today on getting answers. tis the season to talk about christmas trees permit sales are now underway in lake tahoe and san francisco unified has refused to teach algebra to

eighth graders for nine years, citing equity concerns. but that's not stopping two san francisco supervisors from taking a taxpayer funded trip to japan to learn how to teach math. but first, once dismissed as a joke, even by his own family, robert f kennedy jr is now gaining ground in the 20-24 presidential race as a new poll sheds light on how much americans dread a biden trump rematch. you're watching getting answers today. thanks for joining us. i'm kristen sze robert f kennedy jr. son of the late us senator who shares his name and nephew of president john f kennedy and member of the iconic kennedy dynasty has been deeply controversial in this race. his own family denounces him and firmly supports president biden. kennedy jr. running as an independent, holds the debunked view that vaccines cause autism. yet a look at this new poll from the new york times and siena college. it shows in

the six battleground states among likely voters in a three way race, trump would get 35. biden 33. and a sizable. support. kennedy jr. joining us live now to dive more into these and other numbers, camille baker, a member of the new york times data team. camille thank you so much for joining us today. appreciate it. >> thanks so much for having me. >> so when was this poll conducted and in which states? >> so we polled people in six swing states at the end of last month and early this month. and we were talking to people in arizona, georgia, michigan, nevada, pennsylvania and wisconsin. >> obviously winning those states very important because those are the key swing states. but looking at that number we just showed with kennedy getting 24% the three way, that's a huge increase in his favor, isn't it?

>> well, you know, i wouldn't i wouldn't necessarily say this is indicative of a sudden surge of support for kennedy. in fact, support for kennedy has been falling since he launched his campaign. um, what we were interested in was that there was this unusually high number of 24, as you cite when people who participated in our poll were asked who they would vote for, not just in a two way race between trump and biden, but in a three way race between trump, biden and kennedy. um, to put this in context, a third party candidate for president, because kennedy, as we know, is running as an independent, has not won any states, uh, since 1968. in the race for president. um so what we're thinking is that this may be more indicative of the

dissatisfaction that voters are feeling with, with their choice between biden and trump. >> i want to explore that dissatisfaction. but before we do, i did think it was interesting in the poll as well that if you ask the youngest set of voters, kennedy seems to have even more support right? outpolling both biden and trump. >> that's true. >> looking at these numbers here, he seems to have 34. when you go down to the 18 to 29 year olds. so what does that say about dissatisfied action and generational dissatisfied action ? >> um, well, as i said, you know, in general, the support we're seeing for kennedy in this poll is likely to demonstrate that people are looking for an alternative to biden and trump. um, it may not indicate that people will actually vote for kennedy in the general election or that they know very well who he is in fact, you know, as i

did some of the reporting for the story that you're referring to, i spoke with many people who referred to kennedy as somebody who they recognize by name. you know, they told me they they felt his his family legacy they hoped would carry through. but they often did not know very much about his policies. um, so the way that we are reading this is that it's very likely uh- kennedy's representation is overinflated in this three way matchup between trump, biden and kennedy. but still, it suggests that people are not particularly happy with their major party candidates in the same poll. >> are their numbers on the favorability ratings of biden and trump? >> yeah, a majority of people that we polled again in these key swing states say that

biden's policies hurt them and a majority of people say also that trump's policies help them. um, do. satisfaction with trump has remained and about level while dissatisfaction with biden has increased in the six states that we polled here since 2020, does that have to do with the israel-hamas war or. well what we what we found in our data was that most of the people in these states, 50% about it, said that they would trust trump to handle the conflict between israel and hamas more than they would trust. biden a 39. so a just over 10% of those voters said that they would trust joe biden between the two. so there is some evidence that biden is polling lower than trump on that particular issue. >> i see. but overall, what is the when it's a two on just, you

know, biden and trump matchup, what are the numbers in this poll? >> well, what we're seeing is that there are two two main things that are that are really driving, uh, voters dissatisfaction when it's a two way matchup. we're looking at across all of these swing states and of course, with the caveat that so many things could change in the next year before this general election. but we're seeing that biden is polling at 44 and trump is polling at 48. so in five out of six of these key swing states, trump is actually polling higher than biden. um, can we talk about what about if you switched it up and it wasn't biden trump but biden, nikki haley or biden? >> ron desantis yeah, if it were nikki haley, uh, the

remains the strongest candidate, according to this poll in these particular states. >> so in a nikki haley matchup, we would be looking at biden 38, nikki haley, 46, and a decent match up with biden. we'd be looking at 43. biden and desantis, 44. >> interesting. so if nikki haley could get through the republican primary, she according to this one poll anyway, of the six swing states, she actually does better against biden than trump does. >> i. i, you know, i'm not sure actually, that's that's the read that i have on this. >> okay. but what about if we switched up the other side? let's just say if the democrats sends trouble, all indications are, of course, president biden is running again and he'll be the guy at the top of the ticket. but if you put in vice president kamala harris, how does she do against the republican side? we i think we have a graphic for that as well. right >> um, yeah. >> there doesn't appear to be a

really large difference between the way that biden and kamala harris, if she were she were the presidential candidate or polling in this particular poll in a matchup between trump and kamala, we would have kamala 44 and trump at 47. and as i said earlier, we the in the matchup between biden and trump, we have biden at 44 also and trump at 48. >> all right. this is all very fascinating. i wonder when you talk to kennedy junior and some of the interviews, he says, look, i'm not going to just play spoiler to biden. that's not it. i draw equally from republicans and democrats. but according to this poll, does it seem like that that is true, that what he is saying is supported? or does it seem like he does, in fact, get more from one side? >> um, our polling shows that he pulls basically similar amounts away from each of the major party candidates. um, however,

you know, there is some historical evidence depending on who you ask that third party candidates can influence elections. you know, i'm thinking of people like jill stein and ralph nader. um so it is possible. and, you know, a year out, we don't know exactly how how things will turn out. >> the two you named famously playing spoiler to hillary clinton and al gore, according to many democrats, anyway. so it remains to be seen how the robert f kennedy junior factor will play out. but certainly a lot for the two sides. the two camps to think about today looking at those numbers. camille baker, thank you so much. really appreciate it. >> thanks so much, kristen. >> coming up to san francisco, supervisors taking a trip to japan on the taxpayers dime. and the reason for the trip is, well, you do the math. our media partner at the san francisco standard will joi

end. and the reason is interesting, as our media partner, the san francisco standard, explains in this new article, the supervisor users are in japan to learn how an institute there teaches math, even though they have no role in deciding how math is taught in the city's public schools. joining us live to decode all this is the standard senior reporter josh cahn, who wrote the story. and here to kind of do the math for us, josh, good to have you on. >> hey, kristen, thanks. happy to be here. okay. so explain this to me. >> supervisor is hillary. ronen and myrna melgar are traveling to japan, right. where are they

going and what are they trying to learn? and what are they trying to do with the information they bring back? >> well, that is a complicated question, but i'm going to try and navigate it. basically, two supervisors here from san francisco, hillary ronen, who represents the mission, and myrna melgar, who represents parts of inner sunset and west portal. they took a trip to japan starting basically yesterday. they'll be there for about a week, give or take. and the goal of it is to learn how a university in tokyo is teaching math to students as an instructional method. that raises success rates. and what they did was they took off their board of supervisors meeting this week. they say they're going to be back next week in time for some pretty pivotal votes. but now questions are being raised about why supervisors who literally have no decision making power on how courses are taught in public schools in san francisco should be taking a trip to japan right? >> because throughout the

pandemic. right. as families complain that their kids were still not back in school, the supervisors and the mayor were very adamant that we have nothing to do with the board of education decisions. that's them. we're us. we would love for them to open back up. but so you're telling me they have no influence yet this money is, in fact, coming from what, the city of san francisco, not some private foundation, some educational group? >> yeah, i think that's one of the biggest question marks. and why people are kind of upset about this trip is that it is using taxpayer money. there is some funds being done by the san francisco unified school district, but then it's also the department of children, youth and their families, which is operated by the city which is paying for the trips. i will say that supervisor melgar told me that she's going to reimburse the city for her trip while supervisor ronen is going. and i did not get a response from her on why she's going, why she thinks it's a good use of taxpayer funds or why she's also bringing a staffer on top of her own trip. so there is a question mark of whether or not this is

really a good use of taxpayer money. >> yeah, i don't know how much, but i know round trip airlines tickets to japan runs you at least 1500. that's if you're in in economy and then there's the hotel, the whole bit, you know. but josh, let me ask you something. is there the sense that, hey, that school in japan is really on to something, that they're doing something incredible with math that we don't know about here in in california, the bay area, san francisco. >> yeah, i would say that the argument is there is something pretty cool about what's being taught in this university in tokyo. they've implemented four programs in public schools in san francisco, one school, john muir elementary, that was cited. they saw proficiency in math and literacy go from a 20 to about 57% over the course of a four year pilot. those are good numbers. they're still obviously not great, but they say that like, obviously this is working. but again, even when it comes to supervisors and why they should

go, supervisors melgar and ronen put a proposition on the ballot last year that ended up giving tens of millions of dollars from city money to public schools. and from what i understand then it was because of their advocacy to help fund the public school district that they got an invite to go on this trip. but again, you know, they're not doing really strict monitoring and compliance. so you could make an argument that like, hey, yeah, let's send our school teachers and administrators. but our supervisors could probably be back here doing the work that they were actually elected to do. >> i see. but some people may look at it as a bit of a thank you for getting that on the ballot or something. >> but but i am right. okay. so i am wondering, though, right? how do they teach math differently? because we that is actually an important question because the math numbers in san francisco unified are not good. if we looked at the past few years, especially since the pandemic, i mean, there are a lot of kids not working at grade level. and as you know, this is a district that took away.

eighth grade algebra in 2014. right. not wanting kids to, quote unquote, get ahead, even if they were capable of that, at least through the normal channels. so i know that's being revisited. that may come back in the future. there are a lot of people who want that. but what is it that, you know, they're hoping to do here? >> the elimination of algebra for eighth grade students back in a decision made in 2014 has been super controversial in san francisco. so when we say how do they teach math, in some cases, what we're saying is we're not teaching the math, at least not early enough for students that are capable and interested in actually pursuing stem and those kinds of courses. so i would say that right now, this push and ronan and melgar, the supervisors are on board with reintroducing math to eighth grade students in public schools . there is pressure on the superintendent, matt wayne, to actually say, yes, we are gauaranteed going to re-implement algebra for eighth grade students. there's going to be a resolution that another

supervisor, joel engardio of the sunset is introducing next week that's going to have a non binding resolution that highly encourages the public school system to make sure they get algebra back to eighth graders. right now, there's just a lot of things in flux between now and the march ballot, but there's going to be a bond measure that's supposedly going to ask. for $1 billion to help fund public schools. and so i think right now, a lot of voters in san francisco are saying, let's wait and see what you do about algebra before we sign off on this bond measure. >> i see now the fact that they're not here this week. does that impact putting any sort of a measure on the march ballot? >> there was some questions about whether or not missing this week's meeting would put some ballot measures for san francisco's march election of next year in jeopardy. i talked with aaron peskin, the president of the board of supervisors. he said that more crucial votes will be scheduled when they get back. however there i wrote a

story you may remember earlier this year about another supervisor who went on a trip to colombia to party for a birthday party, didn't make it back in time for an important hearing. it had to be delayed weeks. i believe that supervisor melgar gets back monday. supervisor ronen is actually flying in the tuesday morning of next week's meeting. so if they were to have some travel delays that could make things a little bit hairy. >> well, we better alert the airlines, make sure there are no delays. >> well, yeah. >> when is the airline ever had a delay? yeah, exactly. >> all right, josh, thank you so much. thank you. you can check out josh's report and more of the san francisco standard's other original reporting on their website, sf standard .com. the holidays are almost here. and if you're already thinking about your christmas tree, we're here to help. lake tahoe has started its annual christmas tree permit sales and we've got you everything you need to know. that's next on getting

is it possible to be more capable? and more practical? be able to perform here. and here. make a statement while barely making a sound. and command the road, as well as what lies ahead. how we get there matters.

video shows vandals breaking into the store using a backhoe trying to claw the atm out of the building. abc7 news reporter j.r. stone spoke with the store owner. it's a story you'll see only on abc7. >> surveillance video showing a backhoe crash ripping through the bulletproof glass of this ampm store on west grand avenue in west oakland on monday morning. watch as the backhoe is eventually used to tear apart the atm. >> they tore up the whole front. that's at least $70,000 worth of damage. >> that is ali abdullah. he is the owner of the ampm store that was damaged and chose not to show his face due to safety concerns. he says the clerk who was working is okay. outdoor surveillance video shows the masked individuals first

breaking into the store with the backhoe, then backing a white pickup truck to the entrance. soon they can be seen pulling out a chain, which you can see they then tried to connect to the damage atm. abdullah says the chain was not long enough to connect to the atm. so when the would-be thieves heard sirens, at least one jumped into the back of this pickup and drove off without even taking anything. >> i was born and raised in oakland. i'm 51 years old. i've never seen nothing like this. i think the only way you can run a business in oakland is you maybe have to as soon as you close, you sleep in your store and you stay locked and loaded with an ak 47 and just be ready because the police is not coming on time. and i'm not blaming the police. it's just not enough of them out there. >> abdullah says he is frustrated by the thousands of dollars worth of damage to his store and also upset over what has happened to other businesses in oakland. he wants to know where his tax dollars are going when it comes to public safety. >> this is not what we were promised. the american dream.

you know, i don't see the american dream. i think it's american nightmare right now. >> when officers arrived, the backhoe was still there. but no signs of the vandals. and a heavily damaged store in oakland, j.r. stone, abc seven news. >> a holiday tradition more than two decades strong is back. christmas tree permit sales are underway in lake tahoe. it's fun for the whole family. it also has an environmental benefit. so joining us live right now to talk more about this is lisa heron public affairs specialist for the usda forest service. lisa, thanks for your time. >> you're welcome. hi, kristin. >> hi. okay. so tell us about these permits. how much do they cost? where can people get them and what do they enable you to do? >> permits cost $10 each with a limit of one per household and we are asking people to bring cash only. and they are on sale at our forest service office in south lake tahoe, which is at 35 college drive in south lake

tahoe and they enable you to cut down a christmas tree from what particular cutting area? yeah. so this year we have three cutting areas. there's one located on the west shore near homewood. and tahoma, and there are two two located on the south shore near south lake tahoe. >> is there a size limit? >> yes, the size limit is a. six inch diameter tree, which is six inches at the base of the tree. so that's actually a pretty large tree. most of the trees that people select are probably around 3 or 4in at the base of the tree. i know this is a 20 year tradition. >> why does it exist? like who does it benefit? is it good for the environment or is it just good fun for families? >> well, it actually serves both. it is a great traditional holiday experience for families and children, and it also helps the forest service eliminate small diameter ladder fuels from the forest and a ladder fuel is

a piece of vegetation that allows a fire that is on the ground to climb up into the crown of the trees. >> got it. now you bring your own saw, i take it, and your own way of hauling it out of there. okay yes. >> you must provide your own saw. make sure you prepare for winter weather. we had pretty cold temperatures this morning up here in the tahoe basin. it was about minus one degrees. so plan accordingly. dress warmly and yeah, bring your equipment and a way to haul it out and be prepared. some areas you might need to hike in to find your tree. >> got it. is it marked the ones that are eligible for cutting or are the trees are marked not marked. >> but we do have a selection criteria for basically, as you mentioned, selected. yeah. you're going to select a tree that is within ten feet of another green tree. okay. and that's so that we can provide that space, seeing that that helps forest health. >> lisa, thank you so much. i think folks go to usda.gov to get more information. right. all

right. thank you so much for coming on. >> you're welcome. thank you, kristin. >> a reminder, you can get our live newscasts breaking news, weather and more with our abc7 bay area streaming tv app and we'll be r rsv can be a dangerous virus [sneeze] for those 60 and older. it's not just a cold. and if you're 60 or older... you may be at increased risk of hospitalization from this highly contagious virus.

not all dangers come with warning labels. talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting vaccinated against rsv today. rsv vaccines, including pfizer's, are now available. my monster tacos are back, and now they're angry. you won't like them when they're angry... you'll love them! spicy seasoned tacos with lettuce, taco sauce, and melty american cheese inside a red shell, cuz, you know... ...angry. mmmm, spicy angry. try them today.

tonight, several breaking stories as we come on the air. the scare near the u.s. capitol. a suspect armed with an assault-style rifle and the takedown. israel's war tonight. and has president biden now asked for a three-day pause to get the hostages out? first tonight, the alarming

scen