you can see the clouds and moisture pushing towards the coastline. one lightning strike offshore so there's a bit of instability and we may see a thunderstorm or two. the approaching storm will rank two on the storm impact scale. tonight's showers will be on the light side but by early morning we'll see steadier, heavier rainfall, strong gusty wind and taper off but the wind will remain with us and a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm or two. for this evening's commute we expect mostly dry conditions with isolated sprinkles. for tomorrow morning's commute, scattered showers, breezy, hydroplaning is a concern. main storm concerns throughout the day will be a moderate concern for ponding on roadways. there's a lower level of concern for power outages and river flooding, although those two items are possible as well. i'll have a look at the seven-day forecast in just a few minutes. the snowpack in the sierra keeps increasing, thanks to a snowy january. the snowpack reached 177% of the

historic average. that's the biggest it's been in 22 years. this is a live look right now from lake tahoe. we'll have new totals tomorrow when the california of department water resources conducts its second snow survey of the year. you can track today's storm. check live doppler 7 there any time, 24/7. be sure to enable push alerts to get weather alerts sent straight to your phone or tablet. now we'll get back to that shooting at after off-duty police officer's home in alameda. it happened just barometric pressure 11:00. >> eric thomas has been following the story and joins us live with an update on the investigation. eric. >> reporter: it's still a very active scene. within the past few minutes we've seen a couple of carloads of detectives show up along with the alameda sheriff's department mobile crime lab. in this otherwise quiet neighborhood, it has been a day of a lot of unwanted attention. >> i heard a series of gunshots and i -- then there was a pause

and there were more gunshots and yelling. >> reporter: this neighbor doesn't want her face shown but that's what she heard just before 11:00 this morning. soon after she looked outside and saw a massive police response. >> there was an off-duty law enforcement officer involved in a shooting. >> reporter: an off-duty contra costa sheriff's deputy was asleep when a man apparently tried to break in. the deputy woke up, grabbed the gun and fired several shots. it's not clear whether the intruder was shot inside or outside the house, but he ended up collapsing in the driveway. this witness spoke through a translator. >> translator: there was an african-american male on the ground. they did first aid on him and took him away. >> he wasn't moving at all. the next thing we knew, we seen him taking him away in an ambulance. >> reporter: a s.w.a.t. team was called out to check for a possible second suspect, but no one was found. police officers went door-to-door this afternoon

looking for information as to what happened and why. the dead man's name has not been released nor has the identity of the deputy. but for the people who live here, it's been a trying day. >> it's kind of unnerving when the s.w.a.t. was here, you know, and they're telling us i'm getting on my cell phone from the alert system shelter in place. >> will this change anything about your behavior? >> no. i ain't scared of them. >> reporter: that shelter in place order was lifted a short time later. no one else was hurt. eric thomas, abc 7 news. the window for the popular titans of maverick surf competition is already open. the event organizers have filed for bankruptcy. kate larson is live in san mateo county with a look at what that means. kate. >> reporter: yeah, and out here it's a very small tight-knit surfing community. mavericks is just over my shoulder over that bluff. everyone who surfs it now worried about the future of the

contest. in the peak of half moon bay's surf season, a bankruptcy case likely wiped out the famed mavericks surf contest. >> i can't see any way there being an event at all. >> reporter: why is that? >> because the people that are supposed to pay for the event just filed bankruptcy. >> reporter: brian overfeld is one of three board members. the board brought on los angeles based cartel management four years ago to handle branding, sponsors, tv and marketing, but late last night cartel filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. >> we knew absolutely nothing about this at all, so it's like a shot in the heart. >> it's certainly a disappointment. it's hard to really find other words for it. >> reporter: collin dwyer is one of those invited to compete. he grew up surfing mavericks and said there were only one or two days a season with weather and surf appropriate for the big wave contest. he says last thursday was that

day. but a source close to the competition tells me top management at cartel said they weren't going to run the contest thursday because of the conditions. but dwyer says he was in the water for six hours. >> surfed all day thursday. it was really good. it would have been a fantastic contest for sure. >> reporter: were you surprised that the contest wasn't called for last thursday? >> yeah, i was. i was definitely one of the competitors pushing to run it. >> reporter: the good news is the waves aren't likely to go anywhere. the surfers out here tell me that they're going to keep surfing while they wait to get back in the water for the contest. back to you. >> kate, have you or has anybody close to the competition actually heard from cartel management? >> reporter: well, cartel management tells me that they actually haven't heard from any of the top management since mid-december, even after they

filed for bankruptcy last night. i went ahead and called the cell phones for the ceo, as well as other top management. they never called me back, they never picked up their phone. however, guess did put out a statement today saying that he hopes that a larger organization can take over and sort of grow from where they left off so we'll have to wait and see what happens to the big competition and of course cartel. >> all right, kate, surfers are used to being on hold. this may be a semi-permanent hold. kate larson reporting live. thank you. the wife of the orlando nightclub shooter won't be released from jail as soon as she'd like. abc 7 news was at the federal courthouse in oakland for today's hearing. lawyers for noor salman asked for bail but the judge instead ordered her held for a psychiatric evaluation. she was arrested in january at her mother's home in rodeo. she's charged with helping her husband plan last june's attack at pulse nightclub where he killed 49 people. alameda county public

defenders say many of their clients are suffering because of problems with a new court computer system. >> some people are being charged with the wrong kind of crime and even serving more time than required. >> abc 7 news reporter melanie woodrow spoke to the public defenders office today about these problems. melanie. >> reporter: larry and ama, the alameda county public defenders office knows of at least 50 people whose lives have been negatively affected by this new case management system and that is only the clients they have heard from. they say when you take into account everyone else, the number is likely in the hundreds. the new criminal case management system in alameda county is ruining people's lives, according to the county's public defender. >> there have been people who have been wrongfully arrested and there are people held in custody longer than they should have been. there was a conversion issue where people who were supposed to red shirt as drug offenders, the system showed them sex owe fe

offenders. >> can you imagine you're a person that got stopped driving without a license and now have a felony on your record? >> the d.a.'s office does not want to see that miscarriage of justice. >> reporter: that's why both sides argued yesterday in favor of a motion asking a judge to look closely at more than 2,000 cases to make sure errors like these don't continue. the d.a.'s office says it is working with every courtroom, local police agencies and its own administrative staff to verify warrants and cross-check records. odyssey cost $4.5 million to install. it's made by texas company tyler technologies. critics of the system say it's cumbersome, but going back to the old system isn't an option. >> we're frustrated because all roads to solutions seem to lead to money, and that's the one thing the court doesn't have enough of right now. >> reporter: in an e-mailed statement, a spokesperson for tyler technologies rights we aren't aware of any software issues in alameda county that would result in the issues reported in the press and tyler is prepared to work with the

alameda court to analyze the situation and support them as needed. melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. in less than an hour, protesters at uc berkeley have planned a large rally against an appearance by controversial breitbart news editor. the 32-year-old greek-born journalist is a senior editor for the website. he's been called a spokesperson for the so-called alt-right movement for his extreme views on islam, social justice and political correctness. he is a self-proclaimed internet troll who's been widely criticized for being a racist and misogynist. >> i don't think so. let me tell you -- so you cannot be quoting him if you have not been watching him. let me tell you now. >> abc 7 news was on the cal campus today where passions are already flaring between both sides ahead of his 8:00 p.m. scheduled speech. supporters and opponents gathered earlier today. this event is sponsored by the berkeley college republicans.

extra police will be out monitoring tonight's event. he drew a diverse crowd of supporters and opponents yesterday at cal poly san luis obispo. it was sponsored by the cal poly chapter of college republicans and not by the university itself. activists who are facing a defeat at the white house came together to voice their opposition to oil pipeline development. abc 7 news was in san francisco's financial district for a demonstration against the dakota access and keystone pipeline. it targeted banks funding the projects. just over a week ago president trump signed an executive order to for approval of the pipelines. concerns about taking a gamble on las vegas. plus -- >> we actually essentially pay to be raiderettes. >> some nfl cheerleaders aren't cheering today. the lawsuit against the teams that's moving forward. and you've probably seen the popular bay of lights.

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today nfl commissioner roger goodell talked about this week's developments on the raiders possible move to las vegas. goodell says he wants to make sure there's a separation between sports gambling and the league. he also told reporters the league has not yet determined whether las vegas would actually be a suitable home for an nfl team. goodell was responding to sheldon adelson's decision to withdraw from a project with the raiders to build a new domed stadium in vegas. >> we haven't made a determination about las vegas as

an nfl market. that's part of the relocation process. the raiders submitted an application. it's one that we're considering carefully. but there's a great deal more work to be done. >> adelson had pledged $650 million to the $1.9 billion project. investment bank goldman sachs has also withdrawn from the project leaving the vegas stadium proposal in limbo while they try to get more investors. some cheerleaders are suing the league for millions of dollars in back pay. >> they say they work for less than minimum wage per game. lana zak has the story. >> we actually essentially pay to be raiderettes. >> reporter: caitlin yates along with other former nfl cheerleaders are filing a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges that the league conspired to suppress their wages, paying them less than minimum wage. >> we've trained so hard to be there. you know, our entire lives.

and it is an amazing experience. but i finally grew up and realized that i need to be paid for the value that i'm adding to this team. >> reporter: the women say they were required to attend rehearsals and public appearances but were never paid for that time. >> so when i was on the team, we would be paid $125 per game. and we would be paid that amount in one lump sum at the end of the season, which was for ten home games, it would be $1250. minus fines. we would be fined for all sorts of things. sometimes if you're missing a certain number of practices, you could be fined $40 for that. so that all comes out of your paycheck at the end. >> reporter: we reached out to the nfl, who said they were not aware of this lawsuit and were not interested in commenting. but abc's senior legal correspondent, sunny hostin, says that the nfl might just want this to go away. >> i think that the name of the game here is settle, settle, settle. and that's what's happened before. and i think change needs to happen. they should all be paid at least minimum wage for their time.

>> reporter: and these women say they were motivated to speak up not just for their fellow cheerleaders but for all women who may need an extra boost in raising their voices, asking for what they deserve in the workplace. lana zak, abc news, new york. b.a.r.t. ridership is up in part because of recent protests. more than 347,000 people rode the trains on january 21st, the day of the women's march. that's the second highest number of riders. on saturday, 6300 people road to sfo to protest president trump's executive order on immigration. mass transit in san francisco could get some new life or, should we say, new lights. >> tonight we'll get our first glimpse of a proposed art installation on market street. kristen sze is here with a preview. >> we're all familiar with bay lights, the dazzling l.e.d. light display that constantly moves and never repeats on the bay bridge. well, now feast your eyes on a

concept called lightrail. two strands of colorful l.e.d. lights to illuminate two miles of market street from the embarcadero to van ness avenue. it will be strung overhead. the lights would move and change in sync with the b.a.r.t. and muni trains coming and going underneath market street. now, lightrail is conceived by the same group behind bay lights. let's talk with the founder, ben davis. ben, nice to see you. tell us, why do this? is it just about the pretty lights? >> well, it's not just about the pretty lights, although the lights are beautiful. it's really about making san francisco continue to be a shining example of light and love around the world while we activate and bring a sense of equity and unity to our most important civic street. >> ben, for those of us interested in knowing how things work, how would the lights movement be synched with the trains below? >> they would actually reflect the real-time movements of the

b.a.r.t. and muni system by tapping into the existing apis of the muni system. so we're just taking advantage of what's already there. >> right now nothing is actually up on market street but this is kind of a demo. can you show us how this is going to look? >> absolutely. i'm in the demonstration space at 1028 market street above the hall and we're in a 2500 square foot immersive projection space and you can see coming up behind me a line of light that actually moves from th projection screen coming from twin peaks all the way and makes its way down to the ferry building. this is a great way to reimagine the possibilities of market street and do what light does so well, which is to attract and lighten this artwork. it answers the question of diversity by asking more people to come to market street and experience the beauty and the potential of our most important street. >> all right, ben davis, thanks so much for that.

good luck to you. folks, the project does have a four-year permit from the city. they still need to raise $10 million to fund this. they did it for bay lights and they hope to make this concept a reality later this year. larry and ama. >> thank you, kristen. the city of brisbane, australia, has light installations all over along the river and it's absolutely captivating. it's not necessarily tied with trains or anything like that, but it's really cool when you're going down the river and see all these lights flashing. so if it's anything similar to that, it would be really great, assuming spencer puts up the $10 million. >> there's that. >> you're right about brisbane, i've been there. i can put up an endorsement but maybe not the 10 million. >> all right. >> we've got lots of rain coming our way, possibly lots and lots of rain for several days. here's a look at live doppler 7. we have cloudy skies right now and you can see green showing up on the radar image, so there's moisture in the atmosphere. most of it is not hitting the ground right now, although it is possible now as the storm gets closer that some locations are

seeing a sprinkle or two. this camera view from the golden gate bridge indicates dry conditions, at least right there right now. these are our forecast features. we'll see showers arriving this evening. the rain becomes heavier and steadier overnight along with strong winds so wind and rain intensify overnight and we'll have a wet unsettled pattern lasting into next week. current temperature readings are 61 across the bay at hayward, 57 down at san jose. it's going to become quite windy and rainy overnight but it won't be very chilly. in fact it's going to be mild. low temperatures will be in the low 50s, although some of our cooler inland valley locations could see lows dropping into the upper 40s. excuse me, trying to recover my voice here. let's talk about the approaching storm. it ranks 2 on the storm impact scale. it will start to intensify overnight in the early morning hours, especially during the early morning commute. steadier, heavier rain accompanied by strong, gusty

wind. tapering off midday to scattered showers and there's a chance of an isolated thunderstorm or two. here's the animation starting at 5:00 this afternoon. the clouds and moisture will continue surging onshore. the first measurable rain will arrive at 10:00 or show. notice how the heavier, steadier rain is more widespread so it's a wet morning commute for sure. potentially hazardous as well, a chance of pooling and puddling on the roadways. by 7:00 tomorrow morning, we'll see the storm beginning to weaken just a little bit and break up into pockets of rainfall and scattered showers. that will continue tomorrow evening and tomorrow night actually overnight into friday morning we'll see another surge of energy and another area of moderate to heavy rainfall developing just before the friday morning rush. we project rainfall totals will range 1 to 2 inches in the north bay and down across the santa cruz mountains. a 10th to quarter of an inch in

the south bay. quarter to an inch from san francisco to the inland east bay. wind advisory in effect until friday morning. winds could gust 40 to 50 miles an hour during this time. the strongest gusts will be tomorrow morning just as the rain is becoming more widespread. highs tomorrow generally in the upper 50s to around 60. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. and for the first six of those seven days, we will have some rainfall. in fact each day after tomorrow's storm ranking two, we have a storm system ranking 1 on the impact scale. >> wow. thank you, spencer. if you're a fan of the jetsons, you probably dreamed of a flying car. that would be so cool. that dream could become a reality. >> it's going to be a flying car. >> the future of driving up, up in the air.

people have dreamed about soaring over traffic jams even

before george jetson amazed kids with his cartoon-flying car. >> yes, i want this so badly. investors have long tried and failed to make that dream a reality. that may be changing. >> reporter: stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but imagine being able to get through the gridlock by flying over it. >> it's going to be a flying car. >> reporter: once the stuff of science fiction that technology has really taken off. it's a long-ago dream of automakers. gm envisioned a sleek rocket-like car in the '50s and '60s. today more than a dozen companies, including drone makers, are working on new aircraft capable of soaring over crowded freeways. e-hang is trying to figure out how to scale up its drones to safely transport people. a massachusetts company is taking preorders for its plane that folds up into a street

legal car. while most companies are using batteries and electric motors, an israeli firm is enabling a small gas-powered drone using helicopter engines. >> there's no question i can build a vehicle. i can build a vehicle that can cary two people or three people. >> reporter: he chairs the engineering research advisory committee. he says it's not the aircraft but air traffic control, safe landing areas and noise pollution that will be the biggest hurdles. >> i actually think it's going to be the ground infrastructure that allows the vehicles to operate in the most useful places. >> reporter: airbus has a silicon valley subsidiary called a cubed that plans to test an aircraft. they envision it as an autonomous air taxi. >> once they buckle up and agree to the flight, the vehicle is ready to take off. in the meantime in the background the vehicle is

clearing their flight path with the air traffic manager system. >> reporter: they see the service becoming a reality in about ten years while that timetable may be lofty. with so many companies working on flying cars, it's no longer the stuff of dreams. can you imagine you and i battling for a parking space? i was here first. >> no, me! the new showdown in d.c. judge neil gorsuch arrived on capitol hill just a day after president trump promised he'd be a shoo in for confirmation. a

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and here are the stories making headlines at 4:30. an off duty contra costa sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man trying to break into his home in alameda. it happened around 10:45. neighbors say the suspect may have broken a window, waking up the deputy. it's day three of the garcia torres murder trial. as david louie tweets, the deputy sheriff who searched for sierra lamar took the stand today. on uc berkeley's campus tonight there's a spirited debate happening ahead of the appearance of a controversial breitbart editor.

prior appearances at some uc schools have been cancelled or filled with protests. laura anthony will be live on campus coming up at 5:00. president trump says his supreme court nominee, federal appeals court judge neil gorsuch, is an almost perfect man. but democrats aren't buying it. stephanie ramos is live in washington, d.c. stephanie. >> reporter: ama, as the battle for confirmations heat up on capitol hill, this morning president trump predicted that his supreme court nominee would be, quote, very -- would be approved, rather, very quickly. the jury is still out on whether or not democrats will pull out all the stops to block judge neil gorsuch from a lifetime job on the supreme court. >> he did get a unanimous endorsement and he's somebody that should -- >> reporter: gorsuch may have received unanimous confirmation to the court of appeals, but this process may not go as smoothly. >> the republicans kept the seat

open for nearly a year despite president obama having nominated a pretty universally liked and respected judge, merrick garland, who never even got a hearing. >> reporter: today gorsuch made the rounds on capitol hill to meet with senators who are sharply divided. tensions are running high with democrats boycotting many of trump's nominees. but trump kept the promise to nominate a judge just as conservative as justice antonin scalia. this picture just released. >> justice scalia was a lion of the law. >> reporter: at the white house, president trump meeting with groups who advised him on picking a nominee to the high court. trump giving senator majority leader mitch mcconnell the green light to use the so-called nuclear option if democrats try to hold up the gorsuch nomination. that means a supreme court nominee can be confirmed by a simple majority instead of 60 votes in the senate. >> if we end up with that gridlock, i would say if you can, mitch, go nuclear. >> reporter: the senate's top democrat, chuck schumer, is

gearing up for a confirmation fight. >> judge neil gorsuch throughout his career has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people. >> reporter: and today we've learned the first phone call judge gorsuch made after his announcement after his nomination announcement was to judge merrick garland. that's president obama's supreme court nominee that never got a hearing last year. ama. >> you know, we've heard from mcconnell on whether -- have we heard from him on whether he will change the confirmation rules? >> reporter: not really, not yet. even though democrats may be backing him up into a corner, senator majority leader mitch mcconnell has not revealed anything -- he hasn't revealed whether or not he's going to move in that direction, but he may not have another choice. he may have to invoke the nuclear option in looking for the 51 votes instead of the 60 votes in order to confirm gorsuch. democrats are really upset that president obama's supreme court pick, judge merrick garland,

never got a chance, never got a hearing. they say that his seat was stolen, so it's going to be a big fight on capitol hill. >> all right, stephanie, thank you so much for that report. president trump unexpectedly left the white house this afternoon to attend the return of the remains of the first american service member who was killed in action under his command. here is mr. trump getting on marine one at the white house with daughter, ivanka, before heading over to dover air force base. navy s.e.a.l. william ryan owens was killed during a special operations raid in yemen over the weekend. reporters can now ask questions live during a white house press briefing without even being there. for the first time the white house press corps took questions via skype. four journalists used the video chat service. 2016 was the city of chicago's deadliest year in nearly two decades and today we learned nearly 300 people were shot in chicago last month alone. but some progress is being made. abc news reporter lana zak with

the latest. >> reporter: chicago police reported 299 shooting victims in the month of january, an increase of 6% over last year. >> murders and shootings remain at levels unaccept tabl -- unacceptable to me. you have my word we'll put plans in place and make the necessary investments in technology, training, in officers to make chicago a safer city. >> reporter: in a white house meeting with african-american religious leaders president trump gave one of his supporters the green light to meet with chicago's gang members. >> we'll have a sitdown about lowering that body count so in a couple weeks, i'm going into chicago -- >> i think that's a great idea because it's totally out of control. if they're not going to solve the problem, what you're doing is the right thing, then we'll solve the problem for them. >> reporter: this comes one week after the president tweeted his willingness to send in the feds. brad garrett said az president sanctioned meeting could help to highlight the issues, but -- >> the key is going after individuals and then getting them off the street.

that's driven by their previous behavior and new intelligence. >> reporter: chicago's superintendent of police says that they are making greater investments in technology and in training but ultimately he says the long-term solution lies in more jobs, more mental health care and more education. lana zak, abc, new york. the days of getting free access to tsa's precheck screening program are coming to an end. the tsa will reduce access to those who haven't signed up for the expedited screening program. they had randomly offered some passengers access as part of a promotional push but doesn't want the expedited screening lines to get too long. the agency says more than 12 million travelers have enrolled. changes go into effect this month. passing the buck instead of the ball. >> we're ready for a back-to-back. the next morning, it was rough.

>> the adorable little relative steph curry is blaming for missing the warriors last game and i think you know who i'm talking about. and there's only one ticket hotter than this weekend's super bowl. it's happening tomorrow. it involves a certain groundhog, and it's going to cost you a lot to check it out. i'm michael finney. ask finney is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook. just post it "#askfinney and i'll answer them here in just a little bit. i'm spencer christian. we're looking at some dark and cloudy skies around the bay area, but a few bright spots are appearing. that won't last long. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up i

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parenthood. that's what steph curry says caused him to miss the warriors last game against portland. abc 7 news was at the warriors practice facility today as curry resumed his usual practice retune. looks fine. he missed sunday's game with the stomach flu and says he likely got it from his oldest daughter, cute little riley. >> i heard when you start your kids in school, that first year or two, you're pretty much susceptible to any and everything. so, so far it's been okay. we just had a little rough go last week. >> riley is in preschool now. curry says he has recovered and will play tonight against charlotte. getting a hotel room in houston for the upcoming super bowl isn't cheap but an annual event at a small pennsylvania

town will cost you even more. it seems you'll need deep pockets to see groundhog day live. a one-night stay costs an average $450. >> whoa. >> yeah, by comparison a hotel room in houston around the time of the super bowl is only $340. trivago says houston has lower prices because, well, it has so many hotels. it may seem like groundhog day here over the next several days as we have day after day after day of rainfall. right now we're looking at the beginnings of some shower activity. it will become a little more widespread and steadier overnight and will rank 2 on the storm impact scale. it will bring early morning downpours and strong, gusty wind. here's our thursday planner for tomorrow. in the early morning hours i strongly recommend taking the umbrella if you're going out because that's when we're going to have our heaviest and

steadiest rain. for the remainder of the day we'll see scattered showers, temperatures will peak in the late afternoon hours. they won't drop off much in the evening hours as temperatures will remain relatively uniform. over in the sierra, winter storm warnings in effect from 10:00 tonight until 4:00 a.m. saturday. we expect 3 to 6 inches of snow at the 5500 foot level. snow accumulation will be higher in the higher elevations. up along the crest, maybe 2 to 3 feet of snow. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. our storm coming in tonight and tomorrow ranks 2 on the storm impact scale. each of the next five days, friday through tuesday, we have enough rain, enough storminess to rank 1 on the storm impact scale. finally next wednesday rain will taper off to scattered showers and maybe no ranking at all. >> thank you, spencer. all right. well, there's a name change for tesla, and there's also some growing political problems for te car company. 7 on your side's michael finney. you've heard a lot of talk about credit scores so here's a

question we're looking at today. what kind of score do you have to get in order to get a good price on a car loan? we'll talk about that next in ask finney. and in honor of plaqblack history month, we're using our instagram feed to celebrate the people making a difference where you live. today we recognize akoma arts which has been entertaining and educating audiences all across the bay area since 2011. the word akoma means patience, endurance, consistency and faithfulness. we have more information on our abc 7 news bay area instagram feed.

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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. just minutes anegotiation former exxon ceo rex tillerson was sworn in as trump's secretary of state. in the past four decades no president has had fewer of his cabinet level appointees confirmed at this point in his administration than president trump. karen travers with the latest from the white house. >> reporter: president trump adding a key member to his cabinet. the senate voting to confirm rex tillerson as secretary of state. the early buzz was that tillerson, the former ceo of exxonmobil, could be in jeopardy because of his close ties to russia, but the final vote was

56-43. but now another of trump's cabinet nominees could be headed for defeat. two republican senators say they'll vote no on betsy devos for education. lisa murkowski of alaska and susan collins of main. murkowski citing devos', quote, lack of experience with public education. but the white house was unequivocal. a spokesman saying they are 100% confident that devos will be the next secretary of education. but it could go down to the wire, and republicans may need vice president pence to break a tie, assuming no other senators cross party lines. karen travers, abc, the white house. as if the trump presidency weren't already divisive, we have a new unusual fissure. as wayne freedman tells us, it has to do with tesla vehicles. >> reporter: if we didn't know better this might remind us of gas lines in the '70s. cars and drivers queueing up

waiting for fuel. since we're at a tesla supercharging station, let's call it juice. >> this doesn't look so exclusive anymore. >> it's not. >> reporter: victor spent at least an hour here anyway talking tesla with all the other tesla talkers. >> about their doors, how it opens, how they like the big screen, how fast theirs charges. >> it's a little cultish, yes. >> reporter: they have a new subject after reports of at least five people nationwide who have taken back their deposits for new teslas because tesla founder elon musk is working with president trump on at least two advisory councils for exhibits and manufacturing. it is guilt by association, the critics infer, and now they're voting with their wallets. >> it's like saying you don't like someone that works for the oil company so you're not going to buy gasoline anymore, right? you have to separate that a little bit. >> reporter: for the record elon musk did not support donald trump and has no comment in response to this latest move. earlier this week he said simply attacking him will achieve nothing. better that there are open channels of communication.

no one disagreed with that in san mateo tonight. >> donald trump is the president of our country. and he deserves the best advice and guidance on clean energy policy and on bringing, you know, manufacturing jobs back to america. >> reporter: in short, it appears possible to be both a crazy car guy and a political person, and here at least, the twain get along. in san mateo, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. a subtle but significant change today for tesla motors. it has a new name. not that different, but the fremont company will now simply be known as tesla. the move comes as the company diverse fiifies its company. it will produce lithium ion batteries and sells a battery system that could power an entire home. they are also preparing for a merger with solar city.

it's time for ask finney. michael finney is here. caitlin asks our first question from walnut creek. where's the cheapest place to find a prom dress? >> i know, i've got a daughter. let me start with trudy's in campbell. each girl is assigned a consultant and then it's like say yes to the dress type environment. everybody loves it there. they have dresses for a lot of budgets, probably not the very bottom. flares in walnut creek is worth checking out. my favorite is the princess project. it is amazing and it's for low income teens. it collects gently used prom dresses and gives them away for free. you sign up online so you can do it. i'll put up a link on our website. think about it. most girls want to wear it if their families can afford it one time and there you go. crystal from dublin asks what's the best app to track all of my finances? >> there's several good ones out

there. mint.com is really popular. it's been reviewed by everybody. pc magazine, pc world, forbes, they all like it. it tracks and categorizes your transactions like restaurants, groceries, that type of thing and sends you notifications if you're about to hit your budget limit. the best part, it's free. we reported on this years ago and it keeps getting better and better and better. what's a good credit score to buy a brand new car? what range? >> the higher the better always. a fico score, if you're not familiar with, allows lenders to determine if you qualify for a loan and if so how much you're going to pay in interest. credit scores range from a low of 300 to a high of 850. the best interest rates go to those with scores of 740 and above. now, below that you'll still get a loan but you'll pay more and you may have to put in a bigger down payment. but 680 is pretty good on a car

loan to tell you the truth. 680 to 740 is golden. >> if i have a question, what can i do? >> you can just ask me. >> let's say a friend of mine wants to know. >> just give us a call on our hotline monday through friday 10:00 to 2:00, 415-954-8151. >> it's not for me. >> it's for somebody else. >> i want to get your guys' opinions on this. you might think it looks odd and uncomfortable, but adult wrapping is the new relaxation craze in japan. it's like swaddling a baby. a person's body is covered from head to toe almost like a cocoon. i don't know. already i'm -- no. a special breathable cloth is used so people get plenty of air, or so they say, while they're gently rocked back and forth. i'm sorry, ama, can't you breathe in there? each session lasts about 20 minutes and they just move you back and forth. people who tried it say it works. once they're unwrapped they feel

more relaxed and more flexible. you in? >> let me out! >> let me get untied. well, forget those old clunky cell phone towers. >> this is a radical new approach. >> the new high-tech way to help improve your phone's reception and how the city of san francisco is involved. right now kristen is here with a look at what's coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00. thanks. next at 5:00, the first witnesses on the stand in the sierra lamar trial and the details that could be crucial to the case. plus the rent control law that has landlords seeing red and how the battle just landed in court. and set your course for all things star trek. an exhibit is coming to an observatory near you. those stories and more - grocery outlet is the home of "wow" savings. "wow" means you save 50% or more. there are three stages of wow: denial... - is this price right? - acceptance...

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tonight on abc 7 at 8:00, it's the goldbergs, followed by speechless, modern family, match game. stay with us for the abc 7 news at 11:00. remember we had the old 3g phones? 4g kind of cool. at&t is talking about plans for a 5g wireless network. >> as jonathan bloom explains, it's still off in the distance, but it starts with technologies that will make your phone faster today. >> you know, the birthday party of the future is shot in 4k. >> video live streaming and vr.

at&t told a crowd of reporters consumers are gobbling updata. >> we need more capacity asap. >> reporter: it's the same dilemma verizon faced when a certain big sporting event came to the bay area. >> verizon sponsors the super bowl. our name is going to be all over super bowl city, our network has to perform great. >> reporter: the answer was small cells, hundreds of miniature cell to yours hidden atop street lamps. now at&t is taking a page out of that playbook, even using the same contractors and same city-approved design. >> the customer will feel immediately that the signal quality is much better. >> reporter: small cells are perfect for spots like this where you have hundreds of phones on one block but at&t has also announced a solution for rural areas that, like this one, uses poles that are already there. >> this is a radical new approach to delivering multi gigabyte speeds. >> reporter: they're calling it air gig. it fits on top of the wooden poles that carry power lines into the city. >> take this to areas fiber

could not be deployed. >> reporter: instead of fiber, air gig gets its connection from tiny radio waves sent along the power lines. millimeter waves like what they use to scan your body at the airport. and it draws power like the wireless charging on some smart phones. it's still a few years out. >> we see this as a step toward the 55g. >> reporter: that's a standard that doesn't exist yet, but at&t is already announcing the first places they'll test it, austin, texas, and indianapolis by the end of the year. in san francisco, jonathan bloom, abc 7 news. new lanterns are up in san francisco's chinatown thanks to san francisco's public works department. they posted these pictures on twitter saying they worked overnight to get all of them up there. the lanterns are iconic in chinatown and right now is a perfect time since the lunar new year began last weekend. >> looks nice. you can of course get the latest news any time with the abc 7 news app. download it for free. enable push alerts to be the first to know about breaking news where you live.

that's going to do it for this edition of abc 7 news at 4:00. thanks for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. abc 7 news at 5:00 starts right now. sglch mr. yiannopoulos brings conservatives a voice. >> he represents a really frightening movement. the barricades are out. uc berkeley braces for protests as a controversial speaker gets ready to take the stage. police line up outside a home in alameda, guns drawn. it started with an off-duty officer who felt threatened and ended with a man dead. digging deep into evidence. the effort to connect an accused killer to sierra lamar without a body. why the mavericks surfing contest is now in jeopardy. tensions reach a flash point on the uc berkeley campus tonight before a fiery speech by a controversial man. live from sky 7, protesters plan to send their own message with a

big rally. good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. those protesters say they're disturbed by the extreme views that they expect will be shared tonight. the speaker, milo yiannopoulos. he spoke last night at cal poly in san luis obispo. the 32-year-old is a senior editor for the ultra conservative news and opinion website, breitbart. he's been widely criticized for expressing racist and misogynistic views. laura anthony is live on the cal campus where rallies are set to begin soon. laura? >> reporter: hi, kristen. well, the protesters are just starting to gather here. we can show you about 100 people at this point. just the beginning of what's expected to be several hours of protests ahead of milo yiannopoulos' controversial appearance here at uc berkeley. >> milo yiannopoulos thinks that there should be fewer women in math and science. >> reporter: he has yet to step foot on campus, but infamous internet troll