good afternoon. thank you for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm larry beil. there are still many questions about a police shooting that left a man dead in west oakland. this is a story we brought you as breaking news yesterday here on abc 7 news at 4:00. >> a protest against the deadly use of force last night shut down a freeway and damaged businesses. now the mayor of oakland is speaking out. cornell barnard joins us with more. >> reporter: police said the use of deadly force was justified. many protesters disagree and say they will be on the streets of

oakland tomorrow night. mayor is sending a friendly warning. sky 7 hd over oakland as several dozen protesters took to the streets. the group blocked traffic for a short time in response to an officer-involved shooting which left a suspect dead. amanda opened her flower store and saw windows broken. >> it is frightening because it happens to them only but could have happened to any of us. >> reporter: activist cat brooks says the crowd was upset and demanding answers. >> continue to have the question why lethal force is the only option. >> reporter: on wednesday oakland police chased the armed robbery suspect from 69th avenue and international boulevard to this intersection at 27th and martin luther king. police say the driver ran while carrying this loaded weapon. he tried to carjack another car.

>> the suspect was still armed when the officers discharged their firearm. >> reporter: police say theophilusers were wearing body cameras. protesters say they will march again. >> we expect to have the right. >> we urge people to look at the actual facts. >> reporter: mayor told us by phone she respects the right to protest but vandalism won't be tolerated. >> we are absolutely committed to insuring that there is not the type of destruction that has happened in the past in oakland. >> reporter: the shooting investigation continues. in oakland. cornell barnard, abc 7 news. police are calling the discovery of a shooting victim inside a north san jose office complex mysterious. the man was found around 1:00 this morning in the hallway. he later died at the hospital. police aren't saying if the man was shot in the building or somewhere else and then taken there. news of the shooting was

unsettling for those who work in the building. >> come in at 6:45 and told me somebody has been killed in the building. that scared me. >> it's a shock. i don't kn what is going on. it's a surprise. >> police closed the building and sent everyone home. investigators have yet to identify the victim. developing news now, streets are blocked off around this mobile home complex as police investigate a homicide. itp haenned just afternoon on vienna drive. police find a woman dead inside her home. police tell us that woman called 911 and she was unarmed. san jose firefighters are checking for hot spots near highway 87 where a grass fire broke out just after 1 p.m. the fire threatened homes for a ten-block stretch. the wooden sound wall caught fire but protected homes.

crews had residents shelter in place. fire investigators are looking into what caused it. the jerusalem fire is threatening 50 structures in lake and napa counties but the good news today the wildfire is burning away from homes. mandatory evacuations are in place for the immediate area. the fire has burned nearly 24,000 acres since it started on sunday. firefighters have it 33% contained at this hour and fire officials are investigating what caused it. a new report from the national weather service says the strengthening el nino in the pacific has the potential to become one of the most powerful on record which could produce once in a generation storms this winter. computer models are predicting el nino to peak in late fall. a meteorologist says this year has the potential to be a godzilla el nino. the key word there is potential. state water officials note that in seven previous years showing the same conditions only three

ended up being wet years. >> for more on this brand new potential godzilla el nino we bring in spencer christian. >> it could be a monstrous winter pattern. here is live doppler 7 hd. we have calm clear skies across the bay area. let's talk about this observation from the climate prediction center of the national weather service. observations making references to warm blobs on the sea surface. the sea surface temperatures are generally three degrees fahrenheit or more above average. that level of heating is what is generating this concern about this potentially powerful el nino pattern. what is being observed is the significant el nino continues to strengthen. the strong event that is predicted could begin in late fall or early winter, strong event meaning frequent and massive rain storms and 85% chance of this pattern lasting

into the spring of next year. we just have to wait and see what develops as we get into the fall season. right now calm and summer like. looking towards the golden gate from our east bay hills camera mainly clear skies. 68 in san francisco. 74 in oakland. 84 morgan hill and 68 at half moon bay. here is a look at blue sky over the bay and san francisco from our tower camera. 81 in santa rosa. 82 napa. mid 80s. i will have the weekend forecast coming up. >> thank you, spencer. we now know how 8-year-old madison middleton died. an autopsy reviealed the young girl was strangled and stabbed in the neck. detectives believe middleton's neighbor kidnapped and sexually

assaulted maddy before killing her. the 15 year old faces charges as an adult. islamic state militants, 67 people died in a truck bombing at a crowded food market at a mostly shiite muslim neighborhood. single attacks with this many dead are not as common as they were at the height of the violence in 2006 and 2007. in china rescuers are searching for dozens of people still missing after yesterday's deadly explosion. >> the number of people killed is now up to at least 50 with more than 700 injured. we are talking about incredible images of destruction there today. >> reporter: such devastation. some spots are still smoldering as rescuers continue digging through the rubble looking for

more survivors. today hundreds of people hospitalized recovering after these massive explosions. one blast after another in the chinese port city yesterday. dozens of people killed including firefighters who were called to the scene a half hour earlier for a fire in a warehouse storing hazardous material. they along with everyone living nearby caught offguard. the force and the flames ripping through neighboring homes where migrant workers were asleep. >> just absolutely destroyed. oh, my god. these are people's homes. this is where they lived. >> reporter: devastating damage throughout the major port city, even a mile away windows left shattered. >> we are getting a shock wave. it rattled all the doors and seemed like big wind and stuff. and then the big one that hit

really felt like an earthquake. >> reporter: and people living in the surrounding area have been evacuated because of concerns about potential toxic fumes. and china's president has promised a thorough and transparent investigation. >> thank you so much for that update. back here in the bay area streets and businesses are open again in lafayette after a gas leak this morning forced evacuations. a construction crew hit a two inch main on golden gateway just before 10:00. authorities immediately evacuated four nearby businesses. it took about 40 minutes to cap the leak and another hour or so for pg&e workers to repair the gas line. an outlet mall in the east bay has new stores and a new san franciscoish name. >> the new livermore outlets unveiled a major expansion featuring several new retailers called the san francisco premium

outlets. >> reporter: workers made final adjustments this morning in preparation of san francisco premium outlets' debut. >> it does help people understand where we are located and how close we are to san francisco. >> reporter: the shopping center once known as livermore outlet got a new name and added 30 new stores. >> i think it is awesome and great for the community and great for me. i really like to shop a lot. >> reporter: it is the shopping frenzy that continues to give the city of livermore the economy a big boost. >> it is very exciting. it means jobs to the local community. it means additional revenue and enabled me to hire more police officers. >> reporter: all thanks to millions of visitors who come here every year from around the bay area and around the world. shoppers were excited to check out all the new shops, designer names like jimmy choo, tory

birch and the disney store. 20 new stores will open throughout the year. >> they have good deals at the outlet. >> reporter: for those looking to scoop opening day deals that means getting here early before the crowd. in 2012 when the outlet first opened the traffic backup was a nightmare. >> we heard it was open last night. we said we haven't done anything crazy for a while. we said let's get here and have some fun. >> that was janet oh reporting. expect traffic to be impacted this weekend. >> mall officials are encouraging shoppers to car pool or take the train or bus. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, making a california 3-year-old's heart healthy. and "sesame street's" big move. why the show will call "game of thrones" and true detective its

neighbors. why $10,000 palm trees are dying on the approach to the new bay bridge. the san mateo bridge is moving nicely in both directions. on the right-hand side to the peninsula and left-hand side towards the east bay.

an incredible story. a 3 year old girl is now healthy after undergoing an emergency

trans pleasant. >> we noticed that she was getting sick. >> reporter: the diagnosis floored karen vargas after taking her daughter into the doctor for what she thought was a stomach virus. >> it is terrifying knowing that you can go into a hospital and not know that you can come out with your daughter. >> reporter: kate's heart was failing and they couldn't figure out why. it was a medical mystery. >> we found a community in canada that was reported to have a very similar type of mutation that kate had. >> reporter: a team of doctors at lucille pack rd children's hospital found out kate had a rare genetic mutation and would need an emergency heart transpla transplant. >> we only had a few months of time to support her that way. >> reporter: a family donated their deceased child's heart to

kate but still the chance that the disease would ravage. kate's new heart is helping fight her disease and she is doing even better than ever. >> thank you so much because you didn't just save her life, you saved my life. you saved my family's life, everybody's life that has been touched by her. allen wong, abc 7 news. 90-year-old former president jimmy carter says he is slowing down and rearranging his schedule to undergo cancer treatment. recent liver surgery revealed he had cancer in other parts of the body. >> cancer can show up in the liver so doctors are going to be working to figure out where did this come from. >> carter didn't say what type of cancer he had but it is known that his family has a history of the disease. his father and three siblings died of pancreatic cancer. carter is the second oldest

living former u.s. president. tesla motors is planning new stock offering hoping to raise $500 million. tesla says it needs the cash to accelerate the growth of the business. the third vehicle model x suv goes on sale in a few weeks and working on a lower cost electric car and is building a battery factory in nevada. big bird, bert and ernie heading to hbo. the nonprofit behind the 45-year classic children's show partnered to air the next five seasons. the collaboration gives sesame street critical funding. it will allow for nearly twice as much new content each season. the program will still be available to pbs which has aired it since 1969. a big announcement for fans of the movie "inside out." disney and pixar announced the

movie will be available october 13th and will have a short called riley's first date. >> is riley here? >> red alert! boy, boy, boy. >> the short features the reaction of riley and her family as the young boy shows up the front door for what could be riley's first date. an exclusive preview aired on good morning america today and we have a link. disney is the parent company of abc 7. let's turn to the forecast. we have a hot weekend coming up. one bit on this godzilla el n o nino, it's not like drought over, right? >> no. actually, as much as we need the rain we don't want the kind of rain that is being talked about because it could produce massive flooding and a mess, we'll just

wait and see how it develops. here is live doppler 7 hd. sunny skies right now. mild to warm day. we have a red flag warning in effect for the eastern most parts of the state and up into the northeastern corner and beyond into southern oregon and into western nevada until 8:00 this evening. dry and hot. back here in the bay area live view from our roof top camera. these are forecast features. we will see patches of low clouds. heat increases tomorrow and we will see temperatures in some inland locations at or above 100 degrees on saturday and sunday. here is our satellite and radar composite image. the upper level low is going to take a path projected to our north and will open the door for hot air to move in. forecast animation watch the low depart and tomorrow watch the hot air from the southwestern u.s. expand into california and the bay area and that is geeg to raise our temperatures significantly.

so warmer pattern tomorrow. highs up to about 90 or above. and then we see upper 90s to about 100 on saturday. we will see upper 80s in some bay side locations on saturday and upper 70s on the coast. it will get quite warm. overnight patches of fog and lots of clear skies, as well especially in our inland locations. overnight lows generally in the low 60s. and then tomorrow bring on the heat or the warmth at least. south bay mainly mid to upper 80s. 84 in san jose. low to mid 80s for the most part. 84 at palo alto. 68 pacifica. 72 half moon bay. san francisco high of 73. north bay highs of 88 at santa rosa. and 85 at sonoma. lost my spot for a second. too many 80s.

highs of 78 at oakland. and inland east bay highs in the upper 80s to about 91 at antioch. here is the accuweather seven day forecast. heat peaks on saturday and sunday especially in the inland areaess. we see about 100 to 102 in the hottest spots. temperatures drop off on monday. still warm. for the remainder of next week temperatures more seasonal and average range. >> lots of power here. up next, taking it to the streets. the san francisco food festival and other events letting you explore where you live. and then bottoms up. you really want to do this? colorado's governor taking a drink from the river contaminated with led, arsenic and metal. we are checking our toll plaza across the bay bridge.

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you will be able to pay for a faster commute. here is a look at what the lanes will look like once the project is complete. drivers will have to pay a toll to drive in the express lane. the cost based on how heavy the traffic is. construction is underway on the express lanes between walnut creek. you already have them farther south on 680. car pool, motorcyclists and clean air vehicles can use hov lanes now and will use express lanes for free. the metropolitan transportation commission says the project will extend to the vunesia bridge. more than 900 journalists are taking part in the asian

american journalist association convention. the reporters looking for the big break are able to meet recruiters from major newspapers and networks. work shops from veteran journalists. from food to the theater there is a lot to do. >> suggestions on how you can explore where you live. >> taking it to the streets. the food fest at pier 70 where we can get stuffed. more than 100 purveyors cooking up a storm. mother boards, silicon valley is the hot spot for drama. continuing the 2015 festival this weekend. your opportunity to experience new plays and musicals in the early stages of development. audiences debate and help shape works along with authors before

they head to broadway. sounds from the organ swells filling the air with music of the night. phantom of the opera is coming to the theater. critics describe the new production as bigger and better than ever before. you can see what is behind the mask beginning next week. for more information about these and other events go to our website at abc7news.com. leyla gulen, abc 7 news. up next a san francisco flag flap. the effort underway to replace the flag that most people don't know about. how a copy of "vanity fair" are landing army pilot in new trouble today. and cal trans, $10,000 problem. abc 7 news talks to the transit agency about expensive

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live from the kgo tv broadcast center this is abc 7 news. checking the headlines where you live. demonstrators in oakland are outraged over the fatal police shooting and vow to protest again tomorrow night. oak lpd business owners are outraged over vandalism that happened. police say they will be ready to control crowds. the national weather service's climate prediction center released a new el nino

forecast today. continues to strengthen. there is a more than 90% chance it will last through winter. we'll have more on what el nino may bring to the bay area on abc 7 news at 5:00. back to school season and the oakland unified school district is looking to fill dozens of teaching positions. lyanne melendez will tell us about the district's plan b. some $10,000 worth of palm trees along the new bridge are being replaced barely a year after they were planted. melanie woodrow joins us with what is going on. >> reporter: i will tell you, it is windy out here. cal trans is saying that that is one of the conditions that is supposed to be helping the palm trees thrive however many drivers crossing the bay bridge are noticing that a few of the trees appear to be out of place. the bay area is filled with

trans plantsz including right here on the bay bridge. landscape architect is not one of them. >> why didn't you plant oak trees? this is oakland. i grew up in oakland. oak trees will not live here. they will die here. >> reporter: he is standing by his vision. 37 canary island dade palms. >> it's the project of a lifetime. you want to get it right. >> reporter: cal trans paid people approximately $1,000 for each tree. here is one being removed in walnut creek. >> it is going to be a star. >> reporter: their place in history cut short. two palms previously testing positive for pink rot. irrigation modifications helping. now more trees are dying. >> it begs to question what is going on here. >> reporter: cal trans is replacing three today, two more over the next two weeks. bay bridge spokesperson says cal trans is expecting 10% to 15% of

the 37 trees will not thrive simply because of their age. it may be unusual to someone who does not know or may be driving past. this is our opportunity to help them understand. >> reporter: new life comes at a cost. it is approximately $13,000 to purchase, transplant and maintain each tree for three years. cal trans says tree replacement is in the budget. >> we need to get it established. we have only had them in about a year now. >> reporter: and says like any bay area transplant some need longer to adjust while others won't make it. the fbi says a former school teacher accused of molesting two students will be brought back to a bay area jail after 14 years on the run. a tip to the fbi led to the arrest in l.a. yesterday. investigators say the 52 year old was charged with multiple counts of child molestation

involving two boys around 10 years old back in 2001. before he could go on trial he took off for mexico and at some point moved to l.a. >> he has been living off the grid and using a false identity. the next step for him is he is going to be transferred by bus up to almeida county and then will face charges. >> employed at two free mont elementary schools. not clear which school the alleged molestations took place. the democratic presidential field could become tighter. the wall street journal reports joe biden is talking with friends and family about a run for the white house. some are pressing for him to give the party another option. biden ran for president in 1988 and 2008. on the gop side donald trump continues to lead his party's

race for the presidential nomination and now has become the target of a new attack ad and the commercial uses some of trump's own words to show him praising democrats. >> i probably identify more as a democrat. >> it seems that the economy does better under the democrats. >> the ad is funded by senator rand paul but trump telling cnn that paul is a mess and a far better doctor than senator. voters are still backing trump. the latest polls show him with a nearly ten point lead. the pilot, chelsea manning is accused of disorderly conduct, disrespect and having contra band in her cell. her attorneys say it included an ex pired tube of toothpaste and copies of cauosmopolitan.

they claim she is being harassed. her punishment will be decided on tuesday. colorado's governor claims the water in a mountain river is safe and to prove it he took a drink from the river. brandi hitt tells us more. >> reporter: that is colorado governor drinking water straight from the river along with a protective iodine tablet to demonstrate it is open for business again one week after the devastating mine spill. the epa is also confirming new data taken from that stretch of river. >> in those areas our water has actually returned back to preincident convictions. >> reporter: it is what frustrated families and business owners have been waiting for. >> i rely on this river 100% of my livelihood. >> reporter: after more than 3 million gallons of toxic sludge containing high levels of arsenic and lead spilled into the river during an epa

accident. >> completely devastating. >> reporter: as the orange color begins to fade here federal officials are moving down hundreds of miles of river testing segments through new mexico and utah where farmers are waiting for updates. >> without the water we can't irrigate. >> reporter: the epa is taking full responsibility for the disaster as attorneys general from three states now consider whether to file lawsuits. health experts recommend when drinking back country water from any source you do more than just add an iodine tablet and suggest a water filter to prevent other serious illnesses. coming up the beauty queen accused of an ugly act, faking cancer. first a piece of the old world trade center is on the move. where the steel beam is headed this afternoon. we are looking at some low clouds offshore but not quite at the coast yet. i will have the accuweather

forecast in just a moment as abc 7 news at 4:

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a steel beam from the world trade center is head today florida. the beam will be a new addition to the kennedy space center. the seven foot long beam was found in the rubble of the trade center towers that were destroyed in 2001. kennedy space center firefighters will hold a special ceremony for it this year on

september 11th. time to check on our weather. looks spectacular. >> it's a beautiful day all around the bay area. here is live doppler 7 hd. sunny skies at the coast. low clouds lurking offshore. let's go farther offshore towards hawaii where what was hurricane hilda and then tropical storm hilda continuing to weaken as it moves south of the big island of hawaii. there is still a tropical storm watch in effect and a flash flood watch until tomorrow morning. the storm is moving away and weakening and seems to pose no threat. let's get to a bigger land mass where tomorrow it will be mainly sunny and warm to hot across the entire country with a couple areas of thunderstorms. across the state of california hot weather in our interior sections with highs in the mid 90s in many locations. here in the bay area preweekend warmup begins tomorrow with highs in our inland areas in

upper 80s to low 90s. upper 70s to mid 80s around the bay and low to mid 70s on the coast tomorrow. we might see temperatures close to 80 degrees over the weekend on the coast as some inland highs get up to about 100 degrees. quite a warmup. >> great weather for the beach. >> thanks. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a modern family star goes under the knife. why actress arial winter says it was time to have a breast reduction surgery. a beauty queen accused of lying about cancer, legal trouble she is now facing. 7 on your side's michael finney we are a day away from the flag raising of the u

this is abc 7 news. a pennsylvania pageant winner remains in jail today accused of faking cancer in order to milk sympathetic donors out of thousands of dollars scheduled to enter a plea on charges of theft by deception.

abc 7 news reporter has the story. >> former beauty queen is accused of an ugly act behind bars because police say she faked having cancer. 23-year-old crowned miss pennsylvania u.s. international after years of allegedly collecting tens of thousands in donation money all to treat stage two leukemia but investigators say she never had cancer. >> who would do that? i have never seen something like this. >> reporter: the investigating officer seen arresting weavergate on facebook. bingo for brandy and photos showing her bald and wearing a mask as far back as 2013 allegedly holding at least four major fund raisers. >> her last fundraiser in april of this year raised between $13,000 and $14,000. >> $14,000. >> police say she lied to her own family making her sister

drive to fake appointments at johns hopkins. at one point police say she drafted a fake medical bill from the hospital. if true the charges of theft by deception could keep her locked up for 14 years. she has not entered a plea yet but the organizers already stripping her of her title saying she must return that fashion crown. >> unbelievable. diplomatic relations between u.s. and cuba will take a major turn tomorrow. >> what does that mean for travelers hoping to make it to the island? michael finney joins us live. >> tomorrow is a huge day. tomorrow secretary of state john kerry will raise the stars and stripes once more at the u.s. embassy in cuba, a major step in relations. what does that mean to you? you may have heard you can book direct flights and travel

restrictions are easy but that is more talk than actual fact. travel sulowed for journalist, humanitarian efforts but not granted for hanging out at the beach. a 1,1$1,116 down from four years ago. goal peaked at just more than $1,900 an ounce. the drop attributed to the end of the great depression. now the council says overall jewelry demand has hit on the price of gold. it has gone down. last quarter demand was down nearly 15% most of the dropoff coming from china and india. verizon's big announcement of doing away with two year

contracts has been clarified. consumers who are currently customers can get a new subsidized phone and contract or switch over to cheaper usage rates, no contracts and no discounts. there is a choice but with a catch. once you opt out of contract mode verizon says you can't go back. >> read the fine print. modern family star is opening up about her deeply personal choice to undergo breast reduction surgery. the 17 year old had the procedure this summer. in an exclusive interview the actress says she went from size 32 f to 34 d and said internet bullies and physical pain of having a large chest led to her decision saying she had a lot of back problems and that it started to hurt so bad she couldn't take the pain.

>> she wanted to set the record straight and talk about it so it is out there and answers every kind of question. >> the pain got so bad that she couldn't stand up. every time she would go online she would see really horrible things. >> she said one of the few people she confided in. the teen is hoping sharing her story will inspire others. one of the heartest parts about getting in shape is trying to get motivated to get started. these days some people are turning to hip nose s. she says hipnosis is the key. >> every day after work instead of getting a snack or having a cigarette i go straight to the gym. hypnosis put a spin.

>> it is not a magic bullet. >> and hypnosis is not cheap. sessions cost around $150. in health news google is building tiny censors to help treat diabetes and new hope to prevent full blown schizophrenia. >> omega 3 fatty acids may prevent development of schizophrenia. new research shows eating omega 3s prevented from developing psychosis for several years after they stopped taking supplements. the findings suggest -- google is helping to build a censor that could get patients the ability to monitor their condition in real time. the life sciences division under the alphabet company is teaming to create those devices. the dog days of summer can be pretty dangerous to dogs. no statistics are available on the number of dogs that are

injured or die from heat stroke that is paying careful attention while exercising outdoors. even if dogs have water and are in the shade they can still overheat according to the vets that spoke to the "new york times." more parents are taking vacations with one child at a time and leaving the siblings at home. travel agents see this as parents want to increase bond with one child or celebrate a special milestone. from the nasdaq i'm jane king. here's to your health. abc 7 news at 4:00 does continue. many say san francisco is a great city. the push underway for a redesign. thank you so much. coming up next the teacher shortage hits one bay area city particularly hard. the need to hire more than 70 teachers in just 11 days. and yeast instead of coffee.

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we have the astronaut wives club followed by witnesses. >> there is a new coyote sighting this morning in an unexpected area. this coyote was spotted at the base in san francisco around 8:30 this morning by abc producer. he says the coyote left him alone and appeared to be looking for food. this is the second coyote sighting this week. on tuesday one charged at a man and his dog before taking off. >> glen's lucky he didn't turn out to be breakfast. chicago has one and so does portland. what they have are flags that are symbols of civic pride. >> some people say it is time for san francisco to become part of the trend and redesign its

city flag. carolyn tyler has the sory. >> did you know san francisco has a flag? >> we did not. >> reporter: nicole king is from san francisco and got married today at city hall but was unaware there is a city flag. >> the main problem is you don't see it. it is clearly not loved. >> reporter: believes great cities need great flags. as a design journalist he gave a talk calling out san francisco's banner. >> i am sorry to say sadly lacking. it shows a phoenix rising from the ashes. flag experts and yes there are experts known as -- say san francisco's design violates the basic rules which include keep it so simple a child can draw it from memory. >> the flag that citizens can feel proud of will be a catalyst

for people coming together for inclusiveness. >> reporter: teamed up to push for a flag redesign. the company are planning a contest they hope will encourage professionals and amateurs alike. >> i understand this isn't the most important thing going on, but it's a symbol of like who we are, how we represent ourselves. >> at city hall where the flag is flown and displayed outside the mayor's office tour guide isn't so keen on a change. >> i have never heard anyone having an objection to the phoenix rising up out of the ashes. >> reporter: maybe because they have never seen it. in san francisco, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. >> interesting. thank you so much for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. strong el nino during late fall and winter.

>> welcome news after four years of drought. today's prediction comes with a disclaimer. >> a bear attacks a man near yosemite. the urgent call for teachers in one bay area city. can the district find 72 educators in the next 11 days? >> and rebranding tricks. live from the kgo tv broadcast center this is abc 7 news. phenomenon known as el nino is brewing in the pacific ocean and tonight scientists unanimously agree it could be the big one. >> this el nino could be among strongest in the historical record. >> strongest ever perhaps. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm cheryl jennings. thanks for joining us. one nasa climatologist says this year's el nino has the potential to be a godzilla.

el ninos can change weather patterns. whether it will make a big dent in the drought is not clear. wayne freedman joins us with more cht. >> reporter: scientists have been keeping track of el nino since 1950. since then there have been 22 events cht of the 22 events only four have been strong el ninos. this has every indication it might be one. it is very, very warm and even people who work in industries that have been taking advantage of this drought, they are optimistic, too. for all the complaints about california's drought there is an occasional silver lining. lisa knows all about it. >> we benefitted from it. >> she works for first impressions synthetic lawns. today one crew worked in oakland where tomorrow they will install. the el nino not a concern. >> if it does rain over the next season and we get some water we

don't see this slowing down. we see this as a beginning. >> they say they are el nino proof. today the national oceanic administration forecasted big rings. those conditions can power el nino and a jet stream filled with water from late fall into spring. do not mistake that as meaning an end to the drought. far from it according to abc 7 news meteorologist. california is in a record breaking dry spell. >> we would have to get 2 1/2 times our average rain to wipe out the drought. our largest amount of rain above average ever was about 1.8. so we are trying to exceed levels never seen before and then trying to exceed over three years. >> locally it could help. east bay says the magic num