miles offshore. or can see it spinning out our neighborhoods. for us, though, it has slowed down just a little bit. it's pretty clear out there. there is fog in the east bay and the south bay. not here in the bay proper. so watch out for that. 48 to 51 this morning. clouds and sunshine. near 60 at noon. we'll be 67 by 4:00. more on the commute from sue. >> it's getting busy out there. take a look at southbound 680 through-wall nut creek. the taillights headed towards highway 24. we did have an earlier issue at 680 and 24 the interchange there and so you might find slowing as you make your way towards the oakland side of things if you're traveling highway 24. we'll check back with chp to see an update on that. san jose, that's the 87 moving at a nice clip towards the airport past the sap center.thl. the problem spot continues to be over the altamont.

earlier roadwork westbound. continuing roadwork eastbound for a one-hour drive to make your way into dublin pleasanton. >> thank you, sue. california has the second highest gas prices in the country right now. almost a dollar more than the national average. >> researchers found a mystery surcharge. lawmakers want to know where that's coming from. abc 7 news reporter, ancer hasan has more from lows dpat owes. good morning. >> good morning, guys. the good news, gas prices are down. for those of us in california are paying on average a $.20 sur ch charge going back to 2017. that's about $1700 per family. a group of lawmakers, 12 from california right here in the bay area sent a letter to the state attorney general. javier becerra asking if the department of justice investigate. the letter says there's no evidence that gas companies and refineries acted legally.

however, it does state that california's gas markets lack, quote, robust competition which means californians are paying more at the pump. uc berkeley professor is the one who discovered the surcharge back in 2014. >> it's not explained by higher taxes or a cap and trade for greenhouse gases or burning cleaner gasoline. that's the problem. >> the lawmakers are also asking the department of justice to set aside funding to pay for the investigation. reporting live in los gatos, abc 7 news. thank you. >> many people can't make ends meet in the bay area. covering housing and homelessness is part of our effort to build a better bay area. volunteers and workers in contra costa county in oakland will conduct a homeless c the u.s. kpt department of urbad

housing development requires it to -- they hit the streets before dawn yesterday and will finish the count this morning. in a previous survey, the number of chronically homeless and homeless veterans dropped. the head of homeless services provider home first explains a new group is replacing them. a woman who makes the sandwiches at the deli you go to or janitor scrubbing your floor that night, those are the faces of homelessness in silicon valley. >> a census will help the government better understand the needs of today's homeless population. the city of santa clara is taking a unique approach with a new housing development. >> it will be the first in the country to introduce farm to table living in the heart of the city. last night council members approved the long awaited agra hood project in north winchester boulevard. the project puts ag space and housing in one location. 36 town homes, 160 multifamily apartments and it will be built at the former lot 1.5 acres set

aside for farming. >> i think it's the most innovative thing we can be doing now in this century. growing food is actually the answer to the climate change crisis because it holds carbon in the soil. >> private consultants say they expect to break ground next year. you can join the conversation about building a better bay area and things going on in your community. just use the #better bay area on facebook, twitter and instagram. >> one of charles manson's followers will once again be freed from prison. she was 19 at the time of the murders and was the youngest of manson's followers. van houten has been twice recommended for parole, but both times former governor jerry brown blocked her release. he said van houten still blamed manson too much on the stabbing deaths. a candlelight walk on the 30th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance.

>> eileen was kidnapped while walking home from school in dublin. she disappeared january 30th, 1989. she was only 13 at the time and was last seen walking on a.m. do you remember boulevard. they're -- her parents continue to hold out hope that their daughter will someday return. a public utility could replace pg&e. hillary roanin introduced a bill to support clean power sf. that program has been providing renewable energy since 2016 using pg&e's existing grid. the bill would allocate more than $15 martin luther king from t -- $15 million from the windfall. new at 6:00 a.m., the board of supervisors will soon consider a proposal that could allow events in the city to sell cannabis. the examiner reports that the

supervisor introduced legislation yesterday that would allow events such as the annual 420 event at golden gate park to apply for a permit allowing legal cannabis sales and consumption. other events that may be interested in getting permits include san francisco pride, outside lands and the how weird street fair. face time flaw. the teenager who claims he discovered the eavesdropping glitch on the iphone. new at 6:00, the help proposed for san francisco businesses impacted by recent construction. it may be dry this morning on the streets. but there's too much moisture in the air. we're getting flanked by fog from the south through the south bay and coming in from the east through the altamont pass into liverm [music playing] (sashimi) psst. hey, you! the one with the designer dog collar. wondering how i upgraded to this sweet pad? a 1,200-square-foot bathroom, and my very own spa. all i had to do was give my human "the look". with wells fargo's 3% down payment on a fixed-rate loan

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let's talk temperatures. neighborhoods. we'll go up to the north bay. upper 40s to low 50s from 48 in rohnert park to american canyon in vallejo at 52 degrees. tracy, cupertino, san carlos, low to mid-50s. looks clear on the roof camera. out and about today, everything is good until the sunsets. that's when the rain rolls in.

in fact, the east bay valleys, reaching the mid-60s with clouds and sunshine. by 8:00, get ready for wet weath weather. in the last stop, the south bay, a lot of sunshine. mid-60s. you'll be wet by 8:00 also. how is the commute, sue? >> in certain spots, we're hearing from the chp about an accident that happened at 1:30 this morning. it's been out this whole time. it's a big rig on its side. it's eastbound the reverse commute in vacaville at cherry glenn. it's blocking the right lane and chp has issued a sig-alert saying they see traffic backed up in the area. you can see the red sensors there. we look at the drive times. a nasty one on the central valley. westbound 580. slow and go into concord. westbound 4. a pretty good drive from san rafael into san francisco. thanks, sue. new at 6:00, san francisco supervisors are hoping cash will help businesses impacted by

public projects in the city. the proposal comes after several businesses closed on van necessary avenue and in chinatown because of road and subway construction blocked businesses. according to the examiner, they're proposing that sfmta build subsidies into the project funding proposals. it could increase costs and force them to rethink future projects. how a company is responding. plus, the little dog on a big adventure. how this pup ended up spending three weeks on the run in the east bay. as we head to break, we leave you with abc 7 news now leave you with abc 7 news now weather and traffic through the new lysol wipes are azy strong. don't believe us? we got this workout class to compare them to clorox. wow! feel the strength of new lysol wipes. dude! are you looking at this? can i take those? no. lysol. what it takes to protect.®

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welcome back. new at 6:00, we're hearing from the teenager who found that an will face time glitch. 14-year-old grant thompson lives in arizona. he says he was trying to group face time his friends earlier this month and noticed the problem. he could hear his friends before they answered the call. grant says he told his mom about it. >> hey, mom, i think i found an apple glitch. she didn't really believe that i found a glitch in, like the world's biggest phone company. >> grant and his recorded video of the problem and tried to contact apple. the company says it's aware of the issue and will release a

software update later this week. apple deactivated the -- more on gma at 7:00 after abc 7 mornings. could seal the fate two hospitals in santa clara hospital. o'connor in san jose and st. louise in gilmore. a federal bankruptcy judge will allow the sale of the hospitals to santa clara county. state attorney general filed a motion to postpone the sale because he believed it would ultimately limit health care services to the public. tentative ruling yesterday rejected his bid. judge sided with county officials who argued any delay could force the hospitals to close. new this morning, many starbucks customers are surprised by the sudden and mysterious cloesh ush of a popular store in union square in san francisco. the chronicle report starbucks served its last coffee drinks on january 20th. one of the city's only 24-hour stores. starbucks has not said why the store was closed. the newspaper reports customers were told by baristas it was

because of a rent increase. starbucks in laurel village is now the only 24-hour store in the city. coffee that's literally out of this borld. an aerospace startup wants to make it a thing. they want to roast coffee beans in space. it posted this video saying it wants to explore how space science and technology could improve the roasting process. food and wine magazine is a little bit skeptical here. they're saying that coffee beans taste best when they've been roasted recently. space launches aren't necessarily a regular event. so that could cause a problem for our taste buds. i don't care. any kind of coffee, i like. >> haven't they perfected it. >> we don't need to go out of this world to get good coffee. plus, do you want something that hot in outer space? how hot does it have to be to roast coffee?

i have no idea. that would be something that would concern me. here's a look at walnut creek. you can see coming up from the south, some of the fog is slowly creeping its way through the try valley. we're looking south on 680 there. san jose, the fog getting thicker by the moment. it will lead to hazy sunshine and clouds today. showers, lightning after the sunset. a super bowl weekend is going to be super wet and chilly with showers continuing all the way through the game sunday. for today, we've got showers briefly. a tenth of an inch to an inch and the chance of lightning. notice, there's no flooding expected. there's no wind damage expected. that's why it's a 1. even though some areas will see and feel the intensity of the showers. a little stronger than a 1. here we are from 5:00 to 8:00. evening commute looking pretty dry other than scattered showers. once we get past that, notice the trend. the storms more offshore and sliding south faster. so our radar returns are really starting to hit the santa cruz

mountains and the southern half of the bay harder than the rest of us. there will be lingering showers at 4:30 and scattered light showers through the morning. once we get past that, increasing sunshine. so for rainfall potential, notice this morning, we're on dry pavement. this evening, this afternoon -- this evening, i should say dry pavement. but towards midnight, that's when it gets wet. our worst commute out of the storm is likely tomorrow morning. friday afternoon and evening, we repeat it. but this time we introduce winds that could gust up to 45, 50 miles per hour. that's why the storm is a 2 for friday. sue? >> we have this sig-alert. it was just issued. the accident has been there since 1:30 this morning. it is a big rig off the side of the road. it is causing a backup in both directions. this is vacaville. the rig is on eastbound side at cherry glen. there's about a half-mile backup in the eastbound direction and about a mile backup in the westbound direction. taking a look. the chp decided about five hours

later it was time to issue a sig-alert because traffic was getting backed up. here's a look at the drive times. 680 the corridor from highway 4 into walnut creek under 10 minutes. and 24 into oakland, it's looking pretty good as well. over the altamont from tracy into dublin, westbound 580. "good morning america" coming up at 7:00 on abc 7. >> sam champion is live from new york city with a look at what's ahead. good morning, sam. >> hey you guys. matt, jessica, how are you doing? you feeling good, i think, right? >> okay. i'll just go. coming up on gma, 150 million waking up to a deep chill in the midwest facing the coldest air in a generation. that's what people are saying. schools are closed, flights canceled. even the amtrak shut down. places not getting mail. it's a big deal. now that system is sliding east and bringing that dangerous chill all the way to the east coast. our team is spread out across area in case your folks on the

west coast are traveling anywhere else in the country. it's information you need to know. the alleged attack on jesse smallet, there are new details about what he says he faced and his empire co-stars are talking. all of that on gma this morning. plus, the palace is on guard this morning. battling cyber bullying. the duchess kate and meghan have been victims. what's the palace doing now? we have that. the number one female tennis player in the world, naomi osaka joins us fresh off her title at the australian open. it's right here on gma. come on in and hang out with us. you guys doing good? >> i'm so excited with the interview with osaka. she's an incredible tennis youngster. kvitova making that impressive return as well. i'm excited for that interview. >> yes. she's an amazing young woman. her story, she's so like

unassuming about it. it's a wonderful interview with robin. >> sam, thank you so much. we look forward to it. >> thank you. two condos battling it out to become the most expensive home sale ever in the city. plus, the reason and east bay recycling company wants to fine people who don't sort their trash the right way. as we head to break, we leave you with abc 7 news now. we're looking better than across the midwest this morning. that's for sure. we're helping you have a better day with live weather and traffic through the entire break.

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mears a look at live doppler 7. still 400 miles away. our next storm, at least the center of it. let me give you the trend of what's going on. it's moving slower, staying more offshore in a sliding south more. it's not going to hit as hard as we thought yesterday. it's going to wait until after the evening commute. good news there. mike, thank you. an arizona nurse accused of impregnating a patient in a vegetative state is due in court today. nathan sutherland is charged with sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse. he assaulted a 29-year-old woman while in his care. no one knew. sutherland's dna matches the baby's. the arizona developmental disabilities planning council just issued new recommendations yesterday in an effort to better protect people with disabilities.

you want to check your freezer this morning. there are two different recalls involving chicken nuggets. >> on the left here of your screen, perdue nuggets. on the right, tyson white mooet meat, panko. the nuggets may be contaminated with rubber. they come in five-pound bags with the use by date of november 2019. the perdue nuggets are recalled because of misbranding and undeclared allergens. you'll find information on the recalls on abc7news.com. new at 6:00, a battle for a real estate record in san francisco. two penthouse condos are battling it out for the most expensive home ever sold in the city. according to sf -- 8400 square foot unit was listed for a whopping $41 million. even more stun, the unit isn't even finished yet. nearby, a penthouse at 181 fremont just got a pricey increase. that unit is only 6900 square

feet. but get this, the price was just upped from 42 to $46 million. sign of the times in san francisco? wow. >> lot of cash. a dog who ran away minutes after being adopted is now safe at home with his new family. >> this story makes me chuckle a little bid. the corgi mix high tailed it from the animal rescue foundation center in walnut center three weeks ago. his new family was walking him to their car. they were adjusting the harness in the parking lot when he ran. our media partner reports that the rescue foundation searched for arnold and put out food for him. yesterday, he finally returned. he just wanted a vacation and a little time to himself. >> wanted me time. >> now he's back home and safe and doing well. >> good. new at 6:00, will she or won't she? the san francisco sheriff is deciding about running for . e

honduran mother in san francisco. her baby landed in sfo a month after being detained at the u.s./mexico border. u.s./mexico border. as we send you to break, we

right now at 6:30, emotional

reunion at sfo. a honduran mother back together with mer baby daughter after a month-long separation at the u.s./mexico border. is facebook spying on your kids. they might be paying kids as young as 13 to track their every move. rain is on the way for later today. mike is tracking the timeline, plus the dangerous cold from the midwest to the east coast. some of the chilliest temperatures ever forecasted. we will show you exactly how cold it is. good morning to you. it's wednesday, january 30th. you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. mike, it's so cold in the midwest and they're dealing with ice and all those things. looking at flight aware.com. shows 6,831 delays across the country today and 2,523 cancellations. obviously, affecting travel everywhere. >> i don't know if you can get the planes warmed up and then you have to have the people on the tarmac all day.

you can't do that. not when your flesh could freeze in five to ten minutes. understandable. i hope people get that. back here at home, nothing like that. we have mild weather once again. fog encroaching from the northeast. you can see fairfield from the ooebs and livermore and from the south in san jose. let's talk about what's going to happen this evening and overnight. showers briefly heavy, thunderstorms ss. rain from north to south.ch here's a look at san jose. that is just south of mineta san jose airport. 48 to 51 this morning. near 60 at noon. you won't need the umbrella until the commute ends when the showers arrive. how about the commute, sue. it's dry at least? >> we have some trouble spots. back to vacaville. this is eastbound on 80. they have a big rig that's off to the shoulder. but they've got crews there blocking the two right lanes now. it's happened at about 1:30 this morning and chp within the last

half an hour issued the sialert. very slow westbound from vacaville past the scene of that accident. we have an accident westbound 80 near pinole valley road. slow and go. >> sue, thank you. this morning, a mother and her daughter are together again in the bay area a month after the young child was taken into federal custody at the border. >> reporter amy hollyfield is live with what led up to the emotional reunion. amy? >> reporter: matt, we have very emotional images for you to start your morning off this morning. watch as mother and daughter are reunited here at sfo. [ baby >> reporter: 23-year-old -- >> reporter: 23-year-old -- [ lost audio ]

>> we apologize for audio issues with amy's mike. you can see that story on abc7news.com. see that emotional reunion. new at 6:00, san francisco's sheriff vicky hennessey is not sure if she'll run for reelection this fall. she plans to make a decision by the end of february. last month, the sheriff underwent knee replacement surgery and is still recovering. she's still mourning the death of her husband last april. if she decides not to run, chief deputy paul mi moto plans to enter the race in her place. she was elected in 2015 after severing as interim sheriff in 2012. new overnight, crews are repairing a water main leak in fremont. the alameda county water district posted these photos of the scene at warm spring boulevard. repairs began last night. officials have notified affected businesses.

an east bay garbage company is making the case the to fine residents who don't recycle the right way. >> the company had no prior authority to issue the citations. last night the west contra costa county hauler republic services asked for permission to penalize customers for putting nonrecyclable items into their cart. international recycling material buyers like china are now rejecting contaminated loads with dirty diapers, kitty litter. it ranges between 15 and 45%. some residents say they thought they were doing everything correctly and were given no warning when they were fined $26 last fall. happening today, attorneys for pg&e will be back in federal court in san francisco. they will try to convince a dra s aimed to prevent its

equipment from causing wildfires. the judge is overseeing a criminal conviction against pg&e following the deadly san bruno pipeline explosion in 2010. earlier this month, the judge proposed that pg&e remove or trim trees that could fall on power lines in high wind conditions and shut off electricity during certain times. pg&e claims the judge's proposals, though, would endanger lives and could also cost the utility up to $150 billion. now this all comes one day after the utility filed for bankruptcy and it could soon cost all of us. >> we're still paying for pg&e's last bankruptcy in 2001. it's the dwr bond charge on your bill. most experts think we'll be paying for this one as well. your lights will stay on. pg&e secured about $6 billion in financing to keep operating. the company doesn't want to be liable for any more wildfires which means it may shut off power more often. pg&e filed for chapter 11 because they face up to $30 billion in potential liabilities

from wildfires. the bankruptcy filing means wildfire victims' lawsuit will be consol tated and likely get less money. pg&e faces billions of dollars in claims. cal fire cleared them of the tubbs fire. but some people who lost their homes say they will move forward with their lawsuit. >> they have a responsibility to us as customers, as human beings. they're walking away from that. >> an attorney representing 4,000 wildfire victims says the cases will now be heard in bankruptcy court. if you have a question about pg&e's bankruptcy, send it to us. look for the story on abc7news.com, scroll down and you'll find a form where you can submit a question directly to abc 7 news. this morning, u.s. intelligence chiefs are warning the biggest threats facing america today are isis, iran, north korea and election cam perfecting. the new report contradicts president trump's claims on the very same issues. the directors of the fbi, the

cia and national intelligence discussed the threats on capitol hill yesterday. much of what they said contradicted their commander in chief. when this comes to north korea, in fact, the cia director gave a vastly different assessment to the president's proclamation following the summit that there was no longer a nuclear threat from north korea. >> regime is committed to developing a long-range nuclear armed missile that would pose a direct threat to the united states. >> the most significant counterintelligence threat, however, is china with the fbi director saying their use of economic espionage was so widespread most of the fbi field offices had an open investigation linked to china. you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. we'll talk temperatures. it is very mild in the south bay. los altos hills, 47. we've got morgan hill, cuber continue owe, 49. everybody else 50 to 53 degrees. how about other neighborhoods. we've got mid to upper 40s in

the east bay valley. 482051 through the north bay. look at alameda and san francisco. 53 degrees. half moon bay 48. here's a look at the fog. 280 at 17 down in the south bay. that's your biggest issue. whether it's the roads or awaiting for mass transit. the reduction in the visibility. hard to see things. especially when you're traveling 65, 75 miles per hour. it takes nearly 200 feet to slow down for some cars. around the bay, it's going to be dry during the day. here's a look at the east bay. 53 this morning. sunshine. we'll get us to 60 at noon. clouds mixed in and low 60s this afternoon. 59 at 8:00 with rain. north bay, 49 this morning. low 60s this afternoon. by 6:00, you're start to go get wet. for san francisco, a lot of sunshine will push us into the low 60s this afternoon. by 6:00, we're also getting wet. this time yesterday was raining. i think you were tracking solo spinouts. how about this morning when it's dry? >> we have a few accidents out there.

i don't think it's road related at all. people driving crazy pretty. we had a big rig off on its side. this caused a sig-alert. happened about 1:30 this morning. chp just now issued a sig-alert for this. eastbound 80 near cherry glen in vacaville. you can see the backup here. check out westbound. slow past the scene. they have gotten a tow on scene. hopefully that's cleared out. an accident they originally report near pinole valley road, it's westbound 80 near highway 4 with a backup of a mile or so. so expect delays westbound there as well from hercules and we'll take a look at your drive times. highway 4 to the maze, about 32 minutes. add another 16 on to that as you make your way to the bay bridge with metering lights. combine those for a 50-minute ride into san francisco. sue, thank you. a lazy day at the beach for a bunch of elephant seals. how this is related to the

government shutdown. and you're looking live at the big board at the new york stock exchange. it's up big right now. another update on how the markets are doing next. it's been around for 90 years. lucca ravioli is ready to close for good here in san francisco. we'll tell you the last day you can visit. as you get your day into gear, keep on top of weather and traffic for the entire commercial break with abc 7 news now. check that out. the sun is starting to peek out. we'll be right back. >> announcer: today's storm is level 1. keep an umbrella handy and drive keep an umbrella handy and drive satisfy

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this is abc 7 mornings. let's talk about our school day forecast first. 48 to 53. nothing frozen here. a little bit of fog to watch out for. 56 to 58 with cloud and sunshine at 11:00. 57 to 63, still mild and dry, this afternoon. dense fog, we've got it through the central valley. especially the southern parts. until 10:00 visibility down to 200 miles. 730 to 75 los angeles. palm springs. san diego, pretty much the rest of our lower elevations in the mid to upper 60s today. here's a look at satahoe in

heavenly. we'll have several feet of snow starting on friday. with the heaviest on saturday. still moderate to light snow sunday. going to be tricky getting up there this weekend. mike, thank you. we want to get back to the story we started to tell you about earlier. a mother reunited with her daughter in the bay area a month after the child was taken into federal custody. >> amy hollyfield is live at sfo with more. amy. >> reporter: good morning, guys. you want to pause. stop what you're doing and watch this emotional reunion between a mother and a daughter. mother and a daughter. >> >> reporter: 23-year-old cindy flores was saying in spanish to her baby, don't cry my love. don't cry. one-year-old gretchen juliette has been in a shelter for a month. her mother has been fighting to get her daughter back. the attorney says the u.s.

government kept adding different requirements for her release. the baby was taken at the border. her family escaped from hoduerrs and seeking assign -- honduras and seeking assaylum in the u.s. she's been dreaming of this moment to see her baby again. >> as excited as we are to see cindy reunite with her baby. it's just one story of many, of thousands perhaps. > >>. >> reporter: flores is staying with relatives in san francisco. she is afraid of what this separation has done psychologically to her daughter. we reached out to the department of homeland security for a comment on this case but we have not heard back. reporting live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. amy, thank you. this morning, we are hearing from the cast of empire following the attack of fellow actor jesse smallet. the santa rosa native is

recovering after he says two hooded men attacked him in chicago yesterday. they're investigating it as a possible hate crime. the actor says he yelled racial and homophobic slurs and maga country. they put a rope around his neck. smalle terks is openly gay and plays a gay character on the series empire. the cast and crew leshd aboarnet the attack onset. >> i know he's angry. jesse's anger will dissipate and he will forgive these people for what they did. but he won't and we cannot forget. >> an investigation still under way. so far police have not identified any suspects. alcatraz's criminal history can be discovered at night. it started back up again yesterday. partial government shutdown brought an end to the tours, though day tours continued.

hyde street pier is back open also. you're seeing the expect unexpected outcome of the partial government shutdown. there were no park rangers and few visitors to the beach in the point reyes national seashore. elephant seals saw it as an opportunity to claim the area and they're very comfortable in the parking lot. it includes 40 pups, some only a few days old as you see here. the road leading to the beach remains closed and scientists are working on a way to allow the public to safely observe the seals without necessarily having to move them. facebook is paying people as young as 13 years old to access their browsing history on their smartphones. tech crunch report this has been going on since 2016. facebook pays users up to $20 per month to install an app called facebook research. the app tracks web searches, location information and private messages within social media apps among other data.

similar to another app that was banned last year. they will shut down the ios version and will will continue to run on android. a mission district landmark will close in the spring after serving san francisco for more than nine decades. >> sad to see it go. lucca ravioli company will close forever on april 20th. the owner wants to retire and he plans to sell the building, possibly making way for housing. video game retailer game stop has abandoned plans to sell itself to another company. game stop says they couldn't get financing option that is made a sale viable. the future of the chain sh in question. analysts say game stop struggled to remain relevant because many people turned to buying digital games through gaming consoles. let's look live at the new york stock exchange. trading is just getting under way. we're up significantly 231 points right now. something to watch out for

today. facebook reports its quarterly earnings. now to the dangerously cold weather spreading across the country. >> many schools in the midwest are closed because of frigid arctic air. it's blasting millions of americans right now. it's so cold in some spots there's no mail service. iowa, nebraska and minnesota. along with parts of wisconsin and illinois. large chunks of ice blocking boats from navigating the chicago river. also in chicago, crews are setting fires on commuter railroad tracks to keep them from freezing. this is one of the coldest days ever in the city. abc news reporter alex perez shows us just how cold it is. >> reporter: this is a clear piece of glass that you can see. i've got water in my hand. i'm going to pour it. it freezes instantly. it crystalized. this cold is no joke. >> i'm surprised he can talk there. mike, the coldest you had been in was minus 40.

>> 40, 42. it constricts everything when you breathe in. it freezes up inside your nose also when you don't breathe with a mask on. yes, it is brutal. the funniest experiment we did was the brownest, mushest banana, stuck it outside and it was hard as a rock. we drove nails into a board with it. that's what that cold does. let's take a look at our windchill. it feels like 53 here. it feels 98 degrees colder in chicago and minneapolis with that 45 below windchill. we're even 25 below in st. louis. my sister lives there. she happens to give me an update every hour. thanks, cheryl. hope you're enjoying it. >> this is the high. 14 below. they're going to be, look at that, nearly 61 degrees warmer by sunday. what a whiplash there. for us, let's look at what's going on. clouds and sunshine, mild and

dry during the day. the storm comes in tonight. stronger one friday. the storm is moving slower, stays offshore and sliding south more. it's now a 1 with a chance of thunder still possible and brief heavy rains. the closer you are to the coast, the more likely you'll get that. by 8:00, they start making it ashore. by midnight, we have the heaviest rain falling. by 4:30 in the morning, it's the south bay with scattered showers lingering through 9:00 tomorrow. then we'll see a mixture of sun and clouds tomorrow afternoon. 58 to 62. the difference friday, the storm will hit all of our neighborhoods even the north bay, which we'll miss out on this one and bring us damaging winds up to 50 miles per hour and heavier rain. chilly, showers for saturday and sunday. >> sue? >> brake lights across the san mateo bridge from the tolls and before the toll plaza towards foster city. you're looking at a 30-minute drive. no problems on the san. g to get east to west. we'll look at the traffic maps. we have a four-car accident.

this one is southbound 101 right near miller creek road. backed up to highway 37. they're trying to clear that out of the lanes. eastbound a sig-alert. this is on 80 in vacaville. if you're headed towards sacramento. you'll find a mile backup as the big rig has been out there since 1:30 this morning on the right-hand lane. very far right lane. give yourself extra time. westbound, too. thank you, sue. we're tracking breaking news from san jose. firefighters on the scene in a strip mall fire. >> our reporter just arrived on the scene on saratoga avenue. he's joining us live. >> reporter: fire crews are still on scene of what appears to be a small grocery store. the fire is out. knocked down before 6:30 a.m. we're at saratoga avenue and stevens creek boulevard. one of the lanes, saratoga, is still closed to help firefighters. initially firefighters were having a tough time trying to

locate the source of the fire, which w discovered in the back of the building. it's concerning how fast it can spread. fire crews have come outside to let the building ventilate. there are no reports of injuries. it seems like all the businesss were closed. reporting live in san jose, abc 7 news. >> thank you. super bowl halftime performer, maroon 5 is breaking from tradition. it will not be doing a news conference before the big game. >> several twitter users seem to think it's so they don't have to answer questions about the controversy concerning colin kaepernick. the artists will let their show do the talking as they prepare to take the stage on sunday. there's the statement from nfl. the nfl is promising social and digital content of the preparations up until the game. that's not stopping blowback on social media. many acts turned down performing

at halftime this year in support of kaepernick and other players who protested during the national anthem. there was an online petition urging maroon 5 to drop out. rappers big boy and travis scott joined maroon 5 for the performance. the make he shall of the roomba is developing a robotic lawn mower. >> irobot unveiled the tara. the autonomous lawn mower uses radio technology to get around. it's to keep it in a confined area. tara will launch in germany first and go on sale in the u.s. next year. they were saying they were frustrate wd creating this. took a long time. ten years to create it. >> my dad was listening. maybe christmas. >> the seven things you need to know before you go. the instagram picture of the day. follow us. you can see a lot more great pictures like this one. share your photos and video

using the #abc 7 now. beautiful. see that sun peeking out. let's take a live look at the bridge as the sun starts to

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6:57. if you're just joining us or headed out the door, here are the seven things to know. number one, an emotional reunion in san francisco between a mother from honduras and her one-year-old daughter. cindy flores was overcome with tears after a month long separation at the u.s./mexico border. number 2, fog is the big story. too much moisture in the air but not on the ground yet. starting off mild. 48 to 50. we'll be near 60. another mild afternoon. once the sunsets, the showers roll in. >> number 3, a live picture from minneapolis. looks like a photo there. a deep freeze is grinning the midwest this morning. it's all frozen there, even the pictures. the temperature in minneapolis will feel as low as 65 below zero this morning. that can cause frostbite on skin in as little as five minutes. empire star jesse smollett remains in the hospital after

being attacked in chicago. they wrapped a rope around his neck and yelled maga in reference to make america great again. california lawmakers are calling -- a uc berkeley berkelr economist says a mystery surcharge from 20 to 40 cents may be a reason why california pay more than other states for gas. number 6, we're following your wednesday morning commute with a sig-alert still in effect in vacaville. this is eastbound 80 near cherry glen. westbound remains very slow. the big rig is gone. they are in the cleanup phases. so this hopefully by the time we talk in another 25 minutes or so we'll be all cleared up. number 7, elephant seals taking over drakes beach during the government shutdown. fewer people visited the seashore. elephant seals saw it as an opportunity to claim the area. the colony has 40 pups. >> they'll need an umbrella to protect from the rain today. >> yeah.

really think we'll get through the morning and evening commute once we get to 7:00, 8:00. they'll be heavy during the overnight hours. >> it will be good morning, america. deep freeze. the coldest air in a generation turns the midwest to ice right now. 150 million feeling the pain. windchills already dropping to more than 60 degrees below zero in minnesota.. a new warning about life-threatening cold as the system moves east. also this morning. new details about jussie smollett. the "empire" star telling police he was assaulted by two masked men yelling racial and homophobic slurs, pouring a chemical on him and putting a rope around his neck. a dozen detectives and the fbi on the case. what his "empire" co-star is saying this morning right here

on "gma." >