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tv   ABC7 News 400PM  ABC  January 4, 2017 4:00pm-5:01pm PST

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taking a look at live doppler 7, it is a dreary, wet wednesday afternoon all across the bay area. it may be raining a little bit where you live right now, but a much more serious storm is on the way. good afternoon, everybody. i'm larry beil. >> and i'm ama daetz. you may not be seeing much rain right now, but now is the time to get ready for more. let's take a live look. you can see san francisco is getting a break from the showers but it's still pretty darn gloomy outside. a live look in the sierra, though. look at all that snow. it's been coming down for days and much more is coming. >> we have team coverage of the stormy week that lies ahead. first, we start with spencer christian who's tracking live doppler 7. >> i'm happy to say today's rain is not nearly so rain as
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yesterday's rain. here's live doppler 7. you can see the green covering the entire bay area. there is light rain falling all across the region but nothing heavy like yesterday and we've got lighter winds as well. however, there is a flash flood warning in effect for this little corner in the southeastern santa cruz mountains just south of gilroy along highway 101. a portion of the highway is covered by this until 5:30 this afternoon. also parts of santa teresa boulevard and mesa road. the warning means flash flooding either has begun or is imminent but this warning expires in just an hour and a half. let's hope for the best here. here's our storm impact scale, what's left of this current storm. we'll see light showers up to a quarter of an inch of rain is possible. minor ponding is possible as well. for the next three days -- well, next two days we'll be dry tomorrow and friday but the next major storm arrives on saturday. it ranks two on the storm impact scale and we have an even stronger storm coming on sunday ranking 3 on the impact scale.
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heavy rain and wind, flooding concerns and wind damage. we could see an inch and a half to 3 inches. the santa cruz mountains could get 3 to 8 inches of rain. i'll show you a closer look a little later. wayne freedman picks up our team coverage from marin county. wayne, people spent the day cleaning up but also looking ahead to what's coming. >> reporter: well, we had light rain today. light rain anyway compared to what we saw yesterday. a chance for everybody to clean up, try to take stock and a lot of cases that cleanup was expensive. in tiburon, it's the pasture named after a beloved horse that after a big storm has more of a reputation for ship wrecks. hence the flotilla going nowhere at blacky's pasture this morning. >> the wind was really howling through here yesterday. the sea always wins. >> reporter: allison beers, one of many regulars passing through today who found boat after boat
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after boat floundering if not falling apart on the shore. most threw in from the anchorage just north of here off sausalito. >> the happiest day of a boat owner is the day they buy it and the day they sell it. >> where would this fit in? >> a not so happy day. >> reporter: speaking of dragging -- >> 07 base. >> reporter: here's a guy that did a little more dragging of the automotive variety. when steve sees water on the rise, that's like money on the way to the bank. near valley ford, an extreme situation. >> she was very embarrassed. and she says i can't. she was a nice lady but she said she was stupid. so anyway, but i didn't agree with her. i just said it was dark, so it was hard to judge the depth of the water. >> reporter: the driver of this mercedes remained trapped in her car until a milk truck driver waded in and carried her out. lessons learned. be careful when driving through
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water and throw out an extra anchor if living on it. in the north bay, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. look at that. it was quite a sight in the santa cruz mountains. the loch lomond reservoir began spilling over this morning. it holds nearly 3 billion gallons of water and is the city of santa cruz's only water source. this is the second straight year the reservoir has hit capacity, providing relief from two consecutive years of water rationing. in the east bay city crews spent most of the day cleaning up one of several toppled trees. this fell across mountain boulevard in oakland sometime overnight blocking the main route to mon tara middle school and joaquin miller elementary. parents dropping off their kids had to take a narrow road to get around the tree. >> this is really jammed up, yeah. sometimes things happen when it rains, but never seen this before. >> and the chp says another
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problem to look out for as it gets dark, flooded roads, especially when it's dark. they can take you by surprise, so slow down and take it easy out there. well, it's a busy time to be a roofer. if you're having problems with your roof, you may have trouble getting someone out there to fix it. >> abc 7 news reporter david louie joins us live in san jose where waiting for help could take a couple of weeks. >> reporter: there's probably nothing more distressing for any homeowner than to see water leaking into your house, especially as spencer says more rain and heavy rain is coming up in a few days. now, roofing contractors are doing their best to help, but waiting or scheduling one can be a real test of patience. this family is lucky. a crew from los gatos roofing was in the area when lorraine's son home from college woke up from a leak dripping on him in bed during an overnight downpour. >> he was home. it leaked on hill and he warned us. otherwise, it could have been worse. >> reporter: a hoodie sopped up
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the water until the crew could cover the leaking roof with a tarp. others are not as lucky. >> los gatos roofing, how can i help you? >> reporter: so many leak repair calls are coming in, customers have to wait two weeks for an appointment. >> we have a lot of calls in the office. we are so busy right now. and people are expecting we just show up as soon as they call but it's kind of hard because there's a lot of calls. >> reporter: a leak can be a precursor of bad news. lower rain needs a new roof which typically costs about $15,000. she'll have to wait for dry weather before crews can do that job. sometimes it can be wind-driven rain coming through a window frame. >> when a leak does happen is when you get a succession of storms or rain and high wind that will cause the roof to begin to fail. >> reporter: and the heavy rain expected this weekend only worries homeowners even more. alex bergeron at teal city roofing in san jose tries to step in. >> i can usually get out and
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stop the leak that day. so i'll try to go out no matter what the weather is and stop the leak. as far as fixing it, though, they just have to wait. >> what does a roof leak repair cost? it can run from $500 to $800. in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. let's take a live look at sfo where the weather is having an effect on air travel again today. at least 30 more flights have been cancelled. other flights are late by an average of 25 to 30 minutes. right now there are no delays at the airports in san jose or oakland. on to our other top story this afternoon, the official announcement of oakland's newest police chief. >> i am so excited to be here in oakland and to be your chief of police. >> there's some enthusiasm there. the mayor introducing chief ann kirkpatrick at a news conference. laura anthony was there and joins us live now from city hall with the story. laura. >> reporter: hi, larry. well, she's known as a reformer
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in other cities, but kirkpatrick could have her hands full taking over this department in oakland. while some may characterize it as a mess, she calls it an opportunity. >> i think it's the greatest opportunity in america policing today. >> reporter: she is oakland's first female police chief, filling a void left open for seven months as the new head of a force that's been rocked by scandal and a succession of leaders. >> i do have the courage, indeed, of holding officers accountable, but that includes myself. but for the men and women of the oakland police department, i also want you to know that in this chief, i have the courage to stand by you. >> reporter: the mayor said community input was the cornerstone of the chief's selection. >> oaklanders wanted a leader with integrity, able to change culture. >> reporter: and kirkpatrick has 34 years of law enforcement experience, a former chief in spokane, she most recently worked in chicago.
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appointed boy the mayor there to lead reform efforts. some hope she'll do the same here. >> you have people interested in the nsa and issues around racial profiling. you have people interested in internal affairs. you have the old boy network kind of thing so she has to deal with the different faxes within this department. >> we've got to give her a chance like we do everybody. we've got to give her a chance to see what's going to happen. >> reporter: in oakland, ki kirkpatrick will have to gain the support of the rank and file. >> through these troubled times, oakland police officers have been working hard for this community and now we hope to have an equally hard-working chief of police to guide us into the new year. >> reporter: unlike prior chiefs, kirkpatrick does plan to live where she works. >> i just told everybody, i've got to save up some money. y'all are expensive. >> reporter: in oakland, laura
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anthony, abc 7 news. >> yes, it is. welcome to the bay area. we posted the entire news conference on aur website. you can also watch it on the abc 7 news app which is free to download from the app store as well as google play. well, you can see on this map where a shootout took place between two vehicles in castro valley. alameda county sheriff's deputies found shell casings near the off-ramp. they closed that exit for a short time around noon. witnesses say the cars headed toward hayward after leaving the freeway. deputies haven't located the cars and so far there are no reports of anyone being injured. the state department of corrections still isn't commenting on the status of mass murderer charles manson other than to say he is alive. the "los angeles times" reported manson was taken from the prison to a hospital in barracksfieker. manson was convicted of orchestrating the 1969 murders of pregnant actress sharon tate and six others.
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a body found along the central california coast has been identified as a north hollywood woman reported missing with her boyfriend two weeks ago. crews discovered the body of 20-year-old olivia gonzalez overnight inside a wrecked car three 00 feet down a cliff. the body of a dog was also found. however, rescuers found no trace of gonzalez' boyfriend, 21-year-old brian fernandez. family members reported the couple missing december 23rd. coming up at 4:00, california made an unusual political move today, bracing for the donald trump presidency. also, rising rivers and the threat for flooding in the santa cruz mountains. the concern now even after the storm. in the sierra, more than four feet of snow in some spots. that's just since new years and much more is coming, later. [ dogs barking ] >> oh, they need a new home. an east bay shelter is full and that was before almost three dozen dogs arrived yesterday.
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plus 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions on twitter and facebook. just post them with the #askfinney. michael will be along to answer those
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everything you need to know about life, you can learn from granola. keep it simple. make every piece count. let other people know what you're made of. always be real. don't be fake, don't be artificial, but always be sweet.
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and of course, wear sunscreen. nature valley granola bars. no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. just good. california did something very unusual politically today ahead of the start of the trump presidency. >> it hired a former u.s. attorney general to defend the state against anticipated trump administration policies. >> abc 7 news anchor kristen sze is here with the details. >> well, on their first day back in session today, the california legislature hired former u.s. attorney general eric holder to serve as outside counsel.
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he'll advise the state whenever there's a legal conflict between california and the federal government. he will be california's lead lit gator on issues such as climate change, the environment, civil rights, immigration and voting rights. democrats and republicans disagree on holder's hiring. >> i think the more legal superpower that we have, the better to defend the values of california. >> what's the rush? what's the issue? what's the problem? and what is the current a. dpnchg.'s office doing? why aren't we using our a.g.'s office? >> holder is part of a washington, d.c., based law firm where he worked before and after his tenure as the nation's top law enforcement official. today kamala harris defeated a hint of an 81 coming battle with the trump administration. she said her first official act will be to co-sponsor legislation to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants who came here as children known as dreamers.
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>> all right, kristen, thank you. san francisco taxi drivers are not very hopeful that new regulations will help them compete better with ride hailing services like uber and lyft. these changes were approved by the municipal transportation agency this week and make it easier for drivers to return to the industry, allow tech innovation and taxi meters, and no longer require that cab companies be located in san francisco. abc 7 news talked with taxi companies who say these changes will really have very little impact. >> it's not going to get the customers back because of the prices. we can't really compare with uber because they're cheaper than the muni. >> taxi companies want fair controls on uber and lyft and more regulations like limiting the number of cars picking up passengers. back now to the weather. many of us watch ponding on the roads, the santa cruz mountains watched slides and a rising river. here's abc 7 news reporter matt keller. >> reporter: the san lorenzo river was roaring this morning.
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homes in paradise park in santa cruz had a too close for comfort view of the strong currents. one spot on the river went over the flood stage. we found two felton residents who don't mind the mud, but people living next to the felton covered bridge know to be ready. >> you can't control anythin really. when they tell us it's rising, we've got to get our vehicles to put them across the street so the cars don't start getting flooded out. >> reporter: highway 9 was blocked off several miles because of slides like this. the chp also reported several trees down in the mountains, blocking roads and making life tough for commuters. >> well, i guess i don't take highway 9 usually just because of that because so often there is a tree down or a slide. mostly i just listen to the news early and hear if there's any closures and then just go and see what happens. >> hope for the best? >> hope for the best. >> reporter: while your commute may be ugly, the scenery is most certainly not. we saw several water falls along
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highway 9. the rain is coming, whether you like it or not. you might as well enjoy the view. the rainy and muddy conditions will continue, good for our little pigs here, but bad news for people living along the river. the people we spoke with say they're hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. in felton, matt keller, abc 7 news. in the sierra, snow causing big problems for drivers on interstate 80. sheriffes deputies have closed down the freeway heading eastbound at colfax, making drivers turn around because the traction is so bad in all of the snow. this earlier view from caltrans with 80 meets 89 in truckee showed traffic basically at a stand still or a crawl. now let's look at video provided by heavenly mountain, if you can see anything outside of the snow. three feet of fresh snow has fallen the past two days. there's also an avalanche warning for backcountry areas until 7:00 tomorrow morning. >> goodness. all right. well, for the latest on what's happening, spencer is here. you've been tracking a lot going on. >> there's a lot going on.
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we have a little break coming our way tomorrow but it won't last too long and then we've got a really stormy weekend. here's live doppler 7. light rain is falling across the bay area as you can see by the big blob of green covering the screen there. that will be tapering off in the late night hours. check out the view through the lens. the water droplet covered lens of our golden gate bridge camera. you can see wet pavement there and traffic is flowing along with lights and wipers on. cold air moves in tonight. we'll see mainly sunny dry conditions the next two days but heavy rain and wind will arrive this weekend. current temperatures have dropped into the upper 40s at vallejo, novato, santa rosa and half moon bay. virtually every other location has temperatures in the low 50s right now. overnight lows will get chilly. in the north bay temperatures in the upper 30s. most near the coast and bay will be mid and upper 40s.
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and then tomorrow mostly sunny skies. w'll dry out a little bit with high temperatures main low in the low 50s. it will be a pretty cool day. now we look at our storm impact scale. our next storm arrives saturday and ranks 2. it will come in in the morning with showers and afternoon and evening downpours. evening wind gusts will range from 30 to 50 miles per hour. north bay santa cruz mountains can expect 1 to 3 inches of rain from this storm. elsewhere a quarter of an inch to an inch and a quarter. here is the friday forecast animation starting at 5:00 p.m. we'll see clouds thickening friday evening. by saturday morning at 7:00, the storm will have arrived with rather steady and moderate to heavy rainfall continuing into the nighttime hours. that will be followed by a stronger storm on sunday ranking three on the impact scale. this will be morning heavy rain and win, flooding concerns, wind damage or concerns about wind damage. urban areas could see an inch and a half to 3 inches, santa cruz mountains 3 to 8 inches of rain from this storm.
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here's starting 10:00 sunday morning. notice a surge of moderate to heavy rain coming up from the southwest and that will basically blanket the entire bay area throughout the day on sunday and even into monday morning the rain will linger. so we've got very wet weather coming our way. windy. wind gusts saturday afternoon between 20 to 25 miles per hour. by 2:00 sunday morning, 25 to 35-mile-per-hour gusts, getting even stronger sunday afternoon, so it's going to be quite messy. these are our weekend concerns about wind and rain. creek and small stream flooding, debris flows on burn scarred areas, downed trees and power outages. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. look out for very stormy weather on saturday, sunday and monday. even rain will linger into tuesday and wednesday but it will be on the lighter side by then. >> thanks, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, they have picked their guy. the raiders new quarterback will make history on saturday with his very first playoff start.
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former washington redskins quarterback joe theisman is taking a shot at the san francisco 49ers. during an interview yesterday he said he wasn't happy niners players selected colin kaepernick as the team's most inspirational and courageous player. kaepernick sparked a national debate by first sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality. theisman wants the nfl to adopt a policy requiring players to stand for the anthem. rookie connor cook will start for the raiders saturday in their wild card playoff game in houston. cook will be the first quarterback in the modern era to make his first nfl start in the playoffs. abc 7 news was at raiders headquarters in alameda as coach jack del rio made the
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announcement. cook is the raiders third-string quarterback. he was pressed into emergency action last week after the backup, matt mcgloin, got injured. he said being nervous is just a part of the game. >> i was nervous last week just being activated. you know, being inactive all season long and finally knowing that i was one play away, i was preparing like i was the guy. >> cook describes himself as a quiet leader. his last start was in college. last night he got some advice on how to handle his very first nfl start from his old quarterback coach at michigan state. raider nation, you can watch your team kick off wild card weekend right here on abc 7. it's the raiders and texans in houston. live coverage starts at noon on saturday and the kickoff is at 1:20 p.m. here on abc 7. news reporter wayne freedman will have live reports from houston on saturday, plus we'll have a complete wrap-up with live postgame interviews featuring yours truly, mike shumann, a cast of thousands on after the game right after the contest. the family of a houston boy is hoping a visit by texans
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superstar j.j. watt will help their son bounce back after a horrific car accident. watt greeted noah fulmer after he woke up from surgery on the two broken legs he suffered in saturday's crash. noah was wearing a watt jersey when the accident happened. paramedics had to cut it off. watt was told about that and brought noah three of his number 99 jerseys, including an autographed game jersey. >> it meant a lot to me and the family to see the smile that my little boy was trying to put on and the words of encouragement that he gave my little boy was amazing. >> watt told noah he knows what it's like to recover from surgery. in fact he's out for the season recovering from multiple operations on his back. coming up on abc seven news at 4:00, a utah ski resort dealing with another terrifying chair lift incident involving a child. plus -- >> i'll kill him. anybody break in on me, i'm going to kill them. >> a grandma shocks a would be
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robber by firing back. >> don't mess with granny. later, an east bay shelter that is beyond full and 33 dogs just came in yesterday on top of that. so do you want any of these little guys? abc 7 news at 4:00 c
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here are the stories making headlines at 4:30. fallen trees, leaking roofs and mudslides. these are just a few of the problems we've seen today from our latest round of storms. the rain is picking up again right now and we're tracking it all with live doppler 7. spencer christian will be back with the latest forecast. wayne freedman tweeted this picture of at least four boats that ran aground near sausalito because of the storms. the other big story we're on today -- >> i am a southern born and raised person. >> that's oakland's new police chief. memphis, tennessee, native anne kirkpatrick. laura anthony tweeted kirkpatrick says she has the courage to discipline officers and to back them up. laura will have more on the new chief at 5:00. on capitol hill today, both democrats and republicans are trying to figure out what to do about the affordable care act once donald trump takes office at president. abc news reporter karen travers
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has the story. >> reporter: the battle over obamacare is on. dueling meetings wednesday on capitol hill. republicans strategizing with vice president-elect mike pence on how to repeal and replace president obama's signature law. the president, huddling with democrats, to come up with a way to stop them. as he left the capitol, mr. obama was asked his advice for democrats. >> look out for the american people. >> reporter: the president urged his party to mount a public campaign, heightiighlighting th millions of americans who have benefited from the affordable care act and ha they stand to lose if it's dismantled. democrats say republicans are playing with political fire and they hope to fan those flames. >> they can repeal but they have nothing to put in its place. >> unless they have something better to start with, it is irresponsible for republicans to repeal obamacare. >> reporter: but its priority number one for republicans when donald trump takes office. mike pence telling republicans that the repeal and replace effort will include quick kw
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executive actions and long-term legislation. >> it will be important that we be careful as we do that so it doesn't work a hardship on american families who have gained insurance through this program. doesn't work a hardship on our economy. >> reporter: to do that republicans will delay any major changes for 18 months to three years, giving them time to finalize a replacement. >> we want to make sure that there's an orderly transition so the rug is not pulled out from under the families who are currently struggling under obamacare while we bring relief. >> reporter: democrats say they're willing to work with republicans to fix the parts of the affordable care act that need fixing. first, republicans need to figure out what they'll focus on and where to begin this complicated process. karen travers, abc news, capitol hill. house minority leader nancy pelosi joined fellow democrats in blasting republican efforts to dismantle the affordable care act. >> the republicans say repeal and replace. the only thing that has going for it is alliteration. they have no replacement plan.
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>> pelosi says both parties need to find a path to address concerns about the act, but she says repealing it isn't the answer, saying it would be a tremendous assault on the health and financial security of all americans. investigators want to find out why a commuter train failed to stop before it crashed into the end of a track in new york city. this morning's impact had people just flying all over the place. more than 100 rush hour commuters were hurt. abc news reporter marci gonzalez has more. >> reporter: passengers crying and confused. >> it was so scary. >> reporter: some rushed off in stretchers. >> his head was bleeding. my back is hurting. >> reporter: after this train, packed during the wednesday morning rush, crashed into the end of this track in brooklyn, new york, over the bumper meant to stop it, causing it to derail. >> there was a crash, a collision. it kept lurching forward and forward and banging as we were going. >> it was like a huge impact. people literally just flew
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everywhere. you saw people in the aisles literally fly to the sides and fall down. >> reporter: more than 100 people hurt, nearly all of the injuries minor. many were just rattled after fearing the worst. >> it was unbelievable. i was hoping we wasn't in a terrorist attack. >> reporter: investigators now working to figure out what caused the crash, noting some similarities to a deadly train derailment last year in hoboken, new jersey, giving perspective that this could have been much worse. >> that train was coming in much faster, did much more damage, hurt many more people. this is minor compared to what happened in hoboken. the same question, why did the operator not stop the train before it hit the block. >> reporter: the ntsb sent a team to help answer that question. they'll also look into the train's speed, with some witnesses saying it felt like it was going faster than usual as it approached the station. marci gonzalez, abc news, new york. in philadelphia, 46 people
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went to the hospital after two street cars collided. all of their injuries appear to be minor. this happened just a few blocks away from the university of pennsylvania campus. investigators suspect that one street car rear-ended the other one. they plan to talk to both operators to figure out what happened there. a utah ski resort is dealing with yet another frightening chair lift incident involving a young boy. on monday a skier captured this video of a boy dangling from a solicit after he slipped off a chair at sundance resort. the boy is dangling boy a strap on his backpack. skiers watching the incident unfold say they were worried the boy was going to be choked by his backpack. >> we all looked at each other in disbelief, like we could not believe that this was just happening right in front of us. we were all very concerned. not only that he would drop, but that perhaps his backpack could be strangling him. >> workers immediately stopped the lift. ski patrol grabbed a ladder pulling the boy to safety in about five minutes. this is the second incident
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involving a child at sundance in recent weeks. resort officials say they strongly communicate to every guest that backpacks shouldn't be worn on chair lifts. a texas grandmother proved she was no pushover when an armed intruder broke into her home over the weekend. >> i tried to kill him. anybody break in on me, i'm going to kill him. he's going to kill me or i'm going to kill him. >> that is 74-year-old rebi roberson. she's keeping that gun right next to her. she was about to watch her local news when the man broke in and put a gun in her face. the gunman got a lot more than he bargained for. >> i reached over and grabbed this gun, i swerved around and pointed it at him. when i did, he ran. >> roberson followed the would be bad guy. she fired the gun leaving bullet holes in the walls of her home. she does not think that she hit him but says she hoped she did. she said the incident was the square of her life. authorities say she was
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perfectly within her rights to defend herself in her home. do not mess with that grandma. now to the video that has so many parents holding their breath this week. twin boys who thankfully survived after a dresser fell on them. >> their mother is speaking out about this. >> reporter: it's a terrifying video for parents everywhere. the 2-year-old brothers seen on their nanny cam playing in their utah bedroom. the curious toddlers climbing into a drawer, sending the large dresser crashing down. for two minutes brodie tries to free his trapped brother, pushing the dresser just enough for brock to wiggle out. >> are you strong? >> yeah! >> reporter: the boy's mother thought her sons were sleeping but when she saw the toppled dresser -- >> i ripped off the covers, ran downstairs, flung open the door and saw them quietly playing in the corner by their crib. >> reporter: the video serving
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as a frightening reminder to them and other parents about unanchored furniture in homes. >> my heart sank. i honestly felt like the worst parent ever. it was such an easy thing for me that i could have done to prevent what happened to my children. >> reporter: ikea, the maker of the dresser who issued a recall last year, reminding its customers that the best way to prevent the tipover of chest of drawers is to anchor products to the wall. the twins escaped unharmed and this morning their mother encouraging all parents to bolt down their dressers, shelves and tvs. >> i think that we were blessed and it could have been bad. >> so ominous seeing that dresser. we have much more ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00. a spectacular sight from the sky. a massive riverwalk is dazzling visitors halfway around the world. i'm michael finney. ask finney is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook.
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i'll answer them here in a few minutes. i'm spencer christian. raindrops keep falling on the lens of our golden gate bridge camera and around the rest of the bay area but a little break is coming our way before the next big storm. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up in just a moment. there is no break if you are driving on interstate 80 in emeryville heading toward berkeley. that is the right-hand side, that is interstate 80 eastbound. on the left-hand side, folks heading pack toward san francisco. it is about 2 to 5 miles an hour, 5 being the top speed i saw on our abc 7 news app checking the traffic situation. just very slow going with slick
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everything you need to know about life, you can learn from granola. keep it simple. make every piece count. let other people know what you're made of. always be real. don't be fake, don't be artificial, but always be sweet. and of course, wear sunscreen. nature valley granola bars. no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. just good.
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there is now a place in china with people can literally walk on water. you're looking at a 164,000 foot long floating walkway. look at that lit up at night. it's at a tourist resort in the southwestern part of the country and the colorful lamps make this thing so vivid at night. it opened on new year's day and chinese media claims more than 60,000 tourists have already visited since then. elsewhere in china, this is not as much fun. a time lapse video shows the thick smog rolling into beijing. a british worker took the video over 20 minutes and condensed it down into this 13-second clip. yesterday the chinese government issued its first ever red alert for fog across northern china.
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a cold front coming next week should enclosure things up again. all right, our current light rain as you can see here beginning to wind down a bit in advance of a couple of dry days coming our way. tomorrow will be the first of dry days, a bit on the cool side but we'll see lots of sun. as i mentioned, it will be dry. let's take a look at the psaturday and sunday.iday, clouds will increase late in the day friday. we'll get hit with a moderate storm on saturday ranking 2 on the storm impact scale. then a stronger storm ranking 3 on the impact scale on sunday. so as you can see the weekend is going to be quite stormy. let's take a closer look at the expected impact of that storm on sunday. it will produce morning heavy rainfall and strong gusty wind, flooding concerns. wind damage may occur as well. urban areas could see an inch and a half to 3 inches of rain. santa cruz mountains 3 to 8 inches of rain. there's a winter storm watch in effect for the sierra from late friday to saturday afternoon
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because of 8 to 15 inches of snow expected there. here is our accuweather seven-day forecast. enjoy the next two dry days because there won't be much of a break after that. very stormy weather through the weekend and through monday as well. still stormy with a storm ranking of 2 on the impact scale on monday and lighter storm activity on tuesday and wednesday. >> thanks, spencer. still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, california startup unveiling a new electric car that can zoom from 0 to 60 in less than 2.5 seconds. i'm michael finney and i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook. just post #askfinney. among the
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a southern california based startup company has just unveiled an electric car that can do zero to 60 in less than 2 spoken -- 2.5 seconds. they showed op the ff-91. it can go 378 miles on a charge and has a special automatic valet parking feature. several high-level executives have left the company and there's been a work stoppage at its first plant in las vegas,
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but leaders say potential buyers shouldn't be concerned. >> i can say now without a shadow of a doubt despite all the naysayers, the skeptics, we will persist. >> despite the troubles, they are still in talks with the city of vallejo to build a second electric car plant. advance reservations are being accepted to buy the car. it's expected to sell for $180,000. >> whoa! >> how about that. >> you had me until then. time for ask finney. 7 on your side's michael finney here answering questions. >> still in shock. >> the first question is how do you get a discount on that car if they ever actually make them? brenda asks how do i get my credit score, not just my credit report, for free? >> i'm glad you asked. we used to say you have to pay $20. not anymore. now go to www.freecreditscore.com.
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you get a legit fico score there for free. they'll also show you your credit report. it's absolutely a fabulous deal. it's legit. you can go online and get it. it's nice. it's kind of new. >> ana from santa clara asked i put in maintenance requests for my apartment and have asked them to check with me before coming inside my unit. they come in unannounced. i'm not sure if that's okay or not. what do i do? >> my apologies, that's really common. the california state law is very clear on this. you and the owner are supposed to agree on the purpose of the entry, a date and an approximate time. they don't pin you down to just a moment or landlords down to just a moment. but landlords get a little sloppy on this. next time you see the owner, tell them the law, say you spoke to me and tell them you have a certain set of expectations, legal ones. if that doesn't do it, call my hotline here at the station,
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954-8151 and we can call your landlord and explain it to them. >> i'm sure they'll be anxious to speak with you, as most are. phil from oakland asks i was quoted a price on my cable and phone bill and i'm not getting that price, i'm just getting the run-around. any suggestions? >> yeah, here's what i want you to do. call your service provider and explain the problem very simply. don't start i was thinking about getting cable. get right to it. i wanted this, you promised that. i didn't get it. now, if they won't fix it and they won't budge, then i want you to call my hotline as well. we deal with these issues all the time. we'll give them a call, we'll take care of it. our hotline is open from 10:00 to 2:00 every day. as a matter of fact, let me show you everywhere you can get ahold of me. call me at 415-954-8151 or go online at abc7news.com. in today's wellness report, children of obese parents may be at risk of development delays. and a new diet is catching on as people at the start of the new year try to lose weight. here's jane king. >> reporter: obese parents'
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weight isn't just dragging them down, it could be hurting their kids as well. maternal and paternal obesity may be associated with developmental delays in early childhood according to this report conducted by the national institutes of health and published recently in the journal of pediatrics. now, the studies show that children of obese moms were 70% more likely to tell the fine tests motor skills domain and children of obese fathers were 75% more likely to flunk the personal social component. now, if your new year's resolution is to lose weight and eat healthier, there's a new diet catching on. you strip away certain foods for 30 days completely, kind of like a reset for your body. nutritionists say it's tailored to help eliminating pro inflammatory foods so it can help with chronic conditions. soylent has two new flavors. now customers can get 20% off their daily nutritional requirements as well with the
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introduction of these new products. there's a new grass-fed dairy label on the horizon because of the rapid growth in sales and loose government labeling regulations, it's hard to trust the labels that say grass fed so the american grass fed association is coming up with a new label they promise will be trustworthy and transparent. it will be available in february. from the nasdaq, i'm jane king. here's to your health. oprah tweets and people respond. weight watchers' stock rose 20% after oprah announced in a tweet she had lost 40 pounds since starting a new diet. that jump also followed a new survey ranking weight watchers as the fourth best diet. this is not the first time that a winfrey weight loss announcement has moved the needle for the company. a similar move last year prompted a 20% stock jump. oprah is a weight watchers board member. abc 7 news at 4:00 continues. an overcrowded home. up next, an east bay animal shelter is packed and that was before 33 new dogs arrived
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yesterday. these pups are looking for a forever home. kristen is here with a look at what's coming up at 5:00. from capitol hill to california, the fight over health care and what it means for the millions of people under covered california. plus a warning for cat owners. a pet food recall includes some popular brands. also the california congressman who spent $600 in campaign funds on a rabbit. those stories and more when dan
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that sound. like nails on a chalkboard.
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but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound. the sound of the weekend. it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury. protein. protein proteiny protein. proteiny protein? protein proteiny protein. at least 14 grams of protein. 100 calories. new greek 100 protein. from yoplait.
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here's a look agt tonight's primetime lineup on abc 7. at 8:00 it's the gold bergz followed by speechless. 9:00 modern family, 9:30 blackish. at 10:00 match game and stay with us for abc 7 news at 11:00. an east bay animal shelter is desperately looking for people to adopt. 42 animals were dropped off yesterday alone, 33 of them dogs. >> alyssa harrington has the story. >> reporter: the kennels at
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contra costa county animal services in martinez are jam packed. smaller dogs are sharing cages. some larger dogs are down to a half kennel. >> we are getting to that capacity level, so you will see animals that are multiple animals to a kennel here. >> reporter: just yesterday, 42 animals were dropped off, a mix of strays and surrenders. the rescue networking organization, smart paws pet resources, shared this photo showing nine dogs in one kennel. animal services spokesperson steve berto says they're reaching a critical level, something that tends to happen this time of year. >> the winter months we generally see a higher level of intake. a lot of that is due to inclimate weather, particularly with high winds blowing occupy fences and doors and whatnot. >> reporter: he said this week's storms might have caused more animals to run away from home or get lost. volunteers like wendy wolf are hard at work. >> yeah, where are we going to put them. it puts a strain on every part
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of the shelter because we have to figure out how to house them. our behavior staff has to do behavior assessments. >> reporter: this is just one of about 400 dogs being sheltered through contra costa animal services, a number much higher than usual. volunteers say it's more important than ever to find these dogs homes. they want to get the word out now that anyone thinking of adopting should come down. their goal is to see these cages empty. alyssa harrington, abc 7 news. >> those little guys are so cute. some new zealand fishermen are catching grief as well as praise after landing a 765-pound blue marlin. you're looking at the cell phone video of this giant fish being put back into a minivan. >> this video has stirred debate on social media with some congratulating the fishermen while others say the majestic marlin should have been released and back into the sea. one more reminder, you can get the latest news any time with the abc 7 news app which you can download for free and enable the push alerts to get
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breaking news alerts where you live. thank you for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. abc 7 news at 5:00 starts right now. stormy weather creates a river where there wasn't one before, and suddenly just walking around becomes more of a hike. that's ahead. plus -- >> i don't consider it a mess. it's an opportunity. >> this is the woman who says she will transform oakland's troubled police department. find out how she plans to do that. and how a thriving economy means one bay area city is getting a boost in its fire protection. >> some people, they need like it right away, unfortunately we are very, very busy. >> boy, it's a good time to own a roofing company. homeowners all over are desperate for help ahead of this
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weekend's powerful storm. >> all the rain is great news for santa cruz. the only reservoir is overflowing, easing drought fears for now at least. >> morning surprise in marin county, several boats run aground after breaking away from their moorings. >> communities in the santa cruz mountains haven't started drying out yet from today's storms and already they need to start getting ready for the bigger ones this weekend. >> abc 7 news anchor eric thomas is live with more on what today's rain left behind. >> reporter: they got some considerable rain here but fog has descended. however, that rain was very welcome here, even in spots where it caused problems. and yeah, it did cause problems. this is the second time since last fall that runoff from across highway 9 left her property a muddy mess. >> my daughter called me and said,

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