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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, aig 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 minutes later. >> that is so scary. just a few weeks ago, there was another sighting around pacifica, but that was in the middle of the night. >> i think he should keep his house cat in from now on. a focus now on your health and in our effort to build a

better bay area, we could see a new standard to help when counties can reopen. it involves measuring the difference between wealthy neighborhoods and low income areas and it's creating controversy. >> reporter: counties in california are placed in one of four color indicators. california's department of public health is still finalizing details, but a third metric, called the equity metric, is in the works. dr. mike reed, who helps run san francisco's contact tracing program, explains what it is. >> a ratio of the covid test positivity in low income neighborhoods compared to high income neighborhoods in any given county. >> reporter: san francisco's overall positivity rate is 2%. in august, a study in just the mission district found a 9% positivity rate.

the equity metric could mean the difference between the 2% and 9% would have to decrease to reopen the city. >> this is not just me making a morally compelling argument, this is the state and local cities telling you, hey, if you don't care, then things are where they are. >> reporter: john is the health chair of the latino task force. is the city doing enough right now to help san francisco's latino communitisome >> at this present moment, i don't feel they are. >> reporter: so the controversy is that it could delay business reopeni reopenings? >> if you were in a wealthy community where they have done a good job of protecting yourselves against covid-19, you could be health back by your poorer neighbors. >> reporter: in order for everyone to overcome covid, we'll have to address inequity.

kate larson, "abc7 news." several bay area cities are receiving millions to provide housing for the homeless. the governor announced that and more encouraging covid-19 cases today. kristen sze has more. >> hospitalization numbers declining at a relatively consistent rate over the course of not just the last two weeks, but even beyond three or four weeks. >> reporter: another decline in hospitalizations, icu admissions, and test positivity. the two-week test positivity average is down to 3.1%, the lowest number since the state started keeping track of it in april. and while testing declined amid wildfires and poor air quality, it's now ramping back up. >> we're making real progress on building out this very large lab where we will substantially increase our testing well above the 124,000 average daily tests you see reflected in the last seven days. >> reporter: the governor

announced $236 million in the second round of funding for project home key, to purchase permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness. recipients include san francisco, oakland, mountain view, santa clara county, and the band of pomo indians in sonoma county. >> this is happening in historically short period of time and shows a resolve and commitment, a sincerity of effort, and a long-term strategy to address homelessness in the state in a way the state of california has never done in the past. >> the governor also mentioned often announcement coming tomorrow about more counties moving into the red and orange tiers of the state's reopening plan. the pandemic has created unprecedented financial hardships for many small businesses. in an effort to build a better bay area, san francisco is launching a pilot program to help merchants with smashed windows. these business openers are so grateful for the help.

>> reporter: they are. 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. the sound of a drill has become common in san francisco neighborhoods like this. >> i had a brick thrown through the window. >> reporter: he's referring to the rich table restaurant. across the street at 20th century cafe, they've dealt with the same problem and had three of their windows destroyed, as well. >> to work that hard and get the call in the middle of the night or to come in and see that, it's a really -- it's disheartening in a way i can'tscribe. it feels like a personal attack. >> reporter: it's unclear why this is happening, but business owners believe the city's homeless aren't getting the help they need. contractor brian janelle says he's seen vanldales target

restaurants building outdoor parklets where people sit outside. san francisco has started a park program in district five. small businesses that have had their windows smashed can apply for a grant that could pay them up to $1,000. >> it's a significant hit on a small business when you're already struggling, and then your window gets smashed through no fault of your own, nothing you did wrong. >> reporter: while this may not be a long-term solution, they are positive about the program. >> i'm glad that the city is starting to look at really practical ways to support businesses. >> reporter: keep in mind, this only applies to district five neighborhoods. it also does not apply to large businesses. walgreens and cvs have been hit hard in the city, but this only covers those small businesses. j.r. stone, "abc7 news."

>> j.r., thank you. health thisofficials are imploring people to get their flu shots. flu vaccines could make a difference between it comes to the potential twim demic. >> the co-infection of flu and covid is concerning those in health care, even if we had the potential of getting covid, we would know that minimizing the risk of flu by getting the vaccine, at least reducing the severity and duration of the illness will help us differentiate flu versus covid. >> the flu season can start as early as september and stretch to april. a hazy golden hue washed over the bay area as the sun set. here's a look from four different vantage points. we did see some smoke from wildfires and that prompted an air quality advisory.

meteorologist sandhya patel lets us know if we can expect another hazy day tomorrow. sandhya? >> yeah, ama, i think we're in luck the next few days. it is going to be pretty good air quality. there will be a few pockets of haze. dry cold front coming through the west coast here. that has set about some changes today. so we went from smokier skies over the weekend, even earlier today, to a stronger sea breeze pushes that smoke east of the bay area. in fact, let's take a look at a live picture right now from our tower camera. you can see how nice it looks. there is fog out there, which is typical for this time of the year. and you'll notice good air quality for a change except for vacaville. no spare the air alert is in effect. and today is the last day of summer, so as we head into autumn tomorrow morning, 6:30, we are going to notice some

changes. i'll be back with the details, including the rest of the week, which will include big changes coming up. ama, larry? >> all right, sandhya, thank you. we made it easy for you to check the air quality where you live, you can find this tracker on abc7news.com right on the home page. new at 11:00, the 49ers team and the head coach are facing steep fines because kyle did not wear a mask during yesterday's game. shanahan is being fined $100,000 by the nfl. the video shows him on the sideline without a face covering. the league warned that coaches need to wear their masks. ra 50,0.'s o top 'sc fine. a ned.an poce are treating three insurance temperatures targeting the -- incidents targeting the armenian community.

the st. gregory armenian apostolic church was vandalized. patrols have been increased and officers heard gunshots saturday morning. they say a sign in front was hit by a bullet. in the east bay, police are looking for this man in connection with vandalism at grace bible church. police say there was about $1,000 in damage done on saturday, mostly to a gate and the fencing. if you recognize this man, call police. two issues are dominating the race for the white house tonight. president trump pledging to nominate a replacement for justice ruth bader ginsburg who passed away last week. there's also the coronavirus, which is affecting how americans vote but possibly who they might vote for. >> reporter: with just a little over six weeks until the november election, two issues in 2020 could tip the scales and

ultimately decide who wins the white house. >> so we're going to put up our nominee, who is going to be outstanding. we're looking at five incredible jurists, five incredible people. >> reporter: after the passing of iconic liberal supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg, president trump is vowing to fill her seat before election day. >> probably saturday we will announce the nominee and it's somebody that you'll have great respect for, great respect. thank you. [ applause ] big stuff. >> reporter: that decision to pick a new justice impacting voters with early voting already under way. >> definitely a little factor, yeah. >> reporter: another issue facing voters, the president's coronavirus response, which polls show is a weak spot for him. with the covid death toll in the u.s. nearing 200,000, new attacks on trump telling voters the president papp parniced. >> we have seen one of the gravest losses of american life in history. >> reporter: but the president

is steadfast of his defense. asked in abinterview with bob woodward in july what grade he gives himself handling the pandemic, the president provided this answer. >> reporter: abc news learned that president trump met with federal judge amy coney barrett, widely to be considered the front-runner for the vacant supreme court seat. a statue in new york city that promotes female empowerment is honoring ruth bader ginsburg. the fearless girl statue donned a lace collar over the weekend, a nod to ginsburg's signature style that's been in the financial district in 2017 on international women's day. >> gamblers are out of luck at one north bay casino. why it shut its doors suddenly.

weeks away from halloween, but this family is already entertaining the interview for a good cause. that story, coming up. and it wasn't a storm. the national weather service picks up something pretty battie in phoenix. first, a look at what's coming up on jimmy kimmel live. jimmy. >> thanks, larry and ama. after a long summer vacation, i'm back. >> you have to team me how to fly fish. >> i would love to do that, just the two of us in a boat alone would be very special. >> no, no. we're not doing a boating t are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can! downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh.

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with comcast business. get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just $64.90 a month. call or go online today. in the north bay, all bets are off at cash casino. it's been closed due to a widespread systems failure. technical teams are working to repair it. cash creek doesn't currently have a reopening date. we are weeks away from halloween, but a south bay family couldn't wait, so they disp front yard.i our reporter is in san jose reporting on the spooky, safe fun. >> reporter: it's not the

nightmare on elm street. >> you're all going to die. >> reporter: but this house in san jose is all ready for halloween. >> this year's been not so fun. so we decided to do it early so that everybody could have something to smile about. >> reporter: danielle is the mastermind behind the project. the family has been planning this since july. she said they've been getting more than 50 people a day. this man came out with his son. >> i think it's super important to just get them out and make them feel kind of normal in the new world. >> reporter: the yard is set up with scary clowns, witches and pirates and cartoon characters for the little ones. >> what was your favorite one? >> all of them. >> all of them? >> yes! >> were you scared at all? >> no! >> reporter: each stop is six feet apart for social distancing. >> the little ones, they come

and they just hit the step pats giggle and their smiles make it all worth it. >> reporter: she says the big motivation for the dismay was to help her son with special needs. his favorite -- >> the pirate and the kids, all the kids make them happy. >> reporter: the family is also selecting donations to help wounded veterans, which is being matched by a local startup. she just wants everyone to walk away feeling good. >> to make people smile, to make it happy. everybody should be happy. >> it's been a tough year. >> it's been a horrible year. >> we could definitely use a little bit more happy right about now. and tomorrow is the first official day of fall. already looking like it in san jose, ama. >> yeah, check out this pu patch on bailey avenue. you can see 2020.

it's part of the pump kin patch that will open october 1. it includes a hay ride attraction and 25 varieties of pumpkins. a spooky phenomena in arizona. the waves of green was caused by a large colony of bats. that's scary. meteorologists thought it was rain at first, but images s s ss a large swarm of bats, which is called a cauldron. >> have you ever seen a radar with bats flying through it, sandhya? >> no, i haven't, but often times you can see a lot of birds, similar to that. larry and ama, i think that's appropriate, considering halloween is just around the

corner. i want to show you the seasons are changing. the sun's rays will be directly over the equator, the equinox takes place at 6:30. so those of you who like fall, tomorrow is the start of it. and you'll have good air quality for most areas the next few days to enjoy the fine fall weather. moderate air quality for tuesday, wednesday, thursday, all areas turn moderate on friday. so take a look at the smoke forecast. tomorrow morning, really good air quality through thursday. and then friday, notice the north wind, defing to drag some smoke down into our region. so the air quality begins to decline friday night as as we head into the weekend. this is what you need to know about this weekend. we are expecting gusty offshore winds. fire danger increases because of this around this time of year. increasing smoke and a building

northwest swell will bring a higher risk of rip currents. live doppler 7 showing you high clouds overhead, fog along the coast, and temperatures right now, pretty comfortable, anywhere from the 60s to the 70s. a live look from our exploratorium camera, and you can see fog out there. autumn arrives tomorrow morning at 6:30. good air quality for the next few days and it's heating up as i mentioned earlier. temperatures from the mid 50s to mid 60s. we'll start the morning off with fog and higher clouds up above. tomorrow afternoon, the cooling that started today will continue tomorrow. so mid 80s inland, warm and nice weather along the coast. mid to upper 60s and we'll have a nice sea breeze to keep our air clean for most of the bay area. and then there is a front coming through wednesday night into thursday, cooling us off on thursday, squeezing out a little

drizzle. the pacific northwest will get some much-needed rain, and since we're speaking of rain, i want to show you latest on tropical storm beta along the gulf of mexico. already it's pushing into texas and it is expected to bring some flooding rain across this region over the next few days. so that will be a big concern along the gulf coast over the next few days. the accuweather seven-day forecast. fall begins tomorrow morning. nice fall weather coming your way. drizzle thursday morning. later in the week, windier, smokier, hotter conditions. 102 to 104 degrees sunday, monday. so really getting hot. get ready for that. ama and larry? >> yeah. >> summer's not giving up just yet. >> i would rather have the bats. >> no. >> i don't get to choose. a lot of things like that. thank you, sandhya. thunderstorm on "good morning america"

here at "abc7 news," we're always looking for ways to build a better bay area. after a theft at a san francisco school, dion lim got in on a surprise. >> reporter: on a blustery monday in san francisco, there's a plan brewing, streamed live on facebook, just around the corner from st. thomas the apostle school. we are partnering up with the youth center. say hi, everybody. back in july, "abc7 news" first reported on a break-in at st. thomas, where 100 laptops were stolen. >> yeah, i was really sad, and i was really mad at the people who stole the laptops. and i wanted to go chase after them and get them back. >> reporter: so during lunch break, under the guise of doing a followup story on the school -- we would like to present to you community comeback award. [ applause ]

>> thank you! >> reporter: little did everyone know, the ultimate surprise was in store. >> thanks to an anonymous donor, and help from the community youth center of san francisco, let us present you with 50 new computers! come on out, you guys. >> reporter: with a global computer shortage because of a surge in work from home needs, the school was in a bind. >> we ended up on ebay trying to find stuff. because you do what you can with the budget you have. >> reporter: donations poured in, but weren't enough. >> the support was honestly really heartfelt and shockingly good. >> reporter: but with a little coordination and generosity, incredible things can happen. >> i feel really happy and excited we get to try out these new computers. >> i feel very blessed for all of our children. thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this for us. >> reporter: in san francisco, i'm dion lim, and we are -- building a better bay area!

[ applause ] >> that is so cool. and she was instrumental in making all that happen, so she deserves credit. yeah. all right. silence. but she does. >> sorry. i thought we had coordinated you were going to take the toss to chris. so i was letting you -- >> i know, i know. i messed it up. chris is next with sports. how's that? >> how do i follow any of this, guys? the oakland a's clinch the a.l. west without even playing. and the raiders put on a show, ♪ limu emu & doug you know limu, after all these years it's the ones that got away that haunt me the most. [ squawks ] 'cause you're not like everybody else. that's why liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. what?

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if there's one thing las vegas knows how to do, it's put on a show, the raiders unveiling allegiance stadium, their brand new $2 billion home under the monday night lights. saw it right here on abc 7, aka the death star. no fans allowed inside tonight. second quarter, raiders down 10-0. derek carr, and the raiders score for the first time in their new building. late second quarter, carr finds jones, 15-yard can connection. 17-14, raiders climbing back in it. ensuing saints' position, drew brees picked off, leading to a field goal and game tied at the

half. raiders dominated time of possession and played keep away with long drives. fourth and goal, they go for it. and they score. in the fourth, rashard, 20-yard touchdown rub and finds the end zone. raiders win 34-24. >> for being a part of our first win here in our stadium. we have a great team and even though the fans couldn't be here tonight, hopefully they see something that they like and we can't wait to get them back in this place. it's such a great place to see a game. >> mris confirmed torn acls for nick bosa and solomon thomas, ending their seasons. running backs raheem mostert also suffered injury.

jimmy garafalo with a high ankle sprain. >> i told him before we started, no will help him. but i don't know, jimmy is a physical guy and lots of guys, it gets you going in the game. jimmy plays with a lot of grit. he gutted it out and he's the toughest guy i've been around. baseball now with the mariners win over the astros, the a's clinching the a.l. west. this will be playoff baseball at the coliseum with cutouts. the giants in the playoff picture but struggling at the wrong time. johnny cueto gave up two in the first. and then kevin pillar makes it 3-0, rocks. top of the fifth, bases loaded. cueto can't hadidn't have it 25. t -- have it tonight. seven earned runs for cueto.

larry, i've decided to speak so i can say goodbye to all the wonderful folks at home. thanks for watching. i'm ama daetz. s. two professionals w, >> yes. >> i'm larry beil. have a good night.