succumbed within 24 hours. this met all of the clinical criteria for vaping associated death. and is our first in marin county. >> also the first in the bay area to die from complications related to the use of e-cigarettes. >> thanks for joining us. i'm ama daetz. i'm dan ashley. this makes it 40 deaths across the united states. this is the fourth death so far in california. there are now more than 2,050 confirmed illnesses. >> according to the marin county health department, the woman was a previously healthy woman who began vaping six months ago. >> lyanne melendez has the details. >> until now, there have been 39

deaths nationwide associated with e-cigarettes. amlast ur in california since gatherg d of da. o a fewys prested ecy es to acute respiratory distress syndrome. was placed on a breathing machine. sent to the icu and succumbed within 24 hours. >> the centers for disease control and prevention recently reported that there seems to be a common denominator in most of the cases. >> samples were taken from 29 patients and found vitamin e acetate in all of them. vitamin e is used as an additive. >> we have over ten samples of product that she was using and we're working with the california department of public health and cdc to test those

samples to know exactly what the chemicals were in them. >> reporter: in september, marin county public health sent out warnings asking that people stop using e-cigarettes. that office says that one in three marin county high school nis reported o a regular basis. >> we know that in talking with her family that she had started vaping six months ago. and she had been aware of some of the communications about the harms of vaping and had tried to quit herself. >> reporter: health officials say her addiction to nicotine kept her from quitting. in marin county, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. more information on this. two new studies from the american heart association suggests that e-cigarettes could be worse for your heart than regular cigarettes. according to the findings, it appears to decrease blood flow to the heart more so than cigarettes. it has an unhealthy impact on

heart disease factors, including glucose and cholesterol levels. state regulators are deciding to investigate pg&e over the way it handled last month's power shutoffs. it affected more than a million customers across california. the california public utilities commission came to the decision earlier today saying customers can't continue to experience these widespread blackouts. pg&e argues the outages were necessary to prevent the power lines from sparking power lines on windy days. today in sonoma county after the kincade fire. the 370 -- hazardous materials can include batteries, asbestos, siding and paint. they're also told not to visit their homes without wearing protective equipment until the cleanup process is done. >> so that's why it's more important to get the homeowners to move forward with their lives and get everything that was behind them. the fire itself is devastating.

so it's something that you want to go, hey, look, how can we get these people back on their feet. >> the hazardous waste cleanup process is expected to take up to three weeks. the county will be releasing a plan for debris removal by the end of this week. >> also today, world kindness day, a show of support for the firefighters on the frontlines across california. people at a starbucks in walnut creek were able to write notes of encouragement, love and gratitude to firefighters. the event was a partnership between starbucks and lady gaga's born this way foundation. that will be an awful lot to the firefighters who worked so hard. >> really will. as part of our ongoing commitment to building a better bay area, we're looking at a new solution to an old problem. illegal dumping. >> there's a new pilot program and hundreds of thousands of dollars in new money aimed at curtailing a filthy problem that persists in many east bay cities. >> reporter laura anthony is live in concord with the

for us. laura? >> reporter: hi, ama. many leaders came to the conference to talk about how they are going to stop folks from dumping things like this. it's not the first time we've heard it. the city will then come through and clean up all the debris that's left behind. for every illegal dumping trouble spot like this one, there's hundreds more just like it. we've been down this road before, done dozens of stories about the plague of illegal dumping. a messy problem with no ready solutions. >> we use the 3e strategies, which is education, eradication and enforcement. >> why should we believe state and county leaders now when they say they're going to make a difference by devoting more resources $750,000 to combat illegal dumping? >> we're trying to once again move an agenda that's going to increase sanctions and counties for illegal dumping and provide the resources to follow-up on

that. >> many of the stories we've done center around oakland and the pervasive dumping problem. >> there's people that are clueless, careless and malicious. >> but it's also happening in contra costa county. especially along rural bypasses like bailey road where it seems there's an appliance, a couch even every few hundred yards. >> we're looking at lighting, cameras, looking at making sure that people that are supposed to have garbage service are actually subscribing. we're making sure that we are looking at the way we do outreach for those folks that need to know how to get rid of a mattress or chemicals. >> reporter: both alameda and contra costa counties formed task forces. the biggest component is going to be enforcement here in contra costa county. they're going to hire four per diem sworn officers. i'm told they'll be like retired

police officers who will try to root out and cite folks who do things like dump mattresses where they shouldn't be. live in concord, laura anthony, abc news. this new plan calls for greater enforcement for dumping. what are we talking about here? what are the penalties? >> reporter: well, dan, there's already a lot of logs on the books, ordinances depending on where you are, the jurisdiction. the fines for dumping things range from $250 to all the way up to $10,000. in the case of some of those commercial dumpers. the folks who say they're going to haul them away and dump them on the side of the road, in those cases, there could be fines in the thousands of dollars, even jail time. >> good to hear, laura. thank you very much. as part of our efforts to build a better bay area, we're taking a closer look at the efforts to help the homeless in the bay area. a new partnership involving airbnb will help house homeless

college students in the largest city. it's one step in a 100-day challenge to find housing for 100 homeless young people in san jose. today is day 14 of the challenge. the campaign continues until february 8th. it began october 31st. since then, seven homeless young people have found places to stay. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen has a look at how civic and education educational leaders are using airbnb technology for good. >> homelessness or housing insecurity can be -- >> we have hundreds of homeless students who should be thinking about their exams and classes rather than where they're going to sleep each night. >> that's why the mayor's office is launching a first of its kind pilot program to offer temporary short-term house to go homeless students who attend the colleges. >> these student rs talented, bright, energetic. we want them to say, hey, i need some help. i want to get them help.

>> the bill wilson center that works with homeless youth and young people across the region will have access to the airbnb for workbooking platform which is typically used by business toss reserve rooms for employees. the rooms we covered using a $250,000 state grant that was previously awarded to the center. >> if you're already struggling with your cost of affording housing, how do you do that during that period when college dorms are closed. this solves a problem and specific issue. >> airbnb will waive host and guest booking fees as the bill wilson -- >> we have host who is are incredibly interested in opening their homes and engaging a student who may need housing. >> a recent california state university system study found 4,000 sjsu students experienced some form of homelessness during their college career. >> it's a complex problem. we definitely need to start somewhere. temporary emergency housing i think is a good place for that.

>> a pilot program with the potential to expand beyond san jose. >> we're going to continue to build these partnerships and see how we can leverage everyone's resources and good thing to tackle homelessness. >> using technology for g the heart of silicon valley. chris nguyen zienlts we're days away from the fremont week. we'll be holding a town hall and looking at issues that impact the bay area's fourth largest city, including housing, job creation, diversity and much more. that's all next week right here on abc 7. new developments in the sweeping college admissions scandal. pleaded guilty today and a former san diego insurance executive is being handled the longest varsity blues prison term today. he was sentenced to six months of prison time. the judge compared his action toss that of a thief. back in june, mcfarland admitted to illegally paying $450,000 to get his son and daughter into usc posing as fake athletes in

2014 and 2017. right now, you can catch yourself up with where the others stand in the scandal, including the more than a dozen bay area parents involved. it's all up on abc7news.com. public hearing. the impeachment inquiry heats up on capitol hill. what happened today and reaction from bay area congresswoman jackie spear. coming home x an emotional homecoming. the remains of a korean war vet finally returned home to his family. big shoes to fill. one-on-one with the giants new skipper. gabe kappeler. i'm spencer christian. clouds are thicker. temperatures are dropping. might there be

my skin hurt, i felt gross. but then i started cosentyx and i haven't really had to think about it. real people with psoriasis... look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen... or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx.

after nearly seven long decades of waiting, a vallejo woman has closure. she was there after the remains of her brother finally returned home. army sergeant first clas philip mendoza was last seen as missing in action, mia. lauren martinez spoke with his family today. >> reporter: 92-year-old frances herrera waited nearly 70 years for this moment. >> i am happy. i am happy that he's in heaven, i know. >> on wednesday morning, the remains of her brother, army sergeant first class philip mendoza arrived at the airport. >> waiting for him all the time. waiting for him. >> in 1950 mendoza was reported missing in action during the korean war.

his remains were never recovered. in 2018, president donald trump held a summit with north korean leader kim jong-un, that june north korea turned over 55 boxes appearing to contain the remains of american service members killed during the korean war: the remains of mendoza were identified by scientists from the defense department. >> she wished her mother was here and alive to witness her son coming home. we received letters from the military that he was missing in action for the longest time. so this is actually a bittersweet homecoming for her, that she can finally know that her brother will be back with our family again. >> mendoza is one of ten siblings, frances and one other brother remain. >> i feel good that my brother is okay in heaven. i will see him someday. i will see him very soon. >> mendoza's funeral will be held on friday at the military cemetery in dixon where two of

his brothers are. currently today, there are over 7,000 americans that remain unaccounted for from the korean war. reporting at the san francisco international airport, lauren martinez, abc 7 news. and mendoza's last remainng brother is coming in from el paso tonight. we're taking a live look at sfo where things will be a bit different the next time you go. the departure section of the international terminal is now renamed the mayor edwin m. lee international terminal. today lee's family and mayor breed unveiled the new signage and a temporary mural. the change was approved to honor the former mayor lee who died in 2017. the state transportation officials are moving ahead with plans to close highway 1 along the big sur coastline ahead of any powerful storms this winter. cal trans will notify the public 48 hours before any potential closures which would take place at mud creek or paul slide. closures could occur at one or

both locations. the state is taking the action in response to powerful storms in the winter of 2017 that caused significant slides along highway 1. of course, nothing like that on the horizon any time soon. >> although you feel the chill today. >> that's true. >> quite a chill. temperatures dropped a lot since yesterday. some places 15 to 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. here's a look at live doppler 7. high clouds, low clouds. fog developing at the coast. here's a look at the 24-hour temperature change. it's 21 degrees cooler in santa rosa right now than at this time yesterday. 14 degrees cooler in san francisco. 15 degrees cooler in oakland. no change at half moon bay. it was pretty cool yesterday apparently. so surface wind right now is light in most locations but what we do have in the way of wind is basically an on-shore flow, cool marine air moving in there. bringing the temperatures down a little bit. here's a view of the western sky from emeryville. you can see the sunset.

-- the sun there about to set in the next hour or so off in the distance. obscured slightly by some clouds. it's 57 degrees in san francisco and in oakland. we have low to mid-60 mt. tam looking down on to the low clouds and looking up at the high clouds. other temperature readings, 57 degrees at santa rosa. 60 in petaluma. 75 at fairfield. 70 at concord. fairly mild in some of the inland east bay areas. you can see the low clouds hovering over the golden gate right now. these are our forecast features. low and high clouds and fog will continue developing into the morning hours for the morning commute. there will be reduced visibility in spots. possibly spotty coastal drizzle. maybe not even at the coast. maybe around the bay, spotty drizzle. let's look at the forecast animation taking us into the overnight hours. clouds increase. low clouds developing at the coastline. there will be an increase in

moisture into the morning commute and that means we may get morning spotty drizzle. mainly near the coast. some of it could occur along the bay shoreline as well. then by evening tomorrow, we'll see the clouds begin to thin out just a little bit. overnight lows will generally be in the upper 40s to low 50s once again. a chance of spotty drizzle mainly near the coast. highs tomorrow range from 60 at the coast to mainly low 60s around the bay shoreline and generally upper 60s inland. a relatively cool day, certainly by recent standards. as we get later into the week, friday, look for highs beginning to rise a bit. we'll have a warming trend going into the weekend so saturday and sunday looking pretty mild. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. we'll see mid to upper 70s inland on saturday, sunday and monday. then we'll see a slight cooling trend, a gradual cooling trend beginning oh, around the middle of next week. at the moment, looks like the most we can expect in the way of precipitation will be that spotty coastal drizzle a talked about in the early morning

hours. we need a lot more than that. we need it to be more widespread, not spotty. >> thank you so much, spencer. it is a big night for country music fans. we're going to take you behind the scenes as performers get ready for the country music awards. >> reporter: hi everybody. i'm chris alvarez at oracle

tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything to preserve and protect them. with love, california.

if i could go back and do the dodger stuff different, i probably would have called my mom and asked about which steps to take. new san francisco giants manager, gabe kapler was thrown into introductions. he said he could have better handled the assault of a -- when kapler was a part of the dodgers front office.

keppler never report the the incident to police. some criticized the giants as he was fired after one year with the philadelphia phillies. kapler stepped in with big shoes to fill after bruce bochy. >> chris alvarez got a one-on-one interview with the skipper. he's live with the story. chris? >> reporter: hi, guys. live outside of oracle park. does not feel like baseball weather. it's very much november. the giants ushered in a new era of what's to come in their future. they hired scott harris and gabe kapler is the manager. the 44-year-old is manager for a second time. he recently finished with the phillies to -- he was managing there two seasons. 12 years in the big leagues. plenty of baseball experience. he told me today he's thankful for the second opportunity and now to manage this iconic franchise, the san francisco giants. >> it's hard to put into words. it doesn't come easily.

like, to wear this uniform and putt put on this hat, it's humbling. certainly, it's one of 30. it's not just one of 30. it's the san francisco giants. and the history of this franchise and the support of this fran base, it's a lot of -- it's some pressure and i love that pressure to live up to being a great leader in this town and i'm excited to take that on. >> reporter: kapler and the giants get to work on building this roster and the depth of the farm system which he told us he's excited to roll up his sleeves and get to work. the giants did not make the playoffs this year, haven't made the playoffs in a couple of seasons. there's work to do in this system. we'll have much more with the new man in san francisco. the giants manager gave kapler and if you miss anything, we have more at abc7news.com. you can find all of that on our website. much more to come in sports. can't wait to bring it back to you at 6:00. we look forward to it.

thank you, chris. the newest class for the hall of fame was announced. governor newsom and his wife introduced the names. the 13th class of inductees. the late maya angelou. she lived in san francisco as a teenager and went to george washington high school. she dropped out to become the city's first black female streetcar conductor. here are the other hall of famers, including world cup champion, tony hawk. comedian george lopez. the induction ceremony is set for next month. >> good class right there. just ahead on the hot seat as the first public impeachment inquiry gets under way. just about an hour before the two of you sat down to testify today, the president tweeted multiple times about this hearing and he put in all caps never

mr. kent, are you a never trumper? what can my side be firm? and my side super soft? with the sleep number 360 smart bed you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. so, can it help us fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. will it help me keep up with him? yup. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise. prove. don't miss the final days to save $1,000 on the new sleep number 360 special edition smart bed, now only $1,799. ends sunday.

following the call with president trump, a member of my staff asked what president trump thought about ukraine.

mr. sondland respond thad president trump cares more about the investigations with biden which giuliani was pressing for. on day one of the impeachment hearings, america's top diplomat appears to tie to the scandal. >> a new phase in the impeachment of president trump. >> for the first time, the american public is hearing from two key witnesses about the relationship between the united states and ukraine. abc news reporter, mow that kosar abdi has more from washington. >> if you would both rise and raise your right hand. >> the u.s. top diplomat to ukraine, bill taylor and george kent testified in a historic impeachment hearing into president trump. both men publicly stating their understanding that president trump had ordered nearly $400 million in military aid held from ukraine until the country's leader announced an investigation into the bidens

and the 2016 election. kent then adding -- >> the possibility of a white house meeting being held contingent to an announcement. >> during his testimony, taylor explained why he described the situation as quote, crazy in a text exchange with gordon sondland when he learned about the stipulations. >> it's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the white house. it's another thing, i thought, to leverage security assistance. >> but the most significant development to come out of the hearing was taylor's revelation of a phone call that he recently learned about. taylor says on july 26th, one day after the president's controversial call with ukraine's president, his staffer overheard the president asking sondland over the phone, about, quote, the investigations. >> mr. sondland told president trump that the ukrainians were ready to move forward.

>> what the president thought about ukraine. >> mr. sondland responded that president trump cares more abou% the investigations of biden which giuliani was pressing for. >> they tried to discredit and dismiss taylor and kernt's testimony. >> you never met the president. >> that's correct. >> this is what i can't believe. you're their star witness, their first witness. >> today, democrats have announced they scheduled two more closed door depositions starting with david hoechls holmes p he's a staffer that taylor mentioned. mona kosar abdi. two bay area -- peninsula democrat snack i spear who asked -- jackie spear asked if he raised any concerns to his superiors about the unfolding event. >> did you actually write a memo documenting your concerns that there was an effort under way to open an investigation to benefit

president trump? >> yes, ma'am. i wrote a memo to the file on august 16th. >> but we don't have access to that memo, do we? >> i submitted it to the state department subject to the subpoena. >> we have not received one piece of paper from the state department relative to this investigation. >> congresswoman joins us live on the phone. i am of the opinion that we have all of the elements of bribery by the president of the united states. he used his office to ask for a favor from a foreign government 20 exchange for giving n

military aid. those are the elements of bribery and i believe that's what the president has done. >> now, republicans, you know, they think that democrats only have second, third hand knowledge of this. from what you've been seeing, do you feel like we're getting the proof of that? >> well, first of all, you can have hearsay and circumstantial evidence, in fact, oftentimes that's the only way you prove illegal conduct. this is not a criminal trial. this is impeachment. furthermore, we would like to have first hand information from people like mick mulvaney and john bolton, but the president has refused to let them testify, just like we've been unable to get one shred of documentation from the state department, again obstructing congress, covering up all additional actions that show that the president is trying to hide something.

>> congresswoman, realistically, what is the end game here? one thing in the house, but very different if this proceeds to the senate. what do you honestly hope to accomplish here and think you can accomplish? >> first of all, this is not a political game that's being played here. this is an act by the president that reflects that he has no willingness to comply with the law. he will use his office for personal gain. he has no interest in doing anything on behalf of the american people. it's all about himself. he places ukraine at risk. soldiers losing their lives because we withheld the aid for over two months. >> congresswoman, we're almost out of time. to that question. what do you hope to accomplish at the end of the day? >> if the house believes it's an impeachable offense, they will find that he is impeached and

then it would go to the senate. lots of things can happen between now and then. there's some talk in the senate that they only need three members to support having a secret ballot and if three republicans vote for a secret ballot. you could conceivably have a conviction. we need to stop this president from violating the law. from abusing his office. this is one way we can do it. >> congresswoman, jackie speer, thank you for joining us from washington. everyone here in the bay area keenly watching what's happening there. >> hearings resume on friday. abc news will carry them live so you can watch the testimony. >> coverage begins at 6:00 a.m. right here on abc 7. while partisan politics prevailed in washington, democrats and republicans in california shared concerns that both parties are seeing declines in reg strax. year by year, the number of voters with no party preference

is growing. david louie looks at this interesting trend. >> reporter: while democrats remaining main the largest number of voters in california. the second largest have no political preference or npp. they outnumber by one million and numbers are growing. just shy of a third of voters have no party preference with san francisco, san mateo and alameda counties close behind according to the california secretary of state's office. the chairs of the democratic and republican parties are not happen by that. both parties have seen a decrease in voter registrations statewide. >> i think it reflects that people sense that a decrease in the sense of party identification and an understanding of the value of political parties in our society. >> however, voters with no political preference can request to vote for candidates for -- the state republican party will not allow this. >> we don't want the system gamed by people who decide to

register to maybe change the registration for democrats and npp so that they can choose the least favorable republican to go against a democrat for example. >> registered no political preference voter in santa clara county will receive a postcard to see if they want to vote for another party's candidates or they can decide at the polls. >> our staff is able to print a ballot on demand when the person that is their voting indicates which party they'd like to cross over and vote for. >> the print on demand system will save tens of thousands of dollars for not having to pre print and distribute special ballots such as this. in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. vice president mike pence arrived in the bay area tonight. he'll spend two days in huntington beach before moffitt field. -- nasa says the visit will take place in the vertical motion

simulator for the planned return to the moon in 2024. bernie sanders will return to california for a three-day swing across the golden state. he begins in oakland where the national nurses united union will officially announce it's endorsing the vermont senator. weather problems around the world from haj juror flooding in venice. >> then to the deep freeze in the u.s. record being shattered. i'm spencer christian.

it helps to have someone in your corner. that's why there's covered california. we're the only place where you can get financial help to pay for your health insurance. new this year, almost a million people could receive additional financial help from the state to help lower the cost of health insurance... more for those already getting it, and new help for many who haven't gotten help before. so check to see how much you can save. it only takes 5 minutes. to be covered by january 1st, enroll by december 15th.

shouldn't mean a change in standards. that's why - thanks to you - we're rated number one in customer satisfaction by j.d. power.

it's known for romantic waterways. now the whole thing is a waterway. this is venice. it's under a state of emergency. look inside there. it's experiencing the highest tide it's seen in 50 years. more than 45% of the city is underwater. authorities say an elderly man died as a result. schools and businesses, they are staying closed. the venice mayor blames the flooding on climate change. volunteers are being deployed to help with the cleanup. >> such a beautiful city. it's a shame. a deadly winter storm is moving across the midwest and the east coast. millions of americans have been affected. as cold weather records continue to be shattered. here's abc news reporter trevor alt. >> today the bone chilling overnight cold in the midwest and the south now marching east. >> the bones feel like it's going to snap. >> in boston, officials

preparing for emergency conditions as people brace for potentially record-setting temperatures. >> how would you describe it right now? >> i'm not saying it on tv. >> that winter blast pummeling states like michigan and ohio. treacherous conditions leading to a 50-car pileup on i-80 near youngstown. near traverse city, reports of 30 inches of snow. in wisconsin farmers handcuffed by the early winter. >> you would think at some point we'll have milder weather this winter. who knows? mother nature is on her own page this year. >> even the gulf coast feeling the impact. in parts of texas, temperatures falling 50 degrees in 24 hours. enough to turn sprinklers into ice sculptures. there's been more than 100 record cold temperatures recorded in the past two days. winter isn't believed to be sticking around just yet. temperatures are expected to thaw out by week's end. trevor alt. hope they get a break.

an ohio man taking advantage of the cold. look at this. you can see he's trudging through the snow in cleveland creating a large spider web. just walking and walking. the video was shot from a nearby hotel room where it was nice and toasty. that's pretty good. >> a guy who needs a hobby. >> or more spider webs to create. >> oh, the web of intrigue. here's a look at live doppler 7. lots of clouds building. high clouds, low clouds. mid level clouds. we might get early morning drizzle. look for temperaures to drop into the upper 450s, low 50s. we expect spotty drizzle into the mid-morning hours. look for partly to mostly cloudy skies. a a little sun breaking new. low 60s near the bay. here's the accuweather seven-day

forecast. a lot of change on -- slight hi milder. a nice warmer trend over the weekend. saturday, sunday and monday looking mostly sunny with highs inland in the mid to upper 70s. low 70s around the bay. quite a change from what we're experiencing now. a gradual cooldown by the middle of next week. >> got to get the wipers ready for tomorrow morning. >> might be drizzly out there. >> thank you, spencer. a warning for costco shoppers. the social media hoax has been shared by thousands. what you need to look out for. i'm 7 on your side's michael

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ blow a kiss, into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss, into the sun ♪ all we need is somebody to lean on ♪

♪ ♪ but you don't feel good. with polycythemia vera, pv, symptoms can change so slowly over time you might not notice. but new or changing symptoms can mean your pv is changing. let's change the way we see pv. you track and discuss blood counts with your doctor. but it's just as vital to discuss changing symptoms as well. take notice and take action. discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. visit takeactionpv.com discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. thermostat - connected, protected. speaker, space vacuum... [ whispering ] connected, protected. shh. eh, this is not connected or protected. but, that's a family heirloom. and, it's a family security breach. it's gotta go. with xfinity xfi, if it's connected, it's protected. pull the truck around. simple. easy. awesome.

get more out of your in-home wifi experience with xfinity internet and ask about enhanced network security for all your connected devices. click, call or visit a store today. a warning for costco customers. costco is not giving away $75 coupons. the company post aid message on its facebook page to stop sharing the message on social media. the coupon claims that everyone who shares it will be sent a $75 coupon. they call it a recurring hoax. if you have to share something on social media to get the

offer, it most likely is not real. >> they try everything to bait us. it's difficult to talk about, but there are benefits to having a will or a trust to ease the burden after a loved one passes away. >> it really can. michael finney is here with more. michael? >> a recent forbes survey from earlier this year says nearly have of americans over the age of 55 do not have a will. here's a question. should you have one? joining me now is a professor from berkeley. everybody is dressed in black in the attorney's office. have you ever seen that in real life? >> no. >> that doesn't exist. >> it doesn't happen. never seen it. >> okay. >> what is a will and how do you know if you need one? >> a will is a document that passes property at death. it's one that is witnessed, signed, typically notarized. most people will benefit from

having a will. however, unlike the 19th century it's a mistake to try to pass a substantial amount of property at their death via a will. >> why is that? >> there are three drawbacks to wills. the first is the expense. property that passes through a will goes through a court supervised probate. you need an attorney to shepherd you through probate. attorneys don't come cheap. california sets a maximum amount that can be increased by the court. on a half million dollar estate. that's $13,000 for your lawyer. the lawyer charges the maximum, which you can expect. or $23,000 for a million dollar estate. >> wow. >> and if you have an executor and the executor chooses to collect the maximum fee, you double that. >> wow. >> it's a lot of money. the second drawback is

publicity. a will is a public document if it passes through probate. if you don't want the world to see who you're giving property to and how much, don't do it via a will. the last drawback is delay. if you try to pass property through a will, then you can expect the probate process to take six to nine months in most counties at a minimum. sometimes much longer. >> you avoid all of that by setting up a trust, correct? >> you do. >> so the will says, i want this to happen. the trust is kind of a document that makes everything private? >> it makes it private. but you can view a trust, in this case as a will substitute. it will pass property at death according to your instructions. you have as much flexibility as in the case of a will. your trustee can distribute the property right away. no delay. you don't need to hire a lawyer and it's not public. >> what is an executor and would i mind being one? should you want to be one? >> that depends. an executor is the person who is

charged with administering an estate that passes through probate via a will. the executor has a range of duties. has to notify creditors and potential beneficiary, has to determine how property is managed in the meantime. an executor can hire professionals. if the executor doesn't do the job well, they can be sued by the beneficiaries of the estate. i would say who the beneficiaries are and how -- >> i appreciate your time today. thanks for joining us. back to you guys. >> great information. thank you, michael. nike announce that it will stop telling products directly to amazon. it could cause other companies to do the same thing. nike is making this decision to create a more direct customer experience and comes weeks after it named an e-commerce veteran as the new chief executive. analysts say this is a setback for amazon which has been trying to lure big brands to its site.

starbucks four-story coffee palace opens in chicago. the taj mahal of coffee. the michigan avenue store will employ 200 people, includes food, on site roasting of rare reserve beans and exclusive chicago inspired drinks. this will be the sixth palace like this starbucks has opened. the others are in new york, tokyo, shanghai, milan and seattle. >> i need a coffee to get through that place. an ohio family that uses the holiday display to raise money for cystic fibrosis research is stepping up that effort. for the last seven years, they have decorated their house to look like the griswolds from national lampoon's christmas vacation. this year they're recreating the rv from the film with the help of local high school students and their teacher. >> we painted it with house latex paint and came up with a plan to make it look rustic. it's ready to take for a drive right now. i don't know how far i'd take

it. >> they plan to unveil the display on black friday and hope to add to the $7,000 they've raised over the years. >> that is fun ziej the countdown is on to the country music's biggest night. >> always such a night that keeps you on your toes. just ahead, how this year's ceremony is shifting its focus. kristen is here with what's coming up at 5:00. thanks, am and and dan. improving the transit system. he's ready to meet the challenge. a spectacular new park in sonoma. what it took to make it happen. mural with a mission. this one has a lot of history to sh

wer hours away from the year's biggest celebration of country music awards. an iconic lineup. marci gonzalez has a look at how this year's show is all about girl power. >> final preps under way for country music's biggest night. >> it's always a night that keeps you on your toes. it will be fun. >> the 53rd annual cma awards putting a spotlight on women in the industry. with carrie underwood returning as host but with new legendary co-host reba mcentire and dolly parton. >> women are obviously a very important part of country music, always have been and always will be.

>> underwood is also the only woman nominated for the biggest honor of the night. entertainer of the year. up against eric church, chris stapleton, last year's winner keith urban and icon garth brooks. >> i'd love to take it home. but the truth is, you can't lose in this bunch. you're looking at all the names and all the shows are fantastic. it is the year of the woman. it's a perfect girl power kind of night. >> in keeping with that, mayor en morris's hit song, girl, helping to make her the most nominated artist of the year. >> it feels like the belle of the ball right now. >> she's one of the stars prepping for a big performance tonight, including what's described as an epic opening number honoring women in country. >> and the cma -- i'm so excited -- >> the celebration has already started with two of the awards -- -- given out this

morning on gma. >> kacey musgraves won for music video of the year and old town road won for musical event of the year. soon, after all of the action here on the red carpet, we'll find out who is taking home the nice other big honors. marci gonzalez, abc news, nashville. and you can catch the 53rd annual cma awards at 8:00 followed by abc news at 11:00. john legend is people's magazine's newest sexiest man alive. they put him on the cover writing how a good guy got it all. he's married to christy teigen. idris elba had the title last year. look at that. 1995 john would be perplexed to be following idris elba as sexiest man alive. 2019 john is as equally perplexed. they've been naming the sexiest man alive since 1985. you can get the latest news

any time with the abc 7 news app. live video features for kus omization and push alerts to get the news you want delivered to your phone in real time. that does it for abc 7 news i just add a spoonful to my marinades... ...to stir frys... ...sauces. just whisk it in... ...brush it on... sauté it. it adds a "cooked all day taste" ...that doesn't take all day. better than bouillon. don't just make it. make it better. warm feelings of home this season. with country fried turkey, hand-breaded and fried 'til crispy, and topped with holiday herbed gravy. our take on a festive favorite is back. and it's only at cracker barrel. so, come on home for the holidays. come on home to cracker barrel.

. state regulators make it official. they will investigate the power shutoffs that plunged millions of people into the dark. one mayor says her town is still feeling the effects. it's been a couple wiex since we lost our power. everyone i know are still trying to make up for the lost three weeks of time. also tonight, the new plan to fight illegal dumping in two bay area counties. plus, the new effort to make the buses run on time in san francisco. new surveillance video released. will it lead to whoever kidnapped and killed a tech ceo. parents are opposing school

closures. free housing for san jose state college students. a new partnership is formed.