just south of 280 along highway 17, and the third fire was near 101. at the 680 interchange. but that is a lot of smoke coming out of that. >> yeah, and san jose fires say a tree that burned in the fire along highway 17 is in danger of falling and blocking some lanes. the chp has just issued a sigalert in that area as they work to make sure the tree is safe. no structures are threatened and nobody was hurt. good afternoon. i'm kristen sze and i'm larry beil. >> thanks for joining us. we'll keep our eye on those situations with the fires, but we'll move on to other news and happening now. another struggling bay area school district, the oakland unified school board meeting, is just getting underway right now. >> the district is facing a $33 million budget shortfall next year. and that could get even worse because of new contracts that are set to take effect next year as well. >> and as abc seven news reporter ryan curry found out, that could mean some difficult cuts, including school closures. costs are going up and revenue

is going down. >> the oakland unified school district has to find ways to save money. they say infrastructure needs to be updated. health insurance is rising and now they'll have to pay teachers more after reaching a new union agreement in may. >> we want people to stay in oakland and work in oakland for the long terme. but yeah, at the same time, it does mean, you know, we have to balance our budget. and that's a requirement for any district. >> one option is closing certain schools and cutting funding to some programs as enrollment continues to go down. and the district says doing that will save money, but it could mean less resources for students. it could take a huge hit for us, like, you know, the impact that they have with the students and not having those extra support staff. lawrence williams is a paraprofessional with the district. he works with students after school who need extra support. he understands money is tight, but he fears his program could lose funding. it's like the blind leading the blind, to be honest with you. >> so how are you going to have that type of support if you

don't got the impact to help the students become better people without the money being a huge part of that? >> it's not the first time the oakland unified school board has had to talk about closing or consolidating schools. it's been a topic the last few years, and with the way their budget is looking for the years to come, they say it's necessary to have the conversation again. we had a small schools movement where we had many schools that were 350 or 400 students, but now with declining enrollment, we have 11 schools in oakland that are under 180 students each. >> and that's just not sustainable. >> finding sustainability when academic performance has also been low, according to the state, last school year, only 33% of students were proficient in english and only 25 in math. davis says. consolidate schools and putting students in better funded environments will help them succeed. >> it's not just the negative impact to families when you do have to close a school, but it's the positive impact when those families end up at a school that's adequately resourced and they're getting the support they need. >> for williams, he wants the board to still fund programs

that will help students achieve a better future. >> just keep the programs. that's important. um, on the top of the list, because at the end of the day, these programs are going to help these kids get through. >> in oakland, ryan curry, abc seven news earlier this week, san francisco unified school district announced plans to cut more than 900 open positions. >> school officials say people won't lose jobs because these are vacant positions that could save the district $100 million a year. the district faces up to $420 million budget deficit in 2025. >> job cuts are coming to that self-driving car company known as cruze. the general motors company is laying off more than 900 workers after a series of problems with its cars in san francisco. abc7 news reporter suzanne fawn joining us live now in the newsroom with the details. suzanne. >> so, larry, these layoffs come just a day after cruze laid off nine key leaders, including its chief operating officer. i'm concerned about it, edward escobar is really worried about

self-driving cars on the streets of san francisco. >> so we ourselves had said that san francisco residents are not guinea pigs and techs should not use us as guinea pigs. >> cruz just announced that it slashed more than 900 jobs from commercial operations. >> very sad day in many respects. >> technology reporter pete bigelow covers the automotive industry. he says the cutbacks reflect further fallout from how cruz handled a critical incident in san francisco on october 2nd. a woman was dragged 20ft by a self-driving car after being hit by another driver in some ways, this has been very much expected in recent weeks, as the fallout from the crash in san francisco kind of continues, and general motors announced plans not to make the cruise origin and to really scale back their ambitions of being in more than a dozen cities by the end of next year. in response to the layoffs, cruz released this statement saying, quote, these changes reflect our decision to focus on more deliberate commercialization plans with

safety as our north star, there's really a lot to work through. >> before san francisco or anywhere else in california kind of becomes, uh, practically speaking, a viable market. again, there are big questions about the future of cruz in san francisco and when the short time, i mean, it looks like cruz is going to slow things down. >> scott moore is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and an av expert. we asked him about the future of the automotive industry. >> we need to set up entities within our state or federal government that can help push this forward in a way that improves safety, because that's really the goal. improving safety and mobility. >> cruz says the company will focus on relaunching in just one city in the future, as for the av companies still up and running, you know, waymo has been kind of quietly inching along. >> they've been operating in for five years now in both phenix and more recently in san francisco. >> as for escobar and other concerned san francisco residents, we continue to the fight and we are trying to wake the people up and say, hey, we need to be aware of what's going

on with technology. >> it can be your friend, but it can also be your foe. >> and last month, cruz reported laid off a number of contractors as for the employees just laid off, they get paychecks until february. they'll also get severance pay. live in the newsroom suzanne phan abc seven news. >> suzanne, thank you. a former east bay police officer accused of shooting his wife, leading to a days long standoff, will be back in court next week. a judge delayed this afternoon's scheduled arrangement. arraignment. that is, old son, liam sacco, to allow more time to hire an attorney. police say he barricaded himself inside his home a week ago when he shot his wife. as she was trying to get inside. fortunately, she was not seriously wounded. >> san francisco is turning to a new strategy to get ahead of the drug crisis. it is going to become one of several cities to start having its wastewater tested, to see what substances are in it. fentanyl and methamphetamine are among the substances that will be monitored. city officials say it

will also help them adjust their response should something new start showing up. >> we water analysis will give us a more complete picture of the trends in drug use, complement our other data, allowing us to act faster when emerging substances like xylazine are increasing in the local drug supply. >> through november of this year, san francisco has seen 752 accidental overdose deaths, and fentanyl played a role in more than 80% of them. wastewater testing was used during the pandemic to track covid surges. meanwhile, california is trying to take on the opioid epidemic with a new website. the department of public health launched the site, which is full of resources and information on the crisis statewide, nearly 7000 people died from opioid related overdoses last year. >> retail theft big problem for businesses all over the bay area. we've been covering it for years. it seems. but in san jose, they may have found a solution. >> abc seven news reporter south bay reporter dustin dorsey has a look. >> the holiday season is the

most hectic time of year for retailers because of both shoppers and shoplifters. reports of organized retail theft are increasing. san jose police recorded a 25% spike in reported cases from 2021 to 2022. retailers across the state have had enough. >> we're not law enforcement. we're not social workers. but yet we are being we are seeking out training to help our staff be able to uh- learn de-escalation techniques, all in order to keep our customers and our employees safe. >> lynne melillo works for new leaf community markets with locations across california, including half moon bay and aptos. she shared a video from members of the california grocers association that highlights the struggles. her small grocery chain is facing. during a hearing by the little hoover commission in sacramento thursday. the hearing was called to look at issues surrounding retail theft in order to learn what the state can do better.

>> we need your help. our employees need your help. our customers need your help. >> in san jose, sapd is focusing on providing that help here in the south bay. the department's new organized retail theft detail will be deployed on extra overtime based patrols to work to deter crime for businesses. >> we're hoping that these patrols will assist not only in building relationships with business owners and community members who are going shopping, but also just be a visual deterrent for anybody who is committing additional crimes in that area. >> the patrols are structured using tactics that were used to make roads safer. in san jose, sapd says the presence of officers slow drivers and they hope it will slow robberies at shopping malls, small businesses and other locations throughout the city. the patrols will take place six hours a day during the evening, four days a week, and will be paired with new automated license plate readers to catch suspected thieves. >> we want to make people aware that these patrols will be there to make them feel safe. we want to make the business owners feel safe and aware that we're going to be there to help them. if these types of crimes are occurring. and bottom line, the most important thing is we want

criminals to know, don't come to san jose to commit crime in san jose. >> dustin dawsey, abc seven news, san francisco mayor london breed signed legislation today that she says will boost small businesses, fill vacant storefronts and stimulate city nightlife. >> two measures will make more than 100 changes to the city's planning code. supporters say the changes will remove barriers that make it difficult for small businesses to even open, and then grow. >> it's so important for our decision makers and our government, um, to continue to remove any of these barriers. uh and encourage entrepreneur leadership and encourage things that make our communities thrive and, and grow, among other things, the rule changes would make it easier to open a business on the ground floor of a building, and also lifting restrictions on opening new bars and restaurants in certain neighborhoods. >> and on top of that, it would incorporate a new liquor license type that will allow music venues to serve beer, wine and liquor without excluding minors from their businesses.

>> what's next for draymond green after that indefinite suspension? a new look for san francisco's transamerica building and the controversy over another part of the project, and a simple request from a little girl to santa and the group that came to help. i'm spencer christian with a look at pre-winter warm-up and several rainy days coming our way. >> i'll have the accuweather forecast in just a moment. when abc seven news at running is awesome. but her moderate to severe eczema would make her skin so uncomfortable. i was always so itchy especially when i was hot. now my skin doesn't itch as much. now we're staying ahead of her eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so, they can have clearer skin

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mike dunleavy junior says the team wants draymond back, needs draiman back and will provide whatever help he needs, which we assume is some sort of anger management counseling. draymond insisted he did not intend to hit jusuf nurkic of the suns, a couple of nights ago, but his status as a repeat offenders really put him in in a position where the penalties are just going to keep escalating with every incident, dunleavy jr says the team will do all it can to support draymond, and they hope he's back soon. >> i think for what's best for us and draymond and everybody is um, you know we help him with the appropriate amount of assistance and then we judge and base it. on his comeback. depending on you know when the right time is. so it's indefinite. truly means indefinitely. >> we knew that um there would be some level of punishment, but we didn't want that to be the

focus. we wanted the focus to be on. how can we help draymond. >> so jude joe dumars hands out the penalties. the question is what beyond some sort of anger management counseling is there. and if this was truly an accident and not intentional as draymond says then you're really dealing with incidents from the past that you're talking about to try to reform, right? right. >> which shaped how they viewed this one. no right. um, has this ever happened before in the league where somebody had to seek out anger management as part of, you know, they have people they work with? yeah, yeah. >> i mean, the warriors will have all the support necessary. but there have been a number of players through the years. metta world peace comes to mind from the lakers. dennis rodman, back in the old days of the chicago bulls, there have been many others, not as many documented. because you know, this was not a malice in the palace kind of thing. so, um, help will be available. you can be sure of that. uh, you can watch the warriors on christmas day right here on abc seven. coverage begins at 11 a.m. as they face the defending nba champions, the denver nuggets. that game,

followed by celtics lakers at 2 p.m. and then catch the 40 niners a huge game with the baltimore ravens pre game coverage starts at 430 with the kickoff after five on christmas day. >> okay we're just a week and a half from christmas. and if you're traveling this year get ready for some company more than 115 million americans are expected to fly or drive to their destination over the christmas and new year holidays. that's a 2.2% increase over last year december 23rd is expected to be the most congested day on the road, and the worst time to travel will be between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. >> well, christmas came early this week for one east bay family, and it's thanks to a little girl's letter to santa that touched the hearts of emergency crews. >> oh my gosh. gloria rodriguez and i were both crying the first time we watched. really yes. we guarantee you it could make you cry and touch your heart. certainly abc seven news anchor karina nova explains why.

>> alameda county first responders raced to the rescue, but this time it's for the best reason to grant one little girl's holiday wish. >> i put a pink bicycle and i put some slime and. and for my little brother, some milk. >> an eight year old diana's letter to santa a simple wish for some milk for her baby brother. it caught the attention of some people who wanted to help. >> it just shows how selfless she is already at such a young age. and, um, that's something that you can kind of teach, but you're kind of born with that soul, you know? and so it says a lot about her. >> on wednesday, the alameda county fire department, sheriff's department, and california highway patrol teamed up to become santa holiday helpers. merry christmas diana, that merry christmas, merry christmas for diana. that pink bike she wished for and a pink helmet to match. and for her baby brother omar milk and a warm snuggle with mom.

>> you did a great job on your letter. exactly thank you. it was because of your big heart that all these people remember when they were eight years old, just like you. >> and as diana tries out her new bike for the first time, also, we all get a reminder that giving and thinking of others is really what the holiday season is all about. merry christmas karina nova abc seven news. >> oh, i kept it together this time. uh um, but it's so touching. i think for those of us who are parents to see a kid care about her family, her little brother, so much, right? >> and you don't expect i'm going to send a letter to santa, and then all these people are going to come rushing to our aid. i mean, it's so sweet and so touching and good for her for writing and saying, you know, we need we could use this. we could use that. absolutely. santa came through. >> and guess what? her family also received groceries for a holiday meal. yeah, yeah. >> in addition to that, the food

donated by the san lorenzo food bank and dig deep farms, that's run by the alameda county sheriff's office. so great job done by all. >> yeah. great job. okay, so it's going to go from leaky faucet. you know, to like just leaking from the from the sky. yes. >> rain is in the forecast spencer christian there is an element of that in the seven days ahead. >> you're right. but before that happens we've got actually a little bit of a pre-christmas or pre winter warm-up coming our way. here's a look at what's happening right now on the satellite radar composite image. you can see just a few high clouds moving into the bay area. at times this can look mostly cloudy. at other times you'll see areas of clearing, but there is a storm developing way out to sea that's coming our way and that's going to bring us some rainy days as well. but before we get to that, let's take a look at this calm conditions right now, the wind speeds at the surface are generally under ten miles per hour, and we have partly clear, partly cloudy skies over san francisco right now. as you can see from sutro tower is 58 degrees here in the city and at oakland, 59 at hayward, 63 at san jose. that's our warm spot, and 57 apiece at san mateo and half moon bay. and

a great view of the setting sun from our, uh, east bay hills. camera looking westward. obviously, other temperature readings at this hour. 58 degrees at santa rosa, petaluma only 5458 to 59 degrees at napa. fairfield and concord, and 55 at livermore. and these are our forecast headlines. we can expect high clouds overnight, a little break of sunshine in the early morning hours now, tomorrow and saturday we expect warmer conditions by significant measure because we may have near record high temperatures in some spots over the next couple of days. but next week, starting on sunday and going into the middle of the week, we have a very wet pattern coming. our way. so let's take a look at what's happening during the overnight hours. we'll start at 6 p.m. and we'll see clouds increasing, especially the high clouds and we'll start the day with a bright skies but lingering high clouds and that takes us into a mainly sunny day tomorrow. overnight lows will be generally in the low to mid 40s, but some inland spots will drop down into

the upper 30s. so a little chilly in the inland areas, but seasonably chilly. highs tomorrow mid 60s at the coast, mid to upper 60s around the bay shoreline and the inland areas will vary from mid to upper 60s in the north bay to just low 60s in most inland. east bay locations. up to about 70 at san jose and some other south bay locations. now forecast animation skipping ahead to saturday night, notice the first wave of rain coming in on sunday followed by yet another wave of rain on monday. tuesday rain continues, probably some snow in the sierra and on wednesday. finally, we'll see the system that brings the rainfall beginning to weaken and move away from the bay area. here's the accuweather seven day forecast each day of rainy weather next week will rank level one on the exclusive abc seven storm impact scale. it's going to be a wet day, a wet day. what week leading into the first day of winter, which is next thursday at 7:27 p.m. east. i should have put st pacific

standard time. >> i knew what you meant. yeah, yeah. all right. thanks, spencer. >> okay. the story of the nisei soldiers is one of the most remarkable in us military history. >> and telling that story all over the country in a truly special way has been a passion project for david ono, who's with our sister station in los angeles. >> tell us about the origin of this project. what what was your first conversation about the idea of doing something like this? >> this has always been a very organic process. with the choir until pretty late last night, so the music is on the fly right now. the nisei soldier didn't talk about the heroics in the war. it was complete humility and modesty. i'm not nervous yet. i'm just concerned. we haven't even made it through a single run through of the show. and today's the day of the show. the youngest ones are sitting around pushing right

at 100 years old. a lot of things have to come together in the next three days. so it's nerve wracking. my goal always was that most american learn this story before the last one goes. this is not just a history lesson, but also they can be our own compass when we need courage . >> that looks fantastic. our america defining courage premieres today on hulu and on our abc7 news bay area streaming channel. definitely make the time for it. >> it's going to be high quality for sure. all right, coming up, a new look for the oakland bart station and how it's going to save bart money. >> and an unusual visitor to another transit agency. we'll show you where this happened

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to detect if someone is in a wheelchair or perhaps using a stroller or his carrying luggage or some other item like that through the fare gates will remain open for them. >> bart plans to install more than 700 of their next generation fare gates system wide by the end of 2025. >> all right, really bizarre delay for commuters in newark, new jersey today a bull. yes bull delay and trains this morning. this is at newark penn station. multiple agencies responded to the scene. they contained the bull inside a fence. i guess he missed his train. i'm not sure, but officials say he'll go to an animal sanctuary. and thankfully, nobody was injured. >> and where did he come from? >> i it's an excellent question. >> all right. new work planned around san francisco's transamerica building. but the sun isn't exactly shining on the proposal. why the city is giving us some shade. >> and the christmas tree. that's more than just a decoration. it's actually a beacon of hope

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salonpas, makers of powerful pain relief patches for 89 years... believes in continuous improvement... like rounded corners that resist peeling, with an array of active ingredients... and sizes to relieve your pain. salonpas. it's good medicine. 15 story high rise proposed for downtown san francisco, passed another hurdle today. today, the planning commission and the rec and park department cleared the way for the project at 545 sansome street, near the transamerica pyramid. under san francisco's sunlight ordinance, passed by voters in 1984, the new building needed approval of both agencies because it was slightly increased. the shadow cast on maritime plaza. >> abc7 news insider phil matier spoke with the owner of the transamerica pyramid about his investment in downtown san francisco.

>> san francisco is one of my favorite cities in america. i've invested $1 billion here, and i can tell you that i've always been positive. and i've said to you, faith is something that you always need to have, not just when times are good, when times are tough, when things happen, you have to believe. and i'm a big believer in the city and i just i don't just talk about it. i have $1 billion invested behind my belief. >> well, $1 billion is a significant commitment. it is, by the way, you could see more of phil's interview with the new owner of the transamerica pyramid, and that's available next thursday. but right now, phil's here. >> we took a tour of the whole building, and this is an icon. this is this is more than a building. this this is an icon of san francisco, right along with coit tower and the golden gate bridge. uh. and he knows that. and that's what makes this building and what goes on in it and around it so heightened, both visibly in the business world and in the political world, and what we have here is a developer that bought it for, what, $600 million? he's put in, $400 million in it in a time when we were talking about the doom loop hitting san francisco

and offices cratering and trying to revitalize the downtown, well, here's somebody that's betting big on the downtown. but in order for the deal to work, he wants to add on to the buildings around it, one of them in particular, and it's not just offices. he's talking about exclusive bars, exclusive clubs, sort of exclusive. and you know how that goes over in san francisco. >> yeah, we want a more a wider liberal clientele. let's just say. >> and there was a time when somebody proposing something like this would get the backs up and the hackles up of a lot of activists and housing people around the city, and they'd be tapping the brakes using every ordinance they could to stop it. and this one, the latest one is the sunlight ordinance, san francisco in a way, to control the high rise boom years, decades ago, put an ordinance in that said, no big buildings like this shouldn't be shadowing parks where people go, because that would take away from the ambiance of the parks. well this basically shadows a parking lot on top of a garage, but, you know, it's not much of a park,

but it and it influences it. point zero 3. not a big number a lot. okay. but there was a time when people would use that as leverage to either stop the project, modify the project, or get something else going. but in this case, san francisco is green, lighting it right through as fast as can because is the new motto is don't say, say, just say no. the new motto is get to yes as fast as we can. at least that's what the mayor is saying. so this is a big change. like i said before, this would have been dragged out forever. now they're just like that. >> so tell us about the transamerica tour that you went on today, because you were able to see the renovations inside the building, that that's apart from the project, that's being proposed. >> but i wanted to just add one little insight thing. it's not as if some greece didn't have to get spread around because there was a chinese restaurant in the area that had been there for like 40 years, and he had to pony up over $300,000 to relocate it. but that's how you keep things from getting, you know, us down there photographing the giant vietnamese restaurant, saying,

i'm getting moved out there, creating a stir. and we took the tour because like i said, this is an icon in built in the early 70s, just disliked initially by san francisco, but becoming sort of the big cornerstone of what they're hoping to do as a revitalization of that whole part of the financial district, which lost tenants initially to south of market during the tech boom, everybody moved down by the salesforce towers. this guy is trying to bring it back, not just to the transamerica building, but to the area around it and turn it into a new hub. it's a big gamble, but he's done stuff like this in miami, chicago, new york, and he's going to try it here. >> so track record and obviously the willingness to spend money. and how long would all this take . >> we're talking about well, it's going to be a long time before the entire project is done. but i think they're already leasing space. people are already in the building. they've been in the building as he's renovated it. so it's an ongoing thing, and it's going to take a little while before they finish up the lobby. and get it all cleaned up so that people can come and visit and take a look at it and sort of walk away

going, there's another icon. but like you said, if you can buy a building. but he also he made a point that the other buildings, a lot of the downtown buildings, what they this is like a ultimate class office his but the other buildings like the b's, the c's in the lower their future is still uncertain. in a lot of downtown san francisco. so this is not going to be the end all of it. but it does, like i say, significantly show how the city has changed directions from saying no at every turn to saying, how fast can you get it done? >> yeah, not the end all. maybe the start of something totally new and needed and you can watch phil's entire story on the transamerica building next thursday. >> they have a redwood park right next to that thing to the transamerica. i watch the show. >> well, thursday we'll see it thursday. thank you. phil. >> wow. i want to check that out. the tipping backlash and holiday dessert traditions. the four four is

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or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. who knows what you can do when you du more with less asthma. ask your doctor about dupixent. the most prescribed biologic for asthma. tipping is down about 7% from last year. last month, the average non restaurant worker made about $1.28 an hour in tips . nearly three quarters of americans say tipping has gotten out of control. who's got a thought on this? on tipping being down? >> well, you know, i know there's tipping shaming that

goes on because, you know, when you put your credit card in and then the first thing that pops up is how large of a tip would you like to leave? 25% to? you know, and then you have to go custom if you want to change it. so and then you have, you know, the person that is the cashier going, i know they're looking at you. you're the cheap one, aren't you. yeah. >> i mean they're you get that look a lot i do i'm familiar with that look. >> yes i understand why some people are bothered by it. the pop up, you know, uh, thing that shows it's almost like a chip is being demanded, right? however, being a generous tipper, uh, it doesn't bother me, so i, i tend to tip the my standard amount and, you know, it doesn't bother me is 20% the standard amount nowadays. it's 20. >> i think it should be for good table service is. >> yeah. is a fair amount. >> but if they're just like taking ringing you up and they handing you something that they didn't make. yeah that's a little high right. >> yeah. am i cheap now.

>> maybe i'm going to get the look that larry. >> yeah exactly. yeah. >> that's the part that i think bothers people. you know if you're not really getting service for something someone's just, you know, you you're checking out at macy's and you pay for your stuff and you're offered an opportunity to tip the clerk for the opportunity. >> yes. the opportunity. all right, let's move on. uh, doordash sharing the most popular orders of the year. fries were the most ordered item . i don't think that's a surprise at all. followed by chicken quesadillas and mozzarella sticks, garlic naan and spicy chicken sandwiches round out the top five ordered foods nationwide. karina, what is your choice? all of the above. >> i really do think in the last few months i have ordered all of the above and uh- a popular on my list is apple pie. recently to um, it's random, but yeah mama to be you go for it. yeah, this thing is craving something different every day. um, so doordash is probably so confused as to, you know what? i'm ordering. but yeah, all those things, those those things don't

surprise me at all. i mean, the french fries, of course. right. >> that's what i'm curious about. do french fries survive the delivery? and it has to be fast. >> french fry condition. >> i'm with spencer. they've got to be crispy. yeah. otherwise i don't even want them. >> who wants soggy fries? >> thank you. >> nobody. all of my deliveries have been great. so far. >> so, you know, all right, uh, hey, forget the holiday ham this year. how about a giant turkey meatball at the christmas table? ikea is giving them away in the uk this year. look at this. the meatballs weigh about 10 pounds. they're ready to cook. they also have veggie balls for those who don't eat meat. fortunately i'm sorry. unfortunately, the meatballs are not currently available in the us. i'm going to switch it back. >> no, i was going to say i think fortunately is correct. >> yes. it's not available here and we're happy about that. oh you're above that larry. i'm way above that. i would like to think i'm way above that. it just looks so bizarre. yeah. i mean, you know, you used to seeing whatever the ham or

turkey or something roast, whatever, but what a great centerpiece. >> i mean, it's a talker, a giant orb that we're going to slice up. >> have you tried those ikea small meatballs? >> they're good. i think they're great. yeah. so if it tastes like that, share my meatball with 20 people. >> well, that there's that too. yeah. but. and karina you're ordering everything anyway. so you're gonna you're gonna. >> i'm not discriminating. i like it all. give me that big meatball and i'm not sharing. >> yes, she wants pickles on top. uh- all sorts of holiday traditions when it comes to food. one dessert tradition is the buche de noel and san francisco dandelion chocolate is offering up a class to teach you how to make your own. it's just one of their dandelion experiences. >> joining us now is stefan duffy, director of stephen. sorry about that. uh, stephen, you're the director of experiences at dandelion chocolate. so while we dive into this goodness that looks so delicious, tell us about it. what is it? well what's in it? thank you so much. >> thank you so much. um, buche de noel is a french word that

describes a classic yule log. christmas yule log cake. it's a classic rolled cake in this instance, made with, uh, dandelion chocolate. so a flourless chocolate cake filled with chocolate cream. and you have a taste. what do you think it's really good. >> it's very light. how do you. how do you make it so light and airy? yeah >> so the cake itself is a is a flourless cake. so it has a lot of whipped eggs. and so whipped eggs translate to a lot of air. and then whipped cream. so it's a delicate delicate sponge cake filled with chocolate flavored whipped cream. >> it is amazing. i see you also have a little meringue there that you serving it with. all of this is delicious. but to me seems difficult to make. is it? >> well, that's the whole idea. you know, the idea of the class is to come and learn how to make a cake like this. so it's not, uh, it's not nearly as complicated as you might judge by taking a look at the cake itself. um, but when we show you the various techniques, um, takes away all the mystery. and

that's what we do here with all of the classes and various educational programing, is uh- explain how to use chocolate in baking applications or or pairing other things like that. >> stephen, i think you're being a little modest on the difficulty of if you saw this crew trying to make it, i think you'd change your opinion, but tell us about the class and how can people sign up? >> yeah. so we actually have, um, a class on wednesday evening, uh, coming up, uh, a week away. um, and you can sign up through our website at dandelion and chocolate.com. we're going to be holding it in the factory. so you get to have a chance to come to the factory. we have tours here every day, but you can come and have an opportunity to walk through the factory, come into our kitchen in the back and, um, join up with a couple of other folks and learn how to make your own christmas yule log cake with meringue or mushrooms and chocolate decorations. >> are there other holiday offerings? >> yeah, we often we have many different things. classes that

are celebrating. we're planning right now for valentine's day and mother's day. there's different hands on application or classes that we have, so you can come and learn how to make a specific dessert or come and enjoy a pairing such as chocolate with tea or chocolate with irish whiskey is one of our favorite, um, pairing classes. >> i love the taste and the texture. it's light and it's not spongy. >> yeah, and it's not too sweet, but you taste the darkness of the chocolate. >> not too sweet, right? >> stephen? you guys use good chocolate? yeah >> thank you. >> all of dandelion's chocolate is 70. and so that means that it's a dark chocolate. that's not a milk chocolate. it's, uh, the delicious. and based on a on a single model, you know, we do, um, recipe demonstrations, uh, demonstrate in classes at every thursday night at the factory. so there's many, many things that are going on, and we would love to see you. >> what a fun family activity. wow. thank you so much, stephen. dandelion experiences. i didn't

even know. i've got to check it out. oh please do. >> yeah, you can find all of it in our website. dandelion chocolate .com. we look forward to seeing you sometime soon. stephen. >> thank you so much. >> thankou, thank you. thanks. happy holidays. we'l stinging, 5-times-a-day,... ...makeup smearing drops user. i want another option that's not another drop. tyrvaya. it's not another drop. it's the first and only nasal spray for dry eye. tyrvaya treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease fast by helping your body produce its own real tears. common side effects include sneezing, cough, and throat and nose irritation. relying only on drops? not me. my own real tears are my relief. ask your eye doctor about tyrvaya. there's challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. ♪ when better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for special olympics athletes with developmental needs. thousands of bank of america employees like scott

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>> the world tree of hope as a symbol of global unity, i.e. peace, love and hope. >> unlike christmas trees in general, this one is decorated literally in wishes and hopes and dreams from people all over the world, folded into thousands , thousands of origami cranes. >> the origami crane is a symbol of world peace. every origami crane on the tree has someone's wish for the future on it. >> blessings and wishes that are really meant to take flight and to see the whole tree filled with them is really inspiring. it's to shine light against the darkness in the world. >> one candle can illuminate a darkened room. this one little christmas tree here in san francisco. it's a symbol of light for the entire world to see.

>> a rainbow world fund is an international humanitarian aid nonprofit based in the lgbtq and friends community. we've been funding humanitarian projects around the world for 23 years to help heal our world. hope was one of the most powerful experiences that people had with our work, and we came up with the idea of doing a global art project called the world tree of hope. this year's tree. there's about 10,000 origami cranes on the tree. >> every single person who does one of these origami cranes writes a message on it, and they remind us of our hope for peace that despite the terrible conflict and the strife that we see all around the world, the violence that we see, there are still people who care tremendously about peace and are willing to work for it. that that in itself exudes a beauty and an elegance of this tree that even without lights, can take your breath away. >> you don't even have to know

or understand the meaning of the hope tree to feel hope when you look upon it and with the san francisco night ministry, and one of the things that we're doing every night is providing hope and spiritual care out on the streets every night. >> and so i thought, tonight i wanted to come here and have my own hope rejuvenated. this is a special event for san francisco. >> it's really about core san francisco values of really lifting everyone up, not leaving anyone behind, treating everyone with respect and fairness, and always having hope for the future no matter how difficult a time we're going through. so it's an inspiring event every year let us bring in silver and gold. >> the ceremony starts off with the san francisco boys chorus. our emcee is really the first lgbt lady of san francisco, donna sachet. she's often the chorus of san francisco performed.

>> it was just ethereal to hear the singing echoing through grace cathedral cannot help but feel divine, an energy just from walking into this place, no matter how horrific the present time may be in different parts of the world, no matter how much pain people are enduring, that there is hope for the future we all need is just a little bit more calm, a little bit more connection, a lot more kindness in the world. so that's my hope for the for this season. little hope. joy for everyone >> sat together, listened to music, were inspired with the message of creating hope and spreading love and isn't that what holidays are all about? happy birthday. >> outstanding. >> beautiful music, beautiful

space and the origami tree. >> yeah. >> all right, all right, let's get to weather right now. >> spencer christian rain warming up. beautiful weather for a couple of days. >> we've got some nice mild to warm mid-december weather coming our way. starting tomorrow with high temperatures, mainly in the mid to upper 60s. and down in the south bay. we'll see highs up to about 7071 degrees. so as you look at the accuweather 70 forecast, you see that saturday will be just as warm if not warmer chance of some record highs for that date. but going into sunday and virtually all of next week, we have chances of rain every day through midweek going into next thursday, which, by the way, will be the first day of winter. larry and kristen. >> all right. thank you spencer. >> thanks. up next, the sights and sounds but his vision dimmed with age.

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grant reporter george pennacchio has a preview of the star studded night of music. this in us thy humble home. >> this year's cma country christmas is the first time music greats trisha yearwood and amy grant have performed together. so, you know, they had to go big. >> the show starts with high energy. we rehearsed yesterday and i can't wait for people to see the show open. when you see it, you're going to be in the christmas spirit. you're not going to have a choice. >> the opening is the song joy

to the world, and we're actually doing it with another artist named lindsey stirling. and she her physical prowess, she's like a freak of nature. she plays violin while she's dancing like crazy, stretching high kicks, and she's playing it's all live. i mean, she is freakishly good. you're a monster, mr. grinch. >> other performers include ashley mcbryde, jordan davis, and recently crowned cma entertainer of the year lainey wilson. go tell it on the mountain. >> take that jesus. christ. >> christmas music makes you feel at home. it's pretty similar to country music. it tells a story and i'm so excited that i get to do this with zach williams. i'm a big fan of his, and i love his version of this song, so it's going to be pretty fun. >> if there was a way, may i hold you in? >> other highlights include the warren treaty, getting the crowd on its feet, and jon pardi's unusual gift for santa. so

tonight i'm leaving beer out for santa. >> yeah, i might stay up in heaven with him to meantime, the members of lady a are making their seventh appearance on cma country christmas with something fans have never seen from them before. >> dancers. we've got dancers. we do have first time, first time in lady history. we have dancers on stage. so this is something you do not want to miss. the amy sings and more. >> my baby. all these things and more. my baby christmas means to me my love. what christmas means to me. my love. yeah >> george pennacchio for abc news. >> the news at five is coming

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