we'll have what to expect from the latest coronavirus relief bill. and a live look outside from our sutro tower camera this morning. mike is tracking unhealthy air. and that's prompting a spare the air alert. good morning on this monday, december 21st. this is the shortest day of the year. it's the first day of winter, but we are going to have that bright star, the christmas star in the skies. that's something to look forward to. you definitely want to look

at it about 30 minutes after sunset. it will be impressive. if you have binoculars, take them. if you have a telescope, share it if you can. i understand we're in the middle of a pandemic, when this only happens once every 800 years -- we have poor air quality in the east bay and santa clara valley. all of us are under a wood burning ban. we have dangerous thick tule fog in the east bay. that will hang around until 10:00. 9:00 in the north bay is when you will see the fog lift. temperatures today, 56 to 62 degrees. >> developing news right now, governor newsom is once again in quarantine this morning as a staff member in the governor's office tested positive for covid-19. that staffer came into contact with the governor and several other staff members. governor newsom and other staff tested negative yesterday. the governor will quarantine for ten days per state guidelines.

he'll be tested again in a few days. last month the governor and his family quarantined after another possible exposure. it looks like more people are heading to the airport despite the surging covid-19 case numbers we're seeing and pleas to stay home for the holidays. the tsa says it screened 1 million passengers two days in a row. julian glover is live at sfo with why so many health officials are concerned. >> good morning. we know that air travel is up all across the country. as you mentioned, tsa reporting 1 million passengers crossing through their checkpoints the last three days in a row. we just heard over the intercom a reminder here of the ten-day quarantine. what we see here is normally half of what we would normally see as the christmas rush ramps

up but again people are traveling more for the holidays as bay area hospitals run out of icu beds. that's why people flying into or returning to san francisco will have to quarantine for ten days. this implies they traveled out of the nine bay area counties including santa cruz. meanwhile in santa clara county, people who entered the county from more than 150 miles away from those county borders also must self-quarantine for ten days. we have spoken to some travelers this morning who were unaware of the travel order but are in support of it. >> whatever to keep everybody safe. if other places quarantine, lockdown and it disappears, it's okay because i don't want the vaccine. >> anything we can do to get back to normal and not disrupt small businesses is a smart move. >> there are exemptions for essential workers and people seeking medical treatment.

the cdc issuing that advisory asking people to stay home to prevent the spread of covid-19 this christmas travel season. reporting live in san francisco international airport, julian glover, abc7 news. >> thank you. this morning there's growing concern over a new and more contagious mutation of coronavirus. today the eu will meet to discuss plans on how to control this strain. jobina jobihas more on that developing situation. >> thank you. so the world health organization says that the new strain has been confirmed in denmark, the netherlands and also in australia. new this morning reuters is reporting it may be circulating in france, though it has not been detected in recent tests there. canada is the latest country to ban travel to the uk. it joins france, ireland, germany, italy, austria, the netherlands and belgium. the bans hope to prevent the new strain from being imported into continental europe. the mutation is 70% more

infectious. >> we think it's more infectious. >> the uk ordered a new lockdown for parts of england including london. the restrictions are similar to the california stay-at-home order. happening today, congress will vote on a roughly $900 million stimulus package after months of failed negotiations, partisan gridlock. lawmakers announced a deal that would send immediate relief for americans suffering from the economic fallout of this pandemic. here is andrew dymburt. >> the direct payments to americans will be half of what they were in the first stimulus deal, but that's not all. extended unemployment benefits and a lifeline for small businesses highlight this near $1 trillion deal that was eight months in the making. >> reporter: after months of gridlock and failed negotiations this morning a break through in congress. lawmakers striking a deal on a stimulus package hours before a potential government shutdown. >> more help is on the way. >> reporter: the roughly $900 billion package will include $300 billion in aid to businesses, $300 in weekly

federal unemployment benefits through march and $600 in direct payments for millions of americans. >> finally we have some good news to give the american people. >> reporter: joe biden applauding the agreement. this single mom forced to close her business says any help is welcome. >> every dollar matters to me. the more they give me, the more ability i'll have to get my life back in order. >> reporter: for many americans, the help from congress does not fully fill the gap. this woman is a hospice nurse. >> we have about $6,000 in bills. it's not our fault that we can't work. >> president trump is expected to sign the deal into law. the earliest americans could expect to see those checks is in january. andrew dymburt, abc news, washington. today in san jose, sacred heart community service kicks off its annual food distribution

ahead of christmas. this year's distribution is almost enpytirely no contact. organizers implemented safety measures including mask and gro gloves for volunteers. the distribution will continue until wednesday at 1381 south 1st street in san jose. happening today, president-elect joe biden will get his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. he will do it on live tv. abc news will have a special report when that happens. that will be around 11:00 this morning. this is part of a growing effort to prove that the vaccine is safe. doctor jill biden will also be vaccinated today. president trump who was hospitalized with covid-19 in october and who has spread misinformation about the risks has not said whether he will get it. the vice president got the shot friday. vp-elect kamala harris will get it next week. with moderna's vaccine set to arrive in the bay area as early as today, the cdc has recommendations about who should be next in line. a panel voted to give it to people over 75 along with

essential workers like firefighters, police officers, teachers, postal workers and grocery store employees but it will be ultimately up to the states to decide. >> nice to report our western states scientific review committee reviewed the moderna trials and supported safety and efficacy, this clears the way for upwards of 672,000 doses to be distributed. >> bay area medical groups including stanford, ucsf and kaiser are contacting patients about receiving the vaccine. federal officials anticipate having enough doses to immunize about a third of the u.s. population by the end of february. we spent all last week digging into all the questions and concerns that you have that you send in to us about the vaccine. you can find all of our stories on abc7news.com/vaccine. there's also an hour-long town hall where you can watch a panel of medical experts answering viewer questions. still ahead, the bay area college that is stepping up and

training more health care workers. the certified training it is offering for free. and the volcanic eruption happening in hawaii that is forcing people to stay indoors. at 2:02 this morning the sun made its furthest migration south over capricorn. i have rain coming up on

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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. a spare the air alert has been issued for today. that means there's a ban for burning wood both indoors and outdoors. the bay area air quality management district says light winds and colder overnight temperatures could lead to unhealthy air quality.

residents and businesses that violate the ban could face hefty fines. >> right now everybody does have clean air. heading into the afternoon hours we're focused on the north bay, inland east bay and santa clara valley for those most sensitive, the elderly, the young, those with asthma could have issues. the rest of the week we'll be moderate. we'll be borderline with stagnant air the rest of the week. freezing cold temperatures in redwood city. 30s on the peninsula until you get to san bruno, half moon bay. some 40s there. the possibility of black ice in antioch. 32 with thick fog. thick frost possible across the north bay and black ice up there. this is walnut creek. this gives you an idea of how thick the fog is this morning. if you're sensitive, stay inside because of the spare the air. know by the afternoon hours, we'll have hazy sunshine.

it will take almost up until noon to get rid of this fog. jobina? >> thank you. good morning, everyone. happy monday to you. i'm just going to echo mike here on the fog. that's our biggest issue on the roadways. i will also bring in that live camera of walnut creek showing off 680. the chp issued a fog advisory for the carquinez bridge and for state route 4 from willow pass to the sand creek area. you can see those headlights slowing down. it's hard for people to see out there. moving over to the second live picture showing off oakland,al 80 at t8 80 880 and looking there. also an overall look at the map. i'm following a sigalert in oakland. this is not a great situation. we have a deadly crash on eastbound 580 at 35th avenue. there are investigators still out there on the scene. at least two lanes are blocked.

covid crowd control at local malls. how they are helping to keep last-minute shoppers safe this holiday season. as we head to break, a live

the kilauea volcano erupted again. marvin garcia shared this video on social media. you can see that bright orange glow with thick smoke rising into the sky. the us xwsh usgs says a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit about an hour after a volcano starting erupting. the national weather service issued an advisory about falling ash. the situation is rapidly evolving. kilauea last erupted in 2018. it is the most active of hawaii's five volcanos. the college of alameda has launched a new free nursing

assistant program. the no-cost noncredit program will start january 25th for the spring semester. students will be taught in person and will have to conduct rotations. in-person shopping looks different this year in the bay area because of the covid-19 restrictions. so a lot of stores at broadway plaza in walnut creek saw lines out of the door.forcing limb limits. holiday shoppers say crowds are smaller this year than last year and shopping itself takes a bit more effort. >> last year i could do it all in one day. now you have to spend more time in lines. >> in the bay area the maximum capacity for retail stores is capped at 20%.

>> i went christmas shopping yesterday. the store i went to could only have eight people in it at a time. >> wow. >> that's tough. that's tough. >> you have to decide how bad do i want to get this gift and is the store a store where people go in and out or do they leisurely look at things? >> right. i really wanted to support this book store. i did not need this book. >> so you left? >> no, i waited in line. i bought it. i realized the book i went in there to buy is more like a pamphlet they want to charge $25 for. still bought it. it will be a present for phil. hopefully he's not watching. >> i hope not. after all that. >> i feel good for supporting them. to me, that was worth it. >> yes. yes. kumasi, you have not gone out? >> i have. i had an experience. some stores i'll say this do better than others. >> oh. >> that's all i'm going to say

about that. >> that's that on that. >> have you ever heard of those san francisco outlets in livermore? >> mm-hmm. >> those places are nuts this time of the year. i'm going to go down there. i will survey the parking lot. if it's bad, i'm turning around and coming back home. if it's okay, i may for the first time this holiday season go into a store. >> okay. >> wish me luck. it's for barbara, so that's why i'm doing it. same thing as you, reggie, for phil. have to take care of the spouse. here's what's going on in the south bay. pretty clear and about 48 degrees. fog to hazy sunshine. spare the air day. several storms are starting on christmas day. and it's looking like a good soaking. for today, 56 in half moon bay. most of us around 58 to 62 degrees. wood burning is banned all day. look how much more fog there will be tonight. lows in the upper 40s. tonight 30 minutes after the sun

sets, look to the south, get your binoculars, your telescope, even the naked eye, you can seeup tsee jupiter and saturn, but if you have binoculars you can see the rings around saturn and the four moons around jupiter. i looked at mars and saturn through binoculars, it really just gives you goosebumps. it's amazing what you can see. here's our future radar. thursday, a storm up and down the west coast. yellow possible in the north bay by the afternoon hours friday. we're looking at light to moderate rain. saturday is the drier day. sunday, all of us get rain, possibly monday. in the north bay into tuesday. most of us will have more than an inch of rain by the time these stores are over. our coldest mornings are wednesday and thursday. freezing temperatures possible

inland. highs in the 50s. >> thank you. now we'll turn to rob marciano. he's live for us in greenwich, connecticut with a look at what's coming up at 7:00 on "good morning america." hey, rob. >> hi, reginald, kumasi, great to be with you on this monday before christmas. the street about to get very busy as folks scramble for last-minute shopping. lots coming up on "gma." lots to cover. there's help on the way. the moderna vaccine shipping out to 6 million doses across the united states this week. this as the coronavirus emergency intensifies overseas. a more infectious strain of the virus is raging throughout britain. this morning countries are shutting down uk flights and travel and london is in a massive shutdown. we'll break it down for you this morning and dr. jen ashton is getting her covid vaccine taking us along for the ride there. also, congress finally reaching an agreement on that 9$900 billion covid-19 relief package.

we have all the details ahead of the final votes including how much money you can expect and when you can hope to see that check. we have just four days away -- it's close. four days away from christmas. we have last-minute deals, steals, gift ideas for you and we're revealing yet another "gma" christmas cookie in our 12 days of christmas cookies. ryan scott, a bay area guy, he's on. the mastermind behind the mandalorian, jon favreau, will release some secrets about next year's season and also some spinoffs. jon favreau, ryan scott -- and some other people, too. it's going to be great. >> rob, are you going to go full santa clause with the beard situation? is this just going to keep growing and growing until next year? all you have to do is wear the red suit? >> it's going to get -- it's

getting close, pal. trust me. if i stick my head in the snow, you'll have it right there. you would tease me if i didn't keep it groomed. >> i love you no matter what, you know we're loving the beard. so please keep rocking that for us. all right. we'll see you later at 7:00. thank yo the we have to find just nosomething else.it. good luck! what does that mean? we are doomed. [laughter]

that's it. i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness. that sounds dumb. we're going to take all those family moments and package them. hmm. [laughing] that works.

santa got into a hot wire situation when he took to the skies in sacramento county. this is a sight that nobody wants to see. santa stuck without his sleigh and his reindeer. the federal aviation authority said a man dressed as santa took off from a school yesterday. he was riding a glider with a small engine and a fan. he was on his way to spread some holiday cheer when his engine failed and he got tangled up in power lines. >> he was flying over here to drop off candy canes for the kids. that's when he experienced

engine problems. i guess he thought he could make it back to the airport. didn't happen. >> sacramento firefighters had to come to the rescue. about 200 customers were without power while the fire crew were lowering santa to safety. no one was hurt in the incident. the show must go on even in the middle of a pandemic. ♪ the san francisco girls chorus put on a virtual holiday performance thanks to current and past members. usually they would perform live at davie's symphony hall. this year's show featured music from the caribbean and the philippines. the work started on this performance in september. members recorded their individual videos. >> we're talking about more than 400 videos that we put together in one piece. it's amazing to see that. it's very impressive.

again, a way to gather the community. >> some of the performers as young as 4 years old. coming up next, a prominent member of the white house coronavirus task force not following cdc guidelines and traveling for the holidays. and ucsf ready to receive the moderna vaccine. i'll have the latest coming up. plus how tesla stock is faring b

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moderna vaccines expected at bay area hospitals as soon as today. we're following the distribution process this morning. and we're keeping an eye on

the icu capacity. hospitals dealing with so many covid patients, the situation in bay area hospitals right now. and pixar's new movie "soul" coming out on disney plus this friday. we talk to the producers about the historic decision with their lead character. good morning, everybody. it's monday, december 21st. it is christmas week. "soul" is coming out. i have my onsie and i cannot wait. >> you sound well prepared. that sounds like something i want to do the next couple of days when i get some time off. looking live from the east bay hills camera. looks clear around the bay. we have a spare the air today. it's possible in the north bay, inland east bay and the south bay. those most sensitive could have issues with the air quality. no wood burning for all of us today. really thick dangerous fog in

the east bay. you can see that in the tri vall valley and into the delta. what's also a concern of mine is there and also up in the north bay, temperatures around 30 to 32 degrees. elevated surfaces, this fog will freeze and become black ice. we have to watch out for that through the morning commute. this afternoon, hazy sunshine, upper 50s to low 60s. >> thank you. >> the second vaccine now rolling out and heading to the bay area. moderna's version comes as some places in the bay area are out out of the pfizer shot. amy hollyfield is live at ucsf this morning. >> good morning. here at ucsf they hope to get about 8,000 dose es s of the moa vaccine in the first shipment. millions of doses of the moderna vaccine are making their way across the country trying to get to hospitals as quickly as they can. doctors say now that we have two vaccines they think we can make

serious progress towards getting the vaccine to all health care workers who want it. some are turning their attention to the days when the general public can get it. many hoping it will come with information and outreach to medically underserved communities. >> access is important, however that has to be coupled with a strategic messaging from the state, from the city, local governments to ensure they're answering all the questions that people have in culturally competent ways and understanding how to connect with folks to address any issues or concerns they have around the vaccine. >> u.s. officials say about 500,000 doses of the pfizer vaccine have already been administ administered. the moderna vaccine is said to be 95% effective and officials say getting 80% of the population vaccinated is the way out of this pandemic. reporting live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> thank you. as much of the nation waits

for the shipment of the moderna vaccine, experts say the u.s. is on track to vaccinate 20 million americans by the end of this year. in the meantime doctors are recommending people stay at home for the holidays. one doctor says getting millions vac natu vaccinated in days is a tall order. >> i think we have the vaccines for it, but there's a lot of work that goes into administering those vaccines. i'm thankful congress will get money out to states to make that easier. >> as to who gets the vaccinations next, front line workers, teachers, first responders and those 75 and older. some other covid-19 developments we're following, a federal advisory panel voted to put those 75 and older and essential workers next in line for vaccines. state health officials say there were more than 46,000 newly

recorded cases on saturday in california. more than 3,000 more than the day before. the centers for disease control urging against holiday travel. it says postponing trips and staying home to the best way to protect yourself and others from covid-19. more financial help is on the way for americans. congress will vote today on nearly a $1 trillion relief bill aimed at bringing financial help to most americans hit hard by the pandemic. jobina is at the live desk with reaction from republicans and democrats. >> thank you. after six months on negotiations and gridlock, there has been another agreement for americans hit incredibly hard financially by this pandemic. the 9$900 billion package is expected to include 300 billion in aid to businesses, $300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits, and $600 in direct stimulus payments to millions of americans. lawmakers acknowledge the long

wait for many americans. democrats say this is just the first step towards more relief. >> $900 billion is packed with targeted policies that help struggling americans who have already waited entirely too long. >> our support for state and local governments, while significant in this legislation requires more to be done. so we consider this a first step and, again, more needs to be done. >> speaker pelosi went on to say more will be done with the incoming biden/harris administration to provide relief for those local and state governments. president trump is expected to sign the bill. americans could soon start seeing those checks by early january. kumasi? >> thank you. covid cases continue to surge in the bay area. the region saw its icu capacity go up slightly yesterday. it's now 12.4%. on saturday it was 12.2%. the greater sacramento region is

at 11.6%. northern california is at 24.2%. it's the only region not under a stay-at-home order. san joaquin valley is still out of beds but that does not mean people will be turned away if they show up to the hospital. as california's intensive care units are reaching capacity, officials are turning to alternative facilities. the sleep train has been set up to take pressure off the hospital system, but governor newsom says there is still a huge need for providers. >> at the end of the day, the biggest challenge we face in this state is enough staffing to meet the needs as it relates to this surge. >> the governor is appealing for health professionals to sign up with the state's health corps program if you recently retired or if you have a particular expertise. tonight the san rafael

county will look at homelessness. in 2017 marin county had the seventh highest per capita in the united states. by 2019 long-term chronic homelessness was down by 28%. a toy giveaway is under way in the mission district. the mission food hub feeds 7,000 families and is giving out toys to the kids. the mission has been hard hit by the pandemic with kids unable to go outside to play or go to school. >> i wanted to make sure we brought joy to every child for christmas. so we went out and did a toy drive. >> the toy giveaway will continue through january 6th when latina communities celebrate the day of the three kings. health officials urging

americans not to travel. that's not stopping the christmas week rush. coming up, the record numbers we're seeing at airports for the first time since the pandemic began. and you're looking live right now the a the big board at the new york stock exchange. we're down about 173 points. another update on the markets next. with no indoor or outdoor dining, many bay area restaurant owners are pivoting again for christmas. what they're counting on for you to buy in hopes of surviving this pandemic. it is 6:38 right now. we're checking in with jobina for a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning. hi, everybody. we are going to start off here with a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. metering lights are not on yet. i'm almost thinking they won't be because look at that. the holiday has already started for so many people. so i'm not expecting a lot of commuters today. i do want to bring in the map. unfortunately we have an awful incident in oakland we're following. a deadly crash investigation.

a sigalert is still in effect on eastbound 580 at 35th avenue. moving up here, i want to bring in the fog. that's our biggest story this morning. we have a fog advisory for the carquinez bridge, and the walnut creek camera, mike, you can hardly make out 680. just little flickers of the headlights pushing through. i'll send it over to mike for all of that information. >> thank you, jobina. yeah. i'll start with that. let's open that weather window and see what we can't see, which is as jobina mentioned just about everything. that's how thick it is. it makes a sharp stop right around alamo, just south of 24. my big concern for the morning commute is going to be the frozen fog, places like antioch, novato where the temperatures are 32 and 30. the fog is so thick that moisture will freeze on elevated surfaces and possibly even on roadways. that's what could create that ice out there. we need to be careful through

the morning commute. the fog will be around the entire morning commute. 30 in san rafael. 30 in novato. 33 in rohnert park. so there could possibly be black ice there. brentwood, 32. black ice. the only really warm spot if you will is san francisco, 47. watch the fog hang around, especially in the delta. look at it keeping our temperatures in the 30s and 40s by 11:00. still in the 40s while the rest of us are in the 50s at 1:00. at 3:00, they're still in the 40s, the rest of us in the mid to upper 50s. by 7:00, all of us are in the 40s and 50s. high temperatures today, close to average. i want to show you some other cities. the high temperatures right now where you live. this is brought to you by disney and pixar "soul." it will be available for streaming this friday only on disney plus. ♪ >> life is full of possibilities. you just need to know where to look. >> streaming this friday on disney plus is the movie critics

are calling peak pixar. disney and pixar "soul" visually glorious and something to behold. "people" magazine says it is the best movie of the year. >> remember to enjoy every minute of it.

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millions of people are ignoring cdc guidelines and traveling for the christmas holiday. the tsa says it screened 1 million passengers at u.s. airports for three days in a row now. julian glover is live at sfo with why this is such a concern for health officials. >> good morning. we're talking about those travel mandatory quarantine orders. many of the people we've talked to this morning are surprised to learn about them, but they're in favor of the orders. the deal is to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus as

people travel back and forth through major airports in the bay area. we know sunday's volume about 1 million people traveling through those tsa checkpoints all across the country. that's about half of the normal air travel we see around the christmas time. but people are traveling as icu beds are running out in the bay area. traveling will have to quarantine for ten days if they traveled outside of the nine bay counties. this is in effect until january 7th in santa clara county, people who enter the county from more than 150 miles away from county borders must self-quarantine for ten days. that is in effect until it is dropped by the county. a few exemptions are in place for essential workers traveling for essential work and people seeking medical treatment. the cdc asking everyone to avoid traveling this holiday season to

help slow the spread of covid-19 and now at least two bay area counties stepping up and instituting those mandatory ten-day quarantines. reporting live at sfo, julian glover, abc7 news. >> thank you. a prominent member of the white house coronavirus task force is explaining why she traveled over thanksgiving weekend. dr. deborah birx went to delaware with family on thanksgiving disregarding her own advice to stay home for the holidays. she traveled to one of her vacation properties on fenwick island. she was joined by three generations of her family from two households. dr. birx is defending the trip saying she needed to take care of winterizing the property before a potential sale. just four days away from christmas, and many bay area restaurants are pivoting, embracing meal kits as a business strategy because that's what would normally be a busy time restaurants can only offer takeout and delivery. this kit includes short rib,

hollandaise and coconut spinach. restaurant owners say they're doing everything they can to survive. >> laid off, you know, more than half our staff. we went down to the skeleton crew of just management and the core guys who helped us open. and without these kits and without the support of the community, restaurants are in a really dire place right now. >> the meal kits range between $60 and $110. if you want one, hurry. one pop-up restaurant in san francisco says they are almost sold out. if you're still in the market for a holiday meal, we'll have more information for those restaurants online at abc7news.com. if you're a business owner or worker struggling with unemployment right now, head to our 7 on your side page for resources. now to your morning money report. tesla shares slipped as much as 6.4% on its first day of trading after being added to the s&p 500. the electric carmaker has the fifth largest weighting on the index. that's 1.69% of the s&p. tesla is the biggest company

ever to be added to the benchmark. the company's shares have jumped 730 this year. the market cap has grown to 6$68 billion. let's take a live look at the new york stock exchange. we're still down right now about 178 points. apple will temporarily close all of its retail stores in california because of the pandemic. the apple website says customers with appointments for in-store pickups, genius bar appointments and one-on-one shopping reservations can visit stores through tomorrow. all online services will still be available. most apple products can be bought online and through authorized retailers. a historic pixar movie is coming out on disney plus this friday, christmas day. it's called soul. "soul" is the first pixar film featuring a black lead. jamie foxx is the voice of aspiring jazz musician joe gardner who rethinks his life after falling into a manhole.

i spoke to some of the producers from pixar about their creative process. >> i did it. i got the gig. >> you have this protagonist, and he is an absolute human being unlike other big pixar movies. >> joe gardner is a black man living in queens, new york, who is a middle school band teacher and his passion is jazz. ♪ one of our cultural consultants, she calls it black improvisational music. we knew joe had to be black at that moment. >> as a creative person, it was wonderful to bring as many personal experiences as possible into creating this character and the world of this character. ♪ but it wasn't just me. it was an opportunity for everyone involved to kind of

craft joe and craft joe's world. >> being an animator on "soul" was a dream come true. joe gardner is our first african-american lead, and with that comes a community that is very much like one-to-one. i had a chance to animate marilou. they are joe gardner's best friends, you see them in the shop. they remind me of my own aunties. >> we had a lot of access to the producer to share our ideas and share anything we felt would make the movie more authentic. >> yes! woo-hoo! >> so the plot is this man dies. he becomes a soul. he meets a little lost soul. there's a sequence where the main character, joe, is able to look back at his life and evaluate if he believes it's been worth living. >> it's about looking at your life and looking at the time that you have on earth, making sure that you're living it presently and looking at what matters most.

>> get ready. your life is about to start. >> we have an extended interview with the pixar producers on our website, abc7news.com. disney is the parent company of abc7. if you want to check out "soul" it's on disney plus. it's $7 a month and gift subscriptions are available. people are asking if this movie is included, yes. there is no additional charge. i can't wait to see it again. >> it looks wonderful. am i going to cry? >> yes. you will definitely cry. >> good. >> so one of the directors is the creative lead, peter doctor at pixar, he is the one who made "up" and "monsters inc."if they

made you cry like they did me, he has the magic. "so "soul" will do it, too. >> here's your friday afternoon, friday evening, it's going to be raining outside. get yourself a nice hot beverage, maybe a little snack and sit down and watch "soul." how about that? planned your friday for you. it's christmas, after you go through your 2: 2:02, the soun reareached the t capricorn, so it's our shortest daylight of the year. we gain three seconds tomorrow. the east bay hills, the fog is trying to move down into san francisco. it's going to continue to do that up until 9:00. then it will start fading away. the fog in the east bay won't fade away until noon. spare the air today. no wood burning. dry and seasonal until thursday.

christmas and sunday our best days for soaking storms. today, 56 in half moon bay. 58 to 62 degrease for tes for tf us. here's a look at future radar. you can see thursday and then friday, even moderate rain in the afternoon. up in the north bay, a bit of a break saturday, so you can get outside. it will be cloudy. sunday, all of us get rain again. monday, a tease at a storm system sliding down the coast to bring us rain. up in the north bay tloos there possibility on tuesday. look at how impressive the rainfall. more than an inch for all of us outside of the usual rain-shadowed areas. our coldest mornings will be wednesday and thursday followed by cooler afternoons. friday, saturday, sunday, a 1 on the storm impact scale. this evening, dress warmly if you're going outside and checking out the celestial special that reggie will tell us more about right now. >> yes.

unless you plan on living hundreds of years, this is a once in a lifetime appearance during tonight's winter solstice. jupiter and saturn are close together and it will look like one bright star. this happens every 400 years. it's called a conjunction. after sunset, look to the southwest. the last time this happened was in 1623. some think this may be the origin of the star of bethlehem when the stars lined up in the year 700 bc. despite what we see, the planets will be 456 million miles apart. if you want to check out that rare event tonight, join chabot astronomers virtually. they will host a steaming event on their facebook page starting at 5:00 and we'll have information on our abc7 facebook page. members of the central county fire department which includes burlingame, hillsborough and millbrae need your help to make the holidays

brighter for kids and their families. the firefighters just purchased toys at nuts 4 candy for their toy drive. the captain says using funds from donors and their union is a way they can give back to the community and support a business that has supported their efforts for many years. >> if you can donate please do. do what you can to end this year on a positive note. >> oakland parks and recreation and youth development central west unit is also in dire need for donations. they were so short on toys the annual drive-through event had to be invitation only. both organizations will collect toys through christmas. if you're able to help out local businesses and neighbors, head to the front page of abc7news.com to give where you live. we have donation links for several local vetted charity organizations. as public health officials warm us not to gather for the holidays, zoom says they are

removing the time limit for free basic accounts. video meetings are typically limited to 40 minutes under the free version, but starting wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m., you can get together with your family. there will be a cap on this. this goes through christmas. you have a few days of the unlimited chat. >> which is a great thing. wonderful. >> yeah. depending on your relatives. >> my mom and i will cook again like we did for thanksgiving over the chat. as long as it took me to kick, i need all the time. >> what's for dinner? >> friend? >> what have you got? >> i got some more oxtails. i'm going to braise them. i'm going to make some maccarrone and cheese again and some greens. i made a peach pie. i'll make that again. >> excuse me? >> is that all i made? >> is that all? >> and cornbread. >> i'm so impressed with you. i've committed to a salad. >> to what? >> a salad. >> oh, no.

>> that's what i committed to. >> i'll save you a plate. >> send some of

it's 6:57, if you're just joining us, here's the 7 things to know this morning. >> number one, governor newsom is in quarantine as a precaution after being exposed to covid-19. a staff member in the governor's office tested positive. number two, the first moderna vaccine is expected to arrive at bay area hospitals any day now. distribution began over the weekend. number three, the european union will be meeting today to discuss a new and more contagious mutation of the coronavirus. dozens of countries banned travel to the uk in order to control the spread. number four, congress will vote today on a nearly $1 trillion pandemic relief bill. after months of negotiations and delays, lawmakers finally reached a deal last night to send financial aid to americans hit hard by the coronavirus. number five, there's a wood burning ban for all of us on this spare the air day. the north bay, inland east bay

and santa clara valley most likely to have poor air quality for those most sensitive and we're tracking black ice this morning. >> number six, we have a fore-car crash in concord that i'm following. this is on westbound 4 before willow pass road. this is the same area where the chp issued a fog advisory. number seven, former president barack obama out with a new play list on spotify. barack obama's songs of the year 2020 play list includes lipa's song, megan thee stallion is also on the list. >> happy to see that. what else is on there? >> he has some travis scott. i'm into it. >> all right. >> solid list. >> i got to get a little hipper because some of these i don't know.

>> no judgment. good morning, america. christmas lockdown. a new variant of covid-19 raging through britain, which scientists say can spread 70% faster than the original virus. the uk returning to its harshest restrictions of this pandemic, triggering a mass exodus as countries around the world seal their borders to britain, including canada overnight. new york's governor andrew cuomo calling for action immediately. >> right now this variant in the uk is getting on a plane and flying to jfk today. this is reprehensible because this is what happened in the spring. >> the new concerns this morning. how dangerous is this mutation? vaccine on the move. as the winter surge continues across the country, moderna getting emergency use