the race to end the pandemic virus is up. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. coronavirus has been in the bay area for more than a year. boy, it sure feels like forever, doesn't it? the end may be in sight. all of california's key stats are dropping right now. new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. they're all signs that the winter surge is coming to an end. we're seeing it happen right here in the bay area as we watch our rolling average of new cases drop lower and lower, which is incredibly nice to see. but could there be another surge to come in california? california's health and human services secretary says that is a real possibility. abc7 news reporter stephanie sierra is on the story. >> we predict that fewer than half the people in hospitals today will be in hospitals 30 days from now. >> reporter: a promising outlook on the future of hospital capacity across the state mark ghaly says more attention now is shifting to the uk and west

coast variantedst and their ainvolving mutations. >> some of those mutations are meaningful and create what i call additional stickiness, more infectiousness of the virus. >> reporter: dr. ghaly says the state is actively sequencing more than one thousand mutations of california's two west coast variants, both of which have been detected in the bay area. but questions still linger whether these mutations are affecting how treatments work or the efficacy of moderna and pfizer's vaccine. >> again, unclear about its exact role in either making people sicker because they have the variant strain. >> reporter: as of today, more than 3.5 million doses of covid vaccine have been used. abc7's analysis found that's only 63% of the state's available supply. yet there is no indication how much of it has gone to latino and black communities, disproportionately affected. dr. ghaly, you said today we don't have to make a choice

between speed and equity when it comes to vaccinations, yet the state is not releasing any race or ethnicity data to show which groups are actually getting vaccinated. can you explain why this isn't happening? >> we're working on it with our local partners to make sure that we have as accurate as you can. i'm glad you pointed out. it's going to be incomplete at the beginning. so stay tuned. i'm not exactly sure when we'll be releasing it. we want to make sure we release as complete a picture as we can. >> reporter: meantime, no information was released regarding how blue shield will be organizing a mass vaccination network across the state. more details are expected next week. stephanie sierra, abc7 news. as the covid-19 vaccine continues to roll out, the big debate is whether to get as many people as possible the first dose or to hold back so that people can get the second dose. both the pfizer and moderna vaccines require two doses to reach their full 95% effectiveness. luz pena is part of our vaccination team.

she spoke to disease experts who say the longer we wait, the more time we're giving the virus time to mutate. >> reporter: it's a race against covid-19 as it mutates, and this doctor says at this point we're running out of time. >> i have felt all along that we're being a little too rigid about the second doses. >> reporter: the doctor is calling for counties to be flexible, at least for the next three months as vaccine supply increases across the country. pfizer and moderna suggest you get the second dose three to four weeks after the first. but he argues counties can wait even longer to schedule those appointments. >> it turns out that before you get your second dose, like the day before, you're already about 80 to 90% protected. >> would you say the pfizer and moderna suggested those three to four weeks to get that second dose really because they were trying to expedite the process with the fda for that emergency authorization? >> yeah, they had to pick a

time. and it's a reasonable time. and yes, part of this was to expedite it. they didn't want to wait two, three, four months after the first dose. >> reporter: recently the head of the cdc rochelle walensky said the second dose may be given six weeks or 42 days after the first. stanford disease specialist dr. dean winslow points to the hepatitis b vaccine as an example of a longer timeline. >> that requires three doses, four to six weeks later and six months later. >> reporter: we went to ucsf's quantitative biosciences institute for answer. this is where they study the mutating genes of the variants. at least three have been detected in the bay area. >> this is a big concern that transmissible will soon become the dominant viruses here and around the world. >> reporter: dr. nevin kroghin says the longer we wait to vaccinate as many people as

possible, the more time the virus has to mutate. luz pena, abc7 news. in san francisco, age will no longer be the only factor for distributing vaccine doses. abc7 news reporter wayne freedman found the story in the bayview. >> reporter: in san francisco's bayview, it's really no surprise how good news spreads around. >> i found out from facebook. >> i found out from my next-door neighbor. >> a friend of my wife's found it. >> reporter: social distancing, waiting in line for something new, a drop-in clinic for the moderna covid vaccine. >> we were. >> i have been. >> reporter: as the city sees it, this is a new way of distributing vaccine, a bit of an experiment based on zip code and based on reality. here in the bayview, roughly 10% of the population has been infected. >> what the city is wanting to do is to make sure that the communities that have been hit hardest by the covid-19 are

getting low barrier easy access to the vaccine. >> reporter: in short, if your zip code is -- >> 94124. or 94135, and you're 65 or older, this location on keith street in san francisco will have 200 doses a day, seven days a week for an unknown amount of time. it's also open to 65-year-olds anywhere in san francisco's health net work. being here was a relief for 81-year-old laurence blount. he used to work for united airlines. >> oh, god, this thing is a killer. you don't know how you can get it, when you get it. ust not even knowing you have it. >> reporter: that same relief holds true for sal alcala, now that his mother has received the vaccine. >> it must have been hard worrying about your mother. >> oh, yes, yes. for the last year. every day. >> reporter: but no longer, at least not in this corner of the bayview. she gets her second dose in a month. in san francisco, wayne freedman, abc7 news. statewide, 63% of vaccine

doses delivered to california have been administered. we're monitoring progress with our vaccine tracker, available at abc7news.com. san jose city council members are weighing a proposal that would force major grocers to provide hazard pay to employees. multiple businesses in california are looking into similar measures. chris nguyen has the story. >> reporter: tonight the bay area's is considering a proposal. >> it's something we need to help us out. being exposed, every day, with no covid pay. it's a shame. >> reporter: that's why sergio jimenez is pushing an emergency ordinance that would force large corporate grocery stores, chain supermarkets, and retail stores that sell food products to temporarily pay its employees an additional $3 per hour. the proposal would exempt smaller mom and pop shops and applies only to companies with 300 or more employees nationwide.

>> this is a way to lift them up, help them out in recognition of the work that they're doing. but also, i think it's important to recognize that many of these workers live in some of the zip codes that have been most impacted by covid. >> reporter: last week, santa clara county supervisors directed county staff to draft a hero pay ordinance for essential workers employed by grocery store, pharmacy, and fast food restaurants, which would add $5 per hour to their pay. similar plans are being debated in oakland and berkeley. these proposals face resistance from members of the california grocers association who say they've spent millions of dollars to keep customers and employees safe. >> have a city council tell a business what to pay their employees is unprecedented, and it causes a ripple effect of unintended consequences. >> reporter: some economists say consumer spending has leveled off, and that jobs could be cut. >> we might find that even the big box stores don't have enough profit margin to weather this kind of an increase in pay.

>> reporter: but others say it's about prioritizing people over profits. >> this is really an issue of equity and fairness. it's not about economics, because the companies can afford it. >> reporter: a vote can come as soon as tonight or possibly be postponed. in san jose, chris nguyen, abc7 news. >> so here is the big question. could the pandemic take governor newsom out of office? a recall effort is gaining steam again, and now there is an official challenger

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the political future of

governor gavin newsom could rest on the three rs. a slow vaccine roll-out, an accelerating recall campaign, and now a republican challenger. former san diego mayor kevin faulconer has officially jumped into the 2022 gubernatorial campaign. abc7 news anchor liz kreutz spoke with one-on-one with him today. she is in the newsroom live. liz, faulconer is preparing to run against newsom as soon as there is a recall. >> he sure is. he actually thinks that will happen. faulconer seems to be capitalizing on a moment here, the potential recall and frustrations around newsom's job approval ratings. his approval rating dropped 22 points since november. a challenger has already emerged in former san diego mayor kevin faulconer. the moderate republican officially launched his campaign outside an elementary school in l.a. today, joined by parents frustrated at newsom's handling of the pandemic. it seems you are running in direct response to newsom's handling of the pandemic.

>> well, that's a big part of it. the fact that public schools and states across this country have safely reopened, but yet private schools are reopened here in california but public schools are not. and that's putting our kids at a distinct disadvantage. >> reporter: the timing of faulconer's campaign launch comes as a new poll from school of berkeley's governmental says his approval is plummeting. just 46 approve of his performance down from 64% in november. the recall movement is also gaining steam and nearing the required signature recall thresh rolled hold. >> looks like he sees vulnerability in the governor. here's our poll which shows greater vulnerability in the electorate. so, you know, this is politics. it's hardball. >> reporter: so who is kevin faulconer? the dad of two was born in san jose, grew up in oxnard and moved to san diego for college. he was an executive at a public

relations firm before getting into local san diego politics. ultimately serving as mayor for two terms from 2014 to 2020. he touts his record on combatting the city's homelessness crisis, although critics say he used controversial tactics such as police enforcement and sweeps of homeless camps. in response this week, a spokesperson for newsom called him a trump supporter who is exploiting the pandemic to advance his own political career. the strategy for team newsom seems to be to brand you as a trump republican. is that how you would describe yourself? >> gavin newsom always wants to talk about donald trump because he never wants to talk about his failures in sacramento. the governor and his team are clearly worried about me. and they should be. >> reporter: faulconer will likely be one of many republicans to jump in the race if there is a recall. so far the group says they have 1.3 million signatures. they have 1.5 million by the march deadline to qualify.

according to the berkeley igs survey, just 36% of voters say they would vote for a recall. but 19%. so a pretty large amount are currently undecided. in the newsroom, liz kreutz, abc7 news. >> yeah, and so joining us now is abc7 news insider phil matier to discuss the recall effort. phil, before we get started, i want to play for us all something that governor newsom said when asked about the recall effort. this was just last monday. >> it's complete utter nonsense. so let's just dispense with that fundamental foundationally nonsense. >> nonsense, his words. said it twice. so phil, would you use that word? >> i wouldn't. now he was talking about the impact that the recall was having on policies that he and his team were putting out in terms of the vaccinations of reopening the schools and getting the economy back up. but it's not nonsense. his team is very aware of it. they've done polling of their own, and they know that the governor is in trouble. look at 20--point drop since september. so initially people were

supporting him, and now the number is dropping. in polls, you look at the trend, which way the numbers are going. and one of the most disturbing numbers is that only 31%, that's less than 1/3 of the voters throughout thinking he is doing a god or excellent job when it comes to the pandemic. 43% say he's doing a poor job or fair job. an most of them say a poor job that is a tough number that is not nonsense. >> phil, i want the actually go back to those numbers that i mentioned in the story, you mentioned too. newsom's current job rating is 46%, down from 64 in september. >> yeah. >> what do you see in these numbers? we all kind of know what happened a month later, french laundry. >> that's right. and that might be a turning point. californians have been patient, and they have been cooperative. but they've been faced with this back and forth. governor newsom calls it the toggle switch. some of this is out of his hands. the virus numbers go up, they go down, they go up, they go down. he is trying to depend on

science, but science doesn't have all the answers. behind this is even his own pollster, or his supporters' pollsters show the number one concern is vaccine, getting it out there. why is california at the bottom of the nation when it comes to administering the vaccine compared to places like texas and florida? what's the answer to that? they don't want answers. they just want the vaccine delivered. the second thing is the economy, the small businesses, open, closing, open, closing. the unemployment checks. are people getting them or not? and the third one is schools. but the first one is the vaccine. that's it, and he's got to prove it or he could be in trouble. >> it is interesting what motivating all of, this phil. governor newsom took a lot of flak for ignoring his own guidelines and going to nonsocially distanced dinner, remember that at the french laundry. >> exactly. >> is this recall effort personal, political, a little bit of both? what do you think? >> it's personal. you know, in politics, you what

they call a defining moment, and his going to the french laundry was one of those defining moments. not a good one, all right. so the second thing is what makes it personal? you've either got the shot, the vaccine or you don't. your parents either have it, or they don't. if you're a cop and sitting there i'm going out all the time and i'm not getting it, but other people are, dan, that's where a lot of this is going to hinge. it's personal. your job, your income, your rent, your mortgage, your health, all of that is personal. it's not some abstract policy. it's not climate change. it's not down in the future. it's not tomorrow is going to be a better day. it better be. and gavin's got to deliver on that. he's got deliver on it quickly if he is going to try to keep this petition from getting on the ballot. because once a recall is on the ballot, it's a whole new ball game. and as liz pointed out, anything could happen, and likely will. we've done it before in california. people said you wouldn't recall gray davis.

we did. and we put arnold schwarzenegger in there, and everybody said that would never happen, but it did. >> well, it's getting awfully close to getting on the ballot too. the momentum is certainly heading that way, phil. we'll have to see what happens. thank you very much, phil. >> we'll see it in march. we are looking forward to a warm weekend, and there are a we are the thrivers. women with metastatic breast cancer. our time... ...for more time... ...has come. living longer is possible- and proven in postmenopausal women taking kisqali plus fulvestrant. in a clinical trial, kisqali plus fulvestrant helped women live longer with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. and it significantly delayed disease progression. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat,

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people in the northeast are being asked to stay home because of the record-setting snowfall blanketing the region. weather alerts are in effect in 19 states. and check out this time lapsed video showing a yard in new jersey just disappear. parts of the garden state are seeing almost three feet of snow. wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour were reported at jfk airport, although incredible to see, nothing really like that here. sounds like we're going get a lot of sunny days. >> ama, we are indeed. our weather is the polar opposite, spencer, of what they're seeing back there. >> oh, well said. in fact, it may be the solar opposite over the next few days. so here is a look at what's happening right now on live doppler 7. you can see what was our rainstorm earlier has left the bay area. so here is the view from sutro tower looking over san francisco where it's currently 53 degrees. we've got mid-50s at oakland, mountain view, san jose, a cool

48 at half moon bay. and a nice view of the western sy and the bay from emeryville. 51 in santa rosa and low 50s also at novato, fairfield, con card and livermore. looking across the embarcadero from the rooftop, let's take a look also at our forecast features. it will be dryer and chillier tonight with a few areas of morning fog. another round of light showers tomorrow. it looks like mainly a north bay event. the dry willing begin on thursday, and that pattern will continue for a while. first, a closer look at the approaching storm. it's a light one, ranking only one on the abc7 storm impact scale. scattered light showers will be produced by this storm, mainly in the north bay. and there is a slight chance of some isolated hail falling during this storm. here is our forecast animation. overnight, lots of clear skies. clouds begin to thicken in the early morning hours. you see the weak frontal system arriving in the north bay early tomorrow morning. it will produce showers up there, and some of them may reach south and east of the

golden gate. at the moment it appears not much is going to fall, not much rain is going to fall except in the north bay tomorrow. so on we go to rainfall estimates. it looks like no measurable rain at all for much of the bay area, just a few hundreds of an inch likely in the north bay. and a winter storm warning has been extended until 4:00 p.m. tomorrow for the sierra where we may see another 6 to 12 inches of snow. overnight in the bay area upper 30s in the lows. inland valleys low 40s around the bay shoreline. tomorrow under mostly cloudy skies with a few breaks of sunshine, we'll see highs in the mid-50s from coast to inland. and here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. after tomorrow's level 1 weak storm up in the north bay, the sunny pattern starts on thursday. and that dry and mild pattern will get even milder going into the weekend and into next week. we can expect a string of days with high temperatures in the mid-60s just about everywhere at the coast. weather is looking pretty good. we will enjoy the sunshine, but

of course we still need more rain because we are in a severe rainfall deficit. dan and ama? >> absolutely. all right. thank you so much, spencer. some names you know have just been added to the list of "jeopardy!" guest hosts. dr. oz, dr. sanjay gupta, savannah guthrie and anderson cooper are now on the roster. the show's producers say they're going to take their time picking a replacement for alex trebek. ken jennings is midway through his six-week guest host stint. you can watch "jeopardy!" weekdays at 7:00 p.m., right after this newscast on abc7 news. california dreaming. it's our new series that you can catch all this week at 6:30 here on abc7 news. coming up tonight, hear how experts are working on ways to help lessen the effects of wildfire, and how to

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it's a collaborative project with our sister stations in los angeles and the central valley. >> 2020 saw record-breaking heat. the extreme weather conditions coupled with the millions of dead trees left california primed for the next inferno. however, there is hope. experts are working on ways to lessen the effects of wildfires. >> we get small fires all the time up here. every single year, there is fire here, fire there. no big deal. i've been here for 38 years. been evacuated a couple of times. and it's never turned into this before. >> the heat, the heat was just incredible. the wind was blowing downhill at us at least 40 miles per hour. and then sometimes it would stop and just pull air back up and trees would be exploding well out ahead of the flame. then we were surrounded and it was going to cut off the road.

>> between terra's family and our family, we lost six out of nine homes and the store. >> the amount of work that needs to be done to this land and to this community over the next five to ten years, probably the rest of my lifetime is just phenomenal. it's hard to comprehend. >> it seems like we need to find a way to better prevent it. >> reporter: since the beginning of the 20th century, california has been seeing an average increase of 2 degrees fahrenheit, the summer of 2020 being the hottest on record. combine that with shorter, dryer rainy seasons and santa ana wind events in the south. it creates the perfect storm for an extreme wildfire throughout california. >> i can tell you over the last two decades plus, i have never experienced the kind of heat that we've experienced in recent years. sometimes as high as 108 degrees

inland. now tied to the heat, of course, are the droughts. >> and in january and february, we had very little rain at all. so that can happen. and when that jet stream doesn't move further south into southern california, then we go into drought periods. >> reporter: but the weather is not the only reason for these intense fires. >> a great majority of our forest has died. basically, what happens is when we don't get enough precipitation, the trees don't get the water they need. they become stressed or they become weakened, and their natural ability to resist pestilence is suppressed. >> reporter: in the sierra nevada mountains, an estimated 147 million trees have died, priming the forest with enough dry fuel to create the next inferno. but experts say it's the exclusion of fire that's causing the biggest risks. >> you know, we used to have so many areas burn pretty frequently in the past. maybe even up to every ten years.

and that included lightning strikes as well as indigenous burning. and the north americans showed up, we put a stop to both. that's dramatically changed the amount of fuel ot there and ready to burn. >> you've seen communities move out more into the wild land. so some areas that were large ranches that maybe did prescribed fire before are now housing initiatives. >> given that we're going see more fire on the landscape in california, what kind of fire is that going to be? is it going to be the kind of destructive high intensity fire that we've seen recently, especially in 2020? or could it take the form of more good fire? >> the creek fire burned from september 4th to december 24th, 2020, becoming the single largest wildfire in california history, but not one life lost thanks to those who put their lives on the line. as for the gillette family, they have a new hope for the place they love. >> some of the major components that make this place great

survived. crescents did not, but you can't live your life in fear like that. we love this place, and it's certainly worth rebuilding, and we'll get it done. ♪ >> hold on to hope. well, tomorrow we're looking at how the high cost of living is affecting the california dream and talking to a bay area state senator who is proposing laws to change that. "california dreaming" continues all week at 4:30 and 6:30 here on abc7. it culminates with a 30-minute special saturday night at 9:00. however, you stream the entire special right now about demand with our abc7 bay area connected tv app. download the free app on fire tv, android tv, apple tv and roku. happening now, a police officer killed during the washington, d.c. insurrection will soon be honored in the u.s. capitol rotunda.

here is a live look at that location. congress will hold a ceremony for 42-year-old brian sicknick. capitol police say sicknick was injured by protesters who stormed the building on january 6th. members of the police department will be able to attend the viewing overnight. and then lawmakers plan to pay tribute to sicknick again in the morning. he is going to be buried at arlington national cemetery. dozens of people have been arrested in the riot, but no one has been accused in his death specifically. and yes getting a better idea of what former president donald trump's impeachment trial will look like next week. prosecutors and the defense filed their briefs today. the house impeachment managers say trump incited the riot. the former president's team is arguing his speech to the crowd is protected by the first amendment. this afternoon, american policy adviser and political commentator lanhee chen told abc7 news the senate has likely already made up its mind. >> there is a sense that they want to just kind of get through this period of time and get on

with business, whatever is going to come next, whether it's the covid debate or some other debate over some policy matter. but outcome of this particular impeachment proceeding does seem as though it's relatively predestined. >> trump's team is expected to argue he cannot be impeached since he no longer holds the office. two fbi agents were killed in a shootout in florida while trying to serve a search warrant. it happened this morning outside ft. lauderdale. the fbi says a child pornography suspect opened fire on the agents when they arrived at his home. three other agents were hurt. federal officials believe the suspect fatally shot himself, but an official cause of death hasn't been determined. today's shootout is one of the deadliest in fbi history. as we continue here, times of crisis tend to expose just how important some systems are that we often take for granted, like our computer systems. it is a hard lesson the north bay's largest health care system learned.

stimulus payments arrive on a debit card that looked so fishy, one woman threw it out. i'm michael finney and i'll tell you thou tell

amazon announced this afternoon that jeff bezos will step down as ceo later this year. bezos founded amazon as an online bookstore in 1994 and has built it into an ecommerce giant, making him one of the richest men in the world. the 57-year-old issued a statement today saying, quote, right now i see amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition. andy jassy will take over the top spot. he is currently the ceo of amazon web services. . we know how wildfires have changed the lives of northern california residents. it has also impacted their local health providers in unseen but critical ways. health is an important element of building a better bay area. abc7 news reporter david louie looks at how the fires created a meltdown at san jose's largest clinics during the pandemic. >> reporter: the tubbs fire in

2017 devastated entire santa rosa neighborhoods. it also left santa rosa community health in dire need of triage. its vista campus, the largest of nine facilities suffered extensive fire, smoke and water damage. that's where its computer servers were housed, impacting patient medical records, billing, and other essential technology needs. >> so you can have power outages, brownouts that are going on in the middle of the day or data that stops working. so when you go to enter something and send to it the server, it doesn't go and it sends back error messages. >> reporter: mark williams' team at hbns was hired to do a major overhaul. the wildfires were quickly followed by the pandemic. remote access had to be set up at the time for physicians and staff members displaced from the fires or homeless. >> we were still trying to have people log in remotely, giving everybody remote access, it would have slowed everything down. it would have harmed patients. it would have been frustrating to our staff. >> reporter: medical and billing records moved to the cloud. the 18-month process required a $2 million investment. but the transition came just in

time to handle the management of vaccines and inoculations. >> we now have a system that we just launched three days before our big vaccine clinic that can go from our electronic health record, send messages to our patients, they can click on that message and sign themselves up for a vaccine appointment. >> reporter: covid has put front line health care workers under considerable stress. add the frustration of a broken computer system. the upgrade means 40,000 patients and the 500 members of the santa rosa community health team are recovering nicely. david louie, abc7 news. more to come here. showers have tapered, but the rain can't quite gone yet. we'll have details on the final stormy day in the seven-day forecast, next.

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millions of americans are now receiving their $600 stimulus payments. but an east bay woman threw hers in the recycle bin by mistake. it's a common error easy to make. she thought better of it so she contacted 7 on your side right away. michael finney is live with the answers tonight. michael? >> it was a close one, dan.

it was a close one. look, the government bombarded us with warnings about scams, but then they sent out fishy looking debit cards. so here's how you can tell the difference from the real from the fake. >> so i thought this has got to be a scam, are you sending me a card? >> reporter: to karen peterson of richmond, that plain white envelope looked like junk mail, or maybe even a scam. and the debit card inside seemed a little fishy too. >> it naturally makes me suspicious when i get cards in the mail. >> reporter: the insurance said it was her economic impact payment. but last year's came in a paper check. this didn't seem right. >> why would they switch their normal way of sending us money? >> reporter: a sticker on the front said to call this number to activate the card and she would have to provide the last six digits of her social security number, which made her even more suspicious. so she did what seemed safe. >> i threw it in the recycle bin that we have. >> reporter: little did she know she just through out $600 from

the federal government, or almost did. something made her wonder. maybe it's real. >> and then i pulled it back out and started reading it over and over and over again. clearly they don't put on the outside of the envelope hey, stimulus money. >> reporter: the plain envelope may be used to deter theft. it also makes it look fake. on top of that, many folks are wary about giving out their social security and other personal data to an unknown toll-free number. >> that makes me suspicious. >> reporter: so how will you know if your debit card is for real? first, the cards are issued by meta bank with a visa logo, a security chip and a three-digit security code on the back. and the surest way to know you're calling the actual bank and not a scam, you activate the card by calling this toll-free number. it's 1-800-240-8100. >> thank you for calling money network. you received this iep card -- >> reporter: you'll have to

provide the last six digits of your social security number. you may also have to provide your name, dress, and date of birth. and be wary. the cards are mostly free, but come with a slight of possible fees to get your money out if you're not careful. >> they don't make it easy, that's for sure. it would be easier just to give people a check, let them go cash it. >> reporter: now there are a lot of scams out there, so do not respond to calls, nexts, emails saying they're from the government. now we posted the only legitimate toll-free number you should ever call. it's on our website, abc7news.com. dan? >> great job, michael. thanks very much. it is groundhog day, in case you didn't know. so punxsutawney phil carried out his yearly tradition. >> when i turned to see, there is a perfect shadow cast of me. six more weeks of winter there will be!

>> a perfect shadow. you heard it. six more weeks of winter. this morning's event in punxsutawney, pennsylvania looked a little different because of the pandemic. there were no crowds in attendance or guests present. maybe phil felt a little more calm and relaxed that way, dan. >> yeah, i think so, ama. maybe a little less frantic. get a good take on what the future is going to be with the forecast. spencer we lost his signal. so we have punxsutawney tuma right now. >> i'll tell you what, guys. when you look at the seven-day, it's really going to look like spring has arrived early. we're talking about mild temperatures, a lot of sunshine. the only exception tomorrow. we're tracking rain on the storm impact scale. a level 1 light system tomorrow. the best chance of finding that wet weather is really going to be in the north bay. so future weather, we'll go hour by hour. tomorrow morning 10:00 a.m. you can see some light showers in the north bay. and then as the system tries to move south, it's really going fall apart. and we're talking about minimal rainfall, if any outside of the north bay. when we do find the showers,

they'll be less than about a tenth of an inch. overnight tonight we'll find a blend of clouds and stars out there. cool in the 30s, around the shoreline low to mid-40s. tomorrow a mostly cloudy sky. we'll find the showers in the north bay. everyone is going to feel the colder air. we're only making into it the mid-50s by the afternoons. here is the accuweather seven-day. tomorrow is the lone winter day. after that nothing but sunshine, warming temperatures. the weekend looks spectacular. tons of sunshine, in the 60s, and it stays that way through early next week, guys. >> all right. sounds good. thank you so much, drew. >> a brutal winter day tomorrow, 56 degrees. >> so brutal. let's go to abc7 news sports director larry beil. larry, you've got a really interesting item tonight. kind of a meeting of greats. >> absolutely. before we get to that, were you intimating drew's beard makes him look like a groundhog? is that what i was hearing? no? maybe i misunderstood. i must have misunderstood.

anyway, between them, tom brady and steph curry have won a total of nine championships. two stars still hungry for more rings. so what happened whe my body is truly powerful. i have the power to lower my a1c. because my body can still make its own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it, lowering my blood sugar from the first dose. once-weekly trulicity responds when my body needs it, 24/7. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include indigestion, fatigue, belly pain, decreased appetite, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting which can lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems.

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who have overcome doubts from critics who question their size and athleticism, driven from within towards greatness. the greatest quarterback of all time, tcurry supposedly too scrawny to make it, now heralded as the greatest shoot other of all time. two icons who have the same goal, and that is keep winning championships. >> larry, it is super bowl weekend. recently warriors superstar steph curry took to social media to congratulate tom brady on reaching his record tenth super bowl. what was it like when the two superstars first met? so i asked. >> i met him 2014 at the preakness in baltimore. had a fairly decent conversation. a lot of it, to your point, seemed like he always tried to pick up nuggets himself on guys from other different leagues. that competitive fire seemed, even the middle of his off-season was still, you could see it in his eyes. >> reporter: stephen curry turns 33 in march.

with three championships and two league mvps, he was asked his age in basketball years. >> i feel like i'm in my mid-20s right now. i don't have any concerns about falling off any time soon. >> reporter: at 43 years old, brady, the six-time super bowl champion recently said he is open to playing past 45. >> i'm obviously older. now fast forward 21 years sitting in tampa, trying to go out and play a super bowl, win a super bowl in our own stadium which would be sweet. >> reporter: beliefs the warriors championship window is still very much open. >> thinking this year, next year? thinking with klay coming back, thinking about all those different things. but right now in the middle of my prime, you're living in reality. so you know unless you're playing quarterback for the tampa bay bucks right now, it's a fine line between when you're at your peak and when you need to really get the most out of what you got on the court. >> chris alvarez, abc7 news sports. the 49ers quarterback rumor mill churning. and now that it's super bowl week, we finally get to hear

what the players think about the situation. george kittle visited with nfl network today, defending his qb, saying he still believes in jimmy garoppolo, thinks he can lead the team to another super bowl and maybe another super bowl win this time. kittle a big fan of jimmy g. speaking of fandom, kittle was surprised by his own idol on espn's "first take" today. >> stone-cold? i mean, he is the man. i think honestly, my favorite attribute, oh, you got to be kidding me right now! i think his best attribute -- he might have the best hands in wrestling from all those beers that he can catch. i got to get on -- are you kidding me right now? >> oh, yeah, oh, yeah! >> stone cold, tremendous. changing teams, countries and positions. the former a's short stop is slated to play second base for toronto this upcoming season.

held a news conference today. siemian, a bay area native spent the last six years in oakland playing short stop. wasn't crazy about moving to second for the j's, but $18 million does have a way of changing minds. an offer the a's simply could not match. >> we called them. i'll leave it at that. we called them. so it's just something i felt like i owed to my family, not only my wife and kids, but my parents and people who got to see me play at the big league level. >> his ownership got to decide whether they want the get in or out, because right now they're just going to lose players. lastly, congrats to the pac-12 scholar of the year. he'll be back for his senior season at center. 3.6 gpa. good, smart, strong. >> congrats. absolutely. all right. thanks, larry. well, coming up tonight on abc7 news at 8:00, "to tell the

truth." that's followed by new episodes of "blackish" and "mixedish." and stay tuned for abc at 11:00. nice lineup tonight. >> absolutely. that is it for this edition of abc7 news. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. for spencer christian, drew tuma, larry beil, all of us here, we appreciate your time. hope you have a nice evening and we see you again tonight at 11:00.

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♪ this is "jeopardy!" please welcome today's contestants-- an arts administrator originally from morganton, north carolina... a novelist from portland, oregon... and our returning champion-- a retired police department information supervisor from las vegas, nevada... whose 1-day cash winnings total... and now, here is the guest host of "jeopardy!"-- ken jennings! [cheers and applause] thank you so much, johnny gilbert. thank you, everyone. welcome to "jeopardy!". now for the first time in almost two weeks, we have a new 1-game champion with us in steve crupi. but i know, myrlin and henry, you would like to be

1-game champions at the end of this show as well. good luck to all three of you. let's play "jeopardy!", shall we? here are the categories for the first round. we'll begin with some... then... and we'll finish with... steve, you're our returning champion. where do we start? - cutting edge for $200. - steve. - what are diamonds? - right. - cutting edge, $400. - henry. - who are chefs? - that's it. - cutting edge, $600. - henry. - what is a pull cut? no. steve or myrlin? [beep]