centered around the controversial comments trump made about undocumented immigrants taking what he called black jobs. >> today, the former president doubled down. >> i will tell you that coming coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking black jobs. you had the best. >> what exactly is a black job, sir? >> a black job is anybody that has a job. that's what it is. anybody that has a job and they're taking president. >> he has yet to say what that he means by black jobs. any job is what he said. but it's a very denigrating term. african americans and many people really wanted an answer. that was my number one question what is a black job? and he didn't answer that question. >> trump, who had been gaining support among black men now facing a new dynamic with kamala harris, his presumed november opponent.
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>> he heard it himself totally. i mean, just completely, those were three black journalists up there that were interviewing them. and the fact that he didn't give them respect definitely did not sway the votes of the black journalists that were in the audience. >> others thought trump helped his case. oh, absolutely. >> i mean, you heard the claps and the cheers. he was getting in the crowd. he has a lot of support in this community. >> vice president kamala harris was also invited to attend, but due to scheduling conflicts, was not able to be here in person or virtually. the head of the nabj saying they are still trying to work out a virtual meeting sometime after the convention in chicago. i'm craig wall, developing news now with the park fire, which is burning near chico so ferociously nearly 390,000 acres have burned and containment is at 18%. >> tonight, in its latest count, cal fire says the flames have destroyed more than 350 buildings, including several homes. the fire continues to burn toward the northeast, and firefighters are worried about the conditions in the coming days, temperatures are expected to rise and there is the
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possibility for thunderstorms as well, which could spark more fires. abc news reporter mola lenghi has the update. >> well, dan, the park fire, now 18%, contained so slow and steady progress being made, but firefighters will likely have their hands full over the next few days as conditions on the ground are expected to deteriorate. tonight, dozens of massive wildfires scorching the west, already destroying hundreds of homes, forcing thousands to flee. and now the national weather service is warning of a dangerous heat wave north of sacramento. the park fire, now twice the size of new york city and still less than one fifth, contained a full week after it broke out. at least three major wildfires now burning in colorado, forcing hundreds to evacuate the governor, calling up the national guard, firefighters battling steep terrain, even rattlesnakes. >> there's debris, there's fallen trees. there's all the things that the firefighters have to fight, but it is really
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steep and it's loose and it's rocky. >> at the stone canyon fire north of denver, authorities confirming one person was found dead in their home this morning. now, the heat wave set to raise temperatures and the fire danger. experts say human amplified climate change is making heat waves longer. more intense and more frequent. well, the weather here expected to get much hotter. extreme triple digit temperatures that will last at least a week, as well as much drier. we are already at near record levels of dryness, so still a massive effort underway, one that will likely only become increasingly challenging for firefighters on the ground. >> dan ama, all right, thanks very much. you can keep track of the fires burning across the state with our abc seven california wildfire tracker. it gives you a full picture of the fires and the smoke across the state. it's right there on the front page of our website, abc seven news.com. we'll stay on the fires, but let's move on. if you have student loan payments, you might want to check your email. the biden administration says tonight it will wipe out the student debt of more than 30
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million borrowers. abc seven news reporter suzanne fawn explains who might qualify for this loan forgiveness at any college campus, you can expect to find lots of stories about student debt. >> how much do you owe in student loans? >> right now, it's 18 grand, san francisco. >> dennis and elise erickson finished dental school in 2019 and started paying back her student loans one year later. she owes a mind boggling amount of money i originally took out. >> i believe, about 4 to $450,000. the interest accruing, i believe i owe 500 at this time. >> about 25 million americans with student debt could soon find relief as part of the biden-harris administration's proposed rule, announced in april. there are two ways you can qualify for debt forgiveness. if you have student loans. number one, if you have runaway interest. number two, if you've been paying back your loans for more than two decades, betsy mayotte is president of the institute of student loan
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advisors. >> i think the number of borrowers are going to benefit the most are the borrowers whose balances are higher now than when they first went into repayment. you know, for example, if you originally borrowed $30,000 and you've been in repayment for a few years and today you owe 40,000, you would stand to probably get that extra 10,000 forgiven. >> as for people who've been repaying their student loans for more than 20 years for borrowers who only have undergraduate loans that have been uh- in repayment on their loans since at least i believe it's july 2005, they stand to perhaps get their entire balances forgiven. if you don't know if you qualify for relief, mate says this the best thing they can do is log on to studentaid.gov. >> and if the loans are there and they show that the lender is the department of education, then they potentially qualify for these provisions. >> just as important, may not want student loan borrowers to know this.
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>> there is nothing to apply for here. there is going to be no application for this, the only thing, the only action anybody needs to take is if they choose to opt out in san francisco, suzanne phan abc seven news. >> now to a story. we've been following since last year involving this forbidden fruit. san jose business person has now been sentenced to three months in jail for importing the tropical fruit from vietnam. some of the fruit was heavily infested with fruit flies that could damage santa clara county agriculture, prosecutors say. han hong huen had the fruit mislabeled as dried fish or coffee to avoid inspection. now, a follow up on an i-team investigation, alameda county has filed charges against the former president of a youth swim team accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the organization. today, the district attorney announced 45 year old sarah new has been charged with three felony counts of embezzlement. new is accused of stealing more than $50,000 over several months during her time in charge of the alameda
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gators swim club. >> we're not precluding the possibility of additional charges, but at this time, we're able to say that we have begun the process of holding mr. new accountable for the harm that has been caused to the children who were directly impacted and by their participation in the alameda gators swim team. >> the gators nonprofit board discovered the missing money only after firing new. she surrendered to alameda police back on july second, then was released on bail. if convicted, new could face nine years in prison. >> promoting local businesses and creating economic growth are crucial to building a better bay area. and tonight we focus on a new effort to encourage people to experience oakland, a two efforts launched today to help boost businesses and bring people to downtown oakland. here's abc seven news reporter ryan curry. inhale the bottom of the launch. >> exhale at the top. >> breathe in and breathe out. >> it's time for some aerobics
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at city hall. don't want to work out? you need to. >> come on. >> you can go over to city center where you can watch a live band while eating lunch. both of these activities are part of oakland's push to get more people walking the streets. >> we know that businesses all downtown really benefit from having folks down here, and so we wanted to provide just that little bit of a catalyst, you know, to encourage people to be here. >> they call it the downtown summer program series. and although summer is winding down, the city still wanted to try something to boost the economy. >> next year. i want to do better. let's get this started earlier. but there's really no bad time to start. you know the best time to plant a tree is yesterday, so let's let's do it. >> there will be events like these happening every tuesday through thursday. business owners say they desperately need more people out and about. some have even tried to take matters into their own hands. >> rock paper scissors. >> shoot a game of rock paper scissors gets you $5 off your meal at arborea every wednesday.
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owner christina miyagi says the discount is there because not many have stopped by. >> a lot of offices shut down, so we lost some of that, like lunch rush. you know. >> according to a report from commercial real estate group colliers, oakland's office vacancy rate is at 20% but is showing signs of stabilizing the city leaders, the business owners. this is what they want more people walking outside, going past the shops and hopefully going inside to shop at each individual business doesn't have to do as much marketing, so they don't have to spend as much of their money on those kinds of expenses, because you've got people just naturally walking around. angela tsai hosted kaiser permanente wednesday. they announced they are donating $5 million to a small business fund. angela says she took out a loan from that fund, and it helped her pay her employees. but when it comes to boosting her business, she needs people in the store. >> and so if there are no customers, then we're just sitting here waiting for them to come and hoping, hope that this move from the city pays off long
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term in oakland. >> ryan curry, abc seven news. >> expanding educational opportunities uc schools across the state have shattered some enrollment records. >> uncle, grandpa and grandpa joe. >> you may not know his name or recognize his face, but he's a legend to many in san jose. we're going to check out a special retirement for a man whose job is critical and cash in at cache creek casino resort. to rock and to roll. to go all out or go all in with four stars and rising stars. northern california's premier casino resort
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to a call about an armed robbery in the area of willow street and van ness avenue. this was on july 21st, about ten days ago, 28 year old alexander antonio lopez was shot and killed by an officer during the incident.
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they say lopez opened fire as he ran from two police officers when they tried to question him about stolen a stolen scooter. the officers then returned fire. stop stop several officers move in after lopez went down. he was taken to the hospital, but later died. >> a change is coming to campuses in the uc school system, the university of california said today. it's ten campuses enrolled. the largest class of students in history. in addition, abc seven news reporter lena howland explains the campus population is getting more diverse. >> come fall 2024, the university of california system will welcome their largest and most diverse class ever. >> it's part of our mission for the university of california is really to be a change agent for the state. >> the uc system says the number of first year students admitted from underrepresented groups has
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grown by nearly 2800 students. that's up by 1.2% from last school year. han-mi yoon wu is uc's associate vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions. she says dropping test requirements for undergraduate admissions during the pandemic has expanded access. >> having the standardized test requirement can serve as a deterrent to students. they'll self-select out or based on what they believe you know might be a low score, and so not having that requirement really opens the doors to a lot of students. >> it's welcome news to addie sengupta and his parents just going to diverse college. >> it's huge to me because, like, i'll be exposed to a bunch of different perspectives and i'll be able to apply like lessons i learned from different people of different backgrounds to my own life. >> they flew out all the way from pittsburgh, pennsylvania for college tours, starting with uc berkeley. his parents
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immigrated from india long before he was born. >> when i was fresh off the boat and, you know, i saw that how this country adapts and accepts. so that's a great thing. >> i think it makes a big difference when the school is inclusive and, you know, and very open to, accepting and accommodating, you know, students across all races. >> while stephen mercer, an independent educational consultant, says this has been a longtime goal for universities nationwide, both public and private, they know that if you can put people into a college community where there's a diverse exchange of ideas, where people might be a little bit out of their comfort zone, that is one of the most fundamental benefits of higher education. university of california applications for fall of 2025 open up on thursday in the east bay. lena howland, abc seven news the university of california president michael v drake has announced plans to
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step down next year after five years of leading the state's university system. >> he announced today that he's trying to leave this institution in better shape than it was before he reached tenure. during a time of growing enrollment and then massive protests. drake is 74 years old and plans to retire. closing out a 50 year career in higher education. >> a man who dedicated more than three decades to making sure children are safe is retiring. >> up next, grandpa joe's story. he's a man who's been in the lives of some families for
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(vo) do you fargo? you can, with wells fargo. retiring after bringing kids safely across the street for 31 years. abc seven news south bay reporter zach fuentes was at his celebration. >> meet joe bria. to many a san jose legend, call me grandpa and
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grandpa joe. for 31 years. he has served as a crossing guard in the berryessa union school district at white road and penitencia creek, helping students start their days in the best possible way. >> two things to say to the kids good morning and smile. >> he's watched countless students grow up. some of the kids he first started helping now have kids of their own come home and say, hey, used to call my dad one time. >> they said, i guess i did at 98 years young, mister bria service started long before becoming a crossing guard. >> at 17 years old, he enlisted in the u.s. navy and served during world war two. in 1955, you relocated to the beautiful san jose, california and worked as a welder for 30 years and retiring in 1991. but that retirement didn't last long. he became a crossing guard in 1993 and has loved every day of it. i love my job. >> i love the children. i love the people around the neighborhood. they all treated me good. >> mr. bria, who's still a regular at the gym, plans to stay active in retirement and spend time with his many
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grandkids and great grandkids. but he admits he'll miss the kids. he served for 31 years. >> i'm going to miss them. i miss them all. >> in san jose, zach fuentes, abc seven news. >> it's incredible. wow. yeah, well, some puppies were abandoned and rescued from a busy roadway near fresno. a driver nearly hit them in traffic, then reported the incident to 911. luckily, a chp officer. look at that picture. was able to locate and taken the entire pack of seven puppies. they were declared honorary police canines for the day. now these little ones are looking for their forever homes at fresno humane animal services. oh, they are sweet, sweet. hope they get good homes. >> they will, i'm sure. all right, let's turn our attention to the weather forecast. warming back up. >> yes. let's get to abc seven news weather anchor spencer christian for the latest. spencer. >> okay, ama and dan warming started today, the final day of july. it will continue into middle of next week. here's the satellite radar composite image. we still have lingering low clouds at the coast, but it was warming up inland today. and
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nice little breeze onshore breeze. and we'll see the of course the marine layer expanding and deepening overnight. moving across the bay. but right now we're looking at a significant 24 hour temperature change. it's about 7 to 11 degrees warmer in many bay area locations than at this time yesterday. beautiful view from mount tam right now looking at these little fingers of fog traveling out over the bay. current temperature readings around the bay area are 65 here in san francisco. low to mid 70s at oakland and hayward 81, san jose 75. in redwood city, 59 at half moon bay. and a nice view, sort of from emeryville. looking westward. other temperature readings right now. 83 up at santa rosa, 75 to 78 at petaluma and napa. 90s. low to mid 90s at fairfield, concord and livermore. and here's a nice view from sutro tower showing just a little finger of fog reaching out over san francisco. otherwise, blue skies right now these are our forecast headlines. week long warming started today continues through much of next week. inland high temperatures will range from 94 to about 98 degrees during this time of warming, and the heat will reach its peak likely early
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next week. although it's going to be a pretty steady uh- pattern and range of high temperatures, overnight lows will be mainly in the mid to upper 50s, with lots of drizzle along the coastline and some of it of course moving onshore as it has done the last few nights. high temperatures tomorrow, low 60s at the coast where the fog will linger mid to upper 70s around the bay shoreline where it will get sunny by midday. inland areas will warm up to mid 90s tomorrow under sunny afternoon skies. and here's the accuweather seven day forecast. yes, august gets off to a warm start tomorrow and it continues to be warm and even warmer as we go into saturday, when inland highs will reach into the upper 90s and then much of next week, or at least the first three days of it. we'll see inland highs in the mid to upper 9
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streaming tv app. just search abc seven bay area and download it. >> an exhibit in san jose is celebrating the rich culture of lowriders in the south bay. it's called forever cruising cultura de lowriders. they have books, magazines and photos documenting the evolution of lowrider
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culture. and there are model cars showing off the craftsmanship and creativity that goes into it all. >> i love celebrating the culture because i feel like it doesn't get the recognition that it's supposed to be getting. i feel like people see the car but not understand what it means in the history behind it, and the cultural expressions and how they had to fight to even be able to drive down the street. >> it's on the fifth floor of the mlk library at san jose state university, and it is there until september 15th. so you have a little bit of time to get there. there will be a reception this saturday to meet the artists and the community behind it. very good. >> yeah. all right. we still have more news ahead for you. >> let's get to abc seven news anchor stephanie sierra for a look at the stories that are coming up at 530. stephanie, thanks, ama and dan. >> tonight, a closer look at the recidivism rate here in san francisco and a big contract extension for the city's pretrial diversion program. san francisco sheriff paul miyamoto joins us live with a closer look at the changes then our adus. the solution to our housing
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crisis. bay area lawmakers are embracing the trend. lyanne melendez joins us with new data that may surprise you. join us for those stories and more at 530 on abc seven bay area streaming tv. dan and ama. >> very good. steph thank you. >> and you can download the abc seven app or head to abc7 news.com and join stephanie in two minutes. be sure to do that. >> and if you're watching us here on tv. world news tonight with david muir is next for spencer, christian and all of us. we appreciate your time. i'm dan ashley and i'm ama daetz. >> we will see you again at 6:00.
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