he was probably the most kind, gentle -- >> truly decent human being. >> thank you, mr. mayor. i go miss you very much. >> an emotional night at san francisco city hall tonight as mayor ed lee's friends and colleagues say good-bye. >> good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm dion lim in for ama daetz. ed lee passed away early this morning after suffering a heart attack. tonight at city hall flags are flying at half staff in his honor. >> inside, supervisors stopped business to share their heartfelt condolences and personal memories. abc 7 news reporter tiffany wilson is live at city hall tonight. tiffany? >> reporter: dan, people have been stopping by the memorial behind me all night long, and the mayor's colleague said he was humble and hard-working. one shared a story of how mayor ed lee helped clean the streets

of san francisco before he became mayor. just one example of the sacrifices he made for this city. the light scent of flowers filled the mayor's office while a heaveness covered the board's chambers tonight. >> the mayor was not only an outstanding public servant but also a husband and a father. >> reporter: one by one supervisors from around the city voiced their grief. >> i believe truly that he was probably the most kind, gentle man that happened to be a politician. >> reporter: they shared their gratitude. >> i would not be here today if it were not for him. i am so grateful for this opportunity to be able to serve the city. and it really was because he gave me this opportunity. >> many offered personal stories. supervisor mark farrell says his 5-year-old son thought he was going to light the christmas tree last week, not the mayor. mayor lee overhead and did something unexpected. >> he actually motioned to my little son cain and brought cain up and they kind of held hands on top of each other and flipped

the switch together. >> many mentioned ed lee's sense of humor. >> i didn't know how corny his jokes were until i went to arlen. he goes do you know that there's a river named after me here? river lee. >> and his ability to work with anyone, even those who criticized him. >> he never held my words against me. he never hesitated. >> reporter: supervisor jane kim says despite the difficulty of working today mayor lee would have wanted them to carry out his mission. >> we will continue to serve and lead in the city to honor his legacy. >> reporter: in san francisco, tiffany wilson, abc 7 news. the mayor collapsed at the safeway he often visited on monterey boulevard. and abc 7 news reporter cornell barnard talked with a woman tonight who was there to comfort mayor lee in his final moments. cornell is live at the safeway with her story. cornell. >> reporter: first we want to show you a small memorial that's been established to honor mayor lee. angela gracela says one moment

she was shopping here last night, the next in the middle of a major medical emergency involving the mayor. and she tried to help. >> lying on the floor. he had a lot of difficulty breathing. >> reporter: angelica gracelas told us on the phone she'll never forget how she tried to help mayor ed lee after he collapsed in this safeway store. mayor lee's wife anita called out for help. >> first thing i asked was are you feeling any pain? and he said yes. >> reporter: gracelas called 911. a dispatcher told her t aspirin paramedics could arrive. she did. >> i just hoped he was going to be okay but woke up to the sad news. >> reporter: just blocks away leon chow prayed outside mayor lee's home in glen park. chow, a union representative for home health care workers, brought flowers, candles, and signs of thanks. chow says the mayor was always supportive. >> the mayor now is in heaven, that everybody appreciate him.

>> we can dedicate tonight's lighting of the menorah in memory of ed lee. >> reporter: the lighting of the union square menorah on the first night of hanukkah paid tribute to mayor lee. rabbi yosef langer says the mayor was instrumental in helping chabad of san francisco find a new home south of market. >> he was a candle of light. he gave of himself to the people of san francisco. and we're going to miss him. >> salesforce ceo mark benioff tweeted, "i'm so sad to hear of the passing of mayor lee. one of the nicest and kindest leaders i've ever known." lee's long-time support of technology and innovation will likely be one of his legacies. today salesforce honored lee on its digital lobby screens for all to see. in san francisco cornell barnard, abc 7 news. meantime, prominent politicians from the local to even national level have been sending condolences to the people of san francisco and high praise for the late mayor. >> ed lee was different from any

of the rest of us holding public office. he literally had nothing except great respect from everybody. and it was not respect earned by a politician. it was the respect earned by a public servant. >> when we talk about families, he spent 30 years here. these department heads, these are his closest friends. and they lost someone they love dearly. it's hard. >> now, former secretary of state hillary clinton tweeted tonight, "lee's death is a terrible loss for the people of san francisco. he was a good friend and a vocal advocate for the city he served and loved. >> mayor ed lee began building his legacy of service to others in san francisco's chinatown, and that's where many of his friends are reflecting on his life and career. mayor lee joined the asian law caucus as a young attorney back in 1979. he spent 13 years crusading for people who looked for a powerful voice. mayor lee grew up in public

housing. his early legal clients included public housing residents who went on a rent strike demanding basic amenities like heat and hot water. >> when he left law school, he could have taken a lucrative job working for some major law firm and instead took really minimal wages to represent poor people. >> mayor lee also worked to help organize garment workers to make sure they were paid minimum wage. >> as to what's next, board of supervisors president london brie takes over as acting mayor. city charter says she'll remain in place until one of two things happens. either voters will choose next june who will finish out mayor lee's term which ends in two years or the board of supervisors could meet at any time to vote on someone else to serve as acting mayor until that june election. >> i think it's very premature today to consider what next steps are. but certainly i and other members of the board will make these considerations. but today our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

>> now, if the board chooses to vote in someone other than brie to serve until next year's election, that person would need 6 of the 11 supervisor' votes. supervisors can't vote for themselves. now, we alert you to the breaking news of the mayor's passing just after 2:30 this morning. and we've been sending updates all day long. you can get breaking news as it happens by downloading the abc 7 news app and enabling push alerts. move on now to some other news. a stunning victory in alabama. tonight a democrat has won a senate seat in the republican state for the first time in a quarter century. however, his opponent, the controversial roy moore, will not concede. abc news reporter lana zak has the latest now from montgomery, alabama. >> reporter: what people thought was going to be a crimson tide in alabama turned out to be a code blue. democrat doug jones has pulled off an historic victory, an outcome that months ago would have seemed inconceivable. >> this entire race has been

about dignity and respect. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: and the president tweeting tonight, "congratulations to doug jones on a hard-fought victory. the write-in votes played a very big factor but a win is a win. the people of alabama are great, and the republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. it never ends." just 33 days earlier the accusations of sexual misconduct were made public against republican roy moore, who has been accused by eight women in a range of offenses including sexually assaulting two of them as teenagers, one as young as 14. and preliminary exit poll results show that voters were deeply divided. 49% saying those sexual misconduct allegations are definitely or probably true and 45% say they believe that those allegations are definitely or probably false. moore denied all allegations and without conceding the election told his supporters to go home, hinting that he may fight another day. >> i really want to thank you for coming tonight and realize

when the vote is this close that it's not over. >> reporter: and according to alabama law if the vote is within half a percentage point an automatic recount would be triggered. but roy moore also has another option available to him. any candidate according to alabama law can call for a recount. reporting from montgomery, lana zak, abc news. just ahead, justice for the family of sierra lamar. the teenager's killer has been sentenced to prison for life. now prosecutors are face a new fight to make sure h there. and -- 40-foot flames. >> he describes a 40-foot wall of flames. a man forced to run for his life in the oakland hills describes his terrifying escape. plus a look at ed lee's powerful impact on the sports world in san francisco. >> i'm spence christian. dry and mild weather will continue, but there will be an improvement in air quality. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up. >> all that is ahead. but first here's a look at what's coming up tonight on

"jimmy kimmel live" right after abc 7 news at 11:00. jimmy. >> thanks, dan and dion. hey, we made a show if you're into that sort of thing. >> is the sheep colorblind at all? is the sheep going to be influenced by her pink shirt? >> by the pink shirt. >> no, she's not blind. and the color

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i'll do what i've always done... dream more, dream faster, and above all... now, i'll dream gig. now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. the man convicted of killing teenager sierra lamar has been sentenced to life in prison. >> we do have satisfaction that he'll never see the light of day. >> reporter: it was another emotional day in court for sierra lamar's family at an

especially hard time of year. >> christmas was always such a special holiday. and that will never be the same again for us. >> reporter: the man convicted of killing sierra, antolin garcia-torres, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. in court we learned garcia-torres wanted to make a statement but prosecutors wouldn't allow it because he refused to do it under oath. legal analyst steven clark wonders if they made the right decision. >> maybe it would have shed? light on what happened to sierra lamar. and at the end of the day that piece of this mystery is still out there. >> reporter: garcia-torres now goes to state prison while his defense team works on his appeal. >> the defense will attack this on appeal in saying this is a cruel and unusual sentence for this man under these circumstances. >> reporter: the circumstances being his age and lack of criminal record. >> i know that the attorney general's office along with our office will vigorously oppose that appeal. i expect it to be denied. and i expect him to spend the rest of his life in prison and

to die there. >> reporter: as part of his sentence the judge is requiring garcia torres to register as a sex offender. that could affect his housing and how he spends his time behind bars. in san jose, katie marzullo, abc 7 news. both residents and firefighters are saying the same thing about a fire in the oakland hills. boy, it could have been a lot worse. the fire broke out at a construction site on a steep hill along snake road late last night. within moments residents encountered fast-moving flames and they really had just seconds to leave. >> that was probably like a -- i don't know. 40-foot wall of flames. and then it was raining embers down. apparently one of the embers caught our neighbor's car on fire on the way down. we had to get out quickly. >> could have been a lot worse. we could be facing what they're facing in southern california. >> firefighters evacuated 50 homes. two families were displaced and the flames badly damaged five houses. meantime, fievts are marefi making progress on the thomas fire, one of the biggest fires

in california history. it's now 25% contained. they are attacking it from the ground and the sky, as you can see there. so far it's burned 236,000 acres and destroyed 900 structures. investigators aren't sure how the thomas fire started. they did find the cause of another fire last week that destroyed six homes in bel air. investors -- investigators say it was sparked by a cooking fire at a homeless encampment. take a look at this massive hole in the ceiling. a southern california couple said a chunk of ice plummeted from a plane and smashed right through their roof. when it hit they said it sounded like a bomb went off. luckily, they were not in the room at the time. for now they are sleeping in the guestroom. pretty scary when it falls just out of nowhere from the sky. sometimes that ice from planes is really from the toilet, by the way, which is even -- >> that's horrible. >> it's frozen. it's true. >> that's great to know, that trivia that's so useful. >> let's talk about the weather forecast. awfully cool out there tonight, spencer. >> it is getting very cold.

in fact, in the inland valleys it's going to be below freezing in some locations. but here's a look at things right now. looking at live doppler 7 you can see we have mainly clear skies. there's a bit of haze out there tonight but it's probably not visible at the moment. skies are generally bright. we have that haze and we have a decline in air quality because of the smoke from the southern california fires, which continues to be swept out to see and then guided northward hundreds of miles up into the bay area by the winds aloft. we've had hazy conditions for several days and five consecutive spare the air days with two more coming our way. right now, though, we're looking at nice calm pleasant conditions over the embarcadero from our rooftop camera. 53 degrees in san francisco. mid 40s in oakland, mountain view, san jose. 37 in gilroy, getting chilly down there. and 39 degrees at half moon bay. check out this view from our east bay hills camera as we look at some other rather chilly temperature readings. santa rosa 36, 39. mid 30s in novato. 40 in concord. and 37 in livermore.

as you can see it's getting quite chilly inland. here's the view from sutro tower looking out over san francisco. forecast features, hate to be repetitious but it will be cold inland again tonight. poor air quality the next two days before some improvement in our air quality on friday. and there's a chance of rain late next week. although it looks like a weakening chance right now. clear skies, a little fog in the central valley and we'll see low temperatures dropping to about 28 at santa rosa, 30 in napa, over in the inland east bay mid 30s expected in concord, livermore and antioch. about 40, 44 degrees right around the bay. tomorrow hazy, sunny, mild day with highs in the mid to upper 60s at the coast and around the bay and inland. and as we look at our air quality for the next two days, we're going to end up with seven consecutive spare the air days by thursday. but on friday we get improvement. we'll have moderate air quality in virtually all bay area locations and actually good air quality in some regions on saturday. things are looking up in terms

of air quality. it's been a dry december so far, no measurable rain yet. we don't expect any measurable rain until late next week, thursday and friday. and even then as i mentioned only a weak chance of rainfall. here's the accuweather. seven-day forecast. looking at the week ahead. seven more days of mainly sunny, hazy, and unusually mild weather. we'll get an increase in clouds on friday and an improvement in air quality but it will remain warm and dry through at least into the middle of next week. we'll keep watching that chance of rain next thursday and friday. if it does materialize looks like it will be accompanied by? chilly air which will produce snow in the sierra. >> i feel like we get to throw a curveball in there because it's so boring. >> it really is. i know. same old thing every day. >> spencer, thanks. well, tomorrow on "good morning america" a newlywed bitten by a shark on her honeymoon talks about what happened. and the secrets to holiday haggling. smart ways to get stores

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take a look. tonight the cast of "star wars" met the royal family, which actually includes two of the movie's ex-straz. prince william and prince harry walked the red carpet with their fellow castmates from "the last jedi." the princes were pulled into the shoot while visiting the set one day. "the last jedi" hits theaters in the u.s. this friday. keep in mind you won't recognize the princes behind their storm trooper helmet. "star wars" is owned by our parent company disney. >> see, more proof life isn't fair. they get to be princes and in the "star wars." >> awful. >> i could have been one of the storm troopers. you can't see anybody. i'll make the claim myself actually. >> nobody would know. >> for sure. in sports pretty much everybody who met ed lee came away saying the exact same thing. what a nice man. the bay

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good evening. from the giants to the warriors to the america's cup, ed lee had a major impact on sports here in the bay area. his passing today left many in the sports world stunned and saddened. >> three in five years. i can't still believe it. we're in a dream. >> often seen basking in the championship glow. a smile on his face. ed lee genuinely loved bay area sports. and the teams were a fan of his too. >> he was a true personal friend of so many people here but also a great friend of the warriors. in our history will go down as one of the most important people. >> reporter: lee's love of sports was real. he helped bring the u.s. open

and america's cup to san francisco. >> all the different sails. it's wonderful. great experience. >> reporter: hosted the super bowl. >> welcome to san francisco, the host of super bowl 50! >> reporter: and lured the golden state warriors from oakland back to the city. he knew the all-star athletes by name. >> you give steve curry an inch and he may take golden state a mile. >> don't worry. he made up for that one. >> number 30 on the court but number 1 in the hearts of warriors fans everywhere, stephen curry! >> reporter: lee was in his element as he celebrated two warriors and two giants world championships. >> i think it's all about teamwork. >> reporter: and while the 49ers technically left for santa clara under his watch, it was the decisions of his predecessors that led to their move. which he made up for when shovel in hand he broke ground on the chase center. >> it speaks volumes to the commitment of this ownership

group, and it also says something about our city. >> without his invitation to return the warriors to san francisco and his dedication to doing all the things that had to happen to make it a reality, it wouldn't have happened. >> reporter: a crown jewel arena for the warriors that will be a major part of ed lee's lasting legacy. >> wanted to share a personal note because i was hosting an event a few years ago for what is now the foster farms bowl and the mayor happened to be at our table eating lunch and afterwards the mayor was kind enough to take a selfie with me and my daughter kianna who was meeting him for the first time and afterwards said wow, mayor lee is so nice. he will be missed. the giants, they wanted shohei oh tatani. the angels ended up getting him. yahoo! sports reports he has an injury to the ligament in his throwing arm. he needed a prp injection in his

ulnar collateral ligament. the angels knew about this as did all the other teams that were wooing otani. it's probably the least serious injury a pitcher can have. but it does ultimately lead to tommy john surgery. the ohtani can still be valuable to the angels at the plate even if he's not throwing 100 miles an hour. abc 7 sports. >> good stuff

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that's our report. we appreciate your time. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm dion lim. right now on jimmy kimmel

heyward's very own dwayne t from hollywood, dwayne johnson, guillermo del toro, music from g-eazy. here's jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: hi, everyone. thank you for watching. thanks for joining us on yet another crazy day in the united states. the state of alabama had a special election to decide whether or not an alleged