two pedestrian deaths on lombard street in the last month are prompting city leaders and advocates to call for safer roadways. good afternoon. thanks for joining us, i'm kristen z. this afternoon, state senator scott wiener was joined by walk safe street safety advocates to honor the two people who died. they also called on governor

gavin newsom to sign the safer california streets package. he signed one bill that prioritizes safety changes on roads. but there's a second bill that would require speed warning technology in new cars to prevent speeding. that bill is sitting on the governor's desk now, and he must sign or veto it by monday. also new. at 3:00, a window fell from the newly renovated transamerica pyramid, nearly hitting people on montgomery street below the pane of glass fell during a routine cleaning last night. fortunately, no one was injured. these photos from the city building inspector show the window from the inside. it's unclear what floor which floor this was on, but it looks pretty high up. inspectors have issued a notice to the building owner requiring them to secure the opening and replace the glass just as soon as possible. vice president kamala harris will be back home in the bay area tonight. she has a fundraiser in san francisco tomorrow for her presidential campaign. barricades are already up at the fairmont hotel, the same location where she held a

fundraiser last month. it pulled in more than $13 million. her bay area roots are deep. she was born in oakland, grew up in berkeley, and served as da in san francisco before flying in. harris will be making a stop in arizona, visiting the southern border for the first time since becoming the democratic presidential nominee. she's expected to outline her plan to address fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking, and push more border agents and resources, or push for that. those are elements of the bipartisan border security bill that former president trump urged republicans to block earlier this year, which they did, so that the problem could remain unsolved. >> she wants to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. >> there's no body saying, oh, gee, she's done a fabulous job. she's done the worst job, probably in the history of any border. >> vp harris will also use her trip to remind voters about her work as attorney general of california in confronting crime along the border. developing

news. we're getting a clear view now of helene's deadly impact across the southeast. at least 43 deaths are being blamed on the storm, with georgia and south carolina seeing the highest number of fatalities. florida's big bend region took a direct hit late thursday night as helene came ashore as a category four hurricane. here's abc news reporter ike ejiochi with the latest. reporter. >> after making landfall along florida's big bend region. helene traveling inland, bringing with it powerful winds and life threatening flooding. a flash flood emergency issued in atlanta after more than ten inches of rain fell. multiple people had to be rescued. >> we went downstairs to check on everyone and then we started getting floated away and the boat came right in time to save us. >> georgia's governor calling helene a deadly storm, confirming nearly a dozen deaths in the state, including a first responder. >> we asked people to stay off the roads and be patient is because we are trying to get to people. it is a very dangerous

environment and one of our finest has lost his life trying to save others. >> north carolina's governor says there have been numerous landslides in the state and at least 100 swift water rescues. the broad river overtopping lake lure dam. evacuations ordered downstream. >> the end of the rain is not the end of the threat. this fierce storm will move out of our state in the next 24 hours, but the danger will not be over. >> the massive storm came ashore late thursday along florida's big bend region as a category four storm with sustained winds of 140mph. much of florida's gulf coast inundated, including cedar key. >> it's chest deep here. >> now, some of the dangerous storm surge. they're seen in the driveway of this home front yards on treasure island, now littered with boats from the marina. helene is expected to bring several more inches of rain over the southern appalachians before stalling out over the tennessee river valley this weekend, with wind gusts felt as far north as

indianapolis. ike ejiochi abc news, tallahassee. >> new york city mayor eric adams has pleaded not guilty in federal court to five corruption charges. the 64 year old is accused of taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions and then covering them up. federal prosecutors say turkish diplomats and business people showered him with lavish gifts, such as first class flights, in exchange for beneficial treatment, including the approval of a new consulate. adams says he will fight the charges and has no plans to resign. legendary actress maggie smith, best known for her role as the dowager countess of grantham in downton abbey and professor mcgonagall in the harry potter films, died today in london. she got her start on stage in 1962, joining england's national theater. she won her first academy award seven years later for the prime of miss jean brodie. she won her second oscar in 1979 for california suite in 1990. she was knighted by queen

elizabeth. smith is survived by her two sons and five grandchildren. she was 89 years old. well, respiratory virus season is right around the corner and local doctors are addressing myths about the safety and effectiveness of the updated covid vaccine. >> but it's just like the flu vaccine, where you don't really need to go through all of that testing like you're starting a new vaccine because the ingredients are the same. so the way i explain it to patients is that you still have the same brownie recipe. you might use a little bit more chocolate, but it's the same ingredients, so you don't really have the time with an updated vaccine every year, like the flu vaccine to go through to start from zero. >> ucsf doctor peter chin-hong says covid tests should work on the new covid variant. zeke. but if you have symptoms and get a negative result, wait a day and take another test. now don't forget you can once again order free at home covid tests from

the government. this is the third year in a row the biden administration has allowed americans to order over-the-counter tests at no charge. each household is eligible for four test kits. you can order them at covid tests. dot gov. they will be shipped starting next week through the u.s. postal service. new developments another hit for san francisco unified facing a string of financial and management crises. the superintendent and board president are jointly calling for an independent assessment of hiring procedures for special education positions. there are concerns the district has not hired enough teachers and paraeducators as required by law. a school stabilization team has been asked to lead the investigation. the district is facing a $400 million budget deficit. staffing cuts looming. school closures and a potential state takeover. if things don't get fixed. the lgbt historical society has a new home in san francisco's castro district. it's called the gblt historical

society. this morning, mayor london breed unveiled the sign for what will be the future home of the glbt historical society museum and archives. the previous home was the nation's first standalone museum of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history and culture and often called san francisco's queer smithsonian. the historical society says this new space, off market and noe streets is eight times larger than the previous spot, allowing them to display a lot more for visitors. >> we're just excited that we're able to stay in the castro, right? a historic a neighborhood that has so much history and for us, an organization that welcomes the broadest diversity of our of our community, right. we are trying to lift up the stories of individuals and groups that, you know, we don't really hear of in mainstream media. >> mayor breed and supervisor mandelman are expected to introduce new legislation next week at the board of supervisors

meeting on the purchase and sale agreement of the building. up next are the days of super sized meals over. there's a new trend for restaurant portions to get smaller. we'll speak to a prominent restaurant

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times this week says restaurant portions are about to get smaller. are americans ready? so joining us live to talk about this is someone who understands what's driving this trend. hansen lee, founder of the restaurant investment group salt partners, which operates some 30 restaurants and bars, including the michelin star saison in san

francisco and the artisan ice cream chain in my favorite, humphrey slocum. hi hansen. >> hi, kristin. how are you? good. >> good. i'm glad we're finally talking about this. actually it kind of came up when we met at an event and we chatted about it. and you've noticed this. so the new article in the new york times says a new movement to shrink servings is finally gaining traction. is that true from your experience? >> well, i think, restaurants have started to adapt how, customers don't want the big portions anymore with, you know, smaller, shareable dishes, you know, spanish food with tapas, chinese food with dim sums. and i think is being now shared into a lot of other cuisines where we are offering smaller portions to accommodate that variety that folks are looking for. >> what do you think is driving that? right? we've heard a lot of things like, oh, people want to be healthier and lose weight and then also, hey, you know, it's the economics, right? i

mean, it just costs so much to order a giant steak, both for the customer, but also, i assume on the supply side, the restaurateur. what you're seeing in terms of your costs and not wanting to pass it on. so talk about all the different factors. that's kind of contributing. >> very much so. since coming up from the pandemic, we have, you know, the inflation across, you know, whole supply chain has, you know, definitely pushed restaurant menu prices up. and things are getting more and more expensive. and we do see folks trading down by ordering the appetizers versus the entrees. secondly, i think is, i you know, i've been working on this hypothesis right in terms of, more and more americans are on the glp one drugs, right on ozempic. and like, those drugs just reduce your appetite. you're eating less. so you're ordering less as well when you go out, and i think we are starting to see some of that spilling over, even in the dining out segment. >> wow. so that's really interesting, right? because we

kind of got used to each person orders an appetizer, an entree and a dessert, are you no longer seeing that necessarily? is that what you're telling me? >> we do. we do see a lot of sharing. we do see a lot of, looking at appetizers as entrees. yeah, and this trend, i think, again, you know, chinese food, right? in terms of how we eat, in terms of sharing family style with dim sums, and we're seeing to see more and more of that across many different restaurants. >> i mean, i we've got to test out that ozempic theory more. but, i mean, that makes a lot of sense because a lot of people are on it. and yeah, you can't eat as much. and you're right. and we have this rising food trend, cultural trend of like the sharing culture. right. okay. so what are you doing then in terms of being a restaurateur to accommodate this kind of new way of eating? >> oh, i think we're focusing more on dishes that are smaller in sizes, but encourage you to order more variety. right? one

of the trends over the last many decades in the states is larger portion, better value. i think we're now need to embrace the idea that more variety and smaller portions, like smaller plates, so that you can get the value that you still seek when you go out to eat. inflation is very real. things are very expensive. yeah. and so in terms of smaller dollar prices, i think that can attract more customers. >> yeah, absolutely. look, i've always liked the idea of like samplers, right? like humphrey slocum. i don't know if you offer a baby, but i would love a baby where you get to pick three different flavors where you just literally get, like, two bites of each flavor. can you work something like that onto your menu for us? >> well, when you come to humphrey slocum, we let you to taste all you want so you can get those small baby bites first. >> true true, true. look, do you think, you know, obviously, you have the restaurateurs perspective, but in terms of, you know, kind of like pulling back and looking at the bigger picture, are there benefits to society, like whether it's, you

know, climate sustainability or health care costs, that kind of thing? >> i think so. i think, you kno, we are over the last many decades where we have a culture where we go out to eat and we expect to bring a lot of food home and is that food eventually eaten, or are we just trying to give a lot of size and portions to justify that price and value? i think we'll save both money and have better environmental and sustainability impact because we're serving smaller portions. >> all right. well, you know, whatever is driving that. and we talked about some of the reasons it is definitely happening, not just with your restaurant group, but elsewhere, okay. do you have any more ideas that you might consider rolling out as you look at the latest restaurant trends and the way people like to dine out? >> oh, i think more shareable is more family style. as we do in a lot of asian restaurants, it's definitely going to be happening even more and more. >> okay. well perhaps also the ten course prefix can move down to, you know, seven course, and maybe they're just smaller bites

and, you know, it's more fun that way. hanson it's really great talking to you. thank you so much. >> you're welcome. good to see you. >> stick around because coming up next, the sheriff's deputy is being hailed for his heroic actions to save a child from a burning home. the dramatic rescue is all captured on the deputy's b

it fog free for much of the evening. highs in the upper clements start in the south bay 80s and 90s 90. in santa clara 94, in los gatos, 92. in san jose 89. redwood city. as we head along the peninsula, 85 mountain view, pleasant. along the coast. upper 60s. lower 70s across the city. it is sunny, 70s and 80s today for san francisco. it will be warm hot in the north bay. 95 sonoma 98. in ukiah, 93 in novato. the east bay it is warm. 84 in oakland. 85 hercules 92 castro valley and inland. it is hot. 96 in walnut creek and 98 in brentwood will hit 97 in concord overnight tonight. patchy cloud cover. not

terribly mild. will keep those temperatures comfortably cool in the 50s, and that will lead to a very pleasant weekend on the way. you look at these temperatures very typical for this time of the year. morning clouds to afternoon sunshine both days. but then next week we heat right back up. monday. very similar to today's highs, about 1015 degrees above average. and then it's just hot here on tuesday mid 90s in oakland. triple digits in san jose. it is just going to be a very warm pattern next week. accuweather seven day forecast shows you we are heating up today, but then we cool off over the weekend to near average. and then next week those warm winds pick up. it is hot for several days. the hottest afternoon likely tuesday, but it remains hot through wednesday and thursday. guys >> that's up next. another popular music festival returns to san francisco this weekend. how organizers are trying to keep it quieter for neighbors across the bay. >> after my car accident, i wondered what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. >> i'm rich barnes. is your

accident case worth more than insurance offered? call the barnes firm now to find out. you might be surprised. >> okay, 500 deluxe garden gnomes. wow. >> i only meant to order five. there's not enough money in my account for these. i'm gonna get charged. >> two things. i just can't deal with. overdraft charges and garden gnomes. but your bmo smart advantage checking account gives you an extra day to avoid an overdraft fee. >> nice to see a bank cutting people some slack. >> well, mistakes happen, and we give you time to correct them. >> so you don't like gnomes? what about that one? >> that one? i like a lot. bmo maybe it's your mom. the kids next door, or even you. 15 million californians have health care because of medi-cal. but budget cuts have left patients waiting months just to see a doctor. that's why voting yes on prop 35 is so important. it guarantees health care funding. that can't be redirected. so we train more health care workers

and keep hospitals and ers open. yes. on 35 protects medi-cal for the ones you care about the mos. >> introducing artificial turf express your one stop shop for quality artificial turf at warehouse prices with everything you need to complete your project. thousands of feet in stock and ready for pickup, visit our san jose showroom today. artificial turf express with chevy trucks. >> be ready for adventure with power. you can count on capability that doesn't compromise a hard working ev with more range than any competitor, and the potential to take you anywhere. it's chevy truck season, get 0% financing, plus no monthly payments for 90 days and all 2024 silverado 1500 pickups. when you finance with gm financial or get $7,350 total value on this silverado when you trade in an eligible vehicle. here are the stars of our show. >> i am your host, ryan seacrest.

>> will you love is back. >> yes. there it is. yeah, baby. let's have some fun tonight at 730. >> right here on abc seven. >> the portola music festival returns to san francisco this weekend. and organizers say they've made changes to make it quieter. the last two years, people living in alameda said they could hear the music and even feel the vibrations all the way from san francisco. organizers told the chronicle they're vowing to be quieter. some of the changes you'll see include one of the stages being rotated away from the water. there will also w be more shippg containers shipping containers up to block sound from traveling. performances will also end a little earlier on sunday night than in the past years. access to fresh food is expanding in hayward. a new sprouts farmers market opened this morning on mission boulevard. dozens of people lined up outside the store to snag free, reusable bags filled with products and samples. the first 100 customers tomorrow will get the same free items. hayward's mayor says the new location will fulfill the community's decades long request

for a specialty grocery store, and it will create more than 100 new jobs. something else for you to consider tonight? the last in the series of the night market in the sunset of san francisco. so it starts at 5:00, goes till ten. it's on irving street from 19 to 26 avenues. lots of food, lots of music, entertainment and just a general good time. now to a very special honor for a member of our abc seven team. abc seven news reporter lyanne melendez received the dolores huerta award for her many contributions to journalism. >> i don't think she gets recognized enough for the work that she does and the value that she brings, but more importantly, the barriers that she removed to allow for other women not just latino women, but women of color in general, to be a part of this world that typically was not open to so many of us. >> last night, san francisco mayor, london breed and other city leaders co-hosted the 2024

latino heritage month celebration and award ceremony. as leanne accepted the award, she shared a story about when she knew she wanted to get into journalism. so i ran back to my teacher, to the class and she said, where have you been? >> you're late. you have a presentation. >> and i said, well, i just interviewed pedro juan soto, and she said, that's impossible. everybody knows he doesn't give interviews. and i said, but i did at the end of the interview, my teacher said to me, leanne, is that what you want to be a journalist? and i said, is that what you call it? so yes here i am. >> melendez traces her roots back to puerto rico. she joined abc seven in june 1994 as a

general assignment reporter, bringing years of experience to our newsroom, covering everything from breaking news to homelessness to education, just to name a few. and now are building a better bay area correspondent. big congratulations to leanne. remember, abc seven news is streaming 24 over seven. get the abc seven bay area app and join us whenever you want, wherever you are. thanks so much for joining us today. world news tonight with david muir starts right now. and i'll see you back here >> david: tonight, breaking news. moving across several states at this hour. tonight, the hospital surrounded. patients rescued from the roof. also, the water rescues playing out. families trapped in rising waters. dozens killed in this storm. power out to millions ton tonight. hurricane helene, the strongest hurricane on record to hit