good afternoon, everybody. i'm larry beil. >> i'm ama daetz. growing criticism for the nfl today as two bay area lawmakers call on the 49ers to take defensive end ray mcdonald off the field. mcdonald is involved in a domestic violence investigation that comes as two nfl teams take action to remove their players

from the active roster because of off the field problems. abc news reporter marcy gonzalez has more on the controversy shaking up the nfl. >> reporter: yet another nfl player pulled from the field after being accused of abuse. greg hardy, who is appealing his july conviction on domestic abuse charges, was at first suspended by the carolina panthers for just one game. today, team officials had this to say. >> greg's decided to take a voluntary leave with pay until his legal proceedings are resolved. >> reporter: just this morning, the minnesota vikings announced that embattled star adrian peterson is banned from all team activities as he faces a child abuse charge, accused of hitting his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. the decision to put peterson on the nfl's exempt list coming just one day after the team announced it would reinstate the former mvp. >> we made a mistake. and we needed to get this right. adrian will be away from the

team and focus on his personal situation. >> reporter: nike announcing today it has suspended its endorsement contract with peterson, saying in a statement nike in no way condones child abuse or domestic violence of any kind, and has shared our concerns with the nfl. just last week, nike also ended its deal with former baltimore ravens star ray rice, caught on camera beating his now wife. initially, the nfl suspended rice for two games. then once the video was released publicly, the league suspended rice indefinitely. the nfl players association now appealing commissioner roger goodell's decision. that appeal is expected to be heard soon. the nfl saying the commissioner will not be involved. marcy gonzalez, abc news, new york. two bay area lawmakers are taking the nfl and the 49ers to task for allowing defensive lineman ray mcdonald to continue to play even though he was arrested for domestic violence. police took mcdonald into

custody two weeks ago after an alleged altercation at his house, where his pregnant fiancee reportedly suffered bruises to her arm and neck. >> he's played the last two weeks. why hasn't he been benched? anything for football. i'm an avid 49er fan, but this is disgusting. i expect more from my 49ers. >> our coach says that innocent until proven guilty, due process, all of that. but the fact is he shouldn't have played. >> while arrested for a faeelon mcdonald has not been charged and prosecutors are still investigating. today, jim harbaugh stood by the team's decision to allow mcdonald to play while the investigation plays out. coach harbaugh says he is not influenced by the growing criticism for playing mcdonald. the allegations just keep on coming. this afternoon, arizona

cardinals running back jonathan dwyer was reportedly arrested in yet another domestic violence case. dwyer was arrested for aggravated assault and preventing someone from calling 911. the 25-year-old dwyer is a backup for the arizona cardinals, who just happen to be playing the 49ers this sunday. coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00, the action being taken in one bay area county to encourage the niners to bench ray mcdonald. turning to our weather, it is sunny outside right now but rain is coming to the bay area. the wet weather is expected to come in tonight. spencer christian has a look at live doppler 7 hd. >> you can only tell it is on the way by the blue skies overhead at the moment. but it is on the way. the concentration of moisture is up to the northwest right now, way up north around eureka where we not only had showers but thunder showers. notice lightning strikes in that area just in the last hour or so. some of that moisture will work its way down into the bay area during the evening hours.

here's the forecast animation starting 5:00 this afternoon. by about 10:00 this evening, if not sooner, we will see little pockets of showers scattered pockets of showers moving through the bay area, starting in the north bay and pushing through the central part of the bay area about midnight. more widely scattered pockets of light showers, mainly light showers. some areas may experience locally heavier downpours than others. looks like it could be a wet morning commute. right now, blue sky over the golden gate bridge as we look at the first forecast. partly cloudy in the early evening hours, showers arriving late, scattered showers in the morning hours and continuing up until about midday tomorrow. then we will get some partial clearing, mainly sunny and dry by late afternoon. it will be a mild to warm day so what's next? oh, it's my accuweather seven-day forecast in just a few minutes. >> thank you, spenser. officials now say a wildfire that ripped through the far northern california town of weed destroyed 110 homes and damaged another 90. even though the fire has burned just 375 acres, two-thirds of the town's population has been

impacted. there are no reports of deaths or injuries but crews went house to house today poking through the rubble just to be certain. residents are anxious to see what remains of their homes. cal fire is keeping them away because of dangers like unstable chimneys. state officials total abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman that when it comes to california's fire season, the worst may still be ahead. >> the worst part [ inaudible ] at least a couple of months more. they say they have never seen it this dry [ inaudible ]. they have never seen it. >> one person has been arrested for looting and there is a reward of up to $10,000 for information on what caused the fire. wayne freedman will have live reports from weed coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00 and 6:00. meanwhile, firefighters are working desperately to keep a handle on the king fire, which is burning through the el dorado national forest east of sacramento. this thing exploded overnight to more than 18,000 acres, five

times bigger than it was on monday. 1600 homes are now in danger and highway 50, the main route to south lake tahoe, is still closed and will probably remain shut down through tomorrow while those heading to the sierra are being told to take another route. residents have been told to evacuate. the king fire is only 5% contained. help is on the way for firefighters in el dorado county. a specially trained strike team left from san francisco this morning. the six-member team from the san francisco fire department includes two assistant chiefs and four firefighters. the team will be in charge of four other strike teams from other northern california cities. the crews begin working tonight on protecting structures and building fire lines to stop the fire's progress. three people were arrested in contra costa county today after a multi-agency task force uncovered off the book operations at over a dozen residential care homes. julio sanchez, annette sanchez and sarah abraham are accused of wage theft, tax evasion and

insurance fraud. the three suspects own and operate abraham rest home, incorporated and sanchez abraham corporation. investigators say they paid workers as little as $4 an hour to care for elderly patients. 31 employees at washington hospital in fremont were laid off today. >> the hospital has been going through difficult financial times and abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez joins us from fremont. what do they say is to blame here? >> reporter: well, you know, while 31 employees may not seem like a huge number, the reality is that that hospital behind me will now operate with 244 fewer employees, and let me show you why. now, 196 people or 12% of the staff left this year voluntarily because they found say, for instance, another job. another 17 employees or 1% of the staff retired voluntarily after they were offered a severance package and of course, the 31 people we mentioned were

laid off today. they make up 2% of the employees here. that adds up to 244 positions that, according to the hospital, will simply go away. they will not be replaced, meaning more work for the people inside. now, this hospital has been operating since 1958. recently it's been having some financial struggles and larry, to answer your question, they claim there are a number of factors for that. the affordable care act, and they are not getting the kind of medicare reimbursements they used to. here's what they told us. we were experiencing much lower volumes of patients in addition to being paid a great deal less. now, we are also being told no nurses have been laid off. now, also worth mentioning is the fact that there were no salary cuts during this round. li live in fremont, lyanne

melendez. the discovery of mosquitos carrying west nile virus is prompting action. vector control crews will be fogging beginning at 9:00 tomorrow night. the mosquitos were found yesterday. if you would like to know the specific areas, we have a link at abc7news.com. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the new statewide campaign under way to get people to be smart around trains and railroad tracks. also, the bay area company putting veterans in the driver's seat when it comes to their future. it's getting help from a washington bigwig. new at 4:30, the hefty price being paid by homeowners in fire-prone areas. these are dramatic changes by major insurance companies. 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions and will answer them live later. at 4:10, our first live look at the afternoon commute. this is the mcarthur maze from our camera in emoryville.

the traffic is sneaking through the maze at a very slow pace. oncoming traffic is eastbound headed toward berkeley. iwith something terrible to admit.

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dozens of people had to be evacuated from their homes in campbell this morning after three cars caught fire at an apartment complex. it broke out on union avenue around 4:00 this morning. 40 people were evacuated but were let back in a short time later. no word on what caused the fire.

a haz/mat crew covered storm drains with plastic to keep gas from running into nearby los gatos creek. investigators are trying to identify people who died in a horrific car crash near the dublin pleasanton border. >> witnesses say the car was speeding before it crashed and burned. amy hollyfield has more. >> reporter: the crumpled met al hardly looks like a car. investigators don't know the make or model. witnesses report seeing a speeding black sports car eastbound in pleasanton. after it crashed, it burst into flames. there was little crews could do. >> the vehicle was fully engulfed and the hillside fire was spreading. so with the equipment that we have, there is no way of approaching a fire of that magnitude. >> reporter: when they finally reached the car, they realized two people died inside. witnesses say it was about 11:00 last night when the car clipped

an suv, then flew off of interstate 580 down an embankment and into a tree. investigators say the family inside the suv is okay. >> fortunately there were no injuries. there were two adults and four children ranging from 9 to 16 years of age in that vehicle. no injuries in that vehicle. they are out of the tracy area. >> i heard a braking, like someone was putting on their brakes and seconds later, i heard the crash. >> reporter: regina newton lives nearby off dublin canyon road in pleasanton. when she saw the fire, she was at first concerned about it spreading in these dry conditions. but then her focus changed. >> when i realized no one made it, then i was worried about, you know, the people inside and then you know, their families. because it's just -- it's a sad way to end your life like that. >> reporter: investigators will focus on what's left of the car to try to get a vin number, then work backwards from there hoping

that will tell them who the car belonged to, help them figure out where they were going, where they were coming from and why they were speeding. amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. rail travelers signed a giant banner at the emoryville amtrak station calling on all californians to be what they call track smart. among them was ordina of martinez. her 14-year-old daughter was killed last march when she tried to retrieve a cell phone she dropped on the tracks. >> you can't really hear the trains until they are right upon you, and they take a long time to stop. having even the idea that you can clear it, that you can be safe, isn't always the case. >> that banner is making its way across the state and will eventually be presented to governor brown. the event is part of a statewide rail safety campaign that involves three new public service announcements on the dangers of walking on or near train tracks.

officials say california has more preventible rail-related fatalities and injuries than any other state in the country. the price for using air b & b to book a place to stay in san francisco could soon go up. starting in october the online rental company will start collecting the city's 14% hotel tax. the company already collects a similar tax in portland, oregon. san francisco supervisors are looking for ways to regulate home sharing sites like air b & b. some of the proposals include enacting fees for listing properties and limiting the number of days a home can be listed to 90 days per year. ride share company uber is rolling out an aggressive new campaign to put veterans in the driver's seat. >> abc 7 news reporter katy marzullo is live with the launch of uber military. >> reporter: yeah, they've got a big name on board as well. former secretary of defense robert gates has signed on to be a volunteer chairman of, uber military. the project plans to put 50,000

veterans to work as drivers. it is uber popular in san francisco. the company is now looking to join forces with the men and women of the military. >> over the next couple years, hundreds of thousands of military members are going to transition back into civilian life and we feel we have an obligation to make sure that we help that transition. >> reporter: it starts with outreach, making sure veterans and their families know about job opportunities with uber. this promotional ad featuring veteran drivers is one avenue. drivers are their own boss and get help buying a car if necessary. >> we know for many military families and veterans, they may not have a car. so it's part of this program, we also have vehicle financing where we will help those who may not have access to a car or to financing, obtain and purchase a car as part of this program. >> reporter: ht tran is on board. he's a wounded iraq vet who is passionate about hiring fellow veterans at his san francisco construction company. >> uber is giving them an option

for success later down the line rather than come home and ponder where the next opportunity will be at. >> reporter: tran says many veterans will be well-suited as uber drivers. uber says the service men and women who already drive for them are very popular. >> many people in the military are very service oriented and we have seen it already out on the streets. they get better ratings, our riders love veterans. >> reporter: in san francisco, katy marzullo, abc 7 news. now a look at the forecast with the oddest of odd phenomenon we haven't seen in a long time. that is rain. >> the old r word. it's coming our way. you can tell we are about to experience a change in the weather patterns as the winds in just the last five minutes have increased sharply ahead of the system that's approaching us. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd. the bulk of that system is up to the northwest at the moment. we still have mainly clear skies over the bay area but that may not last more than a few more hours.

this is the view looking out over the bay. 72 degrees in san francisco, 76 in oakland. we have low 80s in san carlos, san jose, morgan hill. 68 in half moon bay. certainly a mild to warm afternoon. looking out over san francisco, blue skies looking eastward. it's 77 degrees in santa rosa and napa, low to mid 80s at novato, fairfield, concord and livermore. and now looking westward, again, you see clouds way off in the distance, but not much cloudiness showing up yet. these are the forecast features. showers will arrive tonight, continue into the morning hours, perhaps into midday. there's a slight chance of thunder, isolated thunder tomorrow afternoon, then we will have a warmer, drier pattern for this weekend. here's the satellite composite image of the approaching storm which has been producing rain, thunderstorms, lightning strikes up in the northwestern corner of the state, up around eureka. our showers will arrive tonight so here's the forecast animation. starting at 5:00 this afternoon taking us up to about 10:00

tonight, we see little pockets of shower activity in the north bay and along the coastline. then during the overnight, early morning hours, more widespread and more widely scattered light showers will develop. so there will probably be wet spots, maybe slippery spots for the morning commute. showers will continue into the late morning hours but will start to dissipate a bit and should wind down by late afternoon, giving us partial clearing at least in the late afternoon hours. and by midafternoon tomorrow, we expect rainfall totals to be perhaps as much as .13 inch in santa rosa. notice how light the rainfall totals will be elsewhere. .01 in fairfield. .02 in oakland. maybe .01 in livermore, so the east bay not likely to get much out of this system. overnight lows as the showers spread across the bay area will be on the mild side, mainly about low 60s for the most part. low to mid 60s. little bit cooler around cloverdale and santa rosa, where

we will see lows in the upper 50s. we expect upper 50s in santa cruz and morgan hill. tomorrow, by late afternoon, as the showers are tapering off, we get a little more sunshine. we expect a mild day, highs ranging from mid 60s at the coast to mid 70s mainly right around the bay to low to mid 80s in the warmest inland locations. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. fog in the morning giving way to shine on friday, then a sunnier weekend. we will see temperatures up to 90 degrees in inland locations, then temperatures will taper off into midweek next week, when we may get our next rain maker. hooray for the rain. >> thank you, spencer. up next, the random act of kindness one person performed just to help brighten the day for many people. and later -- >> i was just blown away. >> new at 4:30, a stanford professor's work with the bay area police department is genius.

people in texas are still buzzing about one man's random act of kindness. >> he pulled into the drive through at a chick-fil-a restaurant, ordered his food and handed the cashier $1,000, saying he wanted to pay for everybody's meal after him until the money ran out. his motive behind it really was pretty simple. >> i was like did you win the lottery today, why are you doing this. he said mondays are tough. i just want to make everyone have a good day. i just want to help them have a good day. >> how nice is that. needless to say the customers behind him felt like they hit the lottery or at least won a nice jackpot. the random act of kindness gave 88 customers free meals. a fund-raiser tonight in the south bay will help a young man who is raising his four young siblings after the death of their mom. 22-year-old jack was 19 when his mother died of smix cancer, leaving him and his girlfriend

in charge of four kids. when the rent increased they were forced to move in with hannah's parents. a friend started a go fund me page with a $7500 goal to help the family find their own home. since our story first aired last night, donations have already exceeded $13,000. tonight from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., britannia arms is donating 10% of proceeds to the family. we have information on our website at abc7news.com. just ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the fire danger in the oakland hills and the changes in policy it's prompting from major insurance companies. also, the excitement and anxiety that is mounting in scotland only hours before a historic vote that could change the united kingdom forever. and later -- >> i'm vic lee. the drought has bared the once lush campground. that story coming up.

in the headlines today, more trouble for the nfl with more players being benched for domestic violence. espn new york has confirmed that the arizona cardinals have indeed deactivated running back jonathan dwyer following a reported domestic violence arrest. now, earlier today, the carolina panthers benched greg hardy after he was convicted of assaulting his former

girlfriend. that conviction hardy is now appealing. this comes only hours after the minnesota vikings removed adrian peterson from their active roster while he addresses child abuse charges. congresswoman jackie speier says if the nfl is serious about zero tolerance for domestic violence, they need to respond quickly to all of these cases a and #benchthem. meanwhile, the 49ers say they stand by their decision to allow ray mcdonald to play during his domestic violence investigation. also, firefighters dealing with a fast-moving fire near sacramento. hundreds of additional firefighters have been sent to el dorado county where a fire is now threatening 500 homes. as fires grow all across the state, some bay area residents are seeing their insurance skyrocket. abc 7 news reporter laura anthony live with the story now. >> reporter: especially here in the oakland hills, where drought, extreme fire conditions and history all working against those who live here in the

hills. in fact, one homeowner told us that her premiums have gone up 500% in just the last year. >> my insurance went up i think 60% or 70% this year. >> reporter: the former city attorney, john russo, lives in the oakland hills and as a homeowner, knows well what's been happening to his insurance premiums lately. at least he still has coverage. >> my company said they were dropping people and my broker said i think they're dropping pretty much everybody in the hills. they're worried about a fire in the hills. >> being in the drought is not helping. >> reporter: scott is a farmers agent in oakland who has many clients living in the hills. he says he's been scrambling the last couple years finding insurance for those who live in the higher risk areas. >> we look at each property individually based on fuel in the area, slope in the area and how accessible the house is as far as a dead end street and so

forth. >> reporter: he says farmers won't cancel anyone who is already with them but isn't writing new business if the specific property exceeds a certain risk level. other companies won't renew or write policies at all anymore in certain zip codes. laura anthony, abc 7 news. a federal appeals court says it will not reconsider a ruling supporting a morgan hill high school's decision to have students turn american flag teeshirts inside out. the court of appeals upheld the ruling in favor of the high school today. in 2010, the school ordered students to cover up the shirts or go home during cinco de mayo. the court says the school has justifiable reasons for their actions. a new video by the terrorist group isis threatening president obama was released. no comment from the white house. here is abc news reporter karen

travers with the message the president had for the u.s. troops. >> reporter: president obama emphasized again today american forces will not have a combat mission in the fight against isis. >> i will not commit you and the rest of or armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. >> reporter: in a packed gym at the air force base in florida, the president told troops the u.s. cannot wage the iraqis' battle against the extremist group that's taken hold of large swaths of the northern part of that country. >> this is not and will not be america's fight alone. >> reporter: president obama received a briefing on isis today from top military officials a day after the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff seemed to open the door to more u.s. involvement in iraq. if air strikes are not enough. >> if we reached a point where i believe our advisors should accompany iraq troops on attacks against specific isil targets, i will recommend that to the president. >> reporter: right now, the 1700 u.s. troops in iraq are at a command center in the northern

city of erbil where facilities in baghdad. adding imbeds to iraqi forces is a significant step, one not being ruled out by the administration. john kerry was on capitol hill today trying to make the case the u.s. is pulling together a coalition to fight isis. >> the question is not whether they should join the coalition but how they can help. >> reporter: iraq's prime minister said today he will not ask for or allow foreign troops to be stationed in iraq. he said the u.s. and international partners will help with air strikes but there will not be a blank check for attacks. karen travers, abc news, washington. excitement and anxiety are mounting in scotland and across the united kingdom on the final day of campaigning before tomorrow's independence referendum. people who want scotland to leave the uk feel they are booked to victory. those who want to stay fear the country they live in may soon cease to exist. >> we are the same people.

why should we be broken off? >> it's time for scots to make decisions for scotland. >> you have to vote with your head. people are saying vote with your heart but that's not the way to do it. >> let's stay positive. it is a great opportunity for change. >> the campaign has been heated but peaceful. polling from a variety of sources suggest the scottish public has moved in the past months from clear double digit margins for a no vote to a more narrow single digit divide on the question. scotland has been part of the united kingdom for more than 300 years. toronto mayor rob ford does have cancer. his doctor says he has a malignant sarcoma tumor which he described as very rare and difficult. ford will begin chemotherapy immediately. he has been hospitalized for a week with a tumor in his stomach. the mayor withdrew his re-election bid last week. ford has waged a public battle with drug and alcohol problems. much more to come on abc 7

news at 4:00, including this little guy who is back and this time, he's taking on a world champion eater. i'm michael finney. in today's 7 on your side, it's just ahead. i'm still taking your questions. i will answer your questions here live in just a little bit. spencer christian from the east bay hills camera looking west. we see only a few clouds off in the distance right now. more clouds and some rain are on the way. the accuweather forecast is in just a moment. checking your traffic on this wednesday over the golden gate bridge, it's moving in both directions. traffic obviously on your right going away from us heading up to the north bay. stay with us.

take a look at this. elephants enjoying a spa day. every july in southern india, a group of elephants enjoy the kind of spa treatment humans would pay good money for. they are treated to massages, baths and nutritious foods. the rejuvenation center can house up to 59 elephants at a time that can relax while volunteers scrub them down with brushes and hose them off with clean water. >> we need that here. you may remember a viral video from earlier this year showing a tiny hamster eating tiny burritos. the hamster's back and going head-to-head with competitive eating champion kobayashi in a

hot dog eating contest. this was furious. i don't think we are speeding this up. kobayashi known for his record-breaking eating abilities and so is the hamster. the hamster's tiny hot dogs were made out of grapes, dates and carrots. you ready for the final score? the winner is hamster 11. and kobayashi 10. >> look at his little mouth. >> blue ribbon medal. ever since kobayashi lost to joey chestnut a few years ago, he's not been the same competitive eater. now even hamsters are beating him. >> it's a sad day for him. >> sad decline to a once brilliant career. the 'stache is back for alex trebek but will it stay? >> for the first time in 13 years he appeared monday with the signature mustache he shaved off in 2001 and now he's putting his facial hair future in the hands of fans. >> he's asking viewers to weigh in on facebook and twitter

using #keep it trebek or #shave it trebek. you can catch him 7:00 p.m. every weekday on abc 7. >> we can do the same thing with spencer christian. shave it or save it. >> i like that. >> what do you think? i will do whatever the polls say i should. >> we will get on twitter and find out. >> okay. let's get the vote count. here's a look at live doppler 7 hd on this gloriously sunny late afternoon in advance of our first rainfall in a heck of a long time. the rain is up to the northwest at the moment but it will be moving through the bay area tonight and early tomorrow. nationally, we have mainly dry weather but across the southern tier of states from phoenix to dallas to new orleans, we expect showers and thunder showers and maybe some thunderstorms around coastal florida as well. the remainder of the nation mostly dry. across the state of california, as well, although we will see showers up in the extreme northern corner of the country -- of the state, rather.

the remainder of the state will be sunny and dry, not hot, though, except way down in palm springs where there will be a high of 101 degrees. here in the bay area tomorrow, well, we will have some showers overnight continuing into the daytime hours, tapering off by afternoon. if we get enough sun tomorrow afternoon, it could be nice and mild to warm, highs ranging from mid 60s at the coast to mid 70s around the bay to low 80s inland. the showers could linger up north and there is a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm or two tomorrow. bear that in mind. >> thank you, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, genius work. the honor for a stanford professor for her work with oakland police. the potentially harmful ingredient in your toothpaste that has nothing to do with keeping your teeth clean, either. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. what's the cheapest and best plan for your family with a new iphone? we will talk about that coming up next.

a terrifying moment in melbourne, australia. a woman bent down to pick up an object on a train platform and

you saw the stroller as she was pushing, just kept going and flipped over and landed on the tracks. the woman frantically jumped down to rescue the child inside. the baby escaped with only minor injuries. fortunately, no train was coming in that direction. you can see that train off to the right-hand side some distance away. still frightening. one bystander who jumped on to the tracks to help said he would do it again in a heartbeat. >> of course. a stanford professor is one of the winners of this year's genius grant for her work helping the oakland police department improve its relationship with minority communities. she is a stanford social psychologist who has researched racial stereotypes as well as crime. her work prompted oakland police to ask for her help setting racial biases among its officers and how the biases play out on the street. this is video from the mcarthur foundation which has now granted her and 20 other winners $625,000 each to spend any way they like.

>> so we want to use the work to help people to understand how race can influence us in lots of different ways and in ways that are beyond sometimes our control and beyond our awareness. >> she is also studying the use of body cameras by police. proctor and gamble is pulling an additive from its crest brand toothpaste. that additive is a microbead. it is actually a plastic speck used for color. the microbeads are made from the same material used to produce plastic bottles. they are fda approved but can become lodged between teeth and in gums, leading to problems. >> any little particle collects more plaque, more bacteria. >> when i clean people's gums, a lot of times when the water's flushing around, we would see a speck and it would be blue. >> some states have banned microbeads because they can flow into streams and rivers and are

not biodegradable. proctor and gamble says the move is in response to consumer preferences and maintain their toothpastes are safe. yelp has agreed to pay $450,000 to the federal trade commission to settle charges it collected personal information from children without their parents' permission. children under the age of 13 were able to register on the online review site through its mobile app, a popular developer of kids' apps also made a similar settlement. 7 on your side's michael finney is answering your questions sent to him by facebook, twitter and e-mail. the first question, this new iphone plan sprint wants us to go on is expensive. do you know what the cheapest, best plan is for a family? >> well, i've got to tell you, things are changing very very quickly on this. you need to keep checking back. they are defining families in different ways. friends in different ways. often an individual can get a better deal than a family. it's getting very odd out there. the one thing you need to know,

sprint does have one of the best family plans for a company that also has the iphone. right now, they give you a ton of data, like 28 gigabytes where everybody else gives around ten for a family share. you might want to check out or shop and compare. you might want to do that right up until you get your phone. the most important thing in the bay area, make sure it works at your home, because we get a lot of complaints where one company works very well and the other doesn't work at all. you need to check that out. >> my friend is a single parent looking for an apartment. each time she has to pay for a credit check and then she keeps getting told the apartment is rented and she's out her credit check money. is that legal? >> yeah, completely legal. there are some parameters and by the way, there are some bad guys out there. a number of years ago, i busted a guy that would sit out in front of his own apartment that he rented and act like every saturday he was renting it out, then he would take all these fees and call everybody up and say gee, i'm sorry, you didn't get the place. you need to be careful -- isn't

that amazing? they are only allowed to charge you it's about $45.16. if they ask for more than that, you know they're ripoffs and skip them. other than that, there aren't that many controls on this thing. you might want to talk to the tenants union if you're in san francisco. >> with the drought, can a landlord force you to keep your grass green? >> yeah. there is protection if you are the owner of a home and you are in a homeowners association. they can no longer tell a homeowner they have to keep their grass clean by law in the state of california. there is no such protection for renters. the only protection you have is if the water department says you're not allowed to water the grass, then you would contact your landlord and tell them i have been told to knock it off. because it's called a frustration of purpose in a contract. that is if you can't do it for some reason, the contract doesn't hold anymore. so for instance, if you are renting a house and a storm

takes it away, you don't have to keep paying rent because the house isn't there anymore. so then requiring you to keep your grass green if the law or the water company won't give you the water, you have been frustrated to that purpose. >> pretty tricky with the homer owners association versus what east bay wants you to do. >> exactly. you have to be very careful. up next, the water fight that bares all. how the drought has affected a bay area nudist camp. i'm dan ashley. coming up new at 5:00, drag queens face off with facebook. today's critical meeting over a policy they say puts their safety at risk. find out what happened. plus, president obama can't get enough of the bay area. when he's coming back and why. that's next on abc 7 news at 5:00. cheryl and i will be here.

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abc 7 is honoring hispanic

heritage month with posts to our instagram feed. today we honor john santos, one of the world's foremost experts on afro-latin jazz. we have more details on instagram at abc 7 news bay area. tonight, the middle airs at 8:00, back-to-back episodes of the family. the former owner of what is an open space district says the state should give water from its creek to a neighboring nudist camp. >> the camp is accused of pilfering public water. that's the newest development in a water fight between the lodge and the midpeninsula open space district. >> abc 7 news reporter vic lee uncovers the story. >> we are just regular people living here and we need the water. >> reporter: welcome to a nudist camp in the los gatos hills. >> as they say, in rome, do as the romans. for residents here it's all

about body acceptance and mutual respect for each other. >> actually, this is a clothing optional camp. that hasn't changed for 80 years. but the drought has caused other things to change dramatically. >> we've decreased our water usage by 40%. >> reporter: that's because the two wells on its 110 acres are drying up and so is the water from a nearby spring. the lodge is now on the state's watch list as one of five community water districts in california that's resorted to trucking in water. >> they truck in 3,800 gallons at a time and it ranges from 200 to over $400 per truckload. >> reporter: the lush lawns were the first to be sacrificed. residents now take military showers, wet yourself quickly, soap yourself and rinse. >> we don't run water when we brush our teeth. we don't run water when we're doing the dishes. >> reporter: last week, state rangers dismantled a hose which residents connected to a waterfall on an adjacent property owned by the

mid-peninsula open space district. they were siphoning water to fill this swimming pool and an 87,000 gallon water tank. camp owners say this is a base for firefighters and the pool and water tank have to be filled in case they need to use the water to battle wildfires. but the open space district charges they are stealing public water. we spoke today to sal carilli. he sold the property with the waterfall to the open space district two years ago. he says he's always shared the water with the lodge. he doesn't understand why the district can't do the same. >> they're not using it anyway. it's also public land now. it would be helping the public. >> what i would like to say is we are naked and afraid. afraid of wildfire. >> reporter: the mid-peninsula open space district did not return our calls. vic lee, abc 7 news. >> thank you so much for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now with cheryl and dan.

a frustration builds over how the nfl is handling cases of domestic violence. >> he shouldn't have played. >> tonight, how local advocates have some skin in the game now. and another tough day for firefighters. one that all but closed a major highway. plus -- >> this is an issue of safety and privacy. >> drag queens are real but do they have to use their real names? what happened in today's face-off with facebook. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. showers are on the way. i will let you know what the commute is looking like and how much we will get. the nfl continues to find itself under fire tonight from 49ers ray mcdonald arrested for domestic violence. >> why hasn't he been benched? >> to minnesota vikings adrian peterson resuming play despite

his child abuse indictment. >> we made a mistake. >> and the players association appealing the suspension of ravens star ray rice. >> we believe that ray rice has been punished twice. >> good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> i'm cheryl jennings. thanks for joining us. from the halls of congress to council chambers in the bay area, pressure is mounting to suspend the 49ers' ray mcdonald over his arrest for domestic violence. late today, senators boxer and feinstein added their names to the chorus. david louie joins us from levi's stadium with the details. >> reporter: as we know, football is more than a sport. it's a big money-making machine and winning is everything. but as more consumers, especially women, speak out and put pressure on sponsors it's creating a major clash that is hurting the image of both the nfl and the niners. the niners and the nfl are taking hits in every direction.

peninsula congresswoman jackie speier lashed out on the house floor. >> when a player is arrested for domestic violence, the nfl should immediately suspend the player. >> reporter: blistering criticism is also coming from domestic violence groups. kathleen crennick is executive director of next door solutions. >> now is the time for them to say we have values in our community and if you are going to come to our community, you have to adhere to those values. >> reporter: she has submitted a resolution to the city council asking it to denounce the niners' decision to keep ray mcdonald playing after his arrest over two weeks ago for alleged domestic violence. that could be a touchy subject for the council, considering how it partnered with the niners to move the team here. coach jim harbaugh deflected my question at his weekly news conference whether all this pressure is having any influence. >> we have been very clear on what we're basing our decisions on, the principles that we are basing them on and the information and th