and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. is. a new testing metric that could compare testing metrics is creating controversy. >> another san francisco business dealing with a broken window. but now the city is helping some of these businesses out. i'll explain. >> this is the last day of summer. i'll let you know what fall will bring coming up. >> step on the pad and see what scare you are in for. >> an early start to halloween for a good cause. abc 7 news starts right now. we were told weweregoing to get benefits. why are we not getting benefits? >> not once have i reached a human being that was alive. >> for months we have been

reporting on the fiasco at the employment development department, fraud, benefits department and nobody answering the phones. well, now a reset to a new system. >> the reset started this weekend. i didn't want to wait another day. >> and that reset means the state is halts new claims for two weeks with 600,000 people still awaiting benefits. michael finny has the latest developments. >> i have been waiting since august, august 1st. >> reporter: one of the 600,000 workers who still have no benefits months after losing their jobs. >> you can't get through. michael hurley has been waiting since june. >> no faith in the system, not at all. >> reporter: the edd blocks benefits for both workers saying they need to prove they are who they say they are. like thousands of others they mailed in paper documents

verifying their identity and heard nothing back. >> i think now i'm in another kuwaiting for whatever. that's frustrating. i'm so discouraged. >> reporter: kim was told to wait eight weeks. >> i was really upset because how would it be eight weeks to find my identity? oh, my god. why eight weeks? >> reporter: the edd required thousands of workers toay tries to weed out rampid fraud. but the governor's task force found governors still got paid while honest workers were blocked from benefits. the edd will install new technology that automatically verifies applicants true identity and will supposedly speed up new claims even as it doesn't address the old ones. i asked governor newsom about that today. >> good afternoon, governor.

are you confident that six months of failure and years of mismanagement and negligent can be fixed with a two week reset? >> reporter: he said they must update their outdated systems and it will take more than two weeks. >> we're taking advantage of all the contemporaneous knowledge we have learned over the six months to make sure we're not paving over the old cow path and not moving forward with something that made a lot of sense a year ago but makes no sense based upon the volume and the experience we have had over the last six months. so the answer to your question is we're making short-term commitments, and we have medium-term strategies. but we're here for the long haul. we're going to get that right. >> that worries folks like kim and michael. >> it's still not resolved. we keep calling on stuff and you can't get through. >> they're saying some of these may be until -- they won't resolve it until january.

i don't know if i'm included in that or what. i don't know what i would do. >> reporter: i'm michael finny. seven on your side. the cdc abruptly removed guidance about transmission of the virus leading to questions about the agencies we rely on for health agencieagencies. >> reporter: rereached a grim milestone in covid deaths this week. the president monday saying on a phone interview his response to the virus has been good. >> in public relations i give myself a d. on the job itself, an a plus. >> reporter: calling out joe biden on his plan for the pandemic. >> biden be surrender to the virus just like he surrendered to china and just like he surrendered to the radical left mond saying the president failed his country. >> he failed to act.

he panicked and america has paid the worst price of any nation in the world. >> reporter: meantime the cdc reversing itself once again. >> this flip-flopping which clearly is about political interference in the scientific process makes it much harder for americans to know what the right things are, what they need to do to make themselves safe. >> reporter: the agency finally acknowledged what scientists have been arguing for months, posting updated guidelines saying tiny droplets can travel more than six feets in settings like choir practices, restaurants or gyms with limited ventilation. but monday afternoon they took it back saying the information was posted in error and was a draft. >> i apologize on behalf of cdc for that. we weren't ready to put it up. >> reporter: confusing information trickling down to america's schools where some people comfortable with in person learning while others don't. in kenosha, seven schools were

forced into remote learning. ed now ever as ing about 600 states continue reopening their schools and builds. abc news. the pandemic had created unprecedented financial hardships for so many small businesses. san francisco is launching a pilot program to help merchants deal with vandalism. jr stone live in the studio now. a smashed window right now is the last thing businesses owners need. >> got that right, larry. city leaders are saying this pilot program is one of a kind. basically public money going to help small businesses in san francisco that have been hit by vandals. we were in hayes valley where boards were going up this afternoon at a restaurant called

rich table. according to the contractor, someone took a brick to one of the windows here last night. it sounded like a big deal, but this is the third window that has been hit there. across the street another business has been hit three times, too. this new program will pay up to $1,000 to any business owner who has had their window smashed since the start of the shelter in place back in march. this is a test program so it only applies in san francisco. if you have a business in union square or near chinatown you can't get the funds. also, this does not help bigger companies like walgreens or cvs that have been hit hard here in san francisco. just the small businesses. you will hear from a small business owner and a contractor who has been fixing those windows in just 30 minutes at 11:00 p.m. j.r. stone, abc 7 news. >> j.r., we'll see you at 11:00. so where does your county look?

we have created an interactive map and you can find it at abc dlts 7news.com. 74% contained tonight. it's burned more than 298,000 acres. this has been one of the deadliest and most destructive fires of the season. 15 people have died. cal fire says 1,800 have been destroyed by the flames. homes that have been damaged or december trstroyed in the no complex fires. orange means the damage is major. yellow is minor. if it is green, little damage. let's take a live look outside right now from the kgo roof camera. you can see the city lights right there. hardly any smoke. not too much haze. the question is will it last. here's sandia. >> yeah. it's going to last for at least

a couple days. i want to show you the air quality right now. you can see the see lights, so the air quality has improved from earlier today. in the green, that's good air quality. san francisco, oakland and san jose right now. even in the santa cruz area it is green. but there have been a few pockets that have remained in yellow, which is moderate air quality. here is what helped our air quality improve today. it is the sea breeze kicking up right now out of the northwest, 28 miles an hour. but earlier tonight, as the sun was going down there our east bay camera, you saw all the hayes. we gave our sunset that reddish hue. tomorrow everybody in the good air quality mode will be moderate. no spare the air alert in effect for tomorrow. as you take a look at a preview of what's to come, let's just say as the season's change beginning tomorrow, we will

notice some changes that follow this weekend. look at the heat that's coming. that's just the start. i will let you know how that's going to impact your air quality coming up. >> we made it easy for you to check your air quality on this tracker on your website, abc7news.com. the raiders 2-0 after an impressive win by the saints. monday night football back on abc just like the old days. chris alvarez joining us now. chris, imagine what this was lke if fans were in the building, what the strip would be like right now. it would be crazy. >> you're right, larry. if there is one thing las vegas knows what to do, it is put on a show and have a party. their brand-new $2 billion home under the monday night lights and the raiders opened their air in las vegas. the death star. no fans allowed inside tonight. the game in vegas. second quarter. raiders down 10-0.

derek carr to aleck vegas within three. carr finding jones, 15 yard connection. 17-14. ensuing saints possession. drew brees back throw and picked off by nicholas marrow. we'll tied up at the half. the raiders dominant time of possession and plays with long drives. waller had 12 catches, 103 yards and that score. 20 yard run, a fumble earlier in the game. afterwards derek carr as the raiders win. both the bay and las vegas on his mind. >> i hope that the fans in the bay area are still excited. i could understand they're hurt. i felt their pain, you know, as we left that game at the end of the year. i felt it. but with that said, i'm in las

vegas and i'm happy for our city. this is our town now. this is our city. and hopefully everyone, especially in the casino businesses and a lot of churches and things like that, just the things i know of and other small businesses like a lot of people have been out of work for a while so hopefully tonight they can turn the tv on and get a little bit of a smile on their face. you know what i'm saying? and that means something to me. >> so it was an impressive start for the las vegas raiders. the oakland a's were off tonight. oakland is your al west champions. so there is going to be playoff baseball at the coliseum with cut-outs. it is 2020 after all, larry. >> i got the cut-outs. they will be there representing. and nice that derek carr actually acknowledged the oakland fans because that death star should be off of 880. we wish it was. stolen dreams. why the left of a food truck is hitting one south bay family extra hard.

plus, it's an eye sore months for people with heart failure taking entresto, it may lead to a world of possibilities. entresto helped people stay alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto.

fire watch tonight in belmont where firefighters will stay on the scene for much of tomorrow. crews evacuated 40 homes. more than 90 firefighters were able to stop the flames from reaching those aims. two acres of land burning. in the south bay, a san jose couple is pleading with the community to help locate a stolen food truck. the family says this truck was their only source of income and their american dream. lie wis pena has the story. >> reporter: five years ago, they accomplished their american dream. and a week ago two thieves drove off with when i see that, when

the guys take it, i took a picture. >> reporter: their life savings and only source of income, all of it stolen in less than three minutes. >> my food truck because it is for my kids because i need thatt so my kids can go to school, to university. no pay my rent, no pay my bills. >> reporter: this piece of wood to hold the tires. francisco asking us to imagine what it once was. >> buy tacos. >> reporter: inside the gas station, workers and customers were confused as they saw two men towing the truck away. >> they're pretty bold. they were getting gas, and they saw everything. but they said they were so relaxed and just calm that they thought that, you know. >> reporter: the surveillance video was released to san jose

police who says it is hard to identify the suspects, but the white truck is their lead. >> that vehicle, i looked at it, it's got some distinctive things about that that hopefully by sharing that somebody will recognize that video. >> reporter: her son opened an account where thousands of dollars has been raised to help this family. >> my dream is more big one. i'm more strong. >> reporter: hopefully they can get their food truck back. also in the south bay clean up has begun along monterrey road on what's mainly union pacific railroad company. it's grown larger and larger over the last few months. they are working to clear out the trash by the end of the week. city council member says more needs to be done. >> i'm really looking at and

exploring long-term solutions to prevent the dumping. and one of the things that come to mind, for example, is potentially installing cameras along the road. >> reporter: the city council is considering a $3 million plan to address 200 illegal dumping spots. the san jose mayor wants to remind residents the city has a free junk pickup program. some bad breaks for schools. what a new report card says are the biggest issues. facebook on a

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xiidra. not today, dry eye. facebook has help more than two million people register to vote. the social media giant planned a week of action to make it easily accessible for people and the goal is to register four million voters.

distance learning is getting disappointing marks from some eng kwa tors and the center from education reform. many students aren't getting the feedback and engagement they need. >> reporter: having too many students at once on google meet or zoom is robbing children of the opportunity to engage or get the proper feedback from teachers. that's what an education expert found when analyzing remote classes at some public schools. >> we're seeing children whether they are elevated in their learning or below in their learning and even midline coming in way below with this type of offering. >> reporter: she says students are competing for the teacher's attention when school districts could have hired more staff during the summer when itecame apparent the wld sta >> that needed to be a call of action so early in this pandemic. there are so many in the workforce that are retired,

part-time. >> reporter: releases a yearly parent power index in which california scored a d in the area of digital and personalized learning because last april when schools went online, the state lacked laptops and wifi hot spots from home. they also found that parents across the country have not been given the opportunity to make decisions that affect their children during the covid response. >> there were very little opportunities for parents to say, well, hold on. have you thought about the fact that we have to work as well? or we're all going to be in the same houseworking. those decisions were made high up and handed down. >> reporter: handed down to parents who responded by creating those so-called academic pods while others who can't join one tend to fall

further behind. >> caught on camera along the peninsula. a mountain lion krauch crouched man's front yard. after months of closure, some bay area attractions are jackie, i'm looking at your mri. your shoulder seems to be healing nicely. well, dr. farrell, it feels really good... that's good. and... i'm sorry. baby, don't touch that... i don't want you to play with that... (singing) twinkle, twinkle little star. how i wonder what you are... (still singing) up above the world so high... like a diamond in the sky. i'm so glad that your shoulder is feeling better. but, how are you doing? i'm hanging in there... schedule a video visit with your doctor. and get quality care with no copay. kaiser permanente. thrive. and geico loves helping riders get to where they're going, so to help even more, geico is giving new and current customers

a fifteen percent credit on their motorcycle policies with the geico giveback. and because we're committed for the long haul, the credit lasts your full policy term. the geico giveback. helping riders focus on the road ahead. for people with heart failure taking entresto, it may lead to a world of possibilities.ped people stof the hospil.

it can cau harorea it may lead to a world of possibilities.ped people to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. this is fun. pier 39 welcomed back visitors today. the attraction has 24,000 animals. that's a lot. from sea otters to sting rays to sharks and plenty more. capacity is limited to 25% right now, so visitors must have a ticket and time slot or they have to call ahead, and demand is high. >> it shows how the has impacted people continuously being indoors. and with the schools not being open, there has been that little expectation to go out and learn

in an environment, which is different from sitting at home than looking at computer screen. >> it survived the closure on emergency loans. san francisco's museum will open tomorrow for the first time since the pandemic. >> yeah. members will be welcomed back first. then on friday it will open for the general public. the art museum will offer free admission on starts to encourage people to come back. i'm kate lar son in san francisco. tonight a controversy over the possibility of a new statewide testing metric that could compare case counts . these families are ready entertaining the neighborhood for a good cause. that story coming up. and that's no house cat.

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building a better bay area, for a safe and secure future. this is "abc7 news." >> -- nothing quite like this. a man searching for his cat looked outside and saw what hi thought was a large dog in his front yard. >> that is no dog. it was a big cat, a really big cat stalking right near a group of children. we spoke to the man tonight and he shared a picture of a mountain earlier chasing after his pet. >> i've never seen anything like that. >> there are close encounters, and then what timothy saw saturday evening. >> i went outside to look for my cat, who had gotten out earlier. when i went outside, i opened the door and i thought it was a german shepherd at first. and i thought oh, somebody's dog. then i looked at it and it turned and looked at me, and i was like oh, my god, that's a mountain lion. >> he noticed the big cat had

its eyes on children and tried to alert them. >> so i started yelling for the id cans to go back inside. and that's when the mountain lion turned around and saw me coming -- starting coming at me and jumped over the fence. >> it wasn't about to leave, so timothy decided he better do something to protect those kids. >> he was still watching the kids. so i was like, i better get in between him and the kids. >> the kids were the second thing it had its eyes on. he learned his own cat was on the menu but managed to escape. >> my neighbor has video of the cat chasing my cat over the bushes and down the hill, and then he comes back five