contra costa county. she had underhighing health officials. in northern california: three people who lived in sacramento county died of the strain and a woman in santa clara. all were under the age of 65. 9 flu has killed 28-year-old orange county woman and three people who died last month. the take home from this news is it is not too late to get the flu shot. the season for flu in california is january through march. >> everyone should be vaccinated. flu is circulating and people know people who have been hospitalized. we had a death in contra costa, and the best protection and this flu vaccine will protect you against it. >> unlike other years this is no shortage this year. the vaccine was scarce during the 2009/2010 flu season and 657

in california died from the swine flu. doctors say wash your hands frequently to stop 9 spreads of flu. san francisco police are investigating the city's sixth fatal pedestrian accident in recent weeks. a 38-year-old man was hit by a car and killed running across van ness avenue near grove street. witnesses say the victim was in an argument before the accident. the victim made it across six of seven lanes when he was hit. the driver had in time to react. >> he stopped quickly. he cooperated. or she. neither drugs or alcohol were a factor. >> board of supervisors is holding a joint meeting of safety committee to discuss pedestrian safety on city streets. the mayor says drivers need to slow down and pedestrians need to look both ways even if there

is a crosswalk. he will likely make an announcement in the coming weeks. the country is still dealing with the polar vortex, the arctic air what put half of us in a deep freeze. in atlanta crews are trying to shut off a broken pipeline after freezing temperatures caused it to burst. water is shooting up to 80' in the air for six hours. power lanes are encased in ice and in danger of snapping. crews are trying to access frozen water valves. it is not known how long that can take. officials say workers installing new pipelines at pumping stations left the pipes exposed and they burst. 21 deaths are blamed on bitter cold weather including seven people in illinois and six in indiana. authorities say several of the victims were homeless who refused to go to shelters or who could fined a warm place. in upstate new york, there is

lake effect snow causing blizzard-like conditions. a report from washington, dc, with the latest conditions there. the weather is still causing flight cancellations but the numbers are less than the past few days: 571 flights canceled nationwide this morning, a third of the flights canceled at this time yesterday. at san francisco international airport, there are three flight cancellations according to the officials no cancellations at oaklistened -- oakland or san jose. >> it could be a week before the airlines get back up to speeds. there is lot or delayed luggage for passengers who finally reach the destination. >> snow is blanketing the country the alarm is sounding across the opposite problem: we are in a drought. the agriculture tremendous is suffering.

one business found a way to save money and water at the same time. >> this lake is only 18 percent of capacity near sacramento. the water managers are calling on the governor to officially declare a drought. >> all the indications are telling us, we are headed into a possible year that is worst than 1977. >> no rain. no grass. it is hurting the agriculture industry from cattle to horse owners. treecy owns equestrian center. >> we purchased this property we paid $9 a bali and now it is over $20. >> she has been groaning her only feed for 100 horses at the stay -- stay bell. >> barley is germinated for six days in this locker until they are fodder which is more nutrition than hay and saved

$200 a day. >> a lot of bans have gone out of business. >> with the cost savings and the higher nutritional value it makes you wonder why more stables do not switch? >> people don't like change. >> as water consumption increases, and supplies decrease, she believes the ag industry will have to change to more drought proof methods to survive. >> today, the water district that serves more than 265,000 customers in eastern sacramento will consider a measure asking customers to stop outdoor watering and begin efforts at cutting indoor water use in half. the stage 5 drought restrictions, most severe category, would become mandatory next month. contra costa county waterboard

is considering 3.5 percent rate hike adding $2.44 to the average single family residential customer using 350 gallons of water a difficult. >> los gatos police are investigating an assault they believe may have been part of a knock out game. witnesses say a man punched a woman in the parking lot of a strip mall on monday and took off running. the woman was not seriously injured. the only motive police have come up with, she was sucker punched possibly as part of the dangerous game that is green -- green pop -- grown popular in other cities. >> and an amended lawsuit says erick gelhaus has a history of questionable force and judgment and has been involved in several controversial incidents before the shooting in santa rosa according to the "san francisco chronicle" including an incident in 1996 when erick gelhaus point his gun at a woman carrying her

young son after she called for help in a dispute with a neighbor. >> the san mateo police department is taking a new approach to kick start the canine program and is using the intent to raise money. they have sworn in the only canine in the program, ajax and his human partner need equipment such as leashes and other training tools. they have raised $2,500. you can donate on our website at abc7news.com under oh -- "see it on tv i." >> crowd funding going on. now the weather forecast. something for everyone. >> so excited to turn on the windshield wipers. >> a lot of mist in the air. may need to use the wipers.

it is mild. very mild. 47 at woodside. 49 at palo alto. everyone else in the 50's. redwood city is 50. and 53 in san mateo. belmont is 54. 50's in san francisco, oakland, hayward, fremont, san jose, san ramon, antioch, 36 in santa rosa. all the temperatures are from two to 11 degrees warmer than yesterday. if the here did not run, that is why. the moisture is confined to the only hours and it will hang and through 7:00, mid-40's to low 50's. by noon it is over. it become mostly cloudy and low-to-mid 50's hanging out in the mid-to-upper 50's by 4:00 with a few sprinkles and mostly cloudy in the evening and mild,

upper 40's to low 50's. leyla gulen? >> good morning, as we head over to oakland we have construction northbound 880 between high and embark day you will find lanes closed off. they will re-open by 5:00 this morning. there are patches of slowing moving from the northbound direction and southbound side, as well, but it will not hamper the commute. in the altamont pass, westbound 580, at north flynn road we have a report of a car fire and now with the commute it is looking slow. you can see the red showing the traffic stopping as it passes. >> this is the san mateo bridge across the water and toward the peninsula, hayward to foster city, only going to take you nine minutes and eastbound traffic, the headlights, everyone is moving along fine. eric and kristen? >> a ballot initiative for the state aimed at helping cities bring in the public workers'

pension gets the green light. >> the 49ers fever taking hold in the bay area and hundreds of fans crowded a local sports store. harsh words, former defense chief robert gets has for the obama administration and who at the top is now being

[ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! [ female announcer ] try new pillsbury heat-n-go mini pancakes. ♪ [ male announcer ] don't wait for awesome... totino's pizza rolls gets you there in just 60 seconds. ♪

covering santa rosa, berkeley, san jose and all the pay area this is abc7 news. the murder of a popular soap opera office and her husband in venezuela drawing attention to the crime in venezuela gunned down after resisting robbers. her five-year-old daughter was shot in the leg. these are pictures from the seen. she was a former miss venezuela and was living in miami and was on vacation in venezuela.

she said in the past she left her home country because it is too dangerous. violence intensified in venezuela during the 14 year rule of the late chavez. in a new book, robert gates is slamming the obama administration afghan war policies while saving the fierce of the criticism for vice president biden in leaked excerpts, he writes that he believed president obama lost faith in his own afghan war strategy and became focused on getting out rather than winning. he said the president supported the troops but not the mission. he saves a special zinger for vice president biden saying that he has been wrong on every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades. gate was defense secretary under presidents bush and obama. the become "duty" is due out january 14. >> state attorney general cleared the way for gather signatures for a statewide pension initiatives allowing

cities to renegotiate future pentagons and retirement benefits for public workers. the mayor says that soaring costs have forced san jose and other california cities to cut services and lay off employees. reform supporters have until june 5 to collect more than 800,000 signatures to qualify for the november ballot. supporters will announce by the end of the month whether they will collect signatures or hold off until the 2016 ballot. >> first lady obama is coming to the area for fundraisers including two for the democratic congressional campaign committee january 30. no deals or the locations. on 31st, she will be at a lunch hosted by nancy pelosi at the fairmont hotel. tickets start at $500. >> >> the 49ers are gearing up for the divisional match up in charlotte. the 49ers have more playoff expense but the panthers beat

the 49ers 10-9. the 49 wees have to win on sunday to keep super bowl alive. fans are heard getting hyped up. hundreds turned out to meet navorro bowman in burlingame. we were there for the excitement. it is one thing to see a 49er play ball if a stadium and another to grab an autograph. fans devours the chance to meet navorro bowman. >> amazing. appreciate it. something different. a lot people do not get to experience something like this. >> navorro bowman had an interception and touchdown that sealed the win against atlanta a few weeks ago. >> what was i thinking? that is what people want to know. i said i feel how you felt on christmas. >> political associate of president obama brought navorro bowman a football from

the white house for abotherring with the president in palo alto last year. the fans in line paid $79 for navorro bowman to sign a football or jersey but what they could not afford is a trip to charlotte for the game against the panthers. four tickets were going for $4,000, nonstop air fare was in the thousand dollar range. >> the seats i was looking for, they were $3,000. no go. >> 400 get a chance to meet navorro bowman. they cannot make to carolina they will own a piece in the area. >> you have been showing us your pride as the 49ers make the hey off run and here is an intense fan decked out in 49ers gear. send us your photo at ureport@kgo-tv.com. very exciting stuff for us, and we feel like winners with

the wet roads and sprinkles on the windshields. >> wish it would be something useful rather than just being a nuisance. >> the frowned is wet if some areas as the mist is hanging in the air but it will not help the drought situation. the game is still locking like rain. we flip-flop, the models, between rain before the game and then rain after the game but right now, it will calling for 40 percent chance of rain. look how mild it will be, 60 and dropping down to 57 by the end of the game. >> live doppler 7 hd shows clouds, and no radar returns. those are well to the north where you can see the swirling air mass in the area of low pressure associated with this latest weather system. it is situated in this area with the best chance of rain closer to that low. we are just getting a nice onshore flow and you can barely see the bay bridge, the western span of the bay bridge, from our roof camera giving you an idea

how low the deck is claiming or descending. it will be mostly cloudy and cooler this afternoon, with patchy fog and drizzle tonight. the best chance of rain is saturday and record highs again next week. we have 56 at half moon bay. mid-50's along the coast. the rest of us are in the upper 50's to near 60. tonight is mild. most of issue in the mid-to-upper 40's to near 50. north bay is the exception and napa is in the mid-to-upper 30's and several weak disturbances with the pattern finally changing and this is coming through today and it will bring us mostly cloudy conditions and a cold front tomorrow with another chance of sprinkles and we have to wait on the next system for saturday. the seven-day forecast shows temperatures about the same temperature. we are between systems on friday. warmer.

upper 50's to mill 60's and cooler with a chance of rain on saturday and less than ." -- less than .1". >> on the peninsula headed to sfo we have construction. and red on 280 in the southbound direction we will find out what for you. northbound 101 between airport boulevard and 380 you will find crews. everyone will wrap up by 5:00 this morning. at the altamont pass, there is a sticky problem out here westbound 580 a car fire with heavy traffic as folks go from tracy to livermore at 34 miles per hour is the top somebody as you exit the pass. as we look at the bay bridge toll plaza it is a cheer drive use make the commute to san francisco we have construction between the incline to treasure island which will wrap up at

5:00 this morning if you travel in the eastbound direction where there are other lanes blocked until 6:00. san francisco may is the reputation of being the gayest city in the nation but according to advocate, it is not in the top ten of the list. the magazine puts san francisco at number 11 in the annual "gayest cities in america," list but it attracts hundreds of thousands to the gay pride celebration each summer. washington, dc, tops the advocate magazine list, and pasadena is second and seattle is third. sit down restaurants versus fast food: which is healthier? something to chew on. >> a firefighter who helped save the public for decades runs to the job after an accident that

but add some sauce, pepperoni and cheese and fold up the crescent dough and presto, tuesday night just became crescent pizza pocket-tastic pillsbury crescents. make dinner pop. he loves me. he loves me not. he loves me. he loves me not. ♪ he loves me! that's right. [ mom ] warm and flaky in 15, everyone loves pillsbury grands! [ girl ] make dinner pop!

>> the highway patrol came to the rescue of a hand gliding pilot stuck in a tree. the fire department ladder truck could not reach the pilot dangling 50 feet boston ground so c.h.p. helicopter lowered an for who is a paramedic to reach the pilot. he escaped uninjured after being lifted to sift. >> >> a bay area fire chief is back on the job after a fall from the ladder that left him partly paralyzed. the fire chief fell 15' in may while pruning bushes. he returned to the job as fire chief in a wheelchair. the accident left him unable to walk with limited use of his left hand and spent 66 days in the hospital and did months of physical therapy with support and love. he could retire but three wants to keep working. >> it makes you want to fight

harder because not only do they have faith in you but they give you the energy you need to keep going. he will ease become to work for now working only part time for the next couple of weeks and hopefully he can return to work full time. if you know him, he could not stay at home. >> true, and it is not just the bay area who needs him, he is loading the rescues around the country when that is needed. >> he was in 9/11 and any place. you name it. this morning we are seeing sprinkles but that is what we need. >> no, no, a lost moisture in the air this morning. we it is hitting the roads and could be slick. i saw some tire tracks on the roads so there is a thin film of moisture. the best radar returns are to the north and all of us are going to be run over by cloud

cover today. a mile air mass in place and low-to-mid 70's around los angeles and low-to-mid 60's around central valley and 48 in lake tahoe with the best chance of snow this weekend. 280, south of 380, it does not appear anything is happening right now, i can show you it is locking clear and we don't have wazers reporting accidents or construction but we will try to find out if there could be some activity. you can see walnut creek riff is looking smooth and clear. be came, the roads could be moist because of the mist that came through but it is nine hadn't minute commute and not too much traffic to the 24 junction. >> dennis rodman has sung "happy birthday" to north korean leader kim jong-un before leading the stars to the coast at the stadium today for a game. he called the controversial

event part of the basketball diplomacy with the north and it has been criticized in the united states especially after he was questioned on cnn about an american who has been detained by the north korean government. >> you understand what kenneth bay did? do you understand what he did? >> what did he did. you tell me. what did he do? >> no, no, no, you tell me. why is he being held? >> they have not released any charges. >> it has been described as a meltdown, rodman's reaction and the bay family were upset after hearing rodman's remarks. >> is your kid exercising enough? the federal government says most young teens are not. the latest fitness data she only one in four kids in the united states between 12 and 15 are meeting the guide lines. an hour more of moderate to vigorous activity each day. the report businesses on kids' self reported activity level

showing the obesity rate for the age group is 17 percent down slightly but the authors say there is room for more improvement. >> >> a study finds sit down restaurants may not necessarily be more healthy than fast food chain. full service sit down chains could be loaded with more california rays, saturated fat and sodium than we think. this is published in the "journal of nutrition and education," showing the average calorie count for an adult meal topped the intake at 2,020 for a meal, drink and half a dessert. labeling is lagging behind fast food restaurants. >> another pedestrian is killed in san francisco. next at 5:00, we are live with the deadly start to the new year getting the attention of city hall and the machine to make the streets safer. >> the plea from the family of a

man gunned down after a fender bender. >> and a jailhouse interview by a man accused of

♪ ♪ so you can get cash back on all your purchases. so you can use your cash back... to so you...ur can save the day. chase freedom. so you can.

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good morning at action on wednesday, thanks for joining us. i am kristen sze. >> you saw a little pit of drizzle coming in. >> i didn't know what it was because it has been so long. >> didn't recognize it. >> that is all. >> 30 days since we had mist hanging in the air and it was so humid. good morning, everyone. napa is quarter-mile visibility because of the fog.