now at 5:00, a grim milestone in the pandemic. more americans died from covid-19 yesterday than in the september 11th attacks. we're hearing from a doctor who has worked 11 days straight as we see a new and devastating surge. it could be a pivotal day in the fight against coronavirus. the fda possibly approving pfizer's vaccine as soon as today. what we can expect from the hearing. and a live look outside. mike is looking ahead to our weekend. he has the timeline for a few days of rain. good morning, everybody. it is friday eve, thursday, december 10th. >> all right. let's see what those rain chances are. hey, mike. >> hi, everybody. no rain chances today, but tomorrow night is when the rain starts to roll in. it's good enough we put a storm impact scale on it of a 1. we'll talk more about that coming up. want to get you out the door in case you have to leave. as you look at live doppler 7, it is quiet.

we have a veil of high clouds out there. temperatures are just milder, a couple degrees compared to yesterday. winds are quiet right now. they will become breezy this afternoon as that dry, cold front moves through and continues our cooling friend fr frie trend from 56 for half moon bay to 64 for the rest of us. let's get to some news. the fda will vote on whether to approve pfizer's coronavirus. this morning there's now news a a rare side effect. jobina fortson has more on that. >> the fda advisory committee will meet in just under an hour to discuss findings and talk about emergency use authorization. out of thousands in the uk who received the shot, two people, both health care workers, had allergic reactions and

recovered. both have a history of severe allergies and carry epipens. research shows the vaccine is 95% effective. when the fda signs off, 2.9 million doses will be sent out across the country within 24 hours. >> there's much more to learn here, we're operating under difficult circumstances, but under the conditions we should feel good about where we are right now. >> even with the vaccine, the latest report from the covid task force warns that the vaccine will not prevent viral spread, hospitalizations or deaths until late spring. we're learning how many doses california and bay area counties will be getting. the state says it expects the first batch of about 327,000 doses from pfizer next week. governor newsom tweeted the state can expect another 672,000 doses of moderna's vaccine by the end of the year. now, here's a look at how many of the initial batch of the

pfizer vaccine will be going to each bay area county. santa clara county will get the most with more than 17,000. in the north bay, public school teachers may be among the first essential workers to get the shots after health care workers and residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities. the county public health officer says teachers will be prioritized for this vaccine because schools are essential functions. the timeline is unclear but it could be late january or early february when teachers get the shots. >> if my taking the vaccine makes parents feel more comfortable about sending their kids to school, then i'm all about it. >> in a statement marin educators for safe schools said we can't wait to be back in the classroom once we ensure the safety for everyone on campus. abc7 news is devoting next week to bringing you all the major updates in vaccine development. our team of recovers and medical

experts will be answering the big questions from safety to distribution to side effects and much more. then on monday night, a special edition of "2020" it's called "the shot: race for the vaccine." that is monday night at 10:00 here on abc7. a vaccine can't come soon enough. the u.s. saw its deadliest day since the pandemic began. there are more than 3,000 deaths in 24 hours. that is more than the number of people killed in the 9/11 attacks. this morning we're hearing from a doctor in southern california who has now worked 11 days straight. >> when you have patients being treated in tents, in the parking lot, in trailers in the parking lot, how long is this sustainable? >> it's already not sustainable. we're running out of emergency room beds, running out of icu beds. we're running out of ppes.

>> california saw more than 30,000 new cases for a third straight day yesterday. health officials say these numbers don't reflect the impact of thanksgiving travel and gatherings. three santa clara county hospitals hit capacity in the icu. all 37 beds at regional medical center are full. icus at o'connor hospital in san jose and st. louise regional are at their maximum. at regional medical the plan is to get patients out of the hospital asap and double up rooms when it's safe to do so. >> that means opening up beds in units that had not been opened before. utilizing space in creative ways such as post-procedural areas, we can use those areas as icus. >> at last count there are only 31 icu beds left in all of santa clara county. now the greater sacramento region is under the state's strict stay-at-home order. the region fell under the 15% icu capacity threshold.

so now it's joining southern california and san joaquin valley regions. the bay area region is still okay right now, below that flesh hold. more than half of the counties here have voluntarily adopted that stay-at-home order and then monterey county will join those counties on sunday. we know outdoor dining is not allowed in san francisco right now, that's not stopping people from eating outside of one north beach restaurant. amy hollyfield is live at original joe's with more on this. >> look at this setup here at original joe's. if the outdoor heaters are on and customers are sitting at these tables to eat their takeout, is that outdoor dining? the manager of original joe's says it is not. there was no wait staff serving these people, they just decided to eat their takeout here. other restaurants say this is not fair. and they had to close up, they think original joe's should have

to, too. one customer says he thinks all restaurants should be able to serve outside. >> my thoughts about it is, you know, sure the virus is real, okay, it's out there. but at the same time are our lives going to be controlled? when do we have our freedom back? >> we reached out to the city to find out if this is allowed. we did not hear back. the supervisor who represents this area, north beach, said a complaint has been filed with the city about what's happening here at this restaurant. and inspectors will be looking at this case. reporting live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> thank you. a big relief for parents and kids. more playgrounds plan to reopen today. california lifted the statewide ban yesterday. a dozen lawmakers wrote to the governor pushing for that

reopening. t the. all right. let's start with the current conditions, down in the south bay, high clouds and stars. 43 in san jose. 45 in milpitas and mountain view. cupertino right now and sunnyvale about 43 and 47. temperatures all over the scale as you would expect in the wittt wint wintertime 37 in clouds and sunshine today. by 11:00 today, we're around 55 to 57. then the dry cold front rolls through. the breezes pick up. we will see a little sunshine this afternoon. temperatures will be a couple degrees cooler than yesterday. 57 to about 64 by 1:00. then by 3:00, we're around 57 to 66. if you're heading out this evening, grab a coat, 351 to 55. things will be quiet, even at

our beaches. let's look at the storm impact scale. it's a 1 for this weekend. two parts of this storm. one comes in friday night into saturday. another one comes in saturday night into sunday. we will show you that coming up hour-by-hour in the next weather along with the accuweather 7-day forecast. want to get over to jobina and check our morning commute. how is it going? >> going well. thank you. we are starting off with a live look in the south bay checking out 101 in san jose. clear ride there. i will move over now to the san mateo bridge. there we go. live look here showing the san mateo bridge. very light as well. no major blocking issues, no advisories, no crashes to talk about, which is good news as we take a look at the map here. you can see mostly green across the board. hi, reggie. >> thank you. happening today, san francisco-based airbnb is expected to have its ipo on the nasdaq this morning. the "wall street journal" reports airbnb prices its share at $68 a piece, raising 3$3.7 billion in this ipo. that's a $47 billion valuation.

the company planned its ipo for the past spring, but it delayed it because of the pandemic. airbnb says bookings began to rebound in june. it will trade under the symbol ab & b. this morning doordash begins its second day of trading on the new york stock exchange. the san francisco-based company made about 3$3.5 billion during yesterday's ipo. shares were priced at $102 on tuesday but closed at $189 at the end of trading. >> you said billion? >> i sure did. >> you did. >> none of that coming my way. >> okay. coming up, the future of facebook. will it be forced to sell off instagram and whatsapp? one possible outcome of the new lawsuits. a local family in the national spotlight. how they've been able to stock up on a massive amount of christmas decorations. and why warriors coach steve kerr may be looking different on the sideline this season.

before we get to those stories, we want to look at downtown san francisco. it is 5:10. we'll be r than a holiday dinner table. gives you more options pick the speed that's right for you, with options faster than gig. and get reliable internet with top-notch coverage. plus, help keep your data safe and private with security included. no antlers on the table. how come you get to eat first? get started with this great offer, or ask about our fastest speed, 2 gig up and down. switch today.

welcome back. look at this. more than 100,000 counterfeit surgical masks that were intended for front line medical workers ended up being seized at a warehouse in texas. federal authorities said these knockoff n95 masks were heading to a hospital on the east coast. u.s. customs and border patrol agents intercepted this shipment in el paso. they were branded with 3m but with help from that company agents determined these were fake. the retail value of the shipment was more than $600,000. president trump is making more false claims about the election. he spoke briefly at a white house hanukkah party last night. >> very important people, if they have wisdom and courage. we'll win this election. >> okay. you can see the crowd there

standing pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder. they were heard chanting four more years once the president finished speaking. this comes as republicans lost yet another battle in court to try to change the results of the election. president-elect joe biden has surpassed the votes needed to win. the electoral college will vote on monday to make those results official. the stage is set for a possible breakup of facebook and the apps it owns. the company is facing two antitrust lawsuits. the federal government and dozens of states claim the company is in a legan illegal m. they believe they used a systematic strategy to eliminate competition, including buying smaller rivals. facebook could be forced to spin off its services like instagram and whatsapp. >> facebook argued for a while they face a number of competitors out there, whether it's tiktok or twitter. the reality is it's in a league of its own. facebook is massive.

most likely outcome of this lawsuit is a settlement of some sort. >> facebook is vowing to fight these legal challenges. santa clara county's tax collection agency is trying to find the rightful owners of more than $216,000 of unclaimed cash. more than 700 people and businesses may be able to claim their share from the agency's website. officials say they made several attempts to locate the payees and the fund has been building up since july of 2000. so if you think that some of this cash might be yours, you have until february 8th to file a claim. a full list of names and claim forms can be found on the county's tax collection website. a san jose family is getting national attention for their christmas light display. they're featured on the show "the great christmas light fight." the mattis fam la decorated their orchard for 35 years. but this one is the biggest yet. everything from the lights to the circuit boards are custom

made. >> the last 12 to 13 years, my husband has gone bigger and bigger every year. he would go with his grandpa or his dad or all of us after christmas and buy out everything the hardware stores had left. >> so her husband, j.r. mattos is an exhibit engineer for san jose's christmas in the park. you can check out the mattos light display every night from 5:00 to 10:00. they'll be featured on "the great christmas night fight" wednesday night at 8:00. >> i always think it's funny that it's put together like a fight. a christmas fight. >> right. >> kind of contradictory. 'tis the season to be happy. that man has skills. all right.

let's talk about what's going on weather-wise. thank you, nice seeing you both. high clouds and cooler conditions today. it will become quite breezy this afternoon. we have a wind advisory for the north bay mountains from 8:00 this morning until 4:00 this evening as winds could gust up to 40 miles per hour. so make sure anything that could blow away is properly prepared. waves of weekend rain and temperatures finally back down to seasonal levels in the 50s mainly for highs. a heavier rain is possible next week. so here's a look at our temperatures today. 56 in half moon bay. about 66 in fairfield. most of us around 60 to 64 degrees. tonight cooler, some freezing cold temperatures possible in the north bay valleys. inland valleys and the east bay mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s by the bay. you can see out there in the pacific stretching almost from alaska down to hawaii, that's our next storm system. the warm front comes in

tomorrow. you can see the rain dipping down to the north bay overnight and sliding southward. as the warm front lifts to the north during the day, only the north bay will have the best chance of rain saturday along the coast. saturday night into sunday, that's when the cold front rolls through. we'll have another chance of rain coming in. a tenth of an inch possible in the south bay. a quarter to a half inch around the bay. an inch in the north bay. both systems are a 1. wednesday, we may have to put that one on a 1 also. we'll keep an eye on it. those temperatures close to average after today. >> thank you. an attorney for the vallejo police officer's association is commenting on an email the group sent to a local journalist. the police chief says he was deeply disturbed by that email. melanie woodrow has the story. >> reporter: "san francisco chronicle" east bay columnist otis taylor has been writing for the paper since 2016. covering vallejo since 2017. >> i wouldn't say vallejo was my sole focus as a columnist but it was something i took great

interest in. >> reporter: he characterizing his coverage as critical of the police department and shining a light. he announced he was moving to georgia to work for the "atlanta journal constitution." he received this email from the police officers association. quote, looks like 2021 will be a little bit better not having your bias and articles printed in the newspaper that only inflame the public. you have never looked for truth in any of your writings. we will warn our georgia colleagues of your impending arrival. taylor believes whoever wrote the email misspelled uninformed. >> the email that they sent to me was a reply to an email that they ignored in september. so, while they're saying that, hey, you never look for the truth, they're replying to an email when i was asking for comment. this threat of i am going to call the cops on you, police know exactly what that means. >> a little more than 24 hours

after taylor received the email, vallejo police chief shawnee williams issued response to media inquiries related to the matter. chief williams says he was deeply disturbed by the statement and the department intended to investigate the matter to the fullest extent by law. we do not condone any form of disrespect, discourteous behavior or act of intimidation toward our media partners. the chief said the views do not represent those of the police department. taylor would not speculate on who from the vpoa emailed him. as he leaves the bay area, he says he feels inspired. >> to do more research, more digging, more questioning of police narratives. >> an attorney for the vallejo police officers association issued an emailed statement that in part said, code, the language of this communication, although not intended to convey anything inappropriate or unprofessional was unfortunately subject to differing interpretations and has thus led to accusations by some of intimidation. melanie woodrow, abc 7 news.

the nba is relaxing coaches clothing regulations for the upcoming season f. for the first time they won't have to wear suits or sports coats, they can wear polo shirts instead. steve kerr joked he's not happy about the change. >> first of all i'm devastated at the news. i had my brand-new line of suits that is coming out actually this fall. so my marketing team is going to be disappointed that we won't be able to put those on display during games. it's a sham. >> the warriors play their first preseason game saturday night against the denver nuggets. the dubs open the regular season against the brooklyn nets on december 22nd. >> you here for the kerr collection? >> i'm here for the t-shirt he was wearing. >> he can wear that. >> yeah. coming up next, the 7 things to know this morning. also holiday shopping alert. the sneaky things scammers are

if you're just joining us, here's the 7 things to know this morning. the fda will vote on whether to approve pfizer's coronavirus

vaccine today. now research is showing that it's 95% effective. once it's approved, 2.9 million doses will be sent across the u.s. in just 24 hours. number two, santa clara county expected to receive more than 17,000 pfizer vaccines by next tuesday if approved by the fda. the south bay will receive more than 39,000 of moderna's vaccine by christmas if it's approved. number three, a grim milestone in the pandemic. yesterday more than 3,100 people died across the country. that is more than the number of people who died in the september 11th attacks. number four, in just over an hour, airbnb's co-founders will take part in a virtual opening bell of the nasdaq. we're just hours away from the first trade of airbnb stock. airbnb set its ipo at 6 a$68 a share yesterday. an unsettled weekend will allow for light, gradual rain to soak in nicely.

we'll keep an eye on this as we head into the weekend. number six, our biggest issue on the traffic front right now is a crash in dublin. it's involving a big rig and one other car on southbound 680 before the 580 connector. expect delays. and number seven, slf-driving cars with no backup drivers are now cruising the streets of san francisco. gm-owned cruise released this video of their first drive. there's somebody in the passenger seat for safety. in today's "gma first look" there's new warnings on holiday shopping scams involving some of the hottest holiday toys and websites. >> reporter: in this morning's "gma first look" a big holiday shopping aalert. >> new worlds to explore. >> play station5, one of the hottest holiday gifts this season also now a major target for fraud.

the detroit, michigan police department saying the ps5 is a scammer's dream advising extreme caution. reporting that one theft occurred in front of the police station. that's not the only scam consumers need to watch out for. ron krole says after he finished buying presents for his grandchildren, he got a call claiming to be from amazon. >> it said i had a charge on my amazon account. >> coming up at 7:00 a.m., what you need to know to outsmart those holiday scammers. we're coming back with another full 90 minutes of news including a meadow at golden gate park that is transforming into a light installation. and resist the reveling. the message about the now canceled santa con. this morning we're learning 17,000 doses of the pfizer

vaccine can make its way here to santa clara county by next tuesday if approved by the fda. i'm julian glover with who will be first in line to get vaccinated. plexiglass protection. do these barriers hope to slow the spread of covid-19. we have "gma's" exclusive investigation. >> first a live look outs

now at 5:30, a potentially pivotal day in the pandemic. the fda set to discuss pfizer's covid-19 vaccine. the next steps in the rollout once it's approved. local counties making plans. the bay area counties set to get the most doses explains how they'll be distributed. and an update on a major i-team investigation. millions of covid relief loans given to companies linked to governor newsom. small business owners sharing

their frustration. and a little light this morning. this light installation officially opens today. new video of the setup under way and what you need to know before you visit. >> is this the one jobina and i will hop on and take the pictures? >> we're not touching the light sculptures, that's number one. let me add in jobina and kumasi, please do not touch the light sculptures. >> step away. >> this is a thing we've been looking forward to. good morning on this thursday, december 10th. >> i'll check in with mike for a look at our forecast. >> don't want you and jobina getting in trouble but would love to see the pictures if you could take them from afar. all right. let's talk about what's going to happen today. hi, everybody. thanks for joining us, a dry cold front will kick up some winds, potential damage right there up in the north bay mountains as the gusts get up to 45 miles per hour. the window is from 8:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the

afternoon. eight hours of blustery conditions. winds are 24 in knotsville, 14 in tamalpais. we have some time before they get dangerous. you have time if you live in the higher elevations to protect whatever may fly away. the dry cold front will bring us cooler continues along the coast and peninsula, low to mid 60s for the rest of us. do you know where your umbrella is? you will need it this weekend. we'll talk about the rain coming up. >> the fda will vote on whether or not to approve pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. this is after the deadliest day of the pandemic yesterday with more than 3,000 people dying. jobina fortson is at the live desk with how the fda is preparing for the hearing. >> thank you. fda commissioner dr. stephen hahn spoke to george stephanopoulos this morning on "gma." he said the fda will not give approval until the panel gives

their vote. one area of concern, those two instances of allergic reactions in the uk we told you about yesterday morning. hahn says they expect to discuss that today and further investigate. >> because there are groups we need to look carefully at the data and when our decision is out, whether it's yea or nay, we will have information about where we have data and who should receive it. who should not, and if it requires additional study we'll say that so that study can be done to answer all of those questions. >> pfizer says they will deliver 2.9 million doses across the country within 24 hours of approval. the company says they will use u a u.p.s. and fedex to ship the containers. a track of friz epfizer employel track the shipment and the temperature of the doses. three santa clara hospitals are now out of icu beds. the pfizer vaccine is not expected to immediately solve

that, but it's a start. and now we know how that limited first supply is going to be distributed. abc7 news reporter julian glover is live for us in san jose. julian? >> good morning. yeah, we're learning santa clara county will get the largest share of the vaccine here in the bay area. we're talking some 56,000 doses of the pfizer and moderna vaccines if they are approved on schedule by the fda. santa clara county expected to get 17,550 doses of the pfizer vaccine by next tuesday the 15th. that's again if the fda approves it today. county health leaders announcing the south bay will receive 39,000 doses of the moderna vaccine. those could arrive the week of christmas if approved on schedule. the county releasing its distribution plans starting with tier 1. so acute care workers and those working at psychiatric and correctional facility hospitals will be first followed by employees at assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

then paramedics and emts then dialysis physicians. >> the first amount will not be enough to get us through the first two bullets in tier 1. >> the pfizer vaccine has to be stored at those sub zero temperatures, a challenge for distributing it. we're learning that the santa clara county fairgrounds and nine valley health care clinics will be distribution sites. less than a week from those first doses of the vaccine arriving here in santa clara county. welcomed news as we're learning o'connor hospital in san jose and saint louise hospital in gilroy joining regional medical center here as the three hospitals in santa clara county now completely maxed out when it comes to the icu beds. reporting live here in san jose, julian glover, abc7 news. >> we wish them all luck. thank you. abc7 news is devoting next week to bring you the major

updates in vaccine development. our team of reporters and medical experts will answer the big questions from safety to distribution to side effects. on monday night a special edition of "20/20" the shot: race for the vaccine. that's monday night at 10:00 on abc7. happening today, sonoma county is opening a new free covid-19 testing site. it will be located at the petaluma fairgrounds. the center will provide 330 tests a day. today it's open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. but then starting tomorrow it will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. monday through friday. appointments can be made on logistics health incorporated's covid testing website, lhi.care/covidtesting. starting today a new way to find out if you were exposed to covid-19 as cases and hospitalizations rise across the state. this is a new app called canotify. governor newsom talked about

this on monday. he says the more people use it, the more effective the program can be. we're told there is no tracking of your information. so here's how it works. if you opt in, you'll get an alert if you are in close contact with someone who tested positive for covid-19. officials say the app uses bluetooth wireless signals to detect when two phones are within six feet of each other for 15 minutes. this only works if enough people download it. we're getting a lot of reaction to an abc7 news i-team report. it revealed nine companies part of the plumpjack group founded by governor newsom received millions of dollars in funding through the paycheck protection pra program. the federal program was intended to keep small businesses ae float during the pandemic. over the past 24 hours, we've been hearing from hundreds of viewers, many of them struggled to get access to this money. abc7 released new data. plumpjack businesses like wineries, bars and restaurants received nearly $3 million in

ppp loans. newsom partially owned eight. he places ownership interest in the plumpjack group into a blind trust in 2018. but he is still profiting from those businesses. according to newsom's 2019 statement of economic interest, he received more than $100,000 from villa partners. this company is traced back to the plumpjack winery in napa received more than $918,000 to retain 14 employees. lodi winery owner joan calitz received 1$1.3 million, but tha was to retain 141 employees. she says what plumpjack got is not fair. >> it doesn't balance out. the point of the loep loans we retain as many as possible and help businesses get through this tough time. >> the plumpjack management group says the funds have been critical in keeping the staff

employed and continuing operations. for a closer look at this analysis and other discrepancies flagged with another company, check out the full report on our website, click the i-team. breaking news to share with you. just minutes ago the u.s. labor department released the latest weekly jobless claims report. jobina fortson is tracking those numbers. >> new jobless claims increased last week by 137,000 from the prior week amid the resurgence of the coronavirus. the u.s. labor department reports another 853,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week. economists had forecasted 725,000 new claims. 5.75 million people are continuing to receive state unemployment benefits. that is an increase from the prior week. we'll see how wall street reacts to this when the markets open at 6:30. kumasi? >> thank you. coming up, the science doesn't stop during the pandemic. the groundbreaking projects a local museum is working on away from public view. sit this one out santas.

the message from the man who organizes the annual santa con. i'm triggered just watching this video. first a check of the weather with meteorologist mike nicco. it can sometimes be a lot. >> yeah. >> it seems like it. it's like where's waldo in there. let's talk about what's going on weather-wise. a lot of mid to upper 40s along the east bay shore with a canopy of high clouds over you. 50 in orinda and el sobrante. nearly freezing up in santa rosa, 33. we have 52 in san francisco. 39 in pleasanton. brentwood, 49. mountain view about 42 degrees. the exploratorium is about 49. you can see the high clouds will taper heading into the afternoon hours as that dry cold front rolls through. our temperatures don't warm or maybe cool a little bit as we head into the afternoon hours. once we reach the mid 50s to

near 60 at noon, that's pretty much where we stay the rest of the day. falling into the 40s by 8:00 this evening. it all has to do with the winds this afternoon. your commute this morning, quiet weather-wise. breezy on the bridges, choppy on the bay. moving into the weekend, very unsettled friday night into sunday with waves of light rain. in fact, here's a look at it. you can see heading to noon friday, most of it is entering the state from oregon. heading into the evening hours, light rain spreading south through saturday morning. saturday during the day our best chance of rain will be close to the north bay coastal mountains while the rest of us will be mostly cloudy. saturday night into sunday more rain is on the way. i'll give you an idea how much to expect coming up in the accuweather 7-day forecast. let's talk more about that commute with jobina. >> hi, mike. thank you. hope you're doing well. good morning, everybody. we're taking a live look showing off san rafael, 101 here. smooth ride across this morning up and down, live look in -- i

guess on the bay bridge here. the toll plaza is clear. no metering lights on yet. it's getting a little slow making your way into san francisco, but not too bad. the biggest issue we've had on our road this morning is a crash in dublin, which doesn't appear to be causing a slowdown anymore. this is on southbound 680 before the 580 connector involving a big rig and at least one other car. one lane is blocked now. hopefully the chp will get i didn't have health insurance - not because i didn't want it. i worried it was too expensive, and i was having a hard time paying our other bills. but now, for the first time in our lives, i can do both. covered california was made by californians for californians. and it makes health insurance more affordable, with financial help for people who need it. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll by december 15th. people are saving hundreds on the most reliable covered california. in a land not so far away,nce.

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in texas yesterday. there was a problem with the engines. engineers were able to get a handle on the situation but the rocket came down too fast. spacex founder elon musk tweeted after this we got all the data we needed. congrats spacex team. an effort to feed more than 5,000 families now under way in san francisco. volunteers from public health san francisco african-american faith based coalition and other organizations handed out food boxes to 21 churches. this was at the cal palace parking lot yesterday. >> we want to make sure in this difficult moment and these difficult times people are eating. and that's important. people are losing jobs, people are losing income. people are struggling. so we want to take at least one of their worries, one of their cares off the table. the churches will deliver the food as well as gift cards to those in need in their communities. if you're able to go to the front page of abc7news.com to give where you live. we have donation linking for

several local vetted charity organizations. this week abc7 is celebrating some of the most cerished institutions, destinations devoted to the arts, sciences and much more. many of them are facing daunting challenges during the covid lockdown. as dan ashley discovered, the california academy of san francisco is adapting. >> i could jens stoscience stop >> reporter: shannon bennett said the academy continued their groundbreaking work away from view. living coral is reproducing and making discoveries that could help them survive climate change. >> we will use those lessons for how they reproduce in captivity to help corals in the wild. >> reporter: potentially restoring habitat for the same sea life that thrill visitors to the aquarium. other covid inspired innovations

were as much psychological as physical. scheduling field trips for the south american macau macaws face same self-isolation. >> they hung out with us at lunch and we would visit the coral reef. >> reporter: later taking breaks themselves to have organized yoga sessions with the penguins. >> they got a little break. exercise, it was stimulating for the penguins as well. there were people not people in of their habitat during the day either. >> that was dan ashley reporting. you can see our complete report on the california academy of sciences today at 4:00. we also have information on how you can help all of the organizations that we are featuring this week at abc7news.com. click on state of the arts. is penguin yoga now a thing? >> i don't know. i -- i have to say the

penguins -- i don't know why i'm saying this now. i love going to see the penguins there. the thing i found out from them is that it is very, very smelly in there. >> oh. okay. that's something i didn't -- >> we were able to ask questions the last time i went there. that's the question i asked. that's the answer i got. an adult-only holiday tradition in san francisco is canceled this year. now the person who organizes it is telling you do not try to revive it. revelers dress up in santa gear for the santa con pub crawl every year. this is video from last december. tom debell known as santa tom organizes it. he thinks people will still gather in union square on saturday and he's begging them not to. >> anybody that goes to a large group is literally taking their life in their own hands. save up all of your debauchery until december 11, 2021 and

we'll do this whole thing all over again. >> so santa tom says 17,000 people took part in last year's santa con in san francisco. >> okay. here's something you probably can do. happening tonight, a beautiful light display is set to be under way at golden state park celebrating its 150th anniversary. abc7 news was there yesterday as crews were working on the finishing touches. the display full of sculptured light trees and illuminated meadows is called "entwined." san francisco is currently under a regional stay-at-home order, parks and open spaces are essential to the public and they will stay open for use. see that lady there? >> where is she? . that's just a drawing. >> that was real. >> pre-pandemic drawing. look. look at her. >> un-huh. >> this means that you can still go to the park and view "entwined" but only with members of your household.

imagine me and jobina right there. >> that's what you will need, your imagination, because i have a feeling there's going to be some kind of fencing to stop you from doing that. i could be wrong. >> either way, it's very beautiful. something we can do outside to enjoy and hopefully the weather will cooperate for people heading out. >> will it? >> this weekend? >> not really. >> oh. >> i think so. the closer you are to the coast, the more likely you will get wet saturday and sunday. so the golden state park being where it is, probably be pretty drizzly at times. >> oh. >> i would wait if you could. >> okay. >> some of us want to get out of the house so badly they won't wait. hi, everybody. your highlights, cooling breezing today. a dry cold front is kicking up high clouds this morning. they'll thin out for sunshine this afternoon. grab those sunglasses. partly cloudy and cooler tonight through tomorrow morning. we've got the rains.

there's several waves of rains coming in. they add up to a 1 on the storm impact scale. baby steps. at least we're getting some rain. today's temperatures, warmest around fairfield at 66. most of us around 60 to 64 degrees until you get to the coast and peninsula with mid to upper 50s. tonight, freezing cold in some of the north bay valleys. mid to upper 30s in the east bay valleys, low to mid 40s for the bay and the coast. you can see the mass of clouds out to the west, that's the storm system. the warm front comes in saturday, brings us our first chance of rain. the cold front comes in saturday night into sunday bringing us our second chance of rain. right now the models are backing off a little bit on the rainfall amounts. less than a tenth of an inch in the south bay. a tenth tenth tenth tenth tenthh north bay. the seven day forecast, cooler tomorrow. temperatures close to average. mid 50s to low 60s all the way through wednesday when potentially a stronger storm

starts to roll in. since it's nearly a week away, we'll keep off on the storm impact scale there. know for sure this weekend, find that umbrella. >> thanks for that. making flexible travel plans a reality during this pandemic. the standard that one airline is setting ahead of the new year. first, a deeper dive into plexiglass. a new animation showing how the virus can bypass barriers. plus have you seen these self-driving cars around san

abundant wind and solar energy, we have the power to take on climate change. use less from 4 to 9 pm to keep california golden. since the start of the pandemic, plexiglass barriers popped up from stores to restaurants, even some schools. but do they really help prevent the spread of virus? jobina fortson has the results

of a "gma" investigation. >> thank you. officials say they're a good safety precaution but only stop the bread to degree. this animation shows how the virus can spread in indoor spaces. the red represents air particles carrying the virus. since that air would be warm, it will likely rise higher and then spread further. >> the plexiglass dividers stop the large particles and the smaller ones may escape over the top or around the side and find their way into a healthy person's nose. >> "gma" also went inside a princeton university lab. you can see while air can't penetrate glass itself, that air slowly makes its way up and around dividers. with or without plexiglass barriers, experts continue to warn about the risk of indoor dining. they stress that wearing a mask could help stop any spread. >> all right. thank you very much. the dmv is allowing people

who are 70 and up the option to renew their driver's license online. licenses that have expired since march 1st are eligible. that includes real i.d. licenses. most drivers 69 and younger can renew online. >> everyone from the first-time renewals to people above 70 can actually do it online, assuming they have a safe driving record. anyone who has a clean driving record can renew online. >> prior to this, they were just giving year-long extensions to senior drivers with non-commercial licenses that were expiring in march throug december. those who receive the extensions can renew online. there are now self-driving cars with no backup drivers inside on the streets of san francisco. >> all systems ready. engaging in three, two, one. engaged. >> there we go. >> we're going driverless.

oh. just happened. >> cruze released this video. the gm-owned company got the okay to not have a backup driver back in october. their likely goal is launching a driverless taxi service that could compete with uber and lyft. >> okay. >> that's a lot. >> see how this goes. >> just a lot. next at 6:00, it's judgment day for pfizer's covid-19 vaccine, with the fda set to vote on emergency use authorization. >> we'll take you live to the hearing that's just minutes away. plus -- if you pick up your takeout dinner and decide to sit at an outdoor table and eat it, is that outdoor dining? we look into that next. and holiday shopping scams. these big ticket items that authorities are warning about as more shoppers head online this year and why it could be part of a hoax. and a mascot that's fit for 2020.

we'll explain the

now at 6:00, the final step to make a covid-19 vaccine a reality. the fda just moments away from kicking off today's meeting which could grant emergency use

authorization. this comes as hospitals hit capacity. many already running out of icu beds as the nation hits a new grim milestone. and a possible loophole in san francisco's stay-at-home order. why some people will still spotted eating outside. the question now, is it allowed? >> good morning. welcome to thursday, december 10th. >> before we get to those stories, we want to check in with meteorologist mike nicco. good morning. >> good morning kumasi, reggie, jobina. hi, everybody. thanks for joining us. let's look at live doppler 7. you can see increasing high clouds but a dry morning out there. as a cold front rolls through today, expect increasing breezes and you may have to dress warmer this afternoon. coolest along the coast and peninsula, mid to upper 50s. low to mid 60s for the east bay shore, south bay, north bay and east bay. rain is on the way for the weekend. we'll talk more about it coming up. reggie? >> happening now, a major moment in the effort to end the