omicron. local owners are splitting their decision and how long they will be shutting down -- explaining their decision and how long they will be shutting down. kumasi: all the bells and whistles one company claims makes this mattress so special. reggie: good morning. it is tuesday, january 4. you are watching abc seven mornings. we are going to start with that forecast. drew: some light showers move through. this is a light storm we are tracking. we have wet roads this morning and reduced visibility. we will go in closer. you can see light showers across the city, parts of the east bay. southbay, you are mainly dry with mostly cloudy skies. that is the way the day is shaping up. we will keep showers in the forecast through 10:00 a.m. what weather moves out, but clouds remain.

reggie: she was once dropout turned silicon valley hotshot with the theranos blood testing company, but no illicit with homes is staring down potential jail time and criminal sentencing. a southbay jury reached a split verdict. kumasi: guilty on three fraud charges, one count of conspiracy. the question is what comes next. rebecca jarvis looks at the road ahead. rebecca: this is one for the history books. it will be studied in business schools and law schools for years to come. elizabeth holmes now a convicted criminal. the theranos family -- founder once hailed as the next steve jobs for her supposedly revolutionary blood testing company now guilty on four counts of criminal fraud. there were additional counts the jury could not reach a conclusive verdict on after

seven days of deliberations. the eight men and four women came back to the court saying they could not find a unanimous outcome on those counts. the judge declared a mistrial. the government will have the opportunity to retry those charges at a future date. there will also be sentencing in the coming weeks for each of the counts. she faces a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years behind bars. legal experts say she will almost certainly spend years of time behind bars in prison. kumasi: case and highlights of the trial, you can check out a podcast called the dropout hosted by rebecca jarvis. a new episode about the verdict will be released later today. reggie: a state of emergency emg the tenderloin is again going

before the board of supervisors today. imager -- majority of the board voted to support the declaration to address the overdosed epidemic in the neighborhood. now the board considers holding another hearing. there is a possibility they could withdraw support. a new center will be set up for drug treatment and cracking down on drug dealing. kumasi: we are hearing from a former san francisco mayor on crime and street issues in the city. in an interview, brown said the city is plagued with idealism and leaders have always wanted to make san francisco a place where people can become triple but now people are defining how they enjoy the comfort, taking a toll on taxpayers. he said he is disillusioned with how leaders have responded to the homelessness crisis and says he cannot solve it because it is rooted in poverty and mental health. reggie: the the booster shots for 12 to

15-year-olds who have been fully vaccinated for at least five months. that is about 5 million kids who cannot now get that booster. jobina: the fda says the rapid increase of covid cases made it clear the benefits outweigh the risks. the agency is recommending everyone vaccinated with pfizer get their booster after five months instead of six. the cdc still has to sign off on the expanded eligibility. that is expected when the expert advisory panel meets tomorrow as pediatric cases are at an all-time high with 320 5000 more children testing positive in the last week. >> we have patients of brackets with no medical history. the sickest are the patients who are not vaccinated. jobina: the post holiday surge in cases is breaking records. more than one million people were diagnosed with covid yesterday, the highest number of cases in a single day since the

pandemic started. now scientists are tracking a new variant in southern france, where at least 12 people have been infected. doctors say it been around for about a month but there are no indications it is spreading. reggie: as the omicron search continues, more bay area restaurants and bars are making a tough call, deciding to close temporarily in the name of safety. the pandemic's impact on the economy is a key focus. we spoke to the owner of a restaurant, closing the doors until spring, when the surge may subside. he says about 35 employees were laid off. a san francisco location remains open, but indoor dining will be illuminated. >> we have a moral responsibility to provide guests and staff but everyone a safe environment to dine in. right now, it is a dangerous time. reggie: paper milk -- paper

millcreek will not reopen -- there is a list of restaurants temporarily closing because of the surge in new cases. in oakland, first friday has been scrapped because of omicron. the festival brings together local businesses, artisans, and performers. organizers hope to hold it again february 4. kumasi: powerball jackpot jumping up once again. what one man says he would deal with the money. reggie: doordash driver hacked. a scam got one local man kicked off the platform until 7 on your side stepped in to help. drew: the storm impact scale is in use this morning, a level 1 light storm. we are tracking reduced visibility and slick roadways. visibility and slick roadways. we why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate to severe eczema or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me.

by hitting eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within keeping you one step ahead of eczema. hide my skin? not me. and that means long-lasting clearer skin... and fast itch relief for adults. with dupixent, you can show more skin with less eczema. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. when you help heal your skin from within you can change how your skin looks and feels. and that's the kind of change you notice. talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment.

kumasi: we want you to see this. a huge snowstorm has shut down a 48 mile stretch of interstate 95. hundreds of drivers have been trapped in their cars overnight, including virginia's tim kaine. they say they have been stranded for nearly 20 hours at this point. we will keep monitoring the situation through the morning, but you can see what an impact severe weather is having on people there, trapped in those cars and unable to make it through. >> i have lived in virginia. just a little snow can make a mess. they got a lot of snow. some parts of virginia saw more than a foot of snow out of that storm, so they have a lot to clean up this morning. we have some light showers we are tracking through the c. much of the south bay is dry.

we are feeling some mild air. temperatures are in the low to mid 50's out there, so not the chill we have been used to over the past week or so. 7:30 this morning, we are still tracking light showers. after 10:00 a.m., wet weather moves out of here. temperatures are warmer than yesterday. highs later today will reach the upper 50's to near 60 degrees in spots. we will likely hit 60 in fremont. have the umbrella handy. you can ditch it later this afternoon. we are having issues on bart this morning. jobina: the richmond station has reopened. they were shut down because of a fire. now we are just dealing with major delays. no estimated time as to when they will be back on track.

we will see. a live look here at the bay bridge toll plaza. lights flicked on we did not see them turn on yesterday, so that is a new update. there is a wind advisory for the bay bridge. very slick there as well. i will turn it over to reggie. reggie: $575 million is how much is on the line in the next powerball drawing. no one matched all the numbers last night, so it is possible you may have still won a smaller prize. 2, 13, 32, 22. we spoke to a few people who are dreaming about what they would do with that money. >> help my family out, help a lot people out with that kind of money. >> out probably help my family

-- i would probably help my family. >> would you quit your job? >> probably not. reggie: the lies. the next drawing is tomorrow night. the track what is expected to grow even more as more people like us buy tickets. you said i need a $20. why? kumasi: because i need multiple chances to win. reggie: i thought i was buying it for the whole newsroom. kumasi: you could. about 10 people. reggie: or it could be kumasi 10 times. amam cashier? -- cash here? this is why we cad you. the reason the bridge could be put on hold for now. reggie: and the french bulldog puppy stolen in san francisco

was found. the location rosie was taken to and the tip that led to this reunion. >> let's take a live look outside right now. it is overcast and raining in some parts of the bay area.

kumasi: if family reunited with their french bulldog after she was stolen. >>come welcome home. we missed you. kumasi: here is the back story. in the background, that is from new year's day, when a car pulled alongside rosie's owner and someone got out, grabbed the puppy, and took off. the owner reported the theft and offered a $10,000 reward. yesterday, they got a call from

police thanks one purchased rosie in the sacramento area and was hoping -- saying someone purchased rosie lee sacramento area and was hoping to exchange her for the reward. >> we want to make sure everyone knows how grateful we are for their help. kumasi: the two were reunited in vacaville yesterday. rosie seems to be in good spirits. more information about the theft will be released soon. coming up at 7:00, simple steps you can take to make walking your dog safer. reggie: a warning for doordash drivers. you might be targets of a new phishing scam here and this is timothy johnson. he signed up to deliver food and work slowed down for him at the port of oakland. it was going well until one day his app shut him out. the message said that dasher must be active to schedule dashes. someone had diverted his pay.

>> in a real world of worry how much is compromised, wondering how far this hacker got into my account. reggie: he had fallen for a phishing scam, imposters who had switches baking -- switched his banking information. doordash secured his account and restore the stolen money. he is back to delivering food now. doordash says if someone calls you claiming to be from company support you should hang up and communicate directly through the app. kumasi: a consumer electronics show is underway in vegas. a smart bed of the future is getting attention. sleep number has revealed upgrades to its smart beds, including noise canceling speakers for white noise or music and a storage pocket on the side so you can charge devices. it also has ambient lighting to support your circadian rhythm.

think about this. it is like colored lighting at night and then a don simulator -- dawn simulator in the morning. sleep number says and wants to help people age more comfortably or recover from injuries. the new beds will be available next year. they start at $1100 depending on the size. the queen is $5,000. >> nothing there says -- that thing there says $1100. kumasi: that is a pillow. reggie: what is a split king? drew: i would assume that each side you can change. i am not 1000%. reggie: reggie: for 6000 -- 6000

$900, a split king better be a king who can do the splits. drew: king george is not coming back in the bedroom doing splits. that will be the scariest thing at 4:00 in the morning. not in my household. reggie: i did not say which king. i just said a king. drew: a live look from our rooftop camera here. not that busy. there is no one on these roads this morning. it is pretty quiet out there, but we have reduced visibility. here is live doppler 7. we are tracking some light showers over the bay bridge, into the city and into oakland. as we move south, light showers along the peninsula as well. as we move north, just some light rain this morning. we will keep rain in the forecast through 10:00 a.m. the next 3.5 hours or so, we

will have these light showers. the biggest concern is the slick roadways and reduce visibility. rainfall estimates, we are talking light amounts. it is just the timing during the morn commute which is an inconvenience for most of us. high tide in the city close to noon, so we will see coastal flooding in low-lying areas. still in winter weather advisory in the sierra until 1:00 p.m. not talking much in terms of additional snowfall, just two to four inches. poor visibility, but things will improve into tomorrow. at home, a mostly cloudy day. it is mild. we are in the upper 50's to near 60 degrees. 56 in napa. one of the warmer days we have seen in the past week or so. overnight, we will keep cloud cover. after midnight, we could see a spotty showers the north bay.

here is the accuweather 7 day forecast. a chance in the north bay wednesday morning, but most of us remain dry. we are all dry thursday. we get wet again friday. kumasi: now we are checking in with ginger zee with what is coming up on gma. good morning, ginger. >> let's start with that wreck on i-95 that caused at least 48 miles of a backup. some people are saying they have been on the road for more than 15 hours stuck. it is a busy area in northern virginia just south of washington, d.c. and it was about untreated roads and the freeze overnight. hopefully those folks get off of there but we are going to talk about the next storms as well. also this morning, elizabeth holmes guilty of four counts of fraud. that high-profile trial of the

company she founded, claiming it would revolutionize health care. she is now facing years behind bars, so we will have the latest. and the latest in the fight against covid, the u.s. setting that global record of more than one million new covid cases in 24 hours and millions of americans going back to school and work. two of our favorite guests, you know it is going to be a good morning. reggie: what would you do -- 15 hours. you do not know at the beginning that it is going to be 15 hours but you are sitting in a car. >> you try to hold going to the bathroom, right? for a certain amount of time. i am not sure with the pivot point is for losing your mind, but it has to be close. reggie: i'm thinking around nine hours 15 minutes is when the screening begins. -- screaming begins.

you definitely start talking to yourself. >> i just hope they safely get them off. open a middle lane or something. >> they need to have starbucks for free for at least the next week at the minimum. >> obviously. >>

>> we are going out live to a fire in el cerrito. that is richmond fire on the scene. the fire started around 4:23 this morning. this has caused major troubles because the fire is next to the barge track way. originally the el cerrito and richmond stations were shut. they have opened. you are going to face major delays there, so this will be along the richmond directions. they have no estimate of time as to when things will run on time.

you can see why because the fire is still underway. reggie: new developments, a plan to build a water pipeline across a bridge because of the drought may be delayed. that is because the reservoirs are filling up thanks to a recent wet weather. the municipal water district will consider pushing back the project by more than a year. that is so they can conduct a full environmental review on the project. they will make that decision during a board meeting tonight. kumasi: and the return that every warriors fan has been waiting for for years now, and we may just be days away from seeing klay thompson back on the court. according to our sister network espn, there is optimism he will make his return on sunday at chase center against the cleveland cavaliers. a final decision is expected to be made on friday. last night, thompson was shooting with steph curry before the game and walked off the court holding the number

six. many were guessing that was the number of days until his return. he has not played an nba game since june of 2019. reggie: a staple in the los angeles routine has paid tribute to a hollywood icon. pace hot dog is selling its betty white naked hotdog. all the proceeds go to the other place -- to the l.a. zoo. >> she ate the hotdog and she says, i don't want anything on it. i just want beef on the button. we sent them you got it. we will call at the naked dog. she says, you could tell everyone that betty white gets naked at pink's. reggie: she has the rare distinction of having two photos on pink's celebrity wall. kumasi: ok. reggie: that whole soundbite is hilarious. kumasi: i love it. reggie: for so many reasons. next, cell phone alert.

you may have gotten it in recent weeks. the notification popping up more and more from the state and what to do if you get one. kumasi: charting the recovery of san francisco. how closely city's offices, airports, and hotels with less moderate-to-severe eczema, why hide your skin if you can help heal your skin from within? dupixent helps keep you one step ahead of eczema with clearer skin and less itch. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about dupixent.

say hello to 2022 with xfinity and you'll get fast and reliable internet without talking to your doctor. for only nineteen ninety-nine a month for twelve months. plus, you can get twelve times the speed for the same price when you add xfinity mobile. you'll save hundreds over at&t. say hello to kicking off the year with this amazing offer. and with xfinity mobile, you can get a 5g phone on us and three hundred dollars back during our xfinity hello twenty twenty-two sales event! click, call or visit a store today!

>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. reggie: making news right now, severe trouble trouble across the country. the weather making for white out conditions on the east coast, even affecting air force one. major freeway at a standstill, and more rounds of flight cancellations near the bay area. kumasi: some other of our own hitting neighborhoods as you wake up. this is a live look outside this morning. you can see some rain coming down as people make their way across the bay bridge. drew has when the showers should clear out. plus -- >> a robot is waiting outside your door for you to pick you up. reggie: trust me when i say this

gets more bizarre the more you hear about it. the staffing shortages right here in silicon valley. good morning morning on this tuesday. you are watching abc 7 mornings wherever you stream. we will start with the wet morning. drew: have the umbrella with you the next couple hours. it is a level 1 storm we are tracking at least through 10:00 a.m. it is not widespread rain, but where we have the rain, it is coming down and creating slick roadways and reducing visibility. the bay bridge getting wet right now. parts of oakland, some showers in the peninsula over sfo right now. you can see reduced visibility. the building barely visible. we will keep the showers in the forecast this morning. after 10:00 a.m., the rain moves out. by 4:00, temperatures topping out in the 50's. reggie: thank you.

guilty after a very long trial, the jury convicted elizabeth holmes of several counts of fraud. now we wait to see how long she will serve. amy joins us with the split decision from the jurors. >> not a lot of shark out there in the reactions to this verdict the only surprise seems to be that she was convicted of prodding investors and outpatient -- frauding investors and not patients. she did not answer questions. she just stared straight ahead. while many thought this case put the silicon valley culture on trial, we talked to someone after the verdict who said he thinks this case stands alone. >> i think she pushed the boundaries well beyond anything rational and she got caught and convicted. i don't think it is a

pronouncement or judgment on the biotechnology industry or silicon valley as a biotechnology industry here locally. >> here is a look at the jury's decision. she was found guilty on 4 counts, including defrauding investors. not guilty on another 4, including conspiracy against patients. the jury could not reach a verdict on three other charges. the former ceo was at one time worth $4 billion. she now faces up to 20 years in prison for each conviction. reporting live, amy hollyfield, 87 news. kumasi: thank you. a monster storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in the d.c. area has made it a miserable drive for a lot of people there. drivers were trapped in their cars for hours overnight along busy 95, including virginia senator tim kaine, who tweeted this morning he has been stuck in his car since 1:00 p.m. local time yesterday. yeah.

hundreds of cars and crashes snarled traffic bringing traffic to a standstill. the winter weather has delayed president biden's return to the white house from delaware. one of the trucks became stuck in the snow briefly. the airman on the ground had to push it free. the president took a slow ride through the heavy snow in his motorcade. reggie: bad weather playing a role in hundreds of flight cancellations across the country. the big culprit is the highly infectious omicron variant, which is sidelining flight crews everyday. is today looking any better? >> short answer to that question is no. nearly 1000 flights in the u.s. have been canceled today and it is still early. at sfo, 36 flights have been canceled, but the hardest hit airlines are united and alaska. the two largest carriers at the airport. in open, 12 southwest flights are already canceled for today. at the san jose airport, six southwest flights have been canceled.

winter weather in parts of the u.s. along with major staffing issues have made for a disruptive combination. flight crews and airline staff are calling out sick or been put in isolation because of the omicron variant. >> the captain came on and he said they are understaffed because people are sick. he said there are people trying to do the work of three people down there. >> travel experts we talked with say there is no relief in sight when not with omicron spreading the way it is right now in the u.s. the good news is there are a lot fewer people traveling in the coming weeks, which means if your flight does get canceled, it will be easier to be rebooked on another one. if you need to work this all out because your stuff got canceled, make sure to check your status frequently, multiple times a day, and contact airline to find another flight. if there is an issue, sometimes texting them or through social media can be faster than being on the phone. reggie, what was your advice? the front with the status. reggie: yeah.

you got a man or woman in your life who has some good status, they have a different phone line. they can pick up a little quicker when they see that come up on a call. that is my little tip. find me one in the new year. san francisco is lagging behind other u.s. metro areas in the recovery from the pandemic. according to the city comptroller's office, everything is down compared to other major u.s. cities. only 30% of san francisco office workers have returned compared to much higher percentages elsewhere. at sfo, passenger volumes are at 60% pre-pandemic numbers. compare that to lax, which has returned to 80%. look at the hotel occupancy. it is not even half of what it was in the summer of 2019. just 40% of rooms are occupied these days. kumasi: pfizer booster shots for kids ages 12 to 15 could be available as soon as thursday.

the fda authorized them yesterday. a panel will consider this issue tomorrow. send it to is opening up a vaccination clinic today. the clinic we opens at noon and closes at :00 and will be open tuesdays through saturday going forward -- saturdays going forward. if you do not have an appointment, you will not be turned away. the county is offering first, second, and booster doses. reggie: covid testing continues today for students across the bay area. while tests are not mandatory, many school district are offering them. in san francisco yesterday, all the rapid tests available at district headquarters were gone by noon. the district sent messages to families letting them know about other testing locations throughout the city. >> i think it shows our messages are reaching the community and that is a good thing. we want them to know how to access that information if that is what they choose to do. reggie: there was a line for testing at lafayette. but compared to some of the

other lines, this one was relatively short. kumasi: experts say the number of infections in the bay area right now could be higher than what is being reported because many people are testing at home. county data show san francisco now has the third highest covid transmission rate in california. according to the chronicle, there is an outbreak within the sf mta. california is in the middle of a winter surge. a covid testing company is reporting a 19% positivity right in multiple cities across the bay area. state data shows 6000 people are in the hospital with covid. the chief of emergency medicine at zuckerberg san francisco general is starting to see the increase. >> we got up pretty considerably. we were down to five or six in the hospital three weeks ago and only one or two in the icu. now we are up to 20 in the hospital with five in the icu. >> nationwide, more than 100,000 people are in the hospital with

covid for the first time in four months. the majority of cases are happening among the unvaccinated. if you have any questions about covid-19 vaccines commute and asked our vaccine team. go to abc7news.com/vaccine and click on the big blue box. reggie: if you are feeling the zoom fatigue, you are not alone. but there is one type of person who might enjoy it quite a bit. kumasi: you are looking live right now at the big board on the new york stock exchange. we are up by 200 points right now. another update on the markets, next. reggie: the final farewell season of "blackish" happening tonight. a sneak peek at the premier with a guest star. drew: we are tracking some light showers out there for your tuesday morning commute. let's show you the bay bridge right now. we have reduced visibility right now because of the light showers moving through as people trek across the bridge. some wet roadways as well.

the rain is not widespread. but we will zoom in to some locations that are impacted by the showers this morning. down to the east bay we go. certainly wet this morning in spots. the city getting light rain as well. san francisco right now, some light showers. parts of the peninsula, san mateo getting some light rain. even as he crossed the san mateo bridge, you are getting impacted by the light showers this morning. as we head north, martinez, hercules, even north towards vallejo, it is wet. highway 4 right now getting impacted by the light showers. the south bay, you have pretty much been dry the past 24 hours. we do anticipate you remaining pretty dry this morning. mostly cloudy skies for san jose. temperatures this afternoon for the south bay close to 60 degrees.

littlewood light storm we have now through -- level 1 light storm we have now through 10:00 a.m. hour-by-hour we go. here is 8:00 a.m. still tracking pocketed rain. mostly cloudy skies. the rain moves out of the clouds are made and temperatures top out in the upper 50's your 60 degrees. let's get a check because a fire is impacting this morning. >> yes. we have really good news in the last minute or so. we saw those flames come down. atchs 10 hind the fir i live e. the fire started near the bar track wake just before 4:30 this morning. that has cleared. two stations have reopened. things are now running on time there. systemwide, bart is experiencing a 10 minute delay in all directions because of the wet weather.

they have been really dealing with this morning. live picture at the bay bridge toll plaza. we are starting to see that backup just a little bit. it is slick on the bridge. chp issued a wind advisory there. we are definitely seeing the slowdown start out of tracy. tracy to dublin, 38 minutes. we saw that there was no slowdown yesterday.

i was injured in a car crash. i had no idea how much my case was worth. i called the barnes firm. when a truck hit my son, i had so many questions about his case. i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. your case is often worth more than insurance offers. call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ the barnes firm, injury attorneys ♪

♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ kumasi: hilary duff is facing criticism after video posted of her three-year-old daughter riding in a car but with no car seat. california law says kids under the age of eight must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the backseat. pediatricians say a child under five with only a seatbelt is a dangerous situation. chp suggests keeping your kids in each stage of the car seat for as possible.

duff has not commented on the videos. reggie: the titan of bay area tech apple is now the world's first publicly traded company to hit a $3 trillion stock market value. apple shares briefly talked its all-time high -- topped its all-time high yesterday before it dipped. it has now tripled its valuation in under four years and is expected to continue to grow with strong iphone sales as well as gains in its service divisions. there may be a major takeover coming to the u.s. auto industry. toyota is about to dethrone general motors as america's sales leader, a spot gm has held for nearly a century. toyota and gm are set to report year-end sales today. gm trailed toyota over the first three quarters. its fourth corner results are expected to fall short. as a whole, u.s. automakers account for 40% of american vehicle sales. president biden meeting virtually with farmers and

ranchers to talk about the rising meat prices across the country. he is pushing for more competition in the industry, saying that is what is needed to bring prices down. industry groups are pushing back, blaming higher energy prices and the effect of the coronavirus. now a live look at the new york stock exchange as trading gets underway this morning. you can see we are up 218 points. kumasi: at&t and verizon have now agreed to delay the rollout of new 5g wireless technology for another two weeks. there are concerned it could interfere with safety systems on planes around airports. both wireless companies say 5g is safe but airlines, playmakers, and federal regulators are not convinced. starbucks is telling its employees they have to be fully vaccinated by february 9 or face covid testing. the policy syncs up with federal guidelines for companies with more than 100 workers. in a memo to employees, starbucks says testing for those who are not vaccinated cannot be done at home. the company says they will not

be covering the cost of the testing either. starbucks is one of the first large restaurant chains to enact a vaccine or test mandate for its employees. if you have received a covert exposure alert on your phone, you are not alone. notifications of increased because of the omicron surge. the tool has been around for more than a year, but as the others have increased, it has caused some confusion for people because the notifications don't have detailed information. >> getting an alert on your phone does not always mean you have had a true exposure. you may have been in a setting with a mask or a setting where the other individual was known to be positive and you are aware of this. kumasi: one doctor says during the fall and holidays, every positive exposure has generated eight to 10 anonymous notifications. reggie: difficulty in filling service jobs has left hotels and scrambling to provide room service. so robots have come to do the work. that is surprising guests.

but the most surprising thing about this story is reporter david louis, who dodges a robot. something straight out of "west side story." >> this is how they are dealing with staffing shortages. this robot will handle the task. the relay robot is ready to deliver. >> they are in this kind of crunch mode where the higher paid staff are filling in for things that frankly robots can do. >> the robot needs to train only ones to navigate the lobby and hallways. it even has been adapted to call for an elevator. once inside, it can press the button for the designated floor. hotel corridors can be tricky to navigate, even for humans, with housekeeping carts and other guests. what happens when the robot comes and i happen to be in the way? it is trying to work around me. and if i step in its path

we can do sort of a dance, couldn't we? look at that. it is the playful characteristic that makes the robot almost human, but it really is good at getting around people. look at how it handles a crowded lobby. once it gets to the room, it calls the guests to announce his arrival. >> a robot is waiting outside your door for you to pick it up. >> the robot opens its compartment door, and there is the soft drink the guests requested. >> you don't have to tip it. there is no obligation, no handout. and you don't even have to get dressed for it. >> the robot has reduced room service from 30 down to five minutes in many cases. it also reduces covid anxiety. >> there are guests that like the fact that they can have items delivered and not have the contact with the human being. it is or of an enhanced experience than is replacing someone. >> the robot is on call 24/7.it not have days off or take vacations.

kumasi: a character trait might explain why some of us hate doing those virtual meetings where we are on camera and why some people really don't mind. a study at washington state university finds that people who have a high degree of public self-consciousness have a tougher time looking at themselves over videoconferencing. those people generally have a bad view of virtual meetings. and those who have low characteristics of this trait do not mind. they say they have positive virtual meetings when they are on camera. reggie: as you would expect, right? if you are a narcissist, you love it. kumasi: thank you. break it down. drew: you are pinning yourself to the video. like i would just look at myself. reggie: we are also seeing this as we stare at 4 versions of ourselves in front of us right now. kumasi: this is very true. drew: we have not zoomed in a while back here.

i hate zooming. let's take a look at the storm impact scale. it is a level one through 10:00 a.m. light showers. breezy. the biggest concerns are the wet roadways and visibility is reduced where we have the showers. the rain is not widespread. we have in the east bay and parts of the peninsula right now, those showers bring with it some poor visibility. santa rosa down to a mile and a quarter visibility. we will have this fog and low cloud cover at least through the 10:00 a.m. hour. temperatures on the mild side. we are five degrees warmer now than we were in this time yesterday morning. we are basically in the low to mid 50's. not the chill we have been used to the past week. drizzle to rainfall estimates. this is not a widespread event. these things are moving slower than normal. we are anticipating a few

hundredths of an inch of moisture. high tide in the city is pretty close to noon. we will find some minor coastal flooding in low-lying areas as the tide speak later on today. a winter weather advisory still in effect until 1:00 p.m. today about 5500 feet. we are talking two to four inches. our highest could see six inches. right now, some issues on 80 and 50 in terms of slow travel. things improve later this evening. back at home, we have rein rain in spots. showers move out after 10:00 a.m. the afternoon is dry but the cloud cover remains. limited sunshine. temperatures in the upper 50's to near 60 degrees so it will feel mild later today. overnight tonight, upper 40's to low 50's. after midnight, we will likely find an isolated shower moving through the north bay. most of us remain dry. here is the seven day forecast. showers today. mostly cloudy this afternoon. a chance in the north bay

tomorrow. driver cloudy thursday. more rain returns friday, looking more widespread. over the weekend, looking nice. and a lot of sunshine and temperatures in the upper 50's both days, saturday and sunday. kumasi: it seems pets are enjoying the record amount of snow we are seeing in the sierra. look at this dog. this is in truckee. clearly, this dog was happy to get in the snow. she is trying to get through the fresh powder with her head bobbing up and down. the uc berkeley central sierra snow labs as the record for the snowiest december on record at the lab is now 214 inches, and that is the most since it opened in 1970. reggie: time to start saying goodbye to "blackish." its final season starts tonight on abc 7, and one of its stars started on the show when she was nine years old and is 17 now and is making -- and says making the final season was bittersweet.

♪ >> sweet black jesus. isn't that john legend? >> i know. >> for some reason, that was the most comfortable bed we have ever been on. we spent several thousand dollars for mattresses in our private home. this mattress was $32 from a goodwill shop. [laughter] >> it was the most comfortable bed we could ever lay on. we would just fall asleep on here every day for eight years. reggie: trust and believe you will hear from martin later on "gma." the season goes big with michelle obama as a special guests target and airs tonight on abc 7 -- guest star. it airs tonight on abc 7. kumasi: do you think that would happen to you when you see michelle obama? reggie: that happened to me on new year's. [laughter] reggie: there is absolutely

nothing wrong with it, but it was two normal people. kumasi: living. living. reggie: living the best life. kumasi: looking good. poses hitting. every outfit. dwag. -- swag. reggie: like everyone else in your feed. wait a second. this is the obamas. kumasi: we needed that for new year's eve. up next, seven things you need to know today. reggie: a reminder you can watch all of our newscasts on the connected tv app available for apple tv, android tv, amazon fire tv, and roku. kumasi: as we had been the break, let's take a live look outside right now at 6:55. we will be right back. >> i am now hearing from victims all across the country. their bank accounts were drained in seconds. the banks will not refund their money until -- >> you don't know how excited i am. >> my money is back. >> so happy i want to cry.

>> i could not be anymore thankful to 7 on your side. >> really life-affirming. >>

♪ at usaa, we've been called "too exclusive" because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank or when they were in. a marine just out of boot camp or a petty officer from '73 and even his kids and their kids. usaa is made for all who've honorably served and their eligible family members. are we still exclusive? absolutely. and that's exactly why you should join.

kumasi: if you are just joining us, here are the seven things to know this morning. a south bay jerry delivered a split verdict in the elizabeth holmes fraud trial. the former ceo was convicted on 4 charges and acquitted of 4 others and jurors deadlocked on three charges. reggie: the nation's postholiday surge in covid cases is breaking records. more than a million people were diagnosed yesterday. kumasi: number three, san mateo county is opening a vaccination clinic at the event center. doors open at noon today. you are encouraged to make an appointment. reggie: interstate 95 closed for a 48 mile stretch through virginia this morning after a terrible snowstorm. hundreds of people have been stranded. some for 20 hours. drew: we are tracking some light showers this morning. here is live doppler 7.

the rain in the east and along the peninsula. we will keep the rain in the forecast at least through 10:00 a.m. drier but mostly cloudy this afternoon. >> bringing you a like picture where a fire is officially out, but there are major delays on bart because this fire was right along the track way so you will experience delays. kumasi: still rocking a vintage blackberry, you need to think about getting a new phone because blackberry is shutting down its operation systems as of today. you will not be able to make any calls, and that includes 911. reggie: it is kind of confusing because they still have blackberry but they run on a different operating system. drew: so the model is ok if you update your software? reggie: i don't know. drew: who knows? i love the blackberry i had in college.

it was a blast. kumasi: why risk it? you call 911 and what? reggie: i am not recommending you have one, just that we are clear. good morning, america, for our viewers in the west. bitter cold across the country and a new storm on the move this tuesday. winter wallop. drivers stranded overnight on i-95 in cars and trucks. this morning, the coldest air of the season is here after record snowfall in the capitol. now millions of americans digging out bracing for the black ice danger on the roads. ginger is tracking it all, plus the new cross-country storm on the move. when will more snow hit the east coast? guilty. disgraced theranos founder elizabeth holmes convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy for lying to investors to fund the blood testing company she claimed would revolutionize health care. how long could she spend behind bars?

also this morning, over 1 million new covid cases in 24 hours. the u.s. setng