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this is abc7 news. >> coronavirus cases are surging, and even with warnings there's a boost in holiday travel, reaching numbers we haven't seen since the pandemic started. with that we say good evening and thank you so much for joining us. i'm dion lim. we are seeing some startling coronavirus numbers because of a delay in los angeles. the state reported more than 50,000 new cases today, the third highest single-day total during the pandemic. hospitalizations have topped 19,000, and the number of people in the icu rose to more than 4,100. both once again set records for daily highs. and here is where the icu capacity stands. the bay area saw a slight drop from 11.3% to 11.1. the sacramento region saw its capacity improve once again and is now standing at 17.8%. southern california and the san joaquin valley are still at 0. now despite the pandemic and pleas from public health

experts, millions of holiday travelers are returning from family get-togethers across the country and right here in the bay area. the tsa reports this is the busiest airports have been since the start of the pandemic. abc7 news reporter cornell barnard spent the day at sfo. he joins us live now from the newsroom with what he heard from passengers. >> some say they have heard the warnings but still wanted to travel to see family. many say this now plan to quarantine after their trip. >> the traveling was it was different. didn't really get to go see friends outside of our bubble, but we still had a really good time. >> reporter: michael says he plans to quarantine after his trip, and that's what health officials are urging travelers arriving back in the bay area to do. >> san francisco and santa clara counties now require a ten-day quarantine upon arrival. other bay area counties have

other restrictions. >> reporter: that recording plays every few minutes at sfo. >> and i am definitely quarantining, and it's almost selfish to travel, but it's really hard because family is sometimes all that we have. >> reporter: despite warnings from health officials, the tsa says millions of people have been passing through airport security checkpoints nationwide. the most since the start of the pandemic. >> i'm not going to stay home. >> reporter: travel through the holiday season is expected to be down nearly 30% this year. 616,000 travelers screened at airports on christmas day. that's about a 75% drop from 2019. >> it doesn't even feel like christmas honestly. >> reporter: but with christmas in the rear view and entnew yea on the way the numbers are expected to ramp back up. health officials fear a coming surge on top of the surge we're already seeing. >> the expectation is we'll keep seeing these record dacys of cases. and unfortunately the numbers of

deaths will drive us to really horrific milestones in the coming months. >> reporter: the tsa says more than a million travelers were screened at airports nationwide on the day after christmas. that number is expected to increase by new year's day. in the newsroom, cornell barnard, abc7 news. >> something we will continue to follow. in the south bay now, santa clara county is telling residents not to go to hospital emergency rooms for covid testing. they've seen a rise in people showing up without symptoms solely to get tested. they say emergency rooms are for those with emergencies. instead they suggest you go to one of the multiple test sites across the county. this one was at the fairgrounds in san jose today. you can look up your nearest testing site at sccfreetest.org. a high-end beverly hill's restaurant is under investigation for invigting customers to a delete new year's eve dinner. that dinner at la scala was going to be held in violation of la county covid-19 protocols and

state mandates. some customers who picked up food found the invitations in their takeout bags with notes asking patrons to keep quiet. the dinner was described as a 1920s prohibition era speakeasy themed dinner to be held indoors on new years even. many people thought an indoor dinner during a surge was selfish and dangerous. >> i personally don't think it's a good idea. both my parents had covid. we just got out of the hospital. >> especially now it's worse than when it started. >> la scala, which opened in 1956 is an institution best known for its chopped salad and celebrity sightings. developing news now out of washington, unemployment benefits lapsed on saturday, and now another deadline is looming. unless president trump signs a spending bill, the government will be shutting down in a little over 24 hours. the president is sticking to his demands. >> reporter: with the country on the verge of a government shutdown, funding runs out at

midnight monday. president trump is still refusing to sign the nearly $900 billion package congress approved. >> it really is a disgrace. >> reporter: it took congress more than six months to negotiate this bipartisan stimulus bill to get aid to the american people. the president's own team including treasury secretary steve mnuchin helped negotiate the bill. but now the president is demanding last-minute changes, tweeting, i simply want to get our great people $2,000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. some republicans criticizing the president for not raising his objections sooner. >> if the president wants to cme up with more money to help more people, terrific, let's sign this bill now so we can start getting our unemployment benefits out right away, and then quickly pass another bill. >> reporter: senator bernie sanders says he also has reservations about the size of the checks but that this bill needs to be signed. >> given the terrible economic crisis facing this country, yes, we do need to get $2,000 out to

every working-class individual in this country. 500 bucks for their kid. but you can't diddle around with the bill. >> reporter: unemployment benefits have now expired for millions of americans, and in just a few days the federal moratorium on evictions will end also. many people agree $600 just isn't enough. >> $600 is very insignificant for the individuals trying to feed their families. >> reporter: daniel morris is just one of many struggling business owners. he's now pleading with the president. >> the american people are literally dying. they are starving. they are holding us hostage to this bill. we know it's not going to make up for everything, but it gets us by. >> reporter: abc news in washington. breonna taylor became one of the symbols in american reckoning this year with race and social justice. this is all that's left though of a tribute to her in oakland. we spoke to the artist and got

his reaction to what happened to his creation. plus, a big development with the bombing in nashville. what investigators are revealing about the suspect today. and i'm meteorologist drew tuma. rain returns tonight. we're going to have the

three power poles sawed down overnight sparked a fire in the bayview neighborhood this morning. san francisco police met with firefighters at about 10:00 at cameron and nichols way after that fire had been put out. two of the poles fell and one remained up right supported by the tension of the wires. pg&e is working to repair the lines while police investigate.

new developments now in the christmas day rv explosion in nashville. the fbi has confirmed it was a suicide bombing. and for the first time we're also hearing from the heroic officers who evacuated the area. >> reporter: authorities continue to review this surveillance video of the christmas morning bombing that rock rocked downtown nashville. just after 1:00 a.m. this rv was seen parked outside the at&t building. >> hours later police responded to a call of shots fired as they approached the rv they could hear a recording coming from the vehicle telling officers how many minutes until the explosion. six national police officers now being hailed as heroes, james wells one of the first on the scene. >> i just see orange, and then i hear a loud boom because it rocked me that hard. i started stumbling. i just told myself to stay on your feet, stay alive.

>> this officer was by him when the bomb exploded. >> i have never grabbed somebody so hard in my life. >> reporter: this officer helped a woman and her four kids evacuate safely. >> i don't have kids but like i have cousins and nieces and people that i love that are small. >> reporter: in this video exclusively obtained by abc news, agents can be seen carrying out bags of evidence. nearby more officers in tactical gear surrounding a home authorities say is associated with a person of interest, 63-year-old anthony quinn warner. >> warner is the bomber. he was present when the bomb went off and then he perished in the bombing. >> reporter: a google maps image of the home from may of 2019 shows an rv that appears similar to the one used in this explosion. as an investigation into friday's bombing continues, authorities have shut down a road east of nashville after stopping a box truck they said was playing audio similar to what was heard before the rv

exploded. zohreen shah, abc news, los angeles. it looks like we do have some breaking news coming into the abc7 news room. from what we understand, president trump has just signed the covid relief bill and also a spending bill. this means the government will not shut down. some details as to what is included in those yet to be seen. we will of course keep you updated on this story as it progresses. much more tonight on the news at 6:00. well, a sculpture honoring the life and memory of breonna taylor has been vandalized. abc7 was in oakland where the bust had been on display. it was actually made in ceramics, just for two weeks. the piece was put up with the phrase "say her name breonna taylor" to support black lives matter. taylor was a 26-year-old shot by police when officers entered her louisville, kentucky, home, in march on a search warrant. the artist behind the sculpture says this setback only strengthens their fight against

racism. >> we're not scared of you. this person has made this a bigger story than it ever was before. and we can remake it and we have solidarity. you can't stop us. >> carson plans to repair the bust, this time coating it in bronze to make it more resistant to damage. if you'd like to donate to his cause, you can find the link at our home page at abc7news.com. some traditions are going to live on for new years. times square is indeed happening. but this won't be the celebration we're used to seeing. the one big change being made this year. and i'm meteorologist drew tuma. clouds are streaming in this evening as rain returns tonight. we'll have the latest timing on

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check this out. crews are setting up the stage for the new years celebration in times square. nelly, miley cyrus, cyndi lauper and j. lo will perform. because of the pandemic the show will be closed to the public. rya ryan seacrest and others will host. and you can watch it right here on abc7. it all starts at 8:00 p.m. on new years even. and kicking it to the weather here in the bay area, drew, really it doesn't matter if we can see fireworks or not. we're all going to be inside or watching it on tv. >> yeah. and you know what it looks like new years even at night, dion, we'll have some pretty clear conditions. tonight though it's quite the opposite. clouds are rolling in after what was a pretty bright day earlier today as our next storm approaches from the west. live doppler 7 giving the active

sweep right now. you can see our storm just off the coast. it's about 60 miles away from the peninsula coast line right now. and we do expect our first drops to start coming through right around midnight tonight with this next storm system. so, ahead of the storm we're in the 40s and 50s right now. 54 in the city. we're down to 51 in san mateo. 57 in oakland. 52 that current temperature in santa rosa. live doppler 7 showing you that storm just off our coast right now. the bulk of the energy with this system is going to slide into southern california. so we're going to get scraped by the outer edge of this storm system. so we're not talking about a lot of rain unfortunately but it looks like some cities may end up with about a quarter inch of wet weather. on the storm impact scale, this is a level one light system we have approaching overnight into early monday morning. a lot of the rain is going to fall while many of us are sleeping overnight tonight with the scattered showers, breezy at

times, and most cities will wind up with less than a quarter of an inch of rain as this is a pretty quick-moving system to our south. future weather as we go hour by hour early tomorrow morning by 2:00 a.m., you can see showers from san francisco, oakland points to the south with the bulk of the moisture early in the morning around the south bay. we do expect higher rainfall totals in the south bay with this storm system. even in the morning as the sun begins to rise at about 6, 7 in the morning we do expect to still track some scattered showers. and then in the afternoon the storm system is going to get out of here. so, total rainfall again we're going to find some of the highest totals mainly in the south bay along the peninsula and the east bay. i would not be surprised if parts of the north bay pick up nothing, if not a few hundredths of an inch of wet weather with this storm that really goes by to our south. overnight tonight we'll track those scattered showers moving in right around midnight.

30s to 40s. the afternoon is dry, mid-50s to about the upper 50s for our monday afternoon. accuweather seven-day forecast, dry and brighter skies on tuesday. that leads to a chilly morning on wednesday, dion. and then new years even in the morning we'll track some showers. the evening looks dry. and then likely some more wet weather coming our way next weekend saturday night into sunday. but nonetheless tomorrow morning if you're up early you'll encounter a few rain drops where you live. >> drew, thanks. kicking it over now to chris alvarez with a preview of sports and all about football. >> yep, all about football coming up in sports a wild day of nfl action. how itffects the playoff picture and the upcoming draft. plus, it's a no dre day. why he won't play o we made usaa insurance for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit,

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now abc7 sports with chris alvarez. >> the 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs last week, but that didn't stop george kittle from wanting to get back on the field this year. he was motivated first because he loves football, and, second, he wanted to play a spoiler to the cardinals playoff chances. yesterday's win did just that and also helped out his childhood team. here's george. >> i will say this. i did grow up a bears fan and the fact that we helped the bears a little bit just makes me a little happier. da bears. >> so mitchell trubisky and da bears could take the wild card lead over arizona. trubisky untouched with a

six-yard score in chicago up ten. more bears trubisky to graham. wide open right there. he's just going to head to the tunnel because this one's essentially over. bears win 41-17. the jaguars' 14 straight la trying to prevent seattle from winning the division second quarter. rams on the move until goff with -- what is this? not a good play there. terrible interception. a field goal game at the half. 6-6 at the break. russell wilson doing russell wilson things. i'll just take it myself, thank you. 13-6 hawks and still in the third. rams going 4th and goal. malcolm brown stuffed. seahawks maintain the lead. the rams do not score a touchdown for the first time this year. and the seahawks clinch the nfc

west crown. they now need to beat arizona next week. he's going to need surgery in multiple reports say it could be season ending injury. meanwhile the warriors had hoped draymond green would make a season debut tonight. they will hold him out until at least the home opener on new years day. >> he's doing really well. the foot has healed nicely. but again he was out with the league protocols and the conditioning level is important because it's very risky to put somebody out there who's not quite ready from a conditioning standpoint. that leaves people vulnerable. and we feel better about getting him another four, five days of work before he gets on the floor. >> all right. mavs and clippers this afternoon. more proof 2020 is just bizarre. the clips likely going to contend for an nba title. but l.a. just looked out of it from the get-go. it was 36-13 after a quarter.

and the lead got even bigger. mavs led by 50 at the half. it was 77-27, mark cuban excited. that breaks the record held by the kings and warriors in '91. dallas wins 124-73, the biggest loss in clippers' history and they have had some really bad losses. that looks like when i play brother in video games. >> at least you can humbly say your brother gets the win. we'll check in with you again shortly. chris, thanks. well, this pretty much says it all. we'll shows you a man using a flame thrower to clear the snow from his driveway. his outfit,

oh, check this out. this is the perfect blend of winter and some creativity at christmastime. no, this isn't actually a fire. a man in kentucky decided instead of using a shovel to clear the snow from his driveway, he would use the trusty old flame thrower instead. this though takes it up another level. because if you look closely, the guy is actually the cousin eddie from "national lampoon from christmas vacation." kind of explains why he's only wearing a hat and a bath robe. i have so many questions, i don't know if i should ask them though. [ laughter ] >> you've lived back east, dion. was this ever a thought in your

head to do something like this? i can only imagine shoveling snow is not fun. >> maybe it's tonight, breaking news -- authorities have just identified the nashville christmas bomber. the fbi confirms his remains were recovered from the blast zone, as the hero officers speak out for the first time. chilling new details about how they almost got caught in the explosion that turned the city's downtown into a war zone. the audio playing from the vehicle warning to evacuate. the scramble to clear nearby residents from their homes. tonight, the latest on the investigation. also developing tonight, as a government shutdown looms and with millions of americans struggling, late news on the $900 billion stimulus deal. what we've just learned. the dire holiday warning as millions travel despite the pleas from top health officials. december is now the deadliest month of t