speaking of falling, take a look at this huge eucalyptus tree that crashed on monterey boulevard near highway 13 in the oakland hills. it took down power lines and landed on top of two cars parked in a driveway. pg&e was called to repair the power lines but there were no reports of injuries. ama: thousands of drivers trying to make it down from the sierra, 80 and 50 are open. caltrans, chp and other agencies telling people do not travel unless you have to. it is dangerous. the governor has activated the state operation center to handle the emergency storm response so let us get to the expert. spencer christian. dan: he's joining us from his home. the pictures are believable. spencer: there's been a lot of snow, driving conditions are just terrible. a lot of people like to get

there for new year's eve and new year's day, but driving is treacherous right now. the bay area, we have still got rain and a look at live doppler 7. it has tapered off, ending in the north bank, but we have pockets of downpours on the peninsula, near san mateo and north of half moon bay. down the south bay, near san jose and cabell, around lupita's -- campbell, around lupita's, we are getting some there's well. we are expecting brief, heavy downpours, minor flooding in low-lying areas, a chance of thunder. you can see by midnight it will be about all over for the bay area. we will start the day tomorrow with partial clearing and some early morning weather. in the sierra, a winter storm warning in effect until 10:00 tonight. snow will fall, another two to four inches, up to six in the higher peaks and it is windy. travel is not advised tonight in early tomorrow. but hopefully after midday

tomorrow you can get there. dan: abc 7 news was in half moon bay today. rain was coming down steadily in the harbor, soaking the boats and crackpots. ama: check out the -- crab pots. ama: check out this snow, enough to attempt a snowman. but not quite enough for sledding. a good effort. dan: that is a good effort. snow in the sierra may be pretty but it is dangerous. for those stuck in places like south lake tahoe for days, concerns have turned to fuel and food supply shortages. a real problem. zach went has has more on the challenges people are facing. zach: -- >> it is probably the most terrifying experience of ever dealt with. zach: finally back home in sacramento after 18 hours in the car, we spoke to her yesterday as her family was heading back from a tahoe vacation. >> cars were slipping into

snowbanks, we ended up losing control of our car and we almost crashed into two other people. sex: he is also back home after he and his family had their own long commute. -- zach: also back home after they had a long commute. so completely blocked their driveway. >> we had no more food, we went to our left neighbor, we asked for food and bought some food from them. zach: even if he and his family had been able to get into town, they would've found scarce supplies because of traffic issues delivery truck space. >> -- face. >> we are monitoring what grocery stores and gas stations have. we have been in contact with highway patrol and asked that they help escort those trucks. >> though major highways have

reopened, caltrans officials recommend only people driving for essential purposes make their way to the sierra. >> it is not ideal and it is not safe. >> the unprecedented snow also impacting other parts of california like in between hard. monica has a home there and it tells us there is water rationing. many neighbors without generators are without power. >> we have neighbors who have been here for decades and they said this is the most seen ever. >> in south lake tahoe, says the local community will get through this. >> we are a resilient community. power outages, you name it, we deal with it. >> zach fontes, abc 7 news. dan: doesn't this look nice? so cozy. still have the bigger screen when you download our bay area app for your tv.

that is nice. that's also where you will find a fireworks show guide to new year's eve. san francisco canceled citing a rapid rise in covid case ama: alameda, san francisco, marin and sonoma cap -- counties. previously the new mask mandate may keep people from signing up for memberships january 1 when the fitness industry typically thrives. >> we need that strong quarter after two years of being is impacted as we have. >> along with changing mask rules, today san francisco added

a booster shot requirement for workers in high-risk settings. a requirement for people who gone to large events, proving they got a booster. if you have questions about vaccines, you can ask our vaccine team. had to abc7news.com/ dan: the u.s. is averaging 277,000 infections per day in large part due to the surge in omicron cases but also a soaring demand for tests and backlogs of data following christmas weekend. last week, the u.s. reported more than 1.9 million cases. that averages to about three americans testing positive every second. the nation is averaging more infections per day that at any point in the pandemic. dr. patel is part of our vaccine team and we asked what this says about the variant.

>> it indicates the transmissibility and how contagious omicron is. people are getting complacent and getting out there. we have not shattered a hospitalization record. we broke the record in january but we have not hit a peak which is good. case rates are not going to go to zero. this will become endemic. we will learn how to live with coronavirus. it is important to look at case rates but we have to realize there is context. ama: the positivity rate in california is at 11.2 percent, before christmas it was around five. the week of thanksgiving it was around 2%. the san francisco international airport, a couple dozen flights here today. adding to the more than 5000 cancellations since christmas eve. airlines are scrabbling to fill staffing shortages caused by the

recent surge in covid-19's calls. we asked are you changing your new year's eve plans because of omicron, about two thirds voted no and a third voted best. -- yes. dan: the city of south bay has reported better than expected crime reduction following a license plate reader program in september. despite numbers, some are worried about privacy. dustin dorsey has more on a growing debate. dustin: a 70% reduction in crime. the promise from flock safety, the company that helped the morgan hill police department ploy 25 license plate readers through the city. >> new from other cities that have a moment of the solution were successful. -- we knew from other cities that the other cities that have implemented the solution were successful. >> these notice when a car that is stolen from us by.

have recovered more than 50 stolen vehicles -- they have recovered more than 50 stolen vehicles. >> it will help identify suspect vehicles. for those individuals that are committing crimes within -- >> the camera systems are in 1400 cities, including vallejo where police say they arrested a murder suspect thanks to these readers this week. >> this is a good law-enforcement tool, and at societal cost? >> the cameras are not used to detect faces, gender or race, just license plates and vehicles. stephen clark says there is no probable cause requirement for these readers and people have a right to drive to locations they hope to keep private such as gun stores or medical points. >> you have a right to travel in the united states without being harassed by the government. and when you have this collection of data you raise a lot of significant privacy concerns.

>> the police captain says the department has safety measures in place polluting -- including sole use for the department only when there is a case number. they will keep these for two years. ama: new state laws starting the new year, including one requiring californians to compost, that is not new for most of the bay area. once up a town has been doing i for years. dan: californians moving out of the state often get the blame for driving uprising -- housing prices, go finney has the answer if that is our fault. >> we looked at whether the bay area can grow the way it's expected to, build what he needs to build and use no more water than he does. ama: we look at our drought conditions in what whether it will take to sustain the area.

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dan: if you are one of the people in the bay area who have been composting for years, we have an update.

everyone in california must separate food scraps has turned them into eagle valley products. david louis explains how it works. david: 900 tons, how much waste comes into the recycling center in sunnyvale. 18% gets diverted from a landfill facility because of a food scraps program started in 2015. next to residents facing leftovers, trimmings from fruit and vegetables and other food waste in a separate container, all of it will be transformed into eagle from the product. >> this is not the prettiest site you've ever seen, but it is encouraging to know that after this processing, all of this food waste will become biofuel and animal feed. starting new year's day, california residents and businesses much -- must separate food scraps for composting. sunnyvale wanted to do more. >> they pick up the mash and at

the facility they dehydrate, pasteurize it and make it into approved animal feed. also fertilizer and they are also able to make the fats into biofuel. david: it takes more effort residents to separate food scraps as recyclables, but these customers saw waste bills drop an average of 10% in 2019, savings resulting from reducing trust -- trash sent to landfills. >> we have used all kinds, including animal bones and meat which you can put in your yard of your composting, but you can put other things that are not considered compostable, napkins and paper bags. >> an additional payoff is giving residents an opportunity to do something to help the environment. >> it reduces the amount of methane that comes out of landfills and contributes to climate change and people feel

good about helping the community. david: david louis, abc 7 news. dan: the composting law is one of many changing in the new year. you can find a list of new state laws on our website abc7news.com. read and share with friends so we are all prepared for 2022. on new year's eve, we have your entertainment covered. catch college football on espn,h and the orange bowl begins at 4:30. the countdown starts in the evening on abc 7, dick clark's new year's rockin' eve ryan seacrest. ama: it's a good night to stay inside and watch tv, what will the weather be? dan: spencer's reporting live from his home. spencer: i have not had a chance to watch much tv today, but i've been watching weather maps a lot. a look at live doppler 7, you

can see it is still across parts of the bay area. some scatter downpours, one area of downpours south of san francisco, closer to south san francisco and san mateo. getting a good dose of rainfall, this storm ranks one on the impact scale, storm of light intensity through tonight. we expect brief, heavy downpours and a chance of minor flooding in low-lying areas. maybe a slight chance of thunder. but it is winding down. a view from emeryville looking back along the bay bridge, 40 three degrees, oakland and san francisco 47. san jose is the warm spot, temperatures in the mid to upper 40's at morgan hill and half moon bay. from this came out looking at the cityscape, temperature readings now, 41 at fairfield, concorde only 52. mid 40's at santa rosa, novato and napa. in looking around the bay bridge, check out our forecast features, plain and showers

taper off tonight, cold and frosty in the morning hours the next few days to the weekend and what weather returns next week, the first full week of 2022. our forecast animation starting at 75. showers will taper off by midnight. it should be all over in the bay area. lingering clouds with partial clearing going into the early morning hours and that will continue later into the day tomorrow. era, a winter storm warning in effect until 10:00 p.m., two to four inches of snow, up to six inches in higher peaks and travel difficult. overnight lows in the upper 20's at lake point and ukiah. in the 30's -- mainly tomorrow's highs, 51 to 53 degrees across the bay area. here is the seven day forecast, we talked about the frosty mornings coming our way thursday, friday, saturday and sunday. new year's eve into saturday

morning, new year's day, possibly the coldest morning. clouds will gather and will increase sunday and a level two storm coming up monday with wet and windy conditions that will persist into tuesday, to bring into lingering showers on wednesday. the first full week of 2022 will get off to a white start and we will take all of the rain coming our way because we are fighting a drug. ama: not the only state seeing dangerous weather, 15 states under storm alerts. showing you the conditions here and around the country. >> extreme cold, heavy snow and avalanche danger. winter storms bearing down on the west. in northern california, poor road conditions snarling traffic near lake tahoe. the record snowfall blanketing the backyard in a matter of hours. a close call in oregon, this massive tree collapsing onto the highway, missing the

transportation worker who happened to be driving through. the snow and ice making for treacherous conditions in washington state. drivers struggling to navigate slick and slippery streets. >> i have ice in the wheelbarrow and trying to dig out. >> blizzard conditions raging through the midwest, where a fleet of snowplows raced to clear highways. >> they are trying to make the road safe for everybody. >> while the snow and ice wreak havoc, it is welcome for ski resorts and skiers. >> get some cool weather and have a good time. >> the southeast is in for a round of severe weather, alabama and mississippi under threat for severe thunderstorms and damaging wind, potential tornadoes. ama: breaking news, a fallen tree in oakland hit a car, sending a person to the hospital. pictures tweeted by oakland fire

life. this is incorrect. i apologize. it is closed at shelter drive. the person heard only has minor injuries but the tree is still walking the road. dan: now to the pictures a moment ago, graduation day in the south bay and this group going into jobs that will help their community.

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ama: as we near the end of the year we reflect on what we have been through. the pandemic has abandoned the lives of student athletes, we followed three bay area student athletes for the year to make the new series lost season. here is one story. >> coming from a home, not having all of the resources made it difficult. having that constant structure made it difficult and as a coach i try to do what i can to support him and make sure he is on track with everything. >> when you meet somebody, you can tell how they are. when i met the coach he was not like the people who wanted me to be on their team. >>

sacrifice. if we can help them develop, that is all it's about, give us a chance. >> a solid skill set, he is confident ball handler and passes well. >> he does a nice job of making plays in transition, he moves the ball and a half-court setting, he finishes on the drive. a fairly good shooter with three point range. >> a 2021 prospect worth checking out. that is pretty much may actually. >> in their mind, they are saying that is the kid i need to go and want to play. but what do you do when you can't go watch the kid play? ama: you can catch every episode of the lost season on our bay area connected to the app, worth watching. download it for roku, apple tv,

android tv or amazon fire tv. dan: the santa clara valley education authority took a step toward easing the bus driver shortage. 2016 driver graduated from the training program today. the agency says the new operators will help with a shortage of more than 70 bus operators and both start the frequency of service. >> after putting in two months of hard work, sacrifice, today is a the day we graduate and i'm happy. dan: congratulations. they have placed agencies around the bay area and the country in recent years. -- shortages have plagued agencies around the bay area and country. -- dan: a sixth day

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. dan: the nationwide school bus and driver shortage is having an

impact on one local community in marin county. several kids were at risk of having no way to get to school next week. ama: that has been resolved but as liz kreutz found, it is a band-aid solution. >> he is enjoying his last few days of winter break but his mom has been getting worried. this morning she did not know if her seven-year-old would have a way to get to school next week. >> first it was adequate transportation and now they are talking we won't have any transportation at all for our kids to get there. >> she relies on buses to get him from their home in marin city to a school in sausalito. he was moved as part of a school integration effort, but since the year began, the bus has been unreliable, often late, sometimes broken and a few times has not showed up at all. >> our kids were getting to school right at the start. sometimes even late.

they would not really have time to eat breakfast. >> he is the district superintendent. he says the nationwide school bus and bus driver shortage has made it nearly impossible to find a reliable transportation option for the youngest student. >> we have reached out to the airport, any transportation company in our location. >> this afternoon -- -- afternoon there was no plan to get the children to school after break. they canceled the contract with marin horizon since kids were not getting to school on time, but today they changed course. he said that district will have buses operating next week, a short-term solution for a greater problem. >> get our kids adequate bus services. >> i don't think it is because they did not tried really hard or want it to work out. they are facing the same

landscape and context as everyone else and it is tough to operate a bus program now. >> liz kreutz, abc 7 news. dan: today a jury convicted ghislaine maxwell on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls. she was the longtime associate of convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. she was indicted for conspiring with him and aiding his abuse of girls between 1994 and 2004. she faces 65 years in prison but is expected to be sentenced to less. ama: after hours of deliberation, the jury in the trial against theranos ceo lisbeth holmes went home without reaching a verdict and will not come back until after the holiday. they are worried about a risk omicron poses. stephanie sierra has the story from san jose. stephanie: the jury finished their sixth day of deliberations continuing a streak of silence in the courtroom.

again, no questions or notes sent to the judge. limited clues have been revealed so far with only two questions asked last week. the judge denied the first one when jurors requested to take it home, they asked to replay audio recordings holmes had with investors. michelle hagan thinks the silence this week signals the jury is not confused and is moving along toward a verdict. but as omicron continues surging across the area, santa clara university law center ellen kreisberg says each day that goes by prevents a greater -- presents a greater risk. >> if something happens to a juror, the court can pull in an alternate. he then has to tell the jury to completely restart liberations. because they have two all 12 deliberate together on all of the issues. with a quarantine rate of five days, if it is a juror who is a symptomatically, the judge may

postpone for five days and try to resume it at that time. everyone is on somewhat of a wait and see and hope for the best that this will resolve itself. >> homes is charged with 11 counts of -- holmes is charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. legal experts say six days of deliberations is not out of the ordinary compared to other high-profile fraud cases and what it signals is this jerry is being very careful and conscientious. double rations -- deliberations will not resume until after the holiday. ama: the trial has been going on for months. if you want to get caught up on highlights, check out a podcast called the dropouts hosted by abc news chief business economics and technology correspondent rebecca jarvis. listen wherever you stream podcasts. dan: rain is good for the drought, right? tonight we are looking at a

longer perspective about how much rain the bay area for everyone who lives here. >> high housing prices transplanted californians? not

ama: the stock market closed with the dow in the s&p 500 at all-time highs. the gains were broad-based but travel related stocks including american airlines, united airlines did not do well. the doubt gained 90 points, the nasdaq lost 15, the s&p rose six. uncle sam is about to get a windfall shy of $11 billion courtesy of elon musk. he owes an estimated $10.7 billion in taxes after exercising stock options at his company. he had been holding the options since 2012 and they were set to expire in august 2022. he locks them into a 40% tax bracket. dan: you have probably heard this when you travel, people are annoyed at californians for jacking up housing prices. you hear it when you move to a

new town that we drive up prices in those communities. but is that true? 7 on your side's michael finney has been looking into it and is here with us. i have been places and there almost angry. michael: absolutely. the basic question, you have heard it, too high housing prices arrive with transplanted californians? we hear that a lot, maybe the mass is not so simple. when i first interviewed the industry expert gift card girlfriend shelley hunter she lived in danville. that was then and this is now. shelley moved with her family to boise or years ago and has not looked back. >> cost-of-living is less and people are friendly and it has been a great move. to be honest, i love the bay area, but the cost of living was affecting our quality of life so much that i knew it was time for a change. >> she has run into resentment. wherever californians show up from boise to seattle, to

austin, locals are not happy with equity rich californians. michael: when you tell people you're from california, do they blame you for prices? >> there is not a ton of love for people from california. i will be honest. but i guess for me, i feel like most of the people that have moved here share the reason i moved here. >> she says they are are idaho, not trying to make it like california. are the locals right? is shelley and those like are because cause of rising home prices? here is solo economist -- zillow economist. >> we get that a lot, the number of people who moved from california to austin is so small to the growth -- compared to the growth of the market, it is not making a big dent. michael: it's not just austin, seattle, boise, sarasota and the

rest. more people in slow building -- and slow building drives of the cost. californians add to the numbers, but they and their home equity are not seen by zulu as -- solo -- zillow as a driving force. >> we have people moving from parts the country to different parts, from california to texas, we also have people moving out of texas to california. michael: the next time tells you -- someone tells you our house rich friends are ruining the towns with high prices, fire back it is you people moving to california that's causing our prices to be so high. dan: thanks, very interesting. ama: today may have been our last rainy day of the year. spencer has a look at the weather for the beginning of 2022 next. >> the storm impact scale. from one to five, light to

severe, know how every storm will infect you. be prepared with the abc 7 storm impact

dan: a dire warning about the

so-called doomsday glacier in antarctica. shatter in the next five years, posing a threat to sea level rise. glacier is the widest in the world and holds enough water to raise sea levels by two feet. it will jump to 10 feet if the glaciers collapse as well. ama: before we get to the forecast, we want to talk about the climate because that's part of building a better bay area. if the storm cycle recently is helping with the water outlook in california, it might raise questions of where we go from here. what is the likely impact on our current drought and water for our development. here spencer. spencer: the decade-long conflict our recent storms can't wash away, how to build the thousands of new housing units we need and ensure there is

enough water for an extended population. john goodwin is with the association of bay area governments. >> we have a chronic housing problem and affordability problem. there is a tension between the acute water problems and the chronic housing problems. spencer: while the storms may bring short-term relief, experts bring -- believe a true and to the drought may be far off. marin county is working on plans for a new emergency water pipeline across the richmond san rafael bridge. while others point to diminishing groundwater that could take years to diminish -- replenish. at least one bay area group believes this can be tackled with planning. >> we took a look at the question of whether the bay area could grow the way it's expected to, build the housing it needs to, and use no more water than it presently does. spencer: she is a director of

sustainability and resilience at a nonprofit. the group found existing solutions could have a major impact. >> just with using available technology, the bay area could add 2.2 million new homes in the next 50 years and use no more water or even less than it does today. spencer: it argues that the average home uses -- loses 10% of its water because of leaks. water intensive landscaping is another drain. building denser housing with smaller yard space and more efficient water including recycling payoff. >> our modeling is looking 50 years out and how you build in these gradual, efficiencies over time and realize big gains over decades. spencer: the researchers point to trending since the 80's, saying the bay area has been able to cut water use by 25%

even as population growth. while acknowledging the crisis facing regional water districts, they are planning to keep a long-term view, pointing out housing plans might take years to break ground. >> in terms of prioritizing these emergencies, our focus has been on housing. spencer: and hopefully including solutions that can impact both crises moving forward. ama: there is an additional challenge complicated the housing debate, that is fire. and whether it may not be practical to build in some outlying parts of the area in the future given the increased wildfire risk. dan: let us turn our attention back to if you dry days. ama: spencer with the latest. spencer: our current storm is winding down and that will lead us to a few dry days before the next round of rain. here is a look at live doppler 7. showers in the south bay right

now and that is the heaviest concentration of rainfall, some scattered downpours around san jose. this ranks one on the impact scale. periods of brief heavy downpours, some minor localized flooding. partial clearing will develop and it will get cold in our inland valleys, the lows in the mid to upper 30's, 20's at ukiah and lakeport and tomorrow under partly sunny skies we will see high temperatures at a narrow range, 51 to 53 degrees for most of the area. a cool day. here is the seven day forecast, chilly mornings for the next four days through the weekend. many sunny skies is four days. a wet and windy day, a storm on monday, activity on tuesday and wednesday. we will get off to a wet start. ama: thank you.

dan: football past and present to talk about. chris: in sports, football world remembers the life of john madden and the countdown to kickoff, who will be the starting quarterback for the 49ers?

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>> now abc 7 sports with chris alvarez. chris: clarity on the severity of jimmy avalos injured thumb. it is a third-degree spring fest

sprain, i'm not a doctor but it sounds like -- sprain. i'm not a doctor but it's sound like it hurts. the coach says there's a chance he could play on sunday but he did not practice today. the rookie, trey lance got all of the first team reps at practice. coach shanahan and jimmy on the possibility of playing sunday. >> as a cornerback, you are supposed to be out there. it is my team, i'm supposed to be out there and that's the mindset i have always had. >> it is stable, that's what he does not need surgery and he is feeling better today than he was a few days ago. that's why he has a chance this week. with it being that case, i'm hoping it only gets better with time, this week or the following. >> it's about being able to grip the ball, do the things i normally do and we will test those today, see how it feels and go from there. but i feel confident. chris: it has been over 24 hours since we learned about the passing of john madden.

players and coaches talking about a man that lived the ultimate football life. depending on when you were born, your memories of madden are different. some knew him as a coach of the oakland raiders, others as a broadcaster who brought great energy. for a younger generation, it is the video that bears his name. reaction pouring in. >> i would have been a much better student if it wasn't for him, i spent the first 25 years of my life playing his video game. >> the impact he made on me and all the players in this league is tremendous and i want to show my respect because such a great person and a great leader in the game of football. >> i'm thankful for john for changing the way we all looked at the game, writing the broadcast, his sounds and his all madden game, eggs day.

>> -- thanksgiving day. >> he was an amazing man, always kind, he was always a coach. >> he was the greatest. everybody has had their say on it. you realize how much you touch the football world and all of us. >> a huge impact, his love for the game and madden, a football game named after you, that is a huge deal. especially for someone like myself growing up playing that game. >> you hear fred warner at the end, one of the younger generation who never met him but was in the videogame. get into the nfl and being in the videogame, seeing yourself, how they look so realistic it's like is that fred warner or virtual fred warner? pretty cool. he will always be synonymous with that game and football, he is a legend and we will miss him, but look him up. i was watching some of his great games from the past.

dan: i remember those, it was so fun. ama: coming up on abc 7, a night of the wonder years starts at 8:00 and stay with us for abc 7 news at 11:00. you can watch all of our newscasts live and on-demand the bay area connected tv app, available for apple tv, android tv, amazon fire tv and roku. download the app and start streaming. that will do it for this edition of abc 7 news. think you for joining us. i am ama daetz. dan: i'm dan ashley. per spencer christian, chris alvarez, we hope you have a nice evening and we see you again at 11:00. ♪

--- >> this is the moment

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call 833-317-4673, ♪ from the alex trebek stage at sony pictures studios, this is "jeopardy!" let's meet today's contestants... a program manager from boston, massachusetts... a video game marketer from brooklyn, new york... and our returning champion, an engineering manager from oakland, california... whose 20-day cash winnings total... and now, hosting "jeopardy!"-- ken jennings! [cheers and applause] thank you, johnny gilbert. welcome, everyone, to "jeopardy!" i hope you're having as good a week as amy schneider is. she is now a 20-day champion and has won over 3/4 of a million dollars.

now that's a massive total, but ben and joanna, keep in mind, it all started at zero when she made her first appearance on this show, just like the two of you. who will emerge as today's champion? let's start finding out in the jeopardy! round. here are the categories you'll be dealing with... then... and finally... i mean, don't shake your booty, but that's one of the categories. [laughter] amy, where do we start? celebrity daughters & fathers, $200. - amy. - what is kravitz? - correct. - celebrity, $400. - joanna. - what is fisher? - that's right. - celebrity for $600, please. - joanna. - what is smith? - good. - let's go $800, please. - ben. - who is sorvino?