i think it's really tough to do. now at 5:00, picking up the pace of covid-19 vaccinations. one doctor explaining why it's going to be hard to expedite the process. the man accused in a deadly new year's eve hit and run expected encourt as soon as today. the growing memorial for them haves. and georgia voters are up early. this is a live look at a polling place in atlanta. the runoff election that will decide which party controls the senate. also ahead this morning our first taste of lottery fever in 2021, the two jackpots worth more than 7 million bucks and the deadline to buy in. good morning, everybody. it is tuesday, january 5th. >> it is not raining today. hi, mike. >> today. good point. >> we do have issues leftover from the rain yesterday and look at all the fog and the visibility it's creating. in livermore down to a quarter of a mile and still sitting there in the trivalley and moving around a little bit and

the north bay and napa and petaluma and up towards santa rosa and down to an eighth of a mile and with the wind slightly off shore it will spread to the west and fill in the bay and possibly the coast and that's why all those areas you see are under a dense fog advisory and that means visibility less than a quarter of a mile and that's dangerously low for our commuters when you try to drive at normal highway speeds. temperatures this afternoon, once the fog fades to high clouds and haze, going to be about a degree >> thank you, mike. this morning plenty of blame going around is charged with murder. amy hollyfield live in san francisco where it happened with the latest on where it happened. good morning, amy. >> good morning, kumasi.

behind me you can see where these two women are being remembered. they have some flowers set up here to remember the women killed last thursday. 45-year-old troy is due in court today to face charges. accused of driving drunk, driving a stolen car and hitting and killing the women. mccallister was out on parole when this happened despite being arrested several times since being released from prison last april. the san francisco blames the system despite the fact that they the parole office had given details on why his parole should have been revoked. >> why are you blaming the parole office instead of taking direct accounability here. >> this is about recognizing there are numerous law enforcement agencies and that we all have to depend on each other to do the job properly. >> the district attorney then

send us this statement saying daly city police, the san francisco police, parole and my office could all have done things differently. he's referring to daly city because he's accused of stealing the car in daly city. their investigation followed all standard practices and procedures. the d.a. in san francisco says he plans to review this case to prevent tragedies like this from happening again in the future. live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> amy, thank you. more than one reason troy mcalister was not in jail. abc7 news contributor phil tear explains. >> a movement actually to keep them out of jails in part because of the covid virus. jails and prisons are afraid of becoming hot spots and they don't want nonviolent offenders

in there, as well. >> you can read his article every wednesday and sunday. voters are heading to the polls in georgia and the two all-important runoff elections. jobina, we know the outcome of today's election will determine which party controls the senate. >> absolutely, kumasi. the stakes could not be higher right now. voting is under way. we'll take a live look at a polling location. the polls opened about an hour ago. if democrats could win both of today's races they'll have a majority in the senate and the house giving them control of congress. yesterday president-elect biden held a drive-in rally in atlanta backing democratic challengers and president trump rallying for republican incumbent senator david purdue and kelly loeffler. some fear the president's phone call to overturn the presidential election will discourage republican voters. sdwr it doesn't help them. i can't think of a single scenario where that phone call

for 62 plus minutes made any sort of difference in getting david purdue and kelly loeffler. >> they reject of biden's win. dozens of the president's challenges have failed in court and election officials have repeatedly rejected claims of fraud. polls show that both races are very close here. so, it is important to note that we will likely not know the results of the election tonight. reggie. >> jobina, thank you. developing news in the pandemic. here's the latest look at our regional icu bed availability. the bay area has dipped back below 8%. greater sacramento is just over 12% and northern california is at 30%. the san joaquin valley in southern california remain at zero. the rate has to be at 15% or higher for the stay-at-home order to be lifted. governor newsom says the pace of covid-19 vaccinations in california just isn't good

enough. j.r. stone spoke with one local woman who is also questioning the timing after losing nine family members to the virus. >> when is it going to be distributed to the public? you know, we're in january already. >> reporter: nelda is referring to the covid-19 vaccine and a rollout that some are calling very slow. nine of her family members have died from covid-19 complications in texas as she dealt with the virus personally in richmond, california. >> not seeing my family from texas, it's really bad. especially when i lost loved ones that i couldn't even go to say good-bye to them. so, yeah, it's been very hard. >> reporter: governor newsom says the pace of vaccinations is not good enough. doctors say it's going to be tough to expedite this process. >> i think we can speed it up maybe by a little bit, but for the vast amount of speeding up, i think it's really tough to do

because you can't change the system overnight. >> nationally there is talk of doing half doses but thatis not yet been approved. new york governor andrew cuomo has threatened hospitals there to speed things up or they'll face fines and lose out on vaccine shipments. doctors we talked with say that is dangerous. nelda says she's just hopeful for everyone to have a shot at getting the vaccine soon. >> i pray for everyone not just my family that this goes away. because this is no joke. i got it and it was the worst six weeks of my life. >> reporter: j.r. stone, abc7 news. right now on our website you may see where you fall in the line to be vaccinated. you answer a few questions on a calculator at abc7news.com. the deadline for small businesses in california to apply for a $00 million in grant funding is extended. it launched back in december but because of the high traffic

online some may have had trouble accessing the application. now that deadline has been pushed until next wednesday january 13th. despite the extension, funds will still be dispersed as originally scheduled. well, there are some signs of hope and optimism this morning. a few businesses have decided that now is the time for a grand opening. abc7 news reporter chris reyes spokes with the owners who hope they can inspire others to do the same. >> we haven't been able to use it. we'll finally get to use it. >> reporter: grand opening isn't exactly the sign you see a lot these days but by next week jamie whit mier is determined to fly the banner loud and proud outside her san jose cafe. >> we'll do specials throughout the week and really it's just to get the word out that we're here and we are open. >> reporter: opening a business is a rare move in the time of pandemic but a move that including regina skinner who took over blossoms in san mateo

in june. >> basically one foot in front of the other. one day in front of the next day. >> reporter: or one canolli at a time but both women said they learned to pivot quickly. >> to-go orders and that's where the business is at and we'll redirect our efforts that direction. >> now we're mostly doing just deliveries only. like just birthdays and anniversaries. >> reporter: both women say another big reason they keep going is to inspire others not to give up. >> i feel like this grand opening is going to give me that opportunity to let people know i'm fighting and i'm in this to win it. >> your number one lesson of opening up a business during a pandemic. >> pushing through doubt and pushing through fear and being open minded and flexible. >> reporter: in san jose

kris reyes. >> shared video from truckee. they slowed it down for effect. truckee is high up at 5,700 feet. absolutely gorgeous. some of it was kind of cementy, that creates a good base but they'll have to groom it for people that are actually out there to be able to ski. we will take any snow we can get. snow packs right around 50% of average for yesterday's date. let's talk about what else happened because of the rain yesterday. brought in some cooler and drier air and look at this. we're up to double digits cooler this morning. so, let's see exactly where that puts us and we'll start in the east bay where fog is going to be an issue as we get deeper and deeper into the morning commute. right now we're 39 in places like walnut creek and also danville and blackhawk 38 in pleasanton and livermore and everybody else around 40 to 45 degrees. how about other places. you can see the fog thickest across the north bay. hasn't quite made it into the

bay, but it's going to. temperatures right now in the low to upper 40s there. now, as far as the surf, it's still an issue. the high surf and the dangerous surf until 11:00 tonight. remember, don't turn your back. here we are. we are taking a look at wednesday. at 8:00 tomorrow morning. you can see, look at that. light to moderate rain in the north bay through the morning hours as we head into the afternoon hours it slides southward and falls apart. less than a quarter of an inch out of this one on the storm impact scale. we'll talk more about that and a warm weekend on the way. here's jobina with a look at the morning commute. hi, jobina. >> hi, mike. thank you. good morning, everyone. the good news is that i'm not tracking a number of crashes like we saw yesterday because of all of the rain. we do have some fog, though, i want to get to. the chp has issued a fog advisory for highway 280 and near bunker hill drive. also want to point out the fog in the north bay, as you travel along 101 especially through novato and san rafael, you'll run into that. i want to look at the san rafael

camera showing off 101 and seeing if it looks foggy in the area and it looks okay. you can see it lingering as you move further down and also our live camera showing the san mateo bridge. initially the chp had a fog advisory issued for the bridge and they canceled it and traffic is beginning to fill in as people make their way westbound. kumasi, are you buying a lottery ticket? >> girl, it might be the time. all right. so don't be surprised if you see me and maybe a lot of other people lining up at liquor stores or gas stations today, tonight's mega millions jackpot, get this, an estimated $432 million. now, the tickets are just $2 each and the numbers will be drawn at 8:00 tonight. the odds of winning are slim. they are just 1 in 302 million. but if you're not lucky enough to win tonight, there is another chance to win tomorrow night because the powerball prize is $410 million.

>> you'll see me lining up at the liquor store. >> friend, can i just give you some money and you buy me a ticket and if my ticket wins, that's my ticket. >> i will buy you a ticket and i will buy me something to drink. how about that? >> okay. >> okay. either way, one of us comes out a winner. coming up, an inside look at an american lab that is testing vaccines against this new strain of covid-19. leading up to flu season, we heard a lot of concerns about a twindemic, but is it actually happening? a really scary situation on the slopes. a terrifying video that shows a ski lip passenger dangling in the air for minutes. but, first we take you

♪ oh, this is how it starts ♪ lightning strikes the heart ♪ the day has just begun ♪ brighter than the sun ♪ oh, we could be the stars ♪ falling from the sky ♪ shining how we want ♪ brighter than the sun ♪ i swear you hit me like a vision ♪ ♪ but who am i to tell fate where it's supposed to go? ♪ ♪ oh, this is how it starts ♪ lightning strikes the heart ♪ the day has just begun ♪ brighter than the sun ♪ oh, we could be the stars

♪ falling from the sky ♪ shining how we want ♪ brighter than the sun oroweat bread. gathering, baking and delivering the goodness of nature... from one generation to the next and from seed to slice. ♪ and from seed to slice. abundant wind and solar energy, we have the power to take on climate change. use less from 4 to 9 pm to keep california golden. in today's "gma first look" scientists in a boston lab are testing the covid vaccine to see if it works against this new

variant. here's mona kosar abdi. >> reporter: the vaccine versus the new strain of the coronavirus. >> by the time a new variant is detected, it's already probably widespread. >> reporter: "gma" going inside the lab at the medical center. >> molecular lab in the side and a central tissue lab here. that's a tissue culture lab which is the containment area which is only people with gown and gloves are allowed in here. the general suspicion is that these current variants are still likely susceptible to vaccines, however, we don't know that yet. and experiments are under way in many labs across the world to determine that in the very near future. >> reporter: we will have much more at 7:00 including a live interview with your "gma first look" i'm mona kosar abdi. one thing that has not happened during the pandemic

that had bay area health officials worried is a surge in flu cases. right now we're in the middle of flu season and leadin up to it we routinely heard about concerns of a twindemic.mic. flu cases are not rising while coronavirus cases are surging. they tell abc7 news they are not seeing it. >> testing thousands of people in our emergency room settings and our hospitals for a combination of covid and flu tests and we're essentially seeing no flu. some weeks we'll have no cases and other weeks we'll have maybe one or two cases. >> well, it's not clear if all the precautions being taken due to covid are slowing down the flu. but experts say no matter what, you should keep your guard up. some neighbors in northern california are getting their power back on. surprised to see two tornadoes touch down. >> yeah, i got it just as it was forming.

it's still trying to right now. >> these two small tornadoes were both spotted by that photographer yesterday afternoon. this is half hour north of chicco. they knocked out power and only small damage was reported. >> mike, what is going on? >> yep. it's that time of year here. i know, if you live anywhere else in the country, you expect tornadoes in the spring, the summer and to a lesser extent in the fall but here in california, it's our tornado season, if you will. our rainy season. that's when we have our best chachbs chance of cold air funnels that rolled through that tend to be very weak because they don't have the structure like the big thunderstorms we see. that's why they produce limited damage and a lot of times in the central valley where it's just farm fields they're rolling through. that's good news and rare to see. the fog hasn't rolled in but you can see right here from our walnut creek camera fog rolling

through the east bay valleys as you head south on 680 and keep heading south and you'll run into more fog. that's the big story this morning. it turns to haze and high clouds this afternoon and maybe a degree or two cooler than yesterday. colder tonight with high clouds and a little less fog for tomorrow morning's commute and the rain is going to hold off until monday and we're getting a dry weekend. 56 at half moon bay to about 60 in santa rosa this afternoon. tonight, 33 in santa rosa to san francisco at 44. here's a look at tomorrow's storm and you can see where most of the moisture is going. yep, up to the north once again. so, as it comes through, it will leave the morning commute alone but as you can see by the afternoon, some slick spots especially in the north bay. the less likely area to receive rain is the south bay. a 1 for wednesday and 1 for thursday into friday and a break saturday and sunday and another 1 on monday. no 2s and no 3s and nothing too strong. just a little bit of light rain

in the forecast. >> thanks, mike. visitors to an upstate new york ski resort watched a pretty terrifying event unfold. this incident was captured on cell phone cameras. watch. >> guests at the bristol mountain ski resort watched as a ski lift passenger dangled in the air for several minutes. she slipped from the seat of the stop lift and the woman's jacket snagged on one of the skids and then she fell down to the trampoline held out beneath her. she couldn't hold on. she walked away with only minor injuries. >> you know, i've only been skiing a handful of times do they have random trampolines around in case this happens? >> apparently they do. >> that's comforting. >> i've only been one time. i think i'm good. >> that's enough. >> it really is enough, isn't it? >> yeah. we'll just sit there with our hot cocoa. >> that's what i'm saying.

looking out. i'll be in the hot tub. see. >> that's the move. coming up next, the seven things to know this morning and, also, a brand-new dog breed. the tiny type that it is similar to. and the two locals who will compete on "jeo it'sthe sleep numberwest pric360 smart bed.on on you can adjust your confort on both sides... your sleep number setting. can it help me fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but, can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. will it help me keep up with mom? you got this. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise... prove. and now during the lowest prices of the season, the queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is only $899. only for a limited time. to learn more, go to sleepnumber.com.

it is 5:23. if you're joust joining us, here are the seven things you need to know this morning. number one, two critical runoff elections in georgia could dip the balance of power in the u.s. senate. democrats would have to flip both seats for the fist time in almost two decades to win the senate majority. number two a parolee charged in a deadly hit and run in san francisco on new year's eve could appear in court today. troy mcalister was intoxicated and driving a stolen car when he was involved in the crash that killed two women on mission street. number three. governor newsom says the pace of covid-19 vaccinations here in california just is not good enough. he says the plan is now under way to use dentists, pharmacies and even the national guard to give shots. number four contact tracing under way at kaiser in san jose after a christmas costume similar to the one that we're showing you here may to blame

for a deadly covid outbreak. 44 people tested positive, including one person who died. number five. keeping an eye on the fog. mainly in the central valley and also up in the north bay and a little bit in the trivalley away from our sensor in livermore and spread into the bay and possibly all the way to the coast. dangerously low visibility through 9:00 for most of the bay. 10:00 for solano county. number six. we're tracking that fog on the traffic front, as well, especially for our commuters that are coming in and out of the north bay. as we look outside right now, 680 in walnut creek and little haze here. if you're feeling lucky, you could win $432 million. that's the estimated jackpot of tonight's mega millions drawing and the numbers will be drawn at 8:00 p.m. tonight, two bay area contestants compete on "jeopardy" cal student will be

on tonight's episode. this is one of alex trebek's final episodes hosting the show. a powerful message from trebek about the season of giving. >> i would like you to open up your hands and your heart to those still suffering because of covid-19. people who are suffering through no fault of their own. we're trying to build a gentler, kinder society. if we all pitch in just a little bit, we're going to get there. >> his last show airs friday and will include a special tribute. "jeopardy" airs week nights at 7:00 here on abc7. tonight two college basketball teams will be wearing masks both on the bench and on the court. players for both boston university and holy cross will wear masks because of a campus mandate. yesterday bu players wore their mask but many were wearing them with their noses uncovered as you can see in this video. today's matchup is the first basketball game this season with both teams wearing masks on the

court. the american kennel club is welcoming a new dog breed to the pack and it's teeny tiny. it is called the beaver tearier. the club says it's a happy go lucky dog with a child-like whimsic icaical attitude. similar to a yorkie between six and eight pound. that means the toy breed compete in many events. good luck, little guy and girl. >> good luck to that little dog. i just want to see that dog show and play video of her. >> sheeba is forever your dog. >> my dog. we are coming back with another full 90 minutes of news including apple apparently eyeing a foldable iphone. a recall on thousands of pieces of kids clothes sold ought taat

target. live look outside it's 5:26. i want us all to reframe the way we look at nonviolence and protest. >> all of us on this phone call has been fighting for these inequities for decades. >> real conversations with you about equality. >> people are stepping up, disparity. >> we're trying to create change. >> and building a better bay ya area. >> we cannot afford to be silent. >> abc7 listens. watch the ongoing everyone remembers the moment they heard... "you have cancer." how their world stopped and when they found a way to face it. for some, this is where their keytruda story begins. keytruda-a breakthrough immunotherapy that may treat certain cancers. one of those cancers is advanced nonsquamous, non-small cell lung cancer, where keytruda is approved to be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment, if you do not have an abnormal "egfr" or "alk" gene. keytruda helps your immune system fight cancer, but can also cause your immune system to attack healthy

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building a better bay area, for a safe and secure future, this is abc7 news. now at 5:30, a man accused in a deadly hit and run expected in court as soon as today. the serious charges he's facing and questions about why he was even free in the first place. feeling the strain from covid-19. the concern about ambulance and hospital bed availability if you have an unrelated emergency. and speeding up the vaccine

rollout. the fda's new warning about cutting doses in half. and all eyes on georgia, a live look at a polling place this morning. we are tracking the high stakes senate runoff races. good morning, welcome to tuesday, january 5th. >> before we get to those stories we want to check with mike and a look at the forecast. good morning, mike. >> good morning, reggie, kumasi. thanks for joining us. i want to show you the broad spectrum of the fog. you are also going to be dealing with very thick fog through at least 9:00 or 10:00 and going to spread into the bay and that's why we have the dense fog advisory for those visibilities less than a quarter of a mile which means it's hard to see, especially when you're driving at highway speeds and being able to slow down or stop if you have to. so, use caution there. jobina, i will continue to watch that. right now the thickest fog up in the north bay. so, let's take a look down in the south bay and you can see some of the cloud cover there. 43 in san jose. as far as our day planner go from fog and cool conditions to hazy sunshine and high clouds.

those high clouds are going to keep the fog around a little bit longer than normal during the morning hours. temperatures this afternoon will be in the 50s pretty close to average. our next chance of rain tomorrow, more on that, coming up. here's reggie with the news. >> mike, thank you. the parolee accused of killing two women in a san francisco hit and run could make his court appearance today. the d.a.'s office charged him yesterday and questions are swirling why this man was even free in the first place. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield is live in soma this morning for us. amy. >> hi, good morning, reggie. that suspect due in court today to face those charges of killing two women. it happened here at second and mission. you can see where people have left flowers to remember the women who were killed here last week. there are questions whether the two women's deaths could have been prevended. the man accused of hitting them

was out on parole and had been arrested several times since being out since april. when troy mcalister hit the women last week he was drunk and driving a stolen car. they say he did leave the scene. when the district attorney was asked why mcalister wasn't in jail, he blames the system. although other agencies say they did their part. >> the fact of the matter is, my office cannot prosecute cases until and unless the police present us with adequate evidence that a crime was committed. >> that's an automatic if somebody is on probation, you make the phone call and the e-mail notification to the probation or parole officers. >> did act in accordance to protocol? >> absolutely. >> reporter: the parole office says it provided details on why mcalister's parole should have been rejovoked and that happene before this deadly hit and run accident. and daly city police say they

also followed procedure. now he faces several felony charges for two deaths, including vehicular manslaughter. live in san francisco, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> thank you, amy. governor newsom says we're seeing a temporary lull in the pandemic while more people stay at home for new year's, he believes that holiday gatherings are about to fuel new cases. here's abc7 news anchor dan ashley. >> this is a deadly disease. this is a deadly pandemic. >> reporter: the governor saying this week will be critical in finding out where we are in this pandemic. the growth rate of new cases has slowed. the seven-day average for the state is nearly 38,000. there were just 29,600, he believes. that is about to change. >> we anticipate the surge on top of a surge. it's going to put a lot of pressure on hospitals and icus coming out of the holidays. >> reporter: that surge the

governor says will likely begin in the next few days or weeks. on top of that, the new strain of coronavirus. there are six confirmed cases in the state, all of them in southern california. despite the disappointing roll out of the vaccine, he says a plan is under way to use dentists, pharmacies and even the national guard to give shots. >> i hear that from folks calling me directly. people that are expressing themselves very forthrightly and understandably around their anxiety of when do i get these doses. >> that was dan ashley reporting. this friday, we will learn whether the stay-at-home order will be extended for the bay area. san francisco officials announced last week that the city will keep the order in place indefinitely. the strain of overcapacity at our hospitals in the south bay especially is showing itself well before patients end up at the e.r. ambulance response times are suffering because of the number of covid cases that medices have to transport. jobina, this could affect all of us even if we're not impacted

with covid-19. >> absolutely, reggie. so, our team checked around several south bay hospitals yesterday but did not see any ambulances outside emergency departments with patients waiting for an open bed. but santa clara county fl ay ofs say it has happened in the past few days with some patients waiting seven hours inside an ambulance for an ep open bed. that means the ambulance is off the road unable to respond to other emergencies. >> we take for granted on a daily basis that if we have an emergency, whatever the need, moment's notice, we can call 911 and get into an emergency room and get into an icu bed. what is happening now because of the volume and because of the impact on hospitals, we're seeing these wait times. we're seeing these backups in emergency rooms and that concerns us a lot. bay area coue

at this wait time. 13 to 17 minutes. this is particularly stunning and hard hit los angeles county. ambulances are being instructed to not transport a major trauma to the hospital like a heart attack or even a gunshot wound or car crash victim if they cannot be resuscitated in the field. that's just how bad the situation is unfolding there, reggie. >> that is grim. jobina, thank you. in the south bay, contract tracing is under way at san jose medical center after a christmas costume may be to blame for a deadly covid outbreak. we found this costume online which was similarly worn by the employee. they may have unknowingly spread the virus. >> these droplets are given super powers and make them smaller and lighter and keep them suspended in the air and potentially blow them around and that's what we call

the u.s. food and drug administration is out with a newern wainnew warning shooting down officials to cut vaccination doses in half to speed it up. in a statement last night, the administration warns that this move would be, quote, premature and not rooted solidly in the evidence available. commissioner dr. steven haan says it could undermine the vaccination effort and run a significant risk. both pfizer and moderna's vaccines require two doses taken weeks apart to be effective. >> in terms of dosing a first dose without a second dose available, that's just not on the label. that's not what the data supports to go out and vaccinate a lot of people with a first dose knowing you won't have a second dose for them. >> some states are only reporting 30% of the vaccines they have distributed so far. and being administered.

governor gavin newsom says he will authorize dentists to be able to give out shots to speed up california's really slow pace of vaccinations. happening now, all eyes on georgia. the site of two important runoff elections. a look at a polling place. georgia voters will decide if democrats or republicans win the majority of the u.s. senate. abc news reporter elizabeth schulze with how it is hanging over the minds of voters. >> reporter: with the balance of power in washington on the line, a final campaign push in georgia by leaders of both parties. >> hello, hello, hello. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden headlining a drive-in rally in atlanta for the democratic challengers for warnock and ossoff. >> the power is literally in your hands unlike any time in my career, one state. >> reporter: democrats need to win both seats to flip the senate. with vice president elect kamala

harris serving as the tiebreaker vote. in a rally overnight for the republican incumbent, senators david purdue and kelly loeffler he stepped up his attacks on georgia's republican election officials. >> i'll be campaigning against your governor and your crazy secretary of state. that i can tell you. >> reporter: the phone call in which trump is heard asking officials to overturn the results of the vote in georgia casting a shadow over the final hours of the campaigns. >> so, what are we going to do here, folks? i only need 11,000 votes. fellows, i need 11,000 votes. give me a break. >> reporter: they fear the phone call and the president's continued attacks on the integrity of the election could suppress gop turnout at the polls. >> it doesn't help him. i can't think of a single scenario where that phone call for 62 plus minutes made any sort of difference in getting david purdue and kelly loeffler

re-elected. >> these are expensive campaigns in georgia with ad spending totaling more than $500 million just in the past two months. polls show both races are neck and neck so it's unlikely we'll get a result tonight. elizabeth schulze, abc news, atlanta. coming up, a powerplay in silicon valley. what employees could gain by forming a union. the science behind travel. new research that could help the tourism industry bounce back once covid restrictions lift. first we get to meteorologist mike nicco. >> thank you, reggie, kumasi. good morning to you. welcome to tuesday. kind of a foggy one. especially up across the north bay and temperatures above freezing and as cold as 34 in santa rosa and we'll be monitoring that and make sure no black ice forms. but definitely going to be a foggy one throughout the morning commute. visibility less than a quarter of a mile through at least 9:00. else where upper 30s in the trivalley and pretty much mid to upper 40s around the bay and out towards the coast. it is definitely cooler than it

was this time yesterday. you could see some fog in the east bay valleys as you look south from north main street and 680 in walnut creek down towards 24. so, watch out for varying condition physical you're going to be driving through that area. that is my biggest issue with your commute is the lower visibility on the roads and the fog that is going to fill in parts of the bay. turning to tomorrow, we'll have light showers and a one on the storm impact scale. the heaviest of the rain will fall in the north bay and it will come in after the morning commute ends. you can see by 9:00, looks very impressive in mendocino and lake counties and still has light to moderate tendencies by noon. but still all the way in the north bay and then notice how the yellow goes away and so do most of the showers as we head towards 5:00. just some random showers for a couple hours during the evening commute. the morning commute is going to be dry tomorrow with a little less fog than this morning and by the evening, if you're north of the san mateo bridge, more than likely you're driving on some slick streets. but not this morning. let's get over to jobina and see if the commute is any easier.

hi, jobina. >> hi, mike, thank you. in comparison to yesterday, yes, the commute is a bit easier but still want you all to be aware of that low visibility and take a live look outside right now showing you walnut creek and 680 there. we do have a disabled car. looks like it is 680, southbound past red gear that is blocking two lanes and you can kind of tell as you see the traffic that is moving southbound there. it begins to slow up a bit. the chp has not given us an update to when all those lanes will be open. as of right now, two lanes are blocked. moving over to a live picture showing you the bay bridge toll plaza. we have not been seeing metering lights. basically since the holidays. so, i will keep an eye out and see if they come on today. i know people are definitely, if you are traveling for work, you're likely back by today and then very lastly here and want to bring in the map and show off the fog. if you areival trai traveling i of the north

this morning san francisco, according to "the examiner" they hope they can start the count in a few weeks, but it's been canceled due to the surge of covid-19 and its threat to volunteers who would participate. the city will apply for an extension to receive federal funding from the u.s. housing department. san francisco still intends to count the number of sheltered people experiencing homelessness this year. some business owners in san francisco want the city to revisit its indefinite stay-at-home order. they say it creates a crime of opportunity for burglars and vandals. according to police data, burglaries have gone up 47% from 2019 to 2020. in the richmond district, it's gone up 75%. the merchant association says at least 50 businesses have been broken into, including five in the last two weeks.

>> they're closing in on $20,000 in terms of having to replace all of our windows twice. >> really a gut punch to the richmond community in general and really every small business in the city that's struggling. >> police say residents of richmond will see more officers in areas hit hardest by burglaries. google employees are behind a first in silicon valley. workers are forming a union. it's something that has never been done at a major tech company. >> reporter: the newly formed alphabet workers union tweeted the culture retaliation is why we got involved in this. few efforts have succeeded in silicon valley, this is a first. >> it takes courage and it takes convictions and it has to be appreciated. >> reporter: the ceo of the data firm and the chair of the

entrepreneurial task force. alphabet workers will focus on social equity and the company's ethics. >> as a worker and as a leader, i find it's incredible that folks are coming together because they want to uphold the values and the company's values. >> reporter: in an e-mail we've always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our workforce. of course our employees have protected labor rights that we support. he says tech is still a relatively young industry. tese steps could have a significant impact on the rest of silicon valley. >> create in part for the greater good. anything that helps us retain that and that is over time good for california. >> reporter: in silicon valley,

abc7 news. let's talk about vacation because i'm surprised that stay-at-home orders have people down. it's definitely wearing on their nerves. dreaming of a post covid-19 vacation could be good for your mental health. it says that peoplewho talk about travel with friends and family and plan a trip are happier with their lives than people who don't travel at all. researchers at washington state university conducted a survey and found that people who went on vacation were 7% happier than those who rarely or never travel at all. i'm dubious about all of this and i'll explain why. because what about the people who have planned multiple vacations and they keep getting canceled and even ones that they rescheduled are being canceled. i think that could have a negative effect on your mental health and i'm talking about me. >> i'm with you, friend. you envision it for that day a few months out and that arrives and you're like, wait a minute. >> yeah, and then you're like, okay, 2021 and then you're like.

>> you can't get your hopes up. i don't know about this study. >> i'm not sure either. >> so forget everything i just said. cancel your dreams. cancel your dreams. >> some of us, some of the other colleagues and i were talking about yesterday just being off during the holidays for a couple days was nice. even though we're working from home we still have the stress of work and we don't have the stress of the commute and there's still some stress there. it's nice to get away at least even if you can for a couple days during the holidays. but vacation is taking it up a whole other notch of comfort and relaxation that we're missing. you can see the fog and we're still waiting and on the right hand side of your screen starting to filter in from the north bay and here we're looking at sutro tower back the other way and 48 degrees and going to be quiet. cooler all day today and fog and haze and high clouds. chances of rain wednesday,

thursday and friday. both storms are a 1 on the storm impact scale and a dry weekend full of clouds and sunshine. for today the high clouds along with trying to evaporate the fog. that's going to take a lot of the sun's energy and that's why we'll be in the mid to upper 50s during the afternoon hours for our warmest times. tonight, cloud cover is going to be out there, but the fog is not going to be quite as extensive and just a couple degrees cooler from some mid 30s and upper 30s inland to upper 30s to mid 40s around the bay. here's a look at atmospheric river pretty nice looking one but guess where it's going. north of us. the tail end of that wednesday and another storm behind that thursday and friday. both of those will account to likely half inch of rain and saturday and sunday trending drier and next storm light on the storm impact scale coming monday. have a great day. >> thank you, mike. new at 6:00, another covid vaccine could be coming soon. johnson & johnson giving an updated timeline. first nearly half a million

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target is recalling nearly half a million infant rompers and children's swimsuits. the company received reports of snaps breaking or detaching from the clothing and that creates a choking hazard for the kids. the recall includes nearly 300,000 cloud island infant rompers. the items were sold at target stores nationwide and also online. the recall also includes more than 180,000 cat and jack one piece rash guard swimsuits like the one you see on your screen here. you'll find a complete list of the recalled items on our

website, abc7news.com. well, rumors are swirling that apple is testing two folding iphones. this is according to taiwan's economic daily news. the website reports that apple is testing the two prototypes at its factory in china. now, one of the phones opens up to form a single screen and the other reportedly flips vertically kind of like samsung's galaxy z folding device. the economic daily news predicts that these phones will debut in 2022 at the very earliest. this might make you hungry. mcdonald's is adding some new items to its menu and it's all about chicken. this new crispy chicken sandwich is available next month. that does actually look good. you can choose between crispy, spicy and deluxe. the crispy version is topped with pickles on a potato roll and spicy adds some heat with spicy pepper sauce. the deluxe comes with lettuce, tomato and mayo. it's the same patty. i like how they're calling it three different chicken

sandwich. this is the same thing. >> deluxe. some of us skip the pizza crust and some can't get enough. this is so stupid. pizza hut is introducing a new pizzaless pizza. all it is is the cheese stuffed crust. >> why is everything funny this morning. >> it's so ridiculous. they're celebrating 25 years as the chape's stuff crusted debut. limited to locations in l.a. and dallas. today through thursday. you can't even get it. their rival papa john's rolled out its own stuffed crust pizza last month. that is called a breadstick. that's what it is. in a circle. >> but it's the crust. >> i never even had stuffed crust pizza, have you all? >> i just like regular crust. nice, buttery crust. >> can't we just keep it simple, mike. keep it calm. >> i am with you. i had it. a battle in my own household between my wife who likes the cracker crust because she wants

the toppings to be the focal point of the pizza where i like maybe a little thicker pizza. so, those are the battles we have in the nicco household. pretty rough life, right. rainfall yesterday and you can see that as we expect, it wasn't much in the south bay and quite a bit up in the north bay and it did cause some spinouts and some hydroplaning and obviously leading to the fog that we're having to date. that is one of the by-products the other thing the rain we're going to get less than yesterday. my concerns are just hydroplaning out of this but the heaviest rain will fall outside of tomorrow's commute. >> all right, thank you, mike. new at 6:00, waiting for vaccinations when some bay area teachers can expect it to be their turn. small businesses in san francisco had extra time to apply for grants. the new deadline from the city. and the uk's return to lockdown. how the spread of that new covid variant is prompting new restrictions.

but, first, a live look outside. it's 5:56 and here they come. i was going to say, no one on the roads this

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could have prevented this. when is it going to be distributed to the public? you know, we're in january already. millions of californians eager to get the covid-19 vaccine but the rollout is slower than planned. a ucsf doctor explains why it's difficult to pick up the pace. and a live look at the golden gate bridge this morning, there's a break from the rain today, but more showers are on the way. good morning, everybody. it is tuesday, january 5th. we want to check in with mike to hear more about those showers that are on the way, mike. >> yeah, we get a break today in the form of it not raining, but we still have a ton of fog out there and more is possible as we head through the morning. tomorrow's rain is going to fall outside the morning commute, which is nice. i'll show you that coming up. so, if you're heading out right now. jobina and i have been watching this all morning and visibility down to less than a quarter of a mile and it's possible and all the other areas you see in grey and outside of our hills and mountains and takes u