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good morning. thanks for joining us, i'm kristen sze. i'm eric thomas. developing news highway 17 in the santa cruz mountains. southbound lanes of highway 17 reopened following a fiery accident involving a truck hauling liquid nitrogen last night. we are getting conflicting information. terry mcsweeney is live at the scene. he's going to help us sort this out. >> reporter: the southbound lanes have not reopened you can see bear creek road southbound 17 simi still sitting here, chp making sure nobody tries to go southbound on 17 you have to get off at bear creek road. lanes have not reopened yet.

northbound flowing freely, southbound still a shutdown. look at what caused this pictures from last night semi truck caught fire near the redwood estates engine, cab burned that fire was not contained to the truck it spread to the nearby vegetation, half acre grass fire that was knocked down quickly calfire on the scene very quickly big rigs have been stuck trying to get over santa cruz mountains since last night. this fire started 10:00. it has been a mess now for 6 1/2 hours. a calfire spokesperson talked about the dangerous load that truck was carrying. refrigerated liquid, those tanks are very well insulated. we took measures operate the -- on the tank to make sure

there wouldn't be a chance of rupture. [ inaudible ] >> reporter: the original plan was to have southbound 17 reopened by 3:30, that has not happened. the new target is 5:00. they hope to have southbound 17 open. you can still get to santa cruz going up going southbound you can't take 17 to do it you have to get off at bear creek and take old santa cruz highway to summit get on 17 up there. back out here live you can see the semis are parking this is -- are parked. the semis are -- not getting off and on too dangerous a road they are not going that way. some were stuck at redwood estates when the fire started they have no exit to choose. as you can see southbound 17

at bear creek road closed the target is 5:00 to get it reopened northbound flowing southbound closed at bear creek road. terry mcsweeney, abc7 news. terry offered some information. sue hall tracking the impact we want the latest on traffic. >> reporter: traffic we have conflicting reports before we went live on wear i was getting reports it is clear as you see terry is there they say 5:00 for those lanes to be reopened southbound. one alternate highway 92 towards san mateo and half moon bay over to san mateo i should say would be longer but another route in the southbound direction between san jose and the santa cruz area. we'll update this again in a couple of minutes. new this morning,

san francisco firefighters are still on the scene watching for hot spots after a two alarm fire in the mission district overnight. flames engulfed top floors of a victorian at 1:00 in the morning it grew to two alarms firefighters managed to put the fire out within an hour. red cross has been called. a cause has not been determined. chp faces grim task of planning a memorial for the officer who died last night after tuesday's highway shootout on i-680. today officer kenyon youngstrom continues to serve in death. amy hollyfield is live in martinez. >> reporter: that's right he did decide to donate his organs. no doubt here in martinez that the chp officers will be able to rely on the support of the community. look at their doorstep of their office, people have left flowers and notes letting the

officers know people are thinking about them. chp announced last night that officer youngstrom died last night 6:05. he's survived by his wife, four kids, parents, four brothers and a sister. his family will be receiving support from their community. there was a vigil last night in cordelia, youngstrom lived in fairfield there were a lot of kids at the vigil many of them go to school with youngstrom's kids. one little boy there lost his father and has a message for his classmate. >> i would like to tell him, i feel so bad for you, i know the situation, if you ever need to talk to someone, i'm here for you. >> reporter: the chp offered a final salute via helicopter last night as it flew over john muir medical center where the officer had been on life

support since he was shot tuesday. chp says his death has shaken its department to its core. chp officers say youngstrom's family is very strong being unified and courageous. they are asking for their privacy at this time, but have put the word out they are grateful to the public for the support. a memorial fund has been set up for the family if would you like to donate you can give money at any wells fargo bank location. amy hollyfield, abc7 news. 4:37. we are learning more about 36-year-old christopher boone lacy the man who killed the officer before being shot and killed himself. the i-team has been working hard to figure out who he was traveling hours to his home in tehama county and flushing out his life online. lacy was a freelance computer programmer who used this website to look for work and dates.

in his resume he claimed to have done contract work for several companies. a business owner confirmed lacy worked for him last year for four months. told the i-team he had concerns. >> sometimes you can tell when people have -- they seem to be nice and conversational and everything, but you can tell underneath that they're angry i would say. >> lacy's father tells us he saw mental problems while his son was growing up in oregon. he said his son suffered a psychotic break down his senior year at san francisco state and diagnosed as bipolar. lacy was living in tehama county. join us in expressing condolences on our facebook page. >> we built a special page in his honor

facebook.com/abc7news. president obama is preparing for his big speech tonight. many say the bar is now raised after an impressive appearance by last night's speaker former president clinton. he gave a rousing defense of the president's economic stewardship. he said conditions are improving if you renew the president's contract, you will feel it. >> are we want to be today? no. is the president satisfied? of course not. but are we better off than we were when he took office? >> the venue has been changed from a 74,000 seat football stadium to a 15,000 see the convention hall because of the poe inc. tensional of severe weather. -- because of the potentialal of severe weather. republicans say because they

couldn't draw a big enough crowd. mark matthews will report live interest charlotte today starting at -- live from charlotte today starting at 4:00. mark is tweeting. live convention coverage continues tonight at 7 p.m. right here on abc7. 4:40. let's get our check on weather. good morning mike any more thunderstorms? >> a few out there, they are far from the bay area south of gilroy now. i think that's where they are going to stay. red flag warning was dropped overnight as threat of thunderstorms has started to diminish. this moisture plume is going to start moving east the next couple of hours chances of thunderstorms are going to be best south and east of the bay area into the afternoon. here's a look at your day planner, clouds, temperatures

in the 50s now through 7:00, by noon, more sun with upper 50s at the coast near 70 to 79 inland. by the afternoon warm inland with mid 80s, mid 70s comfortable around the bay, near 60 at the coast clouds start returning to the coast 7:00, mid 60s bay and comfortable mid 70s inland. it will be near normal with temperatures in the mid 80s inland in warmest spots mid top upper 70s bay mid to upper 50s at the coast mostly sunny tomorrow partly cloudy saturday more sunshine into sunday. good morning. back to the santa cruz mountains where we had terry mcsweeney reporting live a few minutes ago that southbound 17 lanes are not yet reopened. we are getting conflicting reports from other agencies. live on the scene terry said they are not reopen.

hoping to have the lanes reopened by 5:00 this morning. alternate would be old santa cruz highway to summit to get around or the longer way through half moon bay, 92 up and over san mateo and back down on 280 or 101 we'll be following this as soon as they open we'll let you know. police activity in oakland with macarthur west macarthur boulevard closed between san pablo and market. i'll update you on that in a couple of minutes as well. 4:42. getting your kids to school is tough enough. fighting the other parents trying to do the same is a bigger challenge. we may have a solution, coming up. it reads like a scene out of a hollywood heist. two men in a ski mask kidnap a bank manager. how they forced her to rob her own bank. every time someone chooses finish over cascade,

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good morning live look in san francisco, embarcadero, ferry buildings looks like we have a breeze we'll talk to mike about that. the thunderstorm chances are going to be reduced as the hours go on. the california public utilities commission says there is no evidence pg&e improperly welded or fudged inspections on any new pipelines. the puc launched the investigation based on accusations from some union workers. the utility issued statement saying all of us a at pg&e are serious about meeting or exceeding standards for quality work. this investigation only involved welds on new

pipelines not older ones replaced following the san bruno explosion. family and friends plan to resume search for young man from lafayette who vanished during a weekend rafting trip. sunday afternoon. his friends last saw him near a popular hangout. deputies and volunteers searched the river and nearby area for him since he disappeared sunday. they plan to go back out this morning. los angeles bank manager is okay this morning after a bizarre and terrifying heist. two masked robbers abducted her from her home at gunpoint and held her overnight. in the morning they strapped what they said was a bomb to her and demanded she go to her east l.a. branch to take money and place it outside for the robbers to retrieve. she did that and the two men escaped with the cash. a bomb squad removed the apparent bomb from her waist and rendered it safe. the robbers escaped in a

two-door kia. "good morning america" will have the latest coming up later this morning at 7:00. right now 4:47. curiosity gets a report card. next what we expect to find out today. getting your kids to school, the new app that promises to take some of the pain out of the commute. the one disease scientists every time someone chooses finish over cascade, it sparks a movement.

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brings light and fragrance together, to create a mesmerizing experience in your home. try the new color changing candle. something in the air wick. welcome back. more sunshine today, 60s coast 65 san francisco 70s bay 80s inland across the country still looking like fall up north with 65 grey falls, 71 fargo, 77 boston, 79 seattle, 80s, 90s dallas and phoenix

triple digits. major airports newark flight departure delays severe weather possible kansas city, oklahoma city and dallas at home clouds around the bay right now not causing delays. if they do we'll have it and you can too. 4:50. newest mars rover will get a check-up this morning in the middle of so-called brain transplant. nasa is holding a news cons at 10. rover landed on mars august 8th, scientists have been watching and testing curiosity to make sure it wasn't damaged during the trip to mars and during a software update that followed. have you ever wondered why during rush hour nobody is rushing? the question the city of palo alto asked when they looked at traffic nightmare every morning and afternoon around some elementary schools. they are testing a new

solution to that problem. >> reporter: class dismissed. for kids it is the best part of the school day. for parents waiting in this traffic jam, not so much. >> the traffic here is pretty outrageous at times scary. >> reporter: bill overton is the principal. a school built for 300 kids now holds closer to 600. more than half ride solo to and from school with a parent now sitting in this. >> back-up is unbelievable. >> reporter: needless to say he was thrilled when the city asked to try something new it came from an old idea, a map that used to the hang in the school's front office. >> kindergarten one color, first and second graders so on. >> reporter: pins like these. >> it helps identify people who live in your neighborhood. >> reporter: palo alto calls the new website school tool it lets you create a shared calendar of who is driving,

e-mail parents and send out a mass text if something changes. >> we are trying to take as many cars out of equation as possible. >> reporter: it is about saving the environment and cutting down traffic for the kids it is about fun. >> think the kids are having fun when they get to spend more time with friends. i love listening to them. >> reporter: the school pool doesn't stop there it lets parents organize walking and bike pools. >> you get to see your friends before school starts. >> exercise and awry fresh at school ready to learn. >> reporter: in palo alto, jonathan bloom, abc7 news. mike the kids got a lesson in meteorological sciences yesterday, showers, rainbows, sunshine, clouds. >> almost, didn't have hurricanes, tornadoes, snow [ talking over each other ] >> let's look outside, good morning, let's show what is going on today, looking down

at the financial center clouds hanging around, maybe thick enough to cause delays at sfo right now everybody on time. there's a small chance of showers you can see around salinas, carmel, possibly gilroy, a few sprinkles for you. as we move through the afternoon that chance is going to lessen considerably. 60 antioch everybody else in the 50s no need to worry about grabbing the wet weather gear today. here's a look at highlights, less storms, more sunshine today, coast and bay clouds tonight and the weekend weather is going to be easy to deal with. all of those numbers are on the positive side because they are, going to be warmer today than it was yesterday with that rain-cooled air following throughout the afternoon. let's talk about what is going

on as far as the temperatures today. 80s in san jose, upper 70s sunnyvale and milpitas. peninsula 76 palo alto, 68 millbrae mid to upper 50s coast mid and upper 60s downtown and south san francisco north bay 68 sausalito mid to upper 70s to be stuck at 60 at the beaches, 68 berkeley. east bay valleys mid to upper 80s warm spot, monterey 63, 74 santa cruz low to mid 80s some of the drops falling showers stay to our south and east. big sur shower possible 73 bet chance of thunderstorms tahoe 75 yosemite 91, dry around palm springs, los angeles and san diego today. back home, clouds around the bay and out at the coast 50s there.

temperatures near steady through the weekend. santa cruz mountains highway 17 wee been following this big rig accident it happened last night 10:00, northbound lanes opened 1 a.m. this morning, southbound lanes remain closed bear creek road. the estimated time of opening is 5:00. terry mcsweeney will bely on the scene we'll get an update. for now detours in place. long way around would be half moon bay 92 up and over towards the san mateo area. elsewhere police activity in oakland, having eastbound 580 macarthur off-ramp closed "sig alert" in that area west macarthur closed between market and san pablo due to police activity asking that you stay away from that area in oakland. 101 northbound roadwork from golden gate bridge off and on repaving in the strawberry area and some of those northbound lanes remain closed

until 6:00 this morning. live look at 80 berkeley light heading into the macarthur maze here's a live look at the bay bridge toll, no metering lights yet, traffic light. new research debunked belief that popular dietary supplement may prevent alzheimer's. scientists studied thousands over 70-years-old with memory problems they gave half of them ginkgo biloba and the other half placebo. they found no significant difference in the likelihood to develop alzheimer's. the results are similar to an earlier u.s. study this study was founded by a -- was funded by a producer of ginkgo biloba supplements

. following developing news on highway 17 in the santa cruz mountains where we've been telling you that tanker fire closed strep of road for hours overnight some -- closed stretch of road for hours overnight some still closed. chevron says it is not ready to commit to a plan -- ñ!ñs

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