motorcyclist that crashed into a big rig. no word when the crash will be cleaned up. a tow truck is on scene. other top story, the ghost ship fire. >> one week after a judge threw out plea deals for the two defendants it appears there will be a trial as early as january. >> derick almena and max harris face 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. laura anthony is live in oakland with more. laura? >> reporter: well, hi, ama. this hearing here this morning was very brief, just some procedural things taken care of. as for the trial itself no date has been set yet, but the attorneys told us they are looking at early 2019. >> we are going to have a jury trial, both defendants, and it will be next year. >> reporter: with the prospect of a plea bargain now off the table attorneys for ghost ship defendants derick almena and max

harris are gearing up for a trial. one attorney will try to have it moved out of alameda county. >> potential jurors in alameda county for the most part have absorbed all of the assassination of character attributes manifested in the press of my client. they have an opinion. >> now we have the opportunity to show that he's innocent. >> reporter: harris's attorneys will try to have his case separated from that of almena, the primary tenant and the founder of the ghost ship. both men face 36 charges for the december 2016 fire. his attorney says much of harris's defense will involve diverting blame to the owner of the warehouse and the city of oakland. >> i think that nancy o'malley should try this case personally since it's the biggest murder case in the history of alameda county. she should stake her entire

political career on the outcome of this case. >> of course you heard from our horrible mayor lib >> he's not worried about the outcome -- >> my client speaks the truth. my client has shown remorse. >> reporter: now sarah told us he will file his motion to move this trial out of alameda county in early november. as for another plea deal there was absolutely no talk of that today and the da's office here maintains that any deals are now off the table. in oakland, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> laura, thank you. a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by residents of the santa rosa senior home who accused staff of abandoning them during the deadly north bay wildfires last year. 17 elderly residents and family members sued oakmont senior

living which burned when fire swept through the fountaingrove area. they alleged the home wasn't prepared to evacuate all residents safely. melanie woodrow broke news of the lawsuit last year. terms of the settlement were not released because it hasn't been signed yet. hundreds of officers paid tribute to one of their own today, 19-year chp veteran officer kirk griess was killed one week ago while conduct ago traffic stop near fairfield. carlos saucedo takes us inside the heartfelt memorial service. >> reporter: the large procession involved chp helicopters, motorcycles and many in uniform. the father's house church in vacaville filled to capacity as colleagues shared fond memories of fallen officer kirk griess known as hollywood. >> when he took off his helmet, you couldn't tell, his hair was still perfect. >> reporter: the dapper good

looks overshadowed by his big heart. >> kirk was my friend and he will never be forgotten. love you, brother. >> reporter: the former u.s. marine turned chp officer reflected chris's commitment to serve. one of his daughters following in his footsteps about to finish the police academy. >> now that i have 29 days until i graduate, i know i need to stay strong. if he were here he'd be holding my face and telling me to finish. >> reporter: his chp badge presented to his wife. he was killed while conducting a traffic stop near fairfield a week ago. a civilian was also killed in that crash. investigators say the suspect was driving reckless and was distracted by his phone. a tragic loss the family hopes turns to a teachable moment. >> to kirk's parents, sheldon and helen, they've asked me this morning to send a strong message to the community about the dangers of distracted driving.

sheldon, helen, it's coming. >> reporter: in one of the more light hearted and unforgettable moments, when storm troopers took the stage griess's favorite movie character, the force now with him as he was escorted to his final resting place. carlos saucedo, abc 7 news. >> an effort is under way to help the family of the other man killed in the crash on interstate 80, jaime manuel known as jim's remains need to be returned to his family in the philippines. the family of nia wilson announced today they are filing a lawsuit against bart. nia was stabbed to death at the mcarthur bart station las nia's death is not some horrific anomaly that occurred

in two seconds that nobody could do anything. >> the family's attorney says bart missed previous threats by the alleged killer john lee cowell. the attorney says witnesses told them they had threatening run-ins with cowell, each time he was said to be armed with a knife. a bart spokesman said they cannot comment on a current litigation. safe injection centers for homeless drug addicts. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is live outside city hall joining us now with more. wayne? >> reporter: city hall seems like a logical place in a city that has a has been it of defying federal law. it was san francisco in this very building that performed same-sex marriages, it is san francisco that protects immigrants inside this city, and now they want to defy federal law again. in his daily process of giving help, paul harkin says he needs

help. to resc them the evidence shows it does indeed work. >> it will do the work better if glide church opens a safe injection center inside its walls. it would take addicts off the street, keep w themafhile high and help them kick their habit. >> not only for safety, but abduction. >> reporter: since inception, the centers have faced opposition from san francisco. opponents today, a full assault. >> our job is not to exacerbate the addiction. our job is to deliver them from this madness. >> reporter: pastor ron allen, a former crack addict himself, just one of many who spoke out against safe injection centers today. >> we're afraid this will only worsen the problem because it will only attract more homeless people and drug addicts to come to san francisco.

>> reporter: to establish such centers would violate federal law. the city and state are looking for ways around that, hence the delay. safe injection centers in other countries do work. >> drugs are not a criminal problem, they're a health problem, and people are going to do what they're going to do. you can't just berate people or criminalize people into not being addicted to drugs. to someone who's addicted, what they need is help. >> reporter: when supporters cite the success of these safe injection centers, they point to other countries where safe injection centers have helped prevent the spread of hepatitis c and hiv. those who do not want them in the city say they want stronger city ordinances and they want more police. wayne freedman, abc 7 news. higher temperatures and a drop in humidity this weekend could spell trouble for firefighters battling the mendocino complex fires. the fire is now 67% contained, but more than a thousand

structures are still threatened. the complex is the largest fire incident in state history. containment is growing on the carr fire in redding, up to 75%, and all evacuations have been lifted. in southern california, the holy fire is 85% contained tonight. the man accused of starting that fire was in court today, but the judge suspended the hearing after several bizarre outbursts. reporter greg lee from our sister station in los angeles has that >> reporter: an orange county judge heard enough from 51-year-old forest gordon clark after a bizarre hearing that went on and off for nearly an hour. clark is accused of starting the massive holy fire, which tonights to move towards containment, and burning two weeks so far. >> that's my live energy. it's being transmitted.

>> reporter: this was just one of clark's outbursts during his scheduled arraignment. the court took two breaks because of his strange behavior. at one point he stood on the bench and looked right at our cameras and pointed towards an envelope. last week he refused to come out of his cell. several outbursts in his first appearance, continued his erratic behavior, pointing someone out in the the judge questioned clark's competency and suspended the criminal proceedings against him. two doctors will now evaluate his mental status before he returns to court on october 10th. the judge set no bail. clark is due back in court on october 10th, pending his mental evaluation. reporting in santa ana, greg lee, abc.news. facebook is being sued for

housing discrimination by federal regulators, the u.s. housing and urban development says -- pick and choose which facebook users see property ads. that's a violation of the fair housing act since those ads can exclude certain demographics. the company is working with hud to address the concerns. integral part of san francisco's rock and roll history, but now jefferson airplane cofounder is saying his career is ruined. the midterm elections are less than three months away. democrats hope to take back the house. there's a growing debate over the party's leadership. i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. head to the coast. back with a full look at the forecast coming up. i'm michael finney with free tickets to winning (sound of footsteps) (sound of car door opening) (car door closes) (sound of engine starting)

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a national park service employee was reported missing in yosemite today. john cogdell was seen on the 15th. last week the park service reported san jose resident scott tenczar missing as well. an experienced hiker last seen july 25th. planned to backpack from robertson creek to peeler lake. one of men part of -- his tracheotomy was botched, causing him to lose part of his tongue and leaving him with a paralyzed vocal cord. he was hospitalized for emergency heart surgery in 2016. he's on the far left in this photo of jefferson airplane. the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. the health group that runs the hospital said it can't comment on pending legal matters. with three months until the

midterms the future of democratic leadership in the u.s. house is a hot topic. minority leader nancy pelosi in san francisco intends to run for speaker if the party takes back the house. but some are calling for her to step aside. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen has the story. throughout this election cycle republicans have made nancy pelosi part of their attacks. >> danny o'connor would side with nancy pelosi, not you. >> reporter: taking back the house come november. statistician nate silver from 538 saying this. >> this plays out in every congressional district. >> reporter: we spoke to a reporter from the "washington post." >> a lot of midterm fights are being fought in this district where pelosi's brand of liberal politics may not always be welcome, as democrats try to

oust republicans. >> should democrats prevail in november, a about thele is shaping up on who will overtake nancy pelosi. some say she needs to step aside, but others are coming to her defense, including eric swalwell. >> i've seen how skillful she is, and i also don't like allowing our opponents to tell us who our leader should be. >> reporter: joe tuman says one of her top traits is delivering when it counts. >> replacing her for the sake of replacing her so somebody else can have a turn at the job is not a great thing to do unless that person comes wiinstitution knowledge. >> reporter: in san francisco, chris nguyen, abc 7 news. president trump wants to end quarterly earning reports for u.s. businesses. he's asked the securities and exchange commission to study from switching quarterly reporting to biannual reporting,

once every six months. that would allow companies to focus on growing their business. stocks ended the week on the upside, the dow rose 110 points, s&p and nasdaq were up nine. progress in resolving the u.s. and china trade disputes, hoping to have a resolution by november. governor jerry brown reviving a plan to tax the water you drink. lawmakers proposed a similar plan in june. that called for taxing residents 95 cents a month. water agencies around the state are opposed to the voluntary tax. a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy by counseling professionals in california is one step closer to becoming a law. a hearing on the bill drew a lot of people in sacramento. the proposal would make it illegal for someone to profit if they tried to xu orientation.

some religious leaders believe banning conversion therapy violates the rights of californians. they realize they have the desire once they're married to the opposite sex and want to stay married, don't they have the right to choose the lifestyle they want? that's all we're talking about here, let people be free to choose. >> the bill is now headed to the state assembly. opponents vow they'll sue if governor brown signs it into law. a bill allowing seven cities to extend night life hours is heading to the full state assembly. state senator scott wiener tweeted his revised last call until 4:00 a.m. bill pass it had final committee yesterday. the cities that could be part of the pilot program include san francisco and oakland. opponents say if passed the bill would add new costs and lead to more dangerous roads. similar bills have been introduced and killed several times since 2004. now your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. hi there, everyone, it got hot inland today, temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. live doppler 7 right now, the

reason why the coast remained comfortable, we have the fog around and we have a weak sea bra breeze, temperatures compared to 24 hours ago, everyone running warmer, nine degrees warmer in san jose. livermore, up 13 degrees in santa rosa. good place to get away from the hot weather, santa cruz, enjoying the beach, blue skies there, 62 in san francisco, 68 in oakland in the 80s in san jose, but morgan hill is cooking at 95 degrees. kgo roof camera looking along the embarcadero, the trees are blowing in the wind. santa rosa, napa, 78 degrees. 20 degrees warmer in fairfield, 98 right now. concord, 97 degrees. in livermore it is 94. look at our highlights coming up here, fog confined to the coast tomorrow morning, hotter inland, mild at the coast in the afternoon and we're looking at the heat easing some on sunday. a live look right now from our sutro tower camera, the sea breeze is definitely playing a role and bouncing that camera

around as we look towards the beautiful view of downtown san francisco. here's another view from the emeryville camera, and you will notice the haze around. air quality is beginning to decline. a spare the air alert issued for tomorrow. poor air quality inland east bay and santa clara valley. limited fog to the coast, hour by hour, and headed into tomorrow morning around 8:00 a.m. it will not go far, remaining near the coast and into the afternoon hang around as we typically see this time of year. in the morning, fog will be around the beaches, temperatures range from the low 50s to the low 60s. clear skies inland and then tomorrow afternoon get ready for the heat. around morgan hill, gilroy, upper 90s in the south bay, 88 in san jose, 82 sunnyvale, 85 in cupertino. 80 in menlo park. 82 redwood city, low to mid-60s near the coast, the fog hanging around like today, keeping it

comfortable, 68 downtown san francisco, north bay, you'll see the 60s near the beaches, but away from the beaches, definitely warmer, 86 in san rafael. ukiah, mendocino county area, hot, triple digits, east bay, 76 in oakland. 83 in fremont. inland, 99 in concord. 95 san ramon. brentwood, antioch, upper 90s to low 100s, sty hydrated and cool spot. check out the temperatures hour by hour anytime you want to plan your weekend. accuweather seven-day forecast featuring summer heat. the heat eases on sunday, numbers ranging from low 60s to mid-90s. on monday, get ready for cooler weather. it will be drastically different from sunday or even saturday. we're looking at upper 80s inland, upper 50s beaches, below average by tuesday in our inland valleys, only 86 for the warmest

spot. we will see the temperatures come back up a few more degrees, art of the workweek, ama and eric. finneyri free stuff is coming up next. all about tickets tonight. new at 6:00, amazing video of a mountain lion mother and her cubs inside their den. it's giving new hope for the species' survival in sonoma county. the challenges faced by these 11-day-old cubs and how this

time now for finney's friday free stuff, your chance to go to a couple fairs. >> michael finney is here with the details. >> $25 worth of fair tickets. pretty good, huh? let's start with the wedding fairs. those are a very big way in today's world to figure out what it is you want at your wedding. we've got free ticket for 200 people for the upcoming show in san jose, the giveaway on this one is a $15 value.

the event is 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. this sunday at the double tree hotel. wedding plans isn't easy in the bay area. wedding fair is here to help. come check out the event. they're going to have all the stuff there, fashion, decor, dresses, all that kind of stuff, see it here in the video. definitely worth checking out. you're going to spend a fortune on your wedding so you might as well know what you're going to spend all that money on. if you're out and looking for a good time, got your kids, head to monterey county for 80 years they've had their county fair there. it is as unique as the county itself. the giveaway here is worth $10. the monterey county fair runs from august 30th through september 3rd. that's at the monterey county fairgrounds. that's in monterey proper. come and shake your tail feathers, the theme of this year's monterey county fire, a dedication to our feathered friends who will be at the fair. it has all the normal fair stuff as you can tell.

look at that, look at that. >> gorgeous. >> all the stuff. >> corn dogs. >> you like corn dogs? >> i do, only at the fair. >> alameda county fair, i got a text, get me a corn dog. >> bring a corn dog back with you. >> how do we get this stuff, michael? >> great question, probing journalistic question, no fake news here. abc7news.com, and we'll hook you up with the items. >> perfect, thank you, michael. >> sure. it is shaping up to be a big weekend at the oakland coliseum. >> the a's have a shot to take over as western division leaders, the important series starting tonight against the houston astros.

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(sound of footsteps) (sound of car door opening) (car door closes) (sound of engine starting) ♪ ♪ the signs are everywhere, the conversations are changing,

the words, they're personal. some signs you seek out. some find you. and behind every sign is someone's story. our job, see the signs, earn your trust, be an ally where you live. we do more than cover local news. at abc 7, past our mission to do your story justice. coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, fires and forecasting it's about more than phenomenon like the firenado. south bay researchers are on the forefront. california may be a dream destination, but the reality of living here can be far from it. the struggle to make it in the golden state. get a password manager to remember all your passwords. one problem, it's not that easy. "7 on your side's" michael finney found that out. coming up in a half hour. the oakland a's could take over the top of the al west this

weekend. >> the houston astros are in town for a three-game series. a sweep would give the a's sole possession of first place. the astros swept the a's in may and june. manager bob melvyn hopes to continue the trend. >> it can be exciting and this time of year it should be exciting. to be able to be in this position and play the world champs in the fashion we are right now is an exciting time. >> i think it's important that we stay in the moment. it's still middle of august, a lot of games to play. don't put too much weight in one series in the middle of august, but a big one. >> the game is at 7:00. larry beil will have the highlights tonight on abc 7 news at 11:00. i'm eric thomas. >> i'm ama daetz, for sandhya patel, michael finney, thanks for joining us. see you at 6:00.

tonight, several breaking headlines as we come on the air. president trump tonight doubling down and a threat to strip security clearance. our correspondent asking the president, are you trying to silence critics by taking away critics. what the president said and what just happened. what 60 former cia officers have now done. also breaking, the severe thunderstorm watch in parts of the northeast just as we come on the air tonight. damaging winds, lightning expected. the system flipping a plane leading to rescues. rob has the new track. new york city and boston watching closely. >> developing what the judge in the paul manafort trial revealed. th