memorial. >> more than 1,000 people attended but only asian-american speakers were ed lee's two daughters. alyssa is live. >> some offended by how a prominent speaker described late mayor. >> reporter: talking about his smile and squinty eyes, and lot of people took great offense with. some people in asian-american community say that was insensitive, especially at his memorial service and tonight they're honoring him in chinatown with a candlelight vigil. chief of protocol charlotte schutz recalled his laugh. >> wonderful laugh with swingely -- wetwingel twingely -- just like the picture, squinty eyes.

>> reporter: deeply offended. >> i was shocked. am i hearing it correctly? >> everybody felt uncomfortable but didn't know how to handle it. >> reporter: retired judges spoke at different memorial service for the mayor thursday, this one in chinatown. >> felt uncomfortable when one person spoke about slanted eyes. >> reporter: say they don't think schutz was trying to be racist but found the words uncomfortable. and lack of seating arrangements and lack of asian-americans in reserved area of the rotundra. >> not very sensitive to the chinese community and no asian speakers other than the mayors two daughters. >> reporter: in open letter lee family association said it looks like whites only while asians an other ordinary people relegated to the side.

not from ed lee's family. this is association for chinese-americans with the last name lee. mayer mayer's office of protocol said in part plis schalts apologizes in any of her comments ment to be heartfelt and warm offended anyone. loved the mayor much and will miss him dearly. abc7 news. a special election for new mayor will be held june 5th. total of six people have filed to run. former supervisor angela senator mark leno and janekim among them. deadline is january 9th. new at 6:00, san francisco symphony severed ties from charles de twa after multiple allegations surfaced today.

he was scheduled in concerts january and april. in a statement the symphony said move for zero tolerance of sexual harassment in the workplace. news first broke at 4:00, man arrested and accused of mailing home-made bombs to two homes, including to a police officer. live with exclusive details, melanie. >> these are the federal charging documents just unsealed. ross laf erty with mailing explosive device with intent to injury or kill and not his first run-in with authorities. long rap sheet including drugs, arson and weapons related crimes. his past helped authorities catch up to him now. this is the man. prior convictions and dna on file led them to him and this house on the 4500 block of

mountain view avenue in zbloekd i seen that last night, not in this neighborhood, we don't do that up here. but i guess we did. >> according to the documents unsealed, dna on file matched dna on batteries used on explosive device mailed in east palto alto in october. father opened the box suffering injuries. >> fidgeted with it, held it at distance and it exploded. >> then last month, alameda police officer's wife was injured opening explosive device. in both cases, return address to jewelry store. the devices and packages were also similar. laverty appeared in federal court, remauns in custody. detention hearing next week. abc7 news. new details, suspected

robber shot to death by security guard at walgreens identified. maurice charles. happened before 8:30 monday night at walgreens on 1st and santa clara street. reviewing the case to determine whether the security guard should face charges. took almost a month but this escaped inmate from stockton is become under arrest. stockton police posted this on facebook, hard to believe he stayed hidden this time with skull tattoo on his face. tough to conceal. got a tip today, found and arrested him. back on november 27th, escaped from honor farm where he was serving time on a weapons charge. with the passage of the republicans' tax reform, some homeowners are thinking of prepaying april installment of property taxes now. >> santa clara county's tax collector says 3% increase so

far. >> david louis said it has to do with changes in the federal tax law awaiting the president's signature. >> reporter: it's not tax filing but bay area homeowners are doing the calculations to deduct this year before the plan takes effect. second installment is due april 10th. calls this idea win for taxpayers and government. >> that's almost $500 million in property taxes paid to santa clara county and split between the schools and cities and so forth. if more people pay that sooner, significant financial benefit. >> reporter: math is complicated because the 2018 tax bill limits property and income tax deductions to $10,000. recently bought median priced $1 million house are already paying -- in property taxes. says prepayment might be a big

help to those paying $5,000. if they prepay $2,500 dueueueuee april, might derive a benefit in the new plan. out of luck those whose taxes are collected and dispersed by mortgage servicer. >> i don't think can direct the servicer to pay early on their behalf. much of the time may not be enough in the impound account to pay early. >> reporter: because all tax situations are different, consulting adviser or accountant is advisable. san jose, abc7 news. congress has approved a stopgap spending bill to keep federal agencies running through january 19th. awaiting president trump's signature ahead of a midnight friday deadline. he's said he will sign it. includes extension of funding for childrens health insurance

program and foreign intelligence surveillance act. >> we're ready to work across the aisle to ensure there's no lapse in funding for critical services. >> we hope the future will be different and republican friends realize their goals better served by than strife. >> passed a bill for hurricane and wildfire recovery. not expected to review until after the new year. federal judge blocked changes by trump administration on birth control coverage. would have allowed more employers to opt out of birth control at no cost to women, part o california and other states filed lawsuit arguing would lead to unintended pregnancies to cost the states more money. similar ruling.

san jose frost covering the roof of the car. opening warming centers for people who need to get in out of the cold. didn't look much more bundled up here than usual. spencer christian with the temperatures. >> feels like winter. if you thought this morning was cold, find new adjectives for tomrrow. live doppler 7, clear skies, temperatures tumbling. freeze warning for virtually all the bay area except coastline and frost advisory there. 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., dropping to 22 to 32 degrees inland. 29 to 32 on the coast. and under conditions like this, helpful tips. protect plants, pipes, pets and watch out for icy spots on the

roadways. despite cold weather and moderately clear skies, concern about the air quality. spare the air issued for tomorrow, saturday and sunday as we expect air quality to become poorer, possibly because of wood burning which is not permitted in spare the air alert. keep that in mind. coming up next, san jose firefighters who got to have dinner with rob lowe after saving his home from the thomas fire. you're not alone, four days till christmas, cooking and cart filling not overiest. heard of lost mail but how do you lose a 7 foot tall christmas tree? just happened to peninsu

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now with the people first warranty. southern california fire crews have contained a fast-moving vegetation fire not far from downtown riverside, started just after 11:00 a.m., forcing mandatory evacuations in the area. cal fire says extra resources ready because of the danger conditions, wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. raced to get more containment of the thomas fire before tonight. destroyed more than 1,000 structures, including 750 homes since it started december 4th. 18,000 still threatened.

burned more than 272,000 acres, second biggest in california history. 60% contained at this hour. a group of san jose firefighters made national headlines after invited to dinner at rob lowe's house. part of a strike team in southern california for the thomas fire. sat down to talk about the experience. >> reporter: it's not every day you meet celebrity and eat dinner in home with them. that's exactly what happened to mike and brian, sent to battle the thomas fire. >> we heard oprah lived there, ellen, creator of "friends." >> rob lowe's house in is mont see theto and you can see how close the flames were to his house. group of firefighters protected his multimillion-dollar home. thrilled when invited to dinner. >> welcoming.

went in, lots of food. started heating up when we showed up. had a fridge, whatever you want to drink. >> lowe and wife fed them hamburgers, spaghetti, chicken and salad. relaxed and ribbed him a little bit. >> he told me how many twitter followers he had and i told him he needed to work to get more like the kardashians had. he was laughing about that. >> reporter: much-needed break after days of fighting flames and hospitality meant a lot to the strike team. >> he said thanks, appreciative of the work, said he didn't know how we did it. >> reporter: now getting attention, interviewed by national media outlets by skype and phone, humbled by it, glad to walk away with a memory they won't forget. abc7 news. happening now, we're in one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season, aaa expects

more than 170 million americans will travel some way, most by car. more than last year, continuing trend of increased travel. interstate 680 in walnut creek. busy out there. afternoon rush hour and with last-minute shopping, now more crowded. south bay, 101 in san jose, heavy traffic southbound there as well. peninsula, heavy on the san mateo bridge. moving but busy both directions. headlights are east toward hayward. window for shipping online for christmas gifts is closing rapidly. brick and mortar stores seeing more business from shoppers. walmart in san landro to see how things are going. >> $14. >> this is $9.

>> reporter: no department store can beat nearly infinite choices online but can compete in prices. >> i hate the stores and crowds. >> the lines are going to be crazy. >> reporter: might be overstatement. but manager of this san leandro walmart says the sales are picking up. >> will be intense, well over $350,000 the next three days. >> reporter: some people wait because procrastinators, other do the bulk online and pick up odds and ends at store. ramon likes the feel of store shopping. shops late so the kids won't find out. >> look around to see what they want, come back by myself to pick it up. >> reporter: laura is 21st century. >> rather do amazon prime. >> reporter: sales up 8% even

though shoppers say it doesn't feel as crowded as years' past. one piece of advice? shop early. >> bulk, 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. >> reporter: if you're stuck, professionals do -- >> gift cards. >> reporter: and remember who christmas is for. in san leandro, eric thomas, abc7 news. cutoff for ups and fedex overnight is today. you missed priority mail cutoff for christmas. >> that was yesterday. but tomorrow is cutoff for priority express. >> teensy bit more time. weather, feels like christmas now. >> colder by the minute. >> tonight is cutoff for heavy blankets. live doppler 7, clear skies and chilly conditions prevail and just going to get colder into the night and overnight hours. live view from abc7

exploratorium pier 15 san francisco, sliver of the moon up in the sky over san francisco. current temperature readings, 52 in the today, san jose at 52. 46 at gilroy and 45 at half moon bay. emeryville, also looking at moon. 49 in santa rosa and napa. 37 at fairfield. sutro tower, nice view of san francisco. freezing cold next two mornings. milder days as clouds come in and warms up. sprinkles possible day after christmas, next tuesday. overnight, clear skies and low temperatures in north bay, dropping into mid to upper 20s. inland east bay, 30 expected in concord, 28 in fairfield.

morgan hill, 28. 32, right at freezing san jose. and around the bay, 35 in richmond and oakland. cold everywhere. tomorrow mostly sunny, thin high clouds around. cool to chilly with highs on the coast low to mid-50s. upper 50s inland but not many 60-degree readings. when we have these cold snaps, north bay is usually coldest. so santa rosa is indicator of the low temperature trend next seven days. next couple of mornings, low temperatures, several degrees below freezing bouncing up to a few degrees above over the weekend into early next week. that's inland trend. and four-day forecast for greater lake tahoe area, mostly

cloudily, 40s, low to mid-20s overnight. some freezing precipitation there monday or tuesday. here too but not freezing. accuweather seven day forecast. sunday morning is more typical. increasing clouds. milder for christmas, mid-60s inland, low 60s around the bay. pretty mild tuesday. there's a slight chance of light precipitation or sprinkles tuesday mainly in the north bay but highlight it because any rainfall this time of year, we cheer for it. >> clinging to hope. >> but not desperate. >> just a little bit. >> on the verge of desperation. coming up, $663 million

will bay area voters approve a proposed toll hike in bridges next year? could be up to $3 more for all bay area bridges except the golden gate. officials say would fund dozens of regional transportation projects. go before voters in june.

54% support $3 increase if it helps ease traffic congestion. we're conducting informal poll on twitter and it's landslide, 95%, absolutely not. we'd love to hear from you. you'll see thousands of new electric cars and trucks on california roads next year and people hope fewer emissions as result. california's air resources board as approved $663 million in funding to increase the number of zero emission vehicles used in the state. spend most of the money on programs to clean up shipping industry and rebate for companies diesel replacement with clean energy options. >> last year -- this is closer to $400 million. >> cleaning up air around shipping ports because piece

proportionate number of economically disadvantaged people live there. goal is reduce 30% 2030. new numbers on the sales of recreational cannabis. three months after became legal in nevada, sales higher than projected. $12.5 million more in tax revenue in three months. becomes legal in california january 1st, aged 21 or older. cities and counties create their own rules governing sales, some have banned them. we put together explanation on our website abc7news.com. there is a place in concord going the opposite way of a national trend. >> a lot of stores closing but new shopping center is opening. next, what is bringing in shoppers across the bay area?

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development in -- since 1973. >> concord is setting a new trend, opening a new shopping center that's drawing people from across the bay area. it's a rough time for retail. many brick and mortar stores are closing down. >> leslie brinkley shows you what makes the situation so different in concord. >> reporter: what do shoppers like about this new shopping center? >> nicer, fresher shopping environment, clean, hip, new, modern. >> reporter: came from dublin to check out 50 new tenants in the veranda. >> shocked they're opening mall, sun valley across the freeway. >> reporter: ten new theaters, fountain, light shows. >> 365 whole foods. first 365 location in southern california. if i want to shop for clothing

and on the way out get groceries, we provide the opportunity. >> reporter: bucking a national trend. according according to a study announced plans to close stores in 2017 more than store openings. celebrating additional retail space. >> add more services to the community, we have more happy people. win win win. this is first major development since 1973. >> reporter: new veranda center expected to generate as much as $800,000 in sales tax revenue in first year. concord, abc7 news. new developments with the controversial plan to build 16 cell towers in hills contractor didn't get to the

public utilities first to get approval. adds if they have to make a decision, denying all 16 applications. been a lot of residents pushing for that outcome. in a statement said contractor failed to meet application requirements. frontrunner in race for the next governor is familiar to us in the bay area, gavin newsome. current lieutenant governor leading with support from 26% of likely voters, his highest level yet. next closest is former los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa. but undecided voters tend to swing republican. >> two republican candidates campaigning i don't think have captured the conservative vote yet. if one of them does and do a

good job of bringing trump voters home, could get 22%, 25%, that shakes everything up because democrats would have to get over that number. >> primary election will be held in june. muni says starting tuesday begin rallying one of the bus lines to still under construction transit center. week days 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. transit center supposed to be open by end of the year but construction delays pushed it back to june of next year. salesforce paid $110 million to the city for naming rights. ups confirms that driver killed in deadly wreck on southbound in oakland was off duty. fedex big rig and sedan collided. shut down the southbound lanes

five hours. say speed could have been a factor but trying to figure out what caused the tragic crash. police in central valley trying to catch the person responsible for random shootings. sister station in fresno with the story. >> reporter: bird's eye view from sheriff's helicopter eagle 1 shows the stretch of road where the shooter struck again sunday night. >> we have not determined what motive is or could be for these shootings, they all appear to be completely random. >> reporter: deputies have stepped up patrols into the area where the majority of the shootings are happening. ten separate cars hit from november 22nd until now. med era and fresno county. >> common thread is victims heard loud bangs as another vehicle passed them going the

opposite direction in the roadway. they later inspect vehicle and find bullet holes in various places. >> reporter: two victims from last week said they were shocked and afraid when trucks were shot driving. one on the way home and other heading to work when shooter attacked. mostly in traditional morning and afternoon commute times. mondays and fridays also days many of the crimes are happening. majority during a two-hour window. >> mostly between 2:20 and 4:40 in the afternoon, one later at night. >> reporter: one person injured, hit by shrapnel in the chest and expected to recover. abc7 news. founder and ceo of papa john's pizza is stepping down two months after john snapchater criticized the nfl leadership

over national anthem protests by football players. blames slow sales on the outcry of players kneeling. drew praise from white supremacists and company later apologized. head of alphabet is stepping down. eric schmidt remains a technical adviser. joined google as ceo in 2001. put announcement out in twitter, can't wait to dive into latest in science, technology and philanthropy, look forward to working with larry and sergei here at alphabet. how do you lose a christmas tree? >> 7 on your side's mvp is answering that. remembering oakland favorite. man and a piano bar. get latest news,

abc7 news app. push alerts for more

oakland's long-time piano man has left the stage. rod dibble was at piano for more than 50 years at oakland's the alley, neighborhood legend. one of the best piano bars in the bay area. told abc7 news that rod knew nearly 5,000 songs. passed away monday at 85. closest friends, the alley cats, will gather at piano and more formal remembrance will be next month. the meadow will finally be named after greatest benefactor. parks and rec department changing to to the robin williams meadow. comedy day organizers say robin williams secretly supported the free event for years to support local comics and sometimes headline or perform as guest. three years after death felt it

was perfect way to pay him back. >> almost burst out into tears in the room. would have been embarrassing. i didn't bring kleenex. >> takes effect immediately. google the meadow and it's already labeled. chance of i'm worried. i have this medical bill...oll, huh?

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well it's hard to have a christmas tree trimming party if you don't have a tree. >> basic thing. peninsula family got stuck, bought a fresh-cut pine tree online and somehow got lost in shipping. >> can't be easy to lose a tree. but as we reported, shipping companies struggling to keep up with record number of deliveries for online purchases. still got to wonder how you lose a tree as tall as kevin stockings hung by the fire. >> dalmatians.

>> village on the table, pine, lawn ornaments. just one thing missing. >> the tree. >> went online and bought a silver-tipped fir tree from farm near yosemite. >> hard to find in the city, bought it online. >> shipped to him weeks before the tree trimming party. except the tree never came. called ups. >> it will be there 4:00 p.m., it's on the truck, don't worry. >> days later, still no tree. called again. >> we don't know, can't find the tree. >> it's a 7 foot box? 30 pounds? you can't find the darn christmas tree? >> searched through thousands of boxes and no one could find the package. holiday party two days away. >> call 7 on your side. >> and we contacted ups, agreed to send new tree overnight. >> thursday received it.

party, everything great. >> didn't end there. >> daughter georgia calls me up, guess what came? >> 7 foot box arrived, you guessed it, the original tree. >> two trees and that's probably dead. >> ups did not say how it got lost or how it was found. >> pretty dried out. >> considering itsng itsng itsng a fine tree. >> know anybody who needs a tree? >> no matter, can always find a place for another decoration. >> ups is handling more packages this year than last but glad to get this to the family for the holidays. hotline is open monday through friday, (415)954-8151. and reach me through facebook.

>> what a story. >> right? >> better than going around, it's about this tall. >> green in color. thanks michael. look at this. palace released two official photos of prince harry and fiance meghan markle. it's burning up internet. both pictures at royal-owned country house in windsor, released a third photo as thank you. taken day of portrait sitting. marry may 19th at windsor chapel. >> hard to compete but viewers are up to the challenge. >> capture in big sur. gorgeous. perfect time of

#abc7now. stunning isn't it? >> really is. live doppler 7 pales by comparison. clear skies, cold conditions and even colder overnight. mid to upper 20s. it's going to be cold all over. freeze warning in effect for virtually all the bay area 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, mid to upper 50s just about everywhere. and statewide tomorrow, dry but cool, especially in northern 2/3 of the state, highs in the 50s, south 60s but no 70s. national is fairly calm except for stormy weather from the mississippi valley. snowing in new england tomorrow. we'll have dry weather through

christmas day except for slight chance of sprinkles on tuesday the day after christmas. >> santa will take it. thank you spencer. new 49ers qb. >> gaga for garoppolo. >> jimmy gq some tapped him. wonder what it's like leading the game-winning drive in fourth quarter. what did jimmy garoppolo say in the huddle? >> one play after another here guys. let's go finish this one. >> he is

good evening. interesting test of wills going on with the warriors. steph curry is doing drills, testing that sore ankle. you know he doesn't want to miss the christmas day showdown with lebron and the cavs but they have a protocol you have to go through a full practice. there's no time before monday. but looks like draymond green will be back. he's been bothered by nagging

shoulder injury, missed 5 of past 6 games. but without two of the all-stars, dubs won ten in a row. >> we have done well, don't look like ourselves, our fans can feel it. but that's how it goes. tread water where you can in the season and try to get healthy. before you know it, be back and looking like ourselves again. >> hopefully soon. 6-8 record, raiders technically still have chance to make playoffs. planetary alignment and haley's com comet flyby would be all the stuff to happen. expectations coming into the season were incredibly high, especially for quarterback derek carr, coming off ayear, massive contract. amidst massive disappointment carr wants everyone to know this season is not complete loss.

>> i use everything we go through to get better. use it all, feel the fire to grow and learn from. things i've gone through this year i've never been through and learning to deal with them and execute at high level. this time next year i'll feel like a better player because of what i went through on the field and off as well. i think going forward i'll definitely be a better player. >> nfl advised referees using a folded piece of paper is no longer acceptable to measure the ball. unfortunately comes after he did it. grinning for the cameras, said he used card to reaffirm his decision but either way, jack del rio was not happy about it. league fining the seattle seahawks for a violation when russell wilson took a helmet to

the chin, refs told him to go to concussion testing and immediately popped out and went back into the game. seahawks coaches and medical staff must also go through protocol training now. 49ers look like new team now that jimmy garoppolo has arrived. miked up leading against tennessee on sunday. >> keep running good routes. they can't handle your quickness. hit them off you, you'll be fine. far from over. keep stringing them together. one play after other, let's go finish this one. he has to turn his hips, safeties are so deep, you're going to get another 10 or 12 yards. >> fast decision, tight end down the middle. >> if he's playing on top, you can do one of these and then go. feel it out, be a football

player. >> there's that star power at quarterback. fast decision, pinpoint accuracy, jimmy garoppolo makes it look easy. >> good job fellows. >> they stole him for second-round pick, this is amazing stuff. abc7 sports by river rock casino. >> very cool. >> he's smooth. coaching everybody up. >> thanks larry. join us at 9:00 on 20. shootout at hospital, police ducked for cover. what happened next? >> marijuana is about to become legal. coming up, one company is hoping you'll be hungry for its business. "a charlie brown christmas," cma country christmas. >> "jimmy kimmel live,"

celebrity guests for aids/hiv programs. >> i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze, for spencer and larry and entire team, have a good night.

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♪ this is "jeopardy!" introducing today contestants -- a political media analyst from washington d.c... a retired chemistry teacher from hudson, pennsylvania... and our returning champion, an insurance salesperson from florence, new jersey... ...whose 3-day cash winnings total... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! [ cheers and applause ] thank you, johnny. and thank you, ladies and gentlemen. hi, everyone. i'm sure you have noticed that without much fanfare,

in a very quiet way but a most impressive manner, kate, our returning champion, has won three games in a row and has averaged over $20,000 per win. she's good. eileen and johnny, you're warned. good luck, players. here we go. now the categories for the first round today... fun subject. each correct response ending in those two letters of the alphabet. followed by... hot stuff. kate. i'll take barbecue for $600. kate. what is golden brown? that's it. barbecue for $800, please.