nervous. >> chris neville is a contractor for pg&e and works inside the building on beale street. a spokesperson says th gerehey need to go given the interest in the announcement that it is filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. >> oh my god, i'm so shocked. i hope everything is going to be okay. i know that what happened is not great. so. obviously somebody has to pay for that. >> the company is preparing for the billions of dollars in potential liability it could face for its role in the tubbs and camp fires. pg&e said in a statement that employees will still get paid during the bankruptcy proceedings, but many didn't know what to expect as they headed into work today. >> i don't know what's happening at this point, but, you know, i'm just hoping for the best. it's the only thing we can do at this point. >> pg&e customers also wondered how this would impact them. >> what's going to happen to my utilities? i don't know. that's unsettling. i didn't know until today. so hopefully they can figure it

out, or transfer coverage somehow. >> pg&e said in a statement the company does not expect any impact to electric or natural gas service for its customers as a result of the chapter 11 process. pg&e remains committed to assisting the communities affected by wildfires in northern california and its restoration and rebuilding efforts will continue. we did chat with a couple of employee s as they came out fora midmorning break. even though it looks different on the outside, inside it feels normal. it feels like business as usual. in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> pg&e's stock plummeted 52% after the company said it would file for bankruptcy protection. shares dropped to single digits, $8.38 per share today. in 2017 at the company's peak, pg&e stock was trading at $70 per share. the market value of the company at that time was over $36 billion. today it was down to $4.7 billion. there is another group

worried about pg&e's potential woes. fire victims from 2017 in sonoma county and 2018 in butte county. thousands have filed suit against pg&e. >> wayne freedman spent today looking at their options. joining us from larkfield, in santa rosa. >> good afternoon. larkfield estates is one of the neighborhoods that burned where neighbors have filed suit, and they still are wondering what's going to happen. what's interesting here is no one was surprised that pg&e is taking this measure. don't let the apparent boom and post firestorm construction fool you. even with boards going up and homes completing, fire victims still face plenty of questions. even more now with pg&e possibly declaring bankruptcy. >> for the last year we've been living in uncertainty. so it's nothing new. >> it began with the tubbs fire racing through town. it continues while waiting for cal fire to point a single fire for the blame. >> it's been well over a year. we want to see the report.

>> especially with pg&e facing legal action from thousands of victims. one reason why attorney noreen evans spent more time than usual answering questions from plaintiffs today. >> and what i'm telling them is it's not the end of the lawsuit, that the lawsuit will still go on, but it may be removed into the bankruptcy court. >> the list of people and agencies filing suit against pg&e includes sonoma county itself. >> as a publicly held company is that there was accusations that you socialize the costs and privatize the profits. and i think that's something that's going to have to be dealt with. >> the question, would a bankruptcy filing reduce the amount of settlements? not necessarily. >> pg&e is a corporation with over $70 billion in assets. it has a guaranteed income stream that provides it over $1 billion in profit every year. pg&e has the assets and the means to pay its victims. . >> so we're asking attorney noreen evans what does she think

pg&e is trying to do. her answer, to restructure its debts and possibly to frightening more fire victims, frighten them away from filing suit. live in sonoma county, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> wayne, thank you. the bankruptcy and the fires just the latest hurdles facing pg&e over the last decade. it's been more than eight years now since a gas pipeline exploded in san bruno, killing eight people and destroying dozens of homes. two years ago the utility was convicted of six felony charges connected to the 2010 san bruno pipeline explosion. it was ordered to pay a $3 million and place odd about a five-year probation period. governor newsom is calling pg&e to continue to honor promises it's made to energy suppliers and to its omstercu sa,otws huee ss ill bed sa working the legislature and all stakeholders on a solution that ensures consumers have access to safe, affordable and reliable service. fire victims are treated fairly, and california can continue to

make progress toward our climate goals. >> so the question that a lot of people are wondering about, what will the impact be with this bankruptcy? what will it mean for consumers. >> right. 7 on your side's michael finney set out to answer that question today and joins us with the answer. >> there is quite a bit of good news here. this bankruptcy is not expected to have any impact on the service you receive. chapter 11 allows a company to keep operating while the court decides what to do with all the piled up debt. >> what pg&e buys power on credit too. and they had no credit. so when you have no credit, at least that's what happened back then, the state stepped in to buy the power. >> and 18 years later, you're still paying for that $6 billion purchase. you can see it on your monthly pg&e bill. it's listed under the line item dwr bond charge. at 6:00, i'll look at the impact

a bankruptcy might have on pg&e's 20,000 employees and the $2 million payout the ceo of pg&e is reportedly receiving after she resigned right before the bankruptcy was announced. and by the way, you can end up paying less on your bill. if they do not have a huge debt they have to service, that means their cost of operation goes down. the puc would then lower the rates. >> interesting. >> all right. thank you, michael. we accept out a push alert this morning when pg&e confirmed that it plans to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. the mobile app is free to download. be sure to enable the push alerts for updates. we need to turn our attention to the weather right now as we take a look outside from our santa cruz and kgo roof cameras. it's a bit gray outside right now. the real weather, that's coming in just a few days. >> check in with spencer right now. >> that's a good way of putting it, the real weather. you can see we have widespread, but mainly light showers. they're widely scattered as well. i'll give you a look at a couple

of areas where we have steadier rain. there is a patch of rain moving through san rafael and much of marin county. antioch getting a little bit of light rain. and we've got some showers sweeping through the santa cruz mountains right now, moving towards los altos hills. the storm into tomorrow rages 1. we can expect more scattered showers tonight and tomorrow. about a tenth of an inch to half an inch of rain generally. it will be breezy at times. here is our forecast information, starting just after the early evening hours. into - it looks like it will be a wet commute in many locations, especially by 6:30 in parts of the east bay and down into the south bay as well. we'll see the storm beginning to break up little later tonight, and more showers will move in tomorrow. rain chances over the next seven days, lock at wednesday. we have a strong storm coming in on wednesday, ranking 3 on the impact scale. and thursday a storm ranking of 2 on the storm impact scale. so get ready for a stormy week ahead. a closer look at the stronger storms in just a few minutes.

larry and ama? >> thank you so much, spencer. and snow, check this out, has forced part of i-5 to close on the grapevine. that's the main highway linking southern california and the central valley. the highway patrol vehicles being stuck in the snow near gorman and los angeles county. >> abc 7 news was in pacifica before the sun came up this morning. powerful waves battered the pier there. a high surf advisory will remain in effect until at least 9:00 tomorrow evening. and a surfer who was pulled from the ocean off of san francisco back on land this afternoon. a firefighter paddled out on a surfboard to reach the man off land's end. that's near the cliff house. it appears the surfer may have lost his own surfboard shortly before somebody called for help around 12:30 this afternoon. a coast guard boat then picked up the surfer as well as the firefighter. sky 7 flew above the station when the surfer walked on to the dock, and he was not apparently hurt. all right. it is now the longest government

shutdown in history, and there is no end in sight. the effect it's having on agencies and its employees. plus -- >> does this woman look like she safaked by the government shutdown? some of the creative lengths some people are going to make ends meet. you know it is a struggle to find housing, but one family's found an unusual solution for their pets. we'll have that story later this hour. and taking a live look at our traffic over the san francisco skyway. actually, on the right-hand side. >> what is that? >> i see spaces between cars. that's unreal. that's your southbound traffic heading down toward 101 south, peninsula and beyond. on the left-hand side, slow as usual trying to get on to the lower

government shutdown is now the longest in government history, with no end in sight, and the impacts are starting to ripple across the country. >> abc news reporter serena marshall with the latest from washington. >> the president departing the white house for new orleans, but the shutdown following him. >> i've been here all weekend. i don't know we're closer to a deal. >> congress back in d.c. from their home districts and not feeling the pressure, yet. a new abc news/"washington post" poll finds 82% of americans say they have not been inconvenienced, and the president still insists federal workers are with him. >> many of the people that aren't being paid right now are in total agreement with us. >> but the same poll found most americans blame mr. trump and the republicans for the shutdown. one of his biggest allies telling the president over the weekend -- >> i tried to see if we could open up the government for a limited period of time to

negotiate a deal. >> the impact felt most by federal workers and their families. >> we're going to have to take loans. we're going to have to use credit cards. >> and in maryland, hundreds of federal employees visiting a pop-up food bank. in tampa, "the new york times" reporting tsa officers showing up in their uniforms and collecting food from a makeshift pantry. after their paychecks last week read zero dollars. tsa call-outs are more than double compared to normal operations with major airports closing terminals. the faa has called more inspectors back to work, as did the fda. the fda's commissioner called the funding labs one of the most significant funding challenges in recent history. the president says he is not interested in reopening the government because that would only delay the problem of funding his border wall, not solve it. serena marshall, abc news, washington. here in the bay area, government workers and their families are really feeling the pinch of going without a paycheck for almost a month. abcnews anchor dion lim shows us

the creative ways some are making ends meet. >> judging the way christina dresses at her tech job in silicon valley, you would never guess she is the face of a government shutdown. >> things like a designer purse. everything i own that is a name brand that could turn over quickly, i'm going to sell things just to make ends meet. >> we listed christine after she listed a pair of elton john concert tickets for sale on craigslist. >> i have a couple of people interested in them. i'm hoping that will come through. literally, this thing will make or break the month for us. >> we found listing after listing on craigslist from those affected by the partial government shutdown, offering everything from used boots to home brewing kits and vacation time shares for sale. >> if i typed in government employee furlough and looked for other ads, i see other ads coming up as well there is a lot. >> christine's husband frederick is a customs and border patrol officer at sfo. but in december he was deployed to san ysidro to help secure the border.

not having him at home to be with her 9-year-old son is hard enough. >> he is very sad. there are tears on the phone. we miss each other. >> but now he is working without pay along with more than 800,000 furloughed government workers, forcing christine to do things she never thought she'd have to, like putting aside her pride and letting the community lend a hand. >> i just tell people to reach out to somebody you might know that is a federal worker and offer them anything. s go for their car, asking for people to buy our things and help us out. >> just this past week, governor newsom announced the 144,000 some odd furloughed workers in california can be eligible for state unemployment and other benefits. in the newsroom, i'm dion lim, abc 7 news. two protesters, including alt-right activist laura lumer showed up on the front lawn of nancy pelosi's home this afternoon. the napa countyhe m s's wffriho with her left after deputies

showed up and asked them to leave. those two could have been arrested for trespassing.li say protesting immigration. >> tomorrow is the last day you lth sign up for covered you hea insurance take effect on february 1. more than a million people have already renewed their policiesh for new policies. but another pple haven't signed up. this is the first year since obamacare took etec t hatving health inhasurance. all right. spencer christian is here. the ra is het' rere,unnhettled. the one thing that t isnd it o >> i don't think we can. >> well, it won't miss us, that's for sure. here is a look at live doppler 7. bay area right now.ttd

pattern. here in the north bay, m ing over tow ardfa moderate shower. a line of showers reaching from thhaeyw bay, down to redwood ci down to the santa cruz mountains around portola mountain and parts of the east bay near milpitas. that's pretty much south bay, up to the east bay in fremont, we've got rain there as well. no doubt we have rain making for wet pavement for the evening commute right now in many parts of the bay area. this is the view from the rooftop camera at abc 7. you can see rain drops on the lens. it's 56 degrees here in san francisco right now. upper 50s at oakland and mountainview. low to mid-50s at san jose and half moon bay. dark ominous clouds looking westward from emeryville. mid-50s at santa rosa, nap parks petaluma. a cool 49 at fairfield. mid-50s at concord and 51 at

livermore. and the view from sutro tower, as we pan a little bit toward the east looking out over san francisco under cloudy skies. these are our forecast features. we'll see light rain and showers tonight and tomorrow. stronger storm comes in on wednesday, bringing with it heavier rain and strong gusty wind. and we'll have brighter, dryer weather at the end of the week, but we have a lot to deal with before we get there. overnight, look for scattered showers. low temperatures mainly in the mid- to upper 40s. right around 50 degrees in oakland and san mateo, at 51 will be the low here in san francisco. now let's take a look at the storm coming, the storm that we have right now continuing overnight into tomorrow. it ranks 1 on the storm impact scale. expect it to produce light showers. less than half an inch of rainfall for most of the bay area. there is a slight chance of a thunderstorm with this storm. so here is our forecast animation starting 5:30 tomorrow morning. as the morning commute gets under way, there will be areas of wet pavement. the rain is not expected to be heavy at that point, but there could be occasionally heavy but

brief downpours. now that pattern will continue through the early morning, midmorning hours. this storm won't start to break up until late tomorrow into tomorrow evening. by late tomorrow night, it will be all gone, and that sets the stage for the next storm. rainfall totals from the current storm will range from, oh, about a tenth of an inch to quarter of an inch for most of the east bay and the south bay. up in the north bay, totals will be a bit higher, up to a half inch or even more in some spots. high temperatures tomorrow will be mainly in the mid- to upper 50s. and that takes us to the next storm. the midweek storm coming in on wednesday. this will be the strongest storm we've seen in quite some time. it ranks 3 on the storm impact scale. it will produce periods of heavy rain, chance of thunder with the storm. wind gusts 50 to 60 miles per hour or higher. and some of the higher elevations, there is a chance of flooding and downed trees in power lines with the storm. in fact, these are some of our greatest concerns about the wednesday's storm. we'll have a very high concern about hydroplaning and downed trees. high concerns about flooding on roadways and small stream flooding and moderate concerns

about power lines going down. so as we look at our strong winds, there is a high wind watch in effect from 1:00 p.m. wednesday to 1:00 a.m. thursday for virtually the entire bay area. wind will be generally out of the south, about 30 to 40 miles per hour with the strong gusts that i mentioned 50 to 60 miles per hour. once again, the possibility of downed tree, blowing debris and power outages. and here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. so for tonight and tomorrow, scattered showers. storm ranking only 1 on the storm impact scale. then we get that much stronger storm with the gusty wind and heavy rain, maybe even thunder. on wednesday, that storm will rank 3 on the storm impact scale. even on thursday, as the storm is beginning to weaken a bit, it's still going to have enough energy that it ranks 2 on the impact scale for thursday with morning rain and gusty wind. now friday we get partial clearing. brighter and dryer weather conditions on saturday. but on sunday, here comes the rain once again with a chance of showers. the storm ranking 1 on the storm impact scale. as larry mentioned earlier, this is an unsettled pattern for the

entire week ahead. the main focus is on the big storm coming in on wednesday. >> thank you, spencer. >> okay. all right. they were big winner last week at levi's stadium. today a meal fit for champions a the white house. well, sort of. plus -- >> exactly where i need to be in my life right now, and i have a lot of love for a lot of things in my life. >> ooh, there is a whole lot o ibeen building them fora 115 years,hat's

get a ford. if you want a car with driver-assist technology, get a ford. if you want waze and amazon alexa compatibility, get a ford. if you want a car that doesn't have any of that, get anything... but a ford. otherwise, you're gonna want a ford. ♪ ♪ ♪ with the chase mobile app, jason wu could pay practically anyone, at any bank, all while putting on a runway show for new york fashion week. ♪ ♪ he could. or, he could make it even easier - and set up recurring payments to his neighbor. for cat sitting. (meow) whoa. you've groomed her, too. (cell phone vibrating) and now she's ready for the catwalk. life, lived jason's way. chase. make more of what's yours.

a potene loss for the oakland a's today. kyler murray, their first pick in the major baseball draft last june today declared himself eligible for the nfl draft. he won the heisman trophy. despite that success, he wasn't expected to play football, mainly because of his size. he is listed at 5'10". the guess is he is maybe somewhere 5'8", 5'9". but his nfl stock has gone through the roof, and that likely impacted his decision.

murray is a center fielder in baseball. he is a good hitter, great speed, great arm, and some people think he could be the first pick in the nfl draft, with i would be remarkable. that's going to be a loss for the a's, it looks like. well, everyone is just looking for love, aren't they? >> well, on sudafed right now as in my case. >> alexis smith from abc 7 mornings caught up with the new bachelor colton to talk about his time in the bay area playing on the raiders practice squad. >> can you tell me? are you engaged? did you find love? >> this is what i can tell you. i'm exactly where i need to be in my life right now, and i have a lot of love for a lot of things in my life. >> you went from being a contestant on the bachelor eto being the actual bachelor. how is the change in attention? how are you handling all of this? >> it's a whirlwind, but it's so much fun right now. i'm so excited to actually get this thing started. i've sort of had to be tight lipped with a lot of things. and i just -- i'm ready for everybody to experience what i did and go through it with me. i'm going to be watching for the first time with you guys. it's going to be fun.

>> did you ever in a million years dream so many people would be talking about your virginity? >> i don't know if that's normal for somebody to dream that other people would talk about their virginity. i actually didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. it's just a small part of who i am. but it's obviously been, i guess, something that people have been fascinated with. >> i want to talk football for a second. you obviously played in the nfl. >> yes. >> you were on the practice squad for the oakland raider here is in the bay area. now as you know, the raiders are leaving. they're going to vegas. they say they love the coliseum. they're going to miss it. how did you feel about the coliseum? >> i really enjoyed my time with the raiders. i really enjoyed my time in the bay area and the coliseum. i have nothing but good things to say about san francisco and oakland. >> i know you can't tell us much about who you did or didn't end up with, but what are you planning on doing after the show completes? >> ooh, i think the first thing i'm going to do is go out and have dinners and really just travel again.

just be normal. go back to sort of the normal lifestyle. right now i'm just traveling a lot, in chairs, surrounded by roses. i don't know. i'm looking forward to a lot of things after this. >> okay. good luck to you, colton. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. bye-bye. >> and you can watch "the bachelor" tonight at 8:00. >> he is a little evasive there. he didn't say i'm going to go with my significant other. he didn't say that. president trump is hosting college football's national champions a the white house right now. we have some video of mr. trump with the clemson tigers. this is about half hour ago. coach sweeney's squad beat alabama a week ago today to win the college play-off national championship. while at the white house, players are feasting on a fast food buffett. >> what? >> they were being served mcdonald's, wendy's, burger king, and pizza. breakfast of champions right there. >> oh, definitely. new details are emerging about the kidnapping of

13-year-old jayme closs. what we've learned about how the suspect tracked her what'with coverage havinthroughout your home? how about having internet that can help you save on wireless phone service? xfinity gives you the fastest speeds from america's best internet provider to stream on all your devices. plus, with xfinity mobile included, you can switch your wireless carrier and save hundreds of dollars a year. now that's simple, easy, awesome. get started for $29.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how you can get xfinity mobile included

so all you pay for is data. switch today.

live where you live, this is abc 7 news. >> and here are the stories making headlines as we approach 4:30. facing billions of dollars in potential liabilities over california's wildfire, pg&e says it is going to file for

bankruptcy later this month. the utility giant serves about 16 million customers and also employees around 20,000 people. san francisco mayor london breed took to twitter to assure customers in the city that they will not see any impact to their electric or natural gas service. the mayor says the public utilities commission is going to look into what the long-term impacts this bankruptcy could have. abc news provided a chilling update from veterans groups about the government shutdown. the groups warn that veterans are losing valuable services, and a financial crisis could push some to the brink. the man accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old wisconsin girl and killing her parents made his first court appearance today. this comes as court documents reveal new details and why this girl was specifically targeted. abc news reporter maggie rulli joins us from new york with what we learned about the suspect. maggie? >> we learned quite a bit today, many of it chilling details. according to the new court documents you mentioned, the suspect says he spent four

minutes inside the closs house, and that he was ready to kill anyone who got in his way. he said he was even prepared to shoot at the police if necessary. the man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old jayme closs and murdering her parents seen in court today for the first time. >> he does. >> 21-year-old jake patterson appearing on a video feed from jail as he is formally charged with kidnapping and murder. >> the prosecutors and myself will be working hard to convict the defendant of the charges filed against him. >> jayme's family is relieved to have their girl home, but know there's is a long road ahead. >> you can you tell that she is not quite the same. >> according to the criminal complaint, jake patterson has confessed to murdering jayme's parents, saying he saw jayme get off the school bus one day and, quote, knew that was the girl he was going to take. jayme remembers that night, telling police she woke to her dog barking at a strange car in the driveway. her dad raced to the front door. jayme says she hid with her mom

in the bathroom as she heard her dad be shot and killed. then the gunman broke down the door, killing her mother and dragging her bound into the trunk of his car. she says he threatened her with physical violence and kept her trapped under his bed for up to 12 hours without food, water, or bathroom. finally, she was able to escape. >> she took the power away from this man that she did this. i mean it's just incredible. i mean, the strength that this little girl has. >> patterson reportedly told police that he did not know jayme's parents, and didn't even know their names until he heard it later on the news. he also said he thinks he would have gotten away with it if he had planned it perfectly. in new york, maggie rulli, abc 7 news. >> maggie. all that is so gruesome. according to the court documents, patterson says he was planning this. what did he do specifically? >> well, that's some of the more unnerving details is how

meticulously planned this appears to be. patterson tells police this was his third visit to the closs house, that he went two other times to try to kidnap jayme. that time there were too many cars in the driveway so he did not go in the house. the third time it does look like he went in. he kidnapped jayme. he also says in the documents he allegedly took plans to avoid getting caught by shaving his head, shaving his face so he wouldn't spread dna. he even wiped down the shotgun, wiped down the shell so when the shotgun shells were left at the house so there were no fingerprints or dna. he says this was very well planned and thought out in advance. larry, one other very unnerving detail in the court documents as well is that patterson tells police as he was driving away, he actually drove past three police cars that had their sirens blaring. just about 30 seconds after he left that house. so just how close he was to getting caught that night. and as we know now, it took three more months until we found jayme. hearing some of the details,

they're very difficult to hear. and i'm sure we're going to hear many more as this court case unfolds. >> all very disturbing. maggie rulli live in new york, thank you. a swat team shot and killed a man who took two women hostage at a facility in southern jersey this morning. police evacuated the center near philadelphia after employees reported hearing gunshots. detectives believe the suspect had a prior relationship with one of the women who was being held captive. both women were able to escape and they were not hurt. a public memorial will be held friday for a fallen davis police officer natalie corona. the 22-year-old was shot and killed on thursday. the suspect was identified as 48-year-old kevin limbaugh. police say he died by suicide. he left a note writing that the police department was hitting him with ultrasonic waves, and he couldn't live that way anymore. limbaugh used to work at cash creek casino resort. the casino issued a statement saying the suspect was involved in an altercation in september and his employment ended immediately thereafter. it also said, quote, our deepest

sympathies go out to officer corona's family, her fell le officers and the entire davis community. new allegations today against r&b singer r. kelly. one of the women whose accused him of sexual misconduct in a lawsuit in a tv series now claims the singer is trying to intimidate her. faith rogers appeared in a news conference today with attorney gloria allred, who also represents three other alleged victims. the 21-year-old says kelly is now threatening to reveal details of her sex life and has posted private photos of her. >> no woman should be victim shamed, harassed, or retaliated against her because she assured her rights and spoke her truth. >> the lawsuit filed by rogers accuses kelly of sexual battery and knowingly infecting her with an std. she also claims kelly, quote, mentally, sexually and verbally abused her. rodgers is one of several alleged victims who participated in lifetime's six-part documentary, "surviving r. kelly." his attorneys have denied the

allegations. santa rosa's catholic bishop expressed, quote, grief and shame today following the release of the names of clergymen who sexual abused children. abc 7 news was in santa rosa when the news conference began with a prayer. on thursday, church leaders released a list of 39 deacons who either abused children or faced credible accusations of being child predators. >> i feel tremendous sadness and grief and shame. and honestly, a raging anger. that these men did what they did. i mean, i have no tolerance personally for this. >> in 1995, the abc 7 news i-team investigated several of those priests whose name were recently released. tens of thousands of teachers walking off the job in los angeles. >> take a hike, education is a right. >> what the large strike could mean right here in the bay area.

i'm spencer christian. looking westward, clouds are getting darker, and our rain is about to get heavier, a lot heavier. heavier. i'll have the accuweather it looks like emily cooking faildinner for ten. it looks like jonathan on a date with his wife. entresto is a heart failure medicine that helps your heart so you can keep on doing what you love. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. it helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren,... ...or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium.

ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. yeah! entrust your heart to entresto. ♪ they say you should always listen to your heart. and where better to do that, than the island of ireland? after all, your heart is the best compass there is.

so get out there and fill your heart with the stuff that keeps it beating. fill your heart with ireland. teachers in the nation's second largest school district is now on strike. >> education is a right! >> more than 32,000 teachers walked off the job today in l.a. it is the district's first

strike in 30 years. while many walked the picket lines, thousands more were marching in the rain. they're demanding a pay raise. they want smaller class sizes and additional staffing. the schools are still open with administrators and subs teaching the district's 600,000 students. look at the crowd there. analysts believe the frustrations may ripple all across the state as teachers openly express frustration over pay and the inability to afford housing where they teach. teachers in the oakland school district could be going on strike soon. we got an update today as to when it could take place. >> it is likely that there could be a strike in oakland and early to mid-february if there is no significant movement to truly address ending the teacher retention crisis. >> what's going on in los angeles is a fight for the heart and soul of public education. however, he says oakland teachers are not planning to do any sort of one-day strike as a sign of solidarity. here in the bay area, a

teacher shortage and high turnover rate means uncertainty in our classrooms. abc 7 news reporter matt keller is working on a series of reports for building a better bay area. you can see the first one right here on abcnews tonight at 6:00. now your accuweather forecast with spencer christian. >> here is a look at live doppler 7. we have scattered showers all across the bay area right now. most of the activity is in the east bay and south bay but could complicate the evening commute. it ranks 1 on the storm impact scale. we expect to see rainfall totals between oh, about a tenth of an inch and half an inch from this storm. now another storm, a much stronger one is coming in on wednesday. this one ranks 3 on the scale. it will produce chance of thunderstorms, gusty wind up to 50, 60 miles per hour at times. there is the possibility of flooding, downed trees and power lines. and all that rainfall here means a lot of snow in the sierra. we're projecting over the next five days rainfall totals up to 68 inches at donner. 66 at kirkwood.

42 at south lake tahoe, perhaps even more. here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. tomorrow's storm ranks 1 on the impact scale. wednesday's storm ranks 3. and even on thursday, as the storm weakens, it will still be a level 2 with gusty winds and period of heavy rain. and then we've got clearing on friday and saturday into the weekend before our next storm comes on monday -- sunday. on sunday. >> wondering if thursday might be worse than wednesday with the accumulation. >> good point. the impact could be just as strong as the impact of the wednesday storm. >> all right, spencer, thank you. if you live in the bay area, you know how difficult finding housing can be. but a couple of felines have found the purr-fect place. we'll explain. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. finding the best deals on airline tickets. the best times

we're closing in on another three-day weekend. so when it comes to the holidays throughout the year, when is the best time to buy your tickets and why? >> 7 on your side's michael finney here with some help. michael? >> oh, we've been crunching some numbers. for all those travelers out there trying to find the best deals on plane tickets when you buy is important. joining me now is liana corwin.

she is a consumer travel expert with hopper. thank you very much for joining me. >> thanks for having me. >> it is when you buy and when you fly, right? isn't that the whole deal? >> it is. and it's really hard to, you know, figure this out. so that's why we've created this travel cheat sheet to try and help people figure out these trends. >> so let's start with the easy one. the time of year you fly depends on where you're going, right? >> exactly. if you want to go to -- it's always correlated with demand. if you want to go somewhere warm in the winter it's probably going to cost more than the spring or the fall. these trends just tend to show us when there's more people are trying to fly. that's when you're going to be spending a little more money. >> the airlines hang on to seats. like give me more money. >> exactly. and so what's interesting is around the holidays, airlines usually actually open up more planes. so they create more capacity for

the holidays specifically. so it does help us out a little bit. >> okay. this is a good time of year, right? >> yes. january is a great time of year to go. we're actually seeing prices down about 3% compared to last month. and they're going to climb by 4% in february. if you've been looking for a winter flight, now is a really good time to go or think of going the rest of the season. >> when you fly the the matter. explain that. >> we were just talking about the holidays, and especially ones that have a three-day weekend or something like, that most people are trying to leave on friday after work. so if you ccan leave the day before or maybe in the morning rather than the afternoon, that can save money as well. >> everybody is trying to leave that night? >> exactly. and it's really correlated with demand. if everyone is trying to get out at 6:00 p.m., if you try to take the 10:00 a.m. flight, it's usually going to be a little less expensive. >> now when you buy the ticket

matters. you've been crunching numbers on that. >> yes, exactly. for the holidays, what we found in general, if you're going for a three-day weekend holiday like columbus day or memorial day, you're going to want to book at least four weeks in advance. with some of the other holidays like christmas and new years, you're going to be about eight weeks in advance is when you're going to get the best deal. >> because people are paranoid. they want to get home for the holidays? >> exactly. and so many people travel over the holidays for christmas. we saw over 3 million people take off a day during that holiday period which is just crazy. >> and you guys have been crunching numbers on this, because it changes for every holiday. >> exactly. so hopper takes in over 15 day, been doing this for years. so we have -- >> amazing. >> i know. it's insane. we have this huge historical archive of trillions of data points so we're able to compare current pricing trends with those historical points in order to figure out what the future cost of airfare will be. >> so you look at the past to

predict the future? >> exactly. >> and you put it all online. >> it's an app only. >> oh, pardon me. >> so you can find it directly in the app, or sometimes we'll put out some studies you can find online as well. but if you're looking for a specific flight for you, you can open up the app, and we'll show u you this color coded calendar. red is definitely don't fly these days. green is the cheapest time to fly. so it helps you gauge the best time to goer to your trip. >> liana corwin from hopper. it's an app, not a website. you can check it out. >> it's got the little bunny. and you put in your stuff and the bunny is running along. a silicon valley landlord thinks he may have the purr-fect tenants. >> yes. they pay market rate. they don't make a lot of noise. occasional meowing. they're not people either. jobina fortson shows us what exactly they are. >> hello, everyone, and welcome to abc 7 crib's cat edition.

this is louise, tina, and their silicon valley crib. >> they don't drink. they don't smoke. they don't play loud music. >> david kalish couldn't be happier with the two tenants renting the 425 foot studio behind his home for $1500 a month. but before your jaw hits the floor, the average studio in is only rents for around 1900 bucks, according to rent cafe. >> a long vision or dream to have cats as tent tenants. it just worked out that way. >> he was going to use the space for airbnb, but his friend's daughter was leaving for college. with her father moving, they needed a place or the cats. >> i don't have the standard the cats need a whole house but that's how the cards are dealt. >> her father pays the rent. after the story got out, the criticism rolled in. the bay area is in the midst of a housing and homelessness

crisis. >> would much rather have people in here that can use the place. but it's so small. and there is not much use for it. >> i stay in there sometimes. my dad will stay in there. it's a shared little space. >> that doesn't seem to be permanent. she is a freshman and hopes to take the cats when she moves off campus. until then, louise and tina have to abide by their lease. jobina fortson, abc 7 news. >> they look pretty content. >> good tenants. >> the apartment was one of our hot topics this morning on our new hour-long midday live which you can catch emp day weekdays. >> reggie aqui and jessica castro debated the issue. >> there was an heiress who left millions of dollars to her cat, and they got their entire estate, and she was set up to live the purr-fect kitty life forever and ever. we talked about that. they had servants, a full loft. what is fair? it doesn't seem fair in a time like this. >> nothing is fair in life.

so that's the first thing. . that is true. >> i think it's a cute story. it's funny. but when you have people actually living in their cars, this does seem like a little bit of a slap in the face. >> it highlights the haves and the have-nots. >> this is their money. they probably -- they asked for this space. it was their family friend's who is providing this room for these cats. there was some sort of agreement. everyone felt happy about it. so as i said earlier to reggie in the newsroom, i wonder, you know, how this got out. how the cat got out of the bag. so to speak. >> she just wanted to say that. >> and also, how this made media attention. and now we're talking about it. >> they have every right, like you said. >> it's their money. >> highlights that wow, some people can do this. but maybe they do have legitimate, very good reasons for doing. so good for them. >> all right. >> the whole thing is a little odd. but, i guess if they're paying -- >> you know how expensive it is for dog sitters, cat sitters. >> oh, definitely.

>> those kinds of services. >> it can be -- once you budget into your -- it can be a decent chunk of your budget. so if you think that sounds crazy for a price, it really isn't that bad. the rent adds up to approximately $50 a day. and we did look at some of the prices of boarding facilities in the bay area. they can be pricey ranging from $30 per boarding or upwards of 150 for one of those swanky dog hotels out there. >> if you put two pets in the mix. >> they're going the charge you more. >> absolutely. is so if you want somebody to walk your pet. cats don't typically go for walks, but some people do. >> yeah. >> that would add even more. it's not as crazy as it sounds. it's a little crazy, but not totally. a young football player trying to go the distance. >> i have a lot of people in my corner that want to see me succeed. >> the 19-year-old battling cancer, and the team that's still behind him. right now kristen here with what's coming up on news at

5:00. >> continuing coverage of pg&e's plans to file for bankruptcy. new at 5:00, we're outlining why this time around is different than when pg&e filed for bankruptcy back in 2001. a community is mourning two teens killed in a crash in antioch on friday. the aunt of one of the victims tells us about the support pouring in from the community. plus, how the government shutdown is impacti tngo add ne flig

. laney college football player is fighting a hard battle against cancer there are a lot of people supporting 19-year-old ramon sanders. he broke his leg and doctors discovered he had bone cancer. lyanne melendez has the story and shows how the community is rallying behind him. >> i have a lot of people in my corner who want to see me succeed. >> ramon sanders facetimed us from his hospital ben at ucsf benioff children's hospital. last november the 19-year-old broke his femur while playing football for laney college. it turned out to be more serious than a simple broken leg. here is his father, also named ramon. >> they did x-ray. they found out he had cancer in his femur bone. then they found a couple of spots on his lungs as well. >> week following his first round of chemo, sanders had to return to the hospital. some of his teammates from high

school who now also play for laney college have visited him in the hospital to try to lift his spirits. his team says his absence has been felt on the field. >> he was the life of our defense. he came out of nowhere and started doing his thing. so it was a great loss. >> always upbeat, never negative. any time you lose a guy like that, it hurts the camaraderie. it hurts the friendship that everybody bond, all the bonds that we have on the teal. >> his community is now organizing a fundraiser for the family to help with medical bills and other expenses. the event will take place on february 17th at everett and jones barbecue in oakland. >> he is a fighter. we call him myself and his mom call him our superman. >> i won't let anything bring me down. i won't give up whatever i'm doing. >> lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> there is also a gofundme page

to help ramon and his family cover all their costs in the coming months. go to abc7news.com to find out how you can help. abc 7 news at 5:00 starts now. pg&e announcing plans today to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. we're breaking down what it means for customers, shareholders, and workers, and why it's different from when pg&e has done this before. family and friends mourning two teens killed in a crash in antioch when a victim's family member speaks about her heartbreak. asking you to take a look right now at live doppler 7. more rain on the way. we're pinpointing when it will be the worst where you live. plus how bay area residents who were out of work during the government shutdown are getting creative to try to make ends meet. >> live where you live, this is abc 7 news. >> oh my god, i'm so shocked. i hope everything is going to be okay. i know that what happened is not

great. so obviously somebody has to pay for that. >> the question, is this the beginning of the end for pg&e? prepare fog file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. they are promising to stay in business and keep your power up and running. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm larry beil. >> and i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. it is a complicated issue. we have team coverage breaking down what the filing means for pg&e customer, shareholders, and employees. >> in a letter to its 16 million customers, pg&e acknowledges this file willing be the first step in a long process, writing we have a lot of work ahead to further improve our safety performance and rebuild credibility and trust. >> just minutes ago, governor gavin newsom spoke about pg&e's eminent chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. he says the state continues to assess the situation, and in decisions have been made. newsom pledged to work to protect the public interests during bankruptcy proceedings. he says he has formed a pg&e task force and says pg&e has