also. clear conditions on live doppler 7. we're going to let it stand down for a couple of days before the rain returns monday. today is our last day of total sunshine. you can feel the clear air and the calmer conditions out there cooling us down into the mid and upper 30s at 7:00. 51 at noon. 52 to 55. definitely need the sun glasses this afternoon. have a great friday evening. grab a coat. 44 to 49 degrees. take a greater look at the weekend and the rain on the way coming up in the next half hour. let's get back to you for traffic. >> the only incident right now is a two-car collision in tracy. this is westbound 580 before grant line. definitely not helping traffic move through the area. it's only 13 miles an hour. be warned if you're headed in that direction. otherwise, drive times are all in the green. this morning, the "empire" actor accused of staging his own hate crime is on bail and rn tt.

>> jussie smollett reportedly apologized to cast mates and denied that he orchestrated the attack. he faced a judge for the first time on charges he filed a false police report. abc news senior legal analyst sunny hostin says they will likely call into question -- >> the chicago police department notoriously had a lot of issues. from the defense perspective, they're going to attack, at that tack, attack. because, again, jussie smollett is still entitled to the presumption of innocence. you are innocent until proven guilty. >> one key piece of evidence chicago police say they obtained was from uber on the movement of the two brothers at the center of this case. investigators say they were paid $3500 by smollett to carry out the attack. developing news in the east bay, teachers in oakland getting ready to strike again. in about a half hour at 6:30oaip

negotiatns expected to resume later this morning. they demand higher salary, more staff support and smaller class sizes. the district superintendent last night faced an angry crowd. parents were shouting so the frustrated superintendent just walked out of the room. today's strike involves 3,000 teachers. schools are open today and administrators hired substitute teachers. >> also happening today, several east bay businesses are offering free admission to oakland schoolchildren impacted by the teacher strike. fairy land says each paying adult with an oakland i.d. can bring up the two kids for free. the oakland museum of california is offering free admission to children from 1 5 >>devepingight country are reporting problems with southwest airlines. here's a live look at sfo. we checked in with airport officials here and they say that only one flight has been canceled at sfo.

a check of twitter shows southwest passengers kmang of long delays and canceled flights. its network operations control team is aware of the problem. but this is something, if you have a flight today, you may want to keep your eye on this throughout the day. a local college student accused of high tech drug dealing will be in front of a judge today. >> he created a phone app he disguised as a game. it was sell illegal drugs. matt keller is live in san jose. >>. >> reporter: jessica, the suspect could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines if he's convicted on all charges. he's scheduled to be in federal court today for a bail review hearing. take a look at his photo here. this is his booking photo of the suspect. 18-year-old collin howard of sunnyvale is charged with three counts with intent to distribute meth and one count related to cocaine after a joint sting

operation involving homeland security and the police. he was arrested on charges. he created an app to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs and used snapchat to talk to customers. he used the banana slug as the mascot for uc santa cruz. police discovered the app after posters were put up all over campus. howard pled not guilty and scheduled to be in court at 1:30 today. matt keller, abc 7 news. thank you, matt. going to turn to the east bay. uc berkeley police looking for the person seen in this video attacking a conservative activist on campus. hayden williams was invited to campus tuesday by a group called turning point usa to recruit members for the organization. williams says while he was working the man called him a racist and then you see it there, punched him in the face. williams appeared on the hannity

show on fox news last night. >> some students took offense to our sign that we had that said hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims. this person claimed we were promoting violence on campus and proceeded to take his aggression out on us. >> obtained the two photos of the alleged attacker now wanted for questioning by campus police. uc berkeley officials condemned the violence saying it has no place on campus. a man opened fire on a napa county sheriff's deputy sunday night. he was in this country illegally. we want to warn you the following video is graphic. >> shots fired, shots fired. >> deputy riley jarecki returned fire, killing the suspect. javier hernandez morales. immigration and customs enforcement says hernandez morales was an a long criminal history. he was deported in the years

2007 and 2010. i.c.e. has issued detainers to napa and sonoma county jails four times since the year 2014 and all of those were denied. napa county officials defended the sanctuary policies currently in place. >> we need to make sure we have all of the facts and make sure we have policy that reflects the safety of our community. >> county supervisors say they will investigate the policies. they also say napa welcomes immigrants. new this morning, there is a new sign that berkeley's tax on sodas and sugary drinks is working. according to a uc berkeley study, tlbs a 21% drop in people drinking soda and sugary drinks a year after it went into effect. the rate dropped by 52%. the study compared rates to those in oak lands and san francisco between 2014 and 2017. berkeley adds a penny per ounce tax on sodas and other sweetened

drinks. patients hit with outrageous medical bills at zuckerberg general hospital. what they can do to stop it. why a driver was seen speeding down a sidewalk coming within inches of a pedestrian. >> wow. here's a look at the chances of rain. look how they increase dramatically early next week and i had so much doubt in me. my current supervisor reached out on linkedin.

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start in the south bay where we're getting close to freezing cold temperatures. 35 in alum rock. we've got mid to upper 30s up in the peninsula. once you get to san francisco and on the other side, alameda, in the mid-40s in san pablo. freezing cold in lafayette and novato. going to the beaches today, it's going to be sunny and chilly. at least it will be sunny with a light breeze. exercising, grab the sunglasses and no worries on the bay. we're locked in the 40s until 10:00 in the east bay. 48 at 8:00. we'll go from stars to sunshine to stars. same thing in the north bay. in the 30s at 8:00. >> 40s at 10:00. 52 to 55 this afternoon. a chilly 43 by this evening. san francisco milder. mid to upper 40s 8:00 to 10:00. 51 to 53 degrees from noon to 6:00. hope you have a great friday and

enjoy the sunshine. let's take a look at traffic this morning. walnut creek, no incidents there. good news and as you can see, traffic is moving along just fine this morning. drive times are going a little slow westbound 80 from albany to the maze. otherwise, as you can see, we are in the green. green means go and bee liwe lik public health officials considering actions to deal with sky high medical bills for people who receive medical services at san francisco general hospital. many are uninsured. for the rest, they're often stuck with bills amounting to thousands of dollars because sf general does not accept private insurance. the examiner reports officials want to limit the bills relative to the patient's income. they're also considering expanding charity programs to help with those bills. >> countdown to the oscars this morning. we're getting a closer look at what you see on stage sunday night. >> a woman traveling in san francisco gets banned

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new video shows a wild drive in new jersey. this is crazy. look at that. oh, my gosh. a suspected drunk driver speeding down a sidewalk and missing a man by inches. and do you see it just explodes. it mows down a light pole before crossing a street and finally comes to a stop.

yikes. >> the 47-year- faces multiple charges. incredibly, nobody was hurt. what? >> oh, m >> no was hurt by that? >> i haven't seen anything that craze any a l time. that is jaw dropping. a san francisco police officer pleaded guilty to two bank robberies. rain daugherty was arrested in december for robbing an east-west bank in san francisco. at the time he was suspended without pay from sfpd while facing elder abuse charges in san mateo county as well. daugherty allegedly scammed a man with dementia out of $13,000. daugherty was also one of the officers named in the racist text scandal that rocked the department back in 2015. apple ceo tim cook has been named this year's commencement speaker at stanford. he won't have to drive very far. this is the second university he'll be speaking at this spring. he'll be speaking at tulane university as well. he looks forward to deepening the remarkable relationship that

stand for and apple have built together over many years. sdmiefrjts now now to oscars. >> final preparation rs under way. production designer has created an art installation using foam sculpted to create an elaborate display. there are 26,000 swarovski crystals and 40,000 roses. >> put thag many roses on stage in long ribbons and made topiary oscars of roses, they're going to have an implicit warmth. >> the designer chose roses because he thinks they're the most elegant expression of beauty. >> one thing you won't see sunday is a performance by kendrick lamar. and -- >> i'm not hip. >> siz a won't be offended. variety confirms that they have turned down an offer to

perform the stars from black panther. >> that's surprising. all right. we'll still get to see bette midler, queen and who else? lady gaga. >> but no siz a. >> you can pick your favorites for sunday night and follow along with an oscars ballot. download it now. compare it with friends and co-workers. it's on abc7news.com. we should mention anchor dion lim will be in hollywood. in fact, she's going to be there today. she'll cover the preparations leading up to the show. abc 7 is the only place where you can watch the oscars sunday at 5:00 p.m. our kafrj starts at 1:30. it's 6:17 this morning. let's check our weather and traffic. let's start with traffic. >> yeah. >> i got it right. here we go. this is a live look right now at the bay bridge toll plaza. we had the metering lights on at 5:29 earlier this morning. it is pretty slow going right

now between the maze and the metering lights. in fact, there is traffic backed up into the maze westbound 80 approach from ashby. it's really slow right now. let's look at drive times around the bay area. southbound 101 santa rosa to petaluma. westbound 580, castro valley to the maze. northbound 101 and 280 to 680 to 85, 13 minutes. never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. here's a look from mt. tamalpais. cool temperatures under a sunsational sky today. clear tonight and a little cooler than this morning thanks to the calmer conditions. a three-day rain event begins. 54 in richmond and san francisco. we have san jose, palo alto, fremont, concord and santa rosa at 57. narrow this afternoon. wide range tonight. from the 20s in lakeport and cloverdale to ukiah and santa rosa and morgan hill to 40s in

richmond. oakland, san mateo, half moon b bay, san francisco and san rafael. chinese new year parade tomorrow. it is going to be a great time in san francisco. now, technically it starts at 5:15. people will be lining up well before that. we'll have a partly sunny afternoon, 54. drop down to 50. without the sunshine it will feel cooler by 8:00. thinking about heading up to tahoe, look at the blanket of fresh pow pow waiting for you. let me roll out the seven-day forecast. partly cloudy, tomorrow mostly cloudy but dry. flurries sunday. so get a little slipperiment then you can see monday, tuesday and wechblts we've got moderate to heavy snow on the way. at the same time, we'll be seeing increasing clouds and milder temperatures. we'll try to reach 60 for oscars sunday even though we won't see a lot of sunshine. a moderate storm for monday and tuesday becoming quite breezy to windy monday and tuesday also. that will throw issues into it. wednesday into thursday, we'll taper back to scattered showers.

all that snow up in the sierra right now. let's get back to the toyota tahoe report. >> indeed, mike. let's check out what our drive times will going to be like in the mountains. squaw alpine, 3 hours 15 minutes. you need chains to all of the resorts. north star about the same 3 hours and 17 minutes. they have a base of 159 inches there. heavenly, 105 inches to 145 inches and that will take you about the same time as squaw and north star. again, chains required as you go on 50 there to heavenly. sugar bowl, 122 to 192 is their base right now. take you 3 hours 20 minutes to get there on 80. sierra tahoe on 50. 3 hours 23 minutes. chains required for all resorts. kirkwood has a base of 162 to 168 inches. 3 hours and 23 minute on 88. have fun if you are. fun fact. the two of us not great skiers. >> not at all. >> if you want to see a 6'4" man

fall a lot, go with me. >> 5'4" woman also. >> yay. "good morning america" coming up at 7:00 on abc 7. ginger zee is live with a look at what's ahead. good morning, ginger. >> hi, jessica, hi reggie. i would like to see you fall. that would be fun. we could go skiing sometime. >> take me. it's comedy. >> all right. coming up here on gma, we have the latest on the jussie smollett case. the empire star is back at work as his team fights back declaring his innocence. sunny hostin will be here to tell us what's next. chilling never before seen video of the interrogation of the uber driver who went on a deadly rampage. why he says he did it. and our team is live in hollywood getting ready for the oscars. just two days away now. which movies are the best bet and what would the nominees tell their young selves.

chris connolly is going one-on-one with the stars. then a game of charades on best picture. >> we'll see. i like a good charades game. we'll see you then. >> the wife. >> oh, the wife. is that what this is? >> yeah. >> i think people would

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doefrg you can outside. when the storm door opens, it's impressive. especially across the north bay. look at the rainfall amounts. flooding issues could be an issue with that storm system up there. look how kbik quickly it tapers. definitely one to watch. on a related note, february storms with 18 trillion gallons of water. a very popular story on our website on abc7news.com. and we are now seeing what a difference the storms have made. take a look at this. newly released drought maps show that in just the past week, the amount of california that's notn thewo maps. almost 70% of the state is drought-free. you've probably heard of the dating app tinder. users looking for love swipe left to pass on potential matches. they swipe right when they like what they see. >> one tinder user found herself banned from the app entirely

while visiting the bay area from vermont. nicole only wants to be identified by her first name. she suspects her profile photo offended some here in the san francisco area. >> we're not trophy hunters. we hunt for food. you know, we are -- we respect the animal. >> we reach out to tinder and a spokesperson sent us a statement seeing we have a team dedicated to investigating each report. her account has been reported multiple times. they can now use tinder. i guess by they, they mean she. >> i'm not sure i'll be back. >> nicole is talking very loud. nicole, let me talk, thank you. >> she's not sure if she wants to jump back in the dating app pool just yet. fine. next at 6:30, day two of the teachers strike in oakland. a live update on negotiations as picket lines begin again.

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>> now at 6:30, developing news in the jussie smollett investigation. the actor returning to the set of empire yesterday. his message to his co-workers and what smollett's lawyers are saying this morning. day two of the oakland teachers strike. the heated meaning between oakland unified superintendent. she stormed out just hours ago when negotiations began to get pretty tense. plus, the local nominees hoping for oscars gold this sunday. the story behind this emotional film. good morning to you on this friday. february 22nd. >> you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. that sunrise is looking nice. >> it really does look nice. you run on sun, it's your day. right now, live doppler 7 standing down. it is quiet. you see the air is fairly clean still. we can see to the south bay right now from mt. tam. 36 to 43 degrees. temperatures getting cooler the

next 45 minutes or so. they'll start to rebound and hit 51 at noon. 52 to 55 at 4:00. still cooler than average. even with all that sunshine. 44 to 49 under the stars at 7:00. let's get a check of traffic. a live look now at the san mateo camera. traffic is filling out in westbound 92. no incidents to report here. let's take a look at the drive times right now. there is a problem spot trace toy dublin in the yellow. 49 minutes westbound on 580. we had an accident there earlier on westbound 580 before grant line that has slowed things down quite significantly throughout the morning. and westbound 4 from antioch to concord also a little slow right now. 22 minutes. >> developing news now. it is day two of the teachers strike in oakland. >> thousands of teachers off the job again today and picketing began a few moments ago7:30 thi.

negotiations over the contract are set for 9:00 a.m. abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield is live at oakland tech. amy? >> reporter: hi, good morning. jessica. they're off to a little bit of a slow start. some people are starting to gather. officials picketing hasn't gotten under way yet but the union president is hoping for a good, strong turnout like they saw yesterday. we also want to share with you a tense moment that happened at a meeting last night between the superintendent and parents. it stirred up emotions. parents were shouting so the frustrated superintendent walked out of the meeting without saying a word. got in her car and drove away. she had asked that parents break into small groups to discuss merging schools to save money. they did not want to do that. that's why they were shouting. superintendent kylaoh stunned parents. istening to wh

we as parents have to say. >> little frustrated. it was shocking that they high-tailed it out of here. everybody was in disbelief. >> reporter: today will be the second day of the teachers strike here in oakland. teachers told us they were impressed with the turnout and felt confidence from the support they received. they are not happy with the current offer from the school district. the two sides will try to hash things out today. negotiations starting back up at 9:00 a.m. amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. the first day of the oakland teachers strike left some parents struggling to find child care while teachers were walking the picket lines. many parents dropped off their kids at rec centers instead of school. they've set up curriculum based on the responses and requests of teachers. you can keep up to date on the

strike by downloading our abc 7 news app and enabling push alerts. we'll send updates and let you know as soon as an agreement is reached. we have resources for parents and students affected on our website, abc7news.com. now to actor jussie smollett gearing up to fight the charges against him. the empire star is out on bond after facing a judge. >> overnight, the actor returned to the set of his show where he reportedly apologized and also denied the allegations. abc news reporter kenneth moton has the latest. >> this morning, jussie smollett is dealing with a growing legal and media firestorm. ignoring the crush of cameras outside the courthouse. the actor is forcefully denying wrongdoing in the alleged hate crime attack that he's accused of orchestrating on himself. >> do you believe your brother's story? >> smollett made a first appearance in court and the police superintendent of chicago had blistering words for the actor. he detailed an elaborate lie that smollett began weeks ago. >> he sent a false letter that

relied on racial, homophobic and political language. when that didn't work, smollett paid $3500 to stage this attack and drag chicago's reputation through the mud in the process. >> at the center of the case, two brothers first seen in grainy surveillance video. investigators say the star paid the brothers $3500. >> we have the check that he used to pay them. >> for weeks, the actor insisted he was the victim. >> why would anyone, especially an african american man use a symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? >> overnight, smollett's legal team criticized chicago police writing today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the american legal system. the presumption of innocence a bedrock in the search for justice was trampled upon at the expense of mr. smollett and on the eve of a mayoral election. mr. smollett fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system

that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing. variety magazine reports fox has not made a decision whether to keep smollett on empire. studio and network executives are said to go considering their options. kenneth moton, abc news, new york. more coverage on smollett case, including a timeline of events, you can find it at abc7news.com. we're tracking breaking news out of south america. a 7.5 earthquake has struck ecuador. the very powerful quake hit near a town of mannitol voe. it was felt in peru and ecuador, as well as parts of colombia. it had two aftershocks of at least 6.0. we're awaiting information on possible injuries and damage zienlt the network of those abused by priests otherwise known as snap will release the names of the priests with ties to the oakland diocese. the names were compiled by

s.n.a.p. the oakland diocese released the names of 45 priests accused of abusing at least 174 underage boys and girls. a bay area lawmaker is challenging the notion that religious confessions could be -- or should be confidential when it comes to suspected cases of child abuse. state senator jerry hill introduced legislation requiring clergy of all faith report suspected cases of abuse regardless of how they learn about it, including during confession. under current law, clergy are exempt from reporting what they learn through confession. >> i can't see a justification for that exception. there are ten other states in the united states that do not have that exception. and they have -- they are mandated reporters. >> hill says he expects opposition from faith leaders. the bill will be up for

discussion in committee next month. the winds have been relaxing all morning. that's allowing cooler conditions to develop that we talked about yesterday. just about everywhere except for san francisco, napa and fairfield. we're warmer with the breeze still holding on. 41 in noe valley to excelsior and bay view. we've got a lot of mid-40s around san francisco. some other 40s, pittsburg, richmond, belmont, daly city at 41. everybody else in the mid to upper 30s. even freezing cold temperatures in petaluma at 32. look at 29 degrees right here. your commute is dpul full of sue and dry weather. cool this afternoon with the 50s below average and much calmer for all of us today, especially on the bay. east bay valleys, stuck in the 3s until 8:00. even with wall to wall sunshine, still 48 at 10:00. 53 to 56 this afternoon. 46 under the stars at 8:00. peninsula, same thing. 39 at 8:00.

47 at 10:00. low to mid-50s this afternoon. 47 at 8:00. the south bay, you're following that trend also. grab the sunglasses, you definitely need them. we'll take a look at the weekend forecast next. u.s. 101 northbound at the i-280/i-680 connector. this is a solo car spinout. the car facing the wrong way. it has been moved to the right shoulder. be careful. it's going to be a little slow there. now, looking at the bay bridge on i-80 westbound between the maze and the metering lights. it's backed up. metering lights were flipped on more than an hour ago. there also is a high-wind advisory issued. be careful of that. little sluggish today. we're going to look at drive times across the other bridges this morning. let's see how we're doing there. all in the green, actually. not bad on richmond-san rafael and san mateo. stockton street will be finally back open to traffic after a seven-year closure. >> the street was blocked during

the construction of the central subway project, the muni tunnel and underground station at union square triggered detours which caused closing of stores. the new central subway will link the cal train station south of market to union square and then to chinatown by the end of the year with an estimated 65,000 riders a day. the disgraced founder of theranos wants to share her side of the story. there are talks of a documentary, even a book deal. let's take a live look now at the new york stock exchange. it's up in the green 96 points. another check on how the markets are doing, next. plus, the rare snowfall in southern california that surprised some hollywood stars. as we head to break, a live look outside at the golden gate bridge. it is windy out there. pretty

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all right. you're stepping outside right now. here's what to expect. especially for the kids getting ready to go out. 46 to 43 degrees. chilly out there. we'll be at 50 at 11:00. you can get them outside and let them burn off energy this afternoon. palm springs, the warm spot. the dimmer sunshine in eureka at 52 degrees. great day to travel to the sierra. sunday, slippery with flurries. monday, heavy snow starts to roll in.

on top of this impressive snow that we already have, so monday, tuesday and wednesday, it's going to be dicey. >> thank you, mike. breaking news just coming into our abc 7 newsroom. moments ago, house democrats introduced a resolution to block president trump's emergency declaration. president trump made that declaration to get money for the wall he wants to build along the u.s./mexico border. nancy pelosi vowed to -- it sets up a fight that could result in the president's first-ever veto. new at 6:00, incredible video from a camera mounted on a skier's helmet. it captures the moment he was buried alive in an avalanche. this happened in park city, utah. the skier fell 200 feet down the slope. he was swallowed in snow. he was buried for almost two minutes before friends came to his rescue and successfully dug him out. >> wow. happening today, uc santa cruz student accused of creating

a phone app to sell drugs will face a judge. >> matt keller live for us outside the federal courthouse in san jose. matt? >> reporter: reggie, the suspect was released after his first court appearance earlier this week. he's scheduled to be back in federal court later today for a bail review hearing. take a look at his photo. this is his booking photo of the suspect. if convicted on all charges, 18-year-old collin howard of sunnyvale could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines. he's charged with three counts related to the distribution and possession with intent to distribute meth and one count related to cocaine. howard was arrested on federal charges february 15th. prosecutors say howard created an app called banana plug to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs and used snapchat to communicate with customers. the word plug is often used as a slang term for someone dealing drugs. the app appeared to be a game

and went through apple's app store review last november. police discovered it after posters were put up all over campus advertising the app. howard has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to be in court at 1:30 today. reporting live in san jose, matt keller, abc 7 news. matt, thank you. disgraced theranos founder elizabeth holmes has been in talks about making a documentary. holmes is also exploring a book deal. friends say she considers herself a victim. she faces 20 years in prison for federal fraud charges. the theranos concept centered around cheap blood tests from one drop of blood. although the technology did not work and holmes is accused of d t wait is almostestors. billn about wil move $2 week. rs tg patients by ambulance. they they practiced it.

abc 7 news was at the old hospital to watch. they've spent years preparing for this moment. about 200 medical personnel will transfer patients to the van ness campus. that includes nurses, emts and therapists. >> every single detail, we have thought of from how we handle patient's individual needs to do they need a wheelchair, an interpreter next to them. the real transfer happens march 2nd. there won't be any road closures but police will help with traffic flow along california street. your morning money report. consumer reports no longer recommending the tesla model 3. >> tesla can be sloppy and inconsistent in the way it handles returns and refunds. some customers are left stressed and others stranded with no car. consumer reports says its new recommendation is based in part on the reviews of thousands of owners. it raises questions about the reliability of the electric car. that sent shares of the company

down more than 3% yesterday. trading gets under way. we're up about 100 points this morning. overnight, global stocks were mixed. investors are feeling positive about a trade deal between the u.s. and china. they're concerned about weaker than expected data on the world's biggest economies. golden state warriors forward draymond green will be at downtown oakland's ymca today. he will be seeing a newly refurbished basketball court that will be named in his honor. it's the draymond green court. newly named and redone. the warriors, pg&e and others helped with the effort. the renovation began in september of last year and the new basketball court features new hardwood flooring, backboards and hoops. it also has a new color scheme complete with the city of oakland skyline and the city's tree logo. >> the oscars will be handed out sunday night on abc 7. there are two pixar animators nominated for an academy award in the dat gore

shorts. this is not a pixar movie but done by a man who works there. trevor jiminez has been an employee there for eight years. it's a personal journey about his childhood growing up with divorced parents. there's no dialog. weekend communicates feelings and mood through gesture and color. it's an emotioal journey of a child's perspective of having separated parents. >> never wanted the film to be sad. there's an opportunity to get to know each parent better. there are sad elements and weird elements and scary ones. that's how it felt for me. >> his project began eight years ago when he started using charcoal drawings at his kitchen table for inspiration. pixar is owned by disney, the parent company of abc 7. a pixar employee and bay area resident is making history for her oscar nomination. she's the first female d

at the animation studio to be nominated for an academy award for her short film named bow. the movie is about a chinese cnadian woman when gets a second chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings comes to life. it's about empty nest syndrome and overprotective parents. it's owned by disney, the parent company of abc 7. >> i love the way that's drawn. so cute. >> it is a really sweet story. the oscars are on sunday and starting this afternoon dion lim will be in hollywood covering the excitement and the preparations that are under way. abc 7 is the only place to watch the awards show. coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on sunday. you can see all of the red carpet entries. shenanigans. all the beautiful dresses. >> a rare snowfall in southern california yesterday that surprised even some hollywood stars. >> it's snowing in calabasas right now.

okay? calabasas, california, where the kardashians live, where jordan used to live. it is snowing right now. look at this. snow. not hail. snow. >> yep. it's very clear that's what's happening. >> there's snow jerry o'connell. we get it. >> it's snowing out there. >> it's crazy. >> reporter from simi valley to malibu. look, deer. that's the truth. just deer. >> also deer in the snow. >> wasn't beautiful enough. let's throw deer in. why not? >> have a kardashian shoutout. pretty good. >> what was his angle there anyway? >> we'll talk about what's going on. that storm is moving into arizona. look at this. this caught my eye yesterday. at one points, nearly 2/3 of the state was covered. another half a foot to foot and a half of snow is possible. it's been raining steadily for

more than 24 hours in phoenix. they have a flood warning right now. you can see the green is still raining. phoenix is pushing off towards the east. but the swvy on 40. so if you try to get through 40 today, it's going to be a bear. all right. back here at home. sfo. no worries. no delays. we run on sun today. still a little cooler than average. increasing clouds but the weekend is dry. monday through wednesday, light to moderate rain. a super soaker possibly tuesday more than any day. 54 to 57 degrees with sunshine today and calmer breezes. it will feel milder outside. tonight is our last really cold night. we'll have a few clouds come in. it won't keep us from reaching the 20 as and 30s in the north bay valley. and from fremont and redwood city, the 40s in san rafael, richmond, oakland, san mateo, half moon bay and san francisco. speaking of san francisco, it's going to be a noisy night. we want it that way for the chinese new year parade.

5:151 starts. 54 degrees with a little bit of sunshine. down to 50 by 8:00. it will feel every bit that of without the sun. mostly cloudy and sunny in the 60s for sunday. monday and tuesday rainy and breezy. let's talk about traffic. eye live look at walnut creek. it's friday light in that area. let's take a look at the drive times. all in the green right now. except for northbound 101 at 18 minutes from 280 to 680 to highway 85. in the south bay, one man's effort to build a better bay area is creating quite the buzz. brian godfrey is trying to help repopulate the honeybee population. an entomologist at san jose state says in the decline continues, the worldwide impact could be catastrophic. he says honeybees are vital pollinators and the driving force behind all agriculture.

>> if those numbers decline, we're going to have serious problems with having all of our fruits and vegetables. >> it's the main reason god fri is attempting to build a better bay area. the goal of his go fund me campaign is to raise enough money to get ten hives in backyards across san jose. he's willing to spy each number with two complete hives and a colony of honeybees. you can find all the details if interested on our website, abc7news.com. we want to hear your ideas about building a better bay area. what issues do you see where you live and what would make them better? use the #better bay area on social media to join our conversation. the santa cruz county sheriff's office needs your help to find the owner of a treasured item. >> talking about a photo album fullla a white picturesy servi . deput in new brian road and mcgregor drive in november. they believe it was stolen and thoughtlessly tossed aside. the unique cover has images of

the islands of japan, you see mt. fuji on there. a colorful peacock. hopefully someone knows what it is and the police can return it to the rightful owner. next the seven things you need to know before you go. first, the instagram picture of the day. interesting. you can see more great pictures like this. usually it's the golden gate bridge. >> but today

6:58. here are the seven things to know before you go. happening right now, oakland teachers are back on strike for the second day in a row as negotiations resume today over pay and classroom conditions. they will be picketing outside the city's 86 schools. number 2, "empire" actor jussie smollett reportedly told fellow cast and crew overnight that he is innocent. smollett is out on bail after appearing before a judge thursday. he's accused of staging his own hate crime. number 3, a uc santa cruz student will appear in federal court today on charges he created a smartphone app to sell illegal drugs. 18-year-old collin howard of sunnyvale could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines. number 4, a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit eastern

ecuador this morning. strong shaking was felt in neighboring peru and no word on the extent of damage. number 5, mid-30s to 43 degrees at the coast at 7:00. mid-50s total sunshine this afternoon. we do have something to tell you about in emeryville. on westbound 80 right at powell, we have reports that there's a pickup truck that has caught fire. and that fire crews are responding right now. we have a backup from ashby avenue. so heads-up driving tlu emeryville this morning. number 7, in about one hour at 8:00 a.m., stockton street in san francisco will be finally be back open to traffic. it's been closed for seven years. >> yikes. >> the street was blocked during the construction of the central subway project. >> wow. that was cool. >> it was nice to walk along there. it looked a mess the rest of the year. >> yeah. for sure.

it's paved over and looks so much better. >> welcome back. look at that beautiful shot of the golden g good morning, america. a powerful new storm on the move. the first snow in las vegas in a decade. los angeles seeing snow for the first time since 1962. >> oh, my god! >> now, 32 states on alert as the weather heads east. ginger tracking it all. also this morning, jussie smollett returning to the "empire" set overnight still defiant. denying he did anything wrong after being charged with staging that elaborate hoax. >> why would anyone, especially an african-american man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? >> what his lawyers are now saying. on alert for major developments in the russia investigation. the president and his team bracing for the special counsel's report at any moment.