er combo. only at jack in the box. >> we are bracing for a significant fourth surge. >> san francisco's daily case rate has surpassed the county's average daily new cases. and one of the largest school districts in the bay area says tonight it will require teachers to get vaccinated. getting ready for a new school year takes on new meaning. teachers share their >> covid testing confusion in the north bay, and now the state has stepped in. >> my grandma was traumatized by this event. >> no accident. someone torched three cars in front of a home. the family rattled and scared.

>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding better solutions, this is abc news. >> you will see a full-scale war going on in the next few weeks. >> a political battle brewing in california that some say is more focused on political power than the candidates themselves. >> the governor's recall raise tonight's neck and neck. >> you are watching abc 7 news at 5:00. is california's recall election inches closer, governor newsom is facing some increasingly stiff competition. >> abc news reporter tim john's is here to talk about how both democrats and republicans are responding to latest polling numbers. tim: republicans are growing hopeful they have a chance to unseat the governor. kratz worry their base will not turn out, but the democrats we spoke to today say they are very

much aware of the election and plan to make their voice heard. this is a battle many did not see coming. >> you will see a full-scale war going on the next few we. tim: as ballots are being sent to every registered voter in california, polls show governor newsom locked in a tight race. experts say it can be attributed to a number of factors. >> there is an enthusiasm gap for democrats, so i think that is reason for the governor to be nervous. >> democratic strategists much of their base is not fired up in republican strategists view it as an opportunity. republican john cox said his campaign is running allstate ahead -- full steam ahead. >> main issues are quality of life in the state. we should have enough water. we should have enough electricity. tim: cox says he think the

governor's handling of the covid-19 pandemic has also influenced voters. >> i think the mismanagement has. i think the inconsistency of all the stops and starts has been a problem. i think keeping our children out of school. tim: with heavy pressehe gorn, democrats, too, are pulling out all the stops. >> on receiving texts from the democratic national committee. we have members of our congressional delegation holding press conferences. tim: trying to prevent a gray davis-style recall from having a newsom twist. local election offices will start sending alex -- ballots no later >> we have everything you need to know about the race to replace governor gavin newsom on our website, abc7news.com.

>> abc -- san francisco's case rate is growing faster than the national average, so what is going on? part of our vaccine team joins us with some expert insight. you learned about what is driving this. >> medical experts are attributing the sudden increase to three factors -- the delta variant, the unvaccinated population, and the reopening of california on june 15. close to two months after california reopened san francisco, the first city to reach a milestone of 80% of the eligible population vaccinated. >> what you think is driving this increase? >> delta, delta, delta. >> here is what it looks like based on the latest cdc data from august 8.

and senior investigator for the gladstone institute elegy and immunology. over 70% of the population is fully vaccinated. >> most of the infections we are seeing in the bay area are occurring in the unvaccinated individuals, but i also suspect that we are seeing more breakthrough infections that was previously appreciated. >> san francisco hospitals are not overwhelmed. the medical chief says the majority of those hospitalized with covid-19 continue to be unvaccinated, and the breakthrough cases are

particularly the elderly and immunocompromised. >> i don't see any indication that we will be overwhelmed in our bracing for significant surge. they are doing more to get the eligible population vaccinated and they said one potential factor is if san francisco is testing at a higher rate. >> we are testing for sure, but it is not like this is an artifact of more testing. this is the virus. >> dr. green says what is helping san francisco now is that the majority of the population has embraced the vaccine, but numbers could continue to go up another concern is that as more people are infected with covid, the virus will continue to mutate, increasing the possibility of new variants to emerge and evade the vaccine.

>> thank you. and about face from the san francisco unified school district. it is now mandating that employees be fully vaccinated for covid-19 starting september 7. anyone not vaccinated must submit to weekly testing. the order does not apply to students. two weeks ago, the district again notifying employees that they had until august 31 to report if they had been vaccinated or not. according to officials, more than half of employees are in fact vaccinated. education is a key focus in building a better bay area, and tomorrow, students will be welcomed back in the south bay. it is always an exciting and certainly anxious time for teachers. this year, it is on a whole new level. >> at frost elementary school in san jose, teachers are anxiously putting on the finishing touches to their classrooms before students return from summer break. >> in a normal year, i think it is similar to the first day jitters students have.

a brand-new group of people. you know, how am i going to re-eight -- relate to the class? are they going to like me? >> but facing the first of class in a year and a half, a whole new ballgame. >> there's a lot of real anxiety for staff this year. the health and safety of the students will always be at the forefront students, and covid-19 makes it tough. while some teachers have expressed concerns about their own safety, at frost, the teachers say they are focused on creating a safe environment or everyone. >> i just want to make sure my families and students feel comfortable. it's going to take a lot of teamwork. >> it will also take teamwork to manage students coming in after a year of online learning.

for first grade teacher heather turner, she will be welcoming some students into the classroom for the first time ever, but she says the excitement and experience she and her colleagues have is the anxiety that leads to a great year. >> i have 15 years of this is what i was doing and just a year and a half of things being a little bit different. absolutely i can go back to a community of a group of students where we all care about each other. my hello book i'm reading this year. you are finally here. >> finally here together again back in school. >> san mateo community college district is joining the effort to get people vaccinated. the district joint the first of three pop-up clinics rate. shock -- shots are being provided free of charge. the next pop-up clinic will be held thursday at skyline

college, then friday at college of san mateo. they will operate from 10:00 in the morning through 6:00 in the evening. >> more vaccination mandates are being issued in the bay area. those who are unvaccinated in walnut creek will have to wear masks outdoors. foster city-based gilead will require all its u.s. employees be vaccinated. the biotech company set a deadline of october 1. and we want to share with you a feature on our website, and interactive vaccination map where you can see how many people in your zip code have been vaccinated against covid-19. it is really interesting and right there on your homepage. >> this flaring at the chevron refinery you see here is under investigation. officials say it is at the lowest level of severity, but some unknown issue caused sulfur dioxide to be released this afternoon. no shelter-in-place or evacuation orders were issued.

>> to developing news now on massive wildfires burning in california. crews are reporting progress against the flames of the dixie wildfire, which has been so stubborn. containment group from 21% to 25% yesterday, so and little bit of progress. it surged to 762 square miles, , slightly larger than the area of san mateo county, to give you a perspective. the dixie fire has destroyed more than eccentric things since it started on july 14. there you see a lot of terrible damage done to those flames. two of the other largest buyers burning right now are the beckwourth complex fire in plumas county east of the dixie fire. the backward fire has burned 365 square miles, while the tamarack buyer south of lake tahoe is at 107 square miles. you can get updates on all 19 wildfires burning in the state right now on this interactive

map. it is on our website, abc 7news.com. >> we find out why the state is investigating some pop-up sites in marin county.

your heart is at the heart of everything you do. and if you have heart failure, there's entresto. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto.

>> there's covid testing trouble reported in the north bay. it has to do withwithwithwithwih that the county has now closed. quick they are a byproduct of this pandemic. testing stations popping up making it easier to track the advance of this latest covid search. >> i work around time, so i figured i might as well just edit. >> brenda knew he could trust the results. that has not always been the case elsewhere. >> not properly socially

distancing, not answering questions about who they are, not disclosing their training. >> that's cindy ross describing this testing site that appeared in fairfax on a public sidewalk about 10 days ago. the county closed it down yesterday. >> my doctor is in san francisco, and i thought if i could get a free test right across the street from my house, why not? >> two failed test later, cindy reported the nonprofit. >> they set up in the town of fairfax on public ground. in order to do that, they needed to obtain a certain level permissions or a permit, none of which they had. quick they are nonprofit and have said in the past -- >> they are a nonprofit and have said in the past they do not collect money for these tests, but there is money for this in the form of reimbursements from the government.

now there are questions about accreditation. >> was this particular organization properly licensed in the first place? >> when tiffany called for more information -- >> they could not tell me. they would not locate what happened to my first test, and because they did not label my second test properly, it was discarded along with 172 other people the same day. >> in short, it is a cautionary tale and a lesson. if you are going to get tested at a pop-up site, ask to see the permit. >> a boy was s s francisco's union square this afternoon. police have not released his age, but the shooting happened around 2:20 this afternoon on stockton street near market. the boy was taken to the hospital. no arrests have made. in the south bay, someone deliberately torched the cars sitting in a family's front

yard. take a look at this. surveillance video shows the fire as it quickly spread from one vehicle to the next. in the background, you can see someone running from the scene, carrying something as the flames shot up into the air. earlier today, the victim's grandmother spoke with abc 7. >> i want awareness in the world that this is happening and this is not ok. get justice. >> all three vehicles were destroyed in the fire. the san jose fire department is handling the investigation. >> a homeless advocate says there living in a park in tents. police gave them time to pick up their belongings and everything else was hauled away. it is unclear where the people went. there are as many as 70 camps

similar to this one. >> ahead, parents will soo

saving starts with internet and wireless from xfinity. get a great low price on fast, reliable internet. plus, add xfinity mobile with 5g included and save up to $400 a year on wireless over at&t! get fast, reliable wifi to power your personal best... ...and show grandma you're crushing the school year on the nation's most reliable network on the go! get xfinity internet for $19.99 a month for 12 months. plus, add xfinity mobile to save even more with a 5g phone on us... ...and, for a limited time, $300 back! don't wait! switch today.

>> we all worry about what our kids see online, and google is helping parents better control what their kids actually see online. >> michael finney has that for us. >> google is rolling out a slew of changes meant to protect consumers under the age of 18, and it includes the ability to protect -- to request pictures of minors be included in search results. videos being uploaded to youtube by teenagers up to 17 years of age would automatically be another feature is called safe search. it prevents users under 18 from turning on the location history setting, which tracks your geographic location, and finally, advertisements targeting teens will be blocked.

amazon is going to pay for some of the damages and injuries caused by products sold by its third-party sellers. apparently it is up to the buyer and seller to work things out. under the new policy, amazon i n going to get involved and directly contact the seller -- about time. if the seller does not amends, amazon will reimburse to $1000. in an earnings call yesterday, amc said they are rolling out technology for the sale of tickets and concessions via bitcoin by the end of the year. one bitcoin, by the way, is trading in the neighborhood of $45,000. that would get you a whole lot of movie tickets and popcorn's at any amc location.

>> the bay area air quality management district is helping people with asthma prepare for wildfire season. the district is providing portable air conditioners to low income residents with asthma. the units are being distributed to help when the air becomes unhealthy. >> these air filters will not only address inequality, which is being challenged by the wildfire season, but also will lessen the spread of covid-19. >> the units will be distributed by nonprofit health providers. we are always watching our health and the air quality. >> i was in lake tahoe over the weekend, and one day was absolutely stunning, and the next day, so smoky you could barely see a hundred yards.

it is amazing. is that going to continue? >> absolutely. we are dealing with that smoke. it is widespread in the tahoe area. right now, let's look at our live view where we have nice, blue, sunny skies in the south bay. nice marine influence keeping you comfortable at the coast and around the bay, 84 in san jose, but the heat is on. it is hazy as you look from our east bay hills camera towards mount diablo. 100 in vacaville. air quality here in the bay area, good to moderate. high-pressure building today. obviously sinking air and that hayes is building, but also, they are dealing with smoke from the dixie fire and other wildfires around the tahoe area. we have some red and purple here indicating some unhealthy to very unhealthy air near the northern california wildfire. let's take a look at the smoke forecast. tomorrow morning, you start to see a little bit of smoke

entering the north bay, though overall, it is good at the surface of the bay area and in other parts of the atmosphere, we will continue to see some hayes and smoke. might see thicker smoke coming into the picture especially for the north bay. look how bad it is -- in tahoe, it is hard to see because it is smoky and hazy. moderate air quality for most of the bay area the next four days. because of the heat, that is also adding to some of the haze locally and the air quality locally. we have an advisory for lake and mendocino counties, 1:00 p.m. tomorrow until 5:00 p.m. thursday. live doppler seven showing you some fog right near the coast line. you can see it right near the golden gate bridge camera. a cooler pattern setting up early next week. check out -- check out the pursuit of meteor showers. best time is between midnight and before dawn. away from the coast is your best

bet as we will have fog right along the coast. the rest of your looking at clear skies until later in the day when monsoon moisture begins to move in. a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm between wednesday night and thursday morning. afternoon highs in the south bay. going to be another hot one. around morgan hill, gilroy, two up or downtown san francisco. north bay temperatures, 91 in nevada. the east bay, 77. hot inland. 98 in concord. 100 in fairfield. the accuweather seven-day forecast, the heat continues. the good thing is -- comfortable at the coast and then cooling early next week, so overall, inland areas will be the only places dealing with the hot weather.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ receive a chargepoint home flex charger or a public charging credit. see your volvo retailer for details.

people were afraid i was contagious. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections —some serious— and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. learn more at cosentyx.com. >> another way covid has changed dating -- it is not sound romantic, but a new survey at dating.com found 80% of singles would instantly slight left --

swipe left for a person who is unvaccinated. we will see you again at 6:00.

tonight, the stunning fall. new york governor andrew cuomo revealing he will resign. governor cuomo before the cameras today after the state attorney general's report accusing him of sexually harassing 11 women. his resignation effective in 14 days. tonight, what the governor said about the allegations. what he said to the 11 women. and what he said about his own daughters. also, who is the lieutenant governor about to lead new york state? she will make history. also tonight, major news on the pandemic. we learned just today that the number of children with covid now at its highest point since the pandemic began. hospitalized at ust a month ago. thousands of children returning to school in florida and in texas, where some school leaders are now defying their governors