building a better bay area moving forward finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. learn right if they're not in a safe environment. tonight parents in vallejo are speaking out about safety concerns due to a lot next door to a charter school. good evening. i'm on a date and i'm dan ashley. thank you for joining. parents say homeless people started living in the lot recently and since then things have gotten unstable including a shooting yesterday abc 7 news reporter ryan curry talked to parents about what they want to see changed. parents of students at caliber changemakers academy in vallejo are asking the city to do something about a lot right near the school. this comes after a shooting on that lot sent the school into lockdown this week. i left right away in tears to come get my son and my son was

in tears and he's so frightened and even want to go to school today. nicole slavic says this wasn't the first time the school sent a notice about an incident on the lot. she says two weeks ago a third grader reported seeing a weapon the lot is only separated by a fence and it is right near the yard worse students play. i don't know if there's drugs inside, but it's too close to our children rashawn bailey who says he's been living on the lot for nine months came out and explained what happened on tuesday. he said a group showed up to the lot and shot his dog and people on the lot started shooting back. we just hear again soon, and we thought that they were shooting at us. so we just we fire i mean and and got a muffles. he says police came and told him he has a right to defend himself, but told him not to have these incidents happen right near his school parents want everyone on that lock gone change change. our kids came learn and be great if they're not in a safe environment. we reached out to the city of vallejo and they told us they

have multiple staff members monitoring situation parents say they started noticing more and more people showing up at the lot and living in trailers. they say that is concerning because they don't know who is living there. we don't even know who these people are. we don't know if there's registered sex offenders. we don't know if they're making drugs. we don't know anything that's going on in there in response to that. bailey says he wanted to help some friends who are homeless enforce the rvs, you know homeless is popping up everywhere and it's like the issue that's on couch. it's a bunch of that. you mean popping up all over the city. so what we was trying to do was just trying to curve that, you know, help a few friends out. there's nothing permanent just temporary the parents. we spoke with say they want to be able to send their kids to school and not worry about them possibly getting hurt two weeks ago. we got an email that there was a weapon and now yesterday nine shots. happen and one of our children could have been hit by one of those in vallejo ryan curry abc 7 news.

at least six bay area schools were victims of a swatting hoax today some were locked down as police responded abc 7 news. anchor karina. nova is in the newsroom with this disturbing and dangerous threat. it's not funny grant. yeah, it's not dan. it was a scary situation for students staff and parents at those six bay area schools. that's after varies police departments received calls this morning that reported an active shooter, which turned out to be false. here are those schools that were impacted some of them went into lockdown the climates high school in oakland george, washington high school in san

francisco south san francisco high school, irvington high school and fremont woodside high school in lincoln high school, san jose, and there was a large police presence at some of those schools where parents showed up just to make sure their kids were okay. great. hernandez says, she left work immediately after receiving a message from her daughter at woodside high school. so he was around 10 and she told me that she was scared because she was not sure what it was going on and all they told them and all she know was to hide maybe spawns from law enforcement alameda sheriff's lieutenant ray kelly explains the motive behind the threat which is usually done anonymously through a digital platform. it's to create havoc and chaos in anarchy, and that's what it's designed to do and cause fear and cause panic. it's really a malicious thing and it's usually the perpetrators are usually young people. kelly says they believe the calls today are related to a series of calls from last month and that one person may be behind this there are several

law enforcement agencies working on this investigation live in the newsroom karina, nova abc 7 news. okay, karina. thank you in the east bay oakland has now recorded its 103rd homicide of the year. it happened just before 11:10 this morning on 11th street near mlk way just steps from the entrance to the blue cross blue shield building if you know the area responding officers learned that a man was standing outside when he was shot at least once the man was taken to the hospital sadly. he died our abc 7 news photographer on the scene noticed that investigators seem to be focusing on a black corvette there but so far there are no details and on what led up to this shooting. oakland continues to look for solutions to the violence this morning. there was a meeting involving senator alex padilla congresswoman barbara lee and city leaders lee pointed to the grassroots effort as a possible answer. community is engaged in violence prevention several programs utilize violence interrupters young people who are able to prevent the onset of whatever is

about to take place. and i think that's a very unique and creative approach. we need to bring it to scale. when asked about bringing in the national guard for patrols or declaring a state of emergency, senator padilla said that was not discussed. however, he left it open should oakland city officials decide to pursue it as an option a man was shot early this morning as he confronted four people. he says we're trying to steal his catalytic converter. it happened on sergeant street in castro valley. the victim was shot twice in the leg. sheriff's office and chp spotted the suspects vehicle shortly afterward chased it to walnut creek the driver crashed and police say four people ran out from the car. they have not been arrested yet, but authorities did find nearly a dozen catalytic converters in the car. the sanford if the san francisco district attorney's office has filed multiple charges against the suspect in a recent fentanyl bust authorities. say miguel ramos was caught with nearly eight pounds of the drug when he was arrested in the tenderloin on saturday in

addition to the felony charges. the da's office is asking that ramos not be allowed bail before the case goes to trial. several drug policy and treatment experts say the tough approach to dealing with san francisco's drug suppliers is doing nothing to slow down the demand. as san francisco moves forward with increased policing and criminalization that those things are going to make the overdose crisis worse. representatives from sf aids foundation the san francisco public defender's office a code tenderloin and other organizations weighed in on the da's drug crackdown today calling it failed progressive approach. they want more resources put toward harm reduction and wraparound care for drug users, which treatment testing counseling social support services as well, california attorney general rob bonta is touting the state's efforts to crack down on fentanyl dealers across the state today. he announced that since april of last year law enforcement teams

have arrested some 200 people and seized more than four million fentanyl pills and 900 pounds of fentanyl powder. these operations have aggressively and strategically worked to detect to deter to disrupt and dismantle fentanyl rings and criminal enterprises supply chain networks and criminal syndicates to prevent fentanyl from reaching our neighborhoods and help those directly impacted by this public health crisis. fanta says the state will be expanding operations like this. thanks to eight billion dollars in funding for the creation of a new enforcement program within the department of justice. children as young as five are a step closer to being able to get an updated covid booster shot today the fda gave emergency use authorization for the pfizer and moderna boosters that target the both original strain and the omicron be a four and five so variants if authorized by the cdc is expected kids ages five to 11.

we'll be eligible to get the pfizer vaccine while the moderna shot will be available for children six to 17 years of age only those who've received their initial vaccinations with an original formula version. keep in mind qualify for an updated booster san francisco's laguna honda hospital has a chance to stay open city officials and federal regulators reached a settlement to extend time for recertification. it was set to close this september after failing an inspection in april the new settlement includes a repair plan and pause on patient transfers a new hope for families who fought against the closure the hospital will need to show facility improvements by february. have 2023 to extend the pause lot more to come here still ahead an incredible scientific breakthrough that could transform research of the living human brain. we'll tell you about the team from stanford. that is growing human brain cells in rats. no kidding abc 7 news at five (vo) it's a fact! two out of three americans who qualify no kidding abc 7 news at five continues after for medicare do not receive all the benefits they deserve.

you could be missing out! now anthem blue cross introduces a free medicare plan checkup to make sure you receive all the benefits you qualify for in 2023. call 1-866-336-3448 today and receive extra benefits for a zero dollar monthly premium. benefits like dental, vision, hearing and prescription drugs! and to help you stay healthy at home, you can have free prescription drug delivery, online doctor visits twenty-four seven, and free exercise classes. you can even receive money towards over-the-counter health items. call 1-866-336-3448 today and feel confident you have all the benefits you deserve for 2023. you can receive extra benefits for a zero dollar monthly premium, like dental, vision, hearing and prescription drugs. call 1-866-336-3448 and make sure you're not missing out. naomi: every year the wildfires, the smoke seems to get worse. jessica: there is actual particles

on every single surface. dr. cooke: california has the worst air pollution in the country. the top 2 causes are vehicles and wildfires. prop 30 helps clean our air. it will reduce the tailpipe emissions that poison our air kevin: and helps prevent the wildfires that create toxic smoke that's why calfire firefighters, the american lung association, and the coalition for clean air support prop 30. naomi: i'm voting yes on 30. what's it like having xfinity internet with supersonic wifi? it's fast... like beyond-gig-speed fast. yeaaaaaaaaay!!! with three times the bandwidth, and the power to connect hundreds of devices at once. get the xfinity supersonic bundle with unlimited gig speed internet, wifi equipment included and a free 4k streaming box. all for $50 a month with a 2 year internet rate guarantee and no annual contract when you add xfinity mobile with unlimited data. switch today!

breakthrough by researchers at stanford could provide a new way to research the living human brain, but not necessarily while it's in the human body. yeah fascinating abc 7 news anchorage urbina fortson has a look at the groundbreaking technique. for decades researchers have been peering into the human brain trying to unlock the secrets of conditions ranging from autism to epilepsy to mental illness, but now instead

of ■justlooking atthe brain a team at stanford says they built their own or at least part of one the trick. is that the brain tissue known as an ergonoid doesn't live in a human's head. it lives in a rats. and so we've done this by transplanting the organoids early in the developing wrath. so at a time where when the rap brain is still plastic and can still form new connections sergey paschke as a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the stanford school of medicine. he says the first step was to create the brain tissue using what are known as pluripotent stem cells. they've derived from skin samples and can be coaxed into developing into any kind of cell in the body including these beating heart cells, but instead of is working in a dish pashka's team transplanted the cells onto the brain of a living rat they soon watched as blood vessels connected and the human neurons began to grow and we've

discovered that it starts to connect with the sum of the circuitry of the wrath and so for instance it receives input from the autonomous, which is a very important structure in the middle of the brain that relays information from census this animation provided by stanford illustrates what happened next researchers were able to confirm that sensations from the rats whiskers were being processed by the human brain cells later the engineered cells that were sensitive to a colored light then taught the rat to associate the light with the reward behavior again being processed through the human brain tissue. the stanford team is careful to say they are not working to create a humanized rat, but rather a platform where they can research diseases drugs and therapies that could never be done on the living human the stanford team believes that could provide critical insight into forms of autism and epilepsy and perhaps conditions

including psychiatric disorders as well. we've made little pro. in understanding the biology of this condition primarily because the human brain is inaccessible. but with this new access they're hoping faster. testing will lead to new drugs and even a powerful new way of studying the human brain. jobina fortson abc 7 news. incredible in the stanford team says they've been able to create to organoids that mirrored tissue from different areas of the brain potentially allowing for varied research studies. wow. well still had another story about rats. this one's different that's a problem neighbors and officials say it's being caused by one woman and her bird seed and now it's gotten so bad that the san francisco health department involved stay with us. involved stay with us. don't mind me. i'm just the flu.

i'm quite harmless, really. and when people ask, “but aren't you linked to dangerous flu complications, like pneumonia, heart attack, and hospitalizations?” i just say, “but, i'm just the flu.” it's him! who? i'm just the flu! fight the flu with sanofi flu vaccines, which help prevent flu in older adults. they've even been shown to provide better protection from flu-related complications compared to standard dose flu shots. don't get fluzone high-dose quadrivalent if you've had a severe allergic reaction to its components, including egg products, or after previous dose of flu vaccine. don't get flublok quadrivalent if you've had a severe allergic reaction to its components. tell your healthcare professional if you've had severe muscle weakness after a flu shot. people with weakened immune systems may have a lower vaccine response. this flu season, you do have a choice. choose the protection of a sanofi flu vaccine. ask your pharmacist or doctor which sanofi flu vaccine is right for you.

which sanofi flu vaccine strange story in san francisco. it's about a growing rat problem residents say it's caused by hundreds of pounds of bird seed left on the sidewalk by the so-called bird seed lady pest control contractors have been setting out traps, but as abc 7 news reporter suzanne phonics explains. it's a deeper problem. it's not just attracting the birds but also rats hundreds possibly thousands of pounds of bird seed have been dumped around glen park over the past two years by the so-called bird seed lady. it's a bit excessive for sure hillary shiraldi president of the glen park association has seen the piles of bird seed everywhere and the rats. we were enjoying our backyard with friends and there's you

know a rat coming along the fence and this is a recent problem store owner janet tarlov with the glen park merchants association is trying to clean up the piles of bird seed usually about 15 to 30 pounds at a time. and i had to do that multiple times a day. tarlov has seen the bird seed lady and tried to intervene when i told her, you know, no you can't do that. that's you know, that's gonna attract rodents. she spit on me. the excessive bird seed is attracted rodents causing thousands of dollars of damage to tarlos business. it's getting close to a hundred thousand dollars. what do you think about that? it's it's rough. you know, we're trying to recover from the pandemic the city of san francisco forbids spreading bird seed in public places, but the bird seed lady apparently keeps on going she told a, you know business owner in the neighborhood and i love these animals people around here say they still see the woman dumping bird scene around glen

park the most recent case happened two days ago people who live and work in the neighborhood reached out to their city supervisor the police department and the health department today the health department issued this statement saying quote the person has been and is currently connected to health services. we continue to do outreach to offer support and engage the person on additional health services. we understand that this is a vulnerable woman and you know, maybe possible mental health issues. it's so difficult to deal with in glen park san francisco suzanne fallen abc 7 news boy, that is a dilemma. yeah certainly is. all right. well also a dilemma what to do in our nice weather. perfect how to enjoy it sandia patel is here with the forecast. yeah, the problem bay area. yeah. we're sells camera as you will notice that marine layer is nice and healthy. it is rolling in over the hills.

just such a pretty sight the marine layer deep into about 1600 feet right now. it's still fairly healthy. so do expect it to march well into our inland valleys right now. it's along the coast and around the bay on live doppler 7 want to show you what's happening in southern california as you probably noticed last couple of days. they've been seeing showers even some thunderstorms tonight. it's primarily showers that are moving through all an association with that low that continues to spin down off the coastline high pressure is still blocking our patterns. so any storm tracks go right over the top of that ridge of high pressure, which means nothing shows up just yet, but there's hope later on this month. it looks like we may see some what weather winds right now on shore 24 miles an hour in san francisco 26 in fairfield. so a nice delta breeze from our golden gate bridge camera, you can see it is pretty much. doggy view of the golden gate although the marine layer has lifted a bit. it is in the low 60s, san francisco oakland 66 in palo alto kind of a coolish day around the bay and coast 71 in

san jose 70 in santa clara and pier 39. hey doesn't look like the sea lions mind this weather. you can see the overcast skies up above 64 in santa rosa 70 in novato in the mid 70s conquered and livermore as you look at one other live picture from our santa cruz camera kind of a gray view there this morning, it started out gray and drizzly we're gonna do it all over again. so widespread low clouds patchy fog and drizzle. it's gonna be brighter and a little milder for your friday afternoon cooler and breezier for the upcoming weekend tonight a pretty good push all the way into the valleys tomorrow. you start out with some damp roadways due to that drizzle as we head into 9. still seeing mist and drizzle along the coast and still low clouds and fog lingering. so today some areas actually dropped lower than yesterday our warmest inland valleys in the low 80s to mid 80s places like vacaville, but fairfield conquered livermore, you're only in the upper 70s today along the coastline you've been in the 60s. so tomorrow afternoon.

we'll keep you in a similar range drizzle first thing tomorrow morning upper 40s to upper 50s watch out give yourself that extra time at commute time because you will need it after noon high is low 80s inland perhaps bouncing back just slightly low 60s coast side, and it's a mix of clouds coast side, sunshine inland saturday. those numbers are going down sunday even cooler lows 60s to the upper 70s and monday not a whole lot of change accuweather seven day forecast morning drizzle and overcast a minor bump up in those temperatures, especially inland going into friday and then cooler and breezy are with below average temperatures for the weekend. do want to highlight that slight chance that slight glimmer of hope on tuesday that we may see a couple of showers in the morning or a little drizzle and dan. i know it's not much but later this month. it looks like we may see some more nice. yeah. all right. all right. than

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vote yes on 31. first-hand lesson in farm to table food the west contra costa unified school district held a launch event today for a new organic school meal plan called project salad students are eating things like salad organic granola and farm fresh fruit. to hear these kids voice and to see the cafeteria. all set up and looking so beautiful. and i really believe that it's possible to do this in every school in this country. project salad is made possible in part by the organic farm at betty read soskin middle school nel sobrante many of the ingredients used in the meals are grown on campus. the school's named for beloved

centenarian national park ranger betty green soskin. and as you see she attended today's event. she is our hero too. he is no finally tonight the owner of a landmark san francisco bar, which was damaged by fire is now enjoying the first vacation in years courtesy of alaska airlines. yeah, alaska provided this video of rafael hernandez and his family during a hispanic and latin american heritage month celebration today at los angeles international airport. the party helped kick off the family's four-day all expenses paid trip to musalman the airline gifted the trip. hoping to lift rafael spirits in the wake of the fire that gutted the double play bar and grill, which he's owned since 2009. that's right. he was touch as you could tell rafael's daughter says there is her parents first thing. it is their parents first vacation in 24 years as for the double play rafael isn't sure when or if it will reopen again, but he'll have a nice break to

get things back together. absolutely. all right world news tonight with david mirrors next. i'm on the dates. i'm dan ashley for sending patel all of us here. we appreciate your time. we'll see you again at 6. we'll see you again at 6. okay care coalition, alaska airlines is still frontrunner for most caring airline. funshine bear, you did some of your own research, right? i sure did. ♪ according to the web, their program's number one, ♪ ♪ earning alaska miles is quicker and more fun! ♪ cute! ooh, that was wonderful, sweetie! oh, oh, oh, i have a song about their cheese plates. ♪ cheese please! cheese please! cheese please! cheese please! ♪ uh- it's time for lunch. aw... ♪ ♪ this is john. he hasn't worked this hard to only get this far with his cholesterol. taken with a statin, leqvio can lower bad cholesterol and keep it low with two doses a year. side effects were injection site reaction, joint pain, urinary tract infection, diarrhea, chest cold, pain in legs or arms, and shortness of breath. with leqvio, lowering cholesterol becomes

just one more thing life throws your way. ask your doctor about leqvio. lower. longer. leqvio. naomi: every year the wildfires, the smoke seems to get worse. jessica: there is actual particles lower. longer. on every single surface. dr. cooke: california has the worst air pollution in the country. the top 2 causes are vehicles and wildfires. prop 30 helps clean our air. it will reduce the tailpipe emissions that poison our air kevin: and helps prevent the wildfires that create toxic smoke that's why calfire firefighters, the american lung association, and the coalition for clean air support prop 30. naomi: i'm voting yes on 30.

tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the bombshell verdict against alex jones, who claimed the newtown shooting was a hoax, that the parents of the children killed were paid actors. tonight, the jury deciding alex jones should pay $965 million in damages to several families, after years of jones' lies about the massacre at sandy hook elementary. 20 first graders were killed. six staffers were killed, too. lawyers had argued jones used those lies to create profits. tonight, the question, will the families see that money? is any of alex jones' millions protected? eva pilgrim reporting. also tonight, reported tornadoes as we come on the air. the warnings and watches right now. reported twisters near milwaukee. this system moving into the

northeast tomorrow. washingt