vapor imagery, the reason for this, area of low pressure is coming right in over the bay area. you get the heating from the sun and it's destabilizing the atmosphere. i will be back with a look at your weekend forecast. cheryl? now to another breaking story, this one in san francisco, where an uber driver has been arrested for attacking a passenger with a hammer. it happened near the corner of elsworth street. the driver is accused of hitting a passenger on the head with a hammer after some kind of dispute over the route on tuesday night. abc 7 news just talked with the attorney about that incident. cornell? >> reporter: he is wrapping up a news conference and is very upset about this incident which happened on tuesday involving the driver. he picked up three passengers on tuesday. there was a dispute according to

the attorney about the route the driver was taking. he stopped the car, kicked everyone out but not before grabbing a hammer and hitting one of the passengers in the head. that person was sent to the hospital with critical injuries. he was arraigned today on battery and several other charges. he has no criminal background but gascon very upset about this. he sent a letter requesting information primarily about how they do their background checks on their drivers. they have until monday to respond to that. we will be hearing a lot more about this coming up tonight at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. on abc 7 news. cornell bernard, abc 7 news. well, now to a day long hassle for commuters. golden gate ferry captains walk off the job for the first time ever, surprising and stranding passengers trying to get to work.

>> thought i would treat myself and take the ferry this morning. i came here and the boats are shut down. >> i got to get on my bike and ride to work. >> now all these folks are headed home, many on the golden gate bridge. >> to add to the fury over the ferry, even bus service is affected. at least a dozen golden gate bus drivers called in sick today. that forced the cancellation of some bus service during this one-day strike. ferry captains say they are sorry for the inconvenience but say they felt they had no option in their dispute over wages and health care. >> it's the last place we want to be. we want to be at work. we want to be getting people across the bay to work. but we feel like we have run out of options. >> abc 7 news reporter tiffany wilson is live at the trans-bay terminal with more on how the strike is affecting the commute and the people heading to the giants game. >> reporter: if you just heard, the ferry captains were reluctant to call this strike but are unhappy with the way

negotiations are going regarding wages and health care. so today, they made those ferries stand still. of course, that had a major ripple effect across the evening commute. forget a breezy friday ferry home. tiffany is stuck waiting for the bus. >> going home is really the main problem. it can take up to an hour and a half to get to san rafael. >> reporter: compared to just about 30 minutes to cross the bay by ferry. this morning, she noticed the crowds. bus riding regulars like chris expect this afternoon to be worse. >> i guarantee there will be extra traffic. there is always more traffic on friday anyway. >> reporter: he hopped on the 150 to mill valley, opting the leave work early. at least three others who boarded with him say they would have taken the ferry if the boat captains weren't on strike. here, you can see them picketing outside the larkspur ferry terminal. about 700 people had ferry tickets to the giants game tonight. the bridge district promises their fares will be reimbursed. the lack of ferries means more

cars and oracle world at third and howard just compounds traffic woes. the company hired traffic directors to help. >> let's fill it in! >> reporter: mick jones says he has car regulation down to a science. still, drivers are frustrated with the delays. >> i live on the corner right there and i come out on a one-way street so i have no other option but to do this. now we are going to be late. >> reporter: perhaps the silver lining to the line of brake lights, pedestrians can roll right through the intersection. >> i'm lucky but those who drive are not. >> reporter: oracle world will impact traffic through friday. regular ferry service resumes tomorrow. tiffany wilson, abc 7 news. a head-on collision between a van and a bus killed two people in san mateo today. it happened at 12:45 this afternoon. sky 7 hd shows you the front of the van smashed in, the windows busted out. the driver and passenger were killed.

five people on the bus were taken to the hospital. their injuries are not considered life-threatening. cal trans is working with investigators to figure out what went wrong. >> the investigation is ongoing. obviously we don't have a conclusion as yet but the bus was operating northbound in a normal manner. >> traffic was rerouted around el camino royale from ninth to 12th avenue. oakland may have a serial arsonist on its hands. five suspicious fires broke out this morning. they were all within about one mile of each other and they broke out within three hours. one of the fires was at a home, leaving nine people now looking for a place to live. no one was hurt. investigators are looking at surveillance video trying to develop some leads. meantime, investigators are now trying to figure out how a fire started at a san rafael apartment building at canal and novato streets. it started in a garage and spread to a fence, then on to an adjacent garage and apartment unit. it took crews about 40 minutes to put it out.

one firefighter suffered minor injuries. belmont police have arrested the suspect in a car theft from a mercedes dealership last weekend. they also recovered one of eight cars stolen early sunday morning from autobahn mercedes in belmont. police booked jeremy redwood on multiple charges including auto theft, possession of stolen property and violating his probation. six vehicles were taken from the belmont dealership. they were recovered in oakland on tuesday after they were found abandoned. some election politics for a moment. one of the most watched congressional races in california pits a veteran democratic leader in the south bay against a newcomer, also a democrat, who worked in the obama administration. incumbent congressman mike honda is being challenged by roe conner. tonight there are charges of campaign ethics violations. laura anthony is live with the story. laura? >> reporter: this has been a contentious campaign from the start. today, the rhetoric ramped up even more with mike honda's

rival calling for a full investigation into those possible ethics violations by a honda staffer. >> pay to play allegations are of the most serious kind in our democracy. >> reporter: the challenger, a long-time san jose democrat, is trying to capitalize on allegations this a honda staffer offered prospective donors prime seats at a state department function in early 2013. >> what we are saying is that no one is allowed to trade on the public assets that belong to the taxpayers. the state department, for personal gain in a political campaign. >> reporter: the allegations stem from e-mails honda's chief of staff allegedly wrote from her personal g-mail account to the congressman's then-campaign chairman, obtained by the metro newspaper, san jose inside.com, they refer to possible invitees to a state department roundtable and identify them as potential campaign donors.

in an e-mail to abc 7 news, honda's current campaign chief wrote quote, congressman honda expects his staff to adhere to the highest ethical standards. in this instance, while not a violation of house rules, he believes staff should have taken more care to prevent the appearance of coordination. nonetheless, two elected city officials from honda's district have written a letter complaining to the office of congressional ethics. >> if congressman honda didn't know about the improper behavior undertaken by his office, then we need to find out who is actually in charge. >> reporter: he finished 20 points behind honda in june's prima primary. the two will debate on october 6th. laura anthony, abc 7 news. you don't need to be a lotto winner to buy a particular house in redwood city for $1. all you need is a buck. but yes, there is a catch. that story just ahead. airline passengers may have to deal with delays for days after a disgruntled worker

torches his workplace. also, europe says you can use your phone on a plane. what that really means. and frequent flyer frustration. 7 on your side's michael finney reveals which airlines have the best loyalty programs.

the winner of wednesday's $228 million powerball jackpot has come forward. his name is vinh nguyen. he is a nail technician in san mateo. abc 7 news reporter alyssa harrington is live outside the nails resort. what is he planning to do with all that money? >> reporter: cheryl, he told lottery officials he's not sure what he's going to do with the money yet, but that he wants to keep living a normal life. >> very exciting.

>> reporter: julianna works a few doors down from san mateo's nails resort where powerball winner vinh nguyen is rumored to work as a nail technician. >> he's very funny, great sense of humor, very nice, very down-to-earth. >> reporter: the salon is supposed to open at 9:00 a.m. but the doors are locked and nobody's answering the phone. neighboring shop owners tell me that the last time it was open was wednesday, before the winning numbers were announced. shawntee says she hopes he puts the money to good use. >> we are so happy for him. they are hard-working, you know. they work long hours. >> reporter: lottery officials will not say where nguyen lives but he bought 15 tickets at dehoff's key market across the street from the salon. you might call the winning ticket one big lucky guess. he picked the numbers at random because they are the ones that happened to come to his head. >> i think it's great. i think it's great for the

neighborhood. it's a blue collar neighborhood. a lot of people around here work really hard for their money. it's just good to see it finally hit so close to home. >> reporter: nguyen didn't even wait 24 hours to cash in at the lottery headquarters district office in hayward but he will have to wait for the big payout. he chose the annuity option which means he will get all $228.4 million over 30 years. in san mateo, alyssa harrington, abc 7 news. we are back with a live look from san francisco international airport, where flights to and from chicago have resumed. thousands of travelers got stranded today when all flights in and out of chicago's two major airports were stopped. tonight, flights to and from the windy city have resumed but the faa says it will take days to get things back to normal. of course, those chicago airports are extremely busy. more than 50 flights were either delayed or canceled at sfo today because of this. the faa stopped all flights at o'hare and midway airports for more than five hours after a man

set a fire in the basement of an air traffic control center outside chicago. passengers at sfo scrambled to get to their destinations. >> all the other flights are overbooked so chances are, i may not get oucht. i'm going to sit here all day because i want to see my son play football tonight. >> there are a handful of cancellations and delays at sfo. police in illinois say the man who set the fire was a contract employee for the faa. he has been hospitalized with burns and self-inflicted knife wounds. no word on his motive for setting the fire. european officials have given the green light to cell phone use on planes. european aviation safety agencies says electronic devices do not pose a safety risk but don't expect a change any time soon. aviation experts say the airlines still need to set their planes to get wifi and phones to work. they say it's not possible to get a signal at 30,000 feet. at least not yet. passengers have been resistant to the idea of everybody around them talking during an entire flight.

>> can you imagine that? on the subject of flying, consumer reports is partnering exclusively with 7 on your side to reveal which airlines give passengers the best deals for their frequent flyer miles. >> who doesn't want the fly for free but can you really get where you want to go using your frequent flyer miles? to find out, consumer reports asked staffers to try booking round trip tickets using their frequent flyer miles with nine programs, alaska, american, delta, frontier, jetblue, southwest, spirit, united and us airways. they searched for a seat on the five most popular u.s. routes. for flights that departed in three days, one month and three months. >> options were often limited. results are just a snapshot in time but we had the most choices on delta followed by southwest and us airways. >> the deals also varied wildly. >> spirit required the most miles for the routes we checked

followed by us airways and they both charged the highest booking fees. more than $100 for last minute travel. >> the best mileage deals were with alaska airlines, followed by jetblue, american and delta. and consumer reports found you are usually far better off booking early. for example, on southwest, chicago to new york route, a round trip ticket went from around 17,000 miles a month before departure to more than 77,000 for a flight three days away. >> on short notice, united was the only one that sometimes lowered the number of miles needed to book a seat. >> whatever you do, consumer reports says don't hoard frequent flyer miles. you run the risk they will expire. and some more advice for reward travelers. consumer reports says if you can't book a seat using miles, try calling the frequent flyer service desk. agents can sometimes find seats that you can't online. i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. >> some more consumer news.

a recall has been issued for chicken two months after salmonella outbreak connected to foster farms was declared over. 40,000 pounds of chicken from louisiana could be contaminated by listeria. it's grilled chicken breast strips in 3.25 pound resealable bags. look for the code p-33901. it has a best by date of august 5th, 2015. that chicken we told you came from a louisiana plant. the product could be available at costco stores in california so return that chicken for a refund. don't use it. listeria causes fevers and headaches and has the potential to be fatal. >> take no chances. in san francisco, california pacific medical center has kicked off a long awaited project. crews broke ground today at st. luke's campus where they will build a new earthquake-safe hospital to replace the old facility. st. luke's has offered care to the medically underserved in the mission district for more than 100 years. after years of negotiating, the city reached a controversial $2

billion deal with cpmc to build two new facilities, including the one at st. luke's. >> there were times when those complications were so complicated and the emotions ran so high that we had to take a few breathers in this process. but we were steadfast. >> the new hospital at cpmc's st. luke's campus is expected to be completed in about five years. pleasanton city council is reducing its water penalties for overusers. they decided to assess hefty fees on customers who failed to cut water consumption by 25%. customers who fall short will still be penalized but the city has pulled back on plans to double and in some cases, triple the fines for persistent offenders. the entire community slashed its water consumption by more than one third this summer. a reminder, if you are headed into wine country this weekend, ten miles of highway 37

will be closed between vallejo and sears point from 10:00 tonight until 5:00 a.m. on monday because cal trans will be repaving. buying houses is just so expensive in the bay area but here's a deal. you can buy a house in redwood city for $1. there is a catch. you have to move the house. you can't leave it where it is. the developer wants this 1900 queen anne victorian moved so he can build a seven-story apartment building. the single story home has been designated a historic resource but the city is giving it only a d status, the lowest level of protection. the home needs repairs. the $1 price is good for 90 days. kind of cute, though, isn't it? >> yeah. adorable. we have had some crazy weather today. >> we have. there has been lightning around here, cloudy skies. meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking it for us. >> yeah, if you are stepping outside and you have to run some earned errands, you will want to hold off. we have numerous lightning strikes on live doppler 7 hd

around the state so far, over 280 strikes. i will close into where it's been very active in the north bay. as a matter of fact, thunderstorms have been reported right around santa rosa, south santa rosa, sonoma avenue. we have been seeing some rain, in 20 minutes approximately .2 inch near st. helena. the rain has been coming in pretty heavily. as we pull out, you can see a lot more up to the north, around cloverdale, ukiah, number of lightning strikes from cloverdale south towards vallejo, 37 in the last half hour. i will take you into the napa area, fairfield, where they have been seeing lightning strikes as well. some rain around jefferson street, wine country avenue. as we head towards the fairfield area, i want to let you know that there are two lanes of west texas street closed due to ponding in the fairfield area, approximately half an inch of rain has fallen. urban and small stream flood advisory continues until 7:15 p.m. you can see reports of hail near cordelia, pea sized hail.

these storms are containing radar estimates with heavy rain, potential for some hail there, so just watch out. as we pull out here, show you a wider view. this stuff is coming in and it's not completely done with as yet. as you will notice here, the thunderstorms are developing and then they are coming south. so be careful. just because you may not be in a zone where you are seeing the activity doesn't mean that we are done yet. from the emeryville camera looking towards downtown oakland, you can see vertical development of the clouds there. all the instability in the atmosphere pretty clear. 67 in san francisco. it is 71 in oakland. san jose right now. 66 in half moon bay. i want to step aside. the east bay hills camera really shows you the puffy clouds there so watch out as we look towards mount diablo. temperatures in the mid 60s, fairfield, santa rosa. 75 in napa. livermore, 73 degrees. some of you are seeing blue skies, so when you see me talk about thunderstorms you are going what thunderstorms. well, the sun is exactly what is destabilizing the atmosphere along with that trough coming

through. scattered thunderstorms tonight, isolated showers into the morning. dry and milder for the rest of the weekend. here's the pacific satellite picture. this is the low that is triggering all the activity. we are going to keep the unstable atmosphere in our forecast right on through tonight but the rest of your weekend is sunny and mild for those outdoor plans. here's the computer animation tonight. look out for the showers and thunderstorms, really for tomorrow morning we will still have a few showers right around the south bay, santa cruz mountains, monterey bay. then the activity will start to wind down, head southward by 3:00 p.m., it's towards the monterey bay. most of the bay area will start to see the sun breaking through. in the sierra, the same low is going to produce two to four inches of snow. at least that's the estimate above 8,000 feet. the higher passes may be impacted, could be slippery. keep that in mind if you head up there to camp or hike tomorrow morning. cool start, low 50s to low 60s. some of you will need the umbrellas first thing in the morning. for the afternoon, make sure you carry your shades. temperatures will be in the upper 60s to low 80s.

a mild, mostly sunny afternoon and brighter and milder for sunday. next week, you will notice a warming trend. low 70s along the coast tuesday through friday. getting you up into the low 90s inland by thursday and friday. so autumn warmth will be with us but until then, hang on tight. >> we have very active weather here. >> sandhya, thank you. remember if you have photos or video of this weather, we want to see it. >> you can e-mail them to weather photos. coming up, the modern man, a renaissance man. how major food companies are going after a new customer. customers hated this thing but new at 6:00 from 7 on your side's michael finney, the massive mailer that may be coming your way again from the folks in restoration hardware. that's at 6:00.

phone.t lives more wi-fi in more places. a movie library you can take wherever you go. internet speeds that have gotten faster 13 times in 12 years. the innovators and inventors at comcast labs are creating more possibilities for more people every day. comcast.

bringing media and technology together for you. how do you like this? thou shalt not steal unless you

are a giant on first base. that's a sure sign that orange october is spreading. a champagne celebration with a win over the padres and their playoff berth. san francisco will play either pittsburg or st. louis on wednesday. home field still to be determined. the a's are in texas and still trying to clinch an american league wild card spot. the rangers took a 2-1 victory last night. the royals also won, dropping the a's to the second wild card position. the a's lead seattle by two games so oakland can still clinch tonight with a win and a mariners loss. >> nike is making more money than ever and women are a big reason. athletic wear and ads that feature workouts tailored to women are the main draws. the company is reporting a 15% gain in quarterly revenue over last year, its biggest increase ever. now to the guys. new research shows that more men are shopping for food and companies are capitalizing on the trend.

>> if you've got to bring the artichoke dip, bring the artichoke dip. miracle whip and proud of it. >> clearly for guys. it is a campaign to reach men. kraft is pushing the boundary with ads for products largely historically marketed to women. men are now the primary grocery shoppers in about four in ten households and have their own priorities. men typically don't worry about prices. they want convenience so they can get in and out quickly and they want bold flavors and high protein foods. >> greek nonfat yogurt is packed with 12 grams of protein. >> as for stronger flavors to attract men, that includes hot dogs with dijon and hickory and soup with beer and cheese components. interesting. just ahead, thinking inside the box. >> exactly what is going on inside t

iwith something terrible to admit. i treated thousands of patients, risked their lives, while high on prescription drugs. i was an addict. i'm recovered now, but an estimated 500,000 medical

professionals are still out there, abusing drugs or alcohol. police, airline pilots, bus drivers... they're randomly tested for drugs and alcohol... but not us doctors. you can change that: vote yes on proposition 46. your lives are in our hands.

coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, fire season is not over yet. tonight a wildfire training exercise for bay area firefighters at a critical time of year. a home-cooked meal at a stranger's house? we will give you a taste of the new trend that diners are eating up >> that's coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. world class athletes will be squaring off along the embarcadero in san francisco tonight. it's not the giants. >> no, it is the open squash championships at justin herman plaza. >> the venue couldn't be better at a glass-enclosed court. the players love it. >> they will compete for $70,000 in prize if you didn't know, squash got its name because of the squashable softball used in play. >> number one healthiest sport to play. >> probably got its name because you squashed your opponent. thanks for joining us.

welcome to "world news" tonight. and the chaos at american airports this evening. more than 1,000 flights canceled, passengers stranded because of one man's dangerous actions. the pictures coming in. and the other air scare. planes diverted when worker at an airport shut down the runway. by mistake. the workplace horror. a fired employee returning and doing the unthinkable. one co-worker killed. another jumping in. >> it sounds like he is running around out there. lock that door. america's most wanted. the phone call we now learned about and what the hard drive on a computer reveals. and caught on tape.