good afternoon, everyone. i'm larry beil. >> i'm ama daetz. the 49ers are gearing up for the first regular season game ever at levi's stadium this sunday. crews worked on finishing touches for the field, working on the logo there. fans are shelling out a ton of money and they are excited. abc 7 news reporter lillian kim is live at levi's stadium. >> reporter: 49ers fans say this sunday is a once in a lifetime opportunity so paying an arm and a leg for a ticket didn't require too much thought. crews are finishing up the final

touches at levi's stadium. fans meanwhile are heading to the box office for standing room only tickets released just today. ray gutierrez and tony mendoza bought a couple for their friends. their seats are in the end zone which they bought months ago for $400 a pop. >> at a regular basis every game may be hard to do but big games like this, it's priceless. >> reporter: the 49ers plan to make their home opener a special one. they urge fans to arrive hours early and to be at their seats by 5:01 p.m. for the pregame show. details are secret but it's supposed to be spectacular. >> get in there by 5:01 because the last thing you want to do is miss that show. the only place you are going to be able to see that show is in your seat. >> reporter: the 49ers say they learned a lot from the stadium's four preseason events which included two soccer matches and two preseason niner games. the turf has gone through a complete overhaul. traffic plans and signs have been tweaked. as for the valley transportation

authority, it's sticking to what it did for the soccer match, adding two extra trains and plenty of extra buses. >> we expect them all to leave at the end of the game which is what happened with the mexico/chile game. >> reporter: fans are hoping everything will go smoothly. tony mendoza flew in from san daigle fo daigle oh for the big day. >> i can tell everybody i was at the first game at levi's stadium and it's just about sporting our guys. prop . >> reporter: the day they have been waiting for just two days away. lillian kim, abc 7 news. >> niners defensive lineman ray mcdonald will be playing on sunday and he was scheduled to appear in court on monday the 15th, the day after the team's home opener on a domestic violence arrest, but this morning, the santa clara county district attorney's office announced that court date has been delayed. the d.a.'s office said the case is still under investigation. mcdonald was arrested on august 31st after somebody called 911

reporting violence during a party at his home. san jose officers arrested mcdonald after interviewing witnesses and seeing injuries on his pregnant fiancee. we have another nfl player who is in trouble this afternoon. the minnesota vikings have benched their star running back adrian peterson for sunday's game. this comes after the montgomery county sheriff'shas indicted peterson with child abuse charges. he disciplined his child with a switch, a long thin stick. he is said to be cooperating with the investigation and is set to turn himself in. his attorney says he regrets the incident and never intended to harm the boy. the temperature is rising and it's another spare the air day. >> spencer christian joins us with the update and a look at the weekend forecast. >> it is another hot day, second consecutive spare the air day.

our air quality is improving. we will not have a spare the air day tomorrow. we have sunny skies and once again, hot conditions in our inland locations. little bit of fog at the coast. let's take a look at high temperatures so far. it's reached 100 degrees already in livermore, 99 at fairfield, antioch 98, concord 96. ukiah, 100 degrees. 98 at cloverdale. 91 at santa rosa. notice how much cooler it is near the coast. san francisco, only 68 degrees right now as a high so far. 77 across the bay in oakland. as for the improving air quality, one reason is the wildfires burning up north are no longer sending so much of the smoke that we experienced the last couple days into the bay area. smoke is traveling in other directions now. so the fires continue to burn there which is bad news for that area, but for the bay area, we do have less smoke in the air, improving air quality and over the weekend, we will see the heat -- not heat wave, but this

wave of heat begin to ease up a bit as well. i'll have the seven-day forecast in a few minutes. >> thank you, spencer. federal help is on the way to napa and surrounding areas to help rebuild from the 6.0 earthquake. >> the president's disaster declaration is not bringing the money that a lot of people were hoping for, at least not yet. >> abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is live in downtown napa with that story. >> reporter: they are hoping it's a bit of a one-two. if you walk through napa now, you will see a lot of yellow caution tape, a lot of fences in front of businesses. in fact, 8 of 10 of those businesses are open, but they are a little surprised, yes, they are getting federal disaster assistance in napa but it won't help homeowners yet and it won't help business owners yet. they are hoping that down the road, it will. in quake-ravaged napa, it's official. the cavalry is coming, sort of. a presidential declaration that this is a disaster area which means federal assistance from fema. so why isn't linda cordare

smiling? >> i'm disappointed it's not more clear-cuclear-cut. >> reporter: the declaration unlocks federal funds but only for the city and county infrastructure thus far. homeowners and small business owners remain on their own until a second phase for them kicks in, assuming it kicks in. here's napa's mayor. >> it would be nice if it would have happened all at once. it's kind of confusing for the public, for the people here that are waiting for help to understand that the public infrastructure help is going to be here but the individual help for businesses and homeowners isn't here yet. >> reporter: linda owns an art gallery. the quake broke windows, ruined sculptures. she is tens of thousands of dollars in doubt. >> i would love them to take care of all the structure damage. i just don't know what it's going to be. >> reporter: it's a familiar refrain. a few blocks away, al showed where a rack of high end wine collapsed and became nothing more than an expensive house blend on the floor. the quake may have cost his three businesses a quarter of a

million dollars. he would love some low interest loans and tax deductions. >> i hope we don't have to wait too much. >> reporter: so in this community during what would have been a peak tourist season, hard work and determination can only go so far. wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> the napa county inmates are being transferred to neighboring solano county so workers can fix damage to the jail. the county plans to transfer about 60 inmates, including 20 women who will move to the jail in fairfield. one concern was that because of the quake, inmates were able to chip off pieces of concrete to use as weapons. a benefit concert will be held on sunday, september 28th to help the businesses and residents impacted by that quake. it will be noon to 5:00 at the napa valley expo. all the money raised will be donated to the community's earthquake relief fund. for more information about tickets and how you can help, go to our website, abc7news.com. state fish and wildlife officials have confirmed the

mountain lion they caught and killed this week is the one that attacked a 6-year-old boy over the weekend. dna samples taken were a match to saliva gathered from the boy's shirt after the attack. the lion did not have rabies. the news comes as we had hearing about more mountain lion sightings in the bay area this week. one was spotted in san carlos on devinshire boulevard. residents say it's a good reminder to be aware of the danger. >> i clearly saw two eyes and then after the lights hit its eyes, it ran off. >> it was like right in the middle of the street. >> we live in the area and there is deer here. if there is deer there is usually mountain lion around. it's one of those things you have to be cautious of. >> another mountain lion was spotted earlier this week in woodside. in san jose, police are questioning three people in connection with the death of a woman who was found dead on the street. she was lying on the sidewalk in the 1100 block of oakland road. abc 7 news reporter matt keller has the story. >> reporter: the crime scene was

gruesome. at about 2:20 this morning, a woman believed to be around 40 years old was found beaten to death on the sidewalk on north 15th street near commercial street in san jose. word of the homicide spread quickly this morning. the apparent victim well known in the homeless community. >> she made friends with everybody or tried to. she used to say my name's betty. >> reporter: police wouldn't confirm her identity but others believe she is betty. officers have three persons of interest in custody awaiting questioning by homicide detectives. workers in nearby businesses were kept out of the crime scene for several hours. this area has seen violence before. >> it doesn't surprise me in this area, no. >> reporter: what's happened before? >> same thing. >> reporter: other homicides? >> yes. >> reporter: a lot of homeless people live in and around the industrial area. city team ministries has shelters a few blocks away and serves breakfast and dinner to the homeless community. they say betty was a regular at dinnertime. but the woman described as friendly and outgoing is gone.

her life taken away while living on the streets of san jose. >> she's harmless. i can't imagine someone would actually hurt her, you know. that's just crazy. >> reporter: the drive-through at the carl's jr. was closed down for a couple of hours after police found what they thought was a piece of evidence. it has since reopened. this is the city's 26th homicide of the year. matt keller, abc 7 news. police in palo alto are searching for a man acrossed of p accused of pretending to be a police officer. police say he stopped a high school student on a bike and lectured him for not following traffic rules. the man was in an unmarked car and showed the student a weapon, a hand gun or a stun gun. police are looking for anyone else who may have come across the man. a big cleanup in foster city after a big rig hauling dirt rolled over, spilling piles of soil out on to the street. this happened at 12:30 this afternoon. sky 7 hd shows the crew using a crane and a tow truck to keep the truck steady as they rolled it back on to its wheels.

the foster city boulevard exit on eastbound highway 92 reopened around 3:00 but traffic in that area is still backed up. the driver suffered minor injuries. take a look at this. a van crashed through the front of a subway sandwich shop in san francisco's financial district. this is cell phone video taken by a viewer. police say the driver of a fiat ran a red light at battery and pine streets around 6:00 this morning and hit the van causing it to crash into the restaurant. the fiat driver was cited. fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. the big three online car services, uber, lift and sidecar, have all confirmed they have received letters from state regulators telling them they have to shut down their new carpooling options. the public utilities commission says that they're breaking the law and infrinking ging on the n of airport shuttles. they argue the new service reduces traffic and cuts pollution. still ahead on abc 7 news at

4:00, the special and versusaan brought people together at the white house. also, shedding light on the bright light that flashed across the sky this morning. new at 4:30, the children of the gun instructor accidentally killed have a moving message to the 9-year-old girl who shot their father. 7 on your side's michael finney taking your questions and he will answer them here live a little later. contact michael at facebook.com/michaelfinney abc 7. checking your traffic on this friday, mcarthur maze not too terrible on the right-hand side. that's 80 west. if you are heading 80 east through berkeley, it is looking quite horrible. >> really, really terrible.

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take a look at this. firefighters in southern california are battling this rapidly growing brush fire in the cleveland national forest. you can kind of make out the flames there but mostly, you see that thick gray smoke coming off the mountains. the size of the fire quadrupled from 50 acres to 200 acres in just a few hours. it's burning in orange county's silverado canyon and sending up a huge column of smoke as you saw. now we are seeing video of the flames. so far, no homes are threatened and there are no evacuations. firefighters are working in steep terrain where temperatures are in the 90s. former president clinton returned to the white house today to mark a special

anniversary. today, mr. clinton joined president obama to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the americorps national service program and to swear in hundreds of new volunteers. the former president signed the bill that created the program back in 1993 and he says that program has worked because volunteers kept their promise to get things done and urged the next generation to follow that example. >> i know this is a difficult time but this is no time to be pessimistic about america's future. look at you. look at the rainbow of diversity united to advance our common humanity. that is the secret of our future. >> mr. obama announced new steps to encourage employers to hire americorps volunteers. several have already signed up for that effort. apple tells abc 7 news it's gotten a record number of preorders for the new iphone 6 and iphone 6 plus. but the midnight debut didn't go as smoothly as hoped.

preorders for tiphone 6 plus hae sold out. the apple store website also crashed for about two hours this morning. other preorder sites also had hiccups, including at & t's site likely because of overwhelming demand. maybe you saw it, a strange light in the sky then lit up twitter this morning. >> take a look at what many people saw. a concord resident captured these pictures of the mysterious fireball that happened around 6:00 a.m. >> it shows the unusual object streaking across the sky. people reported seeing it from los angeles all the way to oregon. astronomers in oakland still are not quite sure what it was, but they are sure that it was not space aliens. >> we don't know what it was. one of our experts looking at a video that was taken said he didn't think it looked quite like a meteor but it was really too faint to tell. could have been a piece of space junk. >> how do they know it wasn't an alien, then? >> that's true.

astronomers are waiting for nasa to report if any space junk actually fell to earth today. if you do see colorful lights in the sky this weekend, scientists do warn that wednesday's solar flare will cause northern lights in the northern u.s. this weekend. speaking of the weekend, it is going to be hot. >> spencer christian is here with how hot. spencer? >> well, i'm happy to report it will be quite warm but not quite as hot as these last two days have been. that's good, because we have seen triple digits inland the last couple days. live doppler 7 hd, sunny skies across most of the bay area. a few patches of low clouds near the coast. we will see high clouds passing through in the evening and overnight hours and into tomorrow. we see a few right now from the east bay hills camera looking west. you see just a few high clouds under mainly blue sky. these are the forecast features, fog and high clouds will be present overnight. we'll have inland heat easing up a bit tomorrow and a cooler pattern will settle in early next week. here's the cloud pattern we experienced today. notice the persistent areas of

fog at the coast producing cooler conditions at the coast today than we've seen the last couple days. we still had some rather intense heat inland. you will see not only fog pushing up against the coastline but high clouds passing through tonight and tomorrow, so little bit of a high cloudy sky mixing in with otherwise sunny skies tomorrow. it will be a pleasant day, just not quite so bright as today. speaking of tomorrow afternoon, stanford at stanford stadium taking on army. game time, 2:00 p.m. it will be sunny, about 79 degrees at the start of the game. warming up to low 80s later in the afternoon. uv index will be very high so sun screen is recommended. overnight, look for again, fog at the coast and high clouds traveling across much of the bay area. low temperatures generally in the upper 50s to right around or just above 60 overnight. then tomorrow's highs in the south bay, still quite warm. mid 80s to mid 90s, 85, santa clara, 94 in morgan hill. on the peninsula, we will see low 80s. redwood city, palo alto,

mountain view and menlo park. on the coast, 65 at pacifica, 67 will be the high at half moon bay. in and around san francisco, look for highs of 72 degrees. 74 in south san francisco. 68 in the sunset district. in the north bay, it will be quite warm as well. 88 at santa rosa, 88 at napa, 90 will be the high at calistoga. notice the absence of triple digits. in the east bay tomorrow, highs of 78 in oakland, 80 in hayward, inland east bay will still be hot but we don't expect triple digits tomorrow. upper 90s, 95 at concord, 97 antioch, 98 livermore, 96 walnut creek. the accuweather seven-day forecast. temperatures continue to moderate on sunday, then for monday through friday next week, we will see inland highs only in the upper 80s, right around 80 along the bayshoreline and mid 60s on the coast. very mild to warm and pleasant seasonal range of highs. >> thank you spencer.

i'm your sugar mama. >> that's fantastic. >> that's the way i look it. up next, what happened when rachael ray and i went tasting at local food trucks. new after 4:30, why a girl was bummed out when she found out her school's surprise guest was president obama.

rachael ray visited our studios last week. i had the chance to go food truck hopping with rachael. ♪ >> this is your main food truck? >> you know, i grew up in hawaii. we had food trucks but the food trucks -- >> chicken, right? >> yeah. >> that's right. and this spam sushi you can get at the 7-eleven. >> you can eat 100 of them. if there was a rachael ray food truck, what would it serve?

>> burgers for sure. little sliders. they make all sorts of burgers, every variety. i make them out of swordfish, tuna. >> swordfish. >> they're amazing. >> where are they? >> i know. we have to get the food truck this year. >> let's go. i'll go into business with you. they have a hawaii plate prepared for us. >> drop the cash, baby. i'm your sugar mama. >> that's all fantastic. >> you wanted -- >> seared cabbage and pickled mango. >> which one's the fish? >> the one with the pickled onions on it. >> oh, my god. cheers to the chef. >> aloha. let's go check out filafels. >> they got the fixings bar. look at that. pickles, red onions. >> what's the key to a great filafel? >> heat. >> rachael!

>> we are going to go for the braised eggplant. red hot sauce. hey, guys, we're out of carrots. you got some more? >> i'm going to try. yours is all seasoned. do you mind? >> no, go for it. >> he wai want to take this guy. >> amazing food, right? >> that's really got a good taste to it. all right. let me figure which window to order to get our stuff. this is going to be good. >> lovely. >> wait a second. i think it's cut in half. now, that's a good-looking -- >> oh, god. >> i will take a small bite. i want to look classy. >> nicely done. you did it! >> that's very good. >> listen, thanks for making me feel welcome. thank you for buying my lunch. i really appreciate it. >> you bought lunch. >> i gave him tips. >> she's the best. >> we go out and she pays.

hello, rachael. thank you. you can catch rachael ray every weekday at 3:00 p.m. right before this newscast. >> that's great. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the big financial boost today for san francisco schools and what they plan to do with the money. plus -- >> we are connected. >> from one family to another, the children of the shooting instructor accidentally killed by a little girl have a message for her. and later -- >> it was like we were just on the jerry springer episode. >> sarah palin and her family in a drunken brawl? find out who was throwing punches.

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forever? ow. i'm not gonna lie to you. it's also the biting. break up with cable. choose u-verse tv from $19 a month for 2 years. in the headlines today at 4:30, crews are putting the finishing touches on levi's stadium in santa clara ahead of the san francisco 49ers home opener against the chichicago b sunday night. lillian kim will show us some of the preparations taking place and will join us at 6:00 tonight. federal relief dollars are on the way to napa and solano counties following last month's 6.0 earthquake. president obama declared a major disaster for that region yesterday, making homeowners eligible for money to help them

rebuild. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is there tweeting that some hard-hit business owners are concerned that they might be left out. also, san francisco's public schools received a huge donation today, $5 million from sales force.com's ceo. abc 7 news education reporter lyanne melendez live with a look at how that money will be used. >> reporter: well, this is one of the public schools, marina middle school is one of the public schools benefiting from this program. i spoke to the superintendent today who told me since they have been using the ipads, schools have reported better attendance, less referrals to the principal's office and also, a greater interest in math and science, especially coming from the girls. mark has become sort of a hero to many public school students in san francisco. here's why. this year, his company, sales force, will donate $5 million to

buy more ipads and chromebooks, have better wifi at schools and train teachers and hire more technology instructors. this means all middle schools, including the k through 8 ones. >> the best middle schools in the world will create the best kids in the world. >> reporter: last year, he started off by donating $2.5 million to san francisco middle schools as part of the pilot program. this after he was approached by the mayor and the superintendent. schools were able to purchase 1500 ipads. early results from the school districts show the use of the ipads is helping students not just academically. >> you had students that were engaging in content, they were not sitting in rows, they were all around, they were working in groups, they were presenting, they were researching. >> reporter: according to the district, truancy is also slightly down. >> i started liking science and started doing my work in science

class. >> reporter: sales force employees will also have to do some hands-on work. employees are offering 5,000 volunteer hours at the middle schools this year. >> they're excited. they're using technology in areas where our employees can get involved and really make a difference. so when i was asked to volunteer, i was like sign me up. >> reporter: today, they started with an easy task. packing 2,000 backpacks for the kids to take home. in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. south african olympic runner oscar pistorius faces up to 15 years in prison for his conviction today in the shooting death of his girlfriend. pistorius showed no emotion when the judge declared him guilty of culpable homicide for shooting reeva steenkamp. that charge is similar to involuntary manslaughter in the u.s. the verdict comes a day after pistorius was acquitted of premeditated murder. steenkamp's family shook their heads in disbelief over the verdict. while pistorius' family expressed both regret and relief.

>> we always knew, we had never any doubt in oscar's version. of this tragic incident. >> prosecutors called pistorius' acquittal on premeditated murder disappointing and may appeal, which is allowed under south african law. pistorius will be sentenced next month. taliban militants accused of shooting malala are now in custody. they were arrested during what was called an ongoing intelligence operation. malala was shot in the head on her way to school in october 2012. officials say those men acted on orders from the head of the pakistani taliban because of malala's campaign for education rights for girls. the assassination attempt sparked a national and international outpouring of support for her. embattled toronto mayor rob ford has drawn his re-election

bid two days after doctors found a tumor in his abdomen. at the same time, his brother doug, who is a city counselor, registered to run for mayor in his brother's place. >> i'm glad doug is making this decision. doug will win. >> why? >> why? because he's an outstanding candidate. >> in a statement, rob ford said he decided not to run for re-election on the advice of family and doctors, but he will try to reclaim his old city council seat. ford made international headlines last year when he admitted to smoking crack cocaine. in iceland, take a look at this spectacular v tacspectacul eruption. the volcano lies underneath a glacier and started erupting 12 days ago. it is also emitting toxic gases. those with respiratory problems are asked to stay inside. the children of a shooting instructor accidentally killed by a 9-year-old girl in arizona are now speaking out. they are delivering a special

message to the child who pulled the trigger. abc 7 news reporter brandi heit has more. >> reporter: a moving message from one family to another. >> like you, we are living through this tragic event that we cannot shut off. >> reporter: charles' four children writing this heart-felt letter to the 9-year-old girl who accidentally shot and killed the weapons instructor last month. >> go ahead and give me one shot. >> reporter: he is standing next to her at this arizona gun range when the uzi recoiled. >> you are only 9 years old. we think about you. we are worried about you. we pray for you. >> it was important for them to express how badly they feel about her circumstances. >> reporter: just weeks after losing their father, their message wasn't just to the little girl, but the world, about what kind of father he was. >> our dad wasn't just an instructor.

he was funny, strong, a protector. >> we wish you peace. our dad would want the same thing. >> reporter: the shooting has raised questions about how young is too young for children to handle weapons. prosecutors aren't filing criminal charges but the family attorneys are investigating. >> the number one goal from the family's perspective is to get answers. >> reporter: while also leaving this message of forgiveness. >> some day i hope we can meet you, hug you and tell you that it's okay. >> reporter: the children say their father would have also wanted the 9-year-old girl to move on with her life and not let this moment define her. abc 7 news, los angeles. >> what an amazing gesture by those kids. imagine the pain they must be feeling. remarkable. coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00, we don't always get what we want but why president obama laughed when a school girl told him she was disappointed that he dropped by for a surprise visit. later -- >> no one can be too young or too old to invent something.

>> a local high schooler's creative solution to save rain water for the future. i'm spencer christian from the east bay hills camera, we see clouds at various levels of the atmosphere but lots of sunshine as well. i will give you the forecast showing a bit of a cool-down coming our way in just a moment. i'm michael finney. 7 on your side is just ahead so i'm still taking your questions on facebook and twitter. at 4:37, a look at the friday afternoon commute. this is the san mateo bridge. the oncoming traffic is eastbound, remember, we told you earlier about the traffic accident that occurred at the on the other hand of the bridge right around noontime with an overturned truck and it's basically been a mess and very heavy. actually it looks better now than it has for awhile. still, it will be slow heading eastbound on the bridge. smooth sailing back in the other direction toward the peninsula. stay with us.

president obama and the first lady made a surprise stop at a washington, d.c. charter school yesterday to take part in a service project. >> turned out to be funny. it was somewhat of a disappointment for one young girl. >> there you go. >> mr. president? >> yes. >> [ inaudible ] i really wanted it to be beyonce. >> i understand.

malia and sasha would feel the same way. >> you thought we were going to be beyonce? >> that girl madison tried to make up for it, saying when she realized it was the president coming, she felt better. >> mr. obama, he didn't buy it but he thanked her for saying that in front of the cameras. the first lady even joked, saying i would rather see beyonce, too. you know, leader of the free world on one hand or beyonce? i think we all -- spencer christian i know would go beyonce in a second. >> yeah, he would. >> yeah. why not. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd, see what's going on. we have sunny skies all across the bay area. on our second consecutive day of inland heat with a high temperature hitting 100 degrees in several locations. right now, it's still 100 at livermore, upper 90s in san ramon, concord, fairfield, 89 for santa rosa. still lots of heat locked into

the inland areas. we will see this pattern changing a bit over the weekend. tomorrow, nationwide, look for cooler conditions in the upper midwest. look for highs of only 62 in minneapolis, 60, in chicago, 60 st. louis. in the atlantic coast, showers and thunder showers. down into the gulf coast, as a matter of fact. still warm to hot in the southwestern u.s. with a high of 100 in phoenix and up in salt lake city, high of 84 tomorrow. across the state of california tomorrow, look for highs of 99 in chico, 100, sacramento, 94 in los angeles. here in the bay area, the usual summer spread. half moon bay, high of 67. downtown san francisco, 72. over in oakland, 78. 96 in walnut creek. up to 97 at antioch. we'll have at least a 30 degree spread between some of the coastal highs and our inland highs which is typical for this time of year. >> thank you, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the palin family caught in the middle of a party fight. what started the rumble.

plus a long-lost gnome returns but not empty-handed. what the owners found out about its disappearance. i'm michael finney. shark fin cuisine is banned in california so what do you do if a restaurant tries to sell you some? the answer next. on my journey , i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you

a house party in anchorage, alaska turned into a drunken brawl last weekend. >> right in the middle of it, former vice presidential candidate sarah palin and her family. >> reporter: sarah palin and her family at the center of a lively party erupting into a fight. bristol palin allegedly throwing a right hook. >> bristol just reached back and started clocking him and she hit him, you know, reached way back here and caught him right in the chin like, you know, i counted at least six times. >> reporter: he says he was one of 70 guests at a birthday party in anchorage on saturday. according to "the washington post," palin along with her husband and kids arriving in a stretch hummer. the "post" also reported that as the beer started flowing, that's when the fighting started.

>> they were knocking his head back and he was straightening his head back up and he would get hit again. >> reporter: the palin family was asked to leave the party after track palin allegedly attacked another party guest who had previously dated his younger sister, willow. that's when the 21-year-old's father stepped in to break up the fight. once the fight was broken up, the former vice presidential candidate and her family left. >> i heard sarah palin scream out, you know who we are, don't you? it was like we were just on a jerry springer episode. >> reporter: anchorage police only telling abc news that members of the family were indeed attending a party at this home saturday night when a fight erupted outside. >> the police seemed to show up right after they left, asking people questions and wanting to know what was going on. >> reporter: overnight, sarah palin appeared on fox news's hannity show. >> had barack obama listened to the best military advice. >> reporter: but made no mention of the alleged altercation.

the palin family could not be reached for comment. >> anchorage police say no charges were pressed that night, but it is an active investigation. a washington state couple is baffled over the sudden reappearance of something they thought they would never see again. braden and dana smith say the seattle seahawks garden gnome showed up on their front porch just before the first game of the season. it vanished back in march, just after they had returned from watching the seahawks win the super bowl. >> it was sitting on the front doorstep with a package underneath him. no note, nothing. just the package. >> they took him on vacation. they literally took him around the western united states. he's been a lot more cooler places than we have. i really sometime am not sure what to think about that. i don't know if i should be happy or a little taken aback. i'm like what does all this mean? >> means the garden gnome has a better life.

>> yeah. he was at the golden gate bridge. >> the package contained a calendar marking the date of every seahawks game this season. the smiths may never know what really happened with the gnome. they are making sure he doesn't get away again. they have moved him inside. >> funny. 7 on your side's michael finney is here answering questions sent to him by facebook, twitter and e-mail. we have a twitter user who asked i want to turn in a restaurant for selling shark fin soup. who do i call? >> good for you. it's illegal to sell shark fin soup along the west coast now, california, oregon, washington, hawaii and a handful of other states all have made it completely illegal. what does illegal mean? here in the state of california, it means it is a criminal offense. it's a misdemeanor, you can be fined up to $1,000 and thrown into the jail for six months. so this is very serious. who you talk to is fish and game. you know, they've got a hotline for this. i will put it on our website.

you can go there and check it out. but call it in. this is important, actually. >> mary w. e-mails my husband has shopped at home depot four times in the last five months and used an atm card, not a credit card. does he need to replace his atm card? >> there has not been any indication yet of the p.i.n. numbers, perhaps the number on the card but the p.i.n. numbers themselves have not been compromised. we don't have any indication of that at all. i would keep track of the card like i would any other but i wouldn't worry about it. i wouldn't bother replacing it at this point. i would, however, use a credit card rather than a debit card. it's a better idea. >> roxanne e-mailed i received a parking ticket while parking at a private parking lot in san francisco issued by a private parking service. is this legal? >> you know, this is kind of unsettled law. back in 2011, camela harris issued a ruling on this or an

opinion. her opinion says no, it is not legal, that you can't just write out tickets and make somebody pay. that even if you post it up on the wall or put it on a sign over a parking space and say if you park here and don't pay us, we are going to write you a ticket, still doesn't fly, according to her. also, if your car is towed, now, they can't tow your car. if you're on their property illegally they can tow your car and charge you for the towing but they cannot charge you a ticket or additional price just for the towing. >> interesting. that's complicated. >> it is complicated. yeah. basically, if the government is not issuing the parking ticket it's not legal in the state of california. >> thank you, michael. up next, the bay area 15-year-old who refuses to sit on the fence when it comes to finding ways to save water. i'm dan ashley in the abc 7 newsroom. coming up at 5:00 -- >> these people are in harm's way. they need care. >> they are getting it. tonight, how a salute to

veterans is filling a demand for dental work. plus, pick it up and pack it up. the startup that just may have come up with a better way to ship your packages. those stories and a lot more coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00. ama will be with me.

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a north bay teenager has come up with a creative solution to the drought. that is if we ever get rain again. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman with this story. [ horn blowing ] >> reporter: for now, friends and family describe steven mcdowell as a low key kid with a real mean lip on the trumpet. in future years, however, those may serve as footnotes of a bigger story. >> no one can be too young or too old to invent something. >> reporter: believe it. he's a 15-year-old sophomore at a high school where a science project from last year is about to become a product. it's really one of those why

didn't i think of that ideas. every house has a roof, every house has a rain gutter, every house has a fence and in california, every house has a water problem. >> one inch of rain on a 2,000 square foot roof equals 12,000 gallons of water so roughly i would say eight, nine inches. >> reporter: would fill the thing. >> would fill it. >> reporter: his water fence. here's the model. in full scale it would be 12 inches wide, six feet high. think of it as a water tank in a perimeter around a yard. such a fence would store enough water for a year, said his dad. >> everybody else thinks you store water, you put it in a tank or barrel. he says it takes too much space up. the size that he mentioned, the size of our fence, 13,000 gallons, if you were to naugin it would be 18 feet tall. >> reporter: they have already secured patents, funding and formed a company. >> he's the president.

>> reporter: what are you? >> the owner. >> reporter: what's your mom? >> she's like co-president. >> i'm the water boy's mom. >> reporter: the first molds come off the assembly line in two weeks and yes, the fences will be decorative with brick or rock or stone facades etched on the sides. who thought of that? >> he did. >> reporter: such a simple idea from the mind of a 15-year-old. a mind creative beyond his years or maybe because of them. >> of course, this assumes it will rain, right? >> yes. it will rain again. we don't know when, so why not be prepared. >> reporter: wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> that is absolutely brilliant. it's so simple, yet brilliant. way to go. thanks for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm larry beil. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now with ama and dan. kind of unsettling. >> mountain lions, a new threat in the bay area as a little boy recently attacked gets some good news. a four-year legal saga ends

with a state senator heading to prison. why a judge says he's the poster child for arrogance. and 49er ray mcdonald, why the team is getting more time to play him despite his arrest on domestic violence charges. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. hot inland again today. i will let you know if you will be baking in the heat this weekend coming up. take a good look. this is a picture of a mountain lion captured by a driver in san mateo county. a new scare tonight just as another one starts to recede. good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm dan ashley. let's show you exactly where these mountain lions are being spotted. today's lion was seen in devinshire boulevard in san mateo county. you can see that it is about 24 miles from the picchetti weini was attacked last week.

what the officials have learned about the dna from the lion they believe attacked that child. >> reporter: the test came back and the lion that was killed is the same lion that jumped on that little boy. as for this new sighting, wildlife officials say it's important to remember around here, sightings are common. attacks are rare. the picture is a little blurry but it shows a mountain lion standing over a deer on the side of the road. this was taken out of a car window on devinshire boulevard near san carlos around 10:30 last night. what you don't see in the picture is how close the lion is to homes. >> it was like right in the middle of the street, pretty much. >> it was kind of scary. >> reporter: devin maldonado's cousin took the picture. he says wild animals have been spotted in the area before, but he never thought he would see a lion up close. >> i clearly saw two eyes and then after the lights hit its eyes, it ran off. >> reporter: this comes just days after a mountain lion attacked a 6-year-old boy on a

hiking trail in cupertino's picchetti ranch open space preserve. after an intense search with trackers, dogs and traps, department of fish and wildlife workers shot and killed the animal wednesday. the department tested the lion's dna with saliva found on the boy's teeshirt. they determined it is the same lion that attacked him. >> then we also were able to determine through the necropsy that the cat did not have rabies. that was a huge concern for all of us at the beginning. >> reporter: captain don kelly says they get calls about mountain lion sightings all the time. he's not surprised to hear about the one near san carlos. he even responded to a sighting in santa cruz last night. >> we get incident reports almost daily about somebody seeing a lion. what i think we have right now as a result of this particular attack is a heightened awareness, almost to the point of being frenzied in some cases. >> reporter: even though the lion is dead, hiking trails in the