ryan to the white house. >> the president informed us he will not sign the bill that came from the senate last evening because of his legitimate concerns for border security. >> reporter: on capitol hill overnight, the president's party scrambling to find a fix. but this morning senators aren't budging. the uncertainty, along with concern about the trade war with china and rising interest rates, sent stocks in a nose dive. the dow losing another 464 points, dropping to its lowest level in more than a year. kendis gibson, abc news, new york. so obviously there's a lot of worry, including here in the bay area where parkgoers will feel the impact of a shutdown the most. golden gate national recreation area muir woods and point reyes parking lots, unfoe centers, would all be shut down. alcatraz island will remain open. but ferry service would operate on a reduced schedule.

the presidio says they are working to fill the staffing gaps in case of a shutdown. you can always get the latest on this developing story on our abc 7 news app to get updates to your phone, download it and enable push alerts. those would be tough closures when everybody has time off. >> and a lot of people out of work, furloughed for a while. that is never good news. let's go ahead and check our weather and traffic. mike, it's rainy out there. >> that's the big story weather one. scattered showers out there. a trace from up to 1500ths of an inch. patchy dense fog. first i want to show you the leading edge, the farthest south the rain goes is down to about stanford. this is going to cross the san mateo and dumbarton bridges and head over to the sunol grade in a half hour or 45 minutes. it is wet on the embarcadero in san francisco.

we had a shower roll through. 48 to 53 at 7:00. at noon, 56 to 57. increasing sunshine but temperatures about the same at 4:00. heading out this evening, no need to worry about wet weather. temperatures right around 50 degrees at 7:00. good morning, mike. as we were saying, a lot of folks are off for the holidays, it's friday. we will have light volumes. we are looking at a pretty easy drive from san francisco, the bay bridge. you will probably have to turn the wipers on a few times. tracy to dublin, half an under. dublin to mission boulevard at 15 minutes. 101 to couper team know, looking good at 16 minutes. good luck getting out of here if you know you're getting out of here. and a record number of you will

be. aaa says today is expected to be one of the top three travel days of the holiday season. amy hollyfield is live at sfo. amy, how is it going? is it busy already? >> reporter: it looks like it is getaway day, jessica. i'm feeling a little jealous that we aren't leaving. everyone is. everyone is getting an early start. we are at terminal 2. this is the alaska air lines check-in counter. i wanted to show you this crowd. and we will spin the other way and let you look at the security line. looking pretty thick over there. so a lot of people getting out of town. i just spoke with the duty manager. he said they have eight cancellations right now. but no obvious reasons now. it could be airline or plane issues. he said the weather looks good. they have a forecast of partly sunny. no weather delays right now. he did say it's early. it could change. i want to show you what the clouds looked like at sfo. the biggest issue you will face is crowds. it was busy yesterday too.

airports consider yesterday and today the kickoff. they predicted yesterday and today will be the busiest days as people get away from christmas. airline travel is up. 6. million people expected to fly this year. that is a 15-year high. so they had fog yesterday. so we saw a lot of delays on this board yesterday. this board yesterday. but today it is looking good. give yourself extra time to deal with all of these people. amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> thank you, amy. gatwick airport reopened a day after a drone disruption there. there were reports of two drones flying over the airfield. gatwick had to divert or cancel 700 flights yesterday. the closures left thousands of passengers stranded. police have not found the drone

operator yet. it is britain's second largest airport. >> happening today, a san francisco police officer charged with bank robbery is due in court for a bail hearing. rain daugherty faces an elder abuse charge. the san mateo county d.a. says he stole $13,000 from a man with alzheimer's. he used the atm card to withdraw money while doing errands for him. he is named as one of the officers involved in the sfpd racist text scandal in 2007. >> a murder trial on hold after his attorney says cowl is not mentally stable to testify. her client is showing extreme dilution and paranoia. wilson's mother says she doesn't buy it. >> if he was crazy, he wouldn't

know how to behave. >> it is clear to me he is not able to rationally assist me in his defense at this time. >> if cowell is found in competent, his trial will be put on hold while he gets treatment at a state hospital. a dozen suspects are in jail after an eight-month long investigation into operation wrecking ball. san francisco police say these are the products and luxury items investigators warrants are out for 28 more skwraoupb fugitives. the investigation identified suspects stealing from stores around union square and then selling them at u.n. plaza. mild temperatures across the north bay. 50 to 52 degrees. the exception, clear lake and

bodega bay. 48 in redwood city. everybody else 50 to 54 degrees. here's a look at a slick western span of the bay bridge. showers are still out there. caution on the roads. you'll need an umbrella for mass transit this morning. and morning showers out on the ferry. everything is concentrated this morning. in the east bay, we're plamainl cloudy. clouds open for sunshine. 57 at noon. upper 50s through 4:00. 52 this evening. peninsula, a little fog through 8:00. cloudy through 10:00. sun breaks out by noon. upper 50s in the afternoon hours. 51 under mainly stars during the evening hours. and our last stop is going to be san francisco, where we are cloudy through 10:00. and partly sunny through 2:00. and sunshine will lead to stars and temperatures will drop from the mid-50s to the low 50s. another chance of rain coming monday. that's coming up. first, let's bring in alexis for

your friday morning commute. light so far this morning. probably going to be quite busy heading to the airport. right now i want to take you to the east bay. we have lanes closed. northbound 880 between high and 23rd. it's not a full closure like we see for the overpass demolition. that is scheduled to go until 6:00. i will keep an eye on that. definitely adding 10 minutes to northbound 880 through oakland. if you're not in a big rig, take 3580 for an alternate. bay bridge toll plaza. no metering lights. somebody is throwing it in reverse. can carpool lanes are not open yet either. no issues using fast track. drive times for some other bridges. westbound 580, richmond-san rafael bridge, 7 minutes for you. 13 minutes westbound 92 across the san mateo bridge. and dumb bar tan bridge looking good, in the green at 9 minutes.

the tech industry is making big moves in the east bay. thousands are about to call oakland a home. autonomous cars are back on the road in san francisco but with big changes. with big changes. also,

coming up on 4:42 on this friday. want to show you what's going on

around the state. snow showers early. rain around yosemite, tahoe, 43. we'l see a little some more sunshine in the central valley. 62 in monterey. 70 in l.a. a winter storm watch 10:00 monday morning to 4:00 tuesday afternoon. above 5,000 feet, 16 inches to 28 inches of snow. mike, thank you. abc 7 news is committed to building a better bay area. that includes issues that affect our quality of life like the tech industry. >> payment processing company square announced a major spapgz in o expansion in oakland. it is taking over uptown station, the old sears building. kate larson has more on that >> reporter: uptown has a new tenant. square signed a lease, which will make it the largest tech

business in oakland. the building gives square room up to 2,000 employees. all those people have to live somewhere, which does give rise to concern about how this real estate transaction will affect affordable housing here in oakland. >> i heard about the tech companies moving in. >> reporter: she used to shop at uptown station when it was a sears department store and is weary of what tech will do to the neighborhood. >> rent is going to go up higher than what it is right now. an individual is not going to be able to really live here. >> reporter: her fears aren't misplac misplaced. >> tech expansion in the bay area is one of the drivers for gentrification in the region. >> reporter: we're happy to see an explanation of employment opportunities, but we are also concerned about how that will impact the housing market. >> reporter: oakland mary libby schaaf is optimistic that tech and current oakland residents

can coiexiscoexist. >> to the extent that new workers are going to be moving into oakland, there are new housing units for them to move into. so they don't displace the people who are here right now. >> reporter: square is expected to move into uptown station next year. kate larson, abc 7 news. if you have an idea about building a better bay area, let us know about it. #better bay area and join in on the conversation. self-driving vehicles returned to the streets of san francisco. it is suspending testing in march after one of the autonomous vehicles hit and killed a pedestrian. uber said they did a top to bottom review of safety policies. vehicles will now go no faster than 25 miles per hour. they will be operating in less challenging environments than before. uber says there will be a human driver in control at all times.

hersheys is doesn't know what is happening with the tops of candies. >> people took to social media that the missing curl at the top is spoiling the treats. at first they said it was deliberate to the tips didn't break off in transit. now hersheys admits it doesn't know what is causing the problem. wait. why are you going to lie first and then change your mind? >> yeah. >> yeah. i don't know about that. >>you know the cookies with the hersheys kiss in the middle. >> my mom makes those. mine was shaved off a little bit. >> i already ate mine.

>> takes the same to he me. i'm good, hersheys. >> look how much money they're saving by accidentally doing that. take a look at what's going on. it looks like your cookies have been prenibbled on when you use that. 4:46 on this friday. and that is not sfo. and those aren't delays. let me come back over and try to restart the weather computer. it went on vacation a little early. antioch, rio vista getting wet right now. b benecia, golden gate bridge, soon to be bay bridge soon to be wet. you go from umbrella to sunglasses. next storm sunday night. rains on christmas eve. coldest lows of the season next week. freezing temperatures for some of us. san jose, 101, 880, not quite as

foggy as it was yesterday. dry for now. upper 50s to low 60s. 57 to 61 this afternoon. tonight will be cooler with 30s in the deepest valleys. 40s around the bay and out towards the coast. at 7:00. we go to 9:00. a slight chance of showers around the altamont pass, the south bay. the gray goes away into the lunch hour. increasing sunshine from north to south today. tomorrow, wake up with a little bit of fog. same temperatures. sunday night to monday the storm is a one. it will be light. we will talk about it next. alexis. thank you, mike. traffic light this morning. not a lot of folks heading into work. they are off for the christmas holiday here. definitely jealous but enjoying it. if you are one of the few heading into work, we are looking at wet pavement for a lot of north bay right now. san rafael, mill valley, richmond-san rafael bridge, you can see the heavier pockets of yellow and orange.

that is what that is indicating. be prepared for that. we have wet pavement. you can see puddles and some sheen on the pavement there too. but that is not slowing you down. 8 minutes for your drive time into marin county. we actually already have one mass transit agency modifying service for the holiday. i'll talk more about that coming up next. thank you, alexis. right enough breaking news happening right now in the south bay. here's a live picture from san jose where firefighters are at the scene of a fire at an apartment complex. we have just confirmed moments ago that this fire unfortunately has turned deadly. this is happening right now at blossom hill road. you can see it is a very active scene. firefighters are there. abc 7 news reporter matt keller is also there gathering information for us. we'll check in with matt for a live update at the top of the 5:00 a.m. hour, so stay with us for that. amazon's huge lead in the smart speaker race is starting to shrink.

you'll finally be able to get your first nike self-lacing shoes. in today's "techbytes", amazon's huge lead in smart speakers appears to be shrinking. >> amazon still dominants the market with the echo speaker. but they are facing competition from google and apple. they will get 63% of the market. and nike is about to release its first self-lacing shoe. >> they are expected to be lighter than earlier versions. price tags around $350. >> what? >> eat your heart out, marty mcfly. >> somebody lacing it for you? >> that's your "techbytes". i know it sounds ridiculous, but i'm in for that. >> really? they're so inexpensive. >> i'm a really bad shoe >> are you serious? >> you would be annoyed at how many times i have to stop and

tie my shoes. >> did you fail the first grade? >> things happen. i can't explain it. a young sea lion gets to oakland airport a little early, oakland airport a little early, but it's not to

the king tides coming this weekend. saturday they will peak at 10:34. sunday at 11:15. 6.5 to 6.6 feet. specifically at the manzanita

park and ride. it floods first. be careful if you're out and about this weekend. thanks, mike. the top political watch dog wants the state attorney general to prosecute bart for illegal campaign contributions. they say bart used public funds to support the measure rr campaign in 2016. voters approved the bond measure. they are fining bart $7,500. but steve glasser is demanding the maximum fine of $33,000. parking lot acknowledges the illegal spending and said it learned its lesson. menlo park firefighters are showing us whatnot to do to keep your home safe from a holiday fire. this is how a frozen turkey can spark a disastrous grease fire and mixing burning oil and water. fire officials stress being prepared is key.

>> having an extinguisher, working smoke detectors, fire safety plan will help people know and understand what to do. >> keep your christmas tree away from any candles and open fireplaces. it's pretty much impossible to see a white christmas in the bay area, but you don't have to go very far to find some snow. >> yosemite ski and snowboard area is open for the season. it is the earliest it has opened in years. a much different story from last year. the area stayed closed because there wasn't enough snow. it brought dozens to yosemite for the runs. >> i heard they have nice sequoias here. i took a turn down at the road. didn't even know this existed. suddenly i find myself riding the next few hours. >> usually i want 20 feet of snow. but just give me average.

that's i need. that's all i want. >> that hat, though. they will operate as normal if the government ends up shutting down tonight. >> mike, you keep telling us it will be a white christmas for tahoe. >> absolutely. a foot or two feet of snow coming from christmas eve to christmas day. winter storm watch up there. make sure you head up sunday if you can. now, for us, christmas eve is going to be a rainy system. rain to showers. morning to evening. gusty breezes. not much has changed in the tiling. the models haven't come into a consensus on how much rain we are going to get. one is dry. one is potent. we are trying to split the middle. 1:00 monday morning, that's when the rain starts to move into the north bay. by 8:00, it is starting to move into the rest of the bay. and you can see the 2:00 hour it starts to get heavy into the afternoon and early evening hours. then it starts to taper as we head towards tuesday morning. we will see increasing sunshine and no chance of rain after 5:00 christmas morning.

here's alexis. good morning, mike. bay bridge toll plaza, a stack up on the left side of the toll plaza. definitely head to the right if you are paying cash. no issues for fast track. no carpool lanes yet. although we have seen a couple of folks head up and try to use them, only to put it in reverse and go back to where the pillars start. highway 4 to walnut creek in the green, 6 minutes. walnut creek to highway 13, 8. tracy to dublin, in the yellow at 33 minutes. i know i promised mass transit. we will do that coming up at 5:00. okay, alexis. thank you. a young sea lion knew where to head to get away from the holidays. this determined animal paid a visit to oakland international airport twice yesterday. the alameda county sheriffs office tweeted this video. they coaxed the animal back to the bay once. but then it returned to the airport a short time later. wildfire workers took the sea lion to the marine mammal center in marin. experts say they will make sure

it is healthy enough to return to the bay. >> that is the cutest thing that i have seen in, i don't know, my whole life. i want it. >> yeah. >> all right. first president trump announces he is pulling troops out of sorry gentleman. then james mattis resigns. new at 5:00, another announcement about withdrawing more troops. another incident with a baby monitor getting hijacked. what tech experts are saying about protecting yourself, as well as your family. the coliseum is a dump. that is the feeling from players around the nfl. raiders quarterback derrick carr says that's the charm. and he is sharing a personal story about why he's actually going to miss it. >> the abc 7 storm compact scale. today's storm is level one. that means light rain. so keep an umbrella handy and drive safely. track today's storm any time on track today's storm any time on the abc 7 news app.

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winter is coming, in about nine hours. the season shifts today. and we are hopping on the storm impact scale. a mass exodus coming, just not right now. if you're hitting the road for christmas, get out while you still can. it is supposed to be the worst day of the travel season for the bay area. right now the roads are light. it is only going to get worse as the day progresses and the weekend goes on. >> we are the grim reapers this morning. everything is bad. good morning on this friday, december 21st, it is 5:00 a.m.