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 not been a trusted player in the

past, siting the utility's previous admission to circumventing regulators by misreading its pipes. >> i can assure you with pg&e it's trust but dare i say verify. and let me underscore verify. >> pg&e officials say they need to file for bankruptcy protection because of the lawsuits that are expected from last year's camp fire. >> we have team coverage, starting with the i team's dan noyes who is live in the newsroom. >> larry and kristen, today's announcement sent pg&e stock down sharply. it's off more than 80% from november. and this s.e.c. filing shows why it's in such bad shape. the form filed with the securities and exchange commission lays out in detail how pg&e could be on the hook for causing the camp fire, how lines may have come off some of its high voltage towers in november's high winds, sparking the blaze. with the camp fire and 2017 wildfires in northern california, pg&e's liability could exceed $30 billion.

frank petri represents hundreds of camp fire victims. >> i'm disappointed that they chose the bankruptcy route because i'm concerned about the delay that takes place when you add on another layer of proceedings through a different court. >> but the utility said in a statement that chapter 11 is the only viable option to restore pg&e's financial stability to fund ongoing operations and provide safe service to customers. >> someone's going to foot the tab for this massive amount of bankruptcy expense. >> doug lane advises companies and creditors through the bankruptcy process. he says all of us will wind up paying more because of today's filings, and lane adds it appears the pg&e board decided president and ceo geisha williams should take the fall, accepting her resignation yesterday. she had been at the helm for less than two years. >> it's unfortunate that pg&e has made this great move forward, hired a woman or promoted a woman to the job of ceo and, you know, less than a few years later, she has to be

the one who bears the brunt of this. >> late today san francisco city attorney dennis herera issued a statement. pg&e should not be allowed to shift its failures on to the backs of hardworking residents. we are working with other policymakers to ensure that this situation results in safe, reliable, clean and affordable powerful rate payer, including the possibility of a publicly owned utility. and coming up at 6:00, we talked to one of the biggest critics, the state district whose district includes san bruno, the site of the national pipeline explosion that brought criminal charges for pg&e. larry, kristen? >> dan, thank you so much. it's been 18 years since pg&e filed for bankruptcy last time, losing millions of dollars monthly due to billions in energy contracts it couldn't cover. >> abc 7 news reporter david louie looks back to that 2001 bankruptcy and how pg&e may run into some similar problems this time around. david? >> that's right, larry and kristen. pg&e ran into financial problems back in 2001 because it couldn't

pay $9 billion in energy contracts. this time the amount, as dan noyes pointed out, is about three times that amount, $30 billion in projected liability costs from wildland fires. there is one thing in common about these two bankruptcy. filing for bankruptcy again could make it difficult for pg&e to get credit, and that could be something that consumers might have to foot the bill on for years to come. the 2001 pg&e bankruptcy differs from what's developing now because the crisis then was rooted in california's deregulated energy markets. market manipulation by enron and others had caught pg&e locked into very expensive power contracts it couldn't pay. however, pg&e could face an identical credit crunch now as it did then due to downgrades in credit rating. catherine sandoval was a state public utilities commissioner for eight years under larry brown. >> even when you have pg&es, some of the natural gas sellers who would normally sell to pg&e

on credit are already expressing concern about selling on credit because of the credit crunch that pg&e is in. >> the state might once again need to step in and issue bonds to buy supplies for pg&e. the department of water resources bonds are part of your pg&e bill today. >> we could end up in exactly that type of situation with the state, you know, through dwr having to buy power again, and once again a dwr bond charge that goes on for another 20 plus years. >> san jose is launching its own clean energy service in three weeks. pg&e will deliver the power and handle the billing. >> they are the customer service agents. they handle all the distribution of the electricity. so we absolutely need a distribution partner to be successful. >> pg&e has told san jose will be business as usual, but katherine sandoval isn't as certain. >> even if you are a customer of an aggregator, it doesn't insulate you from this problem because we all depend on the

infrastructure. >> katherine sandoval says pg&e's bankruptcy is like a crew trying to fix a plane while it's still up in the air. psg&e has to keep the power on, keep the natural gas flowing. it also has to keep paying for tree trimmers and repair crews. but if the credit is cut off, despite positive comments it can keep things going, a bailout either by the state or consumers is still not out of the question. live in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. >> all right. but what does the bankruptcy mean for pg&e's 16 million customers? >> 7 on your side's michael finney answers one of the most pressing questions of all. >> so let me start by coupling s ca1llows a company to keep operating while the courts decide what to do with all that piled up debt. now the average utility consumer with pg&e could actually end up doing well with this bankruptcy. how? the public utilities commission commission bases rates on how

much a utility spends to provide those services. if debt is forgiven and pg&e's expenses drop and your electric rates could drop too. now, of course, there could be massive borrowing between now and then, and that could erase any potential savings. wildfire victims, they too will be hurt because with a bankruptcy, all debt before the filing are up for grabs, and creditors get a first shot at the cash. >> and we sent out a push alert this morning when pg&e confirmed its plan to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. the mobile app is free to download. be sure to enable notification for breaking news updates. more rain is on the way. what we've seen today kind of a slow start to the rain expected this week. >> i think we're going to build each day. sandhya patel is tracking it all for us. >> that's right. the storms are going to progress ily get stronger as we head towards wednesday. let's take a look at live doppler 7 right now. i'll get you into street level

radar where we're seeing light to moderate showers. oak glen heading into trestle glen. pockets of moderate showers. berkeley, claremont avenue. heading into the inland east bay around concord, pleasant hill. ygnacio valley road, it's pretty wet. scattered light showers. not all of this is reaching the ground. some of it on the peninsula, definitely hitting the ground around san mateo. belmont. as we head towards the south bay, alum rock, into san jose. wider perspective showing you the main energy with this storm heading into southern california. that's where they've been seeing some snow. grapevine is closed. tomorrow scattered showers. tenth to a half an inch. breezy to windy at times. so tonight expect more scattered showers. hour-by-hour, you can see. and that's not the only system we're tracking. a level 3 coming your way on wednesday. i'll be back with a closer look at the watches that are coming with that strong storm straight ahead.

larry? >> thank you, sandhya. see you in a few minutes. san francisco firefighters rescued a stranded surfer near land's end this afternoon. a firefighter paddled out to the man who was stuck in the powerful waves. this is right near the cliff house. firefighters say that man may have lost his own surfboard around 12:30 this afternoon. the firefighter and the man waited for a coast guard rescue boat to pick both of them up. sky 7 flew above the coast guard's rescue station in sausalito as the surfer walked back on to land, seemingly okay. in the east bay, there is a growing memorial in antioch for two teens killed in this crash friday night. four other teens are hospitalized with injuries. melanie woodrow spoke with the aunt of the youngest victim, a 13-year-old girl. >> authorities say speed and slick roads likely caused friday night's fatal crash on lonetree way and indian hill drive in antioch. six teenagers were in this car that wrapped around a tree. a growing memorial is filled with flowers, stuffed animals,

canneds and cards. 17-year-old leana ruben and jayia lighter in were killed in the crash. lighter in attended middle school where she is being remembered today. this is jayia's aunt. just a good well rounded, fun-loving preteen girl, you know. that you could just fall in love with. >> the teens had just left a basketball game at nearby deer valley high school. jaya's aunt says jaya was in the passenger seat and was not wearing their seat belt. she was thrown from the car. >> we're going to miss her. wooer going to miss here. >> the other teens have moderate to life-threatening injury. >> even as teenagers, you don't know. you think you know. but you don't. so you have to listen, because in a split second, your life will be either taken. you will take a life, or you're going to change your life. and it's nothing good that comes out of that. >> tomorrow night there will be

a vigil at the walmart parking lot across the street from this memorial. in antioch, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. we have put together a list of local resources to help teens dealing with grief. you'll find it at abc7news.com/takeaction. just look for the mental health page and find your ally. support is coming in for an 88-year-old grandmother who was robbed, beaten, and then left for dead at a san francisco park earlier this month. a gofundme page for yik oi huang has surpassed its $1,000 goal. huang's family says that money will go toward a reward for information leading to an arrest. the police union is already offering a $10,000 reward. if that reward is not collected, the gofundme money will go toward medical bills. you can find a link to the page on our website, abc7news.com. the government shutdown is now in its 24th day. >> does this woman look like she has been affected be i the government shutdown? i'm dion lim in sunnyvale with some of the createst lengths some people are going to make

ends meet. the detroit auto show is getting under way. coming up, why more car companies are bringing dead cars back to life. plus, more oscar drama. why the film academy is getting called out by an so we don't want you to pay yone cent more than you need to for health care. at covered california, you can get health insurance at a lower cost. in fact, enrollees pay an average of $5 per day. see how little it costs to get covered. visit coveredca.com today.

a live look at the white house as the government shutdown now enters day 24. no end in sight. congress is back in d.c., but president trump has said he's not interested in reopening the government while negotiations continue over his plan for a border wall. >> here in the bay area government workers and their families really feeling the pinch now of going without a paycheck for almost a month. >> abc 7 news anchor dion lim hoes us the creative ways some are going to make ends meet. >> judging by the way christina dresses and her tech job in

silicon valley, you would never guess she is the face of the government shutdown. >> things like a designer purse. hello, kate spade. everything i own that is a known brand i'm going to sell things to make ends meet. >> we met 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 at night on the phone. we miss each other. >> but now fredrick 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. gas for their car, groceries, food, whatever. not asking for handouts. we're just 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. >> during this shutdown, several businesses and banks are also offering services to help families who are in need. at abcnews.com, we have a list of the banks that are offering things like flexibility to borrowers and special credit programs. the shutdown is even making its way into consumer news. some new flights from the bay area to hawaii are grounded indefinitely. >> and car models you may never have heard of -- or you may have heard of but haven't seen in a

while. they're making a comeback at the detroit auto show. >> the pinto? michael finney is here with those stories. >> i doubt that one. >> not the pinto. but everything old is new again. in detroit some major carmakers are putting iconic discontinued cars back out on the road. the media got a preview today of the detroit auto show, and one big trend we're seeing is the resurgence of previously hot models. they include the supra which toyota stopped producing in 2002 and the ford explorer last produced in 2011. on another note from the auto show, trucks are big this year, both in size and popularity. the detroit auto show opens to the public on saturday. now here is a place where the partial government shutdown might cost your family some money. southwest airlines said today it can't move forward with its planned service to hawaii because it can't get faa

approval for the flights. faa inspectors have been furloughed. so how could this cost you money? well, when southwest adds a route, prices usually drop on competing airlines. have you noticed more drug ads on television programs? a recent study says between 1997 and 2016, spending on ads for health care services soared from $2 billion to $10 billion. dartmouth researchers conducted this study and say the largest share of those ads was for drugs. during that same time, consumer spending on prescription drugs spiked. one reason for the increase in ads may be a change the way the fda has made its ad requirements. ultimately, it allows for shorter ads. they don't have to give as many of that fine print. that's why they're on tv more now. >> let me know when the gmc pacer comes back. >> pacer, remember that car? >> we are both giving away our age. we'll stop right there.

>> grandpa told me about it. >> there you go. now your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. >> don't want to give away my age so i won't even comment. let me show you live doppler 7 right now. we'll talk what it looks like outside. we are starting to see the showers increasing in the east bay. we'll get you into street level radar. grizzly peek boulevard, moderate showers passing through right now in the east bay. about a third of an inch hour. kensington, el cerrito. you will notice moderate showers around oakley, discovery bay, also lighter showers from fairfield. vacaville and down the peninsula we go. very spotty in nature from redwood city edgewood road to san mateo, foster city. around the sierra nevada, this is turning to snow showers. but we haven't seen anything yet. it is going to dump in the mountains. take a look at this live picture from our tahoe camera. it's going to look very different in the coming days. temperatures right now in the

40s, the 50s. a live picture from our south beach camera. you can see sutro tower there. some birds there. clouds, a few drops. scattered showers through tomorrow. stronger storm arrives on wednesday. and we will be drying out friday and saturday. on our storm impact scale, the current system going into tomorrow is a light level 1. scattered showers, tenth of an inch to half an inch of rain. and breezy to windy at times is what we're expecting. there will be some higher totals as we head towards tomorrow night. hour-by-hour, 6:30 light to moderate showers. 10:30, we're going to see the showers tapering. and the next wave comes through tomorrow morning during the commute. 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., the showers will be more widespread, and increasing. lunchtime, make sure you have the umbrellas. 5:00 p.m., more spotty in nature tomorrow evening going into late tomorrow night. first thing tomorrow morning, don't leave home without your umbrellas. you will need them. temperatures in the 40s, 50s. you will also notice that in the afternoon, you're going to have to hang on to the rain gear. temperatures 40s, 50s. make sure you have a raincoat as

well. this is the storm we're really focused on. it's a strong level 3. wednesday afternoon, evening, heavy rain, chance of thunder. wind gusts 50 to 60 miles per hour. could potentially cause downed trees, power lines, and flooding is a big concern here as the ground becoming increasingly saturated. here are the concerns. hydropla hydroplaning. small stream flooding high likelihood and power lines down there, is a moderate risk. so be prepared. 5:00 a.m. wednesday, spottily light showers. this really continues until 3:00 p.m. then you start to start to see downpours. oranges there. yellows indicating the heavier rain. if the models continue to paint it as wet as it is. 8:30 wednesday night still going. and then it tapers to scattered showers for thursday. flood watch has been posted for lake and solano counties wednesday afternoon through thursday morning. thee is potential for the burn scar areas to experience mudslides and debris blows. high wind watch is in effect for virtually all of the bay area.

gusts 50 to 60 miles per hour wednesday afternoon through early thursday morning. it does turn to snow in the mountains. a winter weather advisory tuesday afternoon to wednesday afternoon, above 5,000. expecting up to 18 inches with reduced visibility. it becomes a winter storm watch wednesday afternoon through friday morning. look at the snow. three to four feet. down to 4500 feet. highest elevations could see up to five feet of snow. now that's winter for you. accuweather seven-day forecast, level 1 scattered showers tomorrow. strong storm. level three for wednesday. wet, windy thunder chance. level two on thursday. dry friday, saturday with some fog, and then a chance of showers with the sunday system is much lighter. but that level 3, that's the storm you want to take seriously. kristen and larry? >> we don't get a whole lot of 3s. >> not too often. this one you'll have to be prepared for. >> thank you. the academy is in hot water again ahead of the oscars. why they're being publicly called out

government shutdown is delaying the high profile fraud case against defunct blood testing company theranos. abc was at the federal courthouse for hearing the company's ceo elizabeth holmes and its president, ramesh boani. their lawyers requested more time to get 16 million documents for evidence. they couldn't comply due to staffing shortages because of the shutdown. the judge extended the deadline to april 22. defense attorneys say they're looking forward to proving their clients' innocence thinking is a business failure, and the company ultimately didn't succeed. but it's not a matter of intentionally defrauding anybody. >> theranos is accused of exaggerating the effectiveness of their technology after promising a pioneering blood testing method. just a week after they won college football's national championship at levi's stadium, the clemson tigers are now at the white house. president trump welcomed coach

dabo sweeney and his players just a little more than an hour ago. the visit is the second for clemson since mr. trump became president. they last visited in june of 2017. a bit of a different twist this time, because the white house, mr. trump bought the team fast food because much of the white house staff is on furlough. >> i had a choice. do we have no food for you because we have a shutdown? or do we give you some little quick salads that the first lady will make along with the second lady. they'll make some salads. and i said you guys aren't into salads. >> clemson is the first champion in a major sport to visit the white house since the astros dropped in after winning the 2017 world series. you might remember the warriors and the super bowl champion philadelphia eagles from a year ago were both disinvited by the president last year. more drama for the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences ahead of the oscars. they're now in an open feud with the screen actors guild.

in a statement sag actors said it's received multiple reports they're pressuring oscar e inin to attend and present. the oscars are still without a host after kevin hart dropped out. it's expected the academy will instead use celebrities to present awards. one rumor is they'll even unite the cast of the avengers. you can watch whatever unfolds, host or no host at the oscars right here on abc 7. the big night is sunday, february 24th. there is a lot of avengers to get together. >> shah should make for a good show. forget about the vending machine. some college ibeen building them fora 115 years,hat's

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i'm ama dates. coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, pg&e prepares to file for bankruptcy. where does this leaf victims of the north bay fires who are suing the utility? at 6:00, find out what they're being told by their lawyers.

also -- >> i'm struggling. it's a challenge for me. to come up with my rent monies. >> teachers in crisis. this week we're focusing on the challenges facing those who educate our kids. housing isn't the only thing they're worried about. it's part of our commitment to building a better bay area. that's all coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00. larry, kristen? >> ama, thanks. we'll see you then. all right. starting today there is a new way for hungry college students to satisfy their cravings. >> pepsi is launching self-driving snack bots at the university of the pacific in stockton. this video from pepsi showing you how they work. >> students can order through an app, a snack bot will deliver food and drinks to more than 50 designated areas on the campus. the robots are made by palo alto-based robbie technologies. i think snack bot is going to have a very bright future. it would have a bright future in our newsroom. >> as long as it doesn't get too smart where it tells me kristen, you really don't need another

soda. no. i'm giving you this water instead. >> you don't want a snack bot tonight, the horrifying t kidnapping revealed. jayme closs' alleged captor in court a short time ago. and tonight, the chilling new details. the suspect allegedly confessing he watched jayme closs get onto her school bus, later returning to the home, shooting and killing her parents, as she and her mother was huddled in the bathtub calling 911. what he allegedly did next, after tying jayme closs up and throwing her in the trunk of his car. also developing, the terrifying scene. the man taking two women hostage at a u.p.s. facility. s.w.a.t. teams moving in, and what we've just learned tonight about the gunman. the president is asked, have you ever worked for russia? after reports the fbi opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether the president of the united states was working on behalf of russia. how he r