next at 5:00, permanently suspended. twitter shuts down president trump's ability to directly communicate with more than 88 million followers. plus the new warning about the surge in hospitalizations and why some liken it to a tsunami. and vaccine boost. for the first time in weeks the top doctor in santa clara county is optimistic about progress in the fight against covid-19. also tonight the battle to reopen schools in the bay area. half a dozen superintendents take on the governor. and the governor's new budget bonanza. the windfall that could bring a pandemic payoff. with that, we say good evening and thank you so much for joining us. i'm dion lim. ama dates will be joining me momentarily. we begin now with developing

news. twitter says it has permanently suspended president trump's account, and here is what his account looks like tonight. you see that blank screen. the scran company made the decision this afternoon following a tweet from the president that twitter poses, quote, the risk of further incitement of violence. twitter has locked the president's account on wednesday after violence broke out at the capitol where at the time it suspended his account and required him to delete tweets that violated the company's policies and also threatened a permanent ban if he violated more rules. >> i think what twitter and facebook are realizing is that this a is a loaded gun. it is something that is not just mouthing off on the internet. and it went off on wednesday. there's so much stuff that's reprehensible. we all agree that it's reprehensible. and i think that what happened on wednesday forced twitter to really reevaluate why are we waiting another couple of weeks? and also why did we allow this

in the first place? i think it's going to really force a rethink of how we treat social media and how we treat powerful people in social media. >> now, to put this into perspective twitter resisted taking action against trump for years saying a world leader should be able to speak to the citizens. twitter was arguably trump's biggest platform for getting his message out to those 88 million followers. meantime online social media platform reddit banned its donald trump subreddit. reddit removed the page today after many of its members glorified the violence at the capitol wednesday. the donald trump subreddit was used by supporters of president trump but wasn't officially linked to him. now to the latest on the coronavirus and hospital officials raising new concerns. the california hospital association says 15,000 more coronavirus hospitalizations are

expected in the next ten days. a surge that threatens to overwhelm the system. >> what we find ourselves today in terms of the numbers at a point where we are standing on a beach and watching a tsunami approach. >> and part of the onslaught is from regional icu availability numbers. 3% is the lowest in the region since tracking started. sacramento is also getting hit hard dropping to 6.4%. officials announced more than 50,000 newly diagnosed cases today, the fourth single high day total. >> one explanation for the surge in cases is something bay area doctors are watching closely for, a possible new strain of the covid-19 virus. the u.s. might have its own version of the transmissible coronavirus. at least one infectious disease expert told us with infection rates running so high in california, covid mutations

would not be surprising. >> and i do expect there's going to be more strains that emerge for a couple of reasons. one is that when you have really widespread transmission and there's just a high load of virus in the community, there's going to be a lot more possibility of new strains that emerge and you don't have the control. >> the doctor said having some patients fight the virus over a longer period including people with weaker immune systems also increases opportunity for new mutated strains to emerge. abc 7 news reporter chris wynne, the quicker they get vaccinated the sooner the county can move onto the next phase. >> reporter: the vaccine rollout has been slow across the country but officials in santa clara county say they're making progress. >> systems are up and running to serve the residents of our

county. >> reporter: so far 47,000 health care workers county wide have received the vaccine, which is less than a third of those who are eligible. health officer dr. sara cody says while that number appears to be low it's actually good because hospitals have been simultaneously handling the post holiday surge as hospitalizations and cases continue to rise. >> even with those challenges all the systems in the county have been able to stand up robust vaccination, which i think is truly extraordinary. >> reporter: all health care personnel in phase one can now schedule their vaccine appointment either through their personal care provider or the county. santa clara county is working on opening multiple vaccine centers and expects to have 6,000 vaccines a day by next week. >> having personally involved in many complex health care transitions over the years i can with confident this is the most complex we have seen yet. >> reporter: if all goes as planned the county hopes to

enter the next distribution by the end of january. county officials are urging the public not to be discouraged by the complexity of the rollout and believe them when they say the vaccine is safe. >> there's still plenty of virus circulating in our community. and until such time as we get everyone vaccinated or a majority of vaccinations into the arms of people in our community, we cannot let our guard down. >> reporter: community members seeking a sense of normalcy as they anxiously await their turn. in san jose, chris wynne, abcwyc news. to the north bay where teachers and employees are getting ready to receive their covid vaccine possibly by the end of this week. abc news reporter cornell bernard found health officials are still waiting for more doses to arrive. >> reporter: marin county health care workers are rolling up their sleeves every day.

officials say about 8,000 vaccines have been given so far. >> we're very, very excited. >> reporter: the marin county superintendent of schools says school nurses are scheduled to get vaccinated next week. educators are next in line later this month. >> when i say educators i mean our teachers, school professionals, school secretaries, custodians. >> reporter: burkee says marin county has prioritized school employees to get the vaccine. special ed teacher lin dothfield has been back since september. >> that vaccine, it just adds another layer of safety and it also gives i think the parents -- puts them at ease a little bit. >> reporter: officials say the vaccine could be given to 8,000 school employees here at the marin county office of education. >> what's going to happen is we're in the process of identifying the names, and we're forwarding them, and then they will be prioritized. >> getting children back to it classroom is a priority for us in marin county.

>> reporter: but marin county public health officer dr. matt willis said more vaccine is needed. >> we're asking for as much as we can get. we have an operation where we're able to vaccinate 400 to 1,000 people a day. right now we don't have enough vaccine to do that many vaccines a day. >> reporter: new shipments are expected that week. for teacher liz getting the vaccine is personal. >> i'm so excited to get it just because i haven't touched my parents since march. guv new newsom unveiled his $227 billion budget proposal today leading to 12% more spending than last year. $1.7 billion will be dedicated to contact tracing and $372 million will go toward vaccine distribution. $2 billion dedicated to supporting a safe return to in person learning.

a $4 billion economic package is also included in the plan. >> our budget understandably represents and reflects the realities of this recession and the realities of this pandemic induced reality particularly as it's related to the issues that have impacted low wage workers, small businesses as well as decades long inequalities. >> that wind fall we told you about comes from surging tax revenues. governor newsom proposed using that money to send direct aid to low income residents. nearly $86 billion of the budget is for public schools. some of that record investment would go towards addressing equity and reopening for in person learning. chris raes. >> there needs to be from the state actual state standards concerning what is safe. >> reporter: that concern prompted this letter from seven

major urban school districts in southern california including sf unified and oakland unified. in it they say a patchwork of standard from more than a 1,000 school districts would impact low income schools. in the letter the superintendents say the plan fails to address the needs of urban school districts that serve nearly a quarter of california's students almost all of whom live below the poverty level. >> the governor sounded pretty hopeful about opening up schools in february. do you think that's realistic from where you stand? >> i think a big part of opening those schools are state standards. >> reporter: state standards, a plan to help special ed students and a vaccination timetable announced no later than february 1st. the superintendents also say they need clarification on the governor's promise of $2 billion. >> we shnouldn't be taking fund outlet of the classroom to fund other initiatives. those dollars definitely

shouldn't come out of prop $98. >> reporter: in a statement the oakland superintendent said we simply need to work together to refine the approach with the needs of the urban school districts and equity in mind. the governor talked about addressing equity but no details how it'll be applied to schools reopening. >> to deal with the disproportionate impacts of this pandemic on the issues impacting our low income communities. >> superintendent, what response are you hoping for? >> it's a sit down with the governor. >> reporter: we asked the governor's office if that meeting will take place. we haven't heard back yet. in san francisco, chris raes foa abc 7 news. local businesses trying to hold on in this pandemic. a snapshot of walnut creek as businesses face uncertainty and fear where when they have to say fair well. and it's almost time to bid farewell

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the reality of 2021 is becoming clearer for many business owners they realize the lock down isn't ending anytime soon. leslie brinkly met many in contra costa county today who are fearful for the future. we're taking a look at the economic health of the bay area businesses in our efforts to build a better bay area. >> ghost town out here. >> reporter: this cafe owner says he's on the edge as he sees no end in sight of the shutdown. >> we're not doing good at all. i left off six people the last three weeks. >> reporter: businesses say in the spring shutdown they had a sense of somehow we'll get through this. they say it's totally different. now this winter they've shifted into desperation mode. >> we're going to be opening our patio and indoor dining. >> reporter: in desperation the

chef and owner of the hide outon lafayette went on social media to say he was going to defy the health order and pay the fines to stay afloat, but the county threatened to have his license revoked. >> the threat of permanent closure is greater now than it has been in the last ten months. >> we're talking to businesses every day and we're hearing a lot of struggles. >> reporter: the contra costa county da's office says they've issued 14 fines since november for violations of the health order. >> it's a really grim prospect. >> reporter: the owner of flash flight books in walnut creek is hanging on. around her there are so many closures. >> you know, we're anticipating maybe a few more that will just not be able to make it through. so some of our downtown businesses that have closed include cost plus world market, neiman marcus will be closing at the end of january. >> reporter: the only business that sounded optimistics was 24-fitness. 41 locations are currently closed but six others have

opened outdoor fitness. >> we're actually seeing more and more members and team members show confidence in our ability to run a safe space for them and an increase in the number of workouts. >> reporter: after an up tick during the holidays walnut creek visitors say even orders are flat lining. i'm leslie brinkly, abc 7 news. >> as for when coronavirus could top out in california researchers at the institute for health metrics and evaluation say the infections in los angeles will peak january 27th with 135,800 new cases. they say peak mortality will be around february 9th with 652 deaths from the virus in one day. those numbers are based on data from two weeks ago. researchers say what happens after summer will depend on how many people receive the vaccine.

they say as many as 80% of people will need to get inoculated to prevent another surge. university of washington's institute for health metrics and evaluation is the same group that predicted our current surge. moving along, rainy days came and went, and it could be a long time before we see them

take a look what an abc 7 viewer shared with us as he drove along 80 in emeriville this morning. fantastic rainbow starting in the east bay and reaching all the way to san francisco. i think that's a perfect way to start the day although i feel like mother nature just couldn't make up her mind today. let's get to meteorologist sandhya patel. it was cloudy, it was sunny, rain, everything. >> it was like a potpourri of weather, ama. and some areas didn't even see any showers so that system was very specific as to where it brought rain.

we'll talk about that in just a moment. right now i want to show you a beautiful view from our santa cruz camera. don't be fooled by the beauty there because the surf is dangerous. waves are breaking along the coastline. high surf advisory is in effect until tomorrow morning. look at these wave heights. 14 feet half moon bay. 13 foot waves san francisco, breaker waves 20, 25 feet bringing the risk of rip currents as that northwest swell continues to build. you're seeing some clouds out there. mostly mid-50s from san francisco to oakland, san jose. half moon bay at 50 degrees. and here's the view a hazy one from our mount tam camera right now. and temp krrz are fallieratures right now. just in case you want to get out of town here's a forecast traveling tomorrow mainly sunny, light breeze for our bay area airports. temperatures low 60s, and hawn lulu will be looking at mostly

sunny and warm weather. chicago cold, cloudy 35. los angeles basking in 73 degree weather. we're looking back at what came through. that front did produce about 0.20 of rain in sabta rosa but didn't really make it to the south bay so san jose, you got missed. you didn't get the rain we had anticipated which was just a little bit anyways. in wake of that system we do have all this low level moisture. we are expecting the usual spots to get foggy. dense fog advisory for salono county, 10:00 p.m. tonight until noon tomorrow. hazardous driving conditions are expected when visibility falls to a quarter mile or less. so be careful especially if you have to drive tomorrow morning. a beautiful view from our exploratorium camera looking over san francisco. near record warmth is expected the middle of next week. tomorrow morning, bundle up. you'll need those heavy coats.

low 30s to the mid-40s. we will have some areas of dense fog. for the afternoon you will be seeing plenty of sun along with a few high clouds. temperatures anywhere from the upper 50s to the the low 60s for your saturday. and here's your accuweather seven day forecast. it is really going to be a nice weekend even though we need the rain. as we head into next week, temperatures will slowly rise. look at that. by wednesday into thursday we're flirting with records. upper 60s to low 70s in our warmest inland valleys, low 60s along the coast. so it's the kind of warmth that could bring record temperatures here in the bay area. dion and ama? >> wow, incredible. thanks, sandhya. >> still ahead,

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and president-elect biden is promising a major change to the strategy for districting covid vaccines. but experts are split whether it means you'll get vaccinated any faster. and hawaii's plan to keep covid out is causing some issues for tourists. one man explains why he was forced to quarantine even after a negative test. finally this evening marks the end of an era for one of tv's most iconic shows. >> jeopardy is airing the last episode featuring alex tribec. a reporter talked with those who worked with him before he succumbed to cancer last september. >> reporter: the familiar words ring out as a requiem for a heavyweight, a man who died just ten days after taping his final

episode. alex tribec's affection for his fans and the love they have for him was obvious. >> they have expressed their feelings about me in so many positive ways that i can't help but be touched by what they have to say. >> reporter: it was exactly a year ago this week we sat down with the greatest jeopardy players of all-time before their tournament. game's all-time champ ken jennings almost didn't play. >> i had told jeopardy i think i'm done playing, i'm getting a little older and slower. and what made me change my mind was just realizing this might be my last chance to do jeopardy with alex. >> i was just thrilled we were going to be able to do it one more time with alex at least. i hoped it would be more than once, but unfortunately that's not the way it worked out. >> reporter: trabec's fight against pancreatic cancer inspired them. >> when the cameras are off you

see how bad he's battling to get himself into game shape. and it was amazing to see the battle he was waging to do what he loved at the end of his life. >> reporter: he remained a warrior until that last tape. >> i didn't know how much pain he was in but obviously he was battling. >> reporter: and yet no one had any idea these would be his final shows. >> i think he was trying to lift us up as bad as he felt. >> we're trying to build a gentler, kinder society. and if we all pitch in just a little bit, we're going to get there. >> reporter: i'm sammy kenyan, abc 7 news. >> so nice to hear from those who knew him. incredible. and the last show airs here ipabout an hour and a half. and singer tony bennett will be among those watching. he tweeted this out today showing his dog ready to go, too, in a jeopardy bag. i know so many fans will be tuning in tonight to see that last episode. really an icon will be missed. >> truly is. all right, world news tonight with david muir is next.

thank you for joining us tonight. >> for sandhya and all of

tonight, the calls for president trump to resign now growing, or risk facing impeachment, as disturbing new images show the violence on capitol hill. an officer appearing to be crushed as rioters pushed through the door. the officer can be heard screaming for help. tonight, the house moving to begin impeachment proceedings. an article of impeachment drafted for incitement of insurrection. nancy pelosi threatening impeachment if trump does not resign immediately. the republican senator tonight calling on trump to resign. the president-elect joe biden saying the president is not fit to serve, but leaving any talk of impeachment to congress. and tonight, among the dead, a u.s. capitol police officer. the d.c. district attorney vowing to investigate whether the president could face charges. and the president after that message to his supporters the day of the riots, saying, we