now abc seven mornings live. >> right now at five. the fall of the syrian government, rebels claiming control of damascus overnight. while the syrian president is nowhere to be found here in the bay area, potential budget cuts in the east bay could mean big hits to public safety. the special meeting tomorrow and a holiday boost for a struggling mall. how local

businesses are getting more shoppers to downtown san francisco. good morning everybody. it's sunday, december 8th and boy this month is going to go by fast. >> yeah it is. and you know what. so far we have had dry conditions. but boy the air quality yesterday was certainly poor. it went from moderate to poor. no spare the air alert today. but we do have sensors that are reporting the poor air quality. first, starting with the rain in the pacific northwest not reaching the bay area, but we have a dense fog advisory from the delta to the suisun area. as you can see, visibility anywhere from 1 to 2 miles there out towards our east bay, a mile and three quarters in livermore. so this is going to last until noontime. so this tule fog is going to be really tough to clear on out. and morning temperatures are cool. but we've had the clouds so they're not as cool as they've been. 41 in danville, 50 in san rafael. so our 24 hour temperature change 2 to 5 degrees milder and there's a look at that unhealthy air all across the bay area for sensitive groups. now we will get into some hazy sunshine

today. and as those high clouds drift away it will be cooler. upper 50s at the coast to the mid 60s across the bay. today we'll talk about a few more sunny days before we bring in our storm impact scale into the week ahead in a few minutes. stephanie. all right lisa, thank you. >> we're following developing news out of syria. the syrian government collapsed early this morning, falling to a rebel offensive that seized control of the capital of damascus. this is a stunning end to the 50 year rule of the assad family. syrian state television released a video statement saying president bashar al-assad has been overthrown and all detainees in jails have been set free. the video was released just hours after the head of the syrian opposition war monitor said assad left the country to an undisclosed location. celebrations erupted into the morning hours. crowds also gathered to pray in mosques and others chanted anti-assad

slogans. the syrian community in the bay area is keeping a close eye on the situation. >> of course, we're wary about what tomorrow brings, but right now it's one step at a time. there's nothing worse for syria than bashar al assad and the assad regime. there's nothing worse. we're at the bottom. there's only going forward, going up from here. >> president elect donald trump and current president joe biden both expressed they would not engage with the syrian military. back here at home, county officials are discussing sheriff christina corpuses future. this week in san mateo county. they want her to appear at tuesday's board of supervisors meeting and give her story under oath. county supervisor ray mueller told abc seven news corp has declined their invitation to speak. corpus has been under mounting pressure to step down following misconduct allegations she's denied all wrongdoing and refuses to resign. the abc seven news i-team reported the county made $1 million offer for corpus

to walk away, but she turned it down. tomorrow, the oakland city council will hold a special budget meeting. it's to vote on proposals aiming to balance a historic $129 million budget deficit. with it comes big hits to public safety and job cuts across all city departments. here's abc seven news reporter anser hassan. >> oakland mayor xiang tao was recalled in part due to concerns over public safety. now there are concerns over the deeper budget cuts to public safety announced on friday. >> there is a cut of overtime, which is 25 million in there, and they're also projecting to cancel two future police academies. >> sergeant timothy dolan is vice president of the police union, with retirement and turnover and no money to hire new officers. he predicts opd could be down to 600 officers by the end of next year. from the 800 officers two years ago. that means cops are forced to work overtime, but opd is millions over budget, mostly because of that overtime. >> a lot of this the department

survives on overtime. as far as our mandatory overtime where we work. sideshow operations on the weekend or backfilling open patrol beats or the homicide investigations. >> public safety accounts for almost 70% of the city's general fund, forcing opd to cut overtime. spending by $25 million is equal to about 20% of the entire $120 million budget deficit. oakland will also unrestrict and transfer funds to the general fund totaling close to $40 million, but it has to do more. it will reduce homelessness funding cultural arts grants and eliminate the community ambassador program. stewart chen says this program has been a success in chinatown. he says if people don't feel safe, they won't come out. >> at this moment in time to take them away, it will just it's just two steps forward and one step back. it will send us back to where we were 3 or 4 years ago. >> cybersecurity is also facing cuts. the department that one year ago had to deal with a

ransomware attack. julian was vice president of oakland's local 21, a union that represents office jobs. he's an it administrator. his department will lose six i.t. jobs without a sound. >> it department you're never going to have a sound city because all these other systems in the city rely on the it department to actually make them functional. >> he says many unions are frustrated with the lack of revenue collection, millions of dollars that could be used to save jobs. >> be diligent about, you know, all the monies that are due to the city, particularly before any of these funds start to sunset, because, you know, at some point you can't collect on some of these revenues. so it's very important for us to, you know, strike while the iron's hot. >> the report states if these proposed budget cuts don't work, the city will have to declare a fiscal emergency. city council will vote on the proposals at a special meeting on monday in oakland, anser hassan. abc seven news. >> we continue to follow this developing story. a juvenile driver was arrested for driving into a guard shack right in front of this gated community in

discovery bay. one guard died and another was severely injured. it happened near bixler and balfour roads late friday night. a witness described what happened in the moments before the accident. >> i think i heard the guards yelling, stop, stop, stop! both of them. if not one of them, i don't recall at the time. right now, but one of them was hollering stop, stop, stop because they had seen a car coming towards them, right? right before the initial impact. >> the chp says the driver was taken to the hospital with major injuries. dui has been ruled out as a factor in this crash. we may be paying more to cross bay area bridges. a decision will be made at a hearing on wednesday this week. the bay area toll authority is considering a toll increase to be phased out over five years. it would start at 850 and add $0.50 each year. it would also include a change to the carpool lane policy, establishing a uniform three person requirement at all seven

bridges. that would be for half price tolls during weekday commute periods. now, if approved, the changes would take effect january 1st of 2026. as we head to break, let's check on conditions outside. how's it looking, lisa? >> well, we are not as cold, but we have some fog out there. and boy, that air quality was not great yesterday. so we will erase the high clouds today. that will give us a little more sun and air quality will improve just slightly. so we'll talk about how long we're under this dome of not so great air before we see a return to a rinse cycle, which means rain arriving. i'll spell it out for you. coming up. >> lisa. thank you. also ahead, over two dozen dogs abandoned, but neighbors coming to the rescue. the overwhelming support for this one north bay animal shelter. and a record number of gifts. all to make children smile. an inside look at the toy drive. exceeding expectations. we'll be right b

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to this live look from our golden gate bridge camera. it's still very dark out there. it's 510. we're following developing news out of palm springs. at least ten people were injured when a police officer on a motorcycle crashed into a crowd during the city's festival of lights parade. the officer was among those hurt. none of the injuries are considered life threatening, but witnesses say the officer lost control of the motorcycle while attempting to do a trick. at that festival. it's been 83 years since the surprise attack on pearl harbor. the naval base in hawaii. now, yesterday, the uss hornet sea, air and space museum hosted a pearl harbor remembrance day in alameda. the event, on the anniversary, honored the lives lost. and paid tribute to those who lived through the attack. they also shared their stories. dale bervin is a former navy pilot. he was a fifth grader at the time of the attack. >> i went to see a friend of

mine who lived three doors down. i told him his mother overheard it and started sobbing. oh my sons! because she had three older sons. sure enough, one of them got killed in world war two. >> the attack claimed the lives of 2400 americans and thrust the u.s. into world war two. we're seeing an outpouring of support from the community after someone abandoned 27 small dogs near calistoga. the napa county animal shelter and adoption center posted these photos, and you see all of them in crates here saying they desperately need help. well, that help arrived. the shelter says that they are now overwhelmed with responses from people looking to foster or adopt, and you might see a delay in getting a response from them, but they say they're working on it and all adoption fees are being waived. the u.s. department of agriculture says it will start

testing milk for bird flu beginning on december 16th. dairy farms and processors nationwide must provide unpasteurized milk for testing. if the feds request it. testing will begin here in california, colorado, michigan, mississippi, oregon and pennsylvania. marin county is investigating a possible case of bird flu. the virus was first detected in dairy cows back in march and has since infected 700 herds of cattle across 15 different states. at least 58 people have been infected with bird flu. san francisco is trying to breathe new life into a troubled mall. this weekend, it sponsored a holiday shop and dine pop up, showcasing small businesses and bringing holiday shoppers to the downtown san francisco center. abc seven news reporter cornell bernard shows us the event. >> we are selling cannoli. so grandma's recipe. she is 102 years old in sicily. >> it's not every day you can

come to the mall during the holiday season to sample handcrafted cannolis, or see dozens of small bay area businesses selling one of a kind gifts. but this is no ordinary mall. >> i've lived in the city 20 plus years. i used to shop at this mall and we all knew it was hurting. >> it's why city economic development leaders moved the shop dine sf holiday pop-up event to the san francisco center. the former westfield mall, where more shoppers are definitely needed. >> so bringing them here in one location, people explore the makers and then they explore the mall. so it's been a great partnership. >> i think it's important to showcase the small businesses in san francisco, especially people that don't have brick and mortars. >> more than 50 vendors are set up under the now empty iconic dome. brian robinson is optimistic about the future of downtown shopping. >> we have some of the best views. this is an amazing structure and we're here to put life into it. our business, our company is here in san francisco and we pump life into places

like this. >> it's no secret this mall is hurting after suffering economic challenges. a lot of stores have left in fact, this part of the mall is kind of a ghost town. >> i really like the idea of the san francisco center allowing this kind of vending situation to occur. i guess it's a great way to revisit this mall with a fresh take. >> some shoppers discovered the pop up event, but others made it a saturday destination. >> i mean, honestly, it's the reason i came to the mall today, so definitely, yeah, i like to support small businesses. >> the city believes events like this are working. >> we have noticed a tremendous increase in foot traffic, and we've noticed a tremendous increase in people coming downtown. >> the city says about 400 people attended the two day event. more holiday pop ups are planned this season in san francisco. cornell, bernard, abc seven news. >> and in san francisco, a toys for tots drive was called

hanukkah in paris. it was held at the white rabbit on fillmore street, where people stopped by and hung out for drinks. this french themed soirée benefits children of the bay area and is focused on jewish community engagement. >> there aren't any hanukkah toy drives. there's a lot of christmas ones. we want to include diversity and let people engage with the jewish community, because it's time we all come together and value each other's cultures, especially now in the world we live in. kids need toys this holiday season, and it's really up to all of us just to bring the magic, bring the light, you know, repair the world and give these little gifts to the children. >> u.s. marines were there in uniform to help collect the toys at the door, and they will help distribute the toys later as well. another toy drive story, this time in oakland. we first brought you details about this last week, as this group was in dire need of donations. well, now, abc seven news reporter tara campbell tells us about the record number of gifts that were handed out. >> the sight and sounds of a

community rallying to make sure these families in oakland's chinatown have gifts. this holiday season. the christmas in the park toy drive was started 18 years ago in honor of late oakland police officer stan mok. he organized a drive before passing in 2007 when he when he started, you know, i was so moved by it that i felt like that this tradition should still go on. and it's been going strong ever since. that is, until this year when donations dried up. >> it was a sad and heartbreaking. i was crying at nighttime. >> that was earlier this week when we first brought you this story. at the time, they'd only received ten donations. but since then, support has been piling in from all over the bay area. >> when the community all came together to pitch in and thanks to dion lim for, you know, for speaking out. >> the story really touched me so much that i wanted to help out. >> mark devora making his way here from san jose with more than 200 donations, gathered

from coworkers and his car club community. >> i was once upon a time, you know, homeless, and my parents were struggling too. so i know how it feels to have nothing. >> and for these families, it means everything. this holiday season. >> bring all the kind people and friendly peoples bringing all the goodness powers together. so this is very helpful for the community. >> and that power perhaps felt most right here between the wife of the late officer and one of his daughters. it means a lot that we're doing this for the community and that they're keeping my father's legacy alive, and that people still remember him. a legacy they didn't know was being carried until just this week. >> i had no idea. i had no idea that they kept it going. yeah, that they kept it going from now on. it promised every single year will be even bigger and better. >> and they're perfectly poised to do exactly that this year, turning out a record setting 2000 donations. thank you. tara campbell, abc seven news. >> and the holiday train toy drive by caltrain continues

today. we'll head to millbrae, burlingame, menlo park and sunnyvale. you see all the people excited to see it waving. and of course, you can't drive it right now. but the train is full of characters and toys as it will be collecting donations across the bay area, and it spread some cheer in san mateo, redwood city, mountain view, and santa clara. but we're told the route didn't go entirely smooth. a car stuck on the tracks in palo alto caused the train to arrive nearly one hour later than scheduled. at two of the final stops, but it is in route today. visitors are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate, and seeing the reaction from the little kids watching the train was so cute. lisa, it's so fun to see this around the holidays and certainly feels like it outside too. >> yes, that's right, it's been cold and boy, yesterday it just didn't want to. i mean, it was sort of hazy, but the air quality was horrible. so there were high clouds and there was a

air quality that just got worse throughout the day. now we're going to get into a breeze today. a stronger breeze tomorrow. so it's pretty much behind us later on this afternoon. so that is some good news. but we're also looking at some rain that we're pretty sure is going to arrive by late thursday into friday. here's a look at live doppler seven. so things are changing. the rain. staying in the pacific northwest. but the system that brought the high clouds is pushing through the bay area. and as it does as we get behind it, the winds are going to kick up. so into later today and monday we'll get breezy offshore winds even into early tuesday. but we are looking at that dense fog out through the delta sassoon there. but even our east bay, just two and a half miles in concord livermore is better. but novato, santa rosa and napa look at the visibility really poor out there. so be careful. give yourself some extra time. half moon bay, three miles and temperatures with all the cloud cover haven't been quite as cold. 50 in hayward 50. sfo, half moon bay and up in the north bay. we've got some low 40s, so certainly chilly, but

not as cold as it could be. and there's a look at the orange air quality, which means really not great for sensitive groups out there. so you saw it yesterday. later on today a bit of a breeze. and then, as i said, as that cold front pushes through, we'll get into some wind that will bring some mixing. so haze and fog out there, hazy sunshine and cooler today. and then that rain returning friday into saturday to start out. so here's a look. hour by hour. and as we go through the morning hours, notice the high clouds get wiped away. we've got a sunny sunday and then into monday the breeze kicks up. we're looking at some gusty winds. could see a wind advisory in the upper elevations, and then by tuesday the air mass is quite dry. we could see some frost with temperatures below freezing. so here's a look at the winds today. notice they're on the light side through about 2:00. and then as we get into the afternoon and evening hours a little bit breezier. but this is tomorrow morning finally getting some wind 20 to 30 miles an

hour. but it's an offshore wind. even though that's our dry component, we're not worried about any fire danger. we've had the rain, although we could use more. this is in the afternoon tomorrow. quite breezy, and then it gets quite gusty. here's a look at the potential for rain stopping this on tuesday and then later on thursday into friday and the weekend. and we're looking at light amounts as we get through saturday night, anywhere from about a quarter of an inch. and this could increase as we get into sunday as well. so changes arriving 65 in fremont today. cooler with low 60s in san francisco, upper 60s north and south end of the bay. the accuweather seven day forecast. we've got the offshore winds tomorrow, the cold morning on tuesday, thickening clouds and that level one system arriving into next weekend. we'll be right back

investigation into the three

santa clara county owned and operated hospitals. the district attorney's office has uncovered disturbing findings at all locations. hazardous and medical waste was disposed of improperly and taken away to landfills. abc seven news south bay reporter dustin dorsey has more on what's being done to stop it. >> in full hazmat suits, santa clara county district attorney's office investigators dug through tons of trash dumped by county hospitals. what they found was astounding, disgusting and illegal. confidential patient information. vials of pharmaceutical drugs, including fentanyl, blood covered materials, and even human flesh. >> the county must stop illegally dumping hazardous waste and untreated medical waste. this is not a polite, bureaucratic request from one county agency to another. this is the law and we are enforcing it. >> the investigation started in november 2023 and uncovered tens of thousands of illegally disposed items at saint louis

o'connor and santa clara valley medical center. now, rosen's office is taking civil enforcement action against his own county. >> if you're going to be in the health care field, there's no immunity, no freebie. just because you're the government were the county is not a defense. and in our view, the county should be setting a good example, not a bad one. >> a santa clara valley health care statement read in part, we are committed to adopting industry best practices to prevent future occurrences and upon learning the details. three weeks ago, immediately began implementing corrective actions to address the concerns, including reviewing and updating policies, creating an audit review process, and designating department liaisons to quickly facilitate necessary changes. this is not just happening at county hospitals. a separate investigation by the da uncovered illegal dumping at regional medical center in san jose as well. state law provides for fines up to $70,000 per hazardous waste and 10,000 for medical waste illegally disposed

of based on the amount of items recovered, rosen said that amount would be more than a billion dollars. but he says the actual fine will be negotiated later and would likely be in the millions in santa clara county. dustin dorsey, abc seven news. >> wow. well, still to come on abc seven mornings today. the first mass in the new notre dame cathedral in paris. how one bay area city played a major role in its rebuild sometimes it takes a different approach...

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abc seven mornings live. >> good morning everybody. thank you for joining us this half hour. and it's certainly hazy out there. >> yeah it is. we're going to see some changes. we have a weak cold front moving through. we have that inversion and the light winds. so starting out with the visibility which is reduced out by the delta where we have a dense fog advisory for concord, just two and a half mile visibility. look at napa. three quarters of a mile. a quarter of a mile in novato,

santa rosa half a mile. this is going to take us through about 10:00, and then we'll see improving conditions with the high clouds dissipating. still the light winds, though. 45 in concord, 50 in san rafael. the winds begin to pick up into tomorrow. so we are milder with the cloud cover. but look at the unhealthy air that we have going on all around the bay. so as we get into the afternoon, it's hazy sunshine. it's cooler today. the winds are light. temperatures in the low to mid 60s at the coast just about 60 degrees. we'll get into breezy winds monday and tuesday. offshore winds, cold conditions and then a return to some rain all in the week ahead. steph. >> all right lisa thank you. developing news now. police have released new photos of the man they believe shot and killed the ceo of unitedhealthcare. the search continues for this man. investigators have been following leads across multiple states. abc news reporter morgan norwood is following this story from new york. >> the fbi is assisting the nypd

in a nationwide manhunt for the suspect believed to have killed unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson on wednesday, not far from rockefeller center in new york city. investigators say the suspect, wearing all black and a ski mask, waited until the 50 year old thompson showed up at the hilton hotel for an investor's conference before fatally shooting him at point blank range. >> at this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack. >> law enforcement sources telling abc news that investigators believe they were able to find dna samples from several pieces of evidence left behind at the scene. shell casings with the words deny, defend and depose a possible reference to the ways insurance companies avoid paying medical claims also found at the crime scene, along with live rounds from a nine millimeter gun. police say the suspect fled on a bike to central park, where a gray backpack was recovered on friday by police. authorities say the suspected gunman has since left new york city. investigators say the suspect

arrived in new york ten days prior to the shooting on a greyhound bus, and boarded somewhere between atlanta and washington, d.c. detectives now using facial recognition technology on these images, captured when a clerk checked who they believed to be the suspect into a hostel and asked to see his smile as his picture moves more and more into various states in particular between atlanta and new york city, you're going to get more and more people calling in, and as long as the local affiliates, the local newspapers and law enforcement keep that picture u, somebody is going to id him. unitedhealthcare is a wing of unitedhealth group, one of the largest health insurers in the country. the company says they're deeply saddened and shocked, and that brian thompson was a highly respected colleague and friend. brian's wife telling abc her husband was a loving father to two teenage sons and that their family is shattered. they're requesting privacy during this difficult time. morgan norwood, abc news, new york. >> coming up on this week, abc's

martha raddatz will speak with former nypd chief of detectives robert boyce and retired fbi profiler mary ellen o'toole about this ongoing search. you can watch the full interview on this week with george stephanopoulos at eight this morning, right here on abc seven. a worship service at the notre dame cathedral in paris happened overnight for the first time since a fire, severely damaged it five years ago. a massive reconstruction effort led to this moment. thousands of workers came together and worked around the clock to restore the cathedral to its original condition. yesterday, president elect trump and first lady jill biden led the american delegation to show support for france. in total, 35 heads of state arrived for the ceremony. >> it's not the first time she's been nearly in ruin, and every time it's happened, she's always managed to bounce back. not many of us can really say that we would do the same. be able to

keep coming back no matter what tragedy strike us. but she has. >> the u.s. was by far the biggest foreign donor to this renovation project. the average donation was $1,300. a san francisco company gets some credit for the reconstruction of the notre dame cathedral. autodesk created the 3d model, which set the design for the rebuild. pretty neat. their digital modeling software helped the restoration team understand the extent of the damage to help guide the project, and it took over a year just to create an accurate model. because of the complexity, detail, and large size of the structure, the team used laser scanning and 46,000 images. pretty remarkable. well, still ahead this morning, california's insurance commissioner claims insurers will expand coverage in fire prone areas by 85%. but critics say that promise doesn't tell the whole story. and we'll take you outside for a live look atop

our roof camera. lisa will have your forecast coming your next favorite thing about this place is waiting to be discovered. did you know you can do this? ... pretty cool, right?

... and you don't want to miss that. you can also ride this ... and then race on over to do this... and before you leave? you definitely wanna see that.

investigates a renewed promise from california's insurance commissioner for two years now. ricardo lara has said providers will write the vast majority of their business in wildfire distressed areas. but is that plan on the side of consumers or insurers? i spoke with the commissioner about what exactly would change. >> well, i got a letter in the mail from my insurer, said they were dropping me. >> we first introduced you to janet mountjoy last month. the 86 year old widow is trying to make ends meet after being dropped by triple a. >> i called repeatedly, begging them for reconsideration because i live right next to the fire station. >> but she got no help from the insurer or the state, just like her. portola valley neighbors kind of stuck.

>> certainly annoying. >> there should be some progress. >> if you ask california's insurance commissioner, we have risen to this unprecedented challenge. ricardo lara says progress is coming with a plan. he calls the sustainable insurance strategy that's supposed to be implemented by the end of the year. in it. he's made this promise. >> insurance companies will write no less than 85% of their statewide market share in wildfire distressed areas. insurance companies, for the first time are committing to writing 85% of their business in the wildfire distressed areas. >> notice, he says, insurers are committing to writing policies in fire prone areas, specifically 85% of their sales elsewhere. but we look through his regulation and found why critics say that's misleading, that 85% figure is only the high end of a range. insurers have the option to cover as little as 5% if they choose. and there's no mandate of compliance. >> he's not doing his job. >> i'm very disappointed. he's

been lying to the state. >> you know, this is the commissioner's attempt. >> some of your critics, not just consumer watchdog, but others who have read the fine print of that proposal, have said it's really only giving insurers the option to do 5% with no mandate of compliance. if you could answer yes or no. is that true? >> that's that's inaccurate. >> that 5% is for 5% is for our small and medium sized companies. >> but that's not what his own regulation says. i want to show you. we went through every page, and nowhere in the fine print does it specify 5% is for small or medium sized companies. in fact, the entire section is pretty vague, indicating any insurer may commit to writing more policies in fire prone areas by at least 5%. but they have two years to do it if they choose to at all. so why isn't the regulation more clear? we wanted to ask him these follow up questions in the interview, but it was cut off. >> and stephanie, really quick this is michael. i know you have questions. we do need to move

him along. >> well, i still have quite a bit really important questions. it happened not once can i can i please ask a few more? not twice. >> i, i know you got to go. okay. >> but three times. >> stephanie, i got to go. >> thank you. you got to go. >> just under 30 minutes. and our time was up. >> is not available. >> we asked michael soller the following week for around 15 minutes with the commissioner to ask some follow up questions, but we never got an answer for an on camera interview. so we resorted to back and forth emails where i specifically asked his staff to point out where in this regulation, it mentions the 5% option for small or medium sized companies. his office never did because it doesn't exist. instead, we were told regulations are written broadly to enhance enforcement authority. so if insurers have the option to expand coverage by 5 to 85%, is that holding them accountable? >> that's a big range. >> and that's the fundamental problem we have, is we have a

weak commissioner. the companies know it and they are exploiting it. we got an independent perspective from amy bach with united policyholders, a nonprofit insurance advocacy group. >> look, you know, do i think it's a perfect plan? no. you know, do i think that there's a lot of wiggle room here for insurers? yes, i do. do i think this was probably the best deal that he was able to negotiate with insurers in order to try to bring them back? i guess it is. but here's how the commissioner describes the plan. >> to think creatively and be critically and critically with consumer protection at the forefront. >> is it true that there is no mandate of compliance, whether it's between 5 and 85%? there is no mandate of compliance? yes or no? >> we cannot mandate underwriting. >> he's mistaken. >> lara says he can't legally mandate insurers to comply with this regulation, citing prop 103, which ironically, is california's law that aims to hold insurers accountable by protecting consumers from arbitrary rates and practices.

but the author of prop 103, harvey rosenfield, says the case law. his office is using to make that argument has since been ordered by the california supreme court to be published, and is no longer part of the law. >> we sent him two years ago a legal opinion and a legal analysis that show that under proposition 103, he does have the authority to determine whether insurance companies are underwriting properly or not. >> rosenfield, who also happens to be the founder of consumer watchdog, believes lada can still use his emergency authority in these situations. for example, lada could implement a rate freeze on insurers like congressman john garamendi was able to do for more than three years during his tenure as insurance commissioner. >> insurance commissioner lara has that same power again. >> you have that legal authority to file suit against some of these insurers. >> of course, this is a crisis. >> this is we're all aware. commissioner, will you do it?

>> of course. >> we're always in litigation with the insurance companies that break our rules and break our laws. >> how many court cases have you had in litigation against state farm, allstate, usaa? i mean, do you know that? >> i do not know off the top of my head, but we can get you that information. >> seven on your side investigates could not find any litigation. the california department of insurance filed against those insurers pertaining to wildfire insurance issues. we asked lara's office to confirm, but his team did not give us a straight answer and forwarded our questions to the public records office. >> yet we were told, i can send you a list of different, you know, court cases that we've won where we've continued to keep and hold insurance companies accountable. >> his office provided a list of five cases they said lara has won against insurers for allegedly overcharging consumers. but we found only two of them resulted in penalties. his office did not clarify about the other cases, and there were no records made available on his website.

>> we need competition. competition between insurance companies is a big factor in keeping rates down. >> lara says his plan will do that. but will it come at a cost? >> i feel very confident that we're going to bring down the cost of insurance for consumers. we're going to get this done within one year and that isn't unheard of. we're literally flying and building the plane at the exact same time. >> he's going to he's going to crash that plane and all the rest of us with it. >> homeowners, specifically congressman john garamendi, along with dozens of other lawmakers who signed this letter, still aren't sold. his plan will work. >> i was looking at my insurance policies and in the last three years, the rates have tripled. why? we don't know, because there's been no transparency. >> putting pressure on these insurance companies. how are you going to make that commitment to your constituents? >> our current enforcement tool, if they don't abide by the agreement, then guess what? i can call. i can retract that rate and hold them accountable

for their for bringing down the rate increase. >> i was really worried. >> meanwhile, millions of people just like janet are sort of traumatic experience. will be waiting to see if that happens, and it would be nice to have a system that provided help. now, if you need help with your home insurance, you can reach out to me. seven on your side has a team of journalists working to help you by exposing these issues. head to abc seven

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who was that? all right. good morning everybody. live doppler seven showing you the pacific northwest where they are getting a little bit of rain. we had a weak cold front. bring us the high clouds yesterday. it's moving through the bay area. behind it, we're going to get into some gusty offshore winds which will help out in our air quality. we do need the rain. we are dry in many parts of the bay area, but for this time frame,

we're not expecting any advisories with the offshore winds. we do have an advisory for dense fog through the delta through about noontime, so that tule fog moving in towards the delta and allowing for the visibility to be reduced in our inland east bay. also the north bay, the radiational fog a quarter mile visibility there in napa, half mile santa rosa with over two miles there in concord, just over a mile in livermore. and it gets worse out through the delta. the san joaquin valley. so this is going to be an issue for some of you this morning. cloud cover keeping us in the 40s and 50s. so it's not as cold this morning that's going to switch as we get behind this cold front. we could see the potential for a frost or freeze advisory into tuesday morning. so things definitely changing out there. 42 sonoma, 41 santa rosa. so with the cloud cover anywhere from 2 to 5 degrees milder and our air quality. boy oh boy was it awful yesterday with the high clouds, light winds, that inversion, the warmer air with the colder air

trapped beneath. no mixing going on. and so this morning, still looking at those oranges, indicating that less than ideal air quality later on, a little bit of a breeze. more so monday and into tuesday. so haze and fog this morning. hazy afternoon sunshine not quite as warm. will be in the low to mid 60s and then looking at a return to the rain, a level one system late friday into saturday and it looks like we could see a little bit of more rain behind that. here's a look at the clouds this morning. they clear on out for the afternoon, so we've got brighter conditions. still moderate air quality out there. and then into monday the winds are going to kick up north and east bay. we're looking at 30 to 40 mile an hour gusts. so that will help clear things out. and also a colder air mass a drier air mass settles in into early tuesday. so we'll be pretty frosty. then we're going to see increasing clouds on tuesday, maybe even some drizzle wednesday into thursday. here's a look at the winds later on

today. still light out there, but a bit of a breeze into monday morning. we're up to 20 and 30 miles an hour at the coast and then monday afternoon it is breezy, cooler, and then by monday night we still have those winds going. here's a look at our rainfall estimates as we get through saturday night. anywhere from about less than a 10th to maybe a quarter of an inch around the bay. and this is just saturday. we could see more rain follow into sunday, perhaps even monday. so still not quite sure how much we're going to get. one model wants to paint us very wet, while the other model not so much. hazy sun today, mid 60s in fremont. we'll see upper 60s from santa rosa to san jose. our accuweather seven day forecast breezy winds pick up for monday a cold tuesday morning and then increasing clouds with rain arriving late friday into saturday. >> stephanie, all right lisa thank you. to sports. now the 40 niners are looking to break a three game losing streak today in the matchup against the bears at home. brock purdy weighs in on what's needed today. abc

seven sports reporter sarah hodges has more on that. plus, buster posey's latest move for the giants. >> morning sports fans buster posey made his first major move as giants president of baseball operations, according to espn. the club has signed shortstop willy adames to the biggest contract in giants history, passing the deal buster himself signed as a player. espn says adames will get $182 million over the next seven seasons, including a $22 million signing bonus. thomas was with the brewers for the last three and a half seasons, where he collected 107 home runs. dingers are nice, but he's also going to fill a huge need at shortstop last season, we saw the club rotate a few different players into that starting position, but weren't able to find a suitable replacement for brandon crawford moving to the gridiron. the niners are on a three game losing streak heading into today's game against the bears at levi's stadium. after stumbling in the snow in

buffalo, brock purdy knows if they have a chance to make the playoffs. they've got to take care of business today and that means getting back into the victory column. >> of course, for me, it hasn't been a woe is me. it's i'm like, dude, that's the nfl. that's that's life. and that's the challenge in front of us. and what are we going to do about it? you know, so it's more of, you know, as motivation for me and you know, how am i going to answer, you know, this kind of stuff and how am i going to be there for my team when things aren't always perfect? you know, this is, i think, really where you see people for who they are now for championship weekend sec title game texas superfan matthew mcconaughey watching his horns battle georgia less than three minutes left in the fourth. >> georgia up three and trying to ice ice it. but with backup qb gunner stockton in the game, he's picked off, texas would kick a field goal to force overtime. dog fans concerned mcconaughey. of course, he's loving it in ot, texas kicked a field goal, so georgia needs a touchdown to win. trevor etienne says. don't worry, that's light work. georgia wins 2219 and punches their ticket to the

playoff. texas will likely get into the big ten title game. penn state and number one oregon, their first meeting since the 1995, rose bowl. ducks get the ball first. dylan gabriel to kenyon sadiq, who hurdles the defender and gets in from 28 yards out. loving it. penn state keeping it close a lot closer than expected. two minutes to go. penn state with the ball and down eight. jeweler going deep. it's picked off. oregon going to win the big ten title in their first year in the conference. they stay undefeated and will be the top seed in the college football playoff. the san jose barracudas held their annual teddy bear toss on saturday night after the first barracuda goal was scored. fans get the teddy bears train by throwing them. of course, on the ice. over 4000 toys were donated. the teddy's are then collected and donated to local san jose children in need. that's going to do it for morning sports. back to you guys. >> thanks, sarah. a reminder

that you can watch all our newscasts live and on demand through the abc seven bay area connected tv app. you can download

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three weeks until christmas, and postal workers are going the extra mile to ensure your gifts arrive on time for the big day. the processing facility in san francisco expects to process 200,000 packages a day through the holiday season, so between the election, black friday sales and now christmas, postal workers or sometimes they're called postal elves have been hard at work. >> this is basically like our super bowl. we've been training all year for this. >> workers recommend double checking zip codes when you're sending packages and letters, and they say even one wrong digit can cause significant delays. also, make sure to remove old shipping labels if you reuse any boxes. usps says the 21st is the last day for

express shipping, but it's a good idea to get your packages sent by early by the 19th. still to come this morning at 6 a.m, marin county investigating a possible bird flu case. the warning about consuming raw milk and some disturbing discoveries in the trash of three south bay hospitals. the action now being taken after a year long investigation.

your next favorite thing about this place is waiting to be discovered. did you know you can do this? ... pretty cool, right? ... and you don't want to miss that. you can also ride this ... and then race on over to do this... and before you leave? you definitely wanna see that.

now abc seven mornings live. >> right now at six. the fall of the syrian government, rebels claiming control of damascus overnight while the syrian president is nowhere to be found here in the bay area, potential budget cuts in the east bay could mean big hits to public