>> construction crews were covering up buildings. and it was hard avoiding getting wet. >> jueasy for him to say, perha, while some remember their umbrellas, others not so much. >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> let's get right to sandy, our meteorologist for the storm. >> just about everyone's seeing rain in some form or another, whether it's light or moderate, in the case of the north bay. take a look radar, we do have some moderate pockets around heelsburg avenue. as we look at the peninsula, bay shore area, we are going to get you in even tighter, around 20th avenue, ocean avenue, you are seeing pockets of moderate rain you can see that there in yellow. about a quarter inch an hour.

so some areas are going to get hit hard. into the east bay some moderate to light pockets of vain from emeryville to oakland. we head into the south bay where it's very light and spotty, from san jose north to first street. it's a moderate impact storm, wind gusts in the hills, 25 to 30 miles an hour. you can see where those hill top winds are right now. lower elevations, it's been windy. rain is on the way to the south bay and it's about to hit at the height of the rush hour. abc7 reporter alyssa harrington joins us from san jose to show us the storm's impact. >> reporter: here in the south bay the rain is light and spotty. it started about an hour ago and it's coming down pretty good.

you can see there's some pretty large puddles. but then just as fast as it started, it completely stopped. even the wind died down. but in the past few minutes i have felt a few of those wind gusts and peemz aople are starto get off work, so we're seeing cars going by, splashing into those puddles and it's always a good reminder to slow down and leave room for the car in front of you. just taking look at the weather, and just from a few seconds ago the rain is starting to come down again, light and spotty, i'm only seeing gray skies so it looks like this rain will continue. >> i think you're right, alyssa, the rain started a few hours ago in san francisco and abc7 news reporter carlos sausedo is live near the bay ridge. >> reporter: rain is falling right now, but that's not what commuters wanted to see.

this is one of the entrances to the bay bridge. we are seeing a lot of cars and trucks here moving at a slow pace. we do want to show you video that we got earlier as the rain started about 2:00 this afternoon, the rain caught those who were not prepared a bit by surprise. we saw a lot of people who were walking the streets, some with umbrellas, others without. and we even saw a delivery guy on a bicycle who says he doesn't mind getting wet while making a few bucks, but the slick roadways, well, it makes his job a little bit more dangerous. >> things you have to look out for, manhole covers are hazardous. >> reporter: so you have to be a bit more cautious then? >> a bit more. >> they're coming in more for the umbrellas and the ponchos. >> reporter: as you can imagine, umbrellas, a popular item over at cole hard water in san francisco, where they're looking to quickly get in and out to get

their rain gear. i did go shopping myself, i did get some rain boots because i only had this rain jacket. they are doing their job, they are keeping my feet wet, and so the only thing i have to worry about is getting home in this mess behind me. >> all right, carlos, thanks very much. you can track the storm on live doppler 7 on our abc7 news app. here's a live look at the wet drive at the bay bridge, the toll plaza, getting across the span could soon cost you more. city leaders plan to put a toll hike on the ballot. you may also see a toll increase under this plan. only one bay area bridge would be exempt. abc7 news anchor eric thomas has the details. >> reporter: traise billions fo

transportation improvements. >> $1.5 mill in busses and ferries, funded with a toll increase to $3 that would take place over seven years. >> reporter: tolls would go up by a dollar this year, and once more in 2025. $8 at peak times on the bay bridge. 60% of people are in favor of this toll hike. >> some people won't want to do it. but we think most people are going to want to do it. >> reporter: count this woman among the one who is don't want to do it. >> at first it was $2, then it was $5. >> i think they should leave it as it is. >> but this woman sees a potential silver lining. >> reporter: transportation officials say the money will pay for more express lanes on local freeways, extending cal train

into downtown san francisco and b.a.r.t. into san jose, 35 projects in all. but critics say the hike will hit the poor and people of color the hardest. >> they don't achieve results for the money they take in, but their number one answer to all problems is give us more money. >> reporter: the toll increase would not include the golden gate bridge. protesters worried about the impact of a google megacampus in downtown san jose took their concern straight to the company this morning. abc7 news was in mountain view with south bay residents and the group silicon valley rising. they're concerned that the campus will drive up runts and drive out people who live there. in a google statement they said we look forward to working closely with local officials and the community to create a shared vision for san jose and it's residents.

more than 100 tech ceos have thrown their names behind a bill that will build additional housing developments near state transit hubs. as of today more than 130 ceos including the leaders of sales force, twitter, yelp mozilla, it will improve the environment and the state's severe housing crunch. about a half hour ago the university of california regents delayed a planned vote on whether to increase tuition on all 10 uc campuses. the vote for in state students could come up in may. the regents want more time to convince the governor to give the uc system more money. here's what's under consideration. >> reporter: the university of california regents had a heated discussion regarding the 2.7 tuition hike for in state

students attending one of the uc campuses. this boils down to a $342 a year increase in student fees. a student's tuition would go up to $12,972 for the 2018-2019 academic year. >> it's easy for people to sit around a table and say that $342 is consequential. that is a big impact on the life of our student around the state of california. >> reporter: financial aid covers the full tuition bill for 60% of students. families with an income of $50,000 or less pay no tuition, out of state students are hit hider. they will see an increase of $978 more a year, that means they could be paying $28,992 in tuition and student fees. that's not including room and

board. the system says it's necessary to increase fees because governor jerry brown says he will only allow a 3% funding in his proposed state budget. brown has said uc can do more to cut costs. >> you may want to increase tuition, nobody wants to do it. but sacramento needs to be responsible. >> reporter: but students say every tuition hike hurts them. >> every year we see our tuition go up or preparing to increase it down the line again. >> reporter: last year students saw a 336 dlr$336 increase in t tuition, before that, they had not seen a hike since 2011. stay with us, a lot more to come, toys "r" us is closing a lot of stores and some local competitors are ready. >> let me check and make sure i have that in stock. >> local mom and pop toy stores are thriving and there's a reasons tossed from side to si

plane struggles to keep control. >> you got the whopper? >> yes. >> slow access whopper pass? from fast food to faster internet, the issue of net neutrality is on the radar today.

toys "r" us plans to close 182 stores nationwide. they include stores in fairfield, pittsburgh, pinole, and san jose. this move is part of the chain's

ongoing bankruptcy negotiations. so what does that mean for local mom and pop toy stores? abc7 news reporter laura anthony dug into that question for us. >> reporter: it's a regular ritual for this pittsburgh couple with their 5-year-old grandson chris, browsing the aisles of their local toys "r" us. but like millions of others around the country, the sanchez family now has to cope with the reality that this toys "r" us, 182 stores in all, will soon be closing their doors. so what do you think? >> it's sad. >> it's unfortunate. this is an icon of an institution right here. >> reporter: toys "r" us announcing it's shrinking it's stores by 20% to better compete with online giants like amazon. while the big national chain toys "r" us is closing locations

by the dozens, this local store in danville is doing just fine. steve banduci's family has owned games unlimited since the late 1980s. before online was even a thing. >> my mom started this store 30 years ago and we have carried on our tradition that the customer is the most important thing. >> reporter: it doesn't hurt that they also offer free gift wrap. it's a formula that seems to be working for shoppers like zoe. >> i like the toys i get from here. >> i kind of like the small shops, as opposed to the great big ones. they do have their purpose and sometimes they're a little bit cheaper, but not always as convenient. >> reporter: as for the demise of the pittsburgh toys "r" us. i'm sorry to have to tell you they're going to close. >> it's all right. >> reporter: laura anthony, abc7 news. locals are reacting to president donald trump's pressure on sanctuary cities,

states and counties. the justice department is threatening them with subpoenas if they don't turn over information about their sanctuary policies. san francisco city attorney says we're in full compliance with federal immigration law. what the law requires is narrow and san francisco follows the law, it's that simple. california's attorney general sued the trump administration today over the federal government rolling back fracking regulations. fracking is a process that cracks open under ground oil and gas deposits by using pressurized water. the democrat claims the policy was changed without the public being allowed to comment. >> take this action to protect the 48 million people of our great state of california against federal overreach and to insist that the rule of law be followed by everyone, including the occupant in the white house. >> the federal government said

it wouldn't comment on a pending lawsuit. this marks the 25th people basera has sued the trump administration during the past year. burger king's new ad released today isn't about selling the burgs, but about explaining the beef the company has with the end of net neutrality. they compare it to serving whoppers under a paid pry forization service. >> slow making burgers per second. >> so now they're slowing the access to the whopper. you have a bag. and i can put it in the bag in 42 seconds. >> clever, right? burger king's ad ends by saying the internet should be like the whopper, the same for everyone.

>> i think what was most effective was channeling the frustration people are going to feel by what the future holds. >> at&t is also weighing in on net neutrality. they took out a full page on newspapers and online urging congress to pass an internet bill of rights protecting net neutrality. intel is telling companies to stop installing a patch for their security flaw. >> that's "7 on your side's" michael finney is here with the story. >> we weren't ready for that one. another security snag for intel, the tech company is now warning its users to stop installing the security flaw patch it's provided. the company says the patch could cause problems with excessive rebooting and other issues. you may remember the security flaw was announced earlier this month. it leaves nearly all security devices in the world vulnerable to hackers. intel says it's working towards

another fix. the irs will start accepting tax returns this monday. there are benefits if you file early. if you are due a refund, of course you'll get your money sooner, also by filing early, you're less likely to be a victim of identity theft. you see of you file before the identity thieves, it's nearly impossible for them to get their hands on your refund. united air ba d airlines is flights to more routes. basic economy passengers are not given seat assignments and may not be given access to the plane's overhead bins. there's speculation this could spark an airfare war. >> just in time for summer. >> yeah. >> a rough landing in germany,

abc7 morning's anchor shows us how strong winds had planes doing battle today. >> reporter: hold on to your seats, i hope you don't mind turbulence, take a look at what these passengers endured, they're in for a heart stopping landing. this is a video of several planes struggling to land during a storm. making it a huge challenge for pilots to maneuver their aircraft. the plane swinging back and forth for a while before sink doug on the run way. this plane tries to land but has no luck, the pilot decides to pull-up and circle around the airport where it landed safely. tracking some pockets of moderate rain, i want to show you exactly where it's falling, it's con trained in parts of san francisco, street level radar, balboa street, fulton street,

you can see the mission area, we are seeing some pockets of moderate rain, in the east bay, san pablo, east richmond areas, we're seeing some downpours. burlington game, down the way, the rain lightens. san jose, santa clara, lighter, very scattered in santa cruz. we are seeing some pockets of mod are to heavy rain to heelsberg avenue, heading into the windsor area. to the north of clear lake, watching the development of some wintry weather there, mix of rain and snow, a winter weather advisory has been issued until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow for lake county, what does this mean? they will be seeing accumulating snow in the hills above lake county, so definitely will be difficult driving conditions, keep that in mind, here's the first part of the storm, here's the second part of the storm.

here's the cooler air that comes in tomorrow and why we have potential for thunderstorms. blue canyon reporting heavy snow, and it is one of those situations where i would not advise travel. winter storm winter until friday 10:00 a.m. up to 3 feet of snow expected for the highest peaks. 40 to 60-mile-per-hour winds, expect white houseoout conditio will see powder on the ground accumulating in feet not inches. snow level down to 3,000 feet by the way. temperatures now in the 40s, the 50s, our look from the mt. tam, the evening is going to be difficult because of low visibilities and wet roadways. this is a 2 on the storm impact scale, moderate to light rain, hour by hour we go, pockets of moderate rain between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., then it becomes more

scattered in nature. you see the mixed precipitation around 11:00 tonight. tomorrow we drop it to a light system, scattered showers, but that thunderstorm possibility enters and there will be some high elevation snow. we start this timeline going into tomorrow's commute, the peak morning commute will include scattered showers, it will continue throughout the morning hours and then becomes scattered. as we see some sun breaks, that could destabilize the atmosphere, with some cold air coming in, scattered showers and difficulty seeing with that as well. thunderstorm possibility certainly a threat, isolated with some hail possible going into stotomorrow. tomorrow jackets and sweaters a must. for the afternoon, hang on to the umbrellas. low in the lower 50s. level 1 system, isolated thunderer possible, certainly

snow over the higher elevations and showers at the lower elevations. we dry out for the weekend, low to mid 60s for the warmest spots this weekend. then it remains dry into the middle of next week. you can always download the accuweather app and track the weather any time you want. it's all in the fish skin. using talapia to help bears burned in california's wildfires. that's next. also coming up at 6:00 tonight, pushing for more animal rights, san francisco to be the first city to ban the sale of first city to ban the sale of fur, at stanford health care, first city to ban the sale of fur, we can now repair complex aortic aneurysms without invasive surgery. if we can do that, imagine what we can do for varicose veins. and if we can precisely treat eye cancer with minimal damage to the rest of the eye, imagine what we can do for glaucoma, even cataracts. if we can use dna to diagnose the rarest of diseases,

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plus savings for everyone in your stateroom, when you book now. during the celebrity cruises sail beyond event. two bears are back in their native habitat in southern california after being treated with burns with a method never used until now in the united states. you're looking at video from uc davis, and a team of

veterinarians replacing the skin on the bear's paws with sterilized talapia scales helped speed up the time needed to heal. a dog is being called a hero for helping save a person's life. the pittsburgh police department says a man slipped and fell into the water when then what dog started barking and the dog's owner was able to help rescue the man in the water. good dogs get rewarded. the pittsburgh police department tweeted these pictures of mo, the dog eating treats s that officers bought for him. the world's smallest fly is discovered and it's named after arnold schwarzenegger.

coming up tonight on abc7 "news at 6:00." a busy day for san francisco's new interim mayor. how mark ferrell jumped right in after last night's heated meeting to appoint him. what lawmakers on both sides

of the aisle are doing after several allegations of sexual misconduct. cable is expensive as it is. but imagine getting billed twice? and entomologist in los angeles discovered the smallest fly. >> and he ee's naming it after arnold schwarzenegger. you see the resemblance, i assume. >> well, in this side by side, yes, a little bit. the eventomologist said the fly bulging forearms made him of schwarzenegger. e-government moor and now you g bug named after you. >> for michael finney and all of us here, we appreciate your time, and hope to see you in half an hour.

>> see you then. tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the judge's decision. the former usa gymnastics doctor, larry nassar, sentenced to 175 years in prison. the judge telling him, quote, i just signed your death warrant. and what he said when she asked, "are you guilty?" also, we have breaking news coming in now. what president trump just said about talking to robert mueller under oath. as the special counsel moves in closer to the president. the high speed collision today -- >> oh, no. oh, no. >> the suspect trying to escape police, crashing head-on into an innocent driver. the deadly school shooting. two dead, several students shot. and tonight, what we've now learned about the 15-year-old with the gun. the deadly flu epidemic. one of the newest victims, a 6-year-old girl. and the new study that came out late today, what the flu does to