off-duty, carrying my gun. officer white has been placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues. community members say regardless of where people fall on the opinion spectrum, this is a conversation we're having. >> we're absolutely emboldened and excited about the new national energy to reexamine police accountability. and we think it's important for san jose to be part of that national dialogue. >> reporter: we reached out to the san jose police department today. they won't comment on this matter until an internal review is complete. chris nguyen, abc 7 news. public defenders called for change within the justice system. at the hall of justice today, members of the san francisco public defenders racial justice committee held a black lives matter rallies across the country. they're calling for racial justice and change in law enforcement. >> in san francisco, blacks make up approximately 6% of the population, but over 53% of

custody in jail. >> it is about calling for the reform of the criminal justice system. because without that, this is going to continue to happen again and again and again. >> similar protests were held today in alameda and contra costa counties. oakland police are investigating after a discovery in frank ogalla plaza. a noose was found hanging from a tree on tuesday. this was posted on instagram. police say they're investigating to see if there was any criminal intent. some people praised him, while others vilified michael peavey, the outgoing president of california's public utilities commission. he presided over his final meeting in san francisco today. peavey has led the panel since 2003, and his current term ends at the end of the month. community leaders from san bruno accused peavey of being too cozy with pg&e leading up to the 2010

pipeline explosion. at 6:00 tonight, vic lee looks at peavey's legacy. a closure of angel island state park this weekend, park staff found treated wastewater overflowing into the park this morning. they closed the park to saturday and sunday to allow the water system to recover from the excess storm water. just as we're dryinging out a little bit, another storm is on the way. sandhya patel is tracking the system. >> hi there, ama. take advantage of the dry conditions right now, to get out and do your errands, run holiday shopping stuff. as you take a look at live doppler 7 hd, clouds are already starting to move into the north bay. the storm is really right off our coastline. you can see it developing. it's not going to move in immediately. it's still several hours away. later on tonight we'll start to see the first signs of wet weather. 11:00 p.m., raindrops starting

to show up in the north bay. basically north of the santa rosa area. and as we start your morning commute, some moderate rain starts to hit the bay area. the moderate to heavy rain will continue for the morning hours. i'll be back to let you know if this storm is going to head out before all your weekend plans begin coming right up. dan? >> sandhya, thank you very much. more storms means more cleanup across the bay. that means removal crews, busy the last week or so. heavy rain saturated the soil so deeply, winds are uprooting the trees because they don't get a firm hold on the ground. >> those are heavily leveraged. >> we like the trees. they create a lot of atmosphere for us. we like being on the edge of glen canyon. but we are concerned about these particular trees. >> concerned because of their end weight. the tree's branches and leaves are mostly on the side, one side, making them more susceptible to toppling over.

despite the damage recent storms have put a dent in the state's historic drought. california was in the worst category, 55% exceptional drought last week. that number has now dropped to 32% this week. that is the lowest percentage in six months. still a long way to go, but it's encouraging. for the first time, scientists say they have forecast the shifting of ground in a residential area after an earthquake. they say the fault that caused the earthquake in napa this summer will move several more inches in the next three years. you can see halfway up the slope where the color is darker on the left. how the ground is out of alignment. abc 7 news reporter elisa harrington is in napa with more. >> reporter: i'm in one of the neighborhoods that straddles the fault line. this crack occurred during the august earthquake. they're concerned what's known as an after-slip is already doing some damage.

>> i could do without an earthquake again. >> reporter: the napa quake is still impacting people like barbara, who lives in the browns valley neighborhood. according to ken, geophysicist with the u.s. geological survey, there's an after-slip, where there's still movement on the fault. >> at the time of the earthquake the movement is sudden, then there's this continuing movement that goes on. initially, that's fast. but then it slows down with time. >> reporter: he describes the friction like the slow smearing of clay. he expects the groun to slip between two to six inches in the next three years. the results could mean more structural damage to at least 20 homes near the fault line. in a neighborhood hit hard by august's 6.0 earthquake. >> you can see additional cracking, where the fault went right through the dirt, right through the street here. it looks like it's moving or pulling up. >> reporter: jim peterson who lives feet away from the fault line said he is not surprised there's still movement. there's cracks in the road, pg&e had to replace a gas line, and

just this week a neighbor's power went out. but the thought of the slow shift lasting for several years worries him. >> i hope he's wrong. a couple of these houses are right on the fault line, have some damage where the ground moves sideways. >> reporter: he said there are ways to mitigate the hazards. but it's pricey. the best thing to do is get a stronger and stiffer foundation on your home. in napa, elissa harrington, abc 7 news. a highway patrol officer killed a drive in humboldt county this morning, responding to a car crash near willow creek. the chp said the driver attacked their officer, and the patrolman defended himself. the fatal shooting is, of course, under investigation. san francisco based uber is promising to improve rider safety. just yesterday, an uber driver in boston was charged with kidnapping and raping a customer, among other things. users say it is creating a new team to respond to passengers. complaints about safety uber is

trying to do something more. richmond city council has unanimously adopted a resolution to accept president obama's my brother's keeper community challenge. the challenge is designed to make sure young boys and men of color have the tools they need to succeed. it calls for specific actions for each community to accomplish, setting goals in the areas of education, work opportunities, and violence prevention. >> we know that every single one of our young people, regardless of what race they are, regardless of what color they are and what stereotypes may be, placed on them, have the ability to achieve. and what they need is the support of their community. >> the city of richmond will host a local action summit next month to help build the my brother's keeper community. as laid out in president obama's challenge plan. a lot more to get to here. ibuprofen can work miracles for headaches, but does it hold the key to a long life? local scientists with a possible break-through. it is our moment in time.

>> boxing at the cow palace. swimming at oracle's racing pier. new details on the ambitious plan to transform the bay area. >> the entire city will feel as though it is dealing with a park. also, forecasters? the birds that knew the tornadoes were coming. what was tuned out is now turned on. the new super earth spotted by local scientists. >> abc 7 news at 5:00 continues here in 60 sends.

take a look at this face. san jose police say this man sexually assaulted two women and there may be others. 26-year-old kenneth bridges was taken into custody yesterday after getting a call of an

assault in progress. one of the women was 54, the other 63. bridges was already on parole for robbery. in san francisco today, a jury found a border patrol agent guilty of child pornography charges. gilbert lamb was arrested three years ago and agents found dozens of videos in his home. the district attorney said it was unsettling that a man who wears a uniform was capable of such an egregious crime. millions of people use iby pro fen for pain. now, a new study finds it could lead to a longer life. the new research is from the buck institute in moran. leann is in the newsroom with more. >> ama, you probably have one of these at home. ibuprofen was first made in the uk in 1961. it was marketed as a safer alternative to aspirin. now it appears it may help keep you healthier which then extends your life.

in this lab, scientists found yeast treated with ibuprofen lived longer. the lead researcher then tried it with worms. again, they saw an extended life span. how much longer? about 15%. brian kennedy is the senior scientist at the buck institute for research on aging in novato. >> if you think 15% of an effect on life span, and ultimately health span, that's what we're really concerned about, keeping people healthy, that's 10 to 12 years. that's a big effect. >> reporter: the doses were given comparable to what humans take. ibuprofen interfered with how yeast cells picked up tryptophan. the study seems to show too much of anything is not good for you. >> certainly too little is not healthy. but excess may be bad, too. >> reporter: this interference may help cells to better deal with the stress and damage that comes with normal aging.

but keep in mind, like most drugs, ibuprofen has a few side effects. >> i'm not encouraging people to go to the grocery store and stock up on ibuprofen just yet. >> reporter: scientists now want to test this on mice, and eventually people. some of the side effects caused by ibuprofen include bleeding, nausea, vomiting and stomach ulcers. the bay area air quality officials are requiring local refineries to cut pollution more. they approved a plan to have those refineries reduce emissions by 20%. exact rules will be considered next year. but there will be closer monitoring of refinery emissions. the fi all are in contra costa county. a new harvard study said children whose mothers were exposed to high levels of pollution in late pregnancy have up to twice the risk of developing autism. researchers say the greater

exposure to fine par tick lates the greater the risk. previous research has found a similar connection, so this sort of coincides with that. in 2010 researchers found the risk of autism doubled if a pregnant woman lived near a freeway. this is the first to examine the link across the united states. specific details emerged about the bay area's latest bid to host the summer olympics. ten years from now in 2024. the bay area's proposal called for building very few new facilities, like at&t park and levi stadium are part of the plan. other older facilities would get updated. >> the cow palace for boxing. what a great legacy that is. we've had boxing there for decades. it's also an example of using a storied venue. not exactly state of the art, but repurposing it. >> the u.s. olympic committee voted earlier this week to bid

for the 2024 games. on tuesday, committee members heard pitches from the bay area, boston, washington, d.c., and los angeles. the u.s. hasn't hosted the summer olympics since 1996 in atlanta. >> they're making the decision very soon. there is more than what meets the eye. >> "consumer reports" partnered with 7 on your side for a report on your best and worst car values. >> car saelts are way up. getting a good deal doesn't mean you're getting a bargain. "consumer reports" crunched the numbers on hundreds of cars to come up with the best and worst value car. "consumer reports" puts vehicles through nearly 50 different tests to come up with a road test score. it collects data on over 1 million vehicles to determine a car's reliability. then all major are factored in to calculate the five-year

ownership costs. >> we put all those factors together to determine the best values. the cars that are at the top of our list aren't necessarily cheapest to buy, but they'll give you the greatest bang for your buck. >> reporter: this year's best value car is a toyota camry hybr hybrid, extremely reliable and performs very well. the four cylinder honda accord lx and toyota camry le are next on the list. rounding out the top five, the subaru legacy and subaru forester. >> what makes the legacy and the forester a good value is the combination of their reliability, and their high performance in our tests. >> among the worst car values were mercedes-benz s-550. it's not just because of the $114,000 price tag. >> it performed well in our test, but it's expensive to maintain and reliability is well le bo average. >> the fiat 500 l is an even worse value. although at $24,000, it's a fraction of the cost. it isn't reliable and has a

stiff front. uncomfortable seats. and a jerky transmission. >> the worst valued vehicle of all goes to -- jeep wrangler. "consumer reports" said it doesn't perform well in tests, is very uncomfortable for daily driving, and clumsy in reliability. "consumer reports" has never been a big fan of the jeep wrangler. a scholar at uc berkeley said birds know a storm is coming long before we do. he looked at the massive system that spawned 84 tornadoes and killed at least 35 people in the southeast last april. a flock of birds flew away from the nesting sites days before there was any signs of danger and before the forecasters predicted the arrival. the golden winged warblers fly off to tennessee to nest. they were there a couple of days before they sensed something and turned around and headed south again. they suspect the birds were alerted by low-frequency sound

waves sparked by the storm. people cannot hear those sound waves. interesting. >> very interesting. now to our weather here in the bay area. we're getting a little bit of a break. >> we are. i don't know about the sound waves, but meteorologist sandhya patel is hard at work. >> the radar is tracking that storm that is coming in. right now, out here, it's crisp out over the bay. no choppy waters to speak of. that might be changing. let's take a look at live doppler hd. let's talk about the storm. right now, just tracking some clouds. but that storm is off the coast. and it's going to be sending some big waves in our direction. a high surf advisory starts tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. oh for the coastal areas of the north bay and runs until 3:00 p.m. saturday. breakers could run over three feet. so there could be rip currents, so watch out. a drought a week ago, 55% of the state was in exceptional drought. now as of today, only 32% of the

state is in that exceptional drought category. so, yes, we've seen inprosmts. but we've had such a long way to go. we'll need quite a bit of rain before we actually erase that drought. from the golden gate bridge camera, right now it is dry. we take a look at the temperatures. 60 in redwood city. beautiful view from the emoryville camera looking across the bay. those temperatures are falling in the north bay. mid-50s. getting cool out there. 57 in livermore. if you're heading out to do some shopping, you might want to grab a sweater or coat. seeing some peeks from the clouds there of the light rain arriving for the morning commute. winter starts on sunday at 3:03 p.m. the pattern changes ironically. here's the storm we're watching. this one is going to bring us rainy conditions tomorrow. it does bring with it some

risks. moderate risk of downed trees, now that the ground is saturated. slight risk of rock and mudslides. we're saying watch out for the miner urban flooding, and the trees going down. here's the timing. cloud cover 7:00 p.m. tonight. in the morning commute, the rain moves in. it will be slick for the morning commute. at noon, still wet roadways. grab an umbrella if you're stepping out for lunch. tomorrow evening's rush, showers. and the front goes through. saturday things are actually fine in the morning hours until later on at night. rainfall totals up to an inch in the mountains, quarter to three-quarters for the lower elevations tomorrow night. a couple of inches of snow is expected in the sierra. travel delays, chain requirements could be a possibility. if you're heading up there, keep that in mind. morning will start out in the 40s and 50s.

you'll need those umbrellas, and more time for the commute. and then for the afternoon, make sure you have your rain gear with you. temperatures in the mid-50s to low 60s for friday. the forecast, other than that weak system clipping the north bay saturday late afternoon/evening where there's a slight chance of rain in the north bay, we will go to a dry pattern. starting on sunday when we officially see the seasons change and the dry pattern, this is the best news of all, from a holiday perspective. we are looking at dry conditions, mild weather for christmas eve, and bright, shiny skies for christmas day. santa should have no problems delivering those gifts. of course, we need a lot more storms to move in here, so hopefully we'll get those as we head to the end of the year and the beginning of next year. >> i love seeing the sun on christmas. i think it's great. >> thank you, sandhya, very much. can genes protect you from

identity fraud. tackling a common problem. new at 6:00, a richmond police officer who took four pounds of pot home to his dog. and why he's not being charged because of it. stay here. that's at 6:00. we'll be right bac

investigators say candles started a fire that killed a cat in emoryville. the fire broke out in a home on boutry avenue. the resident escaped from the inferno. firefighters kept the flames contained to the rear of the house, so they did quick work there. the person who lives there will need to find another place to stay for the time being because there's just too much damage. being obese is now a disability in europe. the eu's top court said obesity can hinder participation at work, it could count as a disability. the ruling could mean employers have to provide obese workers with parking spaces and larger

seats. the ruling stopped short of saying that obesity falls under anti-discrimination laws. a fight over a crying baby nearly caused an air china flight to make an emergency landing. two women sitting one row in front of the crying baby told the mother to do something about it. that didn't work. they reclined their seats all the way back. that's when the punching and screaming began. the pilot threatened to land the plane. police intervened when it did land. look at that picture. >> ooh. if at first you don't succeed, try discovering another planet. that's what nasa found at the kepler spacecraft. here's a nasa illustration of what they believe the extremely distant planet looks like. check that out. it's about 2 1/2 times bigger than earth. that discovery followed glitches of kepler. those problems kept kepler's telescope from moving properly. so they used the craft's solar

panels as pointing devices. a graduate student then made calculations that supported evidence of another planet. yet another reminder to watch what you share online. according to the career advice website, the muse, 79% of job recruiters say they will look at a candidate's presence online before making a decision. and 70% say they've rejected a candidate after seeing something online. if in doubt, don't. if you're trying to protect your identity, it could be all in your genes. at least that's what one san francisco company is hoping. the beta brands new ready active jeans are security savvy. the company collaborated with norton security to create a special lining to block radio frequency identification readers that can steal your credit card number. security doesn't come cheap. the jeans are expected to cost $170. >> interesting. maybe that will be on your

christmas list in a year. by air and sea, santa takes to the sky. >> why

coming up at 6:00, you'll hear what jim harbaugh had to say about the year he has left on his contract. will he stay or go. >> michael finney tonight, bay area porch pirates find a new technique for stealing your stuff. and the bay area company using 3-d printing to improve the lives of people who have lost their limbs. all of that coming up at 6:00. we'll see you then. holiday tradition dating back almost 30 years continued this morning at an oakland fire station. >> firefighters and cadets were hard at work at fire station 18 filling row after row of food boxes. for 29 years the firefighters in the union have donated food to families in the community. this year they're donating 200

boxes filled with turkeys, potatoes and vegetables. a restaurant has been collecting toys since thanksgiving weekend. just an hour ago, crews loaded up the sleigh masquerading as a truck for a ride over the glide. they collected about 1,500 toys so far. they would like to see a lot more. >> they do reach out. finally here, how about a santa who arrives by sea plane. >> that's pretty cool. here he is getting off the plane on the marin county shoreline. >> he was greeted by 50 very excited kids, each and every one waiting for a gift. >> it's so important for kids who have -- to be happy, to know that people still love and care for them, because in this world today, there's a lot of negativity going on. but this shows all the support from all the fire departments, police, everybody. >> the event served as the

kickoff to the 17th annual toy driv welcome to "world news tonight." and closing in. the hunt is on. federal authorities believe the hackers are in fact tied to north korea. is america getting in by pulling that movie? and if they can do this to a hollywood studio, who's next? the boston bombings. the long-awaited moment. what happened in that federal courtroom and the emotional moment outside. the famous tv dad and the stunning confession tonight, what he admitted to doing and why come forward now. and the made in america christmas. the sharks from "shark tank" are here, this time, they're the ones making the pitch. each with their one thing american made. who will you pick? good evening. it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. and we begin with fast-moving