now at six. a school district on the peninsula is facing claims of repeated abuse and discrimination, one parent saying their child is still suffering years after the alleged abuse. >> and emotions running high at a school board meeting in the east bay oakland unified now taking a step back in school

merger proposals. >> plus scattered showers around the bay area this morning. here is a live look from our golden gate bridge camera showing slick roads for a wet commute. >> good morning to you. it's thursday, december 12th. >> yeah. got a taste of that wet commute on the way in this morning. >> yeah. you got to go back in the closet. dig out the umbrella. rain is back. got to go into the back of the closet, not go. reginald. we're not sending people back in the closet. we're sending you to the back of the closet to get your umbrella. got it. thank you. i hate you so much. oh my gosh. here's the live doppler seven. just get your umbrella. okay. let's just get it. you need it. okay. we're tracking that rain. another round is going to move through here around noon today. so right now. live doppler seven. some of the showers are mainly focused in the south bay, but we're drying out here temporarily. another round of rain comes in here this evening, and we'll track it as a level one throughout the day today. so scattered showers this morning,

afternoon and evening. light rain. we have a high surf advisory in effect along our coastline. it's a lot warmer this morning compared to the past couple of mornings since this rain is moving through. upper 40s to the upper 50s right now. so here's future weather. a bit of a lull during the morning commute, and then light rain returns around lunchtime, and then we're in and out of the light rain throughout the afternoon and throughout the evening. so the umbrellas going to be your best friend today. temperatures today are mainly in the 50s. let's check in with sue and see how that wet commute is going. >> it's pretty busy, as you might imagine. drew. we've got slick roads, standing water, flooding around the bay area, hydroplaning an issue a lot of solo spinouts. just be forewarned. metering lights are on at 530 at the bay bridge now stacking up, and it's even more of a problem because we've got this accident. it is westbound 580 and eastbound 80. it's kind of a confusing location, but it is affecting your westbound 80 drive. okay. it's a big rig. it's blocking two right lanes.

it is westbound 580 near central. westbound 580 at that part of 80 is also eastbound 80. so there's where the confusion hits. but look at that. backed up all the way now pretty much to hercules highway four. and you just saw the drive time of about 45 to 50 minutes already. and they are in nowhere near getting that cleared out. okay. we go over to walnut creek. this is northbound 680. all lanes were shut down. chp is telling us any time they're going to reopen it. it is an accident that was blocking a couple of lanes there. but you're stacking up now into alamo. excuse me. amanda. all right. >> sir. thank you. breaking news overnight, u.s. officials say a missing american may have been found in syria. they say the person seen in this video circulating online could be travis timmerman. timmerman is a missouri resident who went missing from hungary early earlier this year. u.s. officials say they are working to provide support to the person

in the video. thousands of people have been released from prisons across syria this week after rebels toppled the country's former president, bashar al assad. >> now to the franklin fire still burning in malibu, la. fire officials say improved weather yesterday helped them make some progress, but they expect winds to pick up again today. the fire has grown to more than 7000 acres and at last check it was still only 7% contained. evacuation orders are still in place for thousands of people. this morning the power is out for many folks. pepperdine university got its power back yesterday, and officials say a shelter in place order on campus has now been lifted. >> new developments in the east bay. parents have once again successfully delayed major changes to schools in oakland. last night, the school board was set to finalize plans to merge ten schools to help solve its budget crisis. but after a contentious meeting, the vote was delayed. abc seven news reporter gloria rodriguez joins us live in studio this morning with the emotional pleas from

students and parents. and what comes next. gloria. good morning. >> amanda. while the board didn't take any action on closing or merging schools, some worry it's just delaying the process and adding to confusion. parents and students against school mergers spoke at this oakland unified school board meeting last night. the district is facing a projected $95 million budget deficit next year. part of the issue is declining enrollment. usd considered consolidating ten schools into five to save up to $3 million, but did not end up voting on this. the district is also considering some 30 measures to save money, but it is the school mergers that's drawing the most controversy. >> don't close schools. you already close my sister's school? >> no to the mergers. >> at the end of the day, the school board has to be willing to make difficult decisions if it's in the best interest of the future. students for the school district. >> that is kari harnell of a

national education nonprofit. she says while no action means no closures for now, this budget problem is not going away. and she's right. this budget problem has been going on for years. you may remember a previous plan to close and merge schools back in 2022 led to several members of the school board being recalled by the community. so it appears, at least for now, the community has won on this issue again. amanda. >> all right, gloria, thank you. in palo alto, serious claims are being made against the school district and its after school program. a bay area family says their ten year old child was the victim of repeated abuse. many of the allegations come from an after school program the child attended called right at schools, which works with the palo alto unified school district. the family reported the first incident happened in january while he was at the program at escondido elementary. >> a staff member allowed other children or directed other children to kick our claimant in

the genitals and also locked him up, as was stated earlier, for 15 minutes in a closet as a joke. >> the employee involved in the initial incident was fired, but attorneys say the boy then experienced retaliatory harassment. officials say the san jose naacp says the district has a history of discrimination. the palo alto school district responded to the incident in a statement. they shared pa, usd and right at schools are united in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, do not tolerate discrimination or retaliation, and remain committed to supporting the student and family involved in this incident. >> a san francisco woman now facing charges for shoving a woman to the ground last year. that woman ultimately died from her injuries. the suspect is already facing charges for a similar incident earlier this year near the gilman playground in the bayview neighborhood. in that incident, a 71 year old woman was seriously hurt. the

other incident that turned deadly happened in july of 2023 on third street and was initially considered an accident. the da's office says the suspect entered a not guilty plea. >> yesterday, the union that represents hundreds of workers at the women's federal prison in dublin is blasting the decision to permanently close it. the prison has been plagued by scandal and was first temporarily closed in the spring. the bureau of prisons announced the permanent closure last week, citing infrastructure and staffing. the union's letter reads in part, quote. this decision was made without warning, without consultation and, most disturbingly, right before the holiday season, a time that should be spent with loved ones not in uncertainty and fear for the future. the group is considering legal action. >> the manhattan district attorney is vowing accountability for the murder of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. d.a. alvin bragg said he's confident suspected gunman luigi mangione will be quickly extradited to new york to face a

second degree murder charge. mangione is fighting extradition from pennsylvania, where he was arrested and initially charged with gun and forgery offenses. we will get the defendant here and bring him to justice through our court proceeding. investigators say mangione's fingerprints match a water bottle and a snack wrapper near where the shooting happened in manhattan last week. the gun found in his possession matches the shell casings at the scene. police believe he may have been motivated by disdain toward the health care industry, possibly stemming from a spinal condition and severe back pain. we'll continue to follow the case and research suspect luigi mangione. bay area ties. find the latest at abc seven news.com and our abc seven bay area app. >> 609 we're going to tahoe. it is snowing hard up there. live look from our tahoe camera. just look at the highways right now. 80 has chain controls. 50 does

not this morning but we'll keep you updated on that. we still have a winter weather advisory in effect through 4 p.m. today. up to a foot of snow is possible back here locally. we've seen some steady rain this morning. a lot of this fell between midnight and 2 a.m, about a half of an inch. nearly an inch of rain across the region. and we do have more light showers on the way later this morning. live doppler seven. for the most part, the heaviest rain is now in the central valley. some isolated showers out there right now, but as you take a look at the rainfall chances for the rest of today, we're in a little bit of a lull this morning. and then this afternoon. this evening we're back into the steady, light rain. so we're thinking about an additional quarter to a half of an inch of rain is coming our way through the next 12 to 18 hours. it does include rain in the forecast for the niners at levi's. take the poncho. kick off 515. showers in the forecast. temperatures in the mid 50s now. more rain on the horizon by saturday. we're tracking a stronger storm. high wind watches and flood watches are posted for saturday. we'll talk about that coming up in a

few minutes. amanda. >> all right, drew, thank you. >> still ahead, a former google employee sues the mountain view based company. why? she claims she was targeted during a round of layoffs. but first, how marin county is stepping up its emergency response after last week's tsunami alert. and a look at the robots that creators expect us

advisors has unanimously

approved a project to revitalize part of fisherman's wharf. according to mayor london breed. the plan involves expanding the waterfront plaza and promenade and renovating significant portions of pier 45. one shed on the pier was destroyed in a fire in 2020. the project would also upgrade the piers infrastructure to make it more resilient to earthquakes and sea level rise. marin county is ramping up the number of officers at its emergency operations center following last week's tsunami warning. the officers will monitor incidents and disseminate alerts around the clock. upgrades will also be made to the county's technology, including real time dashboards and cameras. this aims to improve the county's response to emergencies like tsunamis, wildfires and power outages. the county says the goal is to share information with the public faster and more clearly. last month, we told you about kaiser's plan to downsize its oakland headquarters. now we're

learning just how much office space is it's planning to give up. kaiser is the primary tenant at the ordway building. the san francisco business times reports filings with the sec show the downsize could be by more than half. kaiser is one of oakland's largest employers, but has raised concerns about employee safety this year. workers were advised to stay in the building for lunch and private security was hired. the health care giant announced last year it was going to move about 1200 employees from oakland to pleasanton. >> the time is now 614. an ex-employee is suing google. she's accusing the tech company of discriminating against employees who take parental leave. paula byrne was on leave from google after giving birth to her daughter in june 2023. she says her colleagues, not the company, informed her she was being laid off. she alleges in the lawsuit that five out of seven employees selected for termination from her team and two from an adjacent team, were

also on parental leave, had recently taken or were about to take parental leave. >> i'd love to see them change their processes so there's not so many parents and women put in this situation. >> i mean, google definitely has a youth culture where they they hire young, keep young, promote young. >> a google spokesperson sent abc seven news a statement saying in part, we completely disagree with these claims. we have zero tolerance for discrimination and take all concerns very seriously. they went on to say reorganization and eliminations were part of doing business and based solely on business needs. state energy regulators have approved a $1.4 billion investment to expand electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refueling across the state. the funds will go out over the next four years to build about 17,000 new light duty chargers across california. the agency says at least half of these new chargers will be for low income and other disadvantaged communities that

need them most. california currently has 152,000 chargers. >> a conference in mountain view is bringing science fiction to life. robots are in the spotlight at the first ever humanoids summit. it's a chance for developers to show off the latest technology that they've been working on. they say it's a helpful next step in machine learning by having the robots interact with humans rather than other robots in the factory. the humanoid summit wraps up later today. yeah, we don't want them interacting with each other. we don't know what they're planning to interact with us. we are friends. >> not my brain. to keep me sane. i just manage, like two furbys talking to each other. and then i feel safe. >> and they never shut up. >> yeah, that's fine with me. keep talking, keep yapping. yap away at each other. don't focus your attention on me. i don't need that until they start talking about you. >> right? he sleeps at this time. >> he's never sleeping. he's up at weird hours. this morning. we're tracking. rain has

returned to the forecast. here's live doppler seven along with satellite. the steadiest rain has pushed off to the south and east for now. the morning commute is going to be relatively tame. maybe an isolated shower here or there. watch out for standing water on roads. another round of light rain is going to move in here around lunchtime and continue through the afternoon and the evening. then we track a stronger storm that's getting its act together this morning. this arrives here late friday into saturday with some strong gusty winds and downpours today. here's future weather as you head towards lunchtime. there you can see some steady light rain returns to the forecast and then we're just in and out of those showers all evening long. so take the umbrella with you. you'll definitely need it later on today. highs will mainly be in the 50s. it's a cloudy day. we have those showers continuing throughout the afternoon and the evening. additional rainfall on the order of a quarter to a half of an inch. this is a level one light storm, but saturday's storm is a level two. it's a moderate storm. we have some heavy rain first thing in the north bay. this is 430 saturday

morning, and then you notice this line of just downpours around 9 a.m, when future weather has these pops of red. that is some intense rain that could be falling throughout the morning and continuing into the afternoon. rainfall totals. what we're looking at for the weekend, a lot of us around the bay shoreline, probably half of an inch to an inch. we're really watching the north bay once again. i know we got hit hard last month in this area. it looks like a similar setup with heavy rain in parts of northern sonoma, lake county, mendocino county where we could see several inches. it's for that fact. a flood watch has been posted for the north bay for the possibility of flooding to kick off the weekend, but area wide. i really want to focus your attention on some of these really strong winds that will be felt for everybody. saturday morning we could see winds 30 to 50mph even higher along the coast. a high wind watch is in effect along the coast. it does include san francisco for these really strong winds. so the accuweather seven day forecast. scattered showers today, some showers tomorrow morning. then

we track that level two on saturday. gusty winds and downpours. and we'll keep that storm door open early next week guys. >> drew thanks. now we're going to turn to ginger zee. she is live in philly with a look at what's coming up on gma. >> yeah good morning ginger. >> reggie amanda great to be with you. we are chilly in philly this morning. and i'll tell you why i'm here in just a moment. but first there's so much news to get to on a thursday on gma. and it starts with our james longman. he is in syria with the families and the breaking news. i'm sorry just moments ago that a missing american has been found there alive. so he's going to be with families searching for other missing loved ones who vanished under the assad regime. also, new developments in the killing of the ceo of unitedhealthcare. we're going to tell you about the evidence police say ties the suspect to the shooting. also, i'm talking about that arctic blast that i'm standing in and your rain and the help that it could bring, at least with more

humidity for southern california and those fires. and then big news from selena gomez. she's engaged. yes. the only murders in the building star has a lot to celebrate, including rave reviews for the movie emilio perez. and i'm here at the miracle on 13th street. it is on south philadelphia in south philadelphia. it's a tradition that started as a holiday potluck with a couple of neighbors more than 30 years ago, but now has exploded into more than 400,000 bulbs that light up in this free, beautiful parade of holiday cheer. so we're going to bring you some of that today on gma. >> oh that's sweet i like that i love it. >> and plus i know that you're standing there in the chilly weather, but i feel like it definitely brings it home for the holidays. when you're feeling that that cold blast you're seeing the holiday lights makes it feel like, yeah, just like the movies. >> yeah, she just needs a cup of cocoa. >> that completes the scene. yeah. >> ginger, always good to see you. and say hi to philly for

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technology to help scientists explore our planet's threatened ice sheets. this is a low cost ice penetrating radar system. they call it orca. the system's drones and radar kits have been

deployed to areas like greenland and glaciers in the arctic circle. they look through the ice, which is key to understanding melting glaciers and their potential effect on sea level rise. and it's a new chance to help find solutions to a problem threatening our planet. >> so an ice penetrating radar is a system that uses relatively low frequency radio waves, usually looking straight down through the ice. it takes advantage of the fact that ice is relatively radio transparent at these like hundreds of megahertz and below frequencies. >> while some ice penetrating radar systems used by government agencies can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the stanford researchers say they can build a base model for about 1500 bucks using their design. the san sharks are getting into the holiday spirit, so why don't you check out this music video they made and posted on x? >> we are team chill coming out of the west where the holiday decorations are the best. you drive down the streets, their unmistakable holiday decor that is inflatable.

>> at this point. >> the video was shot inside sap center and features players like mario ferraro and goalie mackenzie blackwood, who, by the way, just got traded to colorado earlier this week. >> so this holiday season, okay, we're less than two weeks away from christmas, and deadlines for shipping your packages and time are quickly approaching for the u.s. postal service ground shipping. >> the deadline is december 18th within the lower 48 states. that's an expression we don't use a lot anymore. the lower 48, i don't know. the continental us, not alaska and hawaii. for usps priority mail express, you have until december 21st for fedex. the deadline for five day shipping is december 17th or december 24th. if you're rich, rich and can afford same day shipping, the deadline for ups is december 19th or december 23rd. again, that just applies to the richie rich's from next day air. if you're doing next day air, mama, it's too late. it's too late. just forget it.

this morning you can get your tickets to bottle rock in napa valley. the music festival is holding a special holiday pre-sale starting at 10:00. a limited number of $455 three day passes will be available. a pre-sale for amex card members already started tuesday, so you're late to that party. we still don't have the lineup and we probably won't for a while. these are just for folks who know they like bottle rock and want to go. it doesn't matter who's playing. the 2025 bottle rock festival takes place, as it always does over memorial day weekend. and if you haven't been, it's really a blast. next at 630 why oakland unified is hitting pause and a key decision on school mergers and the next mayor of san francisco

abc seven mornings live now at 630. >> san francisco residents upset over a safeway that will soon shut its doors. why some people are calling on the city to get involved. >> president elect donald trump ringing the opening bell of the new york stock exchange this morning. he has been named time magazine's person of the year. plus. defying gravity and you can pull me down. >> if you're a fan of wicked and you've been just bottled up

inside not being able to sing at the theater, you're going to be able to. the program being extended. while stars of the film make an appearance in the bay area. and they didn't even call us. >> not a single note. >> a little rude. >> that's what i'm saying. i'm sick to my stomach. we should have received calls. >> a little text from ari, a whatsapp from cynthia. not a thing. >> a nextdoor post that's two spots in my neighborhood. >> must've forgotten. >> good morning everyone. it is thursday, december 12th. >> check on that forecast where it is raining. yeah. >> i love, you know, she's from europe, so whatsapp is her. that's what i would think. i would think so. >> to me cynthia is a whatsapp girl. >> i would agree with that. this morning we are tracking rain that has returned to the forecast. live doppler seven along with satellite showing you we had some really steady rain around midnight 1 a.m. you can see over the last hour the heaviest now in the central valley around fresno, modesto, sonora. we have another round of light rain. this will move in here close to lunchtime and continue throughout the evening. live doppler seven here locally

for the morning commute. there's a little bit of a lull in the action, but be aware we do have standing water on our area roadways from earlier rain to slower travel is to be recommended from sue this morning. a level one today for morning scattered showers the afternoon we see steadier light rain move back in along the coast. we do have a high surf advisory all day. please be aware of that. you'll notice it's also warmer out there compared to yesterday morning temperatures not nearly as cold as we have been the past couple of mornings. we're in the upper 40s to the upper 50s right now, so future weather, there's that break in the action this morning. and then this afternoon we see that rain fill right back in. and throughout the evening we will have those light showers. so if you're going to levi's for the 40 niners game you need the poncho. we have rain in the forecast. so today temperatures in the 50s on and off. light rain, pretty cloudy all day. let's check in with sue. see how the wet commute is going. >> yeah, a lot of solo spinouts due to standing water and hydroplaning. so as we mentioned, hate to tell you what to do, but if you do take it

easy, it will prevent a lot of these accidents that are on the roads right now. we had metering lights on at 530, so about an hour is pretty slow across the span. a couple of incidents on the san francisco side at fremont street that's been cleared out of the way. and yes, your ride from hercules all the way into the city is now stacking up to just under an hour. we also have this long standing accident. it is westbound 580 near central. a big rig blocking two lanes. it is still out there. they need to clean up. it spilled some oil. they're asking for some solvent to absorb the oil. so sigalert. and it's also very slow. pretty much from hercules, at least from el sobrante. westbound on 80 for that 50 mile drive. and across the span of the bay bridge, you can see very slow as well. now we just had this one clear. this was a sigalert north 680 at ignacio valley, ignacio valley. excuse me. that has just been cleared. and another accident in concord north. 242 at grant also just cleared. so

improving. but please watch the water on the roads. >> thanks to parents and students in oakland have gained more time in their fight to keep their schools open. oakland unified school district is considering merging ten schools to save money. abc seven news reporter gloria rodriguez is following that. gloria vote was expected last night, but it didn't happen. >> it didn't happen, reggie. the board did not end up voting on the school closures, which would consolidate ten schools into five to save up to $3 million. but that does not mean that it is off the table. the district is also considering some 30 measures to try to save money. usd is facing a projected $95 million budget deficit next year. part of the issue is declining enrollment. parents and students spoke out against school mergers at an oakland unified school board meeting last night. >> don't touch our schools like you need. we need more, not less. >> don't close schools. you already close my sister's

school. >> i'm tired of you lying to us, saying that you're going to vote no tonight. but you're still going to go to merge these schools. >> now, while the board didn't take any action on closing or merging schools, some worry it's just delaying the process and adding to confusion. you may remember a previous plan to close and merge schools back in 2022 led to several members of the school board being recalled by the community. so it appears, at least for now, the community has won once again on this issue. so we'll keep you updated on what happens with this. amanda. all right. >> gloria, thank you. san francisco's mayor elect, daniel lurie, plans to reorganize the mayor's office. and we're getting a look at how. currently, 56 agencies report to the mayor through his chief of staff, with a centralized policy director at city hall. this flowchart explains the new structure. it will split the policy director job into four policy chief jobs, who will then report to the mayor through the chief of staff. the goal is to

increase oversight. >> this is going to help us break down silos, make sure that we have better collaboration, cooperation and communication. we're going to be able to deliver results for all of you. make sure that we get the most out of taxpayer dollars going forward. >> and those four policy chiefs will represent housing and economic development, infrastructure, climate and mobility, public health and well-being, and public safety. there will also be a budget director starting january 1st, parking within 20ft of a crosswalk becomes illegal here in california. >> we've been explaining this now for weeks. cities across the bay area are preparing for the change in a number of ways. they call this daylighting. it's meant to increase driver visibility at crosswalks. in san francisco, the sfmta now says it will not start issuing tickets for the new violation until march 1st, but they are already issuing warnings, and they've

been doing this since november. the city of fremont has installed these white plastic posts near some intersections as no parking zones for me as a driver. >> in fact, when i get to school in the morning right now, it's dark when i arrive and is dark usually when i leave lately. but it makes you more aware because of those setbacks. but you actually have a clearer view. >> san rafael is looking at four different options. they could paint the curb red near the crosswalks, install no parking from here to corner signs. they could use them as designated loading zones or replace remove parking spaces with bike racks. >> days after safeway announced it will be closing its store in san francisco's fillmore district on february 7th, community members are pleading with the city to keep it open. for now. there is no plan to replace the store. instead, the land is slated for development. there is a proposal to turn it into housing and commercial space. shoppers we spoke with

last night are frustrated if they plan on putting another grocery store here. >> sure, it's fine, but just losing a grocery store for this neighborhood sucks. >> safeway says the reasons for the closure include safety issues and theft. reverend amos brown, the president of san francisco's naacp, says the store has never engaged with the community when it comes to solving these problems. he wants the board of supervisors to get involved. >> the world's largest psychedelic church, located in san francisco, is set to close its doors by the end of the year. side door church is located in the soma neighborhood on howard street. pastor dave hodges says persistent crime and drug use outside of the church is one reason for the closure. the other reason is what he calls the harassment of his organization by the city's planning department. he says over the past few months, the city has told him he needs to make numerous changes to the building. >> i really feel like it's because of what we're doing here. again, the building didn't have any problems until we moved

in. this sliding glass door on the second story of the building, we have google images showing it was there in 97, and multiple businesses have been in this building. >> we reached out to the san francisco planning department for comment. we have not heard back. now it's our abc seven mornings advancer. our way of highlighting some things happening the day ahead here in the bay area. >> first, the teenager charged in the shooting that injured forty-niners wide receiver ricky pearsall is expected in court today. the 17 year old is charged with attempted murder. pearsall was robbed at gunpoint after shopping in san francisco's union square on august 31st. police say a struggle then happened, and gunfire from the suspect's firearm struck both pearsall and the teen, who was shot in the arm. the teen was arrested shortly after the attack. injuries from the shooting caused pearsall to miss the forty-niners first seven games of the season. >> the effort to permanently close a two mile stretch of the great highway to automobile traffic will be taken up by the

california coastal commission today. voters backed the closure with the approval of prop k last month. now, the city and county want to add safety improvements and a protected bike lane along sloat boulevard and a park at ocean beach. those changes would mean less street parking in the area. >> oakland officials are scheduled to celebrate the reopening of the city's main library later this morning. the downtown branch has been closed since may for renovations, including a new roof, a modernized electrical system, and ceiling upgrades throughout the building. a ribbon cutting is set for 9:00 and it is open to the public. >> coming up, the largest single day act of clemency in modern history, the sweeping action taken by president biden weeks before the end of his term, and the warriors lose their chance at the semifinals. >> head coach steve kerr expressing his frustration after the game in a way that could end up getting him a fine. first, here's drew. >> all right. 640 this morning. look at all the snow coming down in tahoe. live. look outside as we are tracking heavy snow from

this vantage point. 80 and 50 both have chain controls this morning. for good reason. as that snow comes down underneath a winter weather advisory until 4 p.m. today, up to a foot of snow is possible over 5000ft. back here at home, we had some steady rain earlier this morning around midnight, 1 a.m. some of the steadiest rain has pushed off to the south and east. an isolated shower at best. the next couple of hours before more steady light rain moves in this afternoon and continues this evening. so looking at your rainfall chances today, you can see a bit of a lull here over the next couple of hours and then close to lunchtime, those shower chances ramp back up and they stay pretty elevated through the evening. so the umbrella is going to be your best accessory today, especially if you're out all day long. we'll pick up an additional quarter to a half of an inch of rain throughout the day. today as this light rain moves through. that does include rain at levi's down in the south bay today for the niners. game. kickoff five 1555 degrees. showers will be in the forecast

by 5:00. the showers do taper by the fourth quarter, so have that poncho handy. looking at the three day forecast, we have showers today, some morning showers tomorrow and then saturday a stronger system. gusty winds, heavy rain. we have flood watches posted. high wind watches posted for the start of the weekend. we'll talk

four new this morning, president biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1500 people who are released from prison and placed on home confinement during covid 19. he's also pardoning almost 40 americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. the president says his office is still reviewing clemency petitions weeks before the end of his term. more pardons and commutations could be on the way. it's the largest single day act of clemency in modern history. >> this morning, there is a growing concern about drone sightings along the east coast. video shared on social media in recent weeks show large drones hovering over parts of new jersey, new york and pennsylvania. the drones have also been seen over military facilities and even president elect donald trump's golf course. one new jersey congressman claims the drones are coming from iran. >> my responsibility is for the american people to have full

disclosure. that doesn't mean we tell them military secrets, but when you have something the size of a chevy suburban hovering over your backyard, and these reports are real and they don't deny them, the pentagon doesn't deny the reports. nobody does. there's something going on here, obviously. >> so far, the congressman has refused to reveal any sources backing up his claims. so far, the fbi's investigation has not found any answers. >> fbi director christopher wray will resign at the end of president biden's term, clearing the way for president elect trump's new pick. wray made the announcement yesterday while reminding agents of their mission and what absolutely, positively cannot, must not change is our commitment to doing the right thing in the right way. >> every time our adherence to our core values, our dedication to independence and objectivity, and our defense of the rule of law.

>> wray took over as fbi director in 2017. he was hired by then president donald trump after trump fired james comey during his first term. usually, the fbi director holds a ten year term. trump made it clear he wants to force wray out when he takes office next month. he has nominated kash patel to be the new fbi director and president elect. >> trump is celebrating being named time magazine's person of the year. you see it here. just moments ago, he rang the opening bell at the new york stock exchange as he received the honor. this is the second time trump has been named time's person of the year. the first time was in 2016 after he was elected president. >> now for your morning money report. your morning cup of coffee is about to get more expensive. coffee roasters are set to hike prices early next year because of bad weather affecting crops in brazil. global prices for raw coffee soared to record highs this week, up 80% so far this year. the owner of peet's coffee says it's raising prices by 30% in

brazil because of climate issues. this comes after the latest inflation report showed a large increase in overall consumer prices. in the largest increase, i should say, in overall consumer prices in seven months. california's second largest home insurer is increasing the number of new customers it accepts next year. farmers insurance says it will begin writing home insurance policies in anticipation of new reforms as part of the new policy. farmers will raise its monthly cap from 7000 to 9500 and reopen several policy options to hit pause for more than a year. it's the first time since april 2023 that farmers is accepting new applications. >> all right, let's talk about celebrity sightings. fans of the movie wicked got a blockbuster thrill at a screening in san rafael tuesday night. ariana grande and cynthia erivo, who costar in the movie, were at the smith rafael film center for a q&a session following the film as part of the theater's academy awards contender series. the

chronicle reports they also showed up at a screening at nearby skywalker ranch, which is part of lucasfilm. wicked continues to break box office records. on monday, the movie passed $325 million in ticket sales nationally. >> wicked fans, you won't have to muffle your singing voice any longer. the hit movie musical is extending its theatrical run with a series of sing along screenings over the holidays. moviegoers will be able to freely sing their hearts out to the film's soundtrack. the sing along screenings will start on christmas day and run through january 2nd. you can get your tickets from various movie theaters. i'm assuming this is going to be labeled as such. >> oh, i mean, right. >> it has to be. >> i don't want to hear these people singing. >> you know, i've been practicing. my husband is telling me that it's giving more tarzan than elphaba when i'm like. >> he's like, okay, i'm giving tarzan. >> aaron. man. coming in hot. >> i just think that they

finally heard the people because the people are singing. the people want to sing. sorry, reggie. right. >> but what is this church like? we're not singing in this place. like, let these two people sing. >> no, i want to sing. okay, reggie. and what about the kids? >> the kids can sing, you know. >> what about the kids? >> my son, for one, cannot wait. >> i had to hear some child singing. do you all want to hear some seven year old that you don't know singing? you know, in a theater? >> i'd rather that than screaming, you know. >> sorry. only for these ones. >> the ones that are specifically designated for singing. >> i have not run. >> i watched it twice now. i have not run into anyone singing, which is the good news. >> that is good news. christmas. >> come christmas, i will be there. >> all right, so you got, what, 12 days before amanda switches from tarzan to tarzan into wicked? i love that man. this is morning live doppler seven. we have isolated showers at best

out there. this morning we had some steady rain that fell between about midnight and 2 a.m. a temporary lull because more steady light rain is coming this afternoon and this evening. here's future weather. you can see by lunchtime we're finding more showers arriving, and then we're just in and out of the rain throughout the afternoon and the evening. the evening commute a lot wetter than what we're seeing for the morning commute. so take the umbrella with you. you will need it all day long. highs today under this light rain. this level one light storm. we're mainly in the 50s, so you will notice a little bit cooler than average this afternoon. now we're focusing our attention on the weekend because saturday we're looking at a stronger storm. flood watches have now been posted for the entire north bay beginning friday through saturday, where we could see several inches of rain out of our next storm system. so here's future weather first thing saturday morning. again, you can just see that heavy rain is aimed at the north bay, and it will be heavy rain for much of the morning and early afternoon. here's 9 a.m. that heavy rain begins to move into the city, the east bay, the

south bay. and when future weather shows you these deep reds on your screen, that is some intense rainfall. so just looking at rainfall totals friday into saturday, clearly you can see a bull's eye aimed at the north bay once again, where we have those flood watches. in effect. it's not just the rain, it's also the winds. the winds may be a bigger issue for most of us than the rain, because those winds will be felt. area wide, we're tracking winds saturday morning 30 to 50mph. along the coast. we could have 60 mile per hour winds, so a high wind watch has been issued for the entire coastline. this also includes the entire city of san francisco, where we could see these very strong winds on saturday as the storm system moves through. here's the accuweather seven day forecast. seven day a few scattered showers today. a couple of morning showers tomorrow. and then it's all about those gusty winds. downpours here on saturday. saturday is just soggy. and then more rain coming our way early next week guys. >> all right drew thank you. dubs fans i'm sure you're feeling it this morning. the warriors have lost a chance to go to the nba cup semifinals in

las vegas. and coach steve kerr says the referees from last night's game against the houston rockets are to blame. it was a wild finish last night. even if you aren't a basketball fan. the warriors were up by a point in the final seconds of the game when steph curry missed a shot. what's this? what is? i don't know what that was. >> okay. >> it was a little tumble. okay, so in the scuffle to get the ball, the refs called a personal foul on jonathan kuminga giving the rockets two free throws, and that gave them the game. coach kerr was furious on the court and after the game. i don't know if this is the correct video for any of this. you know, just imagine steve kerr though he was not happy. >> unconscionable. i don't i don't even understand what just happened. you know, loose ball diving on the floor 80ft from the basket. and you're going to give a guy two free throws to

decide the game. when people are scrambling for the ball, just give them a timeout. the game was a complete wrestling match. you know they didn't call anything. steph curry got hit on the elbow plain as day on a jump shot. just clubbed right on there. no call. so you've established you're just not going to call anything throughout the game. it's physical game. we're going to call it a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation with guys diving on the floor. this is $1 billion industry. you got people's jobs on the line. i don't think an elementary school referee would have made because that guy would have had feel and said, you know what, i'm not going to decide a game on a loose ball 80ft from the basket. i wanted to go to las vegas. we wanted to win this cup. we aren't going because of a loose ball foul 80ft from the basket. with the game on the line. i've never seen anything like it in my life and that was ridiculous. thank you. >> online dub nation agreeing with all of that, kerr will likely be fined by the nba for

his comments. the rockets advanced to the nba cup semifinals versus the thunder this saturday right here on abc seven. coverage starts at 5 p.m. then you can catch after the game. every year, the salvation army is getting ready to distribute thousands of toys in san francisco. next week, volunteers sorted through all the donations, which is why you see all the red bags out. organizers say there is certainly a need for help this year. >> we know that it's hard to make ends meet. we know that things are expensive in the city, so if we can help alleviate some of that stress by providing toys which are donated through the generosity of san franciscans, we want to do that to help make christmas a little bit easier and relieve some of that pressure that families are feeling. >> this is all part of the salvation army's angel tree program. people can go online and see various wish lists. you can help a child out by donating a toy, or they can donate money to help pay for those gifts. >> speaking of gifts, what if you just didn't give any?

there's a growing number of americans who skip the gift giving around the holidays. instead, people are opting for shared experiences. so maybe you go to a restaurant together or take a trip, go on an adventure. create new holiday traditions. some are also opting to donate to charity in people's names. >> i feel like that's still a gift. >> that's a gift. it just isn't. >> you know the wrapping paper? >> yeah, yeah, all of that. kids love that. >> they don't. >> i don't know if you want to purchase a full year entry to something that is so expensive for my child, please, because at three they start charging you beforehand and you're talking about disneyland, and you would love that gift. >> and he eventually would. but in that moment, he wants something to open. yes. am i right? >> yes. >> not wrong. all right.

also high surf along the coast. a bit of a lull in the showers

right now, but the ramp up this afternoon and continue this evening. >> number two, the power is coming back on in oakland this morning after a big power outage at one point. more than 6000 customers were without electricity around lake merritt and into the downtown area. that number is now down to about 1200 customers. >> number three, the oakland unified school board delayed a vote on merging ten schools after a contentious meeting last night. the district proposing the mergers to help balance budget deficit. for a budget deficit projected to reach $95 million. >> number four breaking news overnight, the white house announced president biden has commuted roughly 1500 sentences and granted 39 pardons. it's the biggest single day act of clemency in modern u.s. history. >> number five, the effort to permanently close part of san francisco's great highway to cars takes another step forward today. the plan will be discussed at the california coastal commission, which has to approve changes. >> number six, we're following a nasty, sloppy commute. you can see some clearing in the sky at

the richmond-san rafael bridge. this is your typical morning backup, with slick roads and standing water and an outstanding accident. this one is west 580 at central. it's a big rig blocking two right lanes. >> number seven, today at 10 a.m, you can get your tickets for bottlerock napa valley, a limited number of $455. three day passes will be available. we still do not have the lineup yet for the event, which is on memorial day weekend. >> abc seven at seven continues. if you are streaming us otherwise. gma we're going to be juggling this morning. the drew >> george: good morning america. the missing american found live in syria. arctic blast at home. and the miracle on south 13th street bringing so much joy. breaking news the missing american found alive in syria with tkes per raying in the region. james longman in the capital as they search for missing loved ones who vanished under the