>> and finally tonight, america losing two mighty centenarians. julia hawkins, a world record sprinter, took up running on her 100th birthday and became so fleet footed she set two records and became known as hurricane hawkins. she died tuesday at 108. her daughter says julia's body will be donated to the pennington biomedical research center, which is studying longevity. and on the same day, america lost its oldest woman, elizabeth francis, who died at 115. she once ran the coffee shop inside abc's houston station. her granddaughter describing her as a person who loved people. may they both rest in peace. that's nightline. you

can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here. same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night. america. >> more americans

intelligence complicated questions about a bay area based technology and its toll on our kids. >> a frightening attack at the homecoming dance with an administrator assaulted by a student. why police are now calling this a kidnaping. >> rats and mice on the rise in the bay area with certain poisons under new scrutiny. the change protecting pets and wildlife. tonight on abc seven news at 11. >> always live on abc seven news

starts right now. >> we begin tonight with that heartbreaking story driving a potentially landmark legal question. can artificial intelligence be blamed for a teen's death? good evening. i'm ama daetz and i'm dan ashley. >> thanks for joining us. a teenage boy took his own life after his mother says he became enamored with an ai chatbot. his case is now at the center of a lawsuit, bringing up significant questions about a.i. health, and how we ensure our children's safety online. >> abc seven news reporter tara campbell explains. >> this is the face of 14 year old sewell setzer, the third, and this is his mother, megan garcia. she's now suing a silicon valley ai company, saying its chatbot is connected to her son's death by suicide. it became really apparent that this was going to be a watershed case. mitali jain is the director of the tech justice law project and one of the attorneys representing garcia. it moves us

from talking about the harms of social media to talking about the harms of generative ai. and she says, unlike social media companies, she thinks it's hard for ai companies to relinquish responsibility. when we're talking about generative ai and we're talking about effectively chatbots that are being fueled by the company's own llm and algorithms, it becomes much harder to say that this is third party content for which they're not responsible. the lawsuit, filed yesterday claims character technologies was reckless by offering minors access to lifelike companions without proper safeguards. character. i posted a statement online saying we are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family. as a company, we take the safety of our users very seriously and we are continuing to add new safety features. megan garcia says her son had been conversing for months with a chat bot and that

although he knew he was not chatting with a real person, he became emotionally attached to the bot. she claims as he sank into isolation and depression, he shared those feelings with the bot before taking his own life. risk of suicide is multifaceted. >> there are there are a lot of different factors that go into it. >> doctor shannon wiltsie sterman is a professor of psychiatry at stanford. and she says while there is potential for ai to provide support, there is a long way to go. >> some of the chat bots do kind of try to shut the conversation down by saying, you know, this is not a mental health chatbot, call the suicide hotline. but i think when we're seeing that people are in real distress or their their they're expressing an intent or a desire to harm themselves, we might even need to find a way to go a step further. >> a spokesperson for character ai says they cannot comment on pending litigation, but the company is making changes focused on safety for teen users. tara campbell, abc seven news. >> now, we can't stress this

enough. if you or someone you know is dealing with mental health issues, there is help available anytime you can dial 988 to reach the crisis. lifeline 24 over seven. you can find a list of local resources at abc seven news.com. slash. take action. >> we are committed to following the story from start to finish here at abc seven. and tonight we have three big updates to stories you saw first right here on abc seven news at 11. from a costly ruling for bart over its employee covid vaccine mandate, to new details about the origins of an investigation forcing a football team to forfeit. but first, here's abc seven news reporter j.r. stone with the update on a scary attack on an assistant principal in san ramon now escalating to a kidnaping charge. >> it's not what happened at the actual homecoming dance here at california high school in san ramon. it's what happened in the parking lot during that dance that is raising eyebrows. an assistant principal was attacked by a 16 year old visiting student who, according to san

ramon police, dragged her by the hair from one spot in the lot to another. >> it's alarming to see that our students would respond to authority figures in that way. >> christine arneson has kids in the san ramon unified school district, and like others we spoke with, is surprised and upset over the alleged assault. >> it's a big deal. and on top of that, you know, i think when you go to another person's homecoming, it's a night of celebration for that school and for those students. so my suspicions were, did they go there for reasons that weren't great to begin with? >> this is a what we consider a nice area to live, to raise our kids. we don't expect, you know, kids to behave like that in this area. >> that's really hurtful and really hard to hear, because all of our assistant principals are super wonderful and super sweet and amazing. >> police say the 16 year old was with another teen in the parking lot around 845 saturday night, when the assistant principal approached them to say

that leaving the dance early is not allowed. officers say that's when the assault happened. afterwards, both teens left. the 16 year old was later arrested at his home and has been charged with felony assault and kidnaping due to the allegation that he dragged the assistant principal across the parking lot by her hair. parents want justice even though the students 16 years old, that's still old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, in my opinion. >> and so how do we hold that individual accountable? >> police say the assistant principal was treated at the hospital after the incident. the teenage suspect does not attend california high school, but does go to another school in the district. we did give those with the district and police a chance to speak with us on camera about this. they both declined. those with the district did say that unsafe conduct like this will not be tolerated here or at any school in the district. j.r stone, abc seven news. >> and an update now on another story we've been following. a

lawsuit filed by bart workers who lost their jobs over a covid vaccine mandate. a federal jury today sided with those fired workers. there are six of them in this lawsuit, and each will receive more than $1 million. the workers argued bart did not accommodate their religious vaccine exemptions. bart is not commenting on today's decision. >> and finally, we are following the story of the football fiasco in the east bay, wiping away a team's winning record tonight. the west contra costa unified school district held a public meeting, and it got heated. at the center of the controversy is the el cerrito high school football team. it had to forfeit multiple games because the principal says some of the players were ineligible at the beginning of tonight's meeting, the superintendent took responsibility for the investigation and fallout. that wasn't enough to appease some parents, though. you say that this is a confidential investigation, but mr. norrington has took responsibility for it and has released it to the media. >> and with that, we say we want

the students reinstated, that you have took away their games last week, and we want an apology to our team for disparaging our name and our reputation. >> sources tell us the players involved did not live in the district. instead of being six and one and going

and as we check out the humidity levels down to 34% on mount diablo, as we look at the winds, those dry downsloping winds picking up as we head towards the wee hours of the morning, 33 miles an hour there, over the northern part of our viewing area. fairfield 36 miles an hour. that will dry out the atmosphere even more. and so the concern is the fire danger index will show you our fire danger, especially in the north and east. bay hills will be in the moderate to high category. early tomorrow morning. and this remains the case as we head towards 5 a.m. and even into 7 a.m. so basically guys, the deal is don't let your guards down. it's that time of year when fire danger is elevated. >> all right. thank you. sandhy. well, i'm sorry we don't have the quarter pounders at the moment. >> new details tonight about the source of the deadly e coli outbreak linked to mcdonald's. an investigation by the food and drug administration says the

likely source is sliced raw onions that are usually served on quarter pounder burgers. mcdonald's has pulled the hamburgers from a fifth of its stores, though none in california. salinas based food distributor taylor farms also recalled their onions today due to potential e coli contamination. >> happening tomorrow clerks in san francisco courtrooms are walking off the job. their union says about 200 clerks will go on strike tomorrow over staffing and training complaints. the strike comes in the middle of a high profile trial. the case of nima momeni. he's accused of killing cashapp founder bob lee. a half day of testimony is planned for tomorrow. it's not clear if the strike will impact court operations. >> all right. our next report takes a rat race to a whole new level. >> exterminators say they can barely keep up with the calls about a surge of rats and mice across the bay area. and it comes as the state rolls out new rat rules around poison. >> abc seven news reporter lauren martinez has the story. >> gilbert jiminez specializes in rodent proofing homes, and

right now, he says he's busier than ever before. >> i have been just running up and down the freeways all day from san ramon today to martinez to orinda, oakland. everywhere there's rats. >> jiminez said his approach is not to poison or trap first, but to figure out how mice and rats are getting into homes. >> i've seen them dig through the lead flashing on on tile roofs. they dig through two by fours. they can. they do dig under foundations if the foundations are shallow. all they need is this little small hole. a rodent can be that big and it can squeeze through a small hole. >> when it comes to rodent control, the state is taking a tougher stance on rodenticides. >> it's important because our state was just allowing these poisons to be used without really evaluating them. >> since 2020, lisa owens and her nonprofit have worked with legislators to crack down on rat poisons that impact wildlife. >> it's designed to cause a rat

or mouse to bleed to death, but unfortunately, it's also causing other animals to bleed to death so it builds up in the body of the rat or mouse, and then a predator eats it like a hawk or an owl or something as large as a mountain lion, a bobcat. >> come january 2025, certain kinds of anticoagulants or blood thinning poisons will be placed under a moratorium. while the state reevaluates them. in the meantime, jiminez and his crew are booked out until mid-november, and he's only expecting calls to grow once the rain comes. >> my guys are volunteering to work saturdays because we have people that are willing to pay extra because they're so desperate. >> in the south bay. lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> coveted real estate with homes sitting empty. voters could greenlight some hefty fees for homeowners who leave their vacation homes vacant. >> a new kind of robotaxi roaming the bay area roads for months, the quiet experiment now in the spotlight. >> steph curry opened his 16th

season in the nba tonight. warriors on the road in warriors on the road in portland. and the with bugs, the struggle—is—real. that's why you need zevo traps. zevo attracts and traps bugs 24/7 using a blue and uv light with no odor and no mess for effortless protection. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. ♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing non-medicated vicks vapors. easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick. and try new vaposhower max for steamy vicks vapors. molly leaving was one thing. but then i thought mom's weak bones might keep us stuck on the couch. no way. (♪) if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture, you can do more than just slow bone loss. you can build new bone in just 12 months with evenity®. evenity® is proven to reduce spine fracture risk by 73%. i heard her say the evenity® she's taking builds new bone.

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than 24 million americans casting their ballots while campaigning is still at full steam. vice president harris, arriving in pennsylvania to speak on a cnn town hall. >> the american people deserve to have a president who is grounded in what is common sense, what is practical, and what is in the best interest of the people, not themselves. >> earlier, she called donald trump increasingly unhinged and unstable after trump's longest serving chief of staff retired four star marine general john kelly told the new york times trump fits the definition of a fascist. that the former president has said adolf hitler, quote, did some good things. >> this is a window into who donald trump really is from the people who know him best, from the people who worked with him side by side in the oval office and in the situation room, the trump campaign saying, quote, kelly has totally becloud

himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated. >> kelly has not offered an endorsement for president, instead urging voters to consider character over policy. trump once had high praise for his former chief of staff. tonight, trump hosting a rally in georgia. >> together, we're going to fix our nation, and we're going to fix our nation fast. with your support on november 5th, america will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer, and stronger than ever before. >> earlier, trump's running mate j.d. vance, campaigning in nevada encouraging republicans to vote early. >> we are now in a world where early voting, mail in voting and election day voting, these are all the methods that we have to vote. and if kamala harris's team is using everything and we're only using one of those methods of voting, then we're going to get killed. >> melissa don, abc news, los angeles. >> tesla founder elon musk, meantime, continues giving away $1 million to registered voters

in swing states who sign his conservative pacs petition. a source tells abc news the justice department is warning him that the sweepstakes may violate federal law. >> there is a controversial measure on the ballot in south lake tahoe that could affect a lot of people in the bay area. if passed, it would create a tax for unoccupied homes that sit empty for more than 183 days a year. the first year would cost a homeowner $3,000. it would go up to at least 6000. in the following years. >> some of the people we've talked to say, you know, if that's the way you want to treat me as a second homeowner in your community, i'm going to sell my home, and i'm going to go somewhere where i feel more welcome. >> we still believe they're a valuable part of our community. there's just a cost to having them. almost half of all homes sitting unoccupied for the majority of the year. >> the measure states occupancy does not have to be 183 consecutive days. renters and guests would also count toward that total.

>> elon musk is making news in another way. he announced that tesla has been testing robotaxis in the bay area for several months now. during an earnings call today, musk said tesla employees have been able to call self-driving vehicles using an app prototype. the vehicles arrive with safety drivers just in case a tesla does not yet have state permits to publicly launch ride hailing services or an autonomous vehicle program. >> several san francisco police officers received the department's highest honor tonight. the medal of valor ceremony was held honoring officers for their bravery and going above the call of duty. the department changed things up with the ceremony showing videos from each incident and the officer's actions. all of them are from the 2023 calendar year. so if you were expecting to see the officer who helped save the life of 40 niners wide receiver ricky pearsall, that will happen next year. >> all right, let's go back and talk a little more about the weather. yes. >> meteorologist sandhya patel is here with what's in store for

the rest of the week. sandhya. >> yeah, we're going to be seeing quite some changes. but right now, i want to show you the clear views from our towercameras. absolutely stunning views for october. visibility is terrific. we don't have any fog to speak of. here is the view. it's a very glassy one from our emeryville camera tonight through early tomorrow morning. we do have elevated fire danger as gusty offshore winds have developed in the hills. tomorrow a little cooler, mainly sunny. and then sunday. we're talking about a chance of drizzle and showers, and it is looking more promising for the weekend. looking at the relative humidity values as these downsloping winds continue. relative humidity is going to fall 3 a.m. down to 24% in fairfield, 34. in napa, you can see in the teens as we head towards noontime for many of our inland areas. and that continues into the afternoon. so even though there are no red flag warnings and we're not expecting strong winds, it's the wind direction combined with dry fuels and low humidity that keeps our fire danger elevated, especially in october. so watch

out for that. looking at your forecast for tomorrow inland areas start out bright and sunny in the 50s at 8 a.m. noontime. you're already in the 70s, and by 5 p.m. you're in the 80s. today's highs, by the way, were in the 60s to 80s, so it did warm up around the bay, low 50s and then eventually to the low to mid 70s. plenty of sun along the coast as well. you're going to go from 50 to 60. so pretty nice looking day coming your way for thursday. there is a cold front that came through the pacific northwest and far northern california, bringing precipitation earlier in the da. that front has moved off and the winds have picked up more downsloping winds that we are dealing with now, but they're not strong, like i said. here's the system that we're watching this looks like a classic fall pattern for you. over the weekend. we are expecting some wet weather to come in on sunday. right now, no wet weather to speak of. that's going to change come sunday as we look at the temperatures right now, they're in the 50s and the 60s. relative humidity values currently 22%. in fairfield. you see why there is

a concern. morning temperatures in the 40s and 50s out the door, a few high clouds and that's about it. but it is one of those mornings where you do need to layer up tomorrow afternoon, mid 60s to the low 80s, even though it's going to be sunny. i think those temperatures are going to dial back a few degrees now. as we head towards friday, a front tries to work its way, but all it's going to do is cloud up our skies. this system finally gets a little more push and sunday morning we do have some drizzle developing followed by a chance of showers in the afternoon. it's certainly going to bring rain and snow to the sierra, which is welcome as you know. so in terms of rainfall, we're expecting anywhere from a few hundredths of an inch to about 14 hundredths of an inch higher totals in ukiah. what this really does is adds more moisture to the fuels, which helps, especially when this time of year we're talking about heightened fire danger. accuweather seven day forecast a little bit cooler tomorrow. it's going to be a mild pattern right on through the first half of your weekend. cloudier skies on sunday, chance of drizzle and showers. certainly cooler and

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enjoyed a surge in popularity the past year, and it scored big time in game five of the wnba finals. the game drew the most viewers for a finals game in 25 years, with 2.2 million viewers tuning in to watch the new york liberty defeat the minnesota lynx in overtime. viewership peaked at 3.3 million. six games during the regular season actually had higher ratings. all of them featured rookie sensation caitlin clark doing big things. yeah. >> and the warriors tipped off a new season tonight on the road. >> larry beil is here with sports. larry. >> dan. the warriors got off to a slow start tonight in portland. but it is not how you start. it's how you finish. and the

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undo it with pepto fast melts. so you can keep on rolling. [bowling pins knocked down] when you overdo it, undo it with pepto bismol. it's the first time since 2014 the doves have not had their season opener on national tv. game one of 82 in portland. kind of a slow start for steph. draymond and company but having fun jonathan kuminga starting his fourth year in the league. oh sweet. reverse ten points for jc. trace jackson davis in the starting lineup as well. and this is with authority buddy hield who's your buddy. who's your pal. led the dubs with 22 points five of seven from deep. now the warriors started ice cold two of 12 from three. they heat up after that. they attempt 48 threes. they hit 20 dubs by a dozen at the half. third quarter. tic tac toe. draymond andrew. wiggins. kuminga. blow

out. alert. blow out. alert. steph curry only had to play 25 minutes. went for 17 points ten assists nine boards. just missed the triple double. and the warriors love seeing this. andrew wiggins goes for 20 points in 23 minutes. look i know the blazers are not good but the dubs had 12 steals. better defensive team kyle anderson feeding de'anthony melton both newcomers. tj d baseline attacking the rim like it owes him money. warriors roll 139 100 for 35 points. largest margin of victory in a season opener in team history. >> i think it's going to be a really fun team to watch for our fans. they play both sides of the ball and, you know, a lot of good energy and they like each other. the ball moves and it's fun to watch them play tonight. >> dubs at utah friday. the 49 ers have so many injuries. but we do have a bit of good news with deebo samuel being released from the hospital yesterday. he was actually out on the practice field today. deebo came down with a case of pneumonia. hardly played on sunday. his lungs filled with fluid. so he was admitted to the hospital. he was on the field today, but working

out separately from the rest of the guys. niners hosting the cowboys on sunday. a win elevates the red and gold to four and four. a loss would leave them three and five heading into the bye week. >> the burning was building down or burning down. i would still just be standing tall, trying to keep everything afloat. so we're really not in that type of situation at all. i yeah, the injuries suck and to keep players especially. but you got you got to move on. that's what this league is. it's violent and people get hurt and you got to it's a next man up mentality. >> some niner fans probably wondering whether the niners might bring back their old defensive coordinator, robert saleh. he was recently fired as the head coach of the jets. well, the green bay packers beat him to the punch, hiring saleh as an advisor.

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the ones that are already underway that story is one of the top things people are clicking on right now on our website. you can find it all on abc7 news.com. check it out when you have a moment. >> lots of stuff going on. all right. thank you so much for watching tonight. >> i'm ama daetz and i'm dan ashley for sandhya patel, larry beil. all of us. we appreciate your time right now on jimmy kimmel, trevor noah and senator raphael warnock. >> have a great night. favor. the dodgers made a run. we will see. okay. coming up amazon's new perk for its prime members. >> plus mcdonald's is hit with its first lawsuit over that e coli outbreak across ten states. >> and later, a name change for goldfish crackers. what you're watching world news now morgan. with so many mesothelioma lawyers on