and the american people though mueller himself wanting to avoid it from the beginning. >> any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. >> reporter: mueller notoriously tight-lipped, only giving one ten-minute statement at the conclusion of his investigation. democrats hoping under questioning he'll reveal whether he would charge president trump with a crime if it weren't for the justice department's rule against prosecuting a sitting president. intelligence chair adam share saying that's not likely, but he thinks straightforward testimony will be useful. >> for many americans just learning what's in the report will be a revelation. >> reporter: both parties preparing for the testimony ahead of time with mock hearings. sources saying democrats framing their questions for yes or no answers and have been preparing for what one called potential republican antics. republican jim jordan objecting to the request to have long time aide aaron sebbly sworn in

alongside him. prs saying he should not be allowed and calling it a rigged witch hunt. >> $40 million, interviewing 500 people. they've got nothing. >> reporter: president trump has gone back and forth whether he'll be watching today. mueller has said it's not likely he'll say much more than what's been written. he has said, quote, the report is my testimony. >> trevor, we learned there won't be a person sitting behind him, but right next to mueller. who is that and why is he here? >> that's aaron zebley. president trump frustrated. they go back to the fbi days. robert mueller requested to have him sworn in to testify alongside him. that's causing a bit of a problem. in the first hearing he'll be

next to him, he'll be robert mueller's counsel. in the second hearing in front of the intelligence committee he'll also be sworn in so he, too, can answer questions ability the investigation. president trump tweeted a little bit ago this.ever agreed to. >> trevor, we appreciate the report. we'll have a live special report starting at 5:15 this morning. we're going to be streaming the entire testimony for you on abc7news.com. it's 4:32. another check on weather and traffic. we start with mike nicco. >> thank you very much. glad you're feeling better. low clouds along the coast will make a feeble attempt november in to the bay. it will be much brighter and quicker than yesterday. that's going to lead to the warmest temperatures so far this week. we're in the upper 80s inland by noon. mid 70s around the bay, 60s at the co

il kdf toasty inland. 86 around the bay. at the coast, grab a coat, 58. here is alexis with another update. >> not too much going on so far today. we're looking live at golden gate bridge where i just watched crews pick up cones from the overnight installation of the barrier they've been working on for several months. that was on the northbound side. we were down to one lane in northbound 101 heading into marin county. looks like they're all opening back up right now. southbound side wide open, just a couple vehicles crossing goll dane gate in either direction. a light commute at 4:33 in the morning. westbound 80 highway 4 to the maze in the green at 16 minutes. about ten across the bay bridge. southbound 101 san francisco to sfo in the green at nine minutes. new this morning, we're all sensitive to wildfires, especially this time of year. overnight we saw a grass fire start near a train in contra costa county. >> it happened in hercules on christy road near the franklin

canyon golf course. abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield is there this morning. amy, what do we know so far? >> reporter: good morning, natasha. that fire started on a train but spread to this dry, grassy hillside. take a look. firefighters pounced on it. they got this out pretty quickly after it spread to just a few acres. this is here highway 4 and the franklin county golf course. they called in the hazmat team because of the fuel on the train. they got the call about 10:30 last night that there was a fire on the train near christie road and that fire spread to the grass. they did get the fire out by 11:00. the good news out here is that no evacuations had to be ordered and no one was hurt. live in hercules, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> amy, thank you. happening today in san francisco, a u.s. bankruptcy judge is expected to decide whether to allow a jury to decide whether pg&e is

responsible for the tubbs fire. earlier this month, attorneys representing insurance companies and wildfire victims requested a trial calling cal fire's investigation flawed. the judge would have to lift a stay that was issued in january when pg&e filed for bankruptcy protection. the filing placed all civil cases against the utility on hold. in the east bay berkeley city leaders passed a motion to continue efforts to find a safe space for about 50 rvs to park. officials say it's a serious problem all over city streets. rvs, some parked illegally with dwellers from the age of 6 to 60. the city council wants to find a location for rvs to park safely. in addition city leaders will ask the state for permission to allow rvs to park in a state-owned vacant lot at the marina. big tech kbeens under review. the jus looking into whether they're violating antitrust laws. no specific names were mentioned, the department says the review involves, quote,

market-leading online platforms in searched social media and retail. we understand it to include google, facebook and apple. investigators want to know whether company practices have harmed consumers, reduced competition. >> we've been warning you about this. if you have to go to a dmv office today, you'll have to wait until 1:00 this afternoon. all offices statewide will be closed this morning. employees are being trained to process real id transactions and improve customer virs. the dmv came under fire last year when people had to wait hours just to get their driver's license. workers struggled to figure out what documents were needed to meet the real id requirements. you'll need a real id license if you want to fly anywhere next year. you can use your passport instead of the real id. in the north bay, neighbors forced to evacuate because of a wildfire are back home this morning. authorities in napa county lifted an evacuation order they

issued on monday just after the canyon fire broke out. they've also reopened highway 128. the fire is just south of lake berryessa. it's grown to 64 acres and is now 85% contained. a feisty squirrel is captured after attacking people in santa cruz county. now it's made a bold escape. a woman says she was racially profiled and falsely accused of shoplifting. she recorded what went down. a special announcement about our abc 7 mornings family. meteorologist mike nicco has your forecast. >> it could be a sad day or a celebration, depending on how you want to look at it. coming up, a look at our temperatures. upper 50s just about everywhere along the east bayshore line as you head inland. orinda warmer at 61 degrees. we're looking at temperatures all over from 48 in novato, low 50s around santa rosa and napa.

mountain view and san jose low to mid 60s. look at this. crystal clear, the sky from sutro tower this morning. that's when you know high pressure is on top of us. we'll have a real warm day on the way. mass transit cool and hot. no small craft advisory today. peninsula, 62 at 7:00 with sunshine, low to mid 80s this afternoon down to 74 with sunshine at 7:00. wall to wall sunshine in the south bay from 63 at 7:00 to low 80s at lunch to near 90 through the afternoon hours to 84 at 7:00. here are your hottest temperatures. starting at noon, near 90. upper 90s this afternoon through the early evening hours to low 90s at 7:00. so you may want to set the timer on your ac to have it go off about 3:00, just in time to get you enough to want to cool the house down before you head home. it's going to be a hot one

inland. >> oh, boy. >> just grin and baear it. >> we'll take a look at the traffic right now. actually i have good news for you so far this morning. a lot of green still on our traffic maps. if you are inland and have to run your ac all day today, we're starting off fairly quiet getting out of the central valley. westbound 205 to 580, typical slow downs, you're seeing the stretch of purple on eastbound 580, a mystery there. we talked to chp to confirm we don't have full closures of 580. they said no, we don't. they said a little road work on eastbound 205. traffic is moving along just fine heading into tracy. b.a.r.t., we run trains in about 20 minutes. early bird bus service looking good, no delays. a.c.e. 1 out of the central valley on time, normal service,

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you can see more monsoon moisture in arizona than in tod. temperatures well over 100 through most of the central valley, 111 in palm springs. 80 to 90 san diego to los

angeles. sunshine and near 70 along the coast. chance of thunderstorms today, tomorrow and friday in the sierras, even hotter this weekend. a woman says she was racially pro filed and accused of shoplifting at a kohl's in san leandro. >> shame on you and your partner for being completely unprofessional. >> that's yolonda montoya recording the video when two security guards stopped her. they refused to check her bags and kept her in a room until police officers got there. >> the police officer asked the security officer, did you check her bag. he's like no. well, here, let me do it. >> a wallet, diapers, clothes, , sunscreen. you see that? there you go. shame on you guys and i need an apology from all of you. >> wow, kohl's says in a statement it's taking the allegations seriously.

the store has apologized to montoya for her poor experience. now to the story about a trouble making squirrel in santa cruz, before you go, oh, it's so sweet, it's not. it will cut you. >> neighbors say the animal did attack several people. abc 7 news reporter amanda del castillo has the story. >> reporter: warning signs went up around this grapefruit tree. soon after santa cruz county officials were called in. >> there's an aggressive squirrel that's attacking people and we need to remove him. >> reporter: you heard him right. this may sound nutty. in recent weeks neighbors say emily became aggressive, attacking and biting anyone who came close. a team of firefighters, wildlife experts worked to remove emily and her three kittens. >> she's protecting her babies. >> reporter: we're learning

emily wasn't always aggressive. very friendly, very friendly. as odd as that may sound. >> reporter: maurice swann takes care of the property. he says a neighbor rescued the squirrel and brought her here. >> sounds like the squirrel was being interacted with a lot more than it should have been. >> reporter: emily bolted and chew marks with evidence of her escape. >> there's not much you can do about a squirrel that wants to hightail it out of here. >> reporter: redfeather says workers won't go looking for emily since she's back in the wild where she should be. her babies are being cared for. in santa cruz amanda del castillo, abc 7 news. >> so many questions. emily? >> kittens are what baby squirrels are known as. >> you learn something new every day. meanwhile, this is a bittersweet day for us at abc 7

mornings. >> alexis smith is joining us at a desk because she has a special announcement. >> there's nothing i'd rather follow than an evil squarl story eith either. >> i do have personal news to share. today is my last day at abc 7 news. we did talk about this yesterday on midday live. if you missed it, my family and i are heading back to the seattle area. my husband has a new job there and i'm going to taking some time off to stay at home with our toddler and, of course, we have a baby on the way. the past three years have been fun and challenging, and i feel really lucky to have worked with some very talented and creative people at abc 7 news. i want to thank everybody who wakes up at the crack of dawn or even before the crack of dawn and watches every morning. of course, all my colleagues here at abc 7, everybody that you see on air, everybody behind the scenes, i'm going to miss you guys. >> we're going to really miss

you, alexis. i can't say it enough. >> it's a huge loss for us. you're so versatile and talented, i know this is going to be a great move for you. certainly we're sad about it, mike. you and alexis have such an easy rapport, it feels like family. >> nobody can be happier for you than me, seeing what my wife went through when she worked full time and had kids and you're able to take a break. soak it in. >> i'm going to. >> my youngest turned 21 yesterday. where did time go? i'm glad you get to have that time off. congratulations to your husband, too. >> yes, chris has a great opportunity in seattle. you very rarely in this business get to go back to where you're from. >> i know. that's where we were before we came here. we loved it there. we love the bay area, too. we have a lot of close friends there. it's going to be good, a lot of fun. >> we do have a special something-something going on. so here is a message from someone who wanted to say

goodbye. >> hi, alexis, into hope you can hear me over time of the waves, taking time off from vacation to say happy last day at abc 7 mornings. i loved working with you on the show. wishing you all the best in the future. of course, i'll talk to you soon and see you soon. >> oh, my gosh. >> jessica castro. >> shees rubbing it in. >> i hope i look like that in about a week. that's amazing. okay. beach time. she's looking good. >> that's what happens when you're off the morning shift. >> look at all the energy she has. she was bright and vibrant and vivacious. >> i hope you can hear me over the waves. oh, mygo t paf o the shot. >> i also need to say, alexis, you are one of the most pleasurable people i have ever worked with. i have worked in the business

for how many years now, 80? >> at least. >> at least 80 years. i've worked with them all, from the moment you walked into the studio and auditioned to the second you're going to leave us this morning, it has been a total pleasure. never been a bad day with you. >> oh, my gosh, thank you so much. i know you weren't feeling well and i know he recorded this very funny goodbye for me yesterday on midday live that i'll post online. the feeling is mutual. it's been really fun. i know we said it when jessica left a little while ago, too. you spend a lot of time with your colleagues. and we see each other more than we see our own families. it can't thank you enough. bittersweet for sure. >> no one more authentic than you that i've met in the business. i haven't been 80 years, just 26, but still a long time. we'll talk more about you coming up. first, we've got to get to the weather, sorry. here is a look at what's going on from the exploratorium camera. 58 degrees at pier 15. somebody warmer this afternoon.

even at the coast. minor cooling. still, most of us above average and our hottest highs are coming for usis the comfort meter. we have dew points in the 40s. that's the amount of moisture in the air, how hard your body has to work the more moisture there is to stay cool. with 40s and 50s, starting to get muggy in san francisco at 62. still not too bad. temperatures mid to upper 80s in the south bay. once you get farther south into san jose, a big talk between people on facebook. it's much warmer than the official temperature. expect highs to be in the low to mid 90s, further into the valley in san jose. 86 in redwood city, mid 60s along the coast. low to mid 70s downtown, south san francisco, sausalito. cloverdale northward flirting with 100. mid 70s to mid 80s until you get to union city i fremont. upper 80s this afternoon. the hottest weather in the east

bay valleys, 95 to 100. we pull back a little bit thursday and friday, still above average. saturday and sunday, you almost want to go to work to get the air conditioning. alexis? >> thank you, mike. overall looking okay if you're heading out the door and heading to work at th moment. cash lanes definitely busy at the bay bridge toll plaza. car pool lanes are open. no metering lights yet for fast track lanes. definitely will have a bit of a wait until they open more cash booths this morning. plan on delays, but everyone else is looking okay. quick check of drive times, changing from the green into yellow. some summertime light volumes westbound 580 tracy to dublin. that's coming in at 33 minutes. southbound 680 dublin to mission boulevard in the green at 14. northbound 85 highway 101 to cupertino, 15 minutes. a major renovation plan in the works. unlocking a m

did you know that people born from 1945 through 1965

have the highest rates of hepatitis c, but most don't know they're infected? people can live for decades without symptoms, but over time hepatitis c can cause serious health problems. if you were born during these years, the cdc now recommends that you get a blood test for hepatitis c. so talk to your doctor and find out if you have hepatitis c. it could save your life. know more. hottest team in baseball did it again last night at oracle park. they go for the sweep of the cubs at 12:45 under total sunshine and a burn time of about 15 minutes. have fun. thanks, mike, one of two stolen border collie puppies is in the east bay back home this morning. east bay regional parks police posted this photo. they say someone saw a woman walking that puppy in richmond.

the person asked the woman about it and the woman left the dog and ran. police didn't find that woman or the other puppy. the two dogs were stolen in point pinole earlier this month. developers plan to begin renovating oakland's historic henry j. kaiser convention center to its original glory early next year. the east bay times reports the $64.5 million project is expected to be completed by 2021. t developer plans to rename it to oakland civic. the building opened in 1914 and is now designated a historic landmark. it was shut down in 2005 and has fallen into disrepair. in the north bay they're trying to unlock the mystery surrounding a safe. >> the owners of the river theater in guerneville were doing renovation work when they discovered the safe. it was encased in concrete. it took four days to dig it free.

and then no one could open it. an online search revealed a drill or saw won't work on that safe. the owners are now searching fo. >> a safe cracker. >> maybe someone knows the combination. >> i like a mystery, mike. >> i like it. are there still safe crackers around? >> an interesting profession to keep up. >> absolutely. >> that's the first time i've ever said safe cracker i think. >> disclaimer before i show you the weekend forecast. just the messenger. i want to give you this message because it's going to be dangerously hot in many neighborhoods. let's start with friday. the hundreds not here yet but we're really close. san francisco 66, oakland 71. look at saturday. what an explosion of 100s, it could possibly be even hotter sunday with mid 70s around san francisco on the bay side to 80

in oakland to 100 in san jose. no joke, hank yo wee c here on this wednesday morning. here is the san mateo bridge, westbound 92 still very light at this early hour. no delays in the countercommute direction if you're traveling eastbound. a quick check of the traffic maps. reports of a container truck that possibly is on fire, southbound 880 to marina boulevard. doesn't sound like the main lanes are blocked, just part of the off-ramp. keeping an eye on that situation as well. next at 5:00 a.m. a popular music festival revealing a sneak peek of its lineup and the mountain lion sighting reported near uc berkeley. all eyes on congress as special counsel robert mueller gets rea

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now at 5:00, former special counsel robert mueller gets ready to testify on capitol hill over the russia investigation. the bay area lawmakers who will play a role in today's hearings. plus, do not try going to the dmv this morning. why they'll be closed statewide until the afternoon. >> good morning. this is not the dmv. it's much better on this wednesday, july 24th. >> just a little bar, have to admit. endless lines, take a number, wait forever. you're never more than seven minutes away from my accuweather forecast. >> should have a food cart there. i bet you could make a lot of money. >> what an idea? don't give it away. a couple of things to show you on live doppler 7. clouds at the coast not