driving is difficult. the roadway was shut down for hours because of whiteout conditions there. right now only trucks are restricted. and near tahoe city, a tractor trailer went over an embankment. look at that picture, we're told it was not chained up. we're told there was a sudden whiteout and the driver just couldn't see outside of his truck. conditions are rough for skiers as well. we just got word that kirkwood has shut down all of its chairs for the day, it is late, but because of increasing avalanche hazards as well. >> it sounded like glass breaking, i didn't see any cars get hit, but yeah. >> and a real mess in the oakland hills, power lines and power poles are brought down by a fallen pine tree. a dozen customers have been without electricity for the entire day, so a real hassle for them. and right now this live picture in emeryville, both gray skies and a little bit of sun,

quite dramatic as you can tell, the calm before the next wave of the storm. >> let's get right to abc7 meteorologist sandy patel who's tracking the storm. >> let's take a look at what's left of this storm. there's a lot more to go. right now we're in the next wave that is coming in, after the soaking rain this morning now we're left with lighter showers from ukiah to old river road. occidental road, we're seeing light to moderate showers, we head over to dry creek road, definitely some wet spots during the evening commute. light to moderate showers between gilroy, highway 101. take it easy on the roadways, a wider picture shows you the main energy and the low is still going to come through here, so we still have a lot more to go. on our storm impact scale, light to moderate showers, possibility of thunder, and the higher terrain is under a wind advisory

until so10:00 tonight. winds right now gusting to 30 at mt. tam, oakland hills, 28 miles an hour. we have several more waves to go, i'll let you know how long you need to hang on to the rain gear, timeline is coming up. strong wind gusts in the north bay have kept crews very busy cutting up and clearing out downed trees to help prevent backups and flooding of area creeks. >> this is crazy. >> and on the peninsula, look at this, heavy rain prompted one davey city resident to videotape the drops just pounding a parked car and then posting it on twitter. major flooding on the east bay thoroughfare that caused part of the road to collapse. leslie? >> reporter: well, this is a really busy commute corridor in

and out of maraga. and you can see traffic is flowing through here in both directions, but the road is badly damaged by the water main break. at 5:00 a.m. with rain pounding down, a water main burst on the shoulder of moraga way, water bubbling up through the asphalt and into the yards of six east bay homes before mother nature got a grip on it. >> it was a clogged up cast iron main in an extreme high pressure zone, that might have been one of the reasons that pipe might have broken. >> reporter: the fractured asphalt damaged a gas line, crews had to enlarge the hole to 10 feet by 30 feet to make repairs, which means the hole takes up much of the northbound lane affecting traffic flow. on a nearby alternate route, moraga road, more backups to

endure for this man and his dog bugs. >> i just left take tahoe last night, i heard the storm was coming in so i bailed out and cut my trip short. >> reporter: the blizzard is in full bloom now in the mountains and snow lovers are driving through the rain to scoop up deals at local ski shops. >> it's going to be an epic storm, one of the best storms we have seen in a decade, maybe even longer. >> reporter: just slow going on the roads in the east bay and beyond. >> and you want to be sure to track the storm with the abc7 news app, it's a way to get up to the minute newscasts and live doppler 7, we upgraded it so you can customize the forecast for wherever you are. now to gun violence and school safety, we want you to join the conversation. tell us, which do you pry twr prioritize, gun control, mental health, maybe both.

today students at two north bay high schools got a rare opportunity to talk school safety and gun violence with the congressman who represents them. abc's eric thompson has more. >> reporter: that's how north bay congressman jared huffman began his conversation with the 90 or so students at the middle school in geronimo. >> how do you feel about the right to bear arms and the right to own semi-automatic guns? >> we have always allowed reasonable restrictions on the second amendment. >> reporter: this comes after 19-year-old nicholas cruz opened fire outside a florida high school. 17 people were killed, the results? anxious parents and students around the country. the congressman was asked to come in and talk to the students about gun violence and schools

and he was obliged to show up. later he visited students at s casa loma high. some students were looking for something more. >> what can we do because we don't have the power that they have. >> i would suggest you got a lot of power right now, as part of a restless generation that's just not going to take it anymore. >> reporter: he says keeping pressure on elected officials through calls, letters and social media is one way to exercise that power. in petaluma, eric thomas, abc7 news. >> good conversation they had today and again, you can be part of this conversation, you can vote in our live poll, which do you prioritize to curb gun violence. take a look at what people are reaching out to us to say to us. gun control, about 25%,

health at 15%, and both about 55% say that's the way to go. you can go to abc7news.com/vote and tell us what you think about gun violence in america. voter will decide whether to arm officers with tasers. support of the measure puts him at odds with police chief william scott who thinks it should be the police commission that decides the issue. but he told mia farrow that process has taken too long. >> they have had this policy for months and months and have not acted. if we have a policy that allows our men and women of the police department to use this equipment, then i will support the ballot measure. >> this mayor is about public safety, i'm about public safety and we need to just get it done. >> both farrow and the

mayor are in favor of arming police officers with tasers. donald trump jr., nicola t. hanna, the u.s. attorney for central california, michigan senator debbie stabinow and california congressional candidate antonio sabato jr. the suspect was taken into custody. >> today's arrest sends a strong message to those who seek to terrorize the american public, by sending white powder through the mail, whether real or a hoax, don't do it. >> reporter: today a joint terrorism task force announced the arrest this this man, daniel frisiello. he's accused of sending white powder to five high profile people across the country >> in the trash discarded from

the home, among other things, the agents found a computer printout that appeared to contain portions of a chart with descriptions of people that matched people who had received the mailings with the white powder. >> reporter: federal authorities believe dauber was targeted for her role in recalling -- a former stanford swimmer was -- the case drew widespread attention when persky sentenced him to sick months in jail and three years probation. >> our movement is not going to be intimidated, we're going to continue to go forward and stand with survivors of the sexual assault. >> reporter: the fbi says the white powder turned out to be harmless, but frisiello has been charged with 10 counts of

terrorism and false information. officials tell us as many as 12 units at wood creek apartments are destroyed, damagedor potentially uninhabitable. investigators report they'll soon begin looking into the cause of that blaze, no reports of injuries. b.a.r.t. has finally begun its crackdown on fare evaders. it's been a problem for a while, but some bugs needed to be fixed in the new scanners and now they have. thousands of honest riders scan their tickets at b.a.r.t. stations every day. while others find a different way past the fare gates, estimated loss of $15 million or more. officers have long patrolled the entrances, but now -- >> this was less than $2.50 and could not be used to enter. >> b.a.r.t. is unveiling new card readers to help track down

fare cheats anywhere in the system. >> what proof of payment does is it broadens that to anywhere along your trip, you can be stopped and asked to show your ticket. >> reporter: and a new dedicated strike team of fare inspectors didn't waste any time, checking passengers as they exited the escalator. each inspector carries readers, one for normal tickets and one for kicker cards. >> i don't want to stop, usually i'm in a hurry to go somewhere. >> it seems like they're pretty efficient, in terms of going on the train, asking everyone to have their cards out immediately. >> reporter: but if you are caught, fines start at $75 for first-time adult offenders, up to $250 criminal crime for a third violation over a 12-month period. >> we're hoping that will be a deterrent to people and fewer people will fare gate.

>> b.a.r.t. says it's inspectors will be wearing body cameras and will hold random checks to be sure there's no profiling associated with the program. stay tuned here, new arrests by i.c.e. this breaking news is next. a lot of us are extremely concerned because our businesses rely on this. >> this is a popular flower mart. take the bloom right off their roses. you get a drone, but now what? some things to know before doing somefully byes. somefully byes. and l fire fighting is a very dangerous profession. we have one to two fires a day and when you respond together and you put your lives on the line, you do have to surround yourself with experts. and for us the expert in gas and electric is pg&e. we run about 2,500/2,800 fire calls a year and on almost every one of those calls pg&e is responding to that call as well. and so when we show up to a fire and pg&e shows up with us

it makes a tremendous team during a moment of crisis. i rely on them, the firefighters in this department rely on them, and so we have to practice safety everyday. utilizing pg&e's talent and expertise in that area trains our firefighters on the gas or electric aspect of a fire and when we have an emergency situation we are going to be much more skilled and prepared to mitigate that emergency for all concerned. the things we do every single day that puts ourselves in harm's way, and to have a partner that is so skilled at what they do is indispensable, and i couldn't ask for a better partner.

>> a large number of them had been ordered to leave the country or had been previously deported and entered illegally. the san francisco flower mart has been on brennan street for years, but the company said it wants to move it to piers 19, 19 and a half and 23 during renovations. this has flower stores very worried about their bottom line. >> reporter: the relocation of the flower mart would be temporary, but we're talking about a temporary relocation of up to three years. florists say moving it here to the embarcadero couldldldldldldd

their business. ki killroy reality purchased the supermarket in a multimillion dollar deal a year ago, and plans to move the wholesale is flower market. now there's questions about where the vendors will be temporarily housed during the construction. peers 19, 19 and a half and 23 have been chosen for the three-year relocation. >> it would be a nightmare. >> florists plan to voice their concerns at a meeting today. >> our staff has visited it, i think there's going to be a lot of inand o and out, ingress, issues from the pier that already has a lot of traffic from tourists and residents. >> the traffic at 19, 19 23 are actually less. >> once it's built i think it will be a wonderful location.

>> reporter: store enore kim says she supports another location. construction could begin within two years. >> i have to know where, you know, that i have a reliable source to go and buy my product from. and that's kind of what we built our reputation on. all right now to consumer news about drones and what you should know before you fly one. >> "7 on your side's" michael finney is here with more on that. >> there's a lot of rules you have to follow, a lot of people don't know that. you finally got that drone you wanted, now that light weight affordable models are available, you still have so many questions, like what are the laws, what are the regulations. consumer reports just finished testing it's first batch of drones and they have been looking go that too. >> i love filming cinematics of

wherever i go, like on vacation and stuff and then i love making little films with my friends. >> for a long time, drones were used mostly by professional photographers and flying enthusiasts, but lower priced user friendly models are flooding the market, allowing consumers to get in on the action. that sales growth has raised safety concerns as more drones take to the skies. consumer reports says if you're planning to buy a drone, it's important to learn the rules. >> you don't need a license to fly a drone as long as you're flying for fun and you're not being paid to do it. >> but for some flyers, registering the drone is a must. >> you do have to register a drone if it weighs more than half a pound and less than 55 pounds, you need to go to the faa's website and register there, it only takes a few minutes to do it, it costs $5 and it's good for three years. >> when it comes to where you can fly the drone, there are a few clear cut restrictions, you

must not fly it higher than 500 feet and it should stay in sight at all times. >> you should not fly it near prisons, airports, stadiums and national parks. >> the outdoor drone that tops consumer reports first ever droen ratings is dji's $900 mavic pro, it's light weight selfie drone is the dji spark. for $1,200. >> you just don't take it out of the box. >> you can get arrested. >> a lot of people don't know all the answers. now your accuweather forecast with sandy patel. >> as you take a look, i want to show you where we're tracking some showers, they're light to moderate in intensity, we're going to take you into the north bay, street level santa rosa, snoma avenue, you will notice

some moderate showers, solano avenue, across 29, lighter returns and we go to the south bay, we're still seeing some rainfall around monterrey 101, gilroy, so if you're heading in that direction, watch out. rainfall totals. this storm has delivered more than three inches, san rafael two inches of rain, an inch and a half in napa, concord .6. kentfield picking up more than 3 inches and half moon bay an inch of rain. we're not done with this storm, 1.36 in santa rosa. take a look at these temperatures, it is definitely cooler out there, 40s, 50s, a live picture, it is coming down, heavy snow in tahoe right now and the winds are gusty, so chain controls on all roads in the mountains, good idea to hold off on travel, this storm is

dumping blizzard conditions up there. this is a beautiful view, the sun trying to poke through the clouds here, scattered showers tomorrow, thunder is possible, snow over our highest peaks, on our storm impact scale, this is a light level is system, possibility of showers, possibility of thunderstorms, and we will definitely keep the gusty winds over the hills through this evening. so 6:00 tonight, it's going to be breezy to gusty in lower elevations, winds will remain on the gusty side through 11:00 p.m. and then they will start to subside. 7:00 tonight you see the snow up around we will see some light to moderate showers along with high elevation snow. and then by 11:00 p.m., you're looking at mixed precipitation over mt. hamilton, that peak there. we're going to switch to a level 1, friday-saturday, but switch

the details here, tomorrow and saturday we're expecting scattered showers, breezy conditions, there is a chance of rain on friday, but the snow levels will be coming down lower, 1,500 to 3,000 feet. so your 5:00 a.m. commute time, spotty showers, nothing too major around 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, you'll notice that the showers become a little bit more widespread around noontime and we'll keep it in the scattered showers mode with the snow showers at the highest elevations, that will become a little less obvious on saturday, winter storm warning for the sierra, until saturday at 10:00 p.m., additional snow is expected, travel is definitely discouraged. blizzard warning for tahoe, it didn't happen very often, it's pretty rare, until 5:00 a.m. tomorrow, 125-mile-per-hour gusts over the ridge tops, whiteout conditions will make travel impossible. tomorrow cold, 30s, 40s, a few showers, 50s for your highs as you check out the accuweather

7-day forecast, level 1, friday saturday, chance of thunder tomorrow, but it's really the showers and snow. repeat that mix for your saturday, drying out oscar sunday and monday and potential for rain between tuesday night and thursday, also a level 1. download the app and check out doppler 7 a life raf

oh, wow, a big blast toppled a symbol of the industrial past. in ontario canada, two giant smokestacks came crashing down on the shores of lake erie. the government phased out fired plants. this will be replaced with clean

coal technology. look at this, a gaping hole, that's where an inflatable raft crashed through an apartment rooftop after falling through a canadian air force aircraft. officials say that the woman who lives there was lying in bed when the raft crashed through her ceiling. the canadian air force is providing temporary housing for the woman while they investigate how this happened. up next, how a sacramento woman could make history. >> back here in a moment talking about the oscars.

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"news at 6:00," the numb"," youo why two fire victims were toasting today. plus -- >> my anxiety level kept going up, and i was like, no, i'm not paying $2,400. >> a bay area woman sounds an alarm about an expensive home security system that she says didn't work right. and the effort to engage girls in aviation. gerwig wrote and directed the acritically acclaimed film "lady bird." s s >> this movie is so amazing and so surreal, and to be recognized by these people who i have looked up to my whole life and then to be brought into this incredible group of directors.

it's just -- everything about it is amazing. >> gerwig is screen play. >> and a reminder, our complete coverage begins sunday at 1:30 with on the red carpet, and then at 7:00 we have the oscars opening ceremony. >> we have coverage live from hollywood beginning tomorrow. what to prioritize in order to deal with gun violence. >> important question, with 211 votes, people are saying, 24% for gun control, now just 25%, more people have voted, 21% saying mental health and 54% saying both. >> we're going to keep this poll going on abc7 "news at 6:00" so we can hear from you, you can vote by going to abc7news.com/vote. >> for all of us here,

appreciate your time. we'll tonight, breaking news. bracing for a major nor'easter. authorities now warning, this could be a life-threatening storm. hurricane-force wind gusts. the storm from the carolinas up through d.c., philly, new york and boston. wind gusts in some places surpassing 70 miles per hour. also tonight, jared kushner. president trump's son-in-law and senior adviser holding meetings with banks and lenders inside the white house. "the new york times" reporting, in one case, a job at the white house was discussed for one of the men. then large loans from those wall street companies to jared kushner's family business. what's going on? tonight, the nuclear warning to america. russian president vladimir putin and his new threat. giant images of missiles raining down on florida, saying to the world, you'll listen to us now. breaking developments in the