volunteers watching out for rising smoke from a lookout tower on mt. hamilton. >> they give us a bird's eye view, the state of the weather, they can give us what the weather is actually doing versus always watching computer models. >> calfire tracks the weather with computers and monitors, video feeds to look for any sign of smoke. they're already ready to go on a moment's notice. >> it's 4:30. let's talk about the weather right now. mike nicco standing by. >> hi, everybody. there's no red flag warning. yes, we're in a heightened state because of the thunder and lightning, but it's not to a point where we have to issue a red flag warning. doppler 7 looks pretty active. unfortunately, most is disappearing before it hits the ground. it's pretty much moving from east to northwest, and some of that could move into the east bay and north bay in the next hour or so. let's get to your 12-hour day

planner. storms still linger through the 7:00 hour. they'll taper by noon. it will be warm and muggy by our stands. 66 at 4:00. 82 around the bay, 92 inland. 63, 77, and 85 for pretty quiet evening. not completely out of the woods yet for the thunderstorms. i'll talk more about that in the weekend forecast coming up. here's alexis. >> i want to take you to oakland where we have a full closure of 880. this is of course due to the ongoing work on the 23rd avenue overcrossing. they're working on tearing that down. all lanes are blocked, northbound 880 between 29th and 23rd. they should get it picked up by 5:00 this morning and then we could have a couple lanes closed until 6:00. we definitely have some delays as you approach the closure. you're forced off the freeway, take a little side street, and then you can get back on. if you want to avoid that, westbound 580 is wide open. as long as you're not in a big rig, i would recommend that. we'll look at a minor issue in the south bay in lessthen ten.

hi, everyone. i want to show you this new video coming in to our live desk. it shows how close an amer airlines plane was to disaster after the engine caught fire at o'hare international airport last year. it all happens quickly. this is taken from an airport tower camera. you see a blast and smoke coming from the right wing. youologist see a huge fireball. pilots stopped their takeoff right after the engine failure and then passengers scrambled to get off the plane. 20 people were hurt as they slid off the emergency slides. everyone, though, was able to actually get off the plane. that happened last year, as i mentioned, and the ntsb still investigating it to this day, but they think a fuel line was pierced and that's what caused this. back to you. >> thank you. happening today, the two men charneled in the deadly ghost ship fire in oakland are due back in court to be arraigned. derick almena is scheduled to have a bail hearing.

last week, max harris had his bail reduced to $750,000. both men face 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for last december's fire that killed three dozen people. >> the federal government now faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the parents of a murealist murdered with a stolen gun. antonio ramos was killed after being shot while volunteering to paint a mural. a suspected gang member was charged with his murder. the weapon was taken by i.c.e. two week before the shooting. federal officials have not commented on the suit. >> concord police need your help in trying to identify the man who kidnapped a teenage girl. they say he approached the 16-year-old on july 6th on laguna street near ellis. he then grabbed her arms and tried to pull her towards his car. the teen kicked him and punched him, causing him to finally let go. he is described as a hispanic man between 35 and 40 years old,

weighing about 160 pounds. he was also wearing glasses. the man drove away in a four-door gold or beige american made sedan, similar to a 2000 buick. >> today, president trump kicks off what the white house is calling a working vacation. he's not able to take a holiday from the growing investigation into russian election meddling. maggie ruly is in washington. >> reporter: surrounded by thousands of supporters at his campaign rally in west virginia, president trump can't seem to escape russia. >> the russia story is a total fabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics. that's all it is. >> reporter: but in washington, all signs point to the ongoing investigation into russian election meddlin only ramping up. the "wall street journal" first reported and abc news confirms that a grand jury has been secretly working for weeks in d.c., suggesting a new elevated phase in special counsel robert

mueller's investigation into whether president trump or any of his associates colluded with the crem nn. the president's personal lawyer insists there's still no indication the president is a target. >> we have no reason to believe the president is under investigation. >> the white house says they're, quote, fully committed to cooperating with the special counsel. abc news, washington. >> happening today, a series of furlough fridays begins for local courthouses in san francisco. today marks the first of 11 fridays when san francisco courts will provide fewer surss. this follows the state cutting the court's budget by 9% for the current fiscal year. people needing to file papers can still do so using drop boxes set up outside clerks' offices. reducing services avoids layoffs. >> anchor brewings new owners appear to be undecided on a plan to produce beer across from at&t parx. sapporo bought the brand.

they run a brewery in protrarro hills. now, the chronicle reports the project has been delayed and it's projected costs have skyrocketed. >> if your commute includes caltrain, get ready to pay more. fares and parking fees are going up. the board of directors has approved a proposal to raise the adult fare by 25 cents that will take place october 1st. monthly parking prices will go up more than $27 to $82.50. the go pass will increase from $190 to $237 on juanuary 1st an then it will go up again in 2019. >> i have been watching this storm over wilber springs. it's been dropping a couple bolts of lightning. if it does hold together, it will move near clear lake and lakeport. you can see the yellow is turning more green right now. i think the threat of that thunderstorm is diminishing rather quickly. let's look at other ones just

north of stockton. these are heading to the east, and it look like they could hold together, move through places like discovery bay, brentwood, antioch, possibly even towards pittsburg. we'll keep an eye on that. so far, our greatest amount of rain, livermore. 700th of an inch. that is a record. the other big story, look how much warmer it is this morning than it was yesterday morning. yesterday morning, it was pretty warm. temperatures anywhere from 2 to wh d t p us?rmer. uncomfortable in some places in san francisco. look at all those 68s around the castro, the mission, potrero hill. coming in through the ferry building 69. 65 in sunnyside. look at all the 70s on the peninsula, the east bay, mid 70s in the south bay. upper 70s in the east bay inland neighborhoods. mid 60s, we're going to have record warm low temperatures today. here's a look at your commute planner. watch out for sprinkles on the road this morning. going to be slightly humid, and on the bay, the breezes are

back. i'll show you the small craft advisory and the weekend forecast, here's alexis. >> we had just a handful of some pretty minor issues overnight. i have live doppler 7 on top of the traffic map. you may have to use the wipers a couple times here this morning. we had a vehicle that went off the roadway, westbound 257. it's not blocking, and it sounds like that person is okay. we don't have injuries reported in that area, so really fortunate for that driver. a quick check outside, we have a couple drops on our camera lens here. on westbound 92, we're still looking at light volumes, but again, we have sprinkles. maybe something heavier than sprinkles in a few areas too. we'll look at a few things you need to watch out for this weekend coming up in less than ten. >> only on abc7 news, the wrong way driver creating chaos on east bay roads. we'll show you how this all unfolded and ended. >> the secret service is out at trump tower this morning. the dispute that's forced them to set up a command post on the sidewalk. >> we're headed to break, but >> we're headed to break, but we're letting you keep on top of

4:41. only on abc7 news, the wrong way driver who created chaos on east bay streets. check this out. sky 7 captures the driver of a bmw weaving in and out of traffic. it all started on interstate 580 in the dublin pleasanton area. it ended 25 miles away on the streets of oakland.

abc7 news reporter cornell bernard shows us how police finally brought the dangerous driver to a stop. >> crazy. >> reporter: and it was. a wild chase lasting one hour and 45 minutes. the driver of a stolen bmw x-5 had police in pursuit across the east bay. sky 7 overhead as the driver made it from pleasanton to oakland on 580. he got off the freeway momentarily disappearing under the overpass. but reemerged, driving over a median, making a right turn the wrong way up macarthur boulevard near highland hospital. the pursuit picked up speed as the driver made it into piedmont. we saw plenty of close calls like this one with oncoming cars. >> we're quite fortunate that nobody was injured, including the driver of the vehicle himself. >> moments later, the driver comes to a stop, confronted by a police cruiser in front of wildwood elementary. but he didn't give up. he spun around, heading back to oakland. the chase appeared to be

reaching an end, but it driver took off again. but a chp officer did a p.i.t. maneuver, spinning the suv around. it slammed into a parked car. >> big bang, like a big noise. we saw the car to spin around right there. and then yeah, that's what i saw in the window. >> 30-year-old james sims of antioch surrendered to police. the chp admits they weren't sure how to stop him or where to wait. >> it was just luck. he was all over the different streets. we just happened to be at the right place at the right time. >> sims charged with car theft, evading police, and driving with an expired license. cornell bernard, abc7 news. >> the cal state university system plans to drop placement exams in math and english as well as noncredit remedial courses. every fall, more than 25,000 freshman are required to take the exams and courses to prepare for their college education. starting next year, the university is going to use high school grades, a.c.t. and s.a.t. scores to assess a student's

knowledge. if they need help in math or english, students can take four credit classes to catch up. >> the secret service has left its command post in trump tower because of a dispute with the trump organization. the nature of the dispute is not clear, but sources tell "the washington post," the secret service feels it's being charged too much for the space it occupied in the building. the command post has now been moved to a trailer on the sidewalk. it was on the floor directly below trump's apartment before. the president has visited trump tower since taking office in january, but agents are still guarding that building. >> sam liccardo wants to serve another four-year term. he announced he's running for re-election on dwiter. his current turn ends next year. he took over the reigns from chuck reed in 2014. >> here's something kids of all ages might enjoy. >> people are going to show off what they created with legos in santa clara. it's been growing since 2010. this year's theme, california dreaming. on sunday, you can see what people have come up with at the

santa clara convention center from 9:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon. tickets are $20. and they only take cash. >> you know, my only experience with legos is stepping on my little cousin's legos in the dark sometimes. it's the most painful thing ever. but i have such admiration for this kind of talent, mike. >> i had to go through several years of buying legos for the kids. now it's for the nephews. thank goodness there's a lego store at disneyland. we get a little discount there. hi, everybody. here's a look at what's going on with live doppler 7. let's talk about wet weather. it's august 4th, wet weather, what? absolutely. showers, thunderstorms. we had them during the overnight hours. now they're starting to taper a little bit. you can see some dark green out there, which means some of this may be reaching the ground. the air is dry around 7,000 feet. the radar returns are going to look a lot more impressive than what actually reaches the ground, and the same is with the forecast here over the next six hours. you can see a trend of

decreasing intensity as the yellows and oranges start to leave us by the time we head to noon. here's a look at the roof camera. the breeze is starting to develop underneath this warmer air mass off the coast. that's going to eventually bring us cooler weather and drier weather, but for today, storm chances fade. warm and humid once again. another mild to warm night ahead. and then you can see the cooler breezes and that drier air coming for the weekend. how about 82 in milpitas, 87 at san jose. some mid 90s around los gatos, morgan hill and gilroy. on the peninsula, we have 74. millbrae to san mateo, 78. everybody else in the low 80s. mid to upper 60s along the coast to mid 70s in downtown and south san francisco. and sausalito. low to mid 80s through the north bay. cloud cover is going to keep your temperature down today. we'll have 77 in berkeley and oakland to about 84 in fremont and castro valley. and inland, we could have temperatures around 91 to 96 degrees. hires a look at tonight. you can see low 60s to even some low 70s out there.

let's go to my accuweather seven-day forecast. and even starting tomorrow, not so muggy and the sea breeze starts to crank up sunday. get our temperatures back to average. we'll pretty much stay there. 60s at the coast, 70s to near 80 around the bay and low 90s inland. i came out this morning, looked at my car and it looked like someone threw dust all over it. smam experience, when it rains, it tends to trap the dust. when it hits the car, the water evaporates and the dust stays around. >> i don't think my car could get dirtier. my windshield is clean, though, i had to wipe that off with a few sprinkles this morning. i swear, i tried to do a car wash the other day, but they lost power when i was the next person to pull up. they said come back soon. i tried. i really did. we are looking okay right now on the roads. we don't have major problems to talk about. here's a look at the bay bridge toll plaza. little stack-up in the cash lanes on the far left side. the right side the way to go, and fast track, you're not seeing issues. then a heads-up for this weekend. more muni train testing.

so subway service will be impacted. essentially, there's no subway service this weekend. bus shuttle only all day saturday and sunday between st. francis and the embarcadero. definitely going to add time to your trip this weekend. we'll look at drive times in less than ten. >> thank you. green day is coming back to their bay area roots and will be playing tomorrow night at the coliseum. abc7 news was in oakland where fans lined up for a green day pop-up store yesterday. stomper was there and green day's infamous bunny. some fans got a free bunny to take home too. fans of all ages were there, and one fan said when it comes to green day, she's trained her mother well. >> i have been listening to them since i was 13. she had to listen to it and fell in love with it. >> they played here at a sort of private event probably six years ago, maybe five years ago. and people still come just to look at the stage. >> the stage is there, just like they left it. the pop-up store at 1, 2, 3, 4

go records in oakland is open again today. >> a company that sells marijuana products buys an entire california town. its plan to turn it into a tourist destination. >> returning products on amazon can be a pain if you buy from a third-party seller. that's about to change. >> call this a party for your favorite bath toy. thousands of rubber ducks swimming side by side, how they're helping thousands of young athletes. right now, though, this morning's tech bites. >> in today's tech bites, more online options for restaurant delivery. >> grub hub is buying yelp's eat 24 for $288 million. that's a game changer, provider users with access to 75,000 restaurants. federal regulators must okay the deal. >> a young british researcher hailed as a hero months ago for averting a global cyberattack has now been arrested for cybercrimes of his own. >> federal authorities say the 22-year-old developed malware designed to collect bank passwords. he was arrested in las vegas.

>> and chevy exceeded expectations by topping tesla in a battle of electric cars. the volt made it 250 yards before it died. before it died. the tesla's battery conked out martin luther king jr.: we hold these truths to be self-evident -- that all men are created equal. john f. kennedy: the torch has been passed to a new generation of americans. barbara jordan: the american dream need not forever be deferred.

lyndon johnson: this is the richest and the most powerful country...

but at this moment, she's fighting a brain tumor. announcer: please take a moment and join st. jude in finding cures and saving children. visit stjude.org. fiery debris rained down on the street in dubai as one of the world's tallest residential buildings caught fire again. the fire started around 1:00

yesterday morning inside the 86-story torch tower. the flames shot out of more than 40 floors. no one was hurt. they managed to evacuate it. the same building caught fire two years ago. investigators found the flammable covering helped the fire spread. >> a company that makes cannabis products is buying an entire california town. american green is paying $5 million for the town of nipton, only about 60 people currently live there. it's located near the california/nevada border about an hour from vegas. the company is planning to turn it into a pot friendly destination after marijuana becomes legal for recreational use on january 1st. the goal is to turn it into a tourist spot over the next 18 months by using some existing structures and building others, all powered by renewable energy. >> 4:53 now. a common complaint amazon shoppers may have is about returns. the return policy varies depending on whether amazon itself is shipping or if it's from a third party seller.

that's changing starting in october. michael finney first told us last night independent sellers will soon be required to use the same return policy. that means in most cases you won't have to contact the seller and have a lengthy back and forth before you send something back and get maybe a portion or all of your money back. you can use amazon's prepaid shipping labels and the seller must issue a refund within two days of getting the return. it will exempt a few products from the rules. it has not specified what those will be. >> developing news in arizona where the phoenix zoo is closed and the area is recovering from powerful monsoon-like weather. the weather toppled trees, damaged parts of the zoo. all of the animals are safe. yesterday, the wind and rain was so strong, look at this, a boat took off on its own. palm trees looked like they were going to snap with loose shopping carts slamming into cars. after the storm, some parts of the city got flooded. knee deep water, no one was hurt. that mushave come on pretty fast because it doesn't look like people were ready.

>> mike? >> sorry, i was waiting for that before i answered you. yeah, that's the problem with those pop-up thunderstorms that deluge those areas. that by the time you try to get the warning out, a lot of people either don't know or don't notice or don't have an app like we have that would tell you and alert you that that is happening. walnut creek, 76 degrees right now. that's pretty warm. here's a look at the small craft advidery. noon to 9:00, the areas shaded in yellow. going to the game tonight, diamond backs are in town. 69 at 7:15, dropping down to 66. and the earthquakes take on the columbus crew in avaya stadium. 7:15, 80. dropping down to a comfortable 72. alexis. >> good morning, we're not looking at any significant problems on the roads right now, so that's definitely good news. i did want to show you walnut creek here as well. maybe going to have to flip the wipers on a couple times but we don't have issues as far as

roadwork is concerned as you travel down 680. i know late last week, we saw delays. this week, it's been pretty quiet. a quick check of drive times, tracy to dpub dublin, in the green. southbound 680, also in the green at 15. and 101 to cupertino, great at 15 minutes. looks like we're wrapping things up on the overnight road work in oakland. >> this afternoon, steph curry is going to tee off in the second round of the ellie may classic in hayward. yesterday, curry made his professional golf debut at tpc stonebray. the warriors all-star was nervous in the beginning, making bogeys on 3 of his first 5 holes. he rebounded shooting 74 on the round. curry will likely miss the cut. only the top 65 make it to the weekend. he's in 142nd in the 156-player field. he tees off at 2:15 this afternoon. >> if you're a parent, chances are your kid's favorite bath time toy is rubber ducky. >> you're the one.

>> that was my impression of a rubber ducky squeaking. it was terrible. we're guessing you have never seen anything like this. >> yeah, look at this dump truck. dropping 60,000 rubber duckies into the chicago river yesterday. this was for the 12th annual windy city rubber duck derby. each duck was adopted by a person for $5. if your duck was among the first to cross the finish line, you could win a trip to vegas or a new car. it raised at least $350,000 for special olympics of illinois. >> it looks like boxed macaroni and cheese. it probably tastes like it, too, plastic. >> terrible. >> next at 5:00 a.m., we're continuing to track that breaking news in campbell where more than a dozen vehicles got burned overnight. >> plus, the changes at dolores park this morning following a triple shooting. that's right, and reggie, you mentioned this. we're going to check in with matt keller live on scene in campbell with the latest on what happened there after more than a dozen cars burned. dozen cars burned. >> also, a bay

whatwhat made them believeace carthat a two-ton behemothhop? could compete in a track race? or that they could take on the elite in world motor racing, and win? we may never truly understand what drives mercedes-amg. but here's to another 50 years of it. mercedes-amg. half a century of driving performance.

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we deliver super-fast internet with speeds of 250 megabits per second across our entire network, to more companies, in more locations, than centurylink. we do business where you do business. ♪ ♪ at the live desk right now, firefighters still mopping up after a big fire destroyed more than a dozen cars in the south bay overnight. abc7 news reporter matt keller has been gathering details on what happened. he's live in campbell now. hi, matt. >> reporter: jessica, since i last saw you, we moved to the back yard of a home on april way, and you can see the damage that was done by the flames overnight. their fence is destroyed, and right behind that, you can see the real damage. 16 vehicles were destroyed by fire overnight. this happened at about 3:00 this morning when firefighters were