near union square. ryan: if you are planning on heading out to union square, you will likely be surrounded by police. >> i did notice a police presence but i felt comfortable being out and about last night. ryan: sfpd increased the amount of officers. their goal was to make the area safer for shoppers and retail workers. >> making people feel that it's ok to come to our city and shop is really important. ryan: chief william scott said it has lead to crime being significantly reduced. he says all crime in that area is down nearly 85%. >> we have seen a significant drop in crime overall, from saft to cars being broken into -- theft, to cars being broken into, to burglaries. ryan: it is putting a strain on the department. many officers are working overtime and he says that is costing a lot of money. >> 8000 plus hours of overtime

has been used on this operation. ryan: the current patrol plans and traffic restrictions will stay in place through the shopping season and possibly longer. his department has nearly 500 more officers than normal. he says the best way to continue a patrol of this magnitude is to hire more officers. >> if we had the proper amount of officers, it would be much easier to redeploy resources. you can do that when you have the right amount of officers. when you are close to 500 officers short and that number continues to increase, you cannot do it. ryan: he says it is an issue he is working with the city to fix. ryan curry, abc 7 news. larry: hotels near union square are happy to see the presence of extra police. compared to the same time last year, the hotel occupancy rate is up. lyanne melendez has more on what you can expect. lyanne: during this holiday season, there are signs that the hotel industry near union square is coming back.

>> is really exciting because it is feeling really busy and almost a bit like normal on union square. i cannot believe it. lyanne: kevin carroll of the hotel council of san francisco says while the hotels are not fully booked, the increase in occupancy is having an impact on jobs in the local economy. >> our employees have been out of work, many of them, for over 1.5 years paid when more people travel and come here, when people stay in our hotels, they are spending money outside the hotels. lyanne: prior to the pandemic, the hotel occupancy rate during the holidays was close to 85%. today, they say, they are nowhere near those numbers yet they remain optimistic. today, that number is in the 40% range. >> 40% is much higher than we were at last december and we are consistently seeing increases in occupancy as more and more people get out. we are seeing people who want to

come and have experiences throughout the city. lyanne: the heavy police presence is reassuring to the hotels, their guests, and even their employees. the hotel industry hopes that will not go away once the holidays are over. >> we can continually push for more presence, police presence to be out here for everybody so we are hoping it will continue. lyanne: hotels hope that the travel forecast improves as international travel begins to pick up. in san francisco, we end melinda's, abc 7 news. covid-19 headlines, the cdc is expanding recommendations today to make 16 and 17-year-olds eligible for booster shots if it has been excellent their initial series. only pfizer is authorized for that age group. there are signs of hope from south africa. preliminary data indicates hospitalizations remain low despite the rapid spread of the omicron variant. cases of the variant have been found in 22 states with a new

one detected in arizona in the last day. larry: three criteria had to be met for health officers in santa clara county to remove their indoor mass mandate. the county is at nearly 80% vaccination rate, one of the criteria for a mandate change but as abc 7 news reporter dustin dorsey explains, looming threats of variants are making things difficult. dustin: this by omicron dominating covid headlines, some good news in the south bay. santa clara county is reporting a 79% vaccination rate of the eligible population five and up and is on track to reach 80% countywide soon. >> we are very encouraged because we know that no matter what variant we are looking at that having been vaccinated and now boosted, which is very important, the are going to protect ourselves even more. >> the protection is important but 80% vaccination rate has another meaning, one criteria needed to lift the indoor mass mandate in the county, reaching

the moderate transition tier and low and stable hospitalization rates are the other two. how close are we to making a change? >> we are not anywhere near lifting it so i think that this is not the time to be removing the mask. it is the time to encourage people to wear their masks. >> we are in a situation that dr. peter says is like walking a tight rope. he says the known threat of delta and the uncertainty of omicron are leading officials to keep mandates in place. >> we understand delta. we just do not understand enough what omicron yet and with increasing cases and the spread rapidly around the world, there is a lot of uncertainty around and i think that is -- uncertainty is causing the pause button to be hit. >> last thursday brought along the biggest spike in covid-19 cases. low hospitalization rates by a rise in transmission meaning the threshold should not lead to

letting our guard down. >> we want to remind people to be vigilant, continue doing the same things. dustin: dustin dorsey, abc 7 news. kristen: scientists speculate omicron was cultivated in someone with a compromised immune system, potentially someone with untreated hiv. earlier this year, a woman was admitted to stanford hospital and tested positive for covid-19. she did not have symptoms but the test discovered she had coronavirus in her nose and it was actively replicating. we spoke with a fellow who treated that woman. dr. hoffman: what we sampled on her first day to two weeks later, there was significant change in the arc of her genomic signature of her covid-19 infection. the moment we started her treatment of hiv, her immune system kicked into action, cleared the infection, and halted that development of further mutations. >> dr. hoffman says we need to

improve access to hiv testing and affordability for treatment because that wipes out the possibility that covid can run rampant and keep mutating in the bodies of patients. larry: a former police officer was killed while working with a tv news crew locally. he was remembered today at a public memorial in san jose. abc 7 news reporter zach fuentes was there. zach: law enforcement from multiple bay area agencies showed up as part of the procession that led to the service held for kevin. he worked as a police officer. the memorial at the san jose civic auditorium was both a reflection of his years in public service and his buddhist faith. >> the outpouring of love and support, it means so much to us.

because kevin's best friend -- as kevin's best friend, i know kevin is so grateful for everyone being here today. >> nishita was tragically shot in oakland last month. his killer has not been found. there's more than $38,000 that will be awarded for information leading to an arrest. another family continue to wait for that information or today's memorial was to honor his life. things have been rough for nishita and his family. in the last three years, he lost his -- multiple members of his family. >> kevin was caring, courageous, reliable, polite. >> kevin love his family, his friends, and his coworkers. zach: today's memorial was to give closure to his friends and family. kevin nishita's legacy will be remembered long after today. >> we will forever love you, my nishita-san. >> in a collective statement, nishita's the inked -- nishita's

thanked the community. zach puentes, abc 7 news. larry: such a tragedy and so hard for the family. oakland mayor libby schaff among the political leaders expressing their condolences to the family of kevin nishita. today, the mayor shared her thoughts on him and oakland's efforts to help reduce violent crime. mayor schaff: tools like came on highways are important. that is why police staffing matters because that includes the investigations professionals who are so overwhelmed right now in oakland. that is why all of this matters as well as these issues regarding bail and probation and parole policies. these are a holistic picture of how we can be safer and also bring resolution and my heart just goes out to the family and friends of kevin nishita. he joins many of their

tragedies. it is just a devastating loss for our community. every time anyone is harmed by violence. larry: at this point, police have not publicly named any suspects in kevin nishita's murder. a reward for information leading to an arrest now stands at $38,000. kriskris was arrested at venetia high school today after a violent threat was discovered on instagram. district officials were alerted to the post on the page "venetia high confessions" with the post "i'm going to unload on the quad." some parents decided to take their kids home early. detectives identified the student and arrested him. larry: the sister of scott peterson, who is not standing by her brother. what she is saying after his resentencing. governor, former mayor, and children's book author, how gavin newsom hopes to help kids with dyslexia. new rules that will make you rethink what you are tossing in the trash.

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the men who carried out the attack testified the act her -- after paid them to orchestrate the hooks for publicity. one day after her brother made a rare in person court appearance, the sister of scott peterson is maintaining her belief that he murdered his pregnant wife and unborn son. laura anthony has the story of two women very close to peterson with two very different opinions about his guilt or innocence. >> scott still appears to be vacant and emotionless. even with the mask on. laura: one day after scott peterson was resentenced in a redwood city courtroom, his half-sister says he still has no doubt that he is guilty of killing his pregnant wife, lacey, on christmas eve, 2002. >> that behavior i witnessed was not that of a grieving husband or a father to be. it was that of a roaming bachelor. laura: in the weeks after

lacey's disappearance, scott peterson sometimes stayed with her and her family at their berkeley home. >> went to the store and got cocktail mix to make something called sextinis and he was serving them to our babysitter. just a lack of interest in looking for lacey was very apparent. laura: scott peters -- >> scott peterson is innocent. laura: her comments are made in stark contrast to -- in his appeal for a new trial. >> we will you back here for two months -- in two months for a jury misconduct issue. that is not where the problem started. the problem started when lacey went missing and the modesto police did not follow up on sightings or evidence that she was alive. while his sister-in-law continues to proclaim his innocence after nearly two

decades, his sister is certain her brother is guilty. >> i wish you would take just a fraction of pain away and just be honest. laura: laura anthony, abc 7 news. larry: part of building a better bay area is highlighting others who are working towards the same mission we have here at abc 7. the brand-new san francisco standard has a team of journalists with a goal to serve everybody with a stake in the future of san francisco. at abc 7 news, we are excited to announce a partnership with the san francisco standard. we spoke about why she is running with the state -- for the state assembly seat vacated by david to. -- by david. >> some of your competitors are longtime politicos who have name recognition in this city. how do you plan to distinguish yourself from the pack and let voters know what makes you different? how do you plan to shine in this race?

>> to state the obvious, i am the only woman in the race and i am the only parent in the race. i think that gives me a distinct experience, life experiences, real-world experiences of raising a working family in san francisco. i think that resonates with the voters. being a woman in politics, it takes a little something extra. sometimes, you throw your hat in a ring and that's one of the reasons women don't throw their hat in the ring as much as men do so i think my path to victory really has to do with, you know, respecting everybody who is in the race, recognizing that i really have a different life experience than the other three in a lot of ways to one of them being i have been kind of an outsider even though i am in city college and i worked really hard to turn that around. i have a day job. i deal with all sorts of -- all kinds of people in that day job

every day plus raising a family. i think that those are some of the things which will set me apart. larry: and tomorrow, we will hear from an entrepreneur. you can find the san francisco standard's interviews on our connected tv app available for apple tv, android tv, amazon fire tv, and roku. kristen: you can find a little sunshine now and you can find a little snow in tahoe. spencer: pretty soon, you will find more than a little rain in tahoe. a sunny, breezy, and relatively chilly afternoon around the bay area. you can see the wind speeds right now at the surface are between 10 miles an 18 miles per hour in most locations with gusts to 23 miles per hour at half moon bay, producing a wind chill by bay area standards. here is the view under a crystal clear sky. 55 degrees in san francisco. 57 in oakland. mid-50's and mental view.

low 52 -- -- temperature readings are right in the mid 50's in santa rosa and napa. 58 at fairfield. mid 50's again at concord and livermore and the view from emeryville, looking to the golden gate, and these are our forecasts which have chilean frosty mornings tomorrow and saturday. atmospheric river arrives, bringing some rain, so we can expect a would-be pattern sunday through tuesday and possibly even beyond that with the rainfall. here is our forecast animation for tonight. namely clear skies. high clouds passing over but those high clouds will not be thick enough to prevent temperatures from dropping into the chilean frosty range in some parts of the bay area you can expect another sunny day tomorrow and then another rather chilly one. those tonight will be generally in the low 40's right around the shoreline. low 40's near the coast. inland valleys will drop into the mid to upper 30's and in the

north bay, some low 30's in places like santa rosa, napa, cloverdale. could see some frost in some of the north bay valleys in the early morning hours. highs tomorrow will be much like what we experienced today. mainly sunny skies. mid to upper 50's. one or two locations topping out at 58 degrees and that will be it. forecast animation starting at 4:00, saturday afternoon. by early sunday morning, the first wave of rain coming in as the atmosphere overflows in our direction. we can expect periods of moderate to heavy rainfall from this system sunday, monday, and into tuesday. lots of snow likely in the sierra and it will be an unsettled and wet week for most of the week ahead. rainfall totals for the three day period will range anywhere from three inches to possibly six inches in the wettest locations and in the sierra, we expect several feet of snow during that period of time.

here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. a couple frosty mornings and then the atmosphere here -- atmospheric river arrives on sunday. a very good chance of some lingering rain, light rain, showers into went and thursday. kristen: all right, spencer. you want a little competition? larry: he doesn't want any. no, he doesn't. [laughter] kristen: some careers come full circle. just ask bob iger. he spent 47 years with the walt disney company, starting as a weatherman, rising to ceo, and now as chief executive chairman of the board. larry: while on the air this morning with our sister station, k abc, the meter up -- kabc, the meteorologist asked him to deliver one more forecast. bob: i have not on the weather in 48 years. >> oh my gosh. >> we have lots of wires so we will walk over here.

bob: light rain falling across the southland, expected to get a little bit heavier as the day progresses. larry: he spent 50 year -- years as disney's ceo. a little rusty on the weather board, the chromakey. imagine if they had taken different paths in the hallway at abc, bob iger could be a huge weatherman and spencer christian, his mere presence -- spencer -- [laughter] spencer: i could be retiring as a ceo. i first met bob iger in the late 1970's. he was working with abc sports. i cannot say that we hung out a lot but i have known him for a long time. larry: but it could have happened. it could have happened. kristen: selfishly, i'm glad it worked out the way it did. larry: it worked out great for everybody. spencer: i'm happy, too. kristen: the controversial plan and the professor who says it's

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during covid who were receiving really low grades and even before covid, the grading system was not working. giving someone a d or f is telling them they are not worthy, not motivated, and they were deciding to give up or drop out instead of keep trying. >> so you think this is a good move? >> i think this is smart to really get teachers to think about how they teach the material. we call it revision and redemption for kids. it doesn't make sense just to fail in child and then move them on, so what we hope will happen is that there will be plenty of chances for students to keep trying to revise their work, to actually learn the material. we know that grades were pretty subjective beforehand so this is more of a way to be more accurate about what kids are actually wanting. >> in your knowledge, has this been tried before? has it worked in other places before? >> absolutely.

there is a system called mastery based grading or competency-based grading where you are grading students based on what they know, not just giving them points for the sake of giving them points. and you hold them accountable for passing and learning that material before they move on to the next class or unit so this has been done in many places and there's even a movement called the mastery transcript consortium to try and have colleges only look at this transcript so that has been around for a few you years as well. >> explain how it will work if a student fails a test. >> if a student fails a test, instead of giving them an f and moving onto the next unit, you would have multiple ways for them to try and change that grade. you would get an incomplete or a revised notice on your test and then you would have chances to relearn the material. the teacher would work with you. maybe the whole class would have some exercises. and then you retake that exam or

redo that assessment for a grade that replaces the incomplete. >> do you think there is a big difference between saying this is an f and this is an incomplete? >> yes. one says you cannot do this. you are done. we are moving on. the other says you cannot do this yet. we believe in you and we are going to help you get there. >> not all teachers are convinced. some say the change would not guarantee that students will learn the material even with extra help, even with time, and may lead to great inflation pit i should mention that the person who reported on this says this is not a done deal yet. they are still talking about it. there are logistical concerns, too. what if kids take six years to graduate? could a school accommodate that? larry: a lot of moving parts. earlier, we talked about retail theft and crime concerns. governor newsom ways in -- we ighs in. >> a new book by a bay area

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. kristen: governor gavin newsom says the state is being aggressive on crime, working to support local mayors and increased enforcement pit i had the chance to speak directly with him about it today. >> we have seen a massive shootings. a lot of people in the bay area do not feel safe and it is crisis level. why do you think crime has soared? >> there's a lot of theories about that. did crime increases across the country. texas has higher violent crime

and property crime in california. we grew as a state at .8%. our violent crime rate rose .8% last year. nationwide at 5%. we are seeing pockets of crime all throughout california not just in the bay area. it's interesting, the murder capital in the state of california's current county, on of the most conservative parts of our state. there are a lot of theories but at the end of the day, this is not absolute. it's on acceptable. people have the right to be angry about it. people's feelings are one thing. statistics are another. feelings at this point matter more. we have been very aggressive with the mayor, working whatever we can -- working to do whatever we can to enforce it. particularly near shopping centers and the like. we have created -- it's interesting. it is getting a little bit of attention. we extended it last live. retail theft task force with 13

big-city mayors including many from the bay area and police chiefs. organized task force to go after these organized flash mob rings and that is our priority and in my new budget, you will see substantial increases in investment in that space. kristen: that new budget is set to be unveiled next month. larry: the abc 7 documentary, jfk, now available on our streaming platforms. if, -- it chronicles the work of a world-renowned researcher from marin county who has written a new book about the assassination. our reporter has turns that report into a documentary. >> thank you for this project. i spoke with researchers, historians, and scientists, but also with people who were there within feet of president kennedy when that fatal shot landed. from his home in belvedere, clint hill looks back on his long career with the u.s. secret service, working for five presidents.

even 58 years later, his memory of that day in dallas is clear. what was your assignment that day? were you assigned to the first lady or the president? >> i was assigned to misses kennedy. >> you were right with her the whole time? >> i was always at her side or right behind her as near as i could be. >> at the time, only 34 secret service agents worked the presidential detail, not enough to keep the from the limousine. he stood on a step next to the driver's door on the secret service car right behind the president's convertible. >> looking at the crowd on the left and ahead of us was an overpass and i could see nothing wrong. i heard this explosive noise over my right shoulder. >> he scanned the crowd and then caught the president reacting to the first shot that landed. he jumped from the secret

service car and started running. >> i got to be president's car and i heard another shot and i felt that one and i saw the reaction. it hit the president in the head and it was blood, brain matter, bone fragments. all came out of that wound, got all over the back of the car. misses kennedy had gotten up on the back of the trunk, trying to grasp some of the material that came out of the president's head, what she able to do. >> he pushed the first lady back inside and covered her and the president as the limousine went to the hospital. >> i could see the whole in his -- hole in his skull. there was no brain matter left, nothing there. just a vacuum. i thought that was a fatal shot so i turned to the car and i gave them the thumbs down. >> clint hill believes jfk died from a lone gunman, lee harvey

oswald, but he also told me something about the sound of the gunfire that may fit with the central finding of this new book , that jfk died in a crossfire, two gunmen firing at the same time. i explore that in our documentary. kristen: that is just gripping. larry: even all these decades later,hill's description is so chilling. you can watch jfk on salt, on on abc7news.com, apple tv, roku, amazon fire, android tv, and youtube, and you can see it right here saturday night at 9:00 p.m. right after the warriors game, also on hulu beginning next week.

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larry: dan and spencer jump in. are you wearing your seatbelt? have you been speeding? dan is a very good driver. research shows we are driving more recklessly since the pandemic started. some of us, anyway. in 2020, fatal car accidents were up. the first six months of 2021, fatal car accidents were up 18%. a psychiatry professor thinks the pandemic is to blame. the health risks people are facing causes them to ignore other risks and he thinks rebelliousness from some people during this pandemic is transferring into other areas of

life such as driving. let me ask you this, because you have been coming into the station since day one of the pandemic all the way through with all of the lockdowns and shutdowns and everything. have you noticed a distinct change in the driving patterns and habits? dan: without question and it is infuriating to me. i see it all the time. not last night, the night before last, i drive home late. you see people whizzing by you and i try and obey the speed limit pretty close and people pass you like you are standing still. 90 miles per hour and then one guy cut across all lanes of traffic through cars. i would rather you not risk your own life but you don't have the right to risk everyone else's. kristen: that applies in all things. >> i see exactly the same pattern every day it's worse. just like there is so much tension in the country where everyone is on a hair trigger, that is also happening on the roads where people are

frustrating quickly and angering quickly. larry: a lot has been made over the last year about a so-called california exodus and it turns out it's not really true. in fact, california did not make forms list of the top 12 outbound states, the ones where more people are leaving, so here's the top five. illinois ranks number one followed by new jersey, new york, connecticut, and kansas. as for the states people are moving to, vermont tops the forbes list. that is a surprise. followed by oregon, nevada, south dakota. california ranked 10th on forbes list of states that people are moving to for jobs. it seems somewhat -- some of it is surprising but some of it makes perfect sense. i heard about people moving to idaho and they want the great outdoors and to be away from everything and rules and regulations for all of that. >> vermont? have they been there in february? >> the winters can be brutal but you know, idaho winters can be beautiful, too. -- brutal, too.

>> it is good news we did not make the list for exodus, but it may not be epidemic but there are a lot of people leaving california and choosing to go elsewhere because of costs and other factors. there's no question we have had a growing number of people leave. may not have made the list but it certainly happened. >> there is a growing sense of dissatisfaction when you consider congestion, taxes, other things you don't have in other states like arizona and texas. >> there are a lot of people moving out of the bay area but they are staying in california. >> good point. kristen: next week, time magazine will reveal its person of the yearbook today, they got a head start. olivia roderigo is the magazines entertainer of the year and time magazine reporters summed up the popstar's appeal, saying she has a gift for picking the best of the past and finding just the right way to situate it in the present. simone biles is the athlete of the year. despite being the most

accomplished gymnast of all time, her advocacy for mental wellness and victims of sexual abuse make her an obvious choice. so who do you think should be the person of the year? who wants to get us started? spencer? spencer: that is a tough one. i was just nodding in agreement with the choice of simone biles for athlete of the year. i don't know who she would be. entertainer of the year. person of the year. i would have to think about that one a bit. >> they usually pick someone who has been disruptive, has had a big influence. that is a tough one. i think you could go with joe biden, elected president, defeating joe biden. maybe kamala harris because of the history she made in being elected. it is a tough choice. interesting. >> it's interesting she was athlete of the year although she chose not to compete in most olympic events. by her not competing, she opened up conversations that would have never taken place. >> colin kaepernick did the same thing. >> she opened the door to that

mental health conversation. it is thursday so bring it on, another tasty thursday. we are bringing back a couple of items we told you about over the past few weeks. last month, we told you about redlines new gingerbread flavored twists from the american licorice company and last week, we talked about reese's peter buttercups with potato -- peanut butter cups with tater ships. we thought we would give it a try. let's start with the potato chips. i think i will love this because i like the sweet and the savory and i like chocolate covered potato chips so i think i will like it. >> that is pretty good. >> out of range here. ama is creeping up. i know what you want. come on in. ama: i was like he got to do the taste test today. i give it a thumbs up. >> what do you think? >> hang on. kristen: i like it. who else? >> it's pretty good, actually. >> i am not a huge reese's guy

to begin with. >> that is the second thing we got. >> the reese's thing is a little too sweet for my taste. >> i thought the salty part would cancel that out that it doesn't. now to the red vines gingerbread flavor. it looks like posture. >> it. -- pasta. >> it does actually. >> i'm not getting much flavor out of this. >> ama said the same thing. not much. >> it tastes like sweet, chewy pasta. >> it tastes like stale pasta. >> what do you say? ama: i come for the good food. >> classic. ama: did you try the gingerbread redline? -- red vine? >> it's good. different. >> it's ok. >> i agree. not my favorite, but it's good. it's ok.

>> that's it for the 4:00. thank you,

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kristen: pantone's of the year is called very paiperi. it symbolizes change, innovation, and a feeling of newness. larry: i feel very peri.

is that the proper way to use it? for the new year come new laws and one of them will have you taking a closer look at what you throw out. kristen: melanie woodrow has a look at the new law and how you can get ready. melanie: starting january, there is no more tossing food scraps in the trash. californians will be required to put excess food and waste bins. >> this is the biggest change to our trash since we started recycling in the 1980's. melanie: cities and counties will turn it into compost, creating an energy source. >> every time we put that banana peel in organic waste, it's turned into compost and gets its next life. we are fighting climate change. melanie: the director of cal recycles says it's about removing food waste from landfills. she says it is the single fastest thing every californian can do on their end. melanie: if the average -- >> if

the average household diverted all their organic waste, it would be like taking their car off the road for a year. melanie: uc davis professor of food science and technology says the change might be difficult. >> it will be quite a transition for the state. melanie: cities and counties will be expected to have food recycling programs in place. countertop containers are an option to hold scraps for a few days before taking them outside. >> it helps with water conservation, cuts back on the need for pesticides and fertilizers. melanie: it will help to donate food as long as it is edible. organic material like food and yard waste makes up half of what is in california landfills and 1/5 of the state's methane emissions. >> we are trying to address food security, climate change. melanie: hopefully with time, it will feel like second nature and make a big difference.

melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >> you are probably wondering, what happens if you don't follow the new law? cal recycle will focus on compliance and will dedicate enforcement efforts of the most egregious offenders so we will have time to change our habits. kristen: we have some time before things start to get a little wet again. let's check in with spencer. spencer: that atmospheric river is getting closer and closer. for tonight, clear skies. a few passing high clouds and not enough ground cover to keep it from getting cold. low temperatures in the 30's in our inland valleys and low 30's in some locations. a sunny and chilly day with highs in the mid 50's. we may see a couple of 57 to 50 degree readings inland. here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. saturday will be much like tomorrow but then the skies start to get cloudier late and the atmospheric river starts flowing in our direction on sunday so sunday, monday, and tuesday, we expect level two

storm activity with wind driven rain at times and lingering, lighter rain on wednesday and thursday. larry: three days in a row of level twos is something we have not seen in quite a while. while we are watching it rain, maybe this will keep you warm. the abc 7 yule log is back. you can cozy up in front of the virtual fire and stream it through our website, abc7news.com, as well as our abc 7 bay area news app, on roku, amazon fire, and apple tv. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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with cheese 3 ways. larry: westside story returns to theaters with a few new surprises. shooting wrapped up to use ago but this week, it is finally getting theaters, being held by critics as a masterpiece. george cannot go from our sister station in los angeles, -- george with our sister station in los angeles spoke with steven spielberg. ♪ george: on west side story takes him back to his childhood. steven: i did not take on this project lightly. this has been part of my life since i was a 10-year-old and i first heard the broadway cast album. george: he is also very familiar with the 1961 classic which won 10 oscars including best picture. steven: we did not remake the 1961 film. i did not do that.

we basically reimagined the broadway show. >> i'm going to think for myself. george: westside story is a story of forbidden love, set against a rivalry between two street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. he chose rachel zeigler to play maria. this may be her feature film debut but -- >> i have always felt like an old soul and i get told that all the time. but i was also raised on classic film. so i feel like a lot of what i think people would call technique, what i call what i do, it was borne by watching all about eve and movies like that that just informed my love of what i get to do for a living. ♪ tonight, the world is full of light ♪ ♪ i appreciate what you say

because as much as i embrace modern movies, films, acting, we would not be where we are without the joan crawfords and caps on hepburns of the world -- katherine hepburns of the world and i try to remind myself of that every day. ♪ there is a place for us ♪ steven: i always wanted to make a musical. we talked so often about all the different movies. i think you might have been one of the hundreds that have asked me, you have done this genre and that genre, what have you not done? i answered you, george, that i have always wanted to do a musical so this time next year, i never have to answer that question again. [laughter] george: west side story is rated pg-13 and opens friday. in los angeles, abc 7 news. larry: what an incredible voice rachel has. if steven spielberg is involved, the quality will be really high. that's going to do it for this edition of abc 7 news at 4:00.

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. reporter: doctors are about a triple threat this holiday season. delta variant, the omicron variant and the flu at the same time. it is not common yet, bay area doctors are concerned it could be by christmas. reporter: doctors at ucsf say not only is it possible we could contract multiple strains of covid and the flu at the same time, but the illness is often more