>> it's the th r a eectinasey t'st e esent ofhe san franci to recite the pledge o week. >> what are people saying about this controversial issue tonight, lee ann? >> this is not the first time the pledge of allegiance has been challenged. we've seen it before in courts and the board of supervisors. i think this is getting a lot more attention because of how divided the country is. >> it's been a tradition, following roll call, school board members in san francisco stand to say the pledge of allegiance. last tuesday night the board president, stefan cook skipped it. he quoted author maya angelou. >> tonight we start this meeting in honorangel who once said when you learn, teach.

when you get, give. >> i think we live in a great country. the country has given me a lot. >> reporter: cook told me he will continue to encouras presi board, he willes arenpatriots.e. i think that in san francisco we've done that in a great we. we have a school named after harvey milk. benjamin franklin is a personal hero of mine. >> 43 states have laws stating the pledge has to be recited but students can opt out. seven states, iowa, hawaii, michigan, nebraska, vermont, wyoming and maine have no laws. here is a brief history lesson. the pledge was written in 1892 by francis bellamy, a l socialist minister. you know the phrase "under god?" that wasn't him. he didn't write that. in fact, it was president

eisenhower who convinced congress to add it in 1954. parents are now weighing in on cook's decision. >> it does challenge me to think how do i feel about certain things. i am an america khan. i do understand things are going on that shouldn't be going on. >> i've been in the states 29 years. yes, my kids are born here. i love the fact that they recite it every morning at school. >> reporter: the board president says he wants feedback not on what he did, but he wants the public to suggest the names of other patriots, other great americans so that he says the booard can recognize those people. lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. tropical storm michael is moving into the carolinas after tearing through the florida panhandle and georgia as a hurricane. tonight we've learned six people have now died. the storm leveled entire cities while some residents waited it out. >> me and my daddy, we spent

about two hours watching through the windows how the wind was going and everything. we just saw three trees land on three of our neighbors' yards and everything. that really got me scared. >> neighbors also pitched in despite the dangerous conditions. >> that father-son rescue team saying they stayed behind just to help their neighbors. local response and relief teams in the bay area are mobilizing to help those affected by hurricane michael. abc 7's carlos saucedo has that part of our coverage tonight. >> reporter: ten volunteers with the northern california chapter of the american red cross have already been deployed with more on the way. i did speak with one volunteer who is about to head out tomorrow who says she can't catch a break. catastrophic images out of the

gulf coast capture the massive destruction caused by hurricane michael. this dramatic drone footage shows what's left of a high school in florida's panama city. >> i've seen stuff like this before. that doesn't mean it ever makes it easier. >> reporter: jodi wallace just came back from responding to one hurricane as a red cross volunteer. she won't be catching much of a break as she prepares to head to another disaster zone. >> we're stretched really thin right now. there's still a lot of people from the red cross working in the carolinas from hurricane florence. >> reporter: she'll be assisting shelter support teams in florida. the red cross of northern california has already sent ten volunteers to the gulf. more could follow. >> depends on the needs and the skill sets and our availability. we could see dozens more volunteers going out in the next week. >> reporter: over in oakland, task force 4 is prepared to send out a team with search and rescue efforts.

>> all of our team members are trained and prepared to go to any sort of disaster. >> 16 people who are part of a water mission team are on standby. two members have already been deployed to help with overhead teams on the ground. with equipment ready to go, these rescue crews are waiting on that call to head out and potentially save lives. our volunteers will be heading to florida first thing tomorrow morning. the red cross tells us they're always looking for more volunteers. if you'd like information on how you can sign up or simply how to make a donation, head over to our website, abc7news.com with information. reporting in san jose, carlos saucedo, abc 7 news. after florida yesterday, michael moved through georgia destroying homes there and tearing up the streets. abc 7 meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking the storm.

>> such a destructive and catastrophic storm. i want to show you live doppler 7, the latest from the national hurricane center. this storm is starting to lose its tropical characteristics. take a look at what's happening in the north carolina area, still dumping heavy rain across virginia and parts of carolina with destructive winds. tornado watch boxes in effect. numerous reports of damage from that area, almost 200, flooding, wind damage, taeornados, rapidl moving northeast at 24 miles an hour. on this path by tomorrow afternoon and evening, it's going to move out over the open atlantic. losing, obviously, its characteristics as we head towards tomorrow as well. >> sandhya, thank you. protesters today accuse the archdiocese of oakland of allowing a priest who has been accused of sexual abuse of minors to continue his work as a clergyman. snap says the diocese is not

being straightforward with the public by allowing father stephen whalen to serve . a civil court found he abuse add 14-year-old student between 1969 and 1971 and that victim is angry. >> there's absolutely no excuse at all for the bishop of oakland to enable a known predator priest to be at a school in the diocese of oakland. >> in a statement the diocese says father whalen has never been, quote, a priest or employee of the diocese, nor did they request permission for him to serve as a priest within the boundaries of the disease. since he is not operating as a priest in the diocese, the bishop has no authority to require him to move away from the diocese. in fremont one man experienced incredible bad luck and good luck at the exact same moment. fremont firefighters rescued a man who fell from a palm tree to

do, but he landed in the palm fronds below. minor injuries. fire firefighters tweeted this picture. in san francisco tourism is expected to hit record levels this year. only one thing can stop it. all the trash and the homelessness all over the city. abc 7 news reporter melanie woodrow is live in union square. a lot of people complain about this constantly. >> they do, dan. where we are standing, there are a lot of tourists we've been talking to here today. while they've been shopping, dining, sightseeing, a panel discussion has been going on about these issues on homelessness and also the clean streets initiative. our be loved city by the bay may be getting a new reputation. >> they just said there was a lot of homeless here and that people were defecating on the streets and just to be on the

lookout. >> reporter: tammy montgomery's co-worker warned her she might want to go on vacation with her daughter somewhere else. >> she actually didn't tell me until we got here. >> reporter: as the plane was landing? >> yes. >> reporter: what was your reaction? >> i was a little surprised, just kind of seeing the area on the way to the hotel. hoe rundown it seemed to be. >> san francisco travel is aware of the power of perception. recent national news coverage of san francisco's dirtiest block and car break-ins could cost the city greatly. >> we want people to come here, have a positive experience, feel safe, walk down clean streets. they're feeling that's not the case. >> reporter: this past summer a medical conference looking to build a conference in 2025 went with a different city, in part because of not feeling safe on san francisco streets. >> that's been the only one related to this issue. if we don't get the situation better, there will be more.

with so many hotels nearby, we met lots of tourists in union square. they tell us it's the same in every big city. >> i think you'll have tourism no matter what. i think it will shy people away from coming maybe a second or third time. >> reporter: a premonition that, if true, could cost san francisco billions of dollars in the long run. despite all that, san francisco travel is forecasting that tourism will be even greater than 2019. in san francisco, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. a big step in santa rosa's road to recovery from the devastating wildfires. plus -- >> a new perspective on a controversial police killing. both sides have something to say about it. someone came along and helped me. so i'm passing that on to other guys. >> paying it forward. one man changed his life and is now changing others.

we're getting a look at the newly unveiled video of the 2015 fatal shooting of mario woods by san francisco police officers. we want to warn you that some people might find this video disturbing. >> drop the knife,

[ gunshots ]. >> they just killed him like that, dude. that's unnecessary, man. >> the release of the video comes after a federal judge cleared the way for a civil lawsuit filed by woods' mother to move forward. the judge ruled the video cast doubt on officers statements that woods was moving quickly toward them while carrying a knife. officers shot woods 21 times. the judge set an april trial date for the lawsuit. >> at the time he was being shot or was shot he had not made any threatening gestures toward the police. he wasn't walking toward them with the knife out. he didn't lung at any of them. at best he was walking away. the question is, walking away, is that a death warrant? >> the san francisco city attorney's office issued a statement today saying, quote, this video doesn't change anything and further supports the police department's position that the shooting was lawful and justified. after nearly a year, a water quality advisory is now lifted for the fountain grove

santa rosa. the city issued the advisory last november after residents were allowed back in the area and complained about the water's unusual taste and odor. water samples show dangerous chemicals like benzine, caused by melted pipes. inmates often help battle wildfires. now when they are free, many will be able to get firefighting jobs. governor brown one in five c. residents has a criminal record. 27% of them are unemployed. that's more than the unemployment rate during the great depression, keep in mind. in the mix, more than 2,000 laws limiting access to employment opportunities. one man, an ex-con turned business owner, is trying to

save that. laura anthony is live in oakland with his remarkable story. >> reporter: hi, dan. curtis norris told us at the lowest point in his life, he wasn't at the bottom of the barrel. he told us he was underneath it. now thanks to a loan program here in oakland and his own determination, norris is not only a business owner, he is helping others just like him. there was a time in his life when curtis norris didn't know if he'd ever have another chance a clean start. raised in the bay area and a graduate of hayward high, he turned to drugs as a young man and almost never made it back. 15 years ago he made a terrible mistake while high on alcohol and crack cocaine. >> in 2003 i was responsible pour the death of a friend of mine. >> reporter: convicted of voluntary manslaughter, norris spent ten years in prison. when he got out three years ago,

he knew he never wanted to go back. >> i was one of those people who was a sad human being. and i got sick and tired of being sick and tired and i just didn't want it anymore. >> reporter: in 2015 norris got his first $5,000 loan from a non-profit, zero interest program called keva. the money allowed the $68-year-old to buy his first truck, generator and equipment to start his own business, called metro mobile power wash. mayor libby schaaf has met norris. and she is a trustee and avid lender on the keva oakland app. >> this is allowing us to give capital to people who have been shut out of traditional lending. he hires other people like himself. ex-cons looking for a fresh start. >> there is hope. they've got to take the time to find it. don't give up.

>> reporter: so far in oakland alone, there have been 565 keva loans, $2.6 million worth, all interest free, many to small business owners and entrepreneurs just like curtis norris. in oakland, laura anthony, abc 7 news. now your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. >> a beautiful fall day. temperatures not exactly where they should be for this time of year, but that's going to be changing. take a look at live doppler 7. you'll notice we don't have any rain, only a couple of clouds in the south bay. here is a live from our sutra tower camera. the fog from this morning is long gone. 63 in san francisco. in the upper 60s from oakland to mountain view. san jose 71. 60 in pacifica. san jose cameras showing a sunny view there. 68 in santa rosa. 71 in napa, 76 in concord.

here is a look at what you can expect as we head towards tonight and tomorrow. basically looking at clear conditions tonight. it will get clear in the morning. warmer tomorrow, gusty in the hills. it will be a dry offshore wind. mild to warm conditions for the upcoming weekend. if you want to spend time in santa cruz, a great day to be out there. you'll notice the waves. that's something we're keeping an eye on. temperatures right now for tomorrow morning that you'll have to worry about is definitely the chill in the air. north bay will be seeing temperatures in the low to upper 40s. make sure you bundle up. most areas upper 40s to mid 50s. it will be clear and then tomorrow afternoon, milder than today. 83 in san jo 80 degrees in milpitas. on the peninsula, 78 in palo alto. mid 60s near the coast. the coast is going to be clear so you don't have any fog to see tomorrow afternoon.

67 in daly city. 70 in downtown san francisco. you'll need the sunscreen yo shades. 76 in oakland, 78 hayward, 79 fremont. inland areas, you're going to get on the warm side. 87 in antioch. the beach hazard statement remains up until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. it's a southerly swell bringing rough ser of along the coast. if you're going to be out near the beaches, watch out for rip currents and sneaker waves all being sent by tropical storm sergio, backing winds of 60 miles an hour. it's getting closer to baja, expected to dump heavy rain across baja, across mexico. there could be flash flooding and mudslides. the flooding concern will be in the southern plains. you can track live doppler 7 or temperatures any time you want. the temperatures are rebounding, mid 60s to the upper 80s.

a slight dip in the temperatures for saturday and sunday. very limited fog along the coast for saturday and sunday. we head into next week and we'll have warmth to start off the new workweek. look at the weekend. 70 along the coast. we'll go from below average for the last couple days to above average warmth. like looking throu

in today's consumer news, what to look for when buying a television. >> basketball season. might as well do it now. michael finney has more. >> football and the new fall season are in full swing. you might be thinking about an upgrade. there's one new feature in particular you should consider. >> if you're in the market for a new television, there's a new

technology, separating good tvs from even better ones. it's called high dynamic range or hdr. it's available on most 4k tvs. >> is a technology making bigger, brighter, boulder images, really more what you see in real life. that's really the big differentiator this year is how well a tv can handle hdr content. >> hdr is designed to show brighter images with more detail in both the darkest and brightest parts of a scene. plenty of tvs on the markets say they're hdr capable, but that won't give you an indication of how well they actually do it. >> it's one of the reasons we spend a lot of time right now testing hdr performance because there are some tvs that deliver all the excitement of hdr and other tvs that say they support hdr but look no different than a normal tv. >> another difference between those that do it well and those that don't, price. >> in our testing there are

exceptions. what we found is you're going to pay a little more to get really good hdr performance. >> the show or movie you watch needs to be shot or transmitted in hdr for the feature to work. more and more hdr content is being offered, especially by streaming services like netflix and amazon. consumer reports says that's why buying a tv with good hdr performance is so important. most of the tvs with hdr cost at least $1,000. there are a few bargains out there. i posted some recommended models on abc7news.com. you can check them out yourselves minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

proposition 11 saves lives by ensuring medical care is not delayed in an emergency. proposition 11 establishes into law the longstanding industry practice of paying emts and paramedics to remain on-call during breaks and requires they receive fema level training and active shooters and natural disasters. vote yes on 11 to ensure 911 emergency care is there when you or your love one need it.

i'm ama daetz coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, the debate is over and demolition begins. we examine whether the plans for the vallco shopping center are the right step towards building a better bay area. a pivotal movement. we revisit the presidio mutiny with one of the men who participated and paid a steep price. all that and more coming up on

abc 7 news at 6:00. finally to nye, san diego earthquake star chris wand lau ski is on the verge of history. >> just one goal away from tieing the all time mls record of 144 goals held by landon donovan. >> chasing history is more special for wando because he gets to do it for his hometown team. >> kind of really surreal to even be a part of this. i grew up a fan of the clash and earthquake. i remember seeing landon score for the earthquake and bringing championships here. it's really amazing. to be mentioned with him in the same sentence, it's unreal. >> he'll have two more chances to break the record this season including a home game on sunday, october 21st at avaya stadium in san jose. >> that will be a fun place to get it done. >> world news tonight with david muir is next.

>> we appreciate your time. we'll see you again in half an hour.

california's public schools rank 44th in the nation. 44th. i'm marshall tuck, i'm a public-school parent, and i know we can do better. in the public schools i led, we got more funding into our classrooms, supported our teachers, and we raised graduation rates by 60%. that's why president obama's education secretary endorses me.

we've done it before. now, let's do it for every public-school student in california. i'm marshall tuck. i'm running for state superintendent. tonight, a special edition of "world news tonight" as we fly over ground zero from hurricane michael, the unimaginable destruction, buildings destroyed, homes simply swept away. the category 4 hurricane wiping out much of the town, mexico beach, not far from panama city. as we fly over, homes sitting in streets, hotels and buildings destroyed. winds strong enough to flip a freight train right over. and just 24 hours after ginger zee witnessed a storm surge, lifting a home off the foundation, floating past her. what she witnessed today when the sun came up. also tonight, the scare inside the hospital. the hurricane blew up to the

doors to the e.r. using gurneys to barricade themselves from the storm. tonight, the upper floor still