>> good afternoon, everybody, i'm larry beil >> in a clear sign of how dire the water shortage is, state officials announced they will not make water deliveries to agency that's serve about 25 million people and a million acres of farmland >> this is the first time in the 54-year history in the state water project such as an action is taken and it could be a devastating hit for towns and farm that's depend on the water

supplies. some will run out in just months. >> these areas will continue to heed the call for water conservation and relie on reservoirs as well as storm water. scarce resources. >> the state has not been this dry in generations. take a look at the graph showing precipitation since 1970 for water year beginning in october. and if you look to the end of the graph, 2014, you can see well, you just saw we're way in the red, less than five inches state wide since october 1st. period supposed to be a rainy season. >> customers of the hetch hetchy water system being asked to reduce their water usage by 10%. that request impacts 2.6 million users. officials from san francisco public utilities commission say today's request is only the first step to get people to try to save water. >> if things persist we may have

to go to more stringent requirements. to a mandatory. so we'll know in a month or so if we have to ratchet this up. >> officials plan to start a public campaign to get homeowners and businesses to use low-flow shower heads, toilets and other devices >> there is nothing on live doppler seven hd now. >> no. we keep hoping but spencer christian is a look at how much, if any. i can't call it rainfall. just spritzing. >> that is all it was. it's dry right now but there is no rain around the bay area now. there is light snow around lake tahoe. it did pick up a few inches of snow from this most-recent system. so despite recent snowfall, the state-wide snow pack only 15% of normal. two days ago down to 10%. there has

been modest improvement but 85% not likely made up. here in the bay area, how much rain have we had in 24 hours? 1/100ths. in half moon bay and in moffett field and nothing measurable anywhere else in the bay area, it's official now this, is not only the driest january on record, in the state of california by far, driest in san francisco, shattering the old record this, january, 2014 san francisco had 6/100ths of rainfall. that smashes the old record. and last year, it's at that time third-driest january on record. that is bumped down to fourth driest by this one. just incredible so for this january and on the horizon, a little chance of something sunday

i'll tell but that a little bit later. >> spencer, not overly promising. >> a lot of communities need water from the reservoirs. >> it's not like you're going to be able to go to the faucet and no water is going come out but it's putting water agencies in a bind. >> yes. laura? >> i'm standing high above tri valley here, 200,000 water customers depend on water what is called zone 7. they supply local cities for them, 80% water comes from the state. this announcement was difficult. >> if they give us a 0 percent aloe indication, we're going to get nothing. >> reporter: with the announcement, the tri-valley zone r7 has a difficult road

ahead. >> it's more complicated. we have to control the rate in which we take water out to meet demands of the people and our abilities to row charge it. >> reporter: zone 7 supplies water to communities and now, it will attorney it's back up plan to relie on a series of wells. 60% of the water belongs to zone 7. the question, will it get refilled? >> are you concerned? >> not really. i love to fish. >> storm 7 board declared a drought emergency asking for a conservation of 20% in the tri-valley area.

>> san francisco police arrested a man for setting fire to trees near candle stick park this afternoon. nobody was hurt, no significant damage. health officials confirmed deaths of two more people from the flu bringing the number of deaths now to 35. this map shows you the county by county breakdown of where the deaths occurred. health officials urging everyone to get a flu shot as soon as possible. 96 people died from the flu. >> first lady on her way back to washington, d.c. right now after wrapping up a two-day visit with a lunchen in san francisco. >> lillian kim is live with more. lillian? >> reporter: hundreds of people paid big money to hear the first lady speak, today, they were asked to give more. >> she is asking us to dig. >> reporter: the first lady wasted no time making her noint a fund-raiser at the fairmont hotel today, mrs. obama told the

crowd to start writing those checks to the democratic party. >> i can't afford it but i cannot not afford it. so it's something we have to do it in order to be able to get this country in a place it should be. >> reporter: about 600 people paid from $500 to $32,000. mrs. obama told them there is a lot at stake, mid term elections, ten months away. many say a g.o.p. takeover would be devastating. >> there won't be any federal judges appointed. it's just going to be two years of nothing good and bad things happening. >> reporter: for many this, is the first time seeing the first lady in person. >> i wished her a 50th birthday. very easy to talk to. honor to meet her.

>> reporter: this marked the end of her two-day visit to san francisco. bart service between san francisco and east bay stopped about 20 minutes today out of concern a ship anchor may have hit the transbay tube the coast guard says the ship lost pro puts the coast guard notified operations the anchor may have dropped on to transbay tube. at 4:30 abc7 news vic lee has mer on how close the ship actually got. >> that is a little scary. giant crane helping lift some heaviest pieces of the east bay bridge into place arrived in new jersey. tug boats dragged it 6,000 miles down the west coast through pan ma canal to the hudson river. it's one of the largest floating cranes in the world. reassembled first span

set to open in 2016. >> the giants holteding their fan fest tomorrow at at and t park. it's open from 10:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon a chance to meet and greet the giants. >> tim lincecum will be there. he admitted he wasn't sure he was going to be back this svenlt his contract expireed and finished with a record of 10-14. and he's well regarded as ace of the staff after winning two cy young awards. he had serious doubts whether the giants wanted him to come back. well, i guess they proved they wanted hip, signing him to to a two-year $35 million contract. >> you know i feel the year just biting my knuckles and if teams were going to want me after this, the giants showed that they do want me back as bad as they did gave me that confidence

going back into the year. there was screaming you might have heard if you walked past ballpark today. that is giants shooting commercials for upcoming season. they invited fans to be a part of it. if you're wondering pitchers and catchers getting set to report for training february 14th. baseball season almost here. >> some giants found time for fun in between interviews. brandon crawford showing off new old school jerseys giants will be wearing on friday. kirka 1980s? >> and many little boys want to be firefighters or baseball players matt cane doing both jobs here. he's a firefighter right now. i'm assuming that is part of a commercial? >> confusing. >> it s -- is, yes. 11 northern

california man got a chance to stand between the president and vice president. also... >> the traditions many followed today to celebrate the new lunar year. >> and 7 on your side's michael finney taking your questions and will be here to answer them live in just a few moments. you can contact michael on twitter on m finney. >> looking at traffic right now on interstate 80 in berkeley. you can see it's just bumper to bumper no matter which direction you'

one of the besis that millia is that millions of people will qualify for financial assistance. it's important to remember that the lower your annual income, the greater financial assistance you will receive. enroll today at coveredca.com.

another brush with the law for justin beiber. his private jet held on suspicion marijuana was on board authorities say they detected the strong odor of pot and began a search. sources say the search came up empty the jet arrived from canada for super bowl weekend. >> president obama urging businesses to do more to get the long term unemployed back to work. the president signed an order directing federal agencies to end hiring practice that's put long term unemployed in a disadvantage. this after the president met with ceos who

signed a pledge to meet with job seekers. mr. obama introduced by eric varella serving as an enriman in iraq but had trouble finding work when he came home in 2008 and was living out of his car with his wife. he was snepd a pg&e job training program and works as an apprentice electrician in eureka. >> i hope listening to eric here, everybody recognizes what a great success story this is and the notion with some skill and talent was having difficulty finding a job indicates the challenge we face. >> varella and his wife have three small children. they're nearly debt free and plan to buy a house, soon.

>> year of the horse i can candidate off through the streets of chinatown >> those born in the year of the horse are said to be high spirited loyal and hard working. speaking of that, wayne freedman is large from largest chinatown outside of asia. >> reporter: one of the most crowded, especially today. out with the snake in with the horse. chinatown did witness a bang today maybe the shortest, loudest parade you've seen. it took a few thousand years of history, a few minutes and a city block with a hrs to enter. having the mayor present may help, too. >> it's lunar new year. you will be looking at korean community, and vietnamese community. >> tourists picked the right

day. >> you don't have anything like this in austin, texas? >> no. we have a few stores. >> inside eastern bakery, the owner and his wife can help you with that. ask about hoiz moon cake. >> moon cake highest quality pastries. >> highest in a taste tasty line up that includes radish cake, new year sponge cake. >> no calories at all. >> no calories? >> yes. >> when you have a celebration like your birthday, new year, christmas, anything it's on us. no calories. it doesn't count. >> excellent. in that case, oh. >> that is what it's about. >> from chinatown wayne freedman abc7 news >> and you'll find this happy lunar new year post on our abc7 news facebook page. share it with friends. just visit

news. >> the year of the horse has been a galluping success. >> apologize for spencer. >> i was born in the year of the boar. >> it's relevant. >> and i've been bringing home the bacon, ever since. >> oh, man. >> i am quite a ham. >> it is drieshg as is my humor nochlt rain around the bay area now. we're hoping for a little spritz or sprinkle to develop. here is a nice view from our roof top camera looking at blue skies over the bay. current readings 55 degrees in san francisco. 59 oakland. 60 redwood city. 59 san jose, 61. and half moon bay, another live view looking down towards ocean beach from our mount tam camera,

blue skies now. 62 degrees in santa rosa. 63 petaluma. low 60s in fairfield. one more gorgeous view of the western sky looking towards golden gate. these forecast features, sunny skies tomorrow, there is that slight chance of rain sunday, hoping it will be more vigorous than it's appearing to be now. and then we'll have a dry pattern next week throughout the first week of february. here is our slight image showing system heading our way. high pressure, mostly sunny skies. moving into our direction, approaching the coast sunday we'll start at 11:00 tonight. notice sunny skies tomorrow. saturday night into sunday there is a slight chance of rain along the santa cruz county coastline. we start to

dry out on sunday night. let's continue animation now for ten days all for ten days ahead, i should say. we might get a next chance of rain. at the moment appears it would be better on sunday. overnight tonight, clear skies, low temperatures from around 30 in north bay valleys to mid to upper 30s inland to low 40s around the bay. and tomorrow, a sunny day. upper 50s to near 60s around the bay sxinland. here is the accu-weather forecast. a little chance of rain sunday. our next chance of rain around february 9th or ten. >> i april homing that is when

the next pun shows up as well. >> i'll try to restrain myself >> another honor for oscar winner helen miren. >> new after 4:30 road worthy children of a childrens toy car is built on how one man did it. >> taking a look at traffic right now this, is walnut creek. heavy traffic for drivers making their way northbound. but it's

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one of the besis that millia is that millions of people will qualify for financial assistance. it's important to remember that the lower your annual income, the greater financial assistance you will receive. enroll today at coveredca.com. >> that is dame helen mirre. n

she took on twerking during the hasty pudding awards she tried to sing the word then she just gave up and started dancing. she was named woman of the year at the annual spoof and roast. >> can you guess who this is? that is... bruno mars at only five years old before he became famous taking his cue from the king of rock and roll. 20 years later same hair. he's preparing to take the stage at half time at the super bowl. how long does it take him, do you think to do that hair? >> spencer was guessing that that might have been justin

beiber. same sort of' do there. >> it's 30 degrees and snowing in ohio but that is not stopping a 68-year-old woman from keeping the top on her convertible down. she can now afford it and defiant of the cold is turning heads around town, but says a slight chill is not going keep her from enjoying it. >> since i don't have another 50 years to enjoy her, why just have the top down in the summer? might as well winter, too. >> she said snow often gets inside of the car but damaged ledgeer not going to stop her. >> i like her toughness >> yes. >> determination >> more still to come at 4:00 including a develop thment that bridge gate scandal. someone close to new jersey's governor contradicts what chris christy knew about those closures. >> i'll never go willingly back

to that place. >> amanda knox what. she's saying about the new murder charges against her and the possibility of extra decision. a cruise ship cuts a trip one of t is that millions of peopleia will qualify for financial assistance. it's important to remember that the lower your annual income, the greater financial assistance you will receive. enroll now at coveredca.com.

a jarring close call today. >> bart has to stop running trains into the transbay tube after coast guard warned a anchor may have hit the tube 135 feet below the surface >> we're live with more on this, vic? >> embarcadero station is behind me there lots of bart riders use that station every day. now, thank goodness the anchor did not hit the tube but earlier today, believe me that was a possibility in the minds of many. >> bart stopped all service through the tube when the coast guard notified them that a ship accidentally dropped anchor in waters above the tube. concern

is that it may have damaged the tunnel. >> they told everybody get off the train and the train got chained to the bay. >> camille was on a train from hayward. >> they didn't say too much. >> and what? they made you wait? >> just made us wait. >> bart inspectors took no chances. >> as a precaution, bart stopped all traffic throughout the tube and inspected the tracks. inside of the transbay tube and found no damage. >> it was a 965 foot ship berthed in oakland the coast guard says it lost power and began drifting. it was determined later that the anchor was dropped 1200 feet south of the tube. two tug boats did not detect evidence this, is some of

the reaction we got from bart commuters when they heard what happened. >> yes. it's scary. but it's kind of funny like a april fool's joke. >> stopping bart was a good idea. >> bart says delays peaked at about 15-30 minutes the ship now berthed again. at the port of oakland. >> a former appointee of chris christy said the new jersey governor knew about the ordering of bridge lane closures despite denial he stated did he not know his administration ordered lanes to be closed at george washington bridge in september. it caused massive traffic jams for days. five days in all and today, the man he appointed as head of the port authority of new york and new jersey issued a letter saying he knew about the closures and says he can prove it. christy's administration says letter is proof did he not know about the closures. opponents say it was in

retaliation against democratic mayor who refused to endorse christy's reelection by the. >> a cruise ship returned to a port today but it's unclear whether that is due to fog or illness. princess cruises says a dense fog forecast is the reason the ship returned to pasadena, texas but many passengers question that explanation. 170 people on board became ill, expected noro virus, and cdc officials went on board to investigate. >> mainly said the reason is because houston port was going to be fogged in friday, saturday, and sunday. we didn't buy that because we're from here. >> in new jersey investigators have confirmed the highly contagious noro-virus was to blame for sickening several hundred people on a royal caribbean cruise ship the ship has been sanitizeed and set to sail again late today. >> two men have been arrested in new york after police say they stole $700,000 worth of

merchandise from a cartier jewelry store at the middle of the day. five men entered the store in mid day and smashed open a glass case they made off with 16 watches. some of the property has been recovered. police are still looking for the other three robbers. >> in italy police recovered a piece of fabric stained by the blood of pope john paul ii found in a garage of one of three people the relic went missing from the church where the late pope liked to ski. >> investigator says a white powder mailed to several locations near the site of the super bowl is not dangerous. the fbi continues to test those letters. one appears to have contained baking seweda. the letters stoent a number of businesses including five hotels mere met life stadium. former fbi agent brad garrett says this can handicap law enforcement if

there were a legitimate attack. >> because a tremendous drain on a joint terrorism task force should be focusing on the super bowl and the super bowl activities in times square. >> now, stadium security remains extremely tight. every worker moving and out and being screened and every package has an escort. >> american amanda knox vowing to fight a 28 year murder sentence. she's pleading for help in the battle to clear her name in what she calls overzealous prosecutors knox spoke to "good morning america" and we have the story. >> reporter: in a packed courtroom in florence, italian judge read sentences 28 years for amanda knox, 25 for her ex-boyfriend. neither was there. knox halfway around the world in seattle. >> first of all in, an exclusive

emotional interview robin roberts knox says she couldn't believe what she was hearing. >> this really has hit me like a train. i did not expect this to happen. i really expected so much better from the italian justice system. they found me innocent before. how can they say guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? i'm going through waves of emotion in response to it. my first reaction was no. this is wrong. and i'm going to do everything i can to prove that it is. >> this was the third trial for knox and solecitto for the 2007 murder of knox's former roommate. they were found guilty in 2009. two years later acquitted. but then, italy's supreme court demanded a new trial, resulting in thursday's guilty verdict. kercher's brother and sister hoped waits

coming to an end. >> we hoped it would be the end of the trial >> nchl says she'll only go back if dragged, kicking and screaming. >> i will never go willingly back to a place where i -- i'm going fight this until the end. >> the united states and italy have signed an extradition treaty so italy could demand knox be sent back to carry out the sent yefrns but before that could happen there could be a long, complicated legal and diplomatic process. >> coming up, one car have you to stee to bleechlt a man built an adult sized copy of a todd r toddler's toy and take it on the road. >> i'm still taking your questions on twit scombrer facebook. i'll answer your

questions live later >> i'm spencer christian. a view from our camera shows snow being made by the snow-making machine. maybe we can use a rain-making machine here, i'll have the dry accu-weather forecast coming up. >> it's a tough day for traffic right now this, is san francisco skyway. it's really slow. especially for those drivers on the lefthand side of the screen. making their way to the lower deck of the bay bridge. not much weather for drivers heading south and beyond on 101.

hales corners, wisconsin. nice pass by alyson dudek. and she does! e does! [ male announcer ] with the u-verse wireless receiver, your tv goes where you take it, allowing inspiration to follow. ♪ [ dad ] looks pretty good, right? [ girl ] yeah. [ male announcer ] add a u-verse wireless receiver today. ♪

a cheerleader sinks a half court shot and does a hand stand, throws it into the hoop. it's hard to make a court from half court just standing upright the cheerleader did it during half time and made a similar shot last year and n.case this looks familiar. but talk about difficult. >> that is spectacular. >> yes. >> it's not uncommon for people to want a car taking them back to care free days of youth. a british man has taken the dream to the extreme. >> yes. the mechanic built an adult sized version of the crazy

coupe. maybe you had one. carolyn? >> i'm very familiar with this. >> yes. he built it and it's real, runs on gas and has an air bag and goes 70 miles per hour. >> just thought what a wonderful idea but real. >> yes. >> and as soon as i thought, i thought it's got to be one of these. >> he didn't have to use his feet to move it. he likes it doesn't have windows just like the original. of course that could be a problem when it's cold and wet in england. the vehicle took about a thousand hours to build at 6500s sxdz he plans to use the car to raise money for charity. >> can you imagine he's driving around? people see him? >> yes. yes. >> what? what is that? >> it's a good replica >> it's fantastic. 6500ss today make? great deal what. is the deal on weather? >> it's a mixed bag for the weekend. right now in live

doppler 7 sunny conditions and tomorrow, sort of a mixed weather picture. showers along the coast and inland we've got snow moving into new evening scomplnd a trail of showers down mississippi valleys to gulf coast and dry weather throughout the interior west and southwest. and across california tomorrow, dry conditions and sunny skies. temperatures will be into a seasonal range so 60s here, 50s there here in the bay area we're going to see a sunny, seasonal day as well. high temperatures into mid-50s at the coast. upper 50s to near 60 near the bay and inland sunday, a little bit of rainfall here. and bring us light rain. that is about as much as we're going to get for a while. >> still ahead at

celebrity surprise today >> ask commercials creating a buzz on the internet. >> i'm michael finney whchlt you buy costume jewelry, are companies required to tell you how much lead is in the product? i'll have

a new report finds of number of childhood cancer cases continues to increase but death rates have fallen by half. american cancer society calling it one of the most comprehensive looks at cancer. childhood cancer is still considered rare. most new diagnosis have been seen in blood cancers. >> next week the fda will launch an aggressive

campaign. the ads he says are aimed at 12 to 17-year-olds. >> they're just one party way from smoking that first cigarette or progressing from experimenting to becoming a regular smoker wex have insights into what drives them to turn to smoking. >> the government estimates every day, 3,000 children try their first cigarette b a fourth end up addicted to nicotine the campaign launches on tuesday. >> this sunday's super bowl will be packed with commercials that carry a super-sized price tag. now, more companies are releasing ads early trying to create buzz. >> from a cowboy crusader to cute puppy love, tugging at your hearts. this year, companies

ponying up for 30-second ads. >> it's the most-watched tv event of the year. >> go daddy prom yigs a woman will announce she's quitting her job in an ad. >> her boss has no clue this is happening. >> we want to stick it to the boss. here is a dream come true. >> other companies are hoping star power will get them noticed. >> don't you think it's time we all get our own places? >> critics argue revealing ads before the game day can backfire. >> just because it's great, just because it makes you laugh, doesn't mean that it's good for business. iet means it's great exposure. saying 23 of the top broadcasts of all time are super

bowls. >> first 11 from jerry o. i purchase something i'm asked for a credit card mum including the code. is that allowable? >> absolutely. it s i don't really, they all do. that three-digit coast is not captured. just proves you have a hard in the hand. that is why they ask for the number. allowable. >> yes. julia asks i received costume baerls a receipt that said there may be lead in the jewelry. are company as loued to sell without letting you know amount of lead in the product? >> great question the way laws are written. first, they used to be able to sell with lead in it. we pride ourselves in pushing forward.

now there could be limited lead in jewelry. and if there is anything there, they have to disclose it. that is what you saw.. it's got to be below level allow but they don't have to tell you how much is there. >> teresa e mailed this kwechlt i called a covered california number to get help with enrollment. she's talking about health care. i got a brief message, then disconnected. >> i don't know what happened there i am hearing kit take a half hour or longer. you call it says your wait will be a half hour. there is a way around it. you don't have to call or go online. you can go to to many insurance agents are selling this product. so senior centers can help you sign up. there are county health

department that's can help you sign up. so there are these third party people. doesn't cost more to use them. so you might want to call your agent. say are you doing this? >> will that speed the process up? you get in? it's not an issue? >> no. >> you'll have someone guiding you through. >> that might be the way to go. >> yes. >> thank you. >> sure >> coming up next, friends and family getting a high school student a huge send off to sochi. and a celebrity surprise as well. >> coming up at 5:00... >> this is important and we're giving it a top priority. >> deadline day in san jose. abc7 news talks with a key figure. >> and why a quarter million people could see insurance premiums jumping by 25%. is that you? okay, it's time to set the record straight.

covered california is how californians can take advantage. we can help you get quality health insurance right now. to sign up, call 800-890-7561 or go to coveredca.com. you can also use our website to find loca to find local, in-person help. there's not much time left - open enrollment ends soon. so call 800-890-7561, or go to coveredca.com, and get covered.

at 8:00 last man standing is neighbors and 2020 at 10:00. be sure to join us tonight at 11:00. >> a restaurant chain is making date night more affordable for parents. olive garden offering to pick up the parents baby-sitting tab the struggling chain has teamed up with my gym a network of fitness centers to provide a free date night offer february 7th a week before valentine's day >> huge sendoff for a young woman on her way to the olympics. >> abc7 news was live when her school gave her that send off.

>> selena is no ordinary student. i've been working on this so long. she's a u.s. figure skating champion. she's the youngest member of the figure skating team. >> it feels great. >> saying goodbye, good luck but the arc bipon mitty alumni came to cheer her on, too. >> have you all of us here supporting you. we're proud of you. congratulations. >> fellow students are beyond proud. >> not every school can say yes,

we have a olympian. it's an honor. >> i see her and it's paul liena. >> this high school is so confident she'll bring home gold it's part of the sendoff cheer. she will win. >> she leaves next week and will be taking more than her skates with her, she says she's got home work to do while away, competing for team usa. >> i think she can skip it. >> home work? >> i'm a good role model. thanks for joining us. abc7 news at 5:00 begins right now. >> for the first time in 50 years the state will not deliver

water this summer. the actions are largely could have been prevented >> a ship drops anchor in the bay. that sinking piece of steel might have hit the bart transbay tube. >> this is important. >> a key figure about to look into a university hate crime. >> live on the roof of the kgotv broadcast center, sunshine and a chance of rain in the forecast. >> the state is shutting off water supply to farmers and cities as it tries to deal with our worst drought ever. >> the state would have to experience heavy rainfall and snowfall every other day through

may to get us back to average levels >> thanks for joining us. >> this is unprecedented and now, reaching critical mass a state official already slashed water deliveries to 5%. and have just dropped to 0. >> it means everyone will get less water but these actions will protect us better in the long run. interest tl is not enough to go around we need to conserve. >> you can see rivers and pipelines in different colors. action means they will drop to prevent salt water from getting into the delta. one area reeling is santa clara county. that is where leanne melendez is live. >> santa clara county relies a

bit on supply. so from going to 5% to 0 that, is about 10,000 fewer households served by this water district. water district gets 40% of the water from state and federal supplies now, the state says kit not afford to give away water to santa clara county. people experiencing the drought say this makes matters worse. >> this population is >> the federal government expected to be very low, leaving water district here to relie on its own water resources like the ten reservoirs. and it's underground water supply. >> are we still able to deliver and meet