>> it's about the fact we need to -- >> murders and rapists accused of stealing jobless benefits. the toll on taxpayers could reach a billion dollars. what local officials say has to happen right now. plus, this staggering demand for food. demand triples at a concord food bank as the pandemic deepens the need. also ahead, san francisco dodgers a tougher tier for now. city officials said hospitalizations are going up along with the threat. just say no. how you can back out of any thanksgiving gathering. and we begin this evening

with a case of massive fraud. inmates across the state have stolen up to a billion dollars in unemployment money designed to ease the pain of the pandemic. the inmates include scott peterson convicted of killing his wife and unborn in 2004 and carrie stainer. state officials say the investigation is just getting starte started. >> will be one of the biggest fraud taxpayer dollars in california history. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. the abc 7 news iteam broke the story in october. a reporter stefanie sierra is live with the latest developments. steph? >> district attorneys representing five counties across california sent this letter to the governor explaining how this fraud is growing out of control. the worst part is, the vast majority say it should be in the hands of struggling families across the state will likely

never be repaid. >> it is perhaps and will be one of the biggest fraud of taxpayer dollars in california history. >> reporter: a billion dollars worth of unemployment benefits now in the pockets of tens of thousands of inmates across the state. to give you an idea, the type of criminals cashing in scott pederson is one of many. >> it involves rapists child moll -- molesters and other violent criminals. >> 35,000 claims have been filed in the name of california state prison inmates. it nxds 133 inmates currently on death row. to put it in perspective, 20,000 of those claims have been paid since august. amounting to $140 million. >> it's scary how much money has been lost not to it went the wrong way but stolen. it's stolen money. >> reporter: the d.a.'s office was one of the first to uncover this fraud scheme in california.

where 21 inmates, including these eight at a redwood city correctional facility were charged for defrauding the state out of $250,000 worth of unemployment benefits. >> probably in some other county jails, too. to find out it's a theft of hundreds of millions going throughout our state prison, going to death row even. that has to stop that. >> reporter: how does it stop and why didn't the state catch this? the lack of a cross examining system ensuring incarcerate data is matched against e. didi claims. >> we need to turn it a off. right now there is no cross matching between the incarceration data and edd on a routine basis. >> reporter: an issue nine district attorneys voiced in a letter to the governor requesting help on the urgent matter. state senator agrees. it must be a priority. >> we need to take a look at why we're not cross referencing. if there is a statute that

prevents them from cross referencing, clearly it has to be changed. >> reporter: a policy change necessary to help the hundreds of thousands of people like brittany and ben. >> all of my money on that card, like, i can't even go get food. >> i haven't been able to pay october's rent because of that. >> reporter: who need this money to survive. >> instead of that money going to families like brittany and ben, some death row inmates are cashing in on upwards of $20,000 worth of benefits per person. meanwhile, the response from the edd has been criticized as slow and nonexistent. we have reached out to the agency for further comment but have yet to hear back. for the iteam, abc 7 news. >> thank you. many people had problems with unemployment claims. we have been tracking the issues since the pandemic started. amaze number of issues. we'll continue to report them

all with the latest developments. the cdc is considering shortening the quarantine people for people potentially exmoezed to coronavirus. currently it recommends two weeks of self-quarantine but could change the guidelines to seven to ten days. a person would need a negative test before ending quarantine. the number of people in the hospital surged in california by 81% over the past two weeks from coronavirus. that word today from state health secretary. he said pressure on hospitals will continue with some intensive care units nearing capacity. 45 california counties are in the most restrictive purple tier. that's seven more than yesterday. to help slow the spread, dr. galley encouraged people to plan on having larger get togethers to scale it back. >> i think this is an important one to consider. call that audible and make a decision to do something a little different and decide not to gather with as big a group as before and consider doing it with just your house hold. >> reporter: dr. galley gave

pointers for changing plans being direct, honest, and don't feel pressured. in san francisco health officials say the county will likely move to the most restrictive tier before the end of the week. abc 7 news reporter explains, that would mean a limited stay at home order with curfew and changes to local businesses, as well. >> san francisco health officials say we're at a critical moment. covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are up. san francisco is currently in the red tier but expected to move to the more restrictive purple tier before weeks' end. >> we cannot let the virus get so far ahead of us or we'll never catch up. >> reporter: director of the san francisco office of economic and work force development, joaquin torres. >> if and when it happens, the city will be required to roll back or reduce capacity of several activities within 24 hours. this will require us to stop the indoor operations and houses of worship, movie theaters,

museums, zoos, aquariums, gyms, and fitness centers. >> reporter: for the limited stay at home order, he said all nonessential businesses will have to shut down at 10:00 p.m. people will be prohibited from gathering after 10:00 p.m., as well. days from thanksgiving, health officials are encouraging residents no to the use city testing sites as a means to travel or gather with people outside of their household. >> a negative covid test is not a ticket to free socializing without precautions. >> reporter: instead encouraging everyone to stay home and celebrate the holiday with people they already live with. >> we can crush this virus for a third time. >> reporter: in san francisco, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. santa clara county are stepping up the business compliance records. field compliance teams wearing specially marked vests like this will be controlling the community making sure businesses are abiding by public safety

guidelines. if a business is not following rules, they're going to be fined. >> we're doing that in the hopes that businesses will really be on point in ensuring compliance in their facility. they have a legal obligation and ethical obligation to protect their workers and the public. >> reporter: fines begin at $250 and can goo in the thousands for offending businesses and there can be fines for multiple violations. the pandemic and accompanying restrictions and business closures created an economic emergency for a lot of people, as you know. abc 7 news was in oakland where turkey dinners were give out. the drive was organized by the worker advocacy group we drive progress. they gave out turkeys to drivers in need outside of the west oakland lift hub. in concord, laura anthony found a surge of people seeking

services and food making the lines at the traditional thanksgiving giveaways especially long. >> without this, we wouldn't have a thanksgiving. >> reporter: keith is not alone this thanksgiving. not this year when demand for food amid a deepening pandemic is surging at nonprofits like concord's monument crisis center. >> happy thanksgiving. >> it does give you -- a person a little bit of comfort that you're not alone. it's also sad. it's a wonderful thing but where can you go when everything falls apart? >> reporter: chesterman is 74 and retired. deana rose is just 25 and living on the streets. while taking college classes. >> it's hard being homeless, going to school, and trying to figure out where you're going to sleep and eat at. >> reporter: many of the people have never been in a line like this before. >> triple the numbers of people

we saw prior to the pandemic. they're your next door neighbor, people who have lost their job and never expected to be unemployed. they're folks that have been sick with the virus and unable to work again. >> reporter: as big as the demand has been here at monument crisis center for the thanksgiving holiday, the expectations is that need will only grow in the weeks ahead. >> i'm tired but inspired. >> reporter: keith chesterman sees a future that is hopeful, as long as there are people like these. >> this is great. >> reporter: willing to help people like him. >> a herculean effort by a few for so many. that's a wonderful thing! >> reporter: in concord, laura anthony, abc 7 news. new developments in a case that has galvanize the community. the stabbing of five people at a san jose church. the pastor explains how their work will continue next. ahead, 48 hours from

thanksgiving now and grocery stores look a little different map it means for the holiday meal. plus, mixed media usually refers to art. now it's being redefined by a local fashion student. ab - i'm norm. - i'm szasz. [norm] and we live in columbia, missouri. we do consulting, but we also write. [szasz] we take care of ourselves constantly; it's important. we walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. - we've both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. after about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didn't notice before. - it's still helping me. i still notice a difference. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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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. learn more at cosentyx.com. in san jose, we're learning more about one of the survivors of a deadly stabbing inside the church. abc 7 news reporter has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: as the community tries to process the deadly stabbing inside the grace baptist church homeless shelter over the weekend, a story of heroism is coming to life. >> there to help provide support to the unhoused community. when i heard about it happening at grace, my heart sank. >> reporter: two people were killed but three others remain in serious condition. mayor sam liccardo confirmed

that city employee was one of those who survived the attack. last week, pham was recognized for his work on the city's census team. a go fund me page has been set up to help with medical expenses. he was volunteering at grace over the past month. >> everybody has down time but i feel like his down time was doing things for other people. >> reporter: police investigating what lead up to the stabbing and in the process of interviewing witnesses who saw the attack. sources tell abc 7 that the suspect is a loamless man known to the church. he's currently in jail awaiting his first court appearance on wednesday. >> reporter: the pastor scott said more needs to be done to help tackle homelessness. we spoke to him this afternoon as he delivered blankets to the needy. >> there's a risk certainly coming with the unhoused. it's a very difficult environment but this is the only thing that will help solve it. you can throw money tat but you

have to be boots on the ground. >> reporter: words of enourjm t encouragement to continue their work despite the tragedy. >> it's heroic. anemia are everyday servants in the midst of the chaos and crisis are the true heros, in my opinion. >> reporter: abc 7 news. some new developments this tonight. a 13-year-old murder history in fremont is getting new attention after the state put up a reward for information leading to the arrest. police today say promising new leads resulted in this sketch of a man wanted in the killing of 20-year-old. a $50,000 reward was also announced in the case. this is one of at least two people wanted for attacking him as he walked down the street in fremont in january of 2007. he died after one of the men hit him with a metal object. this is the make and model of the suspect's vehicle. a late 1980s, maybe early 1990s two-tone minivan. the reward money is coming from

the governor's crime tip reward program. typically this time of year, we would be seeing last-minute crowds rushing to get shopping done for thanksgiving. this is anything but a typical year. abc 7 news reporter joins us live from santa rosa and you're seeing a connection between turkey sizes and party sizes, which seems to make sense. >> reporter: that sounds like a stretch, too, but it's two days before thanksgiving. normally on a day like this, on the tuesday, we would be standing in this lot talking about all the crowds trying to get their fixens for thursday night. look at it behind me. there's hardly anybody here! that tells you about social distancing this year and so, yes, also the size of the turkeys. it was a temporary glitch at this market. they fixed the registers before the crowds arrived or supposed to arrive, anyway. even here on this busiest shopping day, covid-19 has redrawn lines as we know them.

>> more crowded 0 or less crowded than usual? >> less. >> reporter: do you worry about covid-19 with the crowds? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: so it appears shoppers have adjusted their behavior. joel owns the place with his family. it seems like people are coming out earlier to get their thanksgiving shopping done. >> reporter: april donaldson among them. >> i think i'm trying to be more efficient and not go into as many stores. get it done in a more efficient way. >> reporter: and there's more to be gleaned about social sis dance -- distancing here. customers have ordered smaller birds this year for more than intimate gatherings or maybe even just a turkey breast, said donna lane. she has 25 thanksgiving under her belt. reads turkey sizes like tea leaves. >> medium sized parties. >> reporter: is that changed from previous years? >> i'm going it say it's down one scale. >> we have mashed potatoes. >> reporter: the store has seen

more orders for premade dinners with smaller turkeys. mary will be eating her own cooking on thursday. >> would you eat one of these dinners? >> i always buy one. >> reporter: of course, she buys one. where else do you go to work and get paid for making your own thanksgiving dinner? other stores are offering premade dinners. but it's interesting, we checked around. a lot are sold out especially on the small dinners for two people. if you want to get your order in, find someone who will take it and act fast. live in sonoma county, wayne freedman abc 7 news. >> thank you very much. definitely a mild day. this man took advantage of it. going rowing at lake meter. how fun does that look? abc 7 meteorologist will be h

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in the south bay, the happy

hallow zoo is back open to the public. reservations are required as are masks and health check. it's one way in and one way out. the zoo said it's been conservative with the reopening plan. >> i had to go through several permitations and a lot of adjustments and then we had a couple of days where we had city staff come through and give feedback and a couple of weeks shortened weeks where we had members come through and give us their feed bank so we can fine tune it and make it the best it can be. >> admission has been discounted. again, you have to make a reservation ahead of time. but it looks like the weather is not bad for getting out and checking out the zoo! let's get to our meteorologist. >> hi. it is, umm, going to be absolutely gorgeous over the next seven days, if you want to check out the zoo. socially distanced, of course. i want to show you a live picture from the golden gate bridge camera. a gentle breeze out there.

skies are clear but not for long 53 in san francisco. 58 in oakland, san jose is 61. believe it or not, concord and fairfield got in the low 70s. anywhere from the upper 50s to low 70s. you can see the changes underway from our camera. the marine layer is and sunny view looking toward the shark tank now. morning clouds and patchy drizzle. bringing some fire weather concerns as we are looking at dry conditions and bright and sunny for thanksgiving. here is is a look at the thanksgiving forecast, if you're dining outside. the mildest part of the day will be in the early afternoon. so at noontime, upper 50s to low 60s it's going to be nice and sunny. the winds will subside by then. we're looking at low to mid 60s at 2:00 p.m. sun is going to be out at 4:52. it will get cooler so the

sweaters and heaters have to be out if you're going to be outside with your family and eat dinner. if you're traveling, 36 at yosemite, 37 in tahoe. you'll notice up-and-down the state, it's going to be sunny and 71 in los angeles. bringing you back to the bay area, we don't have any rain on our radar. we need it. there's a look at what is coming up. a weak system that is going to come through overnight and now, unlike yesterday's computer model, it's trending drier. if anything, maybe a drizzle or sprinkle in the morning and the skies clear out for tomorrow afternoon as the wind begins to pick up and turns over the atmosphere. as we look at 8:00 p.m., wednesday, which is tomorrow, gusty along the coastline. winds increase in the hills and parts of the north bay and the east bay as you'll go into thursday morning. gusts to 30 around fairfield. morning temperatures anywhere from the upper 30s to the upper 40s. it will be grayer than what we've experienced this morning and we'll see some spotty drizzle or sprinkle activity. nothing major, though.

tomorrow afternoon it's going to be cooler and breezier. mid 250u the mid 60s but you'll see plenty of sun. as we head into thursday, friday, plenty of sunshine in the forecast, as well. one thing to watch out for, high surf advisory starts tomorrow among a morning and goes until tomorrow afternoon. wave heights 18 to 24 feet. the seven-day forecast morning clouds, possibility of sprinkles, breezy afternoon. thanksgiving is looking wonderful and chilly mornings follow through the weekend. a slight chance of maybe a few showers next tuesday. we certainly need it but for thanksgiving, it should be very nice. >> yeah. that works out perfectly. thank you. >> boy, it does. coming up next, the

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at abc 7 news at 6:00 p.m. the effort to support young black artists. former academy of art fashion student chelsea graze said currently studying fashion in paris after her stay in san francisco. her designs mix and match prints with many handmade elements. they help her win a scholarship offered by the university's in partnership with a nonprofit called creatives want change. >> for me it was really important because it's the capital of fashion. i get this kind of awareness of a different level of fashion and their approach and their culture and their mind set. >> she said she may build her own brand or work for a designer. it's an organization dedicated to the cultivation of black creative talent beginning at the high school level and continuing into early professional development. that's great! all right. "world news tonight" is next.

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tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. sending in reinforcements, just two days before thanksgiving. members of the air force arrive to help at hospitals. the national guard helping with makeshift morgues. and we have just learned tonight 170,000 new cases in just 24 hours. 1,800 more american lives lost in just one day to coronavirus. hospitalizations on the rise in 48 states, a record high number of patients now reported. and in new york city tonight, the field hospital now up and running. the head of the cdc warning tonight, we are going to see the health care system overwhelmed. and states from california to florida to massachusetts now imposing new restrictions heading into the holiday, as millions now fly home. now three