right at the bird avenue exit. so, again, that far right lane did just open up. that traffic slowly filtering out. going to be keeping a close eye on this. head north on 880 and then south on 87 or 101. another update in a few. right now, let's check the weather. good morning, lisa. >> good morning. we are starting with chilly conditions. patchy frost, could have black ice, as well. showing clear conditions. 29 in san ramon. look at these numbers. low to mid-30s in the east bay valleys. 38 in san jose. sitting pretty much where we were yesterday. patchy frost. a clear start. a warmer afternoon with numbers in the low 60s. nasa sha, jessica? >> thank you. three moderate earthquakes and aftershocks around

california. 5.7 quakes just after midnight struck just four minutes apart from hawthorne. a third measured 5.6. that was just after 1:00 a.m. and shaking felt throughout the central valley. a viewer reported feeling it in san francisco soma neighborhood. from hollywood to the bay area, "star wars" fans are paying tribute to carrie fisher. she passed away yesterday. fisher was 60 years old. here's abc 7 news reporter leslie brinkley with how bay area fans are honoring her and what we're hearing from her brother. >> reporter: an homage here in san francisco as a statue of yoda looks down upon the messages left by admiring "star wars" fans. >> help me. you're my only hope.

>> part of our generation, what you were brought up with. it's nice to show that little bit of respect. >> even if you didn't know much about "star wars" or about the film, you knew who princess leia was. she was a good spokesman i think for women and girls. for women and girls. >> there was no movie out there with a woman. >> reporter: todd spoke publicly aft death and struggles with addiction and mental illness. >> everybody is just a little bit in shock because, nlg, she's so young and was doing so great and to have her, you know, have a cardiac arrest at this age is to say the least unexpected. >> reporter: the berkeley theater shared the photos of 2008 stage show wishful drinking. in a statement, the artistic director wrote that carrie was a

comic genius. i've never met anyone who could craft a comic line better than she could. roxy theater plans to screen her film on new year's day. that's when a light saber tribute will glow in honor of beloved princess leia. in san francisco, leslie brinkley, abc 7 news. well, to new details on a rash of sick calls that hampered service on buses last week. >> more than 80 employees called out on a seng l day an now hearing it could be an ongoing problem. reporter amy hollyfield is live with more. good morning. >> reporter: hi, jessica. yeah. a new report out of the city controller's office says muni has a problem with people calling in sick. according to the report, the workers calling in sick costing the agency $42 million a year in leave pay. the rate is the second of highest in the city out of the ten largest departments.

the controllers office conducted 132 focus group. some said their vacation requests aren't approved. so, the report has 27 recommendations. here are a couple of them. one recommendation is to hire someone to track absences for the agency. to strengthen the agency's reward and employees and then a policy. it's affecting the riders. muni had to cancel in some routes. we'll ask for their reaction to the report and here at the west portal station catching commuters on the way in. reporting live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thank you. a san francisco judge rejected a bid to block a new use of force policy prohibiting officers from firing at moving vehicles and using certain control holds. the san francisco police

officer's association filed the lawsuit seeking to block the city of implementing the new policy. the union said the city had endangered -- engaged, rather, in unfair policies. city attorneys argued it was a managerial decision not subject to union negotiation. oakland mayor shaft says that violent crime down about 5% in the city and includes murder, manslaughter, assault, robbery and rape saying that it's the third consecutive year that violent crime decreased in oakland. there's a strategy of police, prosecutors and community leaders offering support of gang members. sky 7 was above burlingame after a man was killed on tracks o. officials say a northbound train heading to san francisco hit a man trespassing. it happened near howard avenue just south of the burlingame

station yesterday. buses took passengers around the scene until southbound tracks reopened. there were delays of about half an hour. it's the 12th cal train related death this year. san jose police reveal the husband is the prime suspect in the stabbing death of his wife. officers arrested this man marco arrias on saturday. police found his wife giuliana suffering from at least one stab wound on north 10th street. she died after being rushed to the hospital. happening today, a former drug dealer serving a 35-year sentence will be released thanks to president obama. darryl lamar reed had the sentence commuted in august. he was found guilty of distributing crack and cocaine in 1990. he was a kingpin in oakland's drug trade. as part of the reagan era's war on drugs, he got a stiff

sentence of 35 years in prison. we talked with a former deputy district attorney. he said he's shocked and that reed should stay in prison calling him a major player in the drug player. 4:37. a former employee of versace is suing claiming racial discrimination alleging a training manager at the outlet store gave him a code to say when african-american customers walked in. he said he said that american african and then fired two weeks later, missing some pay. >> he is making the allegation what happened to him happened to a whole class of people so he would have to prove that. >> versace is denying the allegation saying it doesn't tolerate discrimination. let's get now to alexis smith for an update on the crash on southbound 280. >> we have a sig alert. as jessica mentions, southbound

280 just before you get to bird avenue around that exit. we saw from matt keller high violent that collision was. we have two lanes opening now. three left lanes are blocked an just got some new information. matt is talking to chp right now. sounds like this was possibly a head-on collision and one of those vehicles was going the wrong way and looking at at least an hour for those lanes to be closed. less than a mile backup this early hours and that's the only major issue. here's a live look at golden gate. wide open this morning. i'll check in with matt and have an update less than ten minutes and now lisa, chilly an not as bad as yesterday, right? >> i think you are right. we starting with mid-30s here in the south bay. 36 -- the r upper 40s in the warmer locations by the water but near freezing in the north bay. check out 29 degrees. so as we look live outside, it

is cloer. wept right through that one. sunny conditions the next several days. temperatures are warming up today, tomorrow. notice the rain chances next seven days. looks like the system just does not want to materialize. that's good news if you have plans for the weekend. but enjoy the warmth the next of the days and by friend, trending cooler. here's the forecast for the holiday weekend. partly cloudy skies. perhaps low snow levels sunday night and enjoy warmer conditions. we are going to cool off and possibly see maybe some low snow levels around here, in fact, maybe snow around mt. tam, mt. diablo and mt. hamilton. so we have sunny skies on the way after a chilly start. >> thank you. we have an update on the giant menorah that was stolen from a san francisco park. the unexpected gift set to arrive today. >> it was actually a christmas present and it's a best one i

have ever received. >> and thieves took this man's medals and including a purple medals and including a purple heart. waiter: here's your check. oh! you--you got it. you know, since i got rid of my car, i really enjoy walking. ok. got it? no, i'm good. announcer: getting pulled over for buzzed driving could cost you around $10,000 in fines, legal fees, and increased insurance rates. oh, you're home early. you live with your mom? announcer: that'll set your game back a few years. buzzed, busted, and broke because buzzed driving is drunk driving.

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and get screened for colorectal cancer. screening saves lives! today, two suspects of a deadly stabbing at target on christmas eve will be in court. they are accused of stabbing

tyrone griffin to death leaving behind four children. abc 7 news reporter shows the holiday message he left weeks before his death. >> reporter: his family told us tyrone griffin came to target saturday night far last-minute gift for a child. it's a trip that ended in tragedy and came one month after he made a video telling his family life could end when you least expect it. >> we got so much to be happy to be, so many reasons to give praise and count our blessings. >> reporter: a video made by 36-year-old tyrone agriculture jr., a message to his family on thanksgiving. as it turns out, just weeks before he was stabbed to death on christmas eve. >> keep your head up. count every day as a blessing. every second. every moment. every hour. because you never know when your life will be taken from you. >> he was very strong willed.

he loved people. he loved making people laugh. >> reporter: griffin's mother told us he was killed in a last-minute trip to target with his girlfriend and two young children. >> we went to target to get jade another toy and wrapping paper and bows. >> reporter: his girlfriend told us griffin encountered two men in the toy department. >> he was trying to talk to them about the curse music they were playing and the toy aisle of target and while all the children are shopping and around at christmastime. >> reporter: hayward police arrested two suspects both in the 20s a short time later. lindsay said her son spent time in prison for robbery and since the release was firmly committed to his four children and improving his own life. >> he wanted to get out and get into the working atmosphere and become a productive person of this world and give back. >> reporter: lindsay plans to set up a go fund me page to help

pay for her son's funeral. the suspects are expected in court on wednesday. abc 7 news. we are getting more details this morning of singer george michael's stardom and struggle with drugs. here in san francisco's castro district, fans remember the singer that passed away this weekend. according to michael's publicist, the late star's family touched beyond words by the outpouring of love by fans. the death is attributed to heart failure. many saw this photo taken in september as evidence of his health troubles. michael was open about the struggles with prior drug use. it's felt like we've dealt with tragedy after tragedy but americans have a new hope for 2017. in fact, 55% believe things will get better in the country in the new year. according to the associated press time square alliance poll. only 18% said things got better in 2016.

33% said it got worse. and 47% said things were unchanged from 2015. when it comes to the housing crisis not too much optimism quiet. a new survey shows that four of the top ten most expensive zip codes in the country right here in the bay area. looking for housing, perhaps this is not a surprise to you. property shark.com found atherton just behind sagaponic, new york. a median price nearly $5.5 million now. palo alto with the ninth most expensive zip code. sacramento applied to the federal government to allow driverless cars tested on the streets. according to the sacramento business journal, supporters say it secures the capital as a key contributor to technology. the application asks for fully autonomous vehicles tested throughout downtown and across i-5 to the sacramento airport. if approved, sacramento would be

one of the first urban areas in the country to test fully driverless cars. now to an up date on a story we first brought you yesterday. a good samaritan sending a new menorah to a neighborhood to replace replace the one that someone stole over the weekend. it is being boxed up and overnighted from sharon, massachusetts, here to san francisco. it's a gift from engineer bogart of menorah to go. >> i thought if i can help and provide something that will turn something negative into a positive, looked like an ideal thing for me to do. >> the menorah should arrive by tonight, the fifth night of hanukkah. meanwhile, a hanukkah and legoland is a main attraction in vermont. about 100 people turned out last night to see it lit at a carnival. it look 2,000 legos to build the

largest menorah ever in vermont and organize earls say it's part of an effort to expand efforts in that state. a southern california world war ii veteran received a long awaited gift. the medals have been replaced after 50 years. the 93-year-old earn several awards including a purple heart and world war ii victory medal. he was storing them in a garage when he was moving 50 years ago but someone stole them. his grandson replaced all the medals in time for christmas. >> it was actually a christmas present and it's the best one i've ever received. aside from marrying my beautiful wife, they're probably what i could say probably the next best thing that ever happened to me. >> so sweet. and a good answer. his medals being framed and ready right before new year's eve. there's a bad accident on

southbound 280 and we want do get to alex exit smith with more on the traffic alert. >> really violent collision this morning. i want to get you video from matt keller and photographer here on the scene this morning. hopefully shortly. this is from just about 15, 20 minutes ago or so. they were trying to out of the flipped vehicle on southbound 280 just before bird avenue. a ton of damage. two people in the vehicle. they both are out now and transported to the hospital with some injuries. we don't know the extent so far. looks like two other vehicles involved in the crash. three left lanes blocked and opened up the far two right lanes and i have been in communication with matt keller. he did confirm this was caused bay wrong way driver. so, obviously a lot more on this investigation. we have got at least an hour to go before it's fully back open. let's check in with lisa now with a look at the forecast. good morning. >> good morning. we are starting out once again

very little change. patchy frost. dry conditions with temperatures hovering right around freezing or above. liver more, good morning. 30 in santa rosa. mid-40s at coast. mildest day will be tomorrow. low 60s. hayward, san jose, 66 with sunshine. a slight dip on friday and cooler for new year's eve and getting moisture we could see a few flakes on the higher elevations so noon on new year's eve, chilly, low to mid-50s and partly cloudy skies by 4:00 and frosty and by -- i shouldn't say frosty. 40s and getting cooler by 8:00. and by midnight, we are in the upper 30s and some of the protected valleys so back to today. low 60s arrive in santa rosa. high clouds. 62 in san jose. and the seven-day forecast, another chilly start with a sunny afternoon. increasing the clouds. notice the only chance of showers here is monday.

but the winter chill will be back by friday. this year marks the 50th anniversary of kwanzaa. ♪ abc 7 news was at san francisco's city hall for a special ceremony commemorating the second day of the holiday honoring african-american culture. kwanzaa is based on seven principles including self determination, creativity, faith and unity. organizers say they're important this year to help the nation heal after a lot ofdy visiveness. events are planned daily until the final event on sunday. if you're looking for something to do tonight, we have details on a bowl game being played right here in the bay area. as you can see, we have a camera on mt. tam that we love to look at. coming up, more on the effort to restore part of the bay area landmark. chilly here and not this cold. where residents are lacing up the skates and hitting the streets. first this morning's tech bites.

one of the hottest toys of the holiday season may not be all it's cracked up to be. >> supposed to hatch from plastic eggs but parents complain that the interactive toy is taking too long to hatch or just not hatching at all. the company says it's helping to troubleshoot the issues. amazon calling 2016 the best-ever for holiday orders. online retail giant shipped more than 1 billion items around the world. more than 72% of amazon's holiday shoppers used a mobile device to make the orders. you can stream up to 50 live action and animated disney movies on hue lie. >> disney parts part of hulu. it includes "nightmare before christmas" and "sister act." ♪ i will follow him >> no, no. make it stop. make it stop. good

(boy) grandpa, look what i got! (woman) oh dad, wait 'till you see the bike we got for jake. (narrator) hearing loss happens gradually with age... making it easy to ignore. yet most older americans aren't getting their hearing tested. untreated hearing loss can keep your loved ones from enjoying what they cherish most. (woman) dad, can you hear me? (narrator) don't let that happen. speak up about hearing loss. you'll be glad you did.

welcome back. happening today, lots of tickets still available for the bay area's only bowl game. tonight 19th ranked utah battles indiana in the foster farms bowl. the utes third in the south division finishing 8-4. the hoosiers playing in consecutive bowl games for just the third time in school history. kickoff at 5:30 p.m. in ontario, canada, residents took advantage of the icy roads and broke out the ice

skates to have a little fun. some dangerous winter weather brought freezing rain and icy conditions there. a storm hit ontario monday leaving streets coated with thick layer of ice making for treacherous driving conditions and some made the most of it lacing up the skates and skating down the street. that looks dangerous to me. they went for it, lisa. i'm going to take it over from here and back to the sig alert in the south bay. bird avenue, looks like we have a flat bed tow truck on the scene here. this is a violent rollover crash. the red vehicle still on the roof. the far two right lanes and then the exit lane are open right now and still a sig alert, avoid the area if you can. take 880 to 101 and meantime quiet everywhere else except for westbound 580 before flynn road. now a look at the forecast.

hey, lisa. >> good morning to you. another morning with patchy frost, a couple of hours until sunrise and saw some coming in this morning and 30 degrees in san jose. numbers once again mid to upper 30s by the peninsula. it's clear. that's why we are so chilly. radiational cooling at best and noontime a few low 50s under sunny skies. in fact, today and tomorrow we'll see plenty of 60s. and the sunniest days because by new year's eve, saturday, we cloud up and the numbers cool off. only a slight chance of showers, though. make your plans. weather shouldn't ruin it. make sure you have a heavy coat. >> thank you. next at 5:00 a.m., tributes pouring in for carrie fisher. we'll hear from her brother. and as alexis told you, all lanes on southbound 280 shut down at bird avenue in san jose. actually, a lane is open there. actually, a lane is open there.

where a bad crash blocking several lanes on southbound 280. >> let's get to matt keller live at the scene. matt? >> reporter: good morning. this is really interesting. this is a first time i have ever seen this. they brought out tow trucks not only for the vehicle here and brought a tow truck out for the engine sitting here in the middle of the southbound lanes of 280. we have also learned new details of the last time i saw you. chp says this was caused bay wrong way driver. now they're trying to figure out the red car or another vehicle that was driving the wrong way and ended up being a