ly from nature's bounty. opposition is growing. we break down the numbers. >> that was the sound of rain, a wild night of weather with lightning strikes and downed trees. welcome rain and quite the show last night, calm her weather for the weekend. the forecast coming up. >> filling a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. ama: dan: i'm ama daetz. dan:-- ama: i'm ama daetz. dan: i'm dan ashley. this over three days before the

polls open for the recall election. many have voted by mail. this morning governor gavin newsom tested his ballot in sacramento. as a backdrop, a new poll from uc berkeley shows growing opposition to the recall itself. liz is here with the story, encouraging news for governor newsom. >> this poll shows 60% of likely voter surveys that they're going to vote no on the recall compared to 39% who said they would vote yes. as democrats go into tuesday feeling confident though, some republicans are sowing the seeds for claiming voter fraud if the recall fails. >> there are four days until the recall election and today the governor and first partner jennifer were in sacramento to cast their ballots. while mail-in ballots have been sent to every registered voter, polling places will also be open to drop off balance or vote person.

>> are going to win this election and the way we do that is turn out the vote. >> projecting confidence in these days largely because of polls like this one from the berkeley institute of governmental studies showing newsom has gained back significant ground in the past month. the new poll today showed 60% of likely voters planned to vote no, nearly 39% in favor. >> i will believe it when i see it. >> despite the poll, and with the group in california says it has a chance. people should not discount how angry californians are at the governor. >> i don't think there is a consultant who wants to predict what is going to happen on tuesday. >> gop front-runner larry elder appears to be preparing for a loss. he claims there are shenanigans in the voting process and he said a desk set up a board of lawyers to look into fraud. >> there might be shenanigans as in the 2020 election.

>> former president trump suggested voter fraud in the recall election. >> they are good at rigging elections, i predict it is a rigged election, let's see how it turns out. >> newsom blasted republicans in the former president for these claims. >> four days out, the election hasn't even happened and now they are claiming election fraud. it's not surprising but disappointing. >> she hopes republicans a stop claiming voter fraud and go vote. >> please don't subscribe to the hysteria of voter fraud. it suppresses the vote, don't do it. but your ballot in the mail. >> both sides are wrapping up their efforts in the next few days, targeting and people who so far have been slow to turn in their ballots. neither newsom nor elder have announced their campaign schedules for this weekend but we know monday newsom will be joined at an event by president biden. joining me now to break this

down, first and foremost, i want to get your take on the suggestions of potential voter fraud. >> it's not new and it has become a form of elections, both nationally and on the state level and even some local maxis -- matches. casting doubt on the results, the idea is to shed a question, it is not really -- it is not real. it is sad but we have not seen any specific incidents of it. both sides will have lawyers and poll watchers examining the ballots and as much of the voting as they can. >> the poll we saw today from berkeley, they show that 60% of voters are going to vote no and that is in line with the electorate, democrats outnumber republicans two to one so that makes sense. the polls have shifted since july, 50% of people said they were going to vote no other -- on the recall, now at 62%. newsom has gained ground.

when do you attribute that to? >> two things, one is the $80 million he and his supporters have spent on television ads we have been airing here and all across the state, radio ads, text messages that have gone out to beef up the turnout which they need. they need democrats to turnout. early on they said this is not a question of whether people change their minds, it is a question of just adding them to the polls and to return the ballots. the second thing was the pivot. gavin newsom was able to pivot with the alta variant coming in and slowing the recovery of the state back down. the re-masking, the idea that the opponents he was facing would possibly say and mask mandates, and vaccine mandates and make it more like texas and florida. the scare of that combined with the money is the big reason it has turned around. it has gotten people's attention. >> also his aides would argue that larry elder helped him a lot, jumping into the race, he

scared a lot of democrats to want to come out. >> they the match for each other. that was the foil gavin newsom was looking for. you and i know because we have talked to his people, the last thing they wanted was another democrat in the race or a more moderate republican, an alternative. they wanted it to be the starkest contrast they could get. it is helped larry elder because he shot up in the polls from 18% to now 36%? >> it will be interesting to see what he does assuming this does fail, what we see him do next. we have about 30 seconds, what do you think election night is going to look like, will we know a winner tuesday? >> if it is not close we will know a winner because alex had been coming in for the last month. the voters -- the registrar boats are not going to be swamped, they have filed them, they just have to count. if it is tight it could take a while. that is the nature of politics, the nature of elections and if it is tight the allegations of

fraud will go up. >> thank you so much, we appreciate you being here is always and dan and ama, back to you. spencer: -- dan: join us tomorrow night at 10:00 for a special recall program. they will be back breaking down the race and the documentary total recall which chronicles the election in which arnold schwarzenegger replaced ray davis. ama: a new study shows the unvaccinated our 11 times more likely to die from covid and the on -- the vaccinated. masks still reduce the risk. >> it is well over 90% of people who are in the hospital who are unvaccinated and as we state and i highlighted, we have more than 10 times the number of people in the hospital who are unvaccinated compared to vaccinated. ama: the new study shows that

vaccine effectiveness has dropped for people 65 and older in recent months compared to the pre-delta era. this will factor into fda and cdc discussions on whether booster shots are necessary. a study about long-haul covid drawing attention to the risk infections are having on declining kidney function. the research is putting stanford doctors on higher alert. stephanie sierra has the story. stephanie: covid-19 is not going anywhere and for patients infected with the virus, new research is inning as a picture of what life may look like with long covid. a study in the journal of the american society of nephrology survived veterans who survived covid a year later. >> even though they survived they experienced significant risk for kerry -- kidney disease. they had doubled the risk for what we call acute kidney

injury. stephanie: a nephrologist with stanford health care explains that on average there was a twofold higher risk in decline in kidney function. how would you define substantial decline in this study? >> they use different measures to define the decline but an important one is a 50% decline in kidney function. stephanie: she says the largest risk were for people who had been in the icu or hospitalized but highlighted the fact that even people who had not been hospitalized showed abnormal kidney functions. >> i'm going to caution to say it's not going to occur in every person who had covid, this is a population average it is more likely to occur in people older, more frail, could have diabetes or other illnesses. stephanie: since the study is based on research of patients up to a year, dr. anand made it

clear some of these cases could show recovery in kidney function get to be discovered. >> important to stress not everyone diagnosed with covid and survives will experience kidney issues but this study shows there is enough of a pattern to be cognizant of symptoms especially if you have a compromised immune system. in the newsroom, stephanie sierra, abc 7 news. dan: thank you. in the east bay, police are hoping surveillance video can help them track down a suspect -- suspects involved in a july shooting on this road on the afternoon of july 1. video shows a shooter in the backseat of a car opening fire on the driver of another car. the victim was seriously hurt but survived, looking back. police believe the suspect's car is a late model honda crestor. -- cross tour. anyone with information please call police. >> the bay area had wild weather

overnight including rain. dan: a journey for recognition, a former bay area residents long

spencer: -- dan: tomorrow the country will pause to remember the 9/11 terror attacks where 3000 people were killed. one was a bay area man, jeff coleman was a flight attendant on the first plane that crashed into the towers. his partner has fought a long legal journey to get survivor benefits from the government. >> i love you truly keith, don't forget that. >> when i'm not home with you just pull out the letter and remember words. >> he is still reading the same letter his partner jeff coleman wrote in 2000 a year before his

partner lost his life on when terrorists flew his plane into the world trade center. >> he was a flight attendant in the plane that day. >> were domestic partners living in novato but when keith applied for survivor benefits he was denied. >> the airlines at the time did not recognize domestic partners and subsequently they took his last paycheck and split it between divorced parents. >> he was devastated and set out to change laws and policy for the lgbtq community. lobbying for a california bill giving thomistic partners inheritance rights which became -- domestic partners inheritance rights which became law in 2002. recently he won another victory from the federal government winning death benefits from social security. >> the court found we do not have an opportunity to be married at the time so they are reckoned is a need for that.

>> jenny kaiser is dust jenny is his attorney. -- jenny is his attorney. >> one of the many bricks on the path that took us from no recognition to domestic partner recognition and ultimately to marriage equality. >> he plans to spend the anniversary alone with memories of his journey and those precious letters from jeff. >> now and forever, jeff. ask abc 7 news. >> abc 7 news. dan: there are several 9/11 ceremonies tomorrow. one will be at sugar hill landing parkway the light 93 memorial was built. all attendees are asked to practice social distancing. it will begin with a moment of silence at 10:00 a.m.. ama: the fire department will hold an event in person and online. there will be first responders

from south market and west san fernando street fire station run -- one at 9:45 a.m.. there will be a ceremony and concert at the memorial near the civic center. two graduates were passengers on flight 93, the concert against 12:30. and abc news will air a special program, 9:11 -- 9/11 20 years later, america remembers. you can watch it here. dan: a wild weather night in the bay area with lightning and shockingly rain in early september. leslie brickley gives you the highlights in case you slept through it. >> jagged bolts of lightning lit up the sky in the north bay mountains overnight. calfire says luckily five small vegetation fires were quickly snuffed out. the national weather service

confirmed 110 lightning strikes in the bay area. here is another look eastward toward mount diablo. you can see sheets of rain in the distance and flashes of lightning, you can see the heavy rain advancing. those who were not sound asleep took notice. >> there was no thunder at all, the whole sky lit up bright purple for a second. >> it was flashing all over, we had a great thunderstorm last night. >> it reminded me of a midwest thunderstorm. >> a tree toppled on a house and there were nine fires in west contra costa county. it really rained, does that help the fires? >> where it rains, it helped. thunderstorms are fickle, they don't blink at the entire region of the fire danger perspective nothing is changed. we did dodge a bullet in terms of lightning strikes here in contra costa last night. just fortunate. >> but as seen via drone view

seven, the dry brush is drier than ever, able to fuel fires around the bay area. just because we got a little bit of rain does not mean anyone can be complacent. the message of national weather service is indicating, fire season may go all the way into december. more to come unfortunately. in the east bay, leslie brinkley, abc 7 news. dan: a strange night for this time of year, crazy. ama: it was exciting but not too exciting from a fire starting level. >> and as leslie said, we are not done with the fire season yet, it is going to continue as we do have very dry fuels right now. we were fortunate though. let me show you live doppler 7 taking you back the last 24 hours. it was an extremely active scene not just locally but around the northern portion of california. over 1000 lightning strikes

locally between 125 and 150. i want to show you the view from our south beach camera, clean air following that system. for one hundredths of an inch four 100s of an inch here, trace amounts in oakland. september and october occasionally we get this so it's not that out of the ordinary although it was an active scene. good air quality across the bay area so if you are stepping out you have got to enjoy and for the weekend as well. good moderate saturday and sunday. a live view from our santa cruz camera, blue skies, a beautiful view, a sign of what is to come this weekend. 59 in san francisco, 67 in oakland, 77 san jose and 58 in pacifica. cooler from our camera here, a stable atmosphere with the marine layer reestablishing, 75 in santa rosa, 86 in fairfield, novato in the comfort zone along with concord and livermore in

the low 80's. is mild, a light breeze breeze, low to upper 70's. showers in honolulu followed by sunshine, 85 in new york city, a sunny 88 in chicago and los angeles, a warm 89 after morning fog. this looks like summer in san francisco from our tower camera along the coast, nice weather for the weekend and heat returns inland sunday through tuesday. overnight into tomorrow we will see that fog mainly at the coast and near the bay. higher clouds coming through tomorrow afternoon and evening but it is going to be a quiet weekend, not expecting any crazy weather locally. temperatures in the 50's and 60's, afternoon highs look like this in the south bay, 79 in san jose, a comfortable day on the peninsula, 74 san mateo. san francisco 65, santa rosa and

san rafael 83, 70 in oakland, 75 castro valley, warmer inland, 86 in livermore. the forecast, a warmer weather pattern for the weekend with temperatures on the rise. mid-90's inland, mid-60's coast side and next week, the middle of the week we will cool it off for you. for you. 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. i may not be as pretty. or high blood potassium. i'm not a cable tv personality or an entertainer like larry. i'm the businessman, the only cpa running for gov ernor.

california is a mismanaged mess. taxes, cost of living, water, wildfires, homelessness. these aren't political issues; they're readily fixable management issues. career politicians? celebrities? i've solved problems all my life. let's fix this great state! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪

dan: it is a bittersweet day for all of us here at abc seven news. [applause] ama: well-deserved applause there. we are bidding goodbye to our colleague when freemen -- wayne friedman who is retiring after 30 years with us and 50 years in the news business. he is unlike any other, more than a reporter, storyteller, and unparalleled observer of human nature and the human condition. dan: his 54 local emmys attest

to that. the man who captivated generations of new zeros with his words struggled find them when he addressed all of us. >> i worked at this station years ago i needed a job and who would have thought it would last as long as it did and with this station i would see the world and see so much and share with all of you folks? i want to thank my wife for putting up with the other mistress, which is this business, and my daughter, i know she is there, but thank you everybody, very much, deeply. [applause] ama: we thank you, wayne. waynee the president and general manager of abc 7 presented him a declaration from the mayor who declared today wayne freedman day in san francisco. so deserving. dan: we worked together nearly

27 years and he is unlike any other reporter i've ever worked with, a pro-with a unique sense of humor and always such a remarkable way of telling a story. tremendous. ama: he will be missed but we hope to hear from him often. dan: hear from him coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, more of his amazing career on abc 7.com. we have pulled

dan: finally, an unexpected treat for oncology nurses in the east bay. ama: the cancer support community is holding a gala next week but they had to cancel an in person dinner because of covid. meals were distributed to 140 nurses who care for cancer patients. >> we decided to take those fantastic meals we were going to eat at the aloe and bring them -- gala and bring them to the nurses. >> it will make them feel loved and nurtured, it is a very great act. dan: cancer support immunity is still holding a virtual gala next weekend and what heroic

work they do. we appreciate your time, and dan ashley. ashley. ama: i'm ama your eyes. beautiful on the outside, but if you have diabetes, there can be some not-so-pretty stuff going on, on the inside. it's true, if you have diabetes, you know high blood sugar is the root of the problem. but that excess sugar can cause the blood vessels to be seriously damaged. and when that happens, this could happen, vision loss or even blindness. that's right, diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness for adults in the u.s. but even though you can't see it, there is something you can do about it. remember this: now is the time to get your eyes checked. eye care is an incredibly important part of your long-term diabetes management. see a path forward with actions and treatments that may help your eyes— and protect against vision loss. just say to yourself, “now eye see.” then—go see an eye care specialist. visit noweyesee.com to get the facts about diabetes, your eyes,

and what you can do next—to take control of your sight. brought to you by regeneron. california! and what you can do next—to take control of your sight. all of our homes share power. but heat waves can stretch our supply to its limits. flex alerts remind us when to use less energy from 4-9pm. so we can all stay up and running. sign up today.

tonight, a special edition of "world news tonight" as the nation prepares to mark 20 years since 9/11. a nation set to remember those who were lost, to honor the survivors, the first responders, the courage, the bravery, and a nation that came together after the deadliest terror attack in u.s. history, unfolding at the world trade center, the pentagon, and in shanksville, pennsylvania. nearly 3,000 lives lost. two more victims identified just this week. tonight, as this country comes together, we hear from those survivors and the first responders, and their hope now 20 years later. and two decades later, one of the central questions -- is our country safer? how do we keep this from ever happening again? with the u.s. now out of