no god condones this terror. no grievance justifies these actions. the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. >> president obama makes his case for the action against the terrorist group isis at the u.n. general assembly, and calls on the nations of the world to join the fight against terror. thanks for joining us. i'm cheryl jennings in for ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. u.s. war planes launched new attacks just a short time ago against isis targets inside syria and iraq.

>> it came just hours after the president declared the world is at a crossroads between war and peace in the fight against terror. >> abc news reporter karen travers with more from the united nations. >> reporter: it was a historic meeting at the united nations. >> the 7,272nd meeting of the security council is called to order. >> reporter: president obama presiding over a u.n. security council session, just the second time a u.s. president has held the gavel. both times it was him. >> the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. >> reporter: world leaders moved quickly to approve a resolution aimed at stopping the flow of foreign fighters into places like syria and iraq. the resolution requires nations to share airline passenger information and other data to track suspected fighters and prosecute those who travel or attempt to travel for terrorism training. there are around 15,000 foreign fighters from 80 nations that joined isis extremists in syria and iraq. that includes an estimated 2,000

europeans and over 100 americans. earlier today, president obama told the u.n. general assembly that the campaign against isis requires a global response. >> the united states of america will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. >> reporter: it was a striking moment for a president who sought to end america's involvement in overseas wars. instead, mr. obama is now overseeing military action in iraq and syria, a potentially long campaign against isis. overnight, fresh air strikes targeting the extremist group in both nations. >> we will neither tolerate terrorist safe havens nor act as an occupying power. >> reporter: the security council resolution on foreign fighters is a strong sign of unity but officials acknowledge it may be impossible to enforce. karen travers, abc news at the u.n. during his speech at the u.n., the president also addressed the unrest in ukraine, accusing russia of arming separatists in ukraine. mr. obama also spoke about the

ebola outbreak in west africa, saying a broader effort is needed there and he touched on racial tensions here in the united states, highlighting the unrest in ferguson, missouri, after an unarmed african-american young man was shot and killed by a police officer. we have breaking news out of sonoma county where a single engine plane has crashed about six miles southeast of the santa rosa airport. we see the crash site near ronald rose. the federal aviation administration tells us there were two people on board this experimental kit box 4 when it hit power lines and went down 2:15 this afternoon. both of the people inside have been taken to a local hospital. their conditions are unknown. also happening now, employee groups representing the rank and file members of the san francisco fire department are about to meet with mayor ed lee to discuss what is growing turmoil in the organization. >> yesterday a draft letter from the group surfaced calling into question the leadership of the fire chief. the letter asks for the

resignation of hayes-white and the fire chief rejected the call, saying certain members of the department were upset over disciplinary measures she's taken. this morning the firefighters association president says there is more to the story. >> this has nothing to do with the discipline but she was right in one regard. it has to do with accountability. people should be held accountable for their performance. >> abc 7 news reporter carolyn tyler is monitoring developments and will give us an update in a live report on abc 7 news at 5:00. fire crews are worried the weather could slow their efforts to fight that huge king fire in el dorado county. it's hot and windy with a red flag warning in effect. that makes it even more challenging for 7600 firefighters. >> the king fire has burned nearly 93,000 acres. it grew by more than 3,000 acres overnight. the flames are now threatening 12,000 homes and cal fire says it is 38% contained. relief for firefighters is

actually on the horizon. clouds from an approaching weather front are moving in right now. they are expected to bring much-needed rain. spencer christian joins us with the accuweather forecast. i guess the question will be, as we discussed a couple days ago, whether the rain will actually make it far enough inland to help out the firefighters. >> you're right. that is the big question. it's looking more promising now for some of this rain to make it that far. let's take a look at live doppler 7 hd. you will see where the rain is at the moment, well to the northwe northwest. let's see what's coming our way. start at 7:00 this evening, by about, oh, 10:00 tonight, we will see rain having pushed down through parts of sonoma into napa and northern marin county. by 1:00 a.m., rain will be more widespread across the entire bay area and at 5:00 tomorrow morning, the beginning of the morning commute, we will see quite a bit of wet weather. no doubt lots of wet spots in the pavement and it will probably be a slow, wet morning commute. meanwhile, over in the area of

the wildfires, red flag warning continues in effect until 11:00 tonight from the central sierra northward up into southern oregon and as we look at those fires, the smoke is now blowing northward, much as it was yesterday, away from lake tahoe which got a good dose couple days ago. 83 degrees in the area of the fire, humidity 33%. winds gusting to 14 miles an hour. some of the rain coming our way will make it out to the area of the fires. just how much, i will show you. cheryl and larry? >> see you in just a few. you can track the stormy weather in your neighborhood with the abc 7 news weather app. download it for free at abc7news.com/apps or on google play. a victory today for surfers fighting for the right to access martin's beach. a judge ruled in favor of the surf foundation. >> the group sued after access

to the road was shut down at martin's beach. the lawsuit claimed that violated the california coastal act. the judge ruled that the failure to obtain a permit before blocking access to the beach was illegal and that appears to reopen the access road to the public. a new development about an effort to rescue horses in morgan hill after neighbors say those horses are being mistreated. we told you about the nine horses on tuesday and how the owner won't give them up. >> in a matter of hours, it appears those horses could be in the hands of a rescue group. abc 7 news reporter david louie has the story live in morgan hill, a story you will see only on abc 7 news. david? >> reporter: well, the owner of these horses said up to two days ago he would not be interested in selling them but he apparently has had a change of heart. at 6:00 this evening, about two hours from now, he will be sitting down with representatives from the equine rescue center who say they want to buy as many of these horses as they can afford with donations. the horses are in plain view in

a pasture along a busy road. also in plain view, signs they are too thin. their ribs are clearly visible. hum berto rivas leases the horses. he said he was caring for them after they were given to him by someone else who couldn't feed them. now, after neighbors complained, he has changed his mind about selling them to a nonprofit horse rescue group. monica hardiman has a meeting with him at 6:00. >> we want to get the horses. so raising as much money as we can right now is critical and the goal is to try and get as many as possible. >> reporter: she is confident she can raise the projected $20,000 that will be needed to buy them, restore their weight, provide vet care and care for them. this is a pasture waiting for her arrival as soon as tonight. the equine rescue center is about 85 miles away. it's a property purchased by a

flphilanthropist who is leasingt to them at below market rates. about 70 horses have already been rescued. a veterinarian is coming out in the afternoon to examine the rescued horses. >> he is going to assess and evaluate all of their issues and create a feeding program for each individual horse. >> reporter: the horses' future is looking better now, much to the relief of neighbors who have been complaining for months at the sheriff's office and animal control. donations are making it possible. >> we are talking about rescuing more. we will continue our mission and at 100%, it will go to the erc and the success of this rescue. >> reporter: what's your reaction to the fact these horses will finally be taken care of? >> excited. very excited. >> reporter: david louie, abc 7 news. today marks one month since the devastating south napa earthquake. rebuilding is under way throughout some of the hardest hit parts of the north bay. >> there is still an awful lot to be done. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is live with that story. wayne? >> reporter: an awful lot, we

are talking about months, maybe years to get everything done right. over my shoulder here, it's the poster child for napa, the building, you see all that history in the street, all the stones still in the street while they try to get this building together. 30 days after the quake, we can say napa is slowly coming together but it's going to take a long time. >> that's brick and it's ready to fall out. >> reporter: this is what an earthquake looks like 30 days after the fact and counting. whether downtown in the business district or out in the burbs, it is slow and sometimes bumpy going, not just physically but emotionally. >> you thought you were living on solid ground. >> yeah. yeah. when i bought the house, that's what i thought. that's what i was told. >> reporter: what do you think now? >> well, i was going to do an addition but that's no way i'm doing that. >> reporter: one month later, the quake isn't so much a matter of moving forward yet as getting

back, which takes resolve. linda is rebuilding an art gallery. she finally took a day off yesterday. >> i went to the coast. hung out on the beach. had a picnic. it was lovely. >> reporter: napa will be lovely again some day, after the cleaning and the propping up in months ahead. this is what the city's estimated $300 million in damage looks like. still making do. >> it's unique method of propping up a building. >> reporter: but who is going to prop up napa? federal relief dollars arrived for the city but not for homeowners or business people. >> government is slow, unfortunately. >> reporter: garrett murphy said it's best to have a strong plan. he owns the oldest stone building in town, the red-tagged one with even more history than rocks in the street. napa will survive, he says, and mostly with help from itself. >> in the beginning, when the community says we'll come and help, we will pick up some

stones and help you, that was great. now they just need to shop locally. >> reporter: 30 days, an earthquake community out of sight and out of mind for most of us. but not here. not even close. wayne freedman, abc 7 news. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a preview of an exhibit at alcatraz by an artist from china who has never been to the island. also, the goal behind a prayer vigil held outside immigration and customs enforcement headquarters in san francisco. new at 4:30, new revelations about the driver who was killed in a collision with tony stewart and a decision whether the nascar champion will face criminal charges. 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions on twitter and facebook. he will answer them here live a little bit later.

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i'm in. i'm in. for the first time ever. over one million people have enrolled in health insurance through covered california. soon, you can join them. breaking news in san francisco. two surfers pulled from the water at ocean beach. rescue crews were performing cpr on both of them as they were taken away. sky 7 hd was overhead near the beach chalet just off the great highway. you can see the rescue right there. we don't know any of the details yet on how those two surfers got no distress but the coast guard has issued rip tide warnings and alerts to watch out for high surf and rogue waves. alcatraz is already a huge tourist attraction. now there is one more reason to go. starting this weekend, an exhibit by chinese artist and activist ai weiwei will be on display at the old penitentiary. abc 7 news reporter alyssa

harrington took the first look and has a preview. >> ai weiwei is a contemporary artist and maybe china's best known dissident. he is not allowed to leave china but he was still able to get his work to san francisco with the help of volunteers. for the next several months, the walls of the former prison will double as a gallery. alcatraz was once known as one of the world's most notorious prisons. it's now a national park and perhaps not the place you would expect to see something like this. a giant rainbow paper dragon, hanging from the ceiling among other colorful sculptures and designs. this is just one of seven exhibits by chinese artist and activist ai weiwei. the exhibit is called "at large, ai weiwei on alcatraz." >> this is an amazing place. what incredible history this island has. it's a place of detainment. it's a place of protest. >> reporter: the curator traveled to china to bring the pieces back. she says ai weiwei's creations

are meant to bring up questions about human rights. >> and the role communication plays in helping create a just society. >> reporter: for example, in this exhibit called "with wind" -- >> the dragon and kites represent power and freedom but they are displayed in a building used for prison labor. another work is a five ton wing made out of metal. it can only be viewed behind bars. >> so the art and the site are interwoven. >> reporter: the artist also played with sound. visitors can listen to music or poetry by political prisoners echoing from dark cells. ai weiwei cannot leave china. back in 2011, he was arrested for tax evasion and his passport was confiscated. this contemporary art exhibit is a literal interpretation of captivity he knows well. one other thing. the exhibit allows visitors into parts of the park that are

usually off-limits. there is no extra charge. the exhibit is open to all visitors who bought a ticket to go to alcatraz and the works will be on display through april of next year. alyssa harrington, abc 7 news. >> thank you. a honduran woman who says she is escaping from domestic violence is being released to her mother's custody. advocates gathered to pray prior to today's hearing at immigration and customs enforcement headquarters. jenny escobar has been held in detention facility for seven months. she claims smugglers have kidnapped her when she was detained at the border. she has epilepsy. her mother wants the care for her. escobar will be released on bond tonight. >> we are very very happy tonight. we will eat dinner together and it's like a dream come true. god really answered our prayers. >> escobar will continue to ask for asylum in the united states. her sister, who was also picked up by immigration officers, is still being held in texas.

oakland is getting some help in beefing up its police force. today the city announced the department received a federal grant to help cover the cost of hiring 15 police officers. the mayor and police chief say they have been working to increase the number of officers and they credit that effort in part to lowering violent crime rates in the city. oakland officials expect to have more than 700 police officers on the job by november and that would be the highest number they have had since the year 2010. time to head outside. we have encouraging news about the weather. >> rain, spencer christian. >> that's right. outside may not be where i will want to be in four or five hours. it's lovely right now. here's a look at live doppler 7 hd. rain is on the way. it's falling vigorously to our north right now, in the northwestern corner of the state. that of course is the system coming our way. it's already in the last 24 hours produced nearly three inches of rain in crescent city, 2 1/2 inches at eureka. we are hoping to skwoez queeze h

as we can. if it feels muggy to you, it is. check out the dewpoints. it feels a bit muggy and looks a bit muggy as well. here's the emeryville camera view of the western sky. clouds at various levels of the atmosphere. it's 71 degrees in san francisco. mid 70s in oakland, san carlos, san jose. 87 at morgan hill. 68 half moon bay. here's a view looking out northward toward the golden gate. you see the clouds getting positions low and high in the sky. 73 right now in santa rosa. napa, 76. 77 novato. 79 in concord and livermore. at the golden gate, here's how it looks. clouds hovering above. these are the forecast features. muggy with rain developing this evening, a wet morning commute, quite wet, we think. a few light showers will linger into friday. the satellite image shows the advancing frontal system that will bring us our rainfall. it's approaching slowly but it will be here in just a few hours. the forecast animation, 7:00 this evening. there will already be wet spots

in parts of mendocino county as the front swings through, 5:00 tomorrow morning going into the morning commute, it will be quite rainy, quite wet across much of the bay area. give yourself extra time if you are a morning commuter. even on friday morning, we will see a few pockets of shower activity with a few more showers lingering into friday afternoon. by 5:00 friday afternoon, we are projecting rainfall totals between half an inch and an inch in the north bay mountains, santa cruz mountains, two to four tenths in lower elevation. what about the sierra, where the king fire continues to burn? by 5:00 friday afternoon, we expect anywhere from quarter of an inch to half an inch in the area of the fire. that's not a lot of rain but certainly enough to help a little with fire containment and prevention. back to the bay area overnight, a rainy night and a mild, muggy one as well with lows mainly in the low to mid 60s. tomorrow, we will see some sun by afternoon but there will be pockets of lingering showers. highs in the mid to upper 70s inland, mid 70s around the bay,

upper 60s on the coast. here's our accuweather seven-day forecast. scattered showers will linger into friday. we will get mainly sunny skies on saturday. it starts getting milder on sunday and then monday, tuesday, wednesday of next week, we will see high temperatures back in the summer-like range of mid 80s. it will be nicely warm next week. we are getting much needed rain over the next 24 to 48 hours. >> spencer, thank you. up next, it is pushing the boundaries. up next, the stars of "blackish" talk about the goal of this new abc tv series. new after 4:30, the rescue of a young bald eagle in distress. the bird actually swam toward a fishing boat. we will show you how it's doing.

tonight is the season premiere of the new abc sitcom "blackish." >> the show is rooted in the experiences of those behind it. our entertainment reporter sat down with the cast in los angeles. >> i'm going to need my family

to be black, not blackish. >> dad, you're scaring me. >> why don't we take a black break and go get some white yogurt? >> anthony anderson, lawrence fishburne and tracy ellis-ross co-star in "blackish" playing members of a family navigating what it means to be black in america today. the show's goal is to take an authentic look at our world. >> that's exactly what this show is. tracy lives this lifestyle of a mixed lifestyle. this is her life as a mixed woman, you know, having an african-american mother and jewish father. the stories that we're telling on our show came out of the stories of our lives. this is really authentic. i think that's what's going to resonate with the people. >> it's not that big of a deal. >> coming from a mixed woman who technically isn't even really black? >> if i'm not black, then could somebody please tell my [ inaudible ]. >> amazing writing and authentic characters we all identify with and connect to.

thn you get to play on top of that. it's magic. >> it really is magic. that's probably the best word. >> i feel like i'm seeing you do something i have never seen you do before. >> boy, is he doing it well. let me tell you. >> thank you. >> that boy can deliver. >> thank you. thank you. >> family meeting. everybody around the table, now. >> i feel a group hug coming on. i'm going to the track. >> the title is "blackish." i'm kind of whitish. >> you're kind of blackish. >> to be honest, you're blackish. [ speaking simultaneously ] >> you totally get to claim that. you get to say your name and then say i'm blackish. >> we might take the "ish" off and call you black. >> abc 7 news. >> the premiere is tonight at

9:30 on abc 7. the critics are loving this show so please check it out. >> i'm just laughing over g-pop. if you have ever talked with him, he's not g-pop. if ice cube says you are, you are. >> you can watch the show on any abc show on the go on your tablet or smartphone. just ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the mayor of one east bay city gets tough on building owners' fallout from the napa earthquake. also a decision on criminal charges against tony stewart. prosecutors drop a bombshell about the driver killed in the sprint car race. and the trouble brewing on social media over president obama's unorthodox salute while leaving marine one.

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in today's headlines at 4:30, finally, rain is coming to the bay area. abc 7 news meteorologist mike nieco tweeted we had an appetizer with a fraction of an inch in some areas. we have a live look outside right now. looks beautiful right now, no rain yet, but it is on the way. showers should begin sometime after 9:00 tonight, continuing through the morning commute.

the future of san francisco's fire chief still in jeopardy. today, the head of the firefighters union met with san francisco mayor ed lee. no decision yet. the five-member fire commission is expected to bring up that issue during tomorrow's regularly scheduled meeting. today marks one month since the 6.0 napa earthquake. the community in napa is still working on recovery. many businesses closed since the quake say they are now close to reopening. free workshop are being held this week for people who still need help. after the napa quake, the mayor of martinez got tough with property owners who are yet to retro fit their own buildings. it seems to be working. laura anthony with details. >> the only way you can truly retrofit these brick buildings is probably to remove them completely. >> reporter: mark shoemaker owns this building in downtown martinez and the store in it. lights of diablo. the early 20th century brick building needs to be retrofitted by next year. he's working on it but also worries the added expense,

hundreds of thousands of dollars, may not provide the desired result. >> retrofitting it will probably keep the roof from coming down, but as you saw in napa, the buildings that were retrofitted we probably wouldn't want to be standing here because what it does, is it keeps the roof on and the bricks come down. >> it's substantial cost for property owners to do the retrofit but we have a moral obligation. >> reporter: martinez mayor saw what happened in napa and vallejo after last month's quake and so days after, he made public a list of nine building addresses and their owners that were not moving toward retrofit compliance. they include structures that currently house stores and restaurants and others that are unoccupied and/or for sale. >> we were getting ready to enforce our earthquake retrofit laws. it's just that the earthquake caught us a little bit early, just by a couple of days. it was a wake-up call. since then, all but one building owner of those nine that were

not in compliance have moved towards compliance. >> reporter: building owners still have time to get the construction work done. the deadline to complete the actual retrofit is august 15th, 2015. in martinez, laura anthony, abc 7 news. the smell of natural gas led to the cancellation of classes today at san mateo high school. officials don't know when students will be allowed to return. pg & e crews were called out to the delaware street campus last night to cap a gas leak nearby but the odor didn't go away. school officials decided to shut off gas to the entire campus which meant cutting off the hot water and making the cafeteria useless, no hot food. so no school today. some of the parents were caught off guard. >> she told me did you know there's no school today. i'm like, she got me on phone, i'm like hurry up, there's no school. there's no one here. >> maintenance crews are still trying to locate the source of the natural gas smell and once

they find and fix it, pg & e can turn the gas back on, then classes can resume. nascar champion tony stewart will not face any criminal charges in the crash that killed sprint car driver kevin ward. ward was killed after his car spun out in a sprint car race back in august. video shows the 20-year-old get out of his wrecked car, then walking down the middle of the track, pointing and angrily waving at stewart. that's when stewart's car happened to strike ward and killed him. the grand jury saw that video and heard from dozens of witnesses before deciding not to charge stewart. >> i am sure from their deliberations and discussions that the fact that kevin ward was observed running basically down two-thirds of the track into a hot track in the middle of other cars that were still racing played a big, big factor in their decision. >> the district attorney also revealed today that ward was under the influence of enough marijuana to impair his judgment during that race. the nfl players association announced today it has launched

its own investigation into the way the league and baltimore ravens handled the domestic violence case involving ray rice. the nfl p.a. has hired former federal prosecutor richard craig smith to conduct the review. the players association asks the nfl and the ravens for their full cooperation. the nfl is also conducting a separate investigation led by richard muller, the former head of the fbi. rice has been suspended indefinitely by the nfl after video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancee. he is appealing the suspension. trouble brewing on social media after the white house posted this video on its instagram page showing president obama saluting two marines while holding a coffee cup. ka calling the gesture disrespectful. one of the critics is a former secret service agent who tweeted our commander in chief should

take the time to properly salute our heroes. they do it for them. that tweet came with this photo showing a service member with a prosthetic arm saluting. others say this is all being blown out of proportion. twitter user james griffo wrote to all the people complaining about obama's latte salute, then he shared this picture of president george w. bush back in 2001 saluting with his right hand as he held his dog with his left arm. one other note, even though we are used to seeing presidents salute the troops, this is actually a pretty recent thing. ronald reagan is thought to have set the precedent for this practice back in 1981. we want the know about your thoughts about all of this at facebook.com/abc 7 news. >> it's stirring up a lot of controversy. just ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, forget the kiss cam. we will show you the couple who made a splash at last night's giants/dodgers game. i'm michael finney. in today's 7 on your side, q & a is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook. you can contact me right now.

i will answer your questions here live a little later. here's a live view looking towards the northwest as high clouds and low clouds are moving into the bay area. the accuweather forecast for the arrival of rain in just a moment. here's the arrival of traffic. it's brutal on the skyway in downtown san francisco. oncoming traffic going to the east bay, lower deck of the bay bridge. right-hand side heading toward 101 south. bumper to bumper in both directions.

giants and dodgers fans have been known to pour beer on each other but usually not like this. these fans turned the kiss cam into the beer shower cam. beers are $10 apiece. i don't know that you want to just pour it away like that. >> i was thinking of her pretty hair and all that makeup? wow. >> would have been easier to kiss her, actually. others pointed out, there is good-natured ribbing between the giants and dodgers, particularly after bumgarner and puig almost went at it and the benches emptied. vin scully said the benches are coming out for whatever. that's pretty much what that was, whatever. they just stood around and did the polka.

let's head outside where we know we'll have good news about rain coming our way. >> i love this news. rain will be here in a matter of hours. take a look at our view right now at how dreary the conditions look up in that elevation. rain is certainly on the way. when was the last time most bay area locations had significant rain? for most of the bay area, it's been 151 or 152 days. santa rosa got some about six days ago, last significant rain in napa was 151 days ago on april 26th. my daughter jessica's birthday. then the very next day before that, i should say, april 25th, san francisco, oakland, hayward, livermore, san jose got significant rainfall. we will get some tonight and tomorrow. here's live doppler 7 hd showing it just to the northwest now. drenching areas like crescent city. we will get a pretty decent dose of rainfall overnight. tomorrow nationwide it will be mainly sunny and dry. there will be showers off the atlantic coast, maybe even a couple thunderstorms and a few showers in the pacific northwest. for most of california, we will

see dry conditions south of yosemite and fresno but around tahoe, some points north of tahoe, we will see showers tomorrow. in the bay area, we will have showers overnight, early tomorrow morning, giving way to mainly sunny skies tomorrow afternoon but with some pockets of lingering showers and high temperatures tomorrow afternoon will range from upper 60s at the coast to mid and upper 70s inland. there may be even more showers on friday. great. larry and cheryl? >> thank you. fishermen in canada knew something was wrong when they spotted an ailing baby bald eagle swimming towards the boat. it looked exhausted and was clearly in poor health. >> the eagle was scooped out of the water with a net. he let the bird rest on his boat hoping he would be able to fly away when his wings dried out. that unfortunately did not happen. the fisherman called a volunteer who flew it to a local owl rescue center. >> they end up fishing and they grab on to a fish that's just too large and they won't let go.

that's their food. sometimes the fish can pull them under. >> well, the eagle is going through months of rehab. he has been placed on antibiotics. if they work and the bird recovers, he may be returned to the wild where he was found. >> quite a beak on him. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, billionaire richard branson taking the lead from silicon valley when it comes to virgin airlines vacation policy. a california farmer's perfect pumpkin for halloween. how did he do it? 7 on your side's michael finney. a local public high school is charging students $100 for parking. is that legal? i'll have the answer coming up. [ brian e, it's about getting to the finish line. in life, it's how you get there that matters most. it's important to know the difference. like when i found out i had a blood clot in my leg. my doctor said that it could travel to my lungs and become an even bigger problem.

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the nation's largest marijuana advocacy group is mounting a new push to legalize recreational pot use in california. the marijuana policy project is aiming to put this measure before the voters in 2016. they filed the paperwork today with the secretary of state's office to establish a new committee that plans to put a pot legalization measure on the

november 2016 statewide ballot. that measure would be similar to one that was passed by colorado voters in 2012 legalizing pot for all adults 21 and over. california voters rejected a pot legalization measure back in 2010. billionaire investor richard branson is looking to netflix to help shape his employee vacation policy. branson told his 160 employees office staff at the virgin group they can take unlimited vacations, as much time off as they want. that might sound generous but it might not be. the lack of formal vacation policy actually could leave some employees feeling pressured to take fewer days off. branson says he was inspired by netflix' unlimited vacation policy and many bay area tech start-ups have adopted a similar benefit. >> i'm going to push for that here. i would like to leave now. 7 on your side's michael finney, do i have to stay until 5:00? >> yes, you do. >> all right. questions on facebook, twitter and e-mail.

clark asks via facebook if there's a recall for a vehicle and you need a rental car, are they supposed to offer you one free of charge? >> they can offer you one. they sometimes do but they don't have to. what you want to do is find out are they offering it at all, and if they are, then you say i want my rental car. you look at the fine print of your recall, it will say right there what they're willing to do for you. also, if it's not there, if you have a compelling reason sometimes the local dealership will just be a good guy and go fine, we will give you one. >> sandy m. e-mailed my public high school is charging a $100 fee to students to park in the school lot. is this fee legal? >> this is a big debate going on right now down in san diego and it's over a $100 parking fee there. a lot of the high schools here in the bay area charge a fee. they raised together millions of dollars across the state and there's an attorney in san diego who is saying this is so not fair that it is amazingly illegal.

here's why he says that. it's because teachers are parking for free and minors, some of them low income, have to pay $100. he says that's not legal in the state of california. the school district says that the law is silent on it, therefore, it is legal. i think we are going to see something happen here. the courts may not decide it. i think the legislature will. >> interesting. the schools need the money. we know that. >> right. that's what they're after. but is that fair for a low income student to pay when their teacher, the principal doesn't? i don't know. >> right. all right. john v. asks is it safe to provide your social security number online? i tried to make an online purchase and it required me to supply part of my social security number. >> i wouldn't do it for an online purchase. i'm uncomfortable with that. you should never give your social security number unless you really, really know who you're giving it to. if you're just signing on online, it's a store you don't know, i wouldn't deal with them at all. i would certainly not give a

social security number through a link that i went to, maybe through an e-mail. you have to do it to get a credit card and under those types of conditions, but generally, they are allowed to ask, you don't have to give it but then they don't have to sell you the item. >> michael, thank you. a ventura county pumpkin farmer is giving people an early scare with the ghoulish gourds he's growing. look at this. he is growing pumpkins that look like frankenstein. they are 100% natural and organic. he is drawing this frightening fruit in a mold shaped like frankenstein. it took him four years of trial and error and would you believe hundreds of thousands of dollars to perfect the method. >> it's too large, you're condensing it. you are forcing it to be too small and it won't ripen correctly. obviously if it's too small it won't fill the mold. and then you've got to throw in all the variables. a, mother nature. >> demand is very high, especially with halloween coming. i thought it was plastic at first but it's the real thing.

the pumpkin-stein, dr. pumpkin-stein, is going for $75 each, wholesale. some retailers are selling them for as much as $125 per pumpkin-stein. >> you just like saying that. >> i do. >> so cool. coming up, it looks real but it was not. we will explain the special significance behind a disaster drill today. at san francisco international airport. i'm dan ashley in the abc 7 newsroom. coming up at 5:00, is there a problem with the palms? why the trees by the bay bridge are getting second looks. plus, how apple's hot-selling iphone is quickly turning into buyer beware. those stories and more when cheryl and i see you at 5:00.

abc 7 is honoring hispanic heritage month.

today we recognize the san francisco based family care giver alliance that works to help families take care of loved ones and holds retreats and support groups for spanish speakers. we have more details on instagram at abc 7 news bay area. the season premiere of your favorite comedies is tonight on abc 7. we started out with the middle at 8:00 followed by the goldbergs, then modern family, then the series premiere of blackish at 9:30. all that followed by nashville at 10:00 and abc 7 news at 11:00. you can use watch abc to catch all these shows live on the go with your smartphone, tablet or computer. visit watch abc.com for details or download the free app by searching watch abc in your app store. it certainly looked like a disaster. a lot of smoke and sirens at san francisco international airport. it appeared to be a frightening scene. turned out to be only a training exercise. a mock plane crash scenario. the first test of sfo's new emergency response procedures

put in place after last year's asiana crash. nick smith has the story. >> reporter: this is a drill. it is only a drill. the scene, an emergency announcement that a plane has crash landed at sfo. thick plumes of smoke can be seen pouring from below. the number of passengers on board and the severity of their injuries, still unknown. there are more than 300 volunteers playing the role of passengers aboard the boeing 767. michael is one of them. >> just so they know what they would be dealing with if this situation occurred. >> reporter: this is a full scale emergency exercise designed to be as realistic as possible. although federal regulation requires u.s. airports to conduct drills every three years, sfo conducts theirs annually. >> this is the first time we have actually closed runways. >> reporter: officials know first-hand how quickly the emergency call can go out and how responding in seconds can

save lives. >> it's designed to test our emergency procedures, our first response, firefighting, search and rescue, triage, transport. >> reporter: emergency procedures are front and center after first responders are called to assist passengers of asiana flight 214 that crash landed at sfo july 6 of 2013. after an investigation by the ntsb, recommendations were made on ways to improve emergency response. >> not only do we want to practice our normal procedures, we learned some lessons last year during the asiana accident and we continue to enhancements. >> reporter: many of those are being tested today for the first time, like a common radio frequency shared among first responders so they can talk to one another. there is also a new emergency notification system and lastly, they have added a full body 767, one of the more common size planes used today, to add to the realism. even though today's exercise was just a drill, there is still a lot to learn.

the emergency response teams will get together, compare notes and figure out where they can make improvements. at sfo, nick smith, abc 7 news. >> thanks for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm larry beil. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins with cheryl and dan. breaking news at ocean beach. swimmers pulled from the water and fighting for their lives. we are live with the latest just ahead. san francisco's fire chief's job in jeopardy. we are live at the big meeting happening now. plus, will the gates reopen? a final decision tonight in the billionaire and the beach. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. live live doppler 7 hd tracking the first storm of the season. i'll have the time line coming up. it's happening on san francisco's ocean beach where minutes ago, two swimmers were pulled from the water. sky 7 hd shows you the scene. both received cpr and were then rushed to the hospital. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> i'm cheryl jennings.

abc 7 news reporter tiffany wilson just talked with rescue crews. she joins us at ocean beach. >> reporter: we are told that both men are in critical condition. neither one of them regained consciousness or the ability to breathe after they were rescued. if you take a look at the video from sky 7 hd, you can see crews working on that second victim. we are told he's a man in his 50s and that he got caught up in the water close to the shore. rescuers rushed into the water to pull him out, immediately began the life-saving techniques on him, but at this point, he is in critical condition on his way to the hospital. the first swimmer is related to that older man. we don't know his age or his connection at this point, but we are told that when firefighters arrived on the scene, he was already on the shore, but he also did not regain consciousness. a third family member was here with their dog. that family member now waiting but this could certainly be a tragedy for the family.

if you take a live look behind me, you can see the swells. we spoke to a couple of locals who say they come by here every day and that these waves right now are as big as they have ever seen them. so again, firefighters who responded to the scene say this beach is only safe for the strongest of swimmers and the strongest of surfers. we will continue to follow this story and bring you updates as we have them. tiffany wilson, abc 7 news. >> you're right, the problems at the beach are connected to some high surf. let's go to abc 7 meteorologist sandhya patel for more. >> since this morning the wave heights along the coast have more than tripled. let me show you live doppler 7 hd. i will show you what is bringing those big waves. it's the storm that is bringing rain to northern california. now, as we take you in closer, we have current wave heights on the order of about eight feet at half moon bay, ten feet, san francisco. bodega bay, 13 feet. as we look to the north, there's