on this thursday morning, we are dealing once again with locally dense fog. live doppler 7, visibility mode showing you along the coast in the north bay where you see the numbers 1 and 2, that's visibility in miles. it is reduced in some areas. we're starting to see the numbers drop a little bit even in the east bay. outside we go. a live look at the exploratorium camera. fog early on. decreasing clouds midday. the afternoon, it's still hot inland but cooler weather will move in along the coast this afternoon. only low 60s there. that's your weather. now your roads with alexis. >> good morning, drew. looking live at the closure around salesforce. fremont street closed between mission and howard. likely will remain this way until next week. this is all for safety inspections after a couple of cracks were found in support beams. it looks like they are letting one truck through. general traffic will not be allowed through this area. we have the off-ramp partially blocked from fremont from the bay bridge.

that is the bus lane that is blocked. >> in you're in a normal vehicle, you can take that. old transbay terminal is being used for the rest of the week and likely into next week as well. just a quick bullet point on what's happening there, casual carpool may be affected as well. same drill as yesterday. keep that in mind today. next traffic updates in 10 minutes >> developing news on capitol hill. just an hour away from testimony of palo alto professor chris dean placy ford. this is a live look at capitol hill where blasey ford will testify this morning. >> ford says kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high school party back in 1982. kavanaugh claims ford, along with two other women who have come forward with allegations against him, are trying to destroy his reputation. >> dion lim is live on the phone. >> reporter: matt and jess cashes good morning. opening statements begin at 10:00 eastern time where the questioning of both judge

kavanaugh and blasey ford will last an hour and 45 minutes with the entire hearing about six or seven seven hours. there was a massive line to get into the building where the public waited for hours. many were turned away because space is at such a premium. security is tight. she herself requested fewer cameras inside. they told me they have never seen anything like this before. we can't even shoot video in the hall ways. that is reserved for a small number of networks. they are from both sides of the aisle in support of the hashtag we believe christine movement and i stand rally. that is the latest from washing. i'm deion limb, abc 7 news. >> reporting live from capitol hill. thank you.

>> the remarks blasey ford will read before the committee today are eight pages long. she details her account of the alleged attacks and, quote, i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from streaming. that was the what terrified me the most. she was asked if any part of her statement was false or she made up any part of her statement. both answers were no. the fbi agent who administered the exam said three separate analyses indicated no deception. meanwhile, there's been a lot of support in palo alto where ford is a university professor. >> later this morning, many supporters plan to rally in her honor outside palo alto city hall. abc 7 news reporter amanda del castillo continues our coverage. amanda. >> reporter: matt, jessica, we could see hundreds of people at 11:30 for that rally. neighbors with a message, our community supports christine. now, we saw blasey ford

supporters show up by the hundreds during a sunday night candlelight vigil. people in palo alto have continued to vocalize their support. others followed blasey ford's footsteps, saying her courage inspired them to come including palo alto mayor liz niss, have credited the professor for giving them the courage to come forward about their own accounts of sexual abuse. she said blasey ford's bravery in expired her to speak up. >> i thought if this can help anybody, if anyone else is willing to come forward, if we can start some kind of movement that says this has happened to women. >> reporter: we will be be connected with mayor niss throughout the morning. the senate judiciary hearing will be under way at 7:00 a.m. our time. rally coordinators will not be streaming the hearing live here.

but i should mention that abc 7 news will have it live on tv and online. reporting live in palo alto, amanda del castillo, abc 7 news. thank you, amanda. you can watch on abc 7 or stream it on the app. >> here in san francisco, director of transit is being accused of sexual harassment. >> a lawsuit filed friday claims john haley inappropriately touched his senior management assistant, sabrina suzuki. she said haley made comments objectifying women and he refused to give her the training necessary to advance her career. the examiner obtained anonymous letter sent to muni executives. it says haley created a hostile work environment with his temper and by making racially-charged comments. muni has not commented on this suit. the headless body found in a fish tank is confirmed to be missing homeowner brian egg. that's according to the san francisco medical examiner.

egg's body was found after neighbors saw strangers at the home last month. two people were detained and later released for lack of evidence. we're expecting to hear more details today about a major break in a series of bay area apple store thefts. six people are in custody in connection to some of these crimes. we have told you about the grab and runs all over the bay area. same bay and the people every time or whether they're part of a network of thieves. either way, six people have bee agencies are l involved in this investigation >> new at 6:00, a health alert for women. birth control might protect against cancer. >> and san francisco streets are getting better, kind of. what a new report is revealing about the conditions of our roads. accuweather, we're dealing with fog this morning likely staying with us through the 9:00 a.m. hour. hour by hour we go. by 10:00, still rather cool on the coast. 70s is in our warmest spots. and this afternoon we're cooler

than we were yesterday. we'll take a

and it's 6:09 on our

thursday. today will be one of the days where we have a wide range in temperatures. cooler on the coast today compared to yesterday. 62 half moon bay. 67, san francisco. pretty comfortable in oakland, mid-70s today. mid-80s for san jose and parts of the north bay like napa, santa rosa. inland, still hot in the 90s this afternoon. but future tracker temperatures will get you into friday. much cooler air will work into the pick. we knock temperatures down 10 degrees inland. even cooler weather to start the weekend on saturday. the cooler weather comes with a chance of sprinkles. we'll detail that in the accuweather forecast in seven minutes, guys. >> all right. taking a look at the roads this morning. good news in vallejo. chp arrived quickly to a two-car crash just before tennessee street. it looks like they cleared it as soon as they arrived. all lanes back open. that has cleared from the board. still 15-minute delay from state raou the lanes back open. bay bridge toll plaza, metering

lights on almost an hour at this point. 5:20 the official time. once you make it past those, no significant delays in san francisco. we have ongoing salesforce transit closures. san francisco roadways are in slightly better condition. the transportation commission has released its yearly pothole report. the city scored 70 points, up two points from the previous year. it was enough to push san francisco into the "good" category, up from "fair." larkspurs had 42 points with many roads in poor condition. roads in oakland are at risk of needing major repairs with 55 points. daly city and foster city have very good roads. >> we are just getting new details about a fitness tracker recall. metallica rocked the dreamforce conference in san

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>> live at the nation's capitol. you see two protests that are

happening near capitol hill. on the left side are supporters of ford. you see the sign holding a sign saying we believe. on the right side are supporters of brett kavanaugh saying we stand with brett. again, these are happening right now. we have heard from numerous speakers. you see a lot of people out there with signs on both sides. we're continuing to monitor everything on capitol hill ahead of that testimony expected at 7:00. so in just 45 minutes >> president trump says he might delay a meeting that was planned for today with deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. he suggested wearing a wire in the presence of trump and considered seeking to invoke the 25th amendment which allows for a president to be removed. he was summoned to the white house on monday expecting to be fired. >> i would much prefer he keeping rod rosenstein, much prefer. many people say i have the right to absolutely fire him. he said he did not say it.

he said he does not believe that. >> the president said he wanted to delay the meeting because he didn't want anything to get in the way of the kavanaugh hearing in the senate. a fitness tracker that's being recalled could do more harm than good. provata health says they may overheat and burn people who wear them. 30,000 were shipped nationwide between august of last year until july. 13 reports of the device overheating and three reports of people being burned. provata will replace them for free. new details about donald glover. tuesday night he postponed his tour because of an injury. he was supposed to be in oakland tonight. that performance will happen december 11th. his show is in san jose is december 12th. if you have a ticket it will be honored for the rescheduled dates. ♪

two industries performing for a good cause.acksone bill i. she performed last night at dream fest, part of the dreamforce conference. ♪ >> metallica also drew a big crowd at the asian art museum. thousands of fans turned out for both concerts. earlier metallica took time to visit kids at the benioff children's hospital. proceeds will help to raise more than $10 million for children there. and carl the fog made an appearance to check out the concerts as well. even he couldn't subdue the festivities, though. bright lights and fireworks at city hall. couldn't dampen the mood. >> look at janet. >> do you think he wanted to see january he et or metallica? >> both. he stayed for the whole concert stphrfplt we have fog this morning. >> we do. the fog not going to be enough to cool us off inland.

at the coast, deposits fog at this hour. sutro tower, on the rise. live doppler in the north bay and along the coast. half moon bay. santa rosa. petaluma, the number 1 is not good. visibility is down to a mile in those spots. later on today, the fog will go back to the coast. 84, san jose. afternoon high 82. morgan hill, 91 later on today. as you go to the peninsula, 79 mountain view. same for redwood city. menlo, 77. mill bright, 73. afternoon sunshine for san francisco. cooler today than yesterday. 67 the high. 62 for daly city. north bay, 80s on the board. 85, petaluma. 80, vallejo. 84 napa. we're still hot inland for one more day in the 90s. 94, brentwood.

91 in san ramon. cooler weather moves in over the weekend. it brings ehle chance of theest saturday in the north bay. download the accuweather app as we can track the sprinkles for you. accuweather seven-day forecast. much cooler friday. a chance of a sprinkle in the north bay on saturday. a better chance coming monday night into tuesday. that's the weather. now a check of the roads with alexis. good morning, drew. keeping a close eye on san francisco right now with the salesforce transit center closure. fremont closed between howard and mission. and we have the big conference at moscone center he as well. a lot going on in the downtown area. not seeing much red, though. a little red from the bay bridge. surface streets are looking okay at this early hour. give it another hour and we will start to see it fill in. as far as the highways, northbound 280 in the southern area of san francisco, we do have a multicar crash. five to six vehicles involved

total. and we do have the two right lanes blocked. three and four are blocked. one and two are open. stick to the 101 if you're able to do that this morning. a quick look into the south bay as well. earlier crash between 280 and 101. it looks like that has cleared up. next traffic update around 6:30. thanks, alexis. phaoz amazon in real life >> new technology to increase security at hotels. it could see what's inside your bag and you wouldn't even realize it. looking outside this morning from suit row camera, a beautiful shot of the city. the fog there. holt temperatures, though, for the inland areas. we'll be right back.

time 6:23 on this thursday morning. we're taking a look at your 12-hour day planner today. early morning fog giving way to sunshine. still hot inland today. hottest spots into the 90s. much cooler tomorrow afternoon, guys. thanks, drew. a woman in her 90s is in the hospital after being rescued from her berkeley home that caught fire. crews from both berkeley and oak hrapbtd fire departments responded to the call of a structure fire at alvarado road 6:00 yesterday morning. firefighters quickly doused the flames and pulled the woman to safety. >> it was confined to two runs. smoke damage into two other

rooms. >> neighbors say the victim is a long-time resident and lives alone. birth control and cancer in women. according to researchers, hormonal contraception can help lower your risk of ovarian cancer by 75%. abc dr. jennifer ashton is talking about it on good morning america. she said this is huge news for women's health. >> this was a big study, almost 2 million women in denmark followed women for 20 years on all different types of hormonal contraception, even newer lower dosed kinds. take a look at that. for anyone who has ever used it, hroerld the risk of ovarian cancer by 34%. if they have been on the pill for 10 or more years, dropped the risk by 74%. dr. ashton said it's important for women to talk to their gynecologist about personal risks. the conversation continues on gma at 7:00.

if the millennials are moving out of cities to buy homes in the suburbs. realtor.com released its an annual list of hottest zip codes. kent wood, michigan. it topped the list. castro valley number four. homes are on the market about 16 days. median price is $780,000. millennials dominated the share of new mortgages. customers in new york city can shop at amazon brick and mortar store. this is a sneak peek inside the store. amazon says everything is rated at least 4 stars, is a top seller, or is new or trending online. customers will be able to use their prime member savings. a dog named luna may be happy and free this morning but it's been a rough week. >> the rescue pup got stuck in a brick wall in her family's

backyard. the curious canine wedged her head through a hole and couldn't get out. her human mom said she tried to put soap and water around her neck. when that didn't work, they called for help. firefighters say thief they are seen just about anything, the traditional cat stuck in a tree, ducklings in a sewer drain. but this was strange. >> you think, well, that's different. >> yeah. it was a lot. i thought she got out or she chased a cat over the fence. and i kept calling. then i see her tail wag like in a bush. firefighters used a metal bar to free luna from the wall of shame. her neck looks a little red but her vet says she will be just fine. next at 6:30, our coverage of the testimony of christine blasey ford. with just 30 minutes to go before the hearing begins. this is a live look inside the senate hearing room. we're live with a look at what she is expected to say in her opening statement, plus new accusations against judge brett kavanaugh. it's not every day you get

smacksed in the face with an octopus. it's caught on camera. >> don't miss it. a

right now at 6:30, another nightmare for east bay

commuters. salesforce transit center closed the next week. a second crack discovered and the effort to find out what went wrong >> just 30 minutes to go. this morning christine blasey ford takes her story of sexual assault to congress. what we already know about her testimony and how judge brett kavanaugh is defending himself >> you're kids and screen time. the alert to parents for how much screen time they're getting and the affect on the child's brain. one more hot day despite the fog. then a big cooldown arrives. and it's finally call. changes coming here on this thursday, september 27th. >> thanks for joining us, everyone. you're never more than seven minutes away from the accuweather forecast. drew tuma, tell us you need a sweater at the end of the week. >> you do. today is hot inland one more day. cooler weather works in here tomorrow. right now fog is an issue in the coast. visibility mode showing you half moon bay, santa rosa, petaluma,

one-mile visibility at this hour. the fog is going to lift by 9:00, 10:00 this morning. hour by hour we go. cloud cover pulling back to the coast. 50s and 60s close to the water. into the afternoon, a little bit cooler than we were yesterday but still warm. temperatures in the upper 80s to that's weather. now a check of the roads with alexis. good morning. >> i want to take you back to a crash we had in san francisco. northbound 280 before you get to the 101 merge, a multicar crash. sounds like as many as five vehicles involved in this one. most off on the shoulder. two right lanes blocked. it continues to grow as you approach 101. two lanes blocked. emergency crews on the scene. they are calling for tow trucks right now. other than that, not a lot of major incidents going on but a lot of heavy traffic. nothing blocking. i see your brake lights right

there. next traffic update at 6:30. thank you, alexis. developing on capitol hill, the supreme court showdown takes center stage in just about 28 minutes here with back-to-back testimonies from christine blasey ford and brett kavanaugh. >> kavanaugh will dismissal gas stations as, quote, last minute smears. hand ma zach is live on on capitol hill with details. lana >> reporter: hi there, matt and jessica. you know, the country is watching as two different versions of a young brett calf a gnaw will be presented to the senate today. one there is a choir boy, high school virgin. and on the other a hard-partying drinker accused of sexual assault. blasey ford will be grilled today in an attempt to find the truth. >> i don't think there's any question in my mind about it, but i'm willing to keep an open mind. >> reporter: kavanaugh submitting his calendar from

1982. rachel mitchell will be representing the republican men on the compete. a third person is coming forward, julie swetnick. she claims in a sworn affidavit she saw him drink excessively and engage in abusive way towards girls. she alleges he was present at a house party in 1982 when swetnick says she herself was a victim of gang rape. judge kavanaugh says this is ridiculous and from the twilight zone. i don't know who this is. president trump says he will be be watching. >> i'm going to see what's said. i will have to see what's said. it's possible they will be convincing. >> reporter: the president talked about women, plural. but only one will testify today.

they are tending to take a vote on kavanaugh's nomination tomorrow. reporting live from the capitol, lana zak. ? the hearing starts in less than 30 minutes. it starts at 7:00 a.m. krubg grassley and dianne feinstein will give opening remarks. then blasey ford will give her opening remarks and then questions from senators. blasey ford will leave and kavanaugh will enter to give his statement and answer questions. you heard earlier from dion lim, live in washington, d.c. for us today. tune in and look for her reports all day long here on abc 7 as well as online. a lot of uncertainty about what's next for is the salesforce transit center. a second crack has been found in another steel supporting beam. amy hollyfield joins with us a better timeline of when this

could have a possible timeline. amy? >> reporter: they will be closed until at least the end of next week. here's where the impact is felt. on fremont street, as the cars get off the bay bridge. that is where the backup is happening right here at howard. you want to avoid this area for the next week if you can. they will keep fremont closed until they can be sure it should be shored up and is safe. people we talked to say they appreciate they're being safe but don't appreciate all the in convenience. one man we talked to drove over from oak were land or from piedmont early this morning. he said he felt the effects of the closure. >> the drive across the bridge was good. but getting into the city was tough, even at this hour. hopefully they'll get it corrected soon and we'll get back to normal. maybe could have been a little

bit better on the execution side. >> here's a picture of the two and a half foot long crack found in a load bearing steel beam. on second inspection, they found a second crack in an adjacent beam. they don't know why the cracks are happening. that is still under investigation. they will first try to shore them up, get them stabilized to get fremont street opened as soon as they can. then they are hoping to mend the beams so they can leave them in place. matt? >> thank you, amy. some commuter may have received a message about taking public transit. ridership saw a surge yesterday. san francisco bay ferry saw a 15% increase. bart says they saw 9,000 more riders yesterday compared to last wednesday.

they were expecting an increase anyway because of the dreamforce convention. we have continuing coverage online and we are keeping you updated with push alerts like this one questioning the timeline of the salesforce closure. you get the news that matters to you. time 6:37 a.m. on our thursday. taking a look at the east bay. of temperature-wise, in the 50s. 55, hayward and union city. 54 the current temperature in oakland. the broader picture, cool spots in the north bay at this hour. santa rosa is, novato, light jackets needed as you step out the door. afternoon will feature warm temperatures. dealing with fog in the north bay. live doppler 7 in visibility mode giving you the active sweep from santa rosa to petaluma. visibility down to one mile. 12-hour day planner.

east bay, big takeaway not as hot as we were yesterday. temperatures in the 90s. three-day forecast, today still hot inland. 93 degrees. tomorrow much cooler. refreshing air moves in. by saturday below average. starting out in the 70s as we head into the weekend. one more day of the heat before refreshing air moves in. nice. >> and a chance of rain too. >> hoping for that. #. >> so far so good for the commute. not a lot of major problems. one area of red i haven't focused on the last 30 minutes. northbound 280 getting into san francisco. they are still working on clearing this crash. a couple more tow trucks. emergency crews on the scene. they have been there for a while. you can stick to the 101 instead if you want to fully avoid that

there this morning. a quick check of the bay bridge commute. coming from the east bay, of course we have the fremont off-ramp partially closed. stick to harrison. right now it's not looking terrible. tracy to dublin, one hour. stop and go 60 out of dublin. >> happening tonight, bart's board of directors will be focusing on rider safety in pittsburgh. rider safety at a special meeting in pittsburgh is and will give the general public a chance to voice their opinion. it was announced last month pped irecent mons, icides that including the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old nia wilson at the macarthur station. the meeting starts at 5:00 p.m.

in pittsburgh city chambers. why the ride-hailing company has to pay out $150 million. a live look at washington, d.c. ahead of that much anticipated testimony from dr. christine blasey ford. the palo alto professor accusing supreme court nominee judge brett kavanaugh

a magical place... that's lookin' to get scared! (laughter) halloween time is back in disneyland and disney california adventure parks!

time approaching 6:43 on our thursday. we're taking a look at the next three days because we will see a big drop in our temperatures. today, though, still hot inland. warmest spots go well into the 90s. by friday, sharply cooler as a much cooler air mass moves in. by saturday, cooler weather could bring us sprinkles. we will detail that in seven minutes. matt, jessica. >> thank you, drew. a live look at capitol hill as we count down the high-stakes hearing where christine blasey ford will testify. the hearing getting under way in 15 minutes. blasey ford will speak first. then brett kavanaugh will speak.

these are protesters inside the building, apparently. we have seen supporters and protesters out on capitol hill. blasey ford is not the only woman accusing kavanaugh. there are two more women. swetnick came forward yesterday. she claims she was at several parties where kavanaugh was drunk while fondling and grabbing girls without their consent. she said kavanaugh spiked drinks with drugs or grain alcohol to cause girls to lose their inhibitio inhibitions. swetnick's attorney defended her and the other accuses' counts. >> all of these women cannot be be lying. it doesn't make sense. they didn't all sit down at a secret meeting at a starbucks and hatch this grand plan. >> ramirez attended yale university with kavanaugh. abc news has not been able to kr

allegations. kavanaugh denied allegations from all of his accusers. in the bay area, there is a lot of support for blasey ford. >> later this morning her supporters plan to rally outside city hall. abc 7 news reporter amanda del castillo continues coverage. >> reporter: matt, jessica, people are saying our community supports christine. that is the name of the 11:30 rally expected outside of palo aloe city hall. rally organizers are asking people to carry mosters with messages of support for their neighbor. coordinators say this is not a viewing party and they will not be broadcasting the hearing. we spoke with neighbors about

the hearing. >> knowing her, i think she will just do great. i hope the court license to her. she has a lot to say. i know she's telling the truth and i really want to hear it. >> since blasey ford was named as an caser, liz niss credited the professor for giving them the courage to come forward about their own accounts of sexual abuse. the mayor and other city council leaders will be sitting together watching the hearing. . >> thank you, amanda. less than 15 minutes away from the hearing. abc special coverage at 7:00 a.m. watch live on abc 7 or stream on our app in abc7news.com. a canadian technology company is testing the goal is to help police and security identify potential threats. >> the pat scan system includes

different sensors and hardware to help identify weapons without the intrusion of metal technology. the main goal is to identify threats like guns, knives, explosives without people realizing the security is in place. >> we're looking at trying to push the perimeter as far as possible. ? we need to believe able to give enough time to be able to respond to that. new at 6:00, a health alert for parents. kids are not getting enough sleep and spending too much time in front of screens, which hurts their brain development. researchers found kids 8 to 11 are getting 3.6 hours of time in front of a phone, tablet or computer each day. and doctors recommend only two hours of screen time >> your morning money report. uber will pay $148 million for a

2016 data breach. personal information of 41 million riders and drivers was exposed. they waited a year to disclose the hack. california attorney general javier becerra said the settlement will hold uber responsible for unprecedented new standards. >> for the first time in history, an ag's office has required a company to implement privacy by design into its products. that means uber must integrate privacy considerations and protections into every phase of their product's development and design. >> under the settlement, california and the city of san francisco will split $26 million. cadillac is hitting the road from michigan. the automaker has just announced plans to move headquarters back to the detroit area after three years in new york. the parent company, tkpwfp m., said it will improve product development and put car designers clear to the manufacturing process.

we're not making this story up. we have video evidence too. a new zealand fur seal smacked a kayaker in the face with an octopus. >> he laughed it off simply saying he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. what are the chances of that seal just being able to find an octopus and put it right in the guy's face. >> so strange. >> it is a strange story. >> he just is like, whoa, you know. i would be like full-blown panic mode. am i being attacked? he seemed to realize what's happened and is laughing. >> i'm sure he is in pure shock. what are the chances of all of that happening and also being videotaped. >> very cool. >> i have no idea. >> i totally lost it last hour. >> don't do it again. i can't look a lot you right now or you'll make me laugh.

we have fog out there right now. san francisco. a live look from sutro tower. very typical late september pattern. later today back to the coast, 84 san jose, 91 morgan hill. cooler along the peninsula. 78, palo alto. 79 mountainview. 75, san mateo. cooler today in san francisco than yesterday. 67 in the city. cloudy in daly city, 62. north baker's cyst 85. santa rosa, petaluma, 80. into the east bay, sunshine. 80, fremont. 82 orinda. one final day of some intense heat. in the 90s again. cooler air moves in friday and saturday.

right now the best chance in the north bay for a light shower. another chance coming in the accuweather seven-day forecast. tomorrow is sharply cooler. a chance of a sprinkle. better bet monday night, tuesday for a chance of a light shower across the region. accuweather forecast. as we change day by day. now alexis with the traffic >> good morning, drew. pretty start in walnut creek. pink sky. 680 not as pretty. flashing lights on the right-hand side. a pretty minor crash called in to chp. they are on the way to the scene. i believe just the far right shoulder blocked. we've been keeping track of this 45 minutes. northbound 280, 101 split, two lanes blocked. i believe we would five vehicles total involved in this one. nine-mile per hour average

through the backup. a quick check of the surface streets in san francisco. the closure with thee transit center. fremont through the end of next week likely. a little backup off the bay bridge. alexis, thank you. uber executive who made sexually suggested comments about female worke workers. an outside law firm found he had an affair with a colleague which violated company policy because he took part in her annual review. after several months, he was promoted to acting head of finance reporting directly to ceo. lawyers for san francisco woman who is claiming post-traumatic stress as a result of working for facebook are speaking with abc 7 news. she claims she suffered lasting psychological trauma as a contract content moderator.

her job was to sit in a cubicle and watch thousands of videos a day to try to catch and remove offensive posts and live streams. her attorneys say some of those images were extremely graphic, and facebook did not do enough to protect her and other content moderators. >> a typical day for a content moderator might include viewing thousands of violent and trauma-inducing images such as sexual assault, child abuse, animal abuse, suicide. they ask that they fund medical monitoring for moderators. no responses yet. the case will have a status hearing in november. >> we have an update to a story we first brought you on "abc 7 mornings" yesterday. it's a rocket in the east bay. the business application said

the astra rocket is designed to carry 100 kilogram payloads into space. >> if it's fueled up, thaerpts my main concern. like i said, i'm really close. i have gone on youtube and seen a bunch of rockets blowing up. they don't make small explosions. one of his accusers, dr. christine blasey ford both set to appear before the senate judiciary committee. the stakes are monument al. a seat on the supreme court could cement a conservative majority for a generation. the course of the trump presidency weeks before midterm elections that could switch control of congress. the lives, the reputations of two people who crossed paths as

paeurpbl 30 years ago. the entire nation, senate, millions of citizens all trying to figure out who do we believe, how do we decide? that is the scene right there in the senate. right now dirksen senate office building set to get under way at 10:00 a.m. senator charles grassley will gavel things to open. this is a personal moment for the two witnesses. it is a political moment for the country. a huge cultural moment as well. >> no question, george. and i have to say under a gray sky here in washington, it's been raining on and off this morning. millions of americans will have eyes trained on brett kavanaugh in the hearing room and on christine blasey ford who they have never seen before exempt for still in the building. in the someone else, rachel mitchell

the veteran sex crimes prosecutor out of arizona, retained by the republicans on the senate judiciary committee. they wanted to avoid asking questions. it will be rachel mitchell who will ask the questions for them of christine blasey ford and brett kavanaugh. last night, she was meeting with republicans in chuck grassley, the chair of the committee. when they emerged, couple of senators said it was a good meeting. they didn't discuss the questioning. it was interesting. orrin hatch, he was here 27 years ago for the questioning of anita hill. he said i think it's better for us to have a third party to do this because no one can accused of us insensitivity if you will. christine blasey ford and her team pressed for several days

that the senators committee had to ask the questions. >> and there we see one of them. patrick leahy, senior democrat on the committee. along with chucky orn hatch the hill testified. most republicans have made up their minds. lot of eyes on one senator. >> on jeff flake, one of those critical swing votes here in senate and will be on the committee today asking questions. he's made clear that he's on the fence. he's urging his colleagues to go into this with an open mind, not to prejudge here. yesterday on the senate floor he delivered blistering remarks about the politics in the days leading up to this hearing. we'll be watching closely two of

those other key votes, lisa m e murkowski and susan collins. so much of this comes down to how these senators will determine who's credible. who's telling the truth. and so much of the senators i have been talking to on this mitt tee and on the outside comes down to a gut feeling. >> a gut feeling for them and for the entire country. team here in studio. cokie roberts. you remember well, 1991, anita hill, clarence thomas, the last time we saw something like this. >> it was incredibly dramatic then. anita hill gave startling testimony but people didn't believe her and that really was the end what did her end. lot of women believed her and we had the year of the women in the

election as a result of that. we're in a different time, george. this credibility t supreme courr us as well. you followed kavanaugh's hearings. one difference between kavanaugh and clarence thomas. brett kavanaugh, before these allegations were made, not a particularly popular nominee. >> he wasn't. most supreme court nominees when the public consider them, if it's okay with the president it's okay with us. his nomination from the get-go got up caught up in our polarized politics. and more crucially the president is under water in the polls. that's often an indicator or whether a nominee will or will not survive a confirmation hearing.

kavanaugh will not be able to ride president trump's coat tails. in this hearing it's all on him. >> one perk watching this is president trump. we saw that performance from president trump yesterday. on one hand today and decide whether or not he's going t he's going to stick with him. >> contrary to what a lot of people thought the president says he is keeping an open mind and he will perhaps hearing something that could change his mind in terms of where he stands on this debate. i've got to say the thing that struck me the most about yesterday was that final question when the president was asked what is your message as you stand here and defend brett kavanaugh to the young men in this country, and the president's answer was,