national anthem to highlight racism and police brutality. >> it is something that needs to change. >> his team seems to respect his right to free speech. >> i support our flag personally. but i also support someone's right to express how they feel. >> reporter: and there is condemnation. former 49er head coach jim harbaugh now with the university of michigan. >> i don't respect the motivation or the action. >> reporter: the san francisco police officers union sent a letter to the president of the 49ers and the nfl commissioner, we will not stand by while he attacks police officers in this country. with statements such as people are on paid leave while people of color are killed. it is not the first time athletes have used celebrity to spark a national debate. track stars tommy smith and john carlos raised their fists during the national anthem at the 1968 olympics. smith is now 72 years old and applauds kaepernick's activism.

>> there are truths and those truths live and he's only telling what has happened -- >> reporter: back in 2011, san francisco supervisor jane kim received both hate mail and praise because she would not recite the pledge of allegiance until thelma, the federal anti-same-sex marriage law was declared unconstitutional. >> if not for protest like this, we have been able to achieve a lot of things that have made this country great. >> reporter: kaepernick said his protest is just beginning. >> i'll continue to sit. i'm going to continue to stand with the people. >> reporter: and kaepernick is expected at the team's regular press conference tomorrow. so we may hear more from him then. and coming up at 6:00, i spoke with oscar grant's uncle about this issue and you'll hear from him. in the newsroom, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. >> thank you. donald trump is also weighing in. the republican presidential nominee said, what kaepernick did is a terrible thing and maybe he should find a country

that works better for him. trump's words. he made those comments on seattle's dory munson radio talk show. >> and the acle said we support kaepernick and everyone else who has defended an unpopular opinion. >> and now they are challenging him to go through the deputy training. this comes after the quarterback said you could become a cop in six months and don't have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. the sheriff's departments have invited him to dublin for classes and go through a use of force simulator. no comment yet from kaepernick. we want to know what you think about this kaepernick controversy. you could weigh in on this whole issue on the facebook page. and we have a poll on twitter up as well. please join the conversation. donald trump is expected in san mateo county tonight for a private fundraiser. sky 7 was overhead where tonight's event will be held.

a lot of cars showing up now. it is the home ofsal a. fox, the ceo of a private equity firm. his campaign has been very tight-lipped about the fundraiser but it is expected to be a small gathering there. a second fundraising event planned in napa valley today was cancelled. >> investigators are looking into what caused a fatal crash in los alt os. sky 7 was overhead after the car crashed into a tree at about 12:45 and set off a small fire and firefighters put it out quickly and it continues to shut down the expressway between loyola drive and it has been like this for hour. a man is in critical condition after being attacked in a park. he was being chased by a group of men and he fell at the intersection of 18th and church street and where the group began punching and kicking him. he was also stabbed in the upper torso. caught in the act.

and an inmate tried but failed to escape from the elmwood correctional facility in milpitas. a santa clara sheriff deputy noticed him on surveillance as he was climbing a fence. abc 7 news reporter alyssa harrington is live in milpitass with a look at video. >> reporter: this was a very daring escape attempt. the inmate tried to hop a fence like this one in the middle of the day. these fences surround the jail perimeter. and he even clung upside down to overhead power lines and it was indicate on a security camera that had just been installed. this screen shot from surveillance video inside of helm wood correctional facility showed an inmates failed attempt at freedom. he was just arrested on friday for petty theft. a misdemeanor. sunday he tried to break free. he climbed a 25 foot fence leaving his sandal stuck in the wiring but he fell instead and got hurt and got caught.

deputies saw it as it was happening on a security camera facing the perimeter. >> he started over on one of the building and went on the interior perimeter fence and when he got to here, he went across the power lines over to the fences and he fell between the two fences. >> reporter: sheriff lori smith has been a big advocate for more surveillance in jail following accusation of excessive force and she even bought cameras with her own money. this camera in particular was recently installed as part of the jail reforms. >> we pushed really hard for cameras and earlier this year we got new cameras. much better resolution. and i think the cameras are what prevented the escape. >> reporter: what makes this story even more bizarre, the man was scheduled to be released in one week and could have been sent home as early as today. instead, he was arraigned for the attempted escape and will serve even more time behind bars. alyssa harrington, abc 7 news.

a $10,000 reward is being offered tonight for information about the shooting death of three sea otters off of the santa cruz county coastline. all three washed ashore on the beach and all were found between august 12th and the 19th. federal law protects southern sea otters as a threatened species and killing one is punishable by a $100,000 fine as well as jail time. the community will play a big role in selecting oakland's next police chief. that is according to the mayor libby schaaf. her city has been without a permanent chief since early june. abc 7 laura anthony is live at oakland city hall. laura? >> reporter: well the mayor here told us they have hired a professional recruiter and there are ten community forums plan but the chief's job hasn't been officially posted yet and the police unit is wondering what is taking so long. >> we're going to invite the community to be our partner in

the search process. >> reporter: surrounded by young people, and the oakland mayor libby schaaf announced the part of the public phase in the hiring of the city's next police chief. >> community engagement is critical for us to succeed in attracting the right reform-minded leader for this police department. >> it is a campaign that clouds glossy new flyers and a series of public forums designed to get community inpaut, especially frm young people. >> if you don't hear our voice now, then it is going to behalfock trying to change the situation years later. >> reporter: this press conference comes two months after this one. >> i'm here to run a police department not a frat house. >> reporter: when a angry schaaf announced yet another chief was being relieved of his duties in the wake of sex and racist text scandals. >> great. another press conference. >> reporter: today the oakland police officer association president wonders why it is taking so long to hire a chief. >> the lack of urgency really

bothers us here. we have no chief of police. there is a void. let's fill it and move this on. we don't need a press conference. let's have some action here. >> reporter: schaaf expects to hire a new chief by the start of the new year. in oakland, laura anthony, abc 7 news. san francisco's police commission will hold the last meeting at 6:00 tonight asking citizens what they expect from the next police chief. toney chaplin serves as the interim cheap and he took command in may and after lee asking for sir's resignation after suspects were shot and killed by hi officers. and san jose city council will vote on declaring a public safety emergency because of an understaffed police force. the police chief eddie garcia tells the mercury news the department will not have enough officers to patrol the city next month. the emergency declaration would let the chief override the police union contract to reassign investigators to

patrol. a family in martinez is looking for help to locate three racing motorcycles, a truck and a trailer stolen over the weekend. donnie dara shared these photos with us. someone stole his ford f-350 pickup from the front of his home in the canyon. the thief also made off with a trailer between 11:00 on saturday night and about 10:00 sunday morning. that trailer contained his three racing motorcycles. he tells us that the bicycles were spotted near port costa yesterday. still ahead on abc 7 news at 5:00, getting back on track. congressional leaders meet in san francisco trying to get california costly high-speed rail project going again. and music fans remembering legendary mexican song writer and singer juan gabriel. a report from hollywood next. and a big announcement from apple, when you might get your first look at the newest iphone. and later -- getting by with a little help from his friend.

hear about this clydesdale quick escape into the santa cruz every day, the oil companies pollute our air. putting their... ...profits ahead of our kids' health. now they're trying to weaken california's clean air laws. i'm tom steyer. we've had a million kids get asthma. we need to send the oil companies a message. tell your legislator to stand up to the oil companies and protect our clean air laws. don't let the oil companies put their profits... ...ahead of our kids.

as california continues on the effort to build high-speed rail between save and los angeles, the cost to build the system continue to raise a lot of concern. >> members of congress held a hearing in san francisco today. abc 7 news reporter sergio quintana was there and joins us now from the cal tran station with the story. >> reporter: the idea once this high-speed rail system is complete is that passengers will be able to hop aboard a train here in san francisco and head on down to los angeles for about $83 in each direction. but depending on who you ask, there is a pretty broad range of costs to actually build that train system. building a high speed rail system from cratscratch is not

cheap. the republican chair on the hearing focused on the final price tag. >> taxpayers voted for a $33 billion level and we are between $68 billion and $100 billion level. >> that number seemed to expand and contract at that hearing depending on who was asked. dan richard is the chairman. high-speed rail authority board. >> $64 billion and it is important to note that that is not today's money, that is $64 billion over the life of the program for the next 15 years. >> reporter: he said that is the price tag to build high-speed rail from san francisco to los angeles. and he said, there are already seven construction sites in california's central valley that are in progress. but there are a number of other concerns. not all of the financing is in place. one member of congress wondered if construction will eventually stop since all of the money isn't in hand. bay area congress woman zoey loftkin replied to that concern. >> when we built the interstate

highway, we didn't know how we would get the money to finish it. if you wait until all of the money is in hand, you never build anything. >> and it includes credited from the cap and trade system which raised question from the panel. members of the high-speed rail authority say the first leg of the route linking the bay area to the central valley should be open for business in nine years and that is anticipated to spur additional funding from private sources n. san francisco, sergio quintana, abc 7 news. for apple fans, all of the waiting and speculation will end next wednesday when the tech giant unveils the latest iphone and apple watches. you are looking at video from the phone and they sent out invitations to simply say see you on the 7th. analysts believe the latest phone will be similar to last year's model but you will likely notice one difference -- the new iphone won't have a headphone jack. apple faces a federal lawsuit from owners of the iphone 6 and

6-plus and they say the touch disease makes it unusable. mashable reports defective controller chips cause the problem. apple has not commented on the suit filed in northern california district court. in mexico, and around the world, mourners are remembering legendary mexican singer and song writer juan gabriel. our sister station in los angeles has more about how gabriel and his music touched the hearts of millions of people. ♪ for more than 40 years, juan gabriel wrote his song for millions of fans around the world and sold 100 million records and written close to 2,000 songs and his star on the hollywood walk of fame and fans were singing and remembering the times they had a chance to see him perform.

[ music playing ] >> his last concert was friday night at the forum. >> we didn't know that that would be his last concert. >> reporter: mary was there with her sister and friend. >> i regret not spending more to be closer. but it was great. he did sit time at times because he seemed tired. >> reporter: she met him after a concert here in l.a. more than 20 years ago. >> he will always live in our hearts. and say that about every musical person that leaves us, but there is something about juan that was just always in your heart. >> he died at his santa monica home yesterday of a heart attack. fans gathered outside of his home to pay respects. ♪ >> and today dozens gathered outside of the funeral home where his body was taken to to say good-bye. in mexico, the outpouring of love and appreciation for a mexican icon continues as his fans sing their favorite songs. we are now awaiting for funeral

arrangements to be announced. reports out of mexico say a couple of years ago after a health scare, he planned his own funeral. in it los angeles, abc 7 news. >> 100 million records. incredible. and warning about a big recall from an american automaker and more problems for taka takata. >> michael finney is here with more on that. >> a lot going on with cars. mazda is recalling 190 suvs because of a potential danger defect in the steering control. the recall involves vehicles made between february of 2006 and may of 2012. that is a lot of cars and the national highway traffic administration safety said water could enter the front suspension, salted water found in coastal areas or on snowy roads during winter months to lead to corrosion and potentially to a loss of steering control. owners will hear from the manufacturer. another incident with takata

airbags and this one, man, it sure is different. a truck carrying takata airbag inflaters exploded in texas, killing one and injuring four others. it is the latest bad news for takata for whom at least 11 people have died worldwide due to takata inflator explosions and deaths and more than 100 injuries sparked a massive global recall of more than 100 millionaire bags the truck was caringy airbag inflators and propellant and in an accident that caused a fire and that led to the explosion. the second annual stand up for main street event is set for september 18th. it is a fundraiser for the consumer group public citizen. san francisco based political comic will durst is headlining again and he said it is a group worthy of support. >> they are do-gooder lawyers and it sounds like an oxymoron

and it is like saying vegetarian butcher or something, but it really is a good cause. >> public citizen is best known for taking on the nation's rich and powerful in washington, d.c. i'll post information about the event so you could attend. and it is on our website at abc7news.com. >> thanks, michael. >> thank you. good afternoon, everyone. and we have some really interesting weather coming up ahead. let's check out live doppler 7 hd. the clouds are thick around the north bay. that is where we may see a slight possibility of thunderstorms after midnight going into tomorrow. it is moisture that we are tracking and this moisture will bring in the possibility. it is associated with hurricane madeline so there are two storms in the pacific. hurricane madeline is a category three hurricane. a powerful category four right behind it, lester. and that one is going to stay away until about saturday. so we are tracking madeline. expect it to kick up the surf along the hawaiian island chain

the next couple of days and we're also looking at heavy rains. now it is expected to weaken to a category one as it passes just south of the area. lester will be after that and if you are traveling to hawaii, keep that in mind. here is the moisture from madeline from the east bay hills camera and tonight look up, the sunset is spectacular as we get the sub tropical moisture. 67 in san francisco. 64 in half moon bay. and we're seeing some of the mid and high level clouds over san francisco from our sutro tower camera. 81 in santa rosa. low 80s for concord as well. napa 79. livermore 78 degrees. highs so far in the mid-60s to the mid-80s, so staying cooler than where you need to be for this time of the year. giving you a little preview of your sunset tonight from our emeryville camera and it is amazing. make sure you send me pictures, #abc 7 now if you do send them and we would love to show them on the air or online. partly cloudy and breezy through tuesday. there is a slight chance of thunder in the north bay and

primarily dry lightning if it happened and that is not good news for firefighters and below average temperatures into september, as we start off tomorrow morning, low 50 toss low 60s. kawhi a bit of cloud cover as he get going. and here is what is also involved. it is breezy out there tonight. breezy conditions will continue for the morning commute. could see wind gusts as high as 25 miles per hour over the higher terrain. 30 to 40 miles per hour. and in the afternoon still a bit on the breezy side for your tuesday. staying mild. cooler than average for this time of the year and in many parts of the bay area. 87 in antioch. 234i68 livermore u. notice the cloud cover. 76 fremont and 80 in san jose. 66 san francisco. as we head into napa, 80 degrees. 82 santa rosa. 76 in san rafael. filtered sunshine. when you take a look at the average high for oakland, it is about 74 degrees. notice the temperatures, they are remaining below average, right on through sunday. before we bounce back to 74 degrees.

so we have to wait a few days. accuweather seven-day forecast, we'll show you what is ahead. low 60s to upper 80s tomorrow. slight uptick in the temperatures with a slight possibility of dry lightning in the north bay. just bee careful out there. wednesday and thursday teams drop a few more degrees. we'll come down into the low to mid-80s inland and low 60s coast and then we notice temperatures will start to rise just in time for the holiday weekend, summer will be back on labor day. how is that. 90 inland. 64 on the coast. today is a special day. dan's birthday. we want to wish him happy birthday. >> thank you, guys. >> great gift for dan. >> thank you. and next on abc 7 news at 5:00, history aboard the international space station for a napa native kate rubens. we told you about her. why nasa is so excited about her latest milestone. and then at 5:30 on world news. >> coming up, more on the death of gene wilder. new details about his final

moments. plus the sexting scandal bombshell, the stunning announcement from hillary clinton's top aide and two accused of being too drunk to fly. and new at 6:00, when following the leader is not a good idea, how runners in a bay area race may have disqualified themselves from getting into the boston marathon, no less. that story and more coming

well tonight, a big milestone for napa native astronaut kate rubens. nasa confirmed for the first time ever that dna was successfully sequenced in space. >> here is a picture of her after her accomplishment this weekend aboard the international space station. fassa said the ability to sequence dna of living organisms in space opened a whole new world of scientific and medical possibilities. >> it could help protect astronaut health during long

missions to mars. thursday she and jeff rubins will participate in the second space walk in less than two weeks. they are busy up there. >> napa is so proud. a face-to-face meeting between the facebook founder and the pope. mark zuckerberg and his wife visited with pope francis at the vatican today. it appeared to be informal with a chat taking place at the santa marta resident where the pope lives. according to the vatican press service, zuckerberg talked with the pontiff about how communication technology could help in fighting poverty. zuckerberg gave the pope a model of a solar powered aircraft that they hope will expand internet access in developing countries. for the first time team usa is determined in san jose. city officials announced today that the u.s. figure stating championship will be held next december and january of 2018 at the sap center.

u.s. figure skating providing this video of the 2012 event. it will be the final qualifying event prior to the selection of the 2018 winter games skating team. they have hosted the championship two previous times but this is the first time it is held during an olympic year. here is something you don't hear every day. a horse escaped from his pen with the help of his friend a billy goat. this is a picture of the clydesdale and the goat at the ranch in the santa cruz mountains. last week the owner closed but didn't lock the gate and the goat rammed it open and the horse named buddy made a run for it. he escaped capture for five days. buddy seemed to enjoy being on the lamb. he he was finally caught yesterday hiding in some bushes about a mile from home. i see a commercial in all of this. >> or even a major feature film. it is a good buddy caper. >> absolutely. still ahead at 5:00. a follow of the week long

festival in the desert from the ♪ ♪ isaac hou has mastered gravity defying moves to amaze his audience.

great show. here you go. now he's added a new routine. making depositing a check seem so effortless. easy to use chase technology, for whatever you're trying to master. isaac, are you ready? yeah. chase. so you can. the oil companies pollute our air. putting their... ...profits ahead of our kids' health. now they're trying to weaken california's clean air laws. i'm tom steyer. we've had a million kids get asthma. we need to send the oil companies a message. tell your legislator to stand up to the oil companies and protect our clean air laws. don't let the oil companies put their profits... ...ahead of our kids.

coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, we're keeping an eye out for trump and his hush-hush visit to the bay area. and why today's stop is a big change for his presidential campaign. plus the game-changer for droe drones. the new rush on commercial drones coming up in half an hour at 6:00. >> see you then. and finally tonight, you could catch the happenings as they happen during this year's burning manifest val arks and you don't have to head to the desert. they are lovering a live stream with -- a live stream with live footage. >> if you look through the dusty haze you could see people set up as they build a community where anything goes and it all disappears by next monday when the festival ends and if you want to see how it feels, grab a bucket of dust and throw it on

the couch. >> a version of burning man. >> world news tonight is coming up next. i'm kristen zse. breaking news tonight. we're learning of the death of gene wilder. the passing of a comic legend. tonight, hollywood's biggest names celebrating his life as we learn new details about his final moments. also, the race for 2016. hillary clinton's top aide, huma abedin, separating from her husband, former congressman anthony weiner, after his new sexting scandal. tonight, why donald trump calls this a risk to national security. shooting scare. the false report that had thousands of passengers ducking for cover at l.a.x. running from the terminals and onto the tarmac. what really started the panic. tropical threats closing in. the dangerous weather we're tracking. plus, the system building steam as it moves into the gulf. and grounded. two pilots pulled from their flight and hauled into court. accu