>> president obama has declared a state of emergency in south carolina and florida. >> and with the forecast only growing more grim, the governor is telling its residents tonight to get out now. >> there are no excuses. you need to leave. evacuation, evacuate, evacuate. >> matthew is the most powerful storm to hit florida in a decade. >> we want to look now at palm bea beach, florida. >> sandhya has the latest. sandhya? >> they are already seeing tropical storm force conditions right now across the coastline. let's go live to the doppler 7 and you can see where the large

eye of this hurricane is. it's still over the bahamas but will have maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. there are warnings up for the eastern side of florida extending into south carolina and tropical storm warnings for the western side. the hurricane warnings with good reason. take a look at the forecast track here. a category 4 as it comes on shore over the eastern portion of florida. category 3 later on tonight with 125-mile-an-hour winds that continue along the carolina coast. this weekend, a category 2 weakening to a 1. it moves out over the open atlantic only to come back around again. this could be double the trouble for parts of florida as far as rainfall and the storm impacts, a foot of rain in florida, georgia and south carolina. the biggest threat is storm surge, isolated tornadoes are possible and if that's not bad enough, behind matthew, we have another hurricane. this is hurricane nicole. so it is going to be rough for the next couple of days.

dan, kristen? >> thank you, sandhya. >> there have been nearly 4,000 airline translations, including many here at san francisco. >> passengers are having a hard time getting to destinations not even in the path of matthew. >> reporter: that's true. you would think that only south florida airports would be impacted but here at sfo, passengers are telling us that they are trying to get to other destinations and they are having to rebook because some of their flights have been canceled or they are overcapacity or overbooked. they are facing the problem of logistics. the departure sign says flights to miami and orlando are canceled. but mark wasn't expecting that to impact his plans to fly to new york today. >> they are saying that all of the flights are getting rerouted up north and so it's congesting a lot of what they can do for new york.

>> reporter: so how does this affect the airlines? >> i have to re-evaluate how i can get to my friend's wedding tomorrow. >> reporter: hurricane matthew may be 3,000 miles from the bay area but it's creating a ripple effect as passengers scramble to rebook and take earlier flights to not find themselves grounded. paul johnson lives on florida's gulf coast. >> i'm worried about the downstream impacts and the flights are so booked nowadays, if you can't get on this flight and there's a delay, how many more days will it be until you can get on. >> reporter: it's anxiety time for those traveling to south america. hurricane matthew may have missed havana but the tour operator access trips tells us they have a group there now scheduled to return home on sunday. contingency plans are in place if flights are interrupted. the impact can take a day or more to clear up. it may be a test of patience as passengers wait out hurricane

matthew. >> that's right. no hurricane. >> reporter: have you ever experienced one? >> no, i haven't. no. i don't think i want to. >> reporter: at san francisco international, david louie, abc 7 news. 100 local pg&e workers are et go getting ready to head to florida tomorrow. the walt disney resort in orlando closed at 5:00 p.m. and will stay closed tomorrow. disney is taking precautions for the safety of its guests. disney is the parent company of abc 7. even though it's not made landfall in the u.s. yet, economic forecasters are being looking at the potential impact. matthew could cost as much as $35 billion. just staggering. that's about a quarter of what hurricane katrina cost in 2005. >> it is staggering.

for the latest on hurricane matthew, download to abc 7 and get push alerts to get updates as they happen. concord is the latest city dealing with a nationwide crime scare involving people dressed as clowns. police were called about these pictures that a teenager posted online this morning. no arrests were made in this case. they are making changes as to what students can wear to school for halloween. vic lee has more. vic? >> reporter: the superintendent sent a letter to students and parents telling them to be on the lookout, to be alert this halloween season. there have been no incidents, no violence and i want to stress that, but there have been too many people dressed like this,

especially on the internet. and it's creating security problems. it's suddenly become creepy, crazy, menacing, sightings of people dressed in clown costumes. most have just been that, sightings, but some schools are reporting that people are trying to get students to react. among them, the east side union high school district. >> what we're requesting is that any student that receives a ping like this, not to respond and then to inform their site administrator. >> reporter: in fact, just to be safe this halloween, the district is on heightened alert. what's more, administrators sent a letter saying, "we will not allow clown costumes or any costumes that disguise the identity of students." reaction to the letter was mixed. >> i agree that we need to do everything that we can to keep

them best safe -- keep them as safe as possible at school. >> reporter: students also had varied responses. >> it's not really known. it's just somebody pretending to be something. i don't think they should ban it. >> i guess we'll take action and respect the rules that they are playing out at this school. >> reporter: this family had just bought their costumes at a halloween superstore. >> i think it's fair with all of the clown sightings chasing after people. it's fair. >> it's halloween and i just want the kids to be able to have fun and dress the way they'd like to be able to dress. >> reporter: by the way, this store has already had a customer returning a clown outfit. vic lee, abc 7. san francisco police are looking for a suspect in another robbery in well-traveled public area. the 29-year-old man said the three men grabbed his camera as he took pictures in sutro heights park yesterday afternoon. the men chased them back to the

car and held on as they drove off and suffered from minor injuries. an effort tonight to prevent a tragic mistake that can be very hard to tell in an instant in the gun a teenager is carrying is a real thing or just a toy. wayne friedman has more about how police in san ramon are warning the public. >> reporter: it happened last week, a typical swing shift for patrick suruti until the call came in. that was a result of a terrified mother who saw someone walking through her neighborhood with what appeared to be an assault rifle. >> hurry, hurry. he's coming. he's got a gun. >> reporter: we called for an ambulance in case there was a critical incident, called for a helicopter. >> reporter: little did they know that they were heading to the scene of teenage boys playing with replica air rifles.

neighbors say it has happened before. >> i was scared when i saw them walking around with the guns. >> it's scary. >> reporter: could they have been mistaken as real weapons? >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. if it was me, i would have thought it was. >> reporter: when police arrived, they ordered the boys to drop the weapons and fortunately they complied. had they not -- >> it would have been a sad outcome. >> reporter: yes, they were that close to another incident, like the shooting of andy lopez after a similar call three years ago. he, too, carried a replica air rifle. >> we want nothing to happen. >> reporter: this time it did not. instead, just a lesson and one grateful police officer. >> i'm grateful that nothing bad happened. i'm glad that no child was hurt or officer was hurt. police in palo alto are looking for a man accused of exposing himself to a teenage

girl in a park. investigators released this sketch of the suspect this afternoon. the 14-year-old reported this on friday afternoon. she told police the man was sitting on a bench near the play ground at bull park and laguna avenue. making sure that guns don't get into the wrong hands. coming up next, the death of kate steinle. and from boiled water to tap, making recycled water a reality. and michael finney has easy steps to ensure your online security. facebook has a plan for free internet service in the u.s. find out how and where. and we're keeping a close eye on hurricane matthew as it turns towards florida. we'll check out your local news

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the santa clara county sheriff's office is going to issue lock boxes for them to secure their firearms. the goal is to prevent guns from et going into the hands of the wrong people. >> reporter: at the santa clara sheriff's office, a proactive approach for handguns. >> one tragedy is too many. this is a step we decided to take. >> reporter: starting this week, individual gun vaults are being installed in unmarked cars as well as the personal and state bill 869 requires law enforcement officers and concealed permit holders to leave firearms in their vehicles or in the trunk out of plain view. state senator jerry hill sponsored the bill.

>> if you have a gun and you're transporting it, it has to be secured in a locked container. >> reporter: kate steinle was killed by a gun stolen by a car of a bureau of land management ranger. >> nothing will heal the pain and the tragedy but i think it's a great thing that her legacy will be the lives saved in the future because of laws that are changed. >> reporter: members of the coalition, a group that aims to prevent gun violence, are encouraged by the news. >> opportunistic violent crimes will go down. a lot of crimes with stolen guns in the first couple of days after the guns have been stolen. >> reporter: the lock boxes are being provided at no cost to taxpayers. california is tightening its rules on a common pesticide.

state regulators announced that farmers will only be able to use a limited amount of telone which is used to kill pests in soil before planted crops. the change has drawn criticism from farmers who say it's crucial in fighting pests and fear the change will lead to rising food prices. california water regulators received public comment for the first time on the newest plan to make waste water safe for drinking. now, at this point, regulators say making waste water potable would take significant treatment. >> this is potentially a source of drinking water if we can do it right and do it right everywhere that it's done in california. >> reporter: areas would have significant amounts of industrial discharge, just like

san francisco is a candidate for waste water conversion. and many people wonder if they are being tracked while online. >> michael finney is here with how to control your privacy while on the web. >> whenever you go online, every move is being tracked and you have no idea what happens to all of that information. consumer reports has advice to help you take control of your personal information. it can be creepy when you search for a medical condition online and then a related ad pops up on your screen. >> it's called digital tracking. it's happening all the time. we think companies should be able in simple language to tell you what information is being collected and how it's being used. >> reporter: consumer reports has page after page of advice about protecting your privacy. here are four easy steps to take. first, install an ad blocker such as privacy badger. number two, check your phone settings to see which apps are tracking your location and turn

off any that don't need to know. number three, if you visit an unfamiliar website that demands your e-mail, go to a site like tenminutemail.com that self-destructs after you use it. finally, be cautious of google. >> it is collecting a tremendous amount of information about you and does that no matter where you go online, looking at youtube, or g-mail. >> you can see how much google tracks if you look under my account and then my activity. there are alternative search engines like duck duck go that don't track their users. now, if you want to stick with google search, tweak the settings and delete the records that you search and the youtube videos that you watch. more tips are available on our website. this might be a moot point because the fcc announced a whole new rules that will go into effect soon where you would

have to opt in. >> so much easier than opting out. >> thanks, michael. good evening. we hope you're enjoying this from our sutro camera. it's going to be sunny and bright for fleet week activities. air show starts tomorrow. already seeing and hearing the blue angels practicing. it's going to be 77 and 79 on saturday and on sunday a few clouds will be around. slight dip in the temperatures. all you need is the sunscreen and enjoy the show. high clouds passing through the bay area. you'll want to check this out tonight because if the sun goes down, the clouds make for a very colorful sunset. 72 in oakland. 76 in san jose. a live look from our santa cruz camera also seeing the sun down there. upper 70s in santa rosa and napa. low 80s in fairfield and

concord. temperatures are up from 2 to 6 degrees. from our camera, filtered sun right now and fleet week warmth through sunday. we'll stick around. blue skies for the blue angels with a chance of showers appearing late next week. tomorrow morning like the next couple of mornings, mid-40s to the upper 50s and it will be cool in spots. so definitely one of those mornings where you need the second layer. 89 in morgan hill. 91, gilroy. a nice day on the peninsula. upper 70s to the low 80s from san mateo to redwood city. 71 in half moon bay. this is when you see the warmest weather in october and it will live up to its name. 71 in the sunset district. north bay, mid-80s. napa, santa rosa, low 80s. berkeley, oakland, head inland, low 90s in places like brentwood. 89 in

a good 10 degrees above normal for saturday and sunday. this is summer-like warmth for the inland areas but it will drop and in a big way as we head into the middle of next week. here's a look at the computer animation. thursday evening, october 13th, clouds increasing, rain may be moving in going in to friday morning. computer models are having a hard time with the exact timing of this but you can always download or abc news app and know what is happening. see those changes as they are coming. here's a look at the seven-day forecast. fall warmth tomorrow. 70s to 90s. warm to hot for your saturday. look at that. mid-70s to low 90s and really we'll continue with the warmth inland on sunday. coastal areas begin to cool. columbus day is cool as the fog comes in and cooling takes you through the middle and latter part of the work week which leads us to thursday evening

going into friday. the possibility of some showers, kristen and dan. >> thank you, sandhya. is snapchat really worth $25 billion. she sold her car years ago but fast track keeps sending her bills and refuses to stop.

they're bringing crime, when mexthey're rapists.ople... are you going to have a massive deportation force? you're going to have a deportation force. we're rounding 'em up in a very humane way,

in a very nice way. we're going to build a wall. that's not america. we're all californians. i'm tom steyer. it's time to speak out. please, register. and vote. vote. nextgen california action committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. san francisco's twitter fell 20% after a report that google apple and disney are no longer interested in buying twitter. >> twitter has recently lost money and hasn't shown any user growth. over in palo alto, there's concern over a drop in tesla stock. shares fell 3.5% after analysts downgraded that stock as they are worried about the company's

ability to launch their newest model 3 to customers on time. snapchat's parent company is working on an initial public offering that could go for $25 billion or more. the shares could be on sale as early as next march. facebook is talking with the government and wireless carriers to bring its free basic internet service to the united states. they would target low-income americans and those who live in rural areas without reliable high-speed internet. it allows people to use facebook without it counting towards their data plan. and the next generation of african-american and latino scientists held a tech lab in oakland. moving on, the san francisco giants are gearing up for the game one of the division series against the chicago cubs tomorrow follow last night's

truly amazing win against the mets. >> it's spectacular. on the left there, gillespie has some food there with teammates after a ninth-inning homer. that was a fantastic homer. he's joined by team assistant chad, joe and brandon crawford. crawford got the double to start that going in the ninth inning and never looked back. we'd like to thank abc 7 viewer for this picture. fans showing their pride. #abc7now and we'll be able to put your picture up there. >> manuel showed this picture of china town in san francisco. it is a great shot of showing the beauty of where you live. use #abc7now. you may see your picture on our newscast or on our website or

social media accounts as well. one cool picture to another, get ready to see a whole lot of this as fleet week

coming up tonight at 6:00, gone way too soon. the bay area mourns the loss of a brilliant uc biologist killed during a protest in africa. on a lighter note, transforming market street. the artists and entrepreneurs at the iconic avenue. those stories and more coming up at 6:00. finally, bay area first responders battled members the armed forces today for softball supremacy. ♪ . >> the navy pacific fleet band performed the national anthem before today's game at the rec center in san francisco. >> teams from the navy, marine

and coast guard took on the fire department and sheriff's department. it's been part of fleet week activities since 2012. that's fun. >> wouldn't know who to root for, though. finally tonight, did you hear this today? >> the blue angels are on a fleet week survey flight. the team ripped across the city and the bay making several practice runs this afternoon. the air force's raptor demonstration team will be up as well. both teams performing for fleet week tomorrow, saturday and sunday when the weather cannot be more gorgeous. you'll have clear visibility to see it all. the air show runs from noon until 4:00 and the blue angels fly at 3:00 p.m. >> it never gets old. if you haven't had an opportunity to avail yourself of their performance in person, try to do it. it's breathtaking and spectacular. >> i took the kids last year. i keep looking and hoping that we'll see them go by.

"world news" with david muir is up next. >> tonight, breaking news. bracing for a monster storm. hurricane matthew, now growing in strength to a category 4. ready to strike the east coast. millions of americans warned to leave before it's too late. >> if you need to evacuate and you haven't, evacuate. this storm will kill you. >> what could be the biggest mass evacuation ever, across several states tonight. powerful bands lashing florida right now, and what's coming here tonight. millions warned they could lose power. already more than 100 dead in matthew's wake. rooftops ripped off. tonight, we're tracking the storm hour by hour. our team of meteorologists and reporters across the storm zone. a special edition of "world news tonight" starts now.