and that, my friends, is what it's all about. the stunning fall of syria. reaction from syrians who call the bay area home and a look at the broader impact of the fall of the assad regime. oakland city workers speak out after the city announces possible jobs, cuts to police, fire and other staff to fill a budget gap. and the role of san francisco company played in the rebuild of the paris notre dame cathedral. abc seven news at 5:00 starts now. >> always live abc seven news

starts right now. >> a moment transforming the middle east. the fall of assad. syrian rebels topple the government, bringing an end to a 13 year civil war. good evening, and thank you for joining us. i'm dion lim. the brutal assad regime is out and crowds gathered in syria to celebrate as rebels seized control of the capital, damascus. today, russia says president bashar al assad has resigned and left the country. his private residence ransacked. he was granted asylum in russia. abc news reporter patrick reevell has a look at how the series of events unfolded. >> reporter historic scenes of celebration in syria as dictator bashar al-assad was overthrown. a coalition of rebel groups seizing the capital, damascus, today after sweeping across the country in a lightning offensive, putting an end to the assad family regime, which has been in power since 1971. russian state media reporting that assad and his family have

fled to moscow, saying the kremlin will offer its ally asylum. people walking freely, the presidential palace also ransacking assad's homes in the streets. jubilant crowds celebrating as regime forces appeared to melt away. emotional scenes as the rebels broke open assad's notorious prisons. such scenes were considered unthinkable less than two weeks ago, when the rebels, led by an islamist group, launched their sudden offensive. but that quickly snowballed, and key cities across the country were overrun in days on the empty roads into the capital, burning military vehicles, piles of uniforms abandoned by assad soldiers on the streets. today, the leader of the islamist rebel group, abu mohammad al-julani, arriving triumphantly in damascus, addressing a crowd at a mosque. president biden today saying the u.s. is ready to talk with all rebel groups to try to build a new, inclusive syria. >> they're saying the right

things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions. >> mr. assad, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu, whose country borders a part of syria announcing the israeli defense forces had seized a buffer zone inside syria, saying it was to secure israel's border. president elect donald trump saying the u.s. shouldn't intervene around the world celebrations from exiled syrians. more than 5 million syrians were driven abroad by the brutality of the assad regime and the civil war, including over a million to europe alone. huge numbers of syrians now hope they can return home for now. so much uncertainty. the question how will the rebels govern? and can syria finally put conflict behind it? patrick reevell abc news, london. >> the collapse of the assad regime marks the end of 53 years of the family's rule in syria. the assad rule began in 1971, when hafez al assad became president. he was in power

during a massacre regarded as the single bloodiest assault by an arab ruler against his own people. in modern times, the hama massacre began in 1982, in opposition to an islamic uprising, and between 10 and 40,000 people were killed or disappeared in the government attack. bashir al-assad succeeded his father as president of syria in 2000. assad is known for a brutal rule over syria, which since 2011 has been devastated by a civil war that ravaged the country and turned it into a hotbed of extremist groups. now, for local people with ties to syria, there is some uncertainty about what comes next. but there is also hope for a new beginning. abc seven news reporter cornell bernard spoke with syrian americans at a rally today in san francisco. >> joy and celebration at san francisco civic center plaza. >> nothing but a short of a miracle. something of like, so

quick, swift move all across the country. >> syrian americans organizing this rally, celebrating the fall of president assad's regime, the oppressive dynasty they ran from, we all, like, fled the country. >> we were all refugees. we all had to like, go find other opportunities because of the regime has been oppressing us for the longest of time. and now it's all like out of nowhere. it's just gone. >> waking up this morning and yesterday and seeing that all this dark cloud of oppression is gone and our country is open back again for us to come back. >> living in damascus, being from a city called homs, which is one of the major cities that started the revolution or the revolution started at like it's something that i'm extremely proud of to see this day happening. >> across town, lunch is being cooked up at palmyra syrian restaurant on haight street. owners mohammed and stepan are still processing the news they thought would never happen. >> i am very happy. congratulations my country.

congratulations for everybody. >> we very surprised because it used to be they control the country. nobody can say anything. you know, everybody is silenced. but now people, you know got freedom. yeah, we were happy and we see the sunshine now. >> this couple immigrated to the u.s. from syria 30 years ago. they haven't returned home to see family in almost two decades. >> are you scared to go there? you know, to see them? i am happy. maybe more than time. i see my sister, my brother, my everybody. >> well, there's trepidation and uncertainty about the future of syria under rebel fighters. there's relief and hope that families can be reunited. >> i want to see my family. i want to see my brother. i want to see my niece. i want to see my grandma. i haven't seen him in so long. they don't even like. they don't even know how i look like right now. >> in san francisco, cornell, bernard, abc seven news.

>> moving on. we are following the story of oakland's budget issues and worker unions are now reacting to details of a plan to close an historic $129 million budget deficit. tomorrow, the oakland city council will hold a special meeting to discuss those potential cuts. they were released friday in a report by the city administrator. and among the moves includes redistributing $38 million to the general fund. potentially laying off 90 city employees and cutting overtime to the police and fire departments. that means borrowing out at least two and as many as six fire stations and eliminating two police academies. oakland city workers say the decision could have a potentially devastating impact on residents. now, in a statement, antoinette blue, a 911 dispatcher and the president of seiu 1021 city of oakland chapter, says, quote, city workers are the backbone of the services that residents rely on daily and laying any of us off

would be devastating for those services to the north bay. now, 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 here saying they desperately need help and that help arrived. the shelter says they are so overwhelmed with responses from people looking to foster or adopt, they might have a delay in getting back to people, but rest assured they are working on it. adoption fees those have also been waived. today, a sunday mass was celebrated inside the notre dame cathedral in paris for the first time since the catastrophic fire of 2019. the world famous cathedral reopened yesterday and this morning in san francisco, a celebratory mass was held at the ugly eglise notre dame des victoires, which was founded in 1856. it was led by 35 seventh

grade students of the church's french school, and all of the readings were read by students in both french and english. >> it's very important to us because we bear the same name. we are ecole notre dame des victoires, and though we are continents apart, we both bear the name of mary. and so we are called to support one another in our joyous times and in our difficult times. and we thought it was a really important opportunity to bring our students together to recognize the significance as well. >> yeah, what a message that mass honored first respondes and thanked those who assisted in the restoration of the historic cathedral in paris. now, while we're on the subject, san francisco based autodesk was one of those companies. they created the 3d model used to set the design for notre dame's rebuild. autodesk's chief marketing officer says the company's digital modeling software helped the restoration team get a view of what the original cathedral looked like, what was damaged, and how to

restore the building to its original glory. >> notre dame restoration is an it's an incredible example of heritage preservation, and i think it does offer us a valuable takeaway. you know, we encourage other governments to consider scanning their historic monuments and landmarks and creating a 3d model so that the memory is preserved in the event of a tragedy or natural disaster due to the complexity, detail and sheer size of the historic landmark, it took over a year to create an accurate model. >> autodesk was able to do it with the use of laser scanning, and 46,000 images. president elect donald trump today revealed more about his mass deportation plan. here's his response to a question regarding situations where some family members are u.s. citizens. northern california is the epicenter for bird flu testing nationwide, and researchers at uc davis say they're facing a big obstacle in meeting testing

demands. >> i'm spencer christian. the bay area is enjoying a clear weather pattern for now, but the week ahead may bring some changes. i'll have the accuweather forecast in just a mome

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this, trump appeared on nbc's meet the press today, and here's what he said about the 4 million families with mixed immigration status. that's when kids may be citizens, but their parents are not. >> i don't want to be breaking up families. so the only way you don't break up the family is you keep them together and you have

to send them all back. >> even kids who are here legally. >> well, well, what are you going to do if they want to stay with the father? look, we have to have rules and regulations. >> trump also said he would take executive action to end birthright citizenship. he also said he would work with democrats to come up with an amnesty plan for dreamers. the thousands of immigrants who came to the country as children but are now adults. a staffing issue may slow down efforts by the u.s. department of agriculture to test milk for bird flu. researchers at a testing lab at uc davis say they may not have the ability to properly do the job. the virus has been spreading to dairy cows after infecting millions of birds. lab workers at uc davis say they've been critically understaffed for years, and that could hinder the push for more testing. uc davis lab is the only facility in california authorized to confirm cases of bird flu. a group of small business owners in san francisco prove it is better to give than to receive. >> we felt fortunate enough, so

we wanted to give a little something to help out. >> see how their small effort to spread holiday cheer has really taken off. >> i'm spencer christian. fair weather in the bay area for now, but that's going to change. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up. >> and the 40 niners in action today against the bears. abc seven's chris alvarez will have

small businesses in san francisco joined together to host an annual holiday giveback. people, as you can see, waited in line this morning to get into the event. in the mission district. inside, nearly 600 toys were handed out along with hot meals. santa even joined in on the fun. yeah. organizers say the support of small local businesses and nonprofit groups

and community members all make it possible. >> somehow, along the way, we made connections, contacted other organizations, and asked for collaborations, donations, any way, any way they could just come help out. we don't. we're open to anything they can contribute. >> it feels beautiful just to see the community come together like this. it's a magical thing. >> what a great space for it to. three san francisco small business owners started this toy. give back in 2021 and look how it has grown. >> tis the season for giving and bay area folks are in that spirit. >> yeah, and tis the season for, you know, short sleeves and people walking around in shorts. >> i saw that all morning today. >> very mild out there. isn't it nice? yeah. that's going to change in a couple of days though. we're going to have some chilly mornings coming our way. but right now we've got this fair weather system dominating our weather scene with clear skies and very light wind. look at this. wind speeds are under ten miles per hour all across the bay area right now, and it's a little bit milder by a few degrees than at this

time yesterday. four degrees warmer in concord, 1 degrees warmer in san francisco. so that's our pattern. that sort of a short sleeve pattern. here's a view from sutro tower looking out over san francisco. we're at 61 degrees right now. oakland at 6062 hayward, mid 60s at san jose and redwood city, and 54 at half moon bay. clear skies over the golden gate right now and traffic flowing smoothly. it's 64 at santa rosa. we have upper 50s at petaluma and napa, 55 at fairfield, 63 at concord and 58 at livermore. and the post-sunset sky is aglow as we look westward from the east bay hills. camera. next two days, chilly mornings and sunny afternoons will come our way. in fact, we may have some frost by tuesday morning. middle of the week we'll see increasing clouds and then later in the week, friday into saturday, rain will return. it may last more than one day. right now, though, we're looking at overnight conditions. tonight, low temperatures will drop into the mid to upper 30s in places like lakeport and santa rosa, down to 36 in fairfield, 39 at livermore and at morgan hill. most other locations will see lows, mainly in the low to mid 40s and then

highs tomorrow under bright sunny skies. 60 one half moon bay, mid 60s. all around the bay shoreline, including san francisco, which will top out at 64 tomorrow up in the north bay, a high of 67, in santa rosa. inland east bay, mainly low 60s. a little milder in the south bay, where san jose will top out at 68 degrees and morgan hill at 66. here's the accuweather seven day forecast. as i mentioned, we have some chilly mornings coming our way. tuesday likely be a frosty one, temperatures dropping down to around freezing. then on wednesday we'll see clouds increasing into thursday. only a slight slight chance of rain on thursday, but friday a better chance of rain late friday into saturday. looks like saturday is going to be a rainy day and we're ranking that system a level one on the exclusive abc seven storm impact scale. so wet weather is coming. our way, but i'd rather see rain here than snow. >> indeed. >> and get all those errands and buying all those gifts. get that out of the way. >> get it done. >> all right, let's get to chris

alvarez now. joining us live. oh, this is what you live for chris. >> yeah. the 40 niners giving their fans a gift today after some really cold games in green bay and buffalo back at levi's stadium, taking on the bears and san francisco, making chicago look like the bad news bears. niners back in the win column in

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the sports and levi's stadium, just outside the 40 niners locker room. a victorious locker room for the first time in three weeks, the niners back on the winning side of things. they take on the bears and they beat

them. they entered the day having a 10% chance to make the playoffs. they needed a win and a whole lot of help. so let's start with the win here against chicago. and it is the grinch warren and joe montana. jersey looks a little different these days. all right niners get the ball first. beginning of a huge half for george kittle 138 yards. becoming the third tt end in nfl history with 500 catches and 7000 yards. congrats to george on his accomplishment. the niners marched right down the field and brock purdy finds jauan jennings. that's an easy touchdown. now the hardest part here is doing the levi leap up into the stands at seven. nothing san francisco at home still in the first quarter. purdy going to find the rookie isaac guerendo on the wheel route filling in for christian mccaffrey jordan mason looks like cmc on this play to the one he'd score on the next play. it's 14 nothing niners. and the defense was crushing chicago in the first half. four first half sacks including leonard floyd right here. nick bosa who's out with an injury loves it. the bears had only four yards.

that's it. four yards in the first half. the niners had 319 the first time this season they've been outgained. a team has outgained another team by 300 yards and a half. there's purdy to jennings again. all kinds of dancing 24. nothing at the break. bears just trouble all over the place. caleb williams fumbles on the tuck rule. raiders fans may remember a play like that. niners recover and then guerendo. why does he get in for his second touchdown of the day? he left later with a foot injury to keep an eye on that. the niners running back unit is a mash unit. the three game losing streak is over. niners win 3813 six and seven still have very slim playoff hopes. quick turnaround hosting the rams thursday night. >> it was everything today. you know we treated it like a playoff game and that's what they are going forward. you know every game means everything you know. and so we're just treating it one week at a time. it's a one and done mentality. and it's just one game coming up. that's that's our entire focus. every week matters so much. we all know that. so i think just the biggest thing

was, you know, just getting some energy and momentum. you know, this league is hard. it's tough. and if you don't have momentum or energy man and belief within a within a building, it can be really tough. so for us, i think that was the emphasis today and i think we got it. >> we just had some leaders step up over this week just voicing their opinion. and what led back to was just everybody needs to, you know, just bring the energy on the sideline. i think that's one of the big reasons we took the w today. >> college football. cal is going bowling except in a bid to the l.a. bowl hosted by that guy rob gronkowski. golden bears going to take n mountain west runner up unlv. wednesday, december 18th at sofi stadium in l.a. it's the home of the rams. it's the 6:00 pm start kickoff on our sister network, espn. second straight bowl appearance for cal, their 26th bowl appearance in school history. the niners, with some bad notes around the nfc west. the seahawks beat the cardinals, so the seahawks have eight wins, pumping their lead up in the nfc. west is the first place

leaders, and the rams beat the bills in a shootout, 4442. so the niners again need to kind of basically win out and get a whole lot of help. but today you get the win. maybe you can beat the rams on thursday and get yourself right back in the race by the end of next weekend. >> dion, we like that path forward chris all right great job out there. we'll see you in a little bit. well just ahead singer billie eilish is teaming up with caltran for two bay area concert. caltrain i should say. what's in

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billie eilish will be at the sap center on tuesday and wednesday. her team partnered up with caltrain to encourage the use of public transit. the themed billie car will depart from san francisco and make stops all the way down the peninsula. a few lucky riders will receive some official tour merch. what a tonight. the assad regime overthrown, and a lightning blitz by rebel forces after five decades of iron rule, what's next for the region? >> plus, new photos of the suspect wanted for allegedly gunning down a top insurance executive on the streets of new york city. first, jubilation in syria as rebel forces seize the presidential palace, bashar al assad reportedly fleeing the country. after nearly 14 years of bloody civil war, his government overrun in less than two weeks.