es to protect. next at 5:00, the long lines to shop on christmas eve. why one expert says this is a good thing. plus, changing course. why a massive new year's eve party at the casino been cancelled. >> also ahead for the holiday season despite a demand to stay put. the deep seeded reasons so many people are defying the orders. >> plus the long lines of grateful customers. an east bay restaurant is giving back to the community. >> also here, a follow-up to an impromptu duet. the new meeting that's not a surprise, but just as powerful. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc 7 news. >> and we begin with the christmas eve that we've never seen before. yes, people are out shopping, but the scene is quite different from years past. people waiting in line outside, but inside a very quiet and safe

experience with safety protocols in place. compare those pictures with the year ago, people close together and enjoying that christmas rush. good evening. i'm dion lim. >> i'm dan ashley. thank you for joining us. it's a holiday tradition that we visit last-minute shoppers on this christmas eve and abc 7 news reporter wayne friedman looks at the covid risk reward of the season. >> they might have been under the tree or in a restaurant, but for jason of san francisco and his family this will do just fine. a wide open corte madera, welcome. >> christmas and hanukkah. >> all together. >> it's extremely worrying and that's why we come on the off hours like this. >> on a day like this, the one before christmas. why is everyone out? >> procrastination. >> apparently. [ laughter ] >> which explains the long lines

everywhere outside of target in colma, a ross store in san francisco to this slightly less frenetic store in corte madera, call it a christmas rush with an element of gambling. >> you'll go home after this? >> after this we'll go home. >> when will you come back out. >> when is that in? my next day is three days from now. >> reporter: it is a direct result of last thanksgiving. they are concerned that if people behave the same this christmas we could see another surge, much worse. >> if we saw what we saw at thanksgiving is hospitals will not be able to manage the number of cases. >> dr. matt willis of marin county health, with 100,000 infection rate he says there could be as many as 5,000 people walking around today with no knowledge that they could deliver the virus. marin could see 1,000 new cases a day within two weeks. >> we're seeing hospitals across

the state now running outside of icu bed. >> if you do go upon shoing look for fors that follow the rules and hit inside. as soon as we call four people. >> call it a covid risk versus reward. it is a day before christmas in a way we never imagined playing out for the history books. one of the strangest holiday seasons ever. >> at least in the last hundred years. >> in marin county, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> let's hope for at least 100 more. there was a lot of concern about a potential super spreader, vent in the north bay, but late today grayton casino canceled its indoor new year's eve party for as many as 4,000 people. ance ar hassan has the story. >> grayton resort and casino

will close at 5:00 p.m. on 12:31 for all activities. all parties and gatherings on new year's eve have been canceled. the casino will reopen on 1/1/21 at 6:00 a.m. in an e-mail from abc 7 news, they would not comment on why the event was canceled only to continue that they would work with the county and that grayton resort and casino will remain open on a limited basis and will continue to have all cdc safety requirements. >> they're not allowed due to the pandemic and casino owner, the federated indians of rancheria is a sovereign nation and therefore is not subject for local and public health orders. sarah who wrote the facebook message is a tribal chairman. county officials may not have been in support of the big bash, but did praise the casino for the extra precautions they had in place. >> it would be our preference, obviously, not to have a party

with 4,000 people indoors. they had been trying to work with the casino on protocols. they are trying to do things with as much mitigation measures as they can in terms of limiting the indoor capacity to 20% upon. >> all references have also been removed from the website. ansar hassan, nbc 7 news. >> as we head into christmas, 19,000 people are hospitalized due to covid-19 which is a single-day record. close to 4,000 of those are in icu, also a daily record. there were a little more than 39,000 newly diagnosed cases of coronavirus and that pushes the state's total for the pandemic past the 2 million mark. california nurses are joining the call of state officials urging the public not to gather and if people don't obey the stay at home order the current surge will get worse and overwhelm hospitals in the next

two to three weeks with about 100,000 new hospitalizations. >> it's frustrating when you're in it for, say your 12-hour day and then you see people out not adhering to some of the guidelines and that's really frustrating because every day i look into the eyes of someone who is struggling to get well. >> even though travel is down by about 40% from a year ago, more than 1.2 million people traveled yesterday. that is the highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic. >> we have heard so many pleas from health officials for families not to do traditional gatherings for christmas, but as we've shown you, there is some lack of compliance out there. the question is why? nbc 7 reporter david louie. >> to go shopping, to go to church, some people are ignoring and dismissing pleas or forego these traditions for public safety. it has to do with religious and

secular rituals. >> when they respond with moral outrage and they judge it to be wrong and we find that that moral outrage persists even when you have a good reason for altering the ritual. >> stein and other researchers spoke with 3,000 people. they believe the behavior we saw at thanksgiving and now at christmas has to do with deep-seeded values. the gathering of thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude. christmas gift giving is a symbol of love. changing behavior can be differ cult even when public safety is at stake. there was an outcry in 1939 when franklin roosevelt moved thanksgiving up a week to create more time to shop for christmas. complaints arise on a day when daylight savings time are changed. people want to punish those rituals. >> we found that people wanted the person to alter the ritual to do activities such as clean the floor and they assign them to do undesirable activities such as scrub the toilets. >> so the researchers think public authorities need to

change the messaging to focus on how distancing and staying at home with the holidays are in line with the system people embrace. >> the cristian value of being safe and kind as a way to celebrate that cristian value, to be generous to others and to be kind to others could be a way to get individuals to follow their regulations. >> on the scale of one to serve, they ranked their moral outrage at five. david louie, abc 7 news. >> one driver is dead following a head-on crash in sonoma county. sky 7 caught the aftermath on highway 121 near wagner road today. investigators say just after 9:00, one of those vehicles crossed over the double yellow line for an unknown reason and slammed into the other. it was foggy at the time, but it is not believed that played a factor. a second driver was fined and

taken to the hospital. >> one person was hurt after they crashed at the opera house in van ness streets in san francisco. it ended up going down the steps and nearly into the building itself. a tow truck was needed to lift it off the sidewalk. >> firefighters arrived on boat to rescue two people out for a morning swim near san francisco's legion of honor. the two got caught up by dangerous surf and got stranded on the rocky cliff. rescue swimmers navigated the rough surf to get them off to safety and they were able to walk off on their own where they were evaluated by the medics, but they appeared to be okay. >> he is the most prominent infectious disease expert in the country. and on his 80th birthday, what dr. fauchy is saying. >> sandhya patel will be here.

>> merry christmas. >> he still managed to d we are the thrivers. women with metastatic breast cancer,... ...standing in the struggle. hustling through the hurt. asking for science, not sorrys. our time... ...for more time... ...has come. living longer is possible- and proven in women taking kisqali plus fulvestrant or a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor. kisqali is the only treatment in its class with proven overall survival results in 2 clinical trials. helping women live longer with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali was also significantly more effective at delaying disease progression... ...versus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms,

including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness... ...yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills,... ...or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. kisqali is not approved for use with tamoxifen. it's our time... ...to continue to shine. because we are the thrivers. ask your doctor about kisqali, the only treatment in its class proven to help women live longer in 2 clinical trials.

a christmas tradition continued at glide today, but with a twist. for the past 27 years the house of prime rib has been donating delicious prime rib dinners to people in the tenderloin, but this year glide's dining room is closed because of safety guidelines so prime offered the dinners in takeout containers. 1400 meals were given out today. the volunteers from the sisters of perpetual indulgence handed out meals throughout san francisco. >> we'll go as far as we can to the southeast corner of the city and come back and go street by street and go see all of the folks in the outdoors and you know, could use some holiday cheer. volunteers also delivered hygiene packs with the meals to

people living on the streets. glide will feed another 1300 people tomorrow and christmas day, of course, badly needed always, but especially this year. 2020 has been such a tough year for restaurant, but that's not stopping one restaurant from giving back to its community in a very big way. check out the line outside joe's in san leandro. people are not there to pick up orders, at least not ones they paid for. that's because the owners decided to give away 3,000 chicken and rice vietnamese meals to anyone who wanted one. it's his way to thank customers for their support during the pandemic. >> it's been a really rough year. we're still hanging in here because we got a lot of love and support and we look forward to the year of 2021 as a better year for everyone. >> joe's pho has only been open for two years on hesperia. the owner plans to open a new location in downtown san leandro. >> what a nice jest sngestt snur

big undertaking. this morning the oakland police officers association held their annual toy giveaway. this is special in that the officers go from house to house to deliver food and toys. this year 108 families will be visited by an officer dressed as santa claus, but there will be, of course, some modifications because of safety guidelines. >> santa can't cross the threshold into the houses. we're going to ask kids and families to come out to us, but we're not going to be deterred by the pandemic. officers will deliver these gifts. >> this is the 30th year the oakland police officers association has collected money from its members to buy the food and gifts. the families in need were identified by officers during their regular patrols. and sky 7 flew along the port of oakland today. you can see there all of the containers stacked up with the estuary and alameda in the background. it was a fairly gray day before that sun came out and that, though, will definitely change

tomorrow. sandhya patel is joining us with more with the accuweather forecast and the impending storm. hi, sandhya. >> hi there, dion. yes. mother nature will mack a special delivery on christmas and that will be in the form of rain, but i do want to show you a live picture from the emoriville camera and just a gorgeous shot of the is up setting right now and you will notice cloud cover and if you are heading out and you're traveling, and the rain will be spreading especially in the afternoon and evening. breeze toe gust breezy to gusty and 58 new york city and it is going to be wet there. chicago, 22, but chilly and sunny, mainly 72 in los angeles. here's a look at the light storm heading in our direction and all of the moisture is right here. so that's our first storm. the second one is right behind it. we do have some rabe ahead of it with the weak system in southern california, but that's where

it's going to stay if we get anything out of it for this christmas eve it will just be a couple of sprinkles tonight. temperatures right now, 40s and 50s, as we show you the christmas planner. clouds and fog at 7:00 a.m. with 40s and 50s and the rain will spread from the 4 chok to 7:00 p.m. hour and the temperatures will fall as the wet weather develops and at it comes in for christmas going into early saturday and it's a one. light to moderate rain and the strongest winds coast and hills and spotty showers are expected early saturday. hourly look, 9:00 a.m. tomorrow around the mendocino coast and it spreads by 10 c:00 p.10 cl:0. the north bay across east bay and down the peninsula by late night. a few showers, 10:00 p.m. tomorrow and a fast-moving system and 7:00 a.m. saturday and you will notice lights and

spotty showers and then it's done in the afternoon. in terms of rainfall because it's going to be a quick mover, anywhere 0.1 to 0.6 of an inch and it could pick up more in this system. until saturday afternoon, travel is going to be difficult. hold off if you can. the warning is about 5500 faet so those passes will be impacted and eight to 18 inches of snow, try up to two feet for the peak, and that is definitely great news and first thing tomorrow morning, temperature it is will know from the mid-30s with the foog and chuds. carry those umbrellas if you're taking a walk with lingering morning showers saturday followed by a colder storm sunday night going into monday and we dry out tuesday, wednesday before another opportunity for some new year's wet weather.

that one's just a chance for new year's eve. for the time being, dan and dion, that santa will have no problems making deliveries. even if there's rain. ? yes. his reindeer are prepared for any type of weather, sandhya. thank you. tomorrow, of course, is christmas, but it's a big day for another reason, as well. >> what's your name, honey? >> i'm joe. i teach middle school band. >> on the eve of pixar's big movie, the lead i just lost my job. with the kids at home and less money coming in, there'd be no way we could afford health insurance. my kids think i'm a superhero. but even superheroes need help sometimes. we found help at covered california. and not just us. 9 out of 10 people who enrolled got financial help. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll now at coveredca.com

americans' top infectious disease expert turns 80 today, and he has ney plans to retire. >> i have to be realistic and sooner or later i have to do that. i don't see that right now clearly in my future. the only thing i see ahead is the challenge that we are currently facing. >> he's got a lot of work to do, and want to mention he looks

great. he's in such good spirits. >> dr. fauci got a special treat as he left work. ems workers were outside to serenade him outside for his birthday. he'll be reconnecting with his family over zoom. so nice to see. >> he's a remarkable man. >> christmas is different this year, of course, and finding some holiday cheer by cozying up to a good movie might be just the thing you need. the pixar movie "soul" was supposed to be released in theaters, but will now be streamed on disney+ because of the pandemic and sandy canyon explains why this movie will make history? reason is my reason for living. >> joe gardner is a music teacher who dreams of making it big as a jazz musician. in "soul," he gets his chance. >> yes! >> on his way to making history. >> to be the first african-american lead in a pixar film, i mean -- that's really high grass. that's -- that's a high mark. >> jamie foxx is the voice

behind joe under the guidance of pete doctor and co-director kent powers who both appear at a virtual premiere of their movie. >> joe's a new yorker. he's from queens and i'm actually from new york, so i wanted to make sure that all of the new yorkers out there really recognized the world of joe gardner. >> but all does not remain calm for long. joe finds himself on the way to the great beyond, the afterlife, but he escapes to the great before. >> this is where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to earth. >> meet 22. >> that soul is given life by tina fey. >> hey, look, i already know everything about earth and i don't want anything to do with it. >> i felt so excited about it because they make the performance better. they take what you did and they just amplify it and you are certainly much cuter, and it's a real gift. >> "soul" is all about finding your own spark, a passion to

power you through life. tina found her spark as a teenager. >> i had a teacher in eighth grade with one of my writer. soul is owned by the same parent company as this station. i'm sandy canyon, abc 7 news. >> it should be great. >>

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>> coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, a former vallejo police department captain is speaking out about his new lawsuit that alleges department misconduct including badge bending to commemorate the shootings of suspects. the i-team has the exclusive interview and you'll hear from a parishioner going to an indoor christmas service at a san jose church. also, we'll show you how other people are celebrating safely. all of that and a lot more coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, but finally tonight, an update to a story that we brought you last june, dion. you may remember the graduating senior recording the star-spangled banner for portland university's virtual commencement when a stranger

joined in. ♪ o, say can you see ♪ the bombs bursting in air >> they sound so good together. that stranger was a trained opera singer. now that stranger who goes by henri and recent grad madison holberg, have reunited for "grant us peace," certainly a universal message for this holiday season. let's take a listen. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it sounds like they're singing together for a long time.

what a nice way to end. >> happy holidays, everybody. world news t we are the thrivers. women with metastatic breast cancer,... ...standing in the struggle. hustling through the hurt. asking for science, not sorrys. our time... ...for more time... ...has come. living longer is possible- and proven in women taking kisqali plus fulvestrant or a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor. kisqali is the only treatment in its class with proven overall survival results in 2 clinical trials. helping women live longer with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali was also significantly more effective at delaying disease progression... ...versus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain,

a change in your heartbeat, dizziness... ...yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills,... ...or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. kisqali is not approved for use with tamoxifen. it's our time... ...to continue to shine. because we are the thrivers. ask your doctor about kisqali, the only treatment in its class proven to help women live longer in 2 clinical trials.

breaking news as we come on the air. the monster storm barrelling across the country, as millions travel for the holidays. the storm already wreaking havoc on the roads. whiteout conditions in parts of the midwest. torrential rain and high winds moving east at this hour, with power outages possible on christmas morning. the dangerous weather with some 85 million americans on the move, despite those cdc warnings to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus. the staggering covid surge. the cdc now predicting more than 90,000 americans could die over the next three weeks. the alarming new images from inside a california medical center, as a record number of americans spend christmas in the hospital. the vaccine speed bump. the federal government