before. it seems like another day, another facebook privacy scandal. according to "the new york times," facebook allowed companies like netflix and spotify to read your messages, ones you thought were private. good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm kristen sze. the revelation is the latest bad news for facebook. in just the last couple of months, the company has had several serious issues. word that it considers selling user data after pledging not to. >> and a bug that exposed the private photos from nearly 7 million users. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen looks at what happens now. >> reporter: our personal data is a hot commodity, but now we're learning facebook gave big companies like amazon, netflix and microsoft more access to users' private information than previously thought. >> very alarming to know that these people have all these

access. i don't feel comfortable sharing all of my information because it's all personal. right now our hands are tied. >> reporter: according to "the new york times," the social media giant made deals to share data which helped them gain more users. partners could add new features to their products while avoiding facebook's usual privacy rules. some were even able to see entire friend lists. others were allegedly able to read a user's private messages without them knowing. >> social media, if you're not paying for it, you are the product. so try to think before you share or you like because that's going to minimize the impact we are seeing or the scandals we are seeing now. >> reporter: in a statement, a facebook representative said in part to be clear, none of these partnerships or features gave companies access to information without people's permission, nor did they violation our 2012 settlement with the ftc. a previous agreement with the federal trade commission barred the social network from sharing user data without express

permission. on this commencement day at san jose state university, as many people took photos that were likely to end up on social media, some expressed their concerns. >> social media and the social media platform is so big and integrated into our life where it's a part of us. it's almost like it's difficult to get out of it once you're in it already. >> reporter: those in the public relations field say facebook needs to be more transparent but users have very little choices. >> if they leave this platform, where are they going to go? at this point there's no good competition that people will go to that will keep them in this sort of interconnected space with friends and family. >> reporter: so for now, an effort for users to be as educated as possible. in the south bay, chris nguyen, abc 7 news. and for the first time, u.s. regulators have filed a lawsuit against the company. d.c.'s attorney general is suing facebook over privacy violations. the suit demands restitution and a change in consumer protection rules on user data.

it stems in part from cambridge analytica's document violation of facebook policy giving the third-party company access to wide-ranging user data. nearly two dozen consumer groups are asking federal regulators to investigate whether kids are being endangered by deceptive apps in google's play store. t actually the groups allege they break privacy laws, contain adult content or manipulative advertising in a section of google's play store designed for kids. more than 2 billion devices worldwide are powder by google software with a significant number being used by minors. google issued a statement emphasizing its mission to protect children while online. it prohibits targeted advertising at children surunde 13. one day after we brought you pictures of a burned-out tesla, the company insists its vehicles are safer than conventional cars.

david louie has been talking with tesla and to auto tech experts about the risk of fire and he is live for us tonight in san jose. david? >> reporter: hi, dan. you know, lithium ion batteries are used in a number of electric vehicles, but when they catch fire in such a dramatic way, they grab a lot of attention and raise lots of concerns about their safety. the intensity of these battery fires and the hours it takes to extinguish them are no surprise even to tesla. the electric car maker has posted an emergency guide for first responders, how to handle battery fires. this 2016 manual is current and instructs firefighters to use large amounts of water. the santa clara fire department used foam as well. >> foam allows you to use less water to extinguish the same volume of fire and it provides a smothering blanket as well. >> reporter: lithium ion batteries can create fires when they short circuit or damage.

built-in cooling systems are supposed to prevent overheating that can prevent fires. michael hernandez teaches automotive technology in san jose. >> so if it starts getting hot, they turn it off so the battery is no longer discharging. they send extra coolant to the batteries to cool them down. so there's a lot of technologies that try to keep that battery within a very comfortable temperature range. >> reporter: once a fire occurs, tesla warns firefighters about a risk of reignition and that happened with this tesla. they are ten times less likely to experience a fire than one gas powered and this battery fire was rare for santa clara fire. >> this year i think it's the only one we've responded to. we've responded to approximately 67 vehicle fires in 2018 so far. >> reporter: these are safety tips. if you do experience a car fire, pull over as quickly as well, turn off the engine, get everyone out of the car and never return for anything. move at least 100 feet from the vehicle and call 911.

these tesla battery fires are very time consuming for firefighters. in this most recent incident it took six hours for them to put out the fire and baby-sit the vehicle, only to see the fire reignite when they towed it away. that took up several more hours for firefighters to watch it. david louie, abc 7 news. smoke billowed far and wide in san francisco just a short time ago. take a look at this video. a car was on fire at howard and fourth, hence all that smoke. it is now under control. abc 7 news viewer gill padilla shared this video with us. the suspect who led authorities on a high-speed chase is now in custody. the chp provided this video of the helicopter pulling the suspect from the mud near skaggs island. sky 7 arrived soon afterward and spotted paramedics wheeling someone to an ambulance.

the pursuit began just about 3:00 about ten miles away. the incident closed the freeway about an hour. sky 7 was overhead when a tow truck pulled the vehicle out of the water next to the highway labeled at sears point road on sky map 7 as you can see there. it's not clear if this was the suspect's car being towed out. we're still waiting for word from authorities on what triggered the pursuit. san francisco's mayor says racial bias is a motivating factor in her effort to get her brother's criminal conviction commuted. abc 7 news was in the western edition where mayor london breed today attended the opening of an affordable apartment complex. she has questions about whether she's using her office for undue influence after she wro tsenten. mayor breed says before she was mayor she wrote letters on his behalf and in support of others

in prison as well. >> it's about what's true to my heart, what's true to what i believe we need to do as a society to really address inequities in our criminal justice system. >> in response to her letter, the governor's office says it doesn't comment on individual cases. for now we no longer face a possible tax on our text messages, and state lawmakers want to keep it that way. they're working to block any potential taxes on texts. the effort follows a failed attempt by the california public utilities commission to charge a fee for text messages. that plan was skracrapped after federal regulators classified text messaging as an information service but not a telecommunications service. >> we're already taxed too much. the last thing we need to do is start taxing texts. texting is an integral form of modern communication, especially for young people, and it should remain tax-free.

>> california lawmakers say they plan to formally introduce a measure prohibiting such a tax once the legislature reconvenes in january. the heavy surf pounding northern california beaches is less intense as the week wears on, but the power of these brutal and strong waves and wipeouts, including this one at pillar point monday, is still having an effect on people who just love the beach. the survivor is doing just fine this evening, we're glad to tell you. he spoke with abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman about his misadventure on the water. >> reporter: he's kind of an odd case, the surfer who finds himself best known for the wave he didn't finish, the wave that nearly finished him instead. >> it's like being in an uncomfortable position that you just can't get out of. mavericks when a 50-foot surf alert, vicarious thrill seekers who came to watch and world class surfers like willem banks. he survived the most spectacular

wipeout ever recorded. he was tossed around and battered above by wave after wave. >> it feels like you're one of those flag people at a car dealer or something, you're just gtting ripped around. >> reporter: here's how the beginning of the ride looked from photographer matt ord on a jet ski. he had never seen the video until we showed him today. >> that's when i got -- that was the worst of it. after i fell and got sucked over the lip. >> reporter: frame by frame, this 22-year-old construction worker deconstructed every second of that ride. >> no, i didn't even feel like i was going to die at all. kind of a meditative mindset. >> reporter: even when he closed within 75 feet of these rocks, it's gone crazy on the internet. willem remains unfazed. >> instagram fame doesn't necessarily make you famous because it comes and goes really quickly. >> reporter: how fortunate that

in this case the subject lived to surf another day. at mavericks break, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> off he goes. you know, this isn't willem banks first time taking the title for a gnarly knockout. voters voted his five-story freefall as the worst wipeout of 2017. he told the magazine he was lucky to catch his breath before going under. if you've ever been tossed around under a five-foot wave, you know how rough that is. now imagine that. >> it's like being in a washing machine only a thousand times bigger. caught redhanded. the woman accused of faking a firefighter husband in order to swindle wildfire relief donations. a fence comes down in santa cruz amid the battle over access to public beaches. i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. we have a beautiful post-sunset sky right now. i am tracking with live doppler 7 a system that is going to bring us some showers. take a look at that system. i'll be back with the

hour-by-hour look coming right up. plus the woman making her own waves and

a few months ago the holy fire burned 23,000 acres in southern california. today a woman is accused of scamming people out of thousands of dollars she said was for firefighters and fire victims. reporter greg lee from our sister station in los angeles has the story. >> reporter: after a month's long investigation, orange county sheriff's deputies walked ashley beamus to a patrol car. she's facing a long list of charges for allegedly making up a fake firefighter husband to scam people during the holy fire. >> she created a fake identity and married herself to a cal fireman, who doesn't exist anywhere in the nation as a fireman. >> reporter: prosecutors say beamus posted on a community

facebook page asking for donations to help her fake husband and others on the fire line. the items and money came pouring in. deputies say beamus kept all of it in her house and garages in south county. before she was arrested, she even went on dr. phil and admitted to lying. >> i felt like i needed to give it a why, and i thought that being a fire wife would make more sense. >> reporter: detectives say they have received several reports about her alleged history of scamming people, including faking a pregnancy for the baby shower. she told deputies usually she just apologizes and gets to move on. today she made her first appearance before a judge facing prison time. >> people's hearts are touched and they reach into their wallets and they spend money and they gave. unfortunately in this case they gave to an individual that took advantage of that trust. >> reporter: prosecutors say she faces three to four years in prison if convicted. what they are really hoping for is a restitution order which would require her to pay back

every dollar she took. reporting in santa ana, greg lee, abc 7 news. it's now easier to access a section of state beach in santa cruz county. crews yesterday tore down a section of fence and a six-foot sea wall that blocked access to the pathway in front of a row of homes. the barriers had been there for decades along beach drive. county officials say the public has the right to access the pathway and are ready to fight a lawsuit filed by the homeowners. >> we made it abundantly clear in discussions with the homeowners and their legal representation. there was no action taken. obviously the fact that they elected to engage in litigation shows that there was no real interest in coming to a good faith agreement. >> the lawsuit claims the county never recorded any. never did any work on the property or showed any interest in it. the dispute is the latest in a string of coastal access fights in northern california. the federal reserve raised interest rates again today. >> as expected. 7 on your side's michael finney

is here to talk about the impact on our wallets. >> the stock market took a hit today. you saw that afterwards. the federal reserve board raised a key interest rate today. it was expected. the board increased its benchmark federal funds rate a quarter of a point from 2.25 to 2.5%. this will increase the cost of borrowing. you can expect to see a bump in your credit card bills and interest rates on home equity lines of credit as well. mortgage rates could be affected but longer term loans have the least equation to federal rate hikes. if you're headed to the snow with your kids this holiday, these infant suits are being recalled because they pose a choking hazard. why? the issue is the snow suit's metal snaps can detach and then little ones can swallow them. the suits were sold at

children's place stores and online from august through november. and immediately returning it for a full refund. i have the specific style numbers and all the information you need. just go to abc7news.com. 450 of these adult tricycles are being recalled. a sensor may unexpectedly activate causing them to crash. consumers are urged to immediately stop using these and bring them back for an upgrade. they were sold in santa rosa, fremont and san francisco. a rather unique bicycle there. >> yeah, it is. >> thanks for letting us know, michael. >> on to the weather. hi there, everyone. the weather is changing. we have some showers headed our way. right now, though, no rain on our radar as you look at live doppler 7. we do have some fog beginning to form and we're still tracking those waves. a high surf advisory until 3:00 a.m. tomorrow. wave heights 10 to 15 feet right

now. those breakers could be 15 to 25 feet. so definitely watch out for that. as you take a look at the wave heights, midnight tonight heading into tomorrow and then the following day, those waves will actually start to relax a little bit so it's going to be calmer conditions by friday night. i want to show you a lovely view from our sutro tower camera. the sun has set and we do have a few clouds out there. upper 50s san francisco, oakland. look at this picture. this is something we expect to see in the summertime. we have fog on both sides of mt. tam. 55 in napa and santa rosa, 58 in concord, 54 at livermore. you remember the fog this morning, it was pretty thick around our region. emeryville camera showing you what it looks like in san francisco right now. areas of dense fog tonight and in the morning. showers arrive tomorrow night and winter begins friday at 2:23 in the afternoon. first thing tomorrow morning this is where you'll finding the

fog. the north bay, the east bay is where it will be the thickest. don't rule it out in other parts of the bay area because we did have it on the peninsula and around the south bay this morning. temperatures starting off in the upper 30s to upper 40s. definitely sweater weather. allow yourself extra time. that morning commute could be slower because of poor visibility. for the afternoon we'll see increasing cloud cover, temperatures in the 50s, 60s today. we had similar temperatures with 50s and 60s. light level 1 system on our exclusive abc 7 news storm impact scale coming in tomorrow night. expecting scattered showers. rainfall totals traced to .35 of an inch. 4:00 p.m. tomorrow rain is still to the north of us. 7:30, light to moderate showers begin to move into mendocino county, sonoma county. then by 10:00 p.m. sliding into the east bay, san francisco peninsula, 11:00 p.m. the showers start to break up a bit but we'll have some damp

roadways going into early friday morning. then those showers pretty much are gone. this system is not going to be a big one, it's just going to be enough to produce some scattered showers around our region which at this point we'll take any moisture we can get. now, in terms of your rainfall totals, places like the south bay and san jose only 0.01 of an inch. you can download the accuweather app and track live doppler 7 any time you want. here's your accuweather seven-day forecast. it's a light level 1 system. showers at night going into the wee hours of friday. friday afternoon 2:23 the seasons are changing. we'll tastart to notice that th sun is going down a little earlier. and drying out saturday, chance of some rain sunday evening. monday we do have a level 1 system, mainly showers in the morning, and then a nice christmas on tap. santa will have no problems delivering, a slight chance of showers on wednesday. by the way, that port orchard, washington, tornado.

they did a survey and it was confirmed an ef-2 with winds 120 to 130 miles an hour. strongest since 1986. >> oh, boy. thanks, sandia. >> thank you very much. from poland will love. >> a you know when you're at ross and you find a deal on cookware that makes you say. yes! ...oh, yeah! bring on the holidays! that's yes for less. everything you need to prep, cook and serve up the season. it feels even better when you find it for less-at ross. yes for less.

and you realize you are the the hostess with the mostest. you know when you're at ross

yes! yeah! that's yes for less. entertain in style all season long. it feels even better when you find it for less-at ross. yes for less. a special ship that's on an around-the-world tour made a stop in san francisco today. >> yeah, the polish tall ship came through the golden gate this morning. it left poland in the spring with about 150 young cadets and students on a good will sttour. >> they are celebrating the 100th anniversary of polish independence. >> there's a renaissance in poland the last five or ten years. these young people represent the future of what poland is, a very modern, dynamic, multi-cultural country. >> the san francisco stop was also a reunion for one family who flew from poland to meet up with their daughter who they had

not seen for seven months. >> it was very emotional. i tried not to cry when we stood here for the ceremony, but i actually cried. >> the vessel was made in 1982 from coins donated by youth. it will be at pier 17 until saturday morning and then heads down the pacific coast. >> and you can tour the ship on thursday and friday afternoon. all i need is a tall ship and a star to steer it. gearing up to do what she loves. >> the bay area's big wave mauntil i held her.diabetes wasn't my top priority. i found my tresiba® reason. now i'm doing more to lower my a1c. once daily tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. tresiba® is a long-acting insulin

used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed without asking your prescriber. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, dizziness or confusion. i found my tresiba® reason. find yours. ask your diabetes care specialist about tresiba®.

i'm ama daetz. tonight at 6:00, an unfoedle family drama. a mother is on a plane right now to see her dying son. we're waiting for her at sfo. and we're hearing from two victims in a nationwide student debt relief scheme. that's coming up on the news at 6:00. dan, kristen. >> thanks, ama. abc has a new brand localish

to introduce you to interesting places and people. >> including a bay area surfer who is making her own waves. >> mavericks is famous big waves 20 minutes off san francisco and it's oftentimes compared to the mt. everest of waves. it starts breaking when it's 15 feet and then it can go up from there. last year there was a 100-foot day. you've got to put everything into it and put everything on the line. what i love so much about big waves is the challenge. it just brings me back to the same moment of when i started surfing when i was 7 years old. i'd paddle out and the waves would seem big and scary and

there were so many different things going on. you just overcome these fears and catch this ride. from that day on i was hooked. i couldn't imagine my life without surfing. i am one of the founders of the committee of women serving and we have lobbied for inclusion and equal pay for the past four years. we were told it was unsafe or we couldn't do it. i feel really, really proud of being able to change policy. this year the mavericks surf competition is going to have women competing against women and we are also getting equal prize money. so it's just super exciting. as a documentarian and journalist, i saw the story. i'm documentary about the best female surfers in the world as they strive for

equality in the sport. it's not easy doing what i do. you're constantly getting pounded and we crossed paths and i take photos. these women are saying, no, enough. we deserve this, we're going to do this. they stood up for what they wanted and turned the tide. >> knowing the world is watching is really awesome because we're surfing amazing huge waves all the time all over the world. i think people will just have their minds blown and be like, wow, women are amazing and can do anything. >> fantastic. and now you can check out abc's new brand at localish.com. it's also on facebook and instagram. >> world news tonight is coming up next.

i'm kristen sze. >> and i'm dan ashley. for all of us, what a beautiful sunset this is, we'll tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. those two massive storms about to merge, just as millions of americans prepare to travel for christmas. tonight, heavy snow, rain and wind. dangerous driving and airport delays expected. and just in tonight, the ef-2 tornado now confirmed. president trump's surprise decision. he says we have defeated isis in syria, ordering tonight a rapid withdrawal of american troops. tonight, the uproar. republican senators saying this is a dangerous move. the dramatic scene unfolding. the worker robbed at gunpoint, and tonight, the urgent manhunt right now. the mother and children in their car on the highway when the mother is shot from outside the car. they were 500 miles from home. the investigation unfolding tonight. the facebook privacy scandal.