good afternoon. i'm dan ashley. larry beil is off. >> i'm ama daetz. he has already surrendered his career. today, sean harrington turned himself into the contra costa county jail, charged with stealing semi-nude photos from at least one woman's cell phone and sending the photos to other officers. abc 7 news reporter laura anthony is live in martinez, where harrington appeared in court today. laura? >> reporter: well, former officer harrington bailed out of the jail behind me within a couple of hours. authorities here do believe he sent those photos to other chp

officers but at this point, they say they don't expect to charge anyone else. in the meantime, harrington apologized to his family, to other police officers and to the victim. with his attorney at his side, former chp officer sean harrington surrendered at the contra costa county main jail in martinez, charged with two felonies. the 35-year-old harrington is charged with stealing semi-nude photos from the cell phone of the woman he had arrested. >> this is a horrendous invasion of privacy but also, because he's a law enforcement officer, it really undermines the public trust in the criminal justice system. this whole thing only works because the public trusts us. >> reporter: after checking into jail in a suit and tie, harrington promptly bailed out and made his first court appearance a couple hours later, with his wife at his side. >> his wife was sitting there, she's supporting him? >> yes, his wife was sitting there and she supports him. >> reporter: his attorney asked the judge to postpone formal

arraignment for a couple of weeks and told reporters his client does not dispute the charges against him. why would an officer want to throw away his career over that? >> that's a good question, what was he thinking. probably the honest answer is he wasn't thinking. he used the word game and i have said this before and i will say it again as his lawyer. this is no game. >> reporter: harrington will be back in court november 14th. if convicted he faces several years in prison. in martinez, laura anthony, abc 7 news. san francisco police say they have arrested one of three suspects in a string of blessing scam robberies targeting elderly chinese victims. u.s. customs officers detained a 61-year-old chinese national as she was trying to leave the u.s. to go back to china. investigators say the woman ran the scam at least twice in san francisco, once in los angeles and once in new york city. a south bay animal rescue group is offering a cash reward hoping to find the person who shot a blue heron with an air

rifle. the wounded bird was found last week huddled in the corner in someone's backyard. x-rays show pellets from an air rifle lodged in the bird's chest. the nonprofit wildlife emergency services says it's raised more than $5,000 for information leading to an arrest. the heron is being cared for at the international bird rescue in fairfield. in san francisco today, firefighters trained to respond to an ebola outbreak for the first time. they set up a fake quarantine zone at fire station number 7 in the mission district, staged drill involved a person posing as a patient with symptoms of ebola. firefighters learned how to secure scene and protect a patient based on guidelines from the centers for disease control and prevention. >> we have to go ahead and look at this as an emerging disease, obviously. it's had contact in the united states. san francisco is a city that is obviously well traveled. the chances of having an exposure up here are definitely on the rise. >> the department believes it

will be ready if ebola comes to the bay area. it may purchase new equipment including new haz/mat suits. firefighters will continue to train hoping to improve communication and speed. it is the final hours of campaigning before tomorrow's election. >> the stakes are very high in the south bay where a high profile campaign for the 17th congressional district could be determined by undecided voters. the incumbent congressman mike honda is in a battle with his opponent. >> abc 7 news reporter david louie is live in san jose at the board of elections. david? >> reporter: as you can see, the voting is already under way here in santa clara county. walk-ups as well as drivers coming by can turn in their absentee ballots. the big concern for tomorrow is voter turnout. voter turnout could be a major factor that determines whether seven term incumbent mike honda keeps his seat. polls by both candidates indicate there is a substantial

number of voters who are undecided, ranging from one fourth to one third of those surveyed. volunteers and the candidates themselves have been spending these final days of the campaign on the phones and canvassing neighborhoods to get enough voters who support them. i asked both how low voter turnout might impact the results. >> there is a real excitement among our voters, young folks who are excited, folks who want to bring change. so i think our folks are going to go to the polls. we are seeing people excited to vote. and i'm confident that we are going to have the folks out there to win. >> reporter: honda believes efforts to boost turnout will be beneficial to the outcome. >> we have made about 500,000 contacts through phones, knocking on doors and walking precincts as we did yesterday. so my expectation is that we will get our votes out. >> reporter: incumbents often benefit from name recognition but because of redistricting, some voters in fremont and milpedas have never seen his name on a ballot before.

conna's name is also new to them. both candidates are asian americans in a district that has the largest percentage of asian americans outside of hawaii. >> i think the jury's really out on this race. we've had conflicting poll results and the honda campaign had a poll showing he was ahead and his opponent had a poll showing that it was pretty close. so a lot of it will come down to voter turnout. >> reporter: david louie, abc 7 news. they are expecting a good turnout in san francisco. the department of elections expects about 60% of voters to cast a ballot. they already reached 21% turnout just from mail-in ballots. election officials expect that figure to double by tomorrow. that's because most voters prefer to turn in their ballots at their polling place on election day. election workers are already busy checking ballots with voting errors. >> people write in the names of candidates who are listed or printed on the ballot and then they mark the arrow as well.

so it creates what's called an overvote. that gets kicked out. >> voting machines also have problems reading ballots with stray marks so do be careful making your choices. many cities like san francisco will have drive-through ballot drop-off stations to help voters cast their ballot. you can get information on the candidates and issues in tomorrow's election on your smartphone or tablet with the abc 7 news app. look for our voter resources page. a power outage left a lot of people in san francisco without power. the outage stretched from north beach to just north of union square. pg & e says about 1,000 customers were left in the dark for several hours. those customers included office buildings around levi's plaza. one dentist was working on a patient when suddenly the place went dark. >> luckily we have these glasses with lights so that we can do some -- finish up some cleaning, anyway, but we had a little bit of air in our compressor to polish the teeth for the last patient.

>> boy, that's tricky. pg & e says the outage was caused by an equipment problem in an underground vault near lombard and sansom street. electricity was restored within the past hour or so. you can see in the video, such a nice day outside. >> it gets dark earlier all of a sudden. things changed dramatically on us. >> it will get dark quite early this afternoon, 5:09 p.m., to be precise. there's no shortage of solar power. we have bright skies. a look at live doppler 7 hd, it is getting cooler after a relatively mild day. temperatures are dropping right now under skies that are mainly sunny with high clouds, as you can see in the western sky here looking from emeryville. beautiful picture right now. it's 61 in san francisco currently. 64 in oakland. mid 60s in san carlos and san jo jose. 68 in half moon bay. check out this view looking down on the bay. 65 right now in santa rosa and napa. petaluma, 64. upper 60s, fairfield, concord

and livermore. looking at the golden gate, mainly clear skies with high clouds above. this is the first forecast. we will see mostly clear skies this evening, high clouds will increase overnight. it will be chilly in some spots in the early morning hours. mild tomorrow afternoon, though. highs under sunny skies ranging from mid 60s at the coast to mid 70s inland and guess what? we have a warming trend coming our way this first full week of november. i will show you how high the temperatures will rise in just a few minutes. dan and ama? >> thank you, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, the federal government lowers the boom on kia and hyundai, hitting the auto makers with a record fine. also, cancer patient brittany maynard's decision to take her own life. why it can be a lesson for all of us. new at 4:30, why billionaire richard branson is telling people not to rush to judgment following the virgin galactic disaster. 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions on twitter and facebook and will answer them live a little bit later.

let's take you outside for a look at traffic. you are looking at the san francisco skyway. tricky getting on to the bay bridge, those are the folks on the left-hand side heading towards you. we'll be right back.

( siren wails ) ( pop music playing ) ♪ when you're ready ♪ ready, ready, ready ♪ come and get it ♪ get it, get it

♪ when you're ready, come and get it ♪ ♪ na na na na ♪ na na na na na na na ♪ ♪ when you're ready, come and get it ♪ ♪ na na na na... female announcer: it's a great big world and it can all be yours. here and only here. ♪ come and get it. the suspect in a hit and run incident that killed three teenagers on halloween was driving on a suspended license.

authorities arrested joaquin bell yesterday following an investigation that led them to a motel 6. he is accused of hitting and killing three 13-year-old girls who were out trick or treating. police say the 31-year-old fled the scene and had his two children in the vehicle with him at the time. the dmv says bell's license was suspended for excessive alcohol back in august. hyundai and kia will pay a record $100 million fine for overstating fuel economy estimates for many of their vehicles. the penalty is the largest in the history of the clean air act. the epa and u.s. justice department accused the twin south korean auto makers of misleading customers about emissions by inflating the gas mileage estimates on many of their models. >> this will send a strong message that cheating is not profitable and that any company that violates the law will be held to account. >> the government says hyundai and kia inflated gas mileage estimates in more than a million vehicles. the auto makers are jointly owned by hyundai, which says it

makes honest mistakes in interpreting complex epa mileage test requirements. now to brittany maynard, the alamo resident who reignited a passionate debate about terminally ill patients and assisted suicide. >> reporter: so full of life and vitality, 29-year-old brittany maynard lived her life to the fullest, teaching in orphanages in nepal and traveling around the world but her life and how she chose to end it has made news around the world. >> my goal of course is to influence this policy for positive change and i would like to see all americans have access to the same health care rights. >> reporter: diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor on january 1st, she would soon learn she had only six months to live. together with her husband, maynard would move to oregon, one of only five states with an assisted suicide law. on saturday, maynard self-administered medications legal under oregon's death with

dignity law. consumer reports recently surveyed americans and found that the health care system is poorly designed to deal with end of life concerns. brittany maynard's story is unique to her but it's also a reminder that we will all face the end of our lives some day, perhaps not so tragically young, but some day, and that we really need to think as she did about how we want it to end. >> reporter: it was a decision maynard struggled with in the last few days. it seemed she may be changing plans but when the time came, she did what she planned to do. >> so if november 2nd comes along and it's passed, i hope my family is still proud of me and the choices i made. >> reporter: since the passage of oregon's death with dignity law, more than 750 people have used it. part of what makes maynard's story so unique is how few of them, less than 1%, have been under the age of 35. abc news, new york. >> maynard's story could lead to a new push in california to have

an assisted suicide or death with dignity law. we will talk to a state senator coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00 about this. a terminally ill college basketball player is vowing to return to the court following her triumphant appearance this weekend. a sellout crowd of 10,000 cheered as mount st. joseph freshman lauren hill made two baskets in what was her first and likely only college basketball game yesterday. her courage along with her campaign to raise awareness about her rare form of brain cancer has resonated nationwide. hill says she's not giving up even though doctors have only given her weeks to live. >> i don't want it to be my last game and i don't plan on it being my last game and even if i can't play, you know, if i'm in a wheelchair by then or anything that happens, i'm still going to try to be there with my team and be there to support them, because they have always been here to support me. >> the ncaa allowed the schools to move the game up two weeks to

allow hill to play. her story helped raise money for research of her rare form of pediatric brain cancer known as dipg. >> she is so brave. >> certainly is. >> so young. it's awful. let's turn our attention to the weather forecast. nice and crisp out there. >> that's right. spencer christian's here with the latest. >> it's getting cooler by the moment, after bright skies today and relatively mild conditions, temperatures are settling into more autumn-like pattern. a look at live doppler 7 hd, we still have mainly sunny skies, a few high clouds around. it's a lovely late afternoon here in the bay area, as evidenced by this view of the western sky from the east bay hills camera. high clouds will thicken a bit overnight so cool conditions overnight with high clouds. warming trend builds in this week right into the weekend and we will have a dry pattern, of course, into next week as well. here's a look at the satellite image showing a big ridge of high pressure that will bring us both the dry pattern and the warmup that we will experience this week with high temperatures

getting into the 80s in some inland locations by midweek. as we look at the long range precipitation forecast, long range for the week ahead, we see no rain expected in the bay area. it will be a dry week through next tuesday, which is november 11th, and it's going to be quite a mild to warm week. look at the seven-day high temperature trend in san jose, which has an average high of about 70 degrees this time of year. we will see mid to upper 70s throughout the week ahead. in san jose and other inland locations, we will see highs in the low 80s during the week ahead. again, very atypical november weather certainly for the first week of november. actually, this would be less typical for the last week in november as we look ahead to overnight conditions. mainly clear skies early, increasing high clouds overnight, low temperatures mainly in the mid to upper 40s. then tomorrow, under filtered sunshine, look for highs in the south bay in the mid 70s up to about 73 at san jose, on the peninsula low 70s for the most part. 72 will be the high in redwood

city. mid to upper 60s on the coast. downtown san francisco will have a high of 69 tomorrow. up in the north bay, nice and mild, mid 70s from santa rosa to sonoma to napa. east bay highs, 71 in oakland and san leandrleandro. 74 apiece at walnut creek and livermore. 75 pleasanton. 73 at fairfield and antioch. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. tomorrow, election day, so we posted our vote icon there reminding you that the weather will not be an excuse for not getting out to vote. many people have already voted but many, i think most probably choose to vote the old-fashioned way. look at the warming trend coming our way. we will see highs at or above 80 in our inland areas wednesday through next monday. looks like sunday will probably be the warmest day with inland highs in the mid 80s. upper 70s around the bay over the weekend. 70 degrees on the coast. if you like mild to warm weather, enjoy this weekend

coming up because we may not see many more weekends like this in the months ahead. we are going to have a little bit of gloom settling in as the sun sets earlier and the cloud cover gets thicker. >> spencer, thanks very much. up next, high-flying romance. two frequent flyers get a one of a kind wedding. new after 4:30, the new device being tested that could one day allow you to bring water bottles through airport security. how about that. at 4:20, checking your traffic on the san mateo bridge. on the right-hand side is traffic heading to the peninsula. little bit smoother than coming to the east bay on the left-hand side. stay with us.

bay area fans can soon catch taylor swift perform her hits live but they won't be able to hear them on spotify. the singer pulled her songs from

the digital music service. many have complained the rise of streaming services has made a big dent in sales. meanwhile, the multi-platinum star is announcing a tour that includes a performance at levi's stadium next august 15th. this is video of her during a performance last tuesday. tickets for her upcoming concert go on sale to the general public december 12th. a random target employee has suddenly become a social media sensation. this is alex from target. someone posted his picture on twitter and his boy band good looks are getting a lot of attention. it's been retweeted over 821,000 times. there is now a hash tag alex from target. target is even getting in on the social sensation with this tweet, writing we heart alex, too. it appears he attends high school in texas but little else is known about alex. >> he does look like a boy band. call it a case of non-stop love. donny danced down the aisle moments before she married keith stewart 32,000 feet in the air on a southwest airlines flight

over the weekend. the couple met two years ago. they travel so much for work they decided hey, let's get married in the air. stewart wrote a letter to southwest and the airline agreed to that wedding request. it was the first time they have ever done it. >> i, dotty, choose you keith, to be my husband in front of our friends, our family and random but very special guests. >> the couple has so many rapid rewards points, they were able to buy 30 tickets for family and friends. another 110 passengers watched kind of inadvertent wedding guests but they didn't mind. they seemed just fine sharing the moment. everybody toasting. in case you're wondering, the destination of this flight, love field. in dallas. >> that makes sense. >> peanuts for everybody. >> honey roasted. i hope there is no turbulence to come. just ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a new phase begins in a

legal battle against two san francisco police officers accused of stealing money, drugs and other items from people they arrested. also, election day could be a big day for republicans. we will show you how democrats could spoil the party. later, an old strategy san francisco could be bringing back to keep traffic flowing at key intersections.

here are your headlines at 4:30. a former chp officer in dublin surrendered today on charges he stole nude photos from a dui suspect's phone. sean harrington faces two counts of computer theft. he quit his job and is now out on bond. if convicted, harrington faces nearly four years in prison. election day is tomorrow. abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez is covering one of the hot issues on the ballot and she tweeted this. if there's one issue that young people are talking about, it is the soda tax. lyanne will have a live report on abc 7 news at 5:00. federal trial has begun in the case of two san francisco police officers accused in a major corruption case. jury selection started today. abc 7 news reporter vic lee is in the newsroom with the story tonight. >> they started selecting the jury today in a courtroom at the federal building in san

francisco. the two veteran officers are accused of corruption under the color of authority. the reported abuses happened between 2009 and 2011. in february, a federal grand jury indicted the two of criminal conspiracies that included stealing money, drugs and other items from suspects. a former officer ronaldo vargas seen in this security video pleaded guilty to similar charges and has promised to testify against his former colleagues. the department fired vargas for unrelated violations of department policy. the three-year federal investigation started when public defender released security video showing undercover police from southern station in residential hotels. three officers were indicted for violating suspect's rights under the color of law. the investigation extended to separate allegations that

mission station officers were violating suspects' civil rights, resulting in the indictments. the public defender says the case is important and the public should know officers are not above the law. >> it's important to hold police officers accountable when something like this occurs because it increases the level of trust between the police and the community. >> reporter: martin halloran is president of the police officers association. he says the group is standing beside the officers. >> they are anxious that this is now in front of -- will be in front of a jury, fair and impartial and they are eager to have the truth come out in court. this is what they want. >> reporter: officer robles' lawyer says vargas is trying to get leniency by accusing her client of wrongdoing. >> the department did the right thing, got rid of a very bad apple and now he's essentially the star witness for the

government in this case. >> reporter: brian getz says his client is a good cop and has done nothing wrong. >> in the 20 years he's been in the force, he has been shot, he has been stabbed, people have tried to run him over all in the line of duty. >> reporter: if they pick a jury by end of day today, opening statements are supposed to start monday. with regard to the other case, the case involving the three officers at southern station who were on the security videos, that trial is expected to start in january. vic lee, abc 7 news. >> thanks. we are learning more information today on that fatal crash of an experimental rocket ship. federal investigators say a lever on the spacecraft was moved earlier than it should have been. abc news reporter john ehrlichman has the latest. >> reporter: investigators say 39-year-old co-pilot, who died in the accident, unlocked the rocket ship's wings called

feathers. >> after it was unlocked, the feathers moved into the deployed position and two second later, we saw disintegration. >> reporter: the national transportation safety board has not yet determined the cause of the crash. but observers say deploying the feathering system before reaching the right speed suggests human error may be at play. >> i don't think we should point the finger at virgin galactic just yet. it's an experimental flight. there are risks taken with that. >> reporter: investigators hope to learn more from the pilot who survived, parachuting to safety before being taken to a hospital for treatment. virgin galactic is offering to refund the $250,000 paid per person for the hoped-for future commercial flights. that group of 700 includes celebrities like angelina jolie, brad pitt, katy perry and leonardo dicaprio. richard branson says safety has guided every decision the company has made in the past decade. >> i find that people who know nothing about what they're

saying can be saying things before the ntsb makes their comments. >> reporter: while the test flight recorded a tremendous amount of data, federal investigators still say it could take as much as a year to find out fully what caused the crash. john ehrlichman, abc news, los angeles. very big day in new york city. we will try to get the picture for you. the new number one world trade center opened its doors to its first tenants today. this milestone comes a little more than 13 years after the terrorist attack that took nearly 3,000 lives, of course. the building soars 104 stories above the city into the air, making it the tallest building in the united states. >> we brought it back. we built it even higher than it was before. and now we just have to tell the world we're back. >> the new tower took eight years to build at a cost of nearly $4 billion. developers say it is the most secure office building in america, made with reinforced concrete that's seven times more

durable than traditional concrete. they also claim it's designed so that even if hit by an aircraft, the people at the top should be able to exit safely. the employees of publishing giant conde nast are the first to take up residence with many more expected to follow. voters go to the polls across america tomorrow and the voice of the people will sound loud and clear. polls suggest it may be music to republican ears. it's your voice, your vote. abc news reporter karen travers has more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: candidates across the nation hit the trail for one final full day of campaigning. republicans feel the weight is breaking in their favor. >> they would be bitterly disappointed if they didn't take it. >> reporter: they need to pick up six seats to do that and their chances look solid. three states look certain to switch from democrat to republican and arkansas seems to be tipping gop. that means republicans could hit their magic number by winning just two of the ten competitive

seats now held by democrats. kentucky republican senator mitch mcconnell's in a tight re-election battle but if he wins and republicans take up six, he's the new senate majority leader. >> we intend to be a responsible governing republican majority if the american people give us the chance to do that. >> reporter: in the house, republicans are expected to expand their majority. but there's one potential bright spot for democrats on what could be a very bleak day. republican governors in florida, wisconsin and pennsylvania who swept into office in 2010 on the tea party wave -- >> several of them are actually in danger this year because there is such an anti-incumbent sentiment. >> reporter: one analyst says both parties may misread tuesday's results. >> republicans will think it's a vote for them when it's not. they are still viewed negatively by the american public. i think democrats will try to isolate and say it's only about this election when they still have brand problems. >> reporter: several key races may not be decided tuesday night because of slow vote counting and potential runoff elections.

republicans may not need these races to win the senate but if they do, the balance of power here in washington may not be known for several weeks. karen travers, abc news. capitol hill. stay with abc 7 news and abc7news.com tomorrow night for complete election coverage. we will have live real-time results from national races beginning at 7:00 p.m. and from local races when the polls close at 8:00. we will also have complete coverage at 9:00 p.m. and on abc 7 news at 11:00. coming up next on abc 7 news at 4:00, the rare cloud formation from down under. plus, the dangerous stunt by an australian swimmer. the reaction he's getting after getting on a dead whale. i'm michael finney. today's 7 on your side q & a is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook. i will answer your questions here live in a little bit.

spencer christian, here with a great view of the setting sun from the emeryville camera. sun is setting earlier these days. nonetheless, a warm week is coming our way. the accuweather forecast in just a moment. the sun is setting soon and it's gorgeous over the golden gate bridge. traffic moving wonderfully in both directions here at 4:37.

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people around the world are questioning the judgment of this australian man who jumped into shark-infested waters to climb on top of a dead humpback whale. you see him there. harrison williams said he did it because one of his mates thought it would be funny. they didn't mind that several sharks were nearby, saying they were too busy chomping on the whale. williams managed to climb on to a boat and to safety. criticism was swift. one tabloid labeled williams mobi-thick and called the stunt stupefying. he admits he won't be doing it again and it was a stupid act. his parents didn't find it too amusing. quite a sight in the sky down under. people living near melbourne, australia got a view of a rainbow colored cloud known as a hole punch cloud. isn't that weird? the cloud formation occurs when part of a cloud of water

droplets freezes into ice crystals. the phenomenon can be brought on by an aircraft flying through it. some people on social media wondered if it was the end of the world while others saying it looked like a portal into space. >> if it's the end of the world it looks pretty good, almost like a rainbow in there. >> lot cooler than jumping on the dead whale. >> i think so. let's check on our weather and our skies out there. >> spencer christian is out there. you don't have a streak up ahead or anything like that? >> no, nothing like that. may not have been the end of the world but it was out of this world. kind of cool-looking. put on the heavy coat, it's getting chilly out here. here's live doppler 7 hd. we have high clouds and sunshine right now but the sun will be setting in just under a half hour now. national weather picture for tomorrow will be mainly dry but we will see a line of showers n from the great lakes through the mississippi valley. deep in the heart of texas. and a few scattered showers in the pacific northwest. across the state of california, mainly sunny and dry, especially down south. in the northwestern corner, a

few showers and in the bay area, mainly sunny skies tomorrow with a few passing high clouds. i mentioned earlier and will tell you again, it will be a mild to warm week. the warming continues tomorrow with inland highs reaching into the mid 70s. we will see mid to upper 60s around the bay and by midweek to late week, we will see inland areas hitting or topping 80 degrees this week. the first week of november, that's pretty warm weather. >> thank you, spencer. still ahead here, long lines at some bay area gas stations as prices take a dive. we will tell you about the new lows at the pump. plus, the new device being tested so you don't have to throw away that water bottle at airport security. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. what are your passenger rights for delayed flights? we will be talking about that next.

a remote that 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. drivers are lining up for gas today as prices dip to a level rarely seen especially here in the bay area. abc 7 news reporter nick smith has more from san jose, where prices went below $3. >> reporter: high supply and low demand has pushed gas prices to an all-time low. >> going to go down even more. thank you, thank you. >> reporter: it's become a treat for drivers. the national trend has averages

at $3 a gallon for the first time in 2014. >> even lower, 99. we got to claim it, right? >> reporter: claim it and you shall receive it. we found drivers in this line trying to do just that. lines so long, finding an empty pump has become a virtual game of musical chairs. still, these drivers believe it to be worth the wait. we were at this san jose gas station when prices plummeted, falling another 12 cents before our eyes. >> even better for delivery drivers, man. delivery in the bay area, cheaper gas. >> reporter: why is it happening? demand is low, gas supplies are up. analysts chalk it up to increased u.s. oil production. more fuel efficient cars and refineries switching to production of less expensive winter blend gasoline. that's made for an unprecedented 34 cent per gallon drop since july. >> it does add up over the weeks and months. >> reporter: this driver commutes seven days a week and is saving anywhere from $10 to

$20 a fill-up, leaving extra cash in her pocket. >> i do look for the best deal. it is the best deal in san jose. been coming here about two years now. they have always had the best gas prices. i come all the way out here to get gas. >> reporter: according to aaa, without any natural disasters or man-made incidents, gas prices will continue to fall just in time for the holidays and thanksgiving. the busiest travel weekend of the year. >> right before the holidays, hey, you couldn't ask for a better blessing. >> reporter: just to give you an idea of how long this line is, it goes out the parking lot, up mckie road to the exit of highway 101. the owner tells me he expects lines like this to continue for as long as he has the cheapest gas in santa clara county. nick smith, abc 7 news. that isn't the only place seeing a dip in gas prices. in san francisco, some spots are charging $3.19 a gallon. in concord, we found gas prices as low as $3.03 a gallon. mill valley, prices are clocking

in at $2.99 a gallon. vallejo, $2.93 a gallon according to gasbuddy.com. for a look at gas prices where you live, go to abc7news.com. >> i don't know about you. i never thought we would see below $3 again. dominoes pizza in australia has launched a marketing campaign. here's the deal. customers use an app to design their own pizzas and market them on social media. if they sell, the customer gets a slice of the sale. participants can earn anywhere from 22 cents to nearly three bucks per pizza. some wacky combinations have been submitted including one called the fisherman's dirty wife, a pie topped with anchovies, spinach and chili lime drizzle. it's selling, apparently. this dominoes is not owned by the u.s.-based dominoes but does operate in several european countries. british researchers have created a device that could one day allow you to bring a bottle of water into the airport. here's a look at the insight 100

liquid bottle scanner now being tested at 65 airports in europe. security puts your liquid inside and just five seconds later, the device processes the contents, checking for any threats such as propellants or bomb-making material. it is not being tested here in the u.s. liquids larger than 3.4 ounces have been banned since 2006. 7 on your side's michael finney is here answering questions sent to him by facebook, twitter and e-mail. a twitter user tweeted flight delayed over four hours. what are my passenger rights? >> slim and none. here in the united states, you know, there are no federal requirements for this at all. the different airlines will sometimes offer a meal or maybe a cup of coffee but they won't give it to you unless you ask. they really don't have to do anything. if you are flying overseas, that changes everything or just to a different country. then the international rules go into effect and you have up to $4400 coming to you. it depends on what it has cost you. if you had to cancel a hotel, if

you missed a meeting, all of that kind of stuff. >> say you lost time, too. a business person. >> a twitter user tweeted 34 political ads from this last week. are these recyclable or just landfill? >> are these things obnoxious? do they work? look, when they are those slick ones, you think they're not recyclable but the majority of those are nowadays. here's how you tell the difference. the slick colorful even shiny ink, that is still recyclable. what isn't is when you can peel it off and it's almost like a plastic sheet. remember that? you don't see that much anymore. almost every one you are seeing is recyclable. >> dirk m. e-mailed is it legal to sell a used car with a non-functioning odometer? >> interestingly, yes. you cannot even have an odometer. when you sell a car, you have to fill out a form that says what's going on with your odometer, so

if it's not working, if it used to work, and you have to write that down and tell the truth. as long as you do that you're fine. now, coming up at 11:00, i want you to look at this key. look at that key right there. a locksmith didn't make it. an app is making my key. you simply take a scan of the key and the copy is sent to you. should you be concerned if the bad guys will take pictures of your keys? we take a look at all of this on abc 7 news at 11:00. up next, an end to traffic congestion. one bay area city's plan to crack down on drivers who cause gridlock. new at 5:00, how a woman says a 20-minute uber ride stole her 26th birthday. plus -- >> why this sight and sound is happening a lot more in the city of berkeley. >> that's next.

here is tonight's prime time lineup on abc 7. at 8:00, a new episode of dancing with the stars followed by the countdown to the country music awards. robin roberts at 10:00, and of course, join us for abc 7 news at 11:00. tune in if you can. san francisco may bring back a strategy it used decades ago to try to calm gridlock on city streets. >> it's called don't block the box. abc 7 news reporter carolyn tyler joins us live from one of the worst intersections in the city, second and bryant. hi, carolyn. >> reporter: hi, ama. you wouldn't know it right now, it looks really good, very good, in fact, but anyone who drives or walks here on a regular basis knows this is one of the hot spots. at a city hall hearing today, the supervisor who represents this district says the

congestion is becoming very dangerous to pedestrians. one city official says south of market is the epicenter of san francisco's gridlock. it's here that many motorists heading to the bay bridge or the freeway try unsuccessfully to make it across the intersection just as the light turns red. it's called blocking the box. they block the flow of traffic and sometimes the crosswalks, forcing pedestrians to weave in and out. >> i fear for my life every time i leave work, seriously. when i tell you it's like people, it's as if no one's even walking. >> we can't have enforcement resources at every intersection all the time. so we want to be strategic and really target the ones that have the biggest impact. >> reporter: san francisco's municipal transportation agency conducted a pilot program focusing on two busy intersections, main and harrison and second and bryant streets. between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., they had parking control officers

write tickets for two days, then on two more days, direct traffic as well as issue citations. >> what we really want is compliance, not a bunch of tickets. >> reporter: the results showed a dramatic change in behavior, especially at main and harrison. an 82% drop in blocking the box. at second and bryant, a 27% decrease. >> i would like to see more enforcement of the traffic intersection. >> reporter: there was a public awareness campaign back in 1987. no one's sure why that ended. but the sfmta is now recommending a restart. enforcement combined with education. in san francisco, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. that will do it for us here at 4:00. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm dan ashley. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now. stay tuned for that. a former chp officer walks into jail, charged in the scandal over stolen pictures.

what he's asking the judge to do now. a vivacious bay area woman reignites an old debate. >> a personal and intimate decision. >> the new push in california for the right to die with dignity. and the drink that is cheaper to buy than milk, tea, even water, but maybe not for much longer. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. temperatures trending higher this week. i will show you how warm, coming up. if november 2nd comes along and it's passed, i hope my family is still proud of me and the choices i made. >> just heart-felt words from the bay area woman who just may have changed the debate over the right to die. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm ama daetz in for cheryl jennings. >> i'm dan ashley.

brittany maynard went to school here, lived here before moving to oregon so she could, as she said, die with dignity on saturday. today, brittany's mom, debbie, says she feels blessed to have watched brittany work hard at everything. right now, only five states allow physician-assisted death, oregon, washington, vermont, montana and new mexico. so will california adopt such a law? abc 7 news reporter sergio quintana is in the newsroom with a look at that question. >> well, the last time a law like this was considered in california was in 2007. brittany maynard's case has certainly stirred conversation about revisiting the issue here. brittany maynard graduated from uc berkeley and lived in the east bay before moving to portland, oregon to carry out her end of life plans. her situation is creating new awareness. >> the fact she had to move from her home in california to a state to the north that afforded her an important right that her home state didn't, this, yes, has become a much more discussed issue. >> reporter: the state senator

says he has been in close communication with the group called compassion and choices about possible legislation in california. though maynard's decision to take her own life this weekend sparked conversation and debate, any legislation in california may not be drawn up immediately. but when it is, advocates against these laws are ready. >> we are in a society with a broken profit-driven health care system. and it's dangerous to make assisted suicide an alternative medical treatment. >> reporter: bill may is with californians against assisted suicide. he says people facing these end of life issues like maynard are already in fragile situations. he's worried these laws could be abused. the state senator leno says there is an easy way to determine if that's happening in other states where it's legal. >> this kind of fear manifests itself, other kinds of fears manifest themselves so there is a body of data that we can look at carefully as we, california, proceed with considering such