>> bay area women who say they're not used to political action are standing up for women this weekend. good evening. >> thanks for joining us. with the inauguration of president-elect donald trump just a few days away, folks in the bay area are making plans to have their voices heard. >> big events friday and saturday. >> the intent of event organizers is to disrupt traffic, commerce and business as usual particularly on friday. >> of course most of the demonstrations here in the bay area and nationwide are expected to be peaceful and they're attracting a different kind of protester. >> lauren anthony is live in walnut creek with the story. >> reporter: come saturday, folks will meet at this gazebo behind me in this park for what they call a sister to the women's marches that are going on here and around the country. we found talking to some folks that they are first timers when it comes to political activism.

valerie gilbert never marched in a political demonstration in her life but now gilbert will fly to washington, d.c. to join tens of thousands of others in saturday's women's march. >> this president-elect has previously dismissed protests as being just a few paid agitators. i wanted to be part of making the numbers undeniable. >> reporter: while many people from the bay area will be in washington, even more will participate in events here. >> i am not anti-trump. >> reporter: like the march in walnut creek. >> i stand up for things but i'm not an activist. i think the outcome of this election just really touched me at the core and i felt like i need to start using my voice because if not me, then who? >> reporter: karen will be among

estimated 2,000 women, men and children expected at saturday's walnut creek event. she's a life-long republican. >> it's something i feel strongly i want to do because i think women's rights need to be protected. >> reporter: similar marches will be held in oakland, san francisco, san jose, and other bay area cities. in walnut creek, lauren anthony, abc 7 news. >> abc 7 news was at uc berkeley when activists against president-elect trump passed out flyers on the first day of classes. a group called by any means necessary is urging cal students to skip class friday to protest mr. trump's inauguration. students at berkeley high school say they'll join friday's rally on the cal campus. you'll find a full list of protests scheduled for inauguration day on our website, abc7news.com. moving on, the golden state warriors held ceremonial groundbreaking today for its planned arena across the bay.

the new chase center will be built at san francisco's mission bay at 3rd and 16th street. carolyn tyler is live from the neighborhood. a ground breaking today. quite a speck tatacle. >> reporter: it was over the top. the white tent is where the practice court will be part of chase center. they pulled out all of the stops for the groundbreaking. the famous glide choir. golden shovels to turn the earth of course. and how about the stage moving aside to showcase the construction site with acrobats and fireworks. the project is groundbreaking in every sense of the world. >> innovative or unprecedented. that's going to be chase center

and this is warriors ground. >> reporter: the owners first wanted an arena along the waterfront but there was so much opposition they turned to this site in mission bay. >> the burden is to not surrender. the burden is to be disleyslexd. thinks no means on. >> reporter: mayor ed lee says no city money is being spent. >> it speaks volumes to the commitment of this ownership group and it also sets up something about our city. >> reporter: warriors head coach steve kerr says the new place will be a boom to the franchise. >> people in oakland are disappointed. we only moved a few miles away. >> reporter: and kevin durant gives prop to both sides of the bay. >> to feel support and love is key for us. >> reporter: the venue is expected to open up in time for the team to start their 2019 nba season.

in san francisco, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. >> groundbreaking like no other. the arena project did survive one legal challenge. they will keep fighting the arena despite yesterday's ruling denying the petition to halt construction. the group is concerned about traffic, gridlock, patient access to nearby ucsf and children's hospital and what it calls other negative impacts. san francisco city attorney issued a response to the state supreme court ruling say that a small group has threatened to litigate until the cows come home despite losing in court every step of the way. guess what? the cows have come home. the contractor says clark construction drove him out of business through extortion and fraud. abc 7 news vic lee is live with

more. >> reporter: the black contractor and lawyers are asking them to remove clark construction from building their stadium close to the embarcadero. this lawsuit filed today charges the company with destroying his business with driving him out of business. >> i lost my business. i had to move back home with my mother. i had been threatened with my life. >> reporter: a subcontractor on the massive highland hospital renovation in oakland beginning in 2009. clark construction was awarded the contract with the akbreegre it would give 15% of the work to minority workers. clark defaulted on the promise to make timely payments to him, the workers and union which triggered penalties and other liabilities which eventually drove him out of business. >> i would have to beg to get

paid. the construction management company who assured me through their construction management person, he was working to help develop us. >> reporter: they were hired to ensure that clark treated minority contractors fairly. instead he charges the supervisor began extorting money promising to expedite clark's payments and his lawsuit says he paid $400,000 to the supervisor between 2010 and 2014. vanir said it had no idea and when they found out, they fired him. clark construction eventually paid the union debt after he says he threatened suit. clark says it disagrees with the allegations and will provide more information later. vic lee, abc 7 news. san jose will launch a program on saturday to build

stronger ties and relationships between police officer and the citizens they serve. the silicon valley community foundation and san francisco 49ers will fund an 18-month project aimed at increasing the trust of communities of color and law enforcement. the community trust and policing forum begins at 9:00 saturday morning. it takes place at gallery and mexican heritage plaza in san jose. nasa released animation showing the atmospheric river responsible for our recent rain, snow and flooding. nasa satellite used infrared equipment to collect data between january 7th and 11th. these images show the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. the atmospheric river moved across the pacific ocean and the u.s. effectively drenching our drought conditions. a road is still closed tonight and will likely be that way for quite some time. a portion of the road washed away during last week's storms and they are still trying to figure out how to fix it.

a full number of roads across the bay area are still closed because of damage from that atmospheric river we're showing you tonight. you see them here on the map. they include part of highway 113 and a stretch of highway 1 in marin county. we'll have a live report on caltrans efforts to keep roads open during the upcoming rain and for more on that, let's touch base with meteorologist sandy patel. >> you'll see the rain is still to our north as we take a wider perspective. we're tracking the storm that is going to be moving in as we head into tomorrow. on our storm impact scale, this is moderate in strength. morning starts with isolated showers but for afternoon and evening heavy rain, strong winds and power outages. biggest concerns tomorrow will be power outages, ponding on roadways. those will be high for evening hours. stream and creek flooding

moderate. we're not expecting issues with rivers or debris flows. hour by hour forecast 5:00 a.m. tomorrow a shower or two. 8:00 a.m., right around the north bay and then you'll notice the rain gets going. around noontime, the rest of your hour by hour forecast plus a look at the other two storms coming up in just a few minutes. >> okay. thanks so much. still ahead, our first look at the crime scene photos from the worst mass shooting in u.s. history. >> just released images from inside that orlando nightclub as the gunman's wife makes her first court appearance in the east bay. branding bud. legalizing marijuana in california comes at a cost. the bay area gets a seat at the table for one of president-elect trump's inaugural meals. >> tips to eat smart at the mall food court. small swaps that may make

the wife of the gunman responsible for the orlando nightclub massacre last summer had her first court appearance. you were at her court hearing. >> that's right. in court noor salman spoke briefly and quietly. the attorneys representing her since this mass shooting this summer had not arrived in oakland from out of state so this court appearance will continue tomorrow morning and federal prosecutors want to try her in a florida courtroom. outside oakland federal court noor salman's uncle said she was as surprised as everyone else when she learned her husband, omar mateen just committed the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history. >> she called him or text him. he told her. don't you know what happened. he said no. he said i love you, baby and

hang up. that's what she >> reporter: noor salman was indicted by a federal grand jury for obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband in providing material support or resources to a designated terrorist organization namely the islamic state of iraq and the levant. the court asked if she understood charges and potential life sentence associated if she's found guilty. in orlando, the police chief said salman knew what would happen before the massacre. >> active criminal investigation. i won't talk about details. i will say that definitely information that she aided, abetted and could have prevented this tragedy. >> reporter: the city of orlando released photos of the interior of the pulse nightclub giving the public a first look at the chaos inside including walls

knocked down so police could get to mateen. now that california voters said yes to the recreational use of marijuana, state agencies are trying to come up with rules about growing and selling pot. governor brown set aside $52 million in state money to begin regulating the marijuana industry in california. some analysts believe legalized pot sales could generate more than $1 billion in tax revenue for the state. >> it's a real crapshoot on where you set the tax rate. if you set it too high, you give too much incentive to people in the black market to stay in the black market. we have to get them to come in out of the black market if you're going to have your other goals satisfied. >> state agencies have until next january to come up with their marijuana regulations. a fiery scare during the morning commute for people driving on i-580 in oakland. chp officers posted this picture on facebook. they brave the flames and pulled

a semiconscious man trapped inside a burning car. the car crashed 580 near park boulevard around 7:30 this morning. the driver suffered a medical emergency. he's expected to be okay. if you owe late fees to san jose's public library system you can work off your fines this saturday. instead of paying in cash. the san jose public library will hold its first ever service day in honor of this year's dr. martin luther king jr.'s holiday. volunteers can work off fees and fines at a rate of $20 per hour. jobs will include cleaning books, dusting shelves and organizing library materials. the bay area will have a prominent place at the table during president-elect trump's inaugural lunch. the menu was released today including maine lobster, angus beef with dark chocolate and a chocolate souffle from the bay

area including a 2013 chardonnay from san jose. napa special. i won't cover any of that because i'll be inside working. i'll be in d.c. thursday and friday with live reports on president-elect trump's inauguration. >> i hope you get a sandwich. >> we all know food court food can be delicious but can you eat healthy foods there? >> that's the trick. michael finney partnered with consumer reports to find out how you can. >> to keep your wallet and waistline happy. research shows you buy more and spend more when you're hungry. although food courts can be a nutritional land mine, consumer reports can show you better

alternatives to not healthy choices in case hunger hits when you're at the mall. if marathon shopping works up your appetite, nutrition experts at consumer reports have some suggestions for what to eat and what to avoid at the food court. >> there are plenty of pitfalls. if you're smart, you can make good choices. >> start with portion control. at five guys the little hamburger and cheese beburger a satisfying. forego the fries. each regular sized order has almost 1,000 calories. 41 grams of fat and almost 1,000 milligrams of sodium. that's before the ketchup. at subway, one of the leanest cold cuts is actually roast beef. another good option is a rotisserie style chicken. and pile on the veggies for

flavor. >> you really want to be careful with condiments because small amounts of salad dressings can pack a lot of fat calories and sodium. >> a chicken caesar salad becomes a better choice by choosing balsamic instead of caesar dressing. and order your auntie anne's pretzel without butter and salt. >> you don't have to deprive yourself. you need to make smart choices. >> small swaps can sometimes make a big difference. consumer reports suggests be mindful of ordering dishes that come in sauces. some in sweet and tangy sauces can contain unexpected amounts of sodium and hidden sugar. >> soy sauce makes is so good

though. we have some more storms coming in. live doppler 7 right now showing you sprinkles beginning to approach the ukiah area. foggy this morning. lingering fog and haze. visibility down to four miles in concord. right now if you are stepping out, still looking a bit like this from our sfo camera. hazy skies. temperatures in the 40s. these are current readings. places like fairfield, livermore, highs in the 40s. chilly day in some spots. beautiful view from our cam. you see color through the clouds and haze. we do have a spare the air alert up now. if you do burn wood, it is illegal unless it's your only source of heat. temperatures 40s and 50s and one other live picture from lake tahoe camera heading up to the mountains, i would hold off on the travel until the storms have passed. we have the first in a series of storms coming tomorrow. brief downpours and strong winds expected with a wet pattern the rest of the week. the first storm is a 2.

moderate in intensity for your wednesday. isolated morning showers will give way to heavy rain in the afternoon and evening. strong winds potential for power outages. a wind advisory starts in the north bay at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and continues for the rest of the region until thursday. 40 to 50-mile-per-hour gusts. hour by hour look at those wind gusts. around noontime, they start to increase. notice that they continue to get stronger as we head into the afternoon and evening hours. 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts not out of the question. it will be tough maneuvering your cars on the roadway for the evening rush. if you can, hold off on running errands if you don't have to go anywhere tomorrow night. 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, shower or two. we really have to wait until later on in the day. 8:00 a.m. looking at light showers in the north bay. noontime, you start to see some light to moderate rain beginning to move in. it becomes more widespread at

3:00 p.m. intensity increases. yellows and oranges here indicating heavier rain. it will be several hours of heavy rain that could lead to some low lying flooding. basically ponding on the roadways. scattered showers will continue for your thursday morning commute but nothing like what you're going to see tomorrow evening. thursday afternoon still looking at those showers. rainfall totals will be highest in the north bay and the santa cruz mountains. two to three inches not out of the question. for morning commute, a couple showers. not looking at too many issues. for the evening commute, that could be a whole different story with the ponding on the roadways. hydroplaning. just watch out. you can download the abc 7 news app to help you keep track of these storms. wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to thursday at noon we do have a winter storm warning for the sierra. if you're headed up to the mountains, about a foot and a half expected for the highest peaks. look at the snow level down to 4,500 feet. expect whiteout conditions with the winds going. tomorrow morning temperatures in the 40s. make sure you have your rain gear before you head out the door for afternoon and evening. you'll need it.

a stormy setup. highs in the 50s. accuweather seven-day forecast spells it out. three storms wednesday, friday, sunday. all moderate in intensity. all twos. in between, scattered showers. thursday, saturday, chance early morning on monday and then we're dry. so if you have to do things and you want to get out and about, your big opportunities will be thursday and also saturday where it's just a few showers and not expecting too many issues. the other days, be prepared with all your rain gear. >> i'm using your forecast and using that as an excuse to do nothing. >> that sounds good. do nothing. i love it. coming up next, love and politics. >> it's been crazy and fun. >> one man's crazy idea is catching on. we'll check out his donald trump dating website. that's next. and using big data to prevent big medical problems. a new approach to running a doctor's office. we'll explain that for you

anything with a screen is a tv. stream 130 live channels. plus 40,000 on demand tv shows and movies, all on the go. you can even download from your x1 dvr and watch it offline. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. download the xfinity tv app today.

consulates in the bay area are joining forces to protect communities that feel threatened by a trump presidency. abc 7 news was at the mexican consulate general as they signed a declaration of cooperation. they will work together to connect undocumented immigrants with legal services. trump vowed to deport 11 million immigrants. >> we're going to be a very rural community so they do not feel fear and they can have legal assistance if they have any kind of problem. >> the mexican consulate extended hours to deal with legal protection issues. a man in southern california is turning the trump presidency into an opportunity to find love. david launched the dating website trump singles last year that helps people connect based on their political beliefs. he quit his day job and runs the site full time from his home

near los angeles. >> people went on dates at gun ranges and restaurants and various places and we've had a lot of positive feedback. >> the site has about 20,000 members at this point who pay $19.95 a month. president obama pulls off a surprise during his final days in office. >> he gives a of reach for far too long:s have health insurance.that's been out how? they enrolled through covered california. it's the health insurance marketplace where you'll find a range of plans from leading health insurance companies that offer you the best combination of quality, rates, and benefits. and, through covered california, you may get financial help to pay for coverage. to get covered, you've got to get going.

open enrollment ends january 31st. visit covereca.com today.

coming up at 6:00, the storms are gone but the problems are not. tonight, we'll take you to the community where residents are worried they will soon be cut off from the rest of the bay area. also, from 7 on your side, the lesson you can learn from a local woman hit with a 400% rent increase and explanation as to why b.a.r.t. escalators break down so often. blame it on etiquette. that's coming up at 6:00.

finally tonight, a surprise of presidential proportions for white house press secretary john earnest. >> president obama decided to crash his speech at the podium with a few words about the man who has spoken for his administration the past eight years. >> this guy ranks as high as just about anybody i've worked with. he is not only a great press secretary but more importantly, he is a really, really good man. >> very nice gesture. president obama will speak at his final news conference tomorrow from the white house. >> held it together. no tears there. >> emotional moment though. >> that's great. >> for all of us here, we appreciate your time. hope to see you again in half an hour. >> that's when our next newscast begins. you can connect 24/7 at abc7news.com.

tonight, breaking news. president obama commutes chelsea manning's sentence. the army private serving 35 years convicted after being accused of leaking classified military secrets. manning, a transgender woman behind bars at a men's military prison. the outrage tonight on capitol hill. the countdown tonight. three days until the inauguration, and this evening, vladimir putin in his own words defending president-elect donald trump. and here at home, the congressional boycott of the inauguration growing. also tonight, mr. trump's pick for health and human services under fire. tom price and his controversial stock buy, and the new report. 18 million americans could lose health insurance in the first year after the repeal. the anger and town meetings. the sisters found 30 years