the new covid variant just

turned up turned up in the u.s. a nurse tests positive after getting the vaccine. what doctors here in the bay have to say about it. and i'm tracking rain returning tomorrow. we'll have the latest timing in the accuweather forecast. abc 7 news at 11:00 starts right now. building a better bay area, this is abc 7 news. i wasn't surprised. it was a matter of teaime. i think the question is to track it. the highly contagious variant has been detected in the u.s. >> kate larsen spoke with experts about what this means for contact tracing. >> reporter: on tuesday colorado reported the first case of the new strain which could be more contagious. the patient, a man in his 20s with no travel history is recovering in isolation.

>> to our knowledge does not seem to be associated with worse disease. >> reporter: dr. mike reed runs san francisco's contact tracing program. >> we haven't seen any of the strain in san francisco. that may change over time. >> reporter: the real burden is now on the labs which may need to sequence more samples to track down that strain. >> they will do the genetic sequencing on strains from maybe people who have traveled from the uk. >> it bears watching to track v variants, because some can develop more and more mutations. >> reporter: dr. maldonado says there have been many variants. the concern with this one is the eight spike proteins. >> will it escape imthe remember . >> reporter: if they detect the

virus is no more susceptible to the vaccine they can adapt it. >> you can change it and make anti-bodies to that mutation as well. we do that with the flu vaccine every year. >> reporter: meanwhile, staying masked and distant is more important than ever. an er nurse at a san diego hospital tested positive for covid just days after getting vaccinated. jr stone spoke with bay area medical experts to explain knew could happen. >> i have no problem putting needles into people as a doctor. i do not technically enjoy having needles put in me. >> reporter: but dr. amy harold took the covid-19 vaccine just like thousands of others. news now that a nurse in the san diego area took the vaccine, came down with covid-19 symptoms

six days later and tested positive two days after that. >> my guess is they were exposed just before they got the vaccine and weren't showing symptoms sys or just afterwards. >> it's a sad coincidence that somebody has been exposed. the vaccine doesn't work within days. it does work within days, but certainly not less than a week. >> reporter: doctors we spoke with say the first vaccine shot gives 50% immunity, but that doesn't kick in for a week with the pfizer vaccine and two weeks with the moderna vaccine. and the second dose brings immunity to at least 90%. dr. harrell says there is optimism in her hospital. >> under my mask, i had the biggest face to face grin because it feels like hope right now. and for all of us taking care of covid patients and stretched to the limit in california right

now, to have something to look forward to and hope is a very powerful thing. >> reporter: jr stone, abc 7 news. california's hospitals are being pushed to the limit, technically in two regions. icu availability remains at 0% in southern california and san joaquin valley. the bay yare sarea saw a slight improvement. >> we know that a number of people are going to be newly exposed over the weekend. please, over these last few days before the new year's and celebrations that are planned, we hope some are canceled, some are done differently. >> if the bay area's icu availability climbs above 15%, the stay-at-home order could end next friday. a congressman elect has died from covid-19 complications, and

icus are at a breaking point in los angeles. >> reporter: los angeles county has seen a 600% increase in average daily deaths since november. hospitals are running out of space and worried about getting oxygen to some patients. >> we certainly know that southern california hospitals are in crisis. >> reporter: icu nurses are stretched thin. >> we miss our families, our pets and want to be with loved ones too. >> but every day you're needed, day and night. >> reporter: in louisiana, luke letlow died of complications from covid-19. he was 41 and had no underlying conditions. >> any number of vaccine is significant. >> reporter: in the race to vaccinate, 500 doses, nearly all, thrown out in the milwaukee area after they were removed from a pharmacy refrigerator and left out. >> human error, which is going to happen in any process. anytime there's human involved,

things like that could happen. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden on tuesday criticizing the pacing of the nation's vaccination effort. >> if it continues as it is now, it's going to take year, not months to vaccinate the american people. >> reporter: vice president-elect kamala harris got her shot today. >> it's about saving your life, the life of your family members and your community. >> and president-elect biden expanded his covid-19 response team and now includes a man from the bay area. he is chief health officer for the kaiser foundation in oakland and one of three coordinators named to the team. developing news, the second round of economic stimulus checks is expected to start arriving in bank caaccounts tonight. whether president trump gets his wish to increase them remains to

be seen. mcconnell says the senate will begin addressing trump's demand. >> those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. >> so leader mcconnell holds the key to unlocking this dilemma. >> mcconnell said the senate would vote tomorrow on whether to override president trump's veto of the defense bill. in the east bay, a restaurant is wracking up fines by defying orders. they are still offering outdoor dining. you can see tonight the patio was packed. outdo outdo outdoor reservations can be made online. the police chief sent us a statement saying we have officers that patrol the business areas throughout the town. when they find a business in violation ever the order they

will write a crime report. starting tomorrow, grant amounts will frarange from $5,0 to $25,000 depending on the applicant's gross revenue. itto it opens tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. a viral video out of vacaville shows a canine handler punching his partner. we'll sman wh we'll explain what happened next. first a statue honoring breonna taylor was damaged. now it's gone. clear skies, cold temperatures tonight but tomorrow we're tracking rain returning. we'll have the timing in the accuweather forecast ahead. first a look at what's coming up on "jimmy kimmel live." >> thanks, dan and ama. it's time for us to cuddle. is christmas in full swing by

you? >> christmas is in full swing. we have a beautiful tree. the only thing we don't have right now is the liquor. stwith the xfinity hello 2021 sales event.

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a viral video from vacaville that we're going to share with you here is putting a police canine handler on the hot seat. it shows an officer punching his own k-9 officer. >> we spoke with the man who caught the man on camera. >> the dog was crying. the dog was crying like somebody was running him over or something like that. it was that crying. >> robert palomino was on his way to work monday morning when he heard sounds of a dog yelping. a warning this footage may be disturbing to some of you. the vacaville police officer seen in the clip is sitting on top of his k-9 partner, punching him. according to police, the officer was doing routine training in the back of the vacaville station. >> at least ten punches. >> for how many minutes?

>> i would say i noticed for at least five minutes. >> the k-9 handler was conducting a search for narcotics. he performed well so was awarded with a toy. >> the dog wasn't willing to give up the toy. and in the handler trying to obtain the toy, the dog became angry with the handler and lunged in attempt to bite the handeler. >> is punching a dog ten times necessary? >> i'm not prepared to speak to anything that i did not observe myself. >> rene lancaster is a retired police officer and a k-9 handler for 22 years. she's trained dogs for 15 law enforcement agencies across the bay area. >> i wouldn't sit on my dog and punch it as a first choice, no.

personally, i can't imagine getting to that extent where you have to sit on your dog and punch it. >> the captain says the handler in this footage has been an officer for 11 years but only a few months in to the six-month k-9 program. >> he placed it in a position of dominance to create that dominance and teach that dog who's in charge. >> is that acceptable behavior? >> we're always looking at better ways to train, making sure we're in compliance with policy and procedures. >> but palomino said it didn't seem like training. >> he was straight up beating the dog on the face, and i was like, this is not cool. >> now captain lyden says it is being investigated and thankfully the k-9 is doing okay. it is unclear if the officer will have disciplinary action.

stephanie sierra, abc 7 news. now to new developments. the louisville miss department is moving to fire two involved in the breonna taylor a statue honoring taylor was vandalized. this morning it was gone and all that was left behind was the base. >> the vandals knew that their attack was defeated the first time. they tried to crush the black lives matter movement. >> oakland police are investigating the incident. the artist plans on making a new statue with money from an online fundraiser and donating the leftover funds to taylor's family. abc 7 was in san jose where we got an amazing shot of tonight's full moon. the so-called cold moon is the last full moon of 2020 obviously as we wind down the year.

the next full year known as the wolf moon will rise on january 28th. and something magical and mystical about the full moon, ama, every time the way it lights up the sky. it's fun to watch. >> and it was really bright together and i felt cold. i guess that all works out, drew. >> it really does. what a better name, one of the coldest months of the year. this time tomorrow, guys, we will be tracking showers moving through the bay area. tonight we'll take a look at the emeryville camera, the lights from the bay bridge, the city. you see sutro tower blinking in the horizon. it is getting cold out there. widespread 30s already from the north bay down along the peninsula. even san ramon coming in at 36 degrees. another cold night on the way. so a cold start to our wednesday. we do have a beach hazard statement affecting the west and

northwest facing beaches because of an approaching storm we're tracking. it has energized the ocean current right now. there is a stronger than normal risk of rip current under that full moon it is chilly or down right cold. we're in store for many layers first thing tomorrow morning as you head out the door early on. live doppler 7 along with satellite right now. high pressure in control across much of california, really quiet. here's the next system that will bring showers tomorrow night for much of the region. during the daylight hours tomorrow we're a drive. highs in the upper 50s if not 60 degrees under increasing cloud cover and we'll welcome the showers overnight. on the storm impact scale, the level one system we have with scattered showers it will create slick roadways. rainfall generally less than two tenths of an inch.

future weather, clouds increase throughout the afternoon. and then in the evening by 7:00 we expect showers in the north bay. by 9:00, pretty much the heart of the bay area, and then approaching the south bay by about midnight. as the sun gets up here on new year's eve, this storm system is out of here. new year's eve itself is looking like a dry day. so, again, rainfall estimates on the low end with this light, quick move quick-moving system. and they begin to drop off as the storms drop off. here's the accuweather forecast. nighttime showers tomorrow, dry for new year's eve, similar setup as you welcome 2021 on friday, and then dan and ama, turns into a pretty wet pattern. starting on saturday we'll see waves of rain right now through early next week. as more info comes in, we may have to bump the numbers up o

a strange twist to a break in has a family pleading for the return of a stuffed yellow bear. >> someone stole her purse and two backpacks from the trunk of her car. they drove around and recovered nearly all of the stolen items but not the beloved bear that

you see here named "bear." >> my dad won it for me at a denny's, and that was really important, but also because it's been with me through a lot of stuff. when my parents divorced, and all my stuff. >> the bear was gwen's companion during a hospital say for severe asthma. she's hoping someone will return "bear". >> we hope so. sky 7 caught a special delivery headed for the port of oakland. you're looking at new cranes that will allow the port to handle massive ships. transporting the ships is a delicate operation because the ship must lower the bridges. once inst

for as bad as the warriors' road trip started, the dubs had a chance to salvage the trip with a win in detroit. that would even the series or the record to 2-2. he's one of 18. the bench was fired up. third quarter, stephen curry in transition from way downtown,

splash. team high 31 for curry. back and forth we go. early fourth quarter, derrick rose, spinning and winning. pistons down one. here's james wiseman, running the field, and the 19-year-old slams it home before fouling out. golden state needed a big one from wiggins, he got it. 17 of his 27 in the fourth. damian lee, the big three. warriors win 116-106. they're set to begin a seven-game home stand against portland. >> our most solid game in terms of our defense and intensity, so great win. >> santa clara at usc. we pick things up. evan mobley, the put back sham. his brother isaiah plays for the trojans. another dunk four the mobley family.

it was too much santa clara trafliled. the undefeated number 22 san jose state spartans taking on ball state in the arizona bowl new year's eve. cade halt wl was named a first m player. and next season's going to be the sixth season of college football for the grad transfer. it is the cheez-it bowl. number 20, number 18 miami. spencer sanders finds brennan presley. nice catch right there, 7-0 game. sanders to presley again. and presley making all kinds of moves. sanders that you four touchdowns, three to presley. and cowboys win 37-34. (music)

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all right, thank you for watching tonight, i'm ama

a suspicious fire at a a suspicious fire at a predominantly black church in springfield, massachusetts, is being investigated for arson and a possible hate crime. the building was empty but the church's interior was destroyed. there's a reward for information. facial recognition technology to track down criminals is under scrutiny after another innocent man was thrown in jail. >> abc's mega tevrizian has the details. >> reporter: this morning a new jersey man is suing the police after a bad facial recognition match landed him in jail for a

crime he did not commit. last year niger parks was falsely accused of shoplifting and trying to hit an officer with his car even though he was 30 miles away when the incident happened. he spent ten days in jail and thousands in legal fees before the case was eventually dismissed for lack of evidence. he's suing the police and the city of woodbridge, new jersey, for violation of civil rights, false imprisonment and false arrest. parks is the third american known to be wrongfully arrested based on faulty facial recognition technology. >> i said, no, that's not me. he turns another paper over. i picked that paper up and hold it next to my face. i said this is not me. like i hope y'all don't think all black people look alike. >> reporter: in june robert williams spent 30 hours in a michigan detention facility after police near detroit incorrectly identified him as a suspect in a shoplifting case. the only evidence they had