another storm passing through the bay area this morning. the santa cruz mountains one play where residents are keeping a close eye on the rising rivers and potential flooding. thanks for joining us. i'm reggie aqui. >> and i'm kristen sze. so right now we're still seeing scattered showers in the bay area as the storm pushes east. a live look from the golden gate bridge camera shows gray skies now there. and storm clouds still hanging ore over the bay. >> in san mateo, rain drops dotting the lense of our camera. drivers across the bridge are having to slow down, dealing with the slick roads. >> and speaking of slow, another day of travel slow downs at sno, and we'll tell you how long you

could expect to way at sfo if you are flying out or expecting someone to fly in. >> we have team coverage tracking the conditions in bay area. amy hollyfield and matt keller are out in the elements and we'll start with mike nicco and a look at live doppler 7 as we speak. >> we have good news. what we're dealing with a weaker storm than overnight. no watches and warnings and no advisories, and i lowered it down to 1 on the storm thanks to the showers that could lead up to a quarter of an inch in the more hidden roads and minor ponding but no orange or yellow. and even in the san ramon valley and across the dumbarton bridge and down to palo alto, it is all light and same thing down toward morgan hill and we have a little bit of snow mixing in lake county, at about 3500 feet. but the winter storm warning for north of there has expired like most of our watches and warnings. so what we're going to have moving forward are temperatures in the low to mid-50s. with a chance of a scattered

light shower through about 6:00, a little bit of an uptick in the coverage during the evening hours and clearing out overnight and a bigger storm this weekend. now we do have a lot of accident this is morning. alexis tracked those. what do you have now. >> well things have calmed down considerably and the traffic department as well. taking a look at our emeryville camera, this is eastbound 80 around the powell on-ramp past the merge we had a vehicle flip over the barrier, they towed that out of there and almost done with the clean-up and just the right shoulder blocked and that is causing a back-up on the traffic maps slow from 580, a touch of on looker delay toward the maze. and mass transit, we had quite a bit of issues there this morning as well. still a 20 minute delay for b.a.r.t. systemwide due to an earlier problem on the trark and weather conditions as well. >> and so road conditions and ponding on the roads and in the santa cruz mountains they were

watching slides and a rising river. matt kel ser live in felton. >> reporter: it is really just drizzling right now but it was really wet overnight. and the biggest concern of course is flooding. overnight we had so much water heading into the san lorenzo river worrying everybody about flooding. >> the river was roaring this morning. homes in santa cruz had a too close for comfort view for currents. at one spot big trees went over the flood stage. we found two felton residents that don't mind the mud but people living next to the bridge know to be ready. >> can't patrol anything when they come around and telling us it is rising, we have to take our vehicles from down there and put them across at the street at safeway so cars don't get blooded out. >> highway 9 was blocked off because of slides like this and chp reported several trees down in the mountains blocking roads and making life tough for

commuters. >> i guess i don't take highway 9 because of that, because so often there is a tree down or a slide. and mostly i just listen to the news early and hear if there is any closures and then just go and see what happens. >> hope for the best. >> hope for the best. >> reporter: whul yoile your co is ugly, the scenery is not. we saw several roadways and you might as well enjoy the view. the rainy and muddy conditions continue. good for a our little pigs but bad news for people living along the river. people here say they are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. live in felton, matt keller, abc 7 news. >> thank you. the storm brought other problems from flooded roadways to traffic accidents to downed trees. amy hollyfield is live at the chp office in oakland with details. amy? >> reporter: hi, kristen, we have a down tree to show you. that happened in a neighborhood where there were of course

problems. but the main issues happened up there on our busy freeways. and chp officers say they wish everyone would do one thing to try to make it better. >> if you are driving 60 miles per hour or more in this kind of rain, chp officers say you are going too fast. drivers out in this rain overnight and early this morning caused lots of problems for emergency responders. >> it was a rough evening. as you know, we had quite the heavy rain coming down all night. we did have lots of reports of flooding, lot of what we call solo vehicle spinouts. >> reporter: flooding like this at cesar chavez and highway 101 in san francisco could come as a huge surprise, especially in the dark. but officers say it is going to happen. the key is to slow down and taye calm. >> every time it rains, we're going to have roadway flooding and that is because people throw trash and debris on the freeway and it clogs the drain and results in floodig. >> reporter: officers think speed and the slick streets played a role on this crash in brotherhood way in san

francisco. the driver hit three parked cars. no one was hurt. the storm also toppled this tree on mountain avenue in oakland. it blocked the main route to the middle school and joaquin miller elementary school. some kids walked around it, but those in cars were pushed to the very narrow scout road, causing a huge back-up. >> i'm going to be late to work. i'm like, oh, god. >> parents have never seen the road clogged like this. >> usually we zip up here, especially because we're late any way, because -- it is usually all clear. so i don't know what is going on. we'll get there eventually. >> reporter: there was no zipping this morning. i just checked in though with the department of public works and good news, they almost have the tree cleared. they say that road will be reopened in time for school pick-up. reporting live in oakland, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> hopefully. amy, thank you. the highway patrol is reminding driver not to drive around signs that say road closed.

a driver had to be rescued in sonoma county after a good samaritan spotted her stalled near valley ford road. she got a piggy back ride to safety. >> and they decided to go around because they've done this hundreds of times before. please, do not go around those signs. turn around, find an alternate route. >> they say every time there is flooding. the driver is okay but her mercedes had to be towed. >> we've seen a lot of flooding, including on highway 101 in san francisco. this dash cam shows a big box truck hitting a pool of water splashing the driver behind the wheel of this car. now the weather is having an effect on air travel as well. here is a live look at sfo where so far at least 20 flights have been canceled today and flights are delayed by an average of 30 to 45 minutes and by sfo standards, that's actually not bad. an airport spokesperson tells us these delays could increase as the days go on. and san jose has more than 20 flights running late and delays

up to 90 minutes. oakland has a handful of delays between 5 and 15 minutes and no weather related cancellations at either one of of those airports. the storms have knocked out power across the bay area. those outages are mostly evenly spleet between the northeast, and south bay with a few dozen on the peninsula. no power outages right now in san francisco. a total of 1600 pg&e customers are in the dark. >> we like looking at your photos and you are sharing them with us and so thanks to everyone who has sent in a picture and video and you can too using the ha#abc7now. and lawmakers are weighing in on the new head of oakland police, anne kirkpatrick. jessica castro shows us how with reaction. >> reporter: it is mixed reaction. we spoke to two city council members, oakland's city new chief was once chief of police

in spokane, that is washington state's second largest city. she ran that department for about six years. most recently, she was in charge of chicago police department bureau professional standards. councilman guyo seemed hesitant when we spoke with him. the councilwomen campbell had confidence in the pick. take a listen. >> well, i can say is i wish this police chief well and i'll start my prayers today. the reality is her experience in chicago and certainly we don't know, that is not a -- a positive one coming out of chicago. >> i just had an opportunity to meet the new chief for the first time, anne kirkpatrick and very impressive individual. i really believe she's the right leader at this time. and she faces quite a big challenge. >> reporter: and one of her challenges, she'll need to rebuild trust between the department and the oakland community. kirkpatrick is experienced in officer misconduct issues, perhaps the reason mayor libby

schaaf selected her for the position. abc 7 news. >> thank you. oakland mayor libby schaaf will officially introduce kick patrick as the new chief today at noon. we'll stream that news conference live on our abc 7 news app and on abc7news.com. and can you download our news app for free. just enable push alerts to get updates on your phone or tablet. and also in oakland today, a community forum is scheduled to address how to protect tenants who live in warehouses from eviction. that forum inside of the oakland city council chambers. it was scheduled after the ghost ship fire killed 36 people last month and since then several warehouses in that city have been inspected and some have been shut down, evicting those residents. an emergency ordinance is submitted that would place a moratorium on exhibitions. >> and a life claimed in the bay area, the new warning from doctors this morning if you haven't gotten your vaccine yet. >> and the fight to save obama care. the vip taking to capitol hill to discuss the future of the law

once president-elect trump takes office. >> and janet jackson, a first time mother at 50. the new reaction just in as the star celebrates her growing family.

we're tracking developing news on the east coast, more than 100 people are recovering after a train crash in downtown brooklyn. that train derailed during the morning rush. emergency crews swarmed the terminal and none of the injuries is considered life-threatening. sources tell our sister station

in new york city, preliminary findings show the train was going too fast as it entered the station. mobter a county is reporting the first flew death of the season. the person is under or was under the age of 65. gma chief health and medical editor explains why the vaccine is so important this year. >> it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to work. the good news is that the strain of flu traveling around the country is in this year's vaccine. >> the doctor said stay away from the nasal spray because it is not as effective. he recommends a higher dose for anyone over 65 and good news for people who late needles, now there is a micro needle option available. >> happening now, the affordable care act is front and center on capitol hill. a live look inside of the capitol as lawmakers are speaking on the floor. also there obama and mike pence are attending separate meetings about what will happen to the law when president-elect trump takes office. karen traverse has the live look

we are talking about. >> reporter: the halls of congress bustling with vips. a rare visit to capitol hill for president obama. huddling with house and senate democrats behind closed doors to strategize ways to protect the affordable care act from republican efforts to dismantle it. democrats emphasizing 20 million americans who now have health care. >> the republican plan to cut health care wouldn't make america great again, it would make america sick again. >> reporter: republicans holding their own meeting on obama care. with vice president elect mike pence. >> the first order of business is to repeal and replace obama care. >> reporter: but republicans are divided on how to do this. and how quickly. the strategy now is repeal most of the law. not all of it. but that won't go into effect for between 18 months to three years. giving republicans time to come up with a replacement. the white house said the president is deeply concerned about what it calls a bait and switch move. republicans say they are taking

this repeal and replace obama care slowly so they don't pull the rug out from any american who relies on it. president obama told democrats today, if they fight this battle right, the republicans failure to have a replacement will be their undoing. karen traverse. abc news, capitol hill. superstar with a whole new reason to celebrate. >> janet jackson, a first time mom and she is 50 years old. the reaction just coming in from her family. and a live look right now at our exploratorium camera, looking at the bay from pier 15 and it is still gray and showers possible. mike nicco is tracking all of that. more next in his accuweather forecast. >> the storm impact scale, today's storm is level one, that means light rain so keep an umbrella handy and drive safely. track today's storm any time on the abc 7

. this just into the newsroom, it is official the raiders have just announced rookie quarterback conner cook will start on saturday in the wild playoff game against the houstonian texans. cook has played 30 snaps in his nfl career, all of them last week. when he replaced back-up matt mcgloin who left with a shoulder injury. it has been a tough few weeks for this team. starting quarterback derek carr, is out now with a broken leg. and this is a reminder that you could watch your team kick off wild card weekend here on abc 7. again they are taking on the texans, live coverage starts at noon on saturday with kickoff at 1:30 and that is all right here on abc 7.

now your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> hey, the good news, the storm is weaker but you still need to keep the umbrella handy because we have periods of wet weather. let's look at the time lines from this morning. could you watch the heavy rain roll away but still plenty of moisture hanging around in the form of high clouds and low clouds and that is why we have to keep that chance in there. here is a look from the exploratorium, look at how calm the bay water looks compared to yesterday. periods of light rain, that is your first highlight. dryer and cool tomorrow through friday morning and the next storm coming in and the entire weekend is looking like a washout. the strongest event i've seen in probably ten years, if it holds together. that is the key to the forecast. let's talk more about that in a minute. we'll show you what is going on right now. down on 237 from about sunnyvale, mountainview over toward santa clara and milpitas and wet weather there and into downtown san jose and back towards it looks like campbell there. and through the grade, mission boulevard and paseo parkway and

whether you are into the lower elevations. looks wet through there live more and through the altamonte pass and up toward highway 4, discovery bay. temperatures haven't moved hardly at all. we're still in the low to mid-50s in all of the neighborhoods. and that is where we're for the better part of the afternoon. we may get to 57. oakland and fremont and san jose for the warm spots. let's look at the storm. from noon until 2:00, pretty quiet out there. and you could see a little bit of an uptick at 4:00. some scattered showers through 7:00. but then a little chunk of energy comes through during the evening hours and could you see how it gets more widespread. even some yellows and some moderate downpours showing up in the santa cruz mountains and the diablo range east of san jose. and by 1:00 it is still hanging around and tomorrow morning it is gone. it is going to be quiet. here is a look at the sierra. winter storm warning. parts of 80 and some other highways were shut down earlier this morning. as we head through the next couple of -- the next 24 hours

or so, another foot to a foot and a half will fall but back here at home overnight, 35 to 45, 10 to 20 degrees cooler. and showing you something quick. from rainfall for friday, about a quarter of an inch, by saturday, three quarters and by sunday about two inches and then that is the lighter of the models. look at the more impressive model. 7 inches in san jose to 3 in santa rosa. that is half of the annual rainfall total for san jose. so these storms are still aways out. so we'll fine tune the forecast as we get closer. but i did up the scale on sunday to a three. a strong storm. and up the scale on monday to a moderate -- or to a moderate storm because the rain is heavier and the winds are faster than the way it looks yesterday. the weekend, wow, it will be incredible. >> is it not even skiable. >> talking several feet, make six or eight feet, elevations will rise really high sunday and monday and that means there is a

lot of flooding in the foothills on sunday and monday, too. >> thanks, mike. >> you bet. i guess janet jackson has big news for the new year. the 50-year-old superstar is a new mom. >> and her family couldn't be happier. her sister la toya said janet gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. her dad joe jacks posted this message saying, congratulations, janet. >> her rep tells abc news the pop icon and her husband are thrilled to welcome their new son eissa. she had a stress free and healthy delivery and is resting comfortably. >> sources say she could not be more thrilled right now to be finally expanding her family. >> the new mom kept a low profile for much of her pregnancy but posed for this baby bump photo in people magazine in october. >> at 50, she now joins other superstar moms who have had babies later in life, including kelly preston at 48 and halle berry who had a baby at 57.

>> good thing she has a lot of energy. keeping your balance is not always a very easy thing to do. >> especially if you are a polar bear mask cot

it was a tough day on the ice for a polar bear mascot

filming a car commercial in minnesota. >> take a look, the giant bear, was trying to pose for the camera, but he couldn't keep his balance. he fell over and over and over again. >> and just when you thought he was going to hold it altogether, nope. watch -- it is the worst of them all. face plant. face plant. we are told the mascot is okay. mitsubishi posted this on their facebook page. so far it has nearly 2.5 million views. and you know, they actually sell a little version of that polar bear. i'm obsessed for some reason. i've done a lot of research on this bear for absolutely no reason. >> oh, reggie. >> i know. >> did you find out why he didn't have ice skates on. >> i didn't. i think because they wanted to humiliate him. >> it is a well-padded suit. for all of us here at abc news,

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>> you know, they say money can't buy happiness, but i've given a lot of money on this show, and those people all look happy to me. so, why stop now? let's play "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] ♪ hey, everybody, welcome to the show. are you guys ready to play "millionaire"? [cheers and applause] let's do it. as a college student and president of his fraternity, our next contestant has a lot to prove and big plans for the million. from petersburg, indiana, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome zach riddle. [cheers and applause] welcome, zach, how you doing, man? >> nice to meet you. [cheers and applause] right there? i don't know where i'm going. >> i thought you were just gonna do a walk-off, that's it. >> i never know where i'm going. they--i already got some applause. >> and scene, i'm done.