now abc seven mornings live from new york city. >> committed to accountability. we are a city committed to public safety. >> now, if i have the impact of the conviction of so many, why? some say the guilty verdict will help with san francisco's recovery. >> p-g-and-e's $15 billion loan. the money expected to go toward improving its power grid. what it means for customers and why some feel it could be a good thing. plus. >> so just to be clear, we're

not in this story. >> there's a lot of stories with all of us tell. >> one of those, mufasa, the lion king, we hear from the actors behind the voices of the beloved duo timon and pumbaa, who make their return to the big screen this week. good morning. it's wednesday, december 17th. >> yeah, we'll begin with a check of the weather, with drew coming in even thicker fog drew again. >> yes, we're dealing with some dense fog in spots, the south bay and the east bay. seeing the worst of it this morning. here's a live look outside. this is our san jose camera this morning where we are seeing that lower visibility right now. visibility in the south bay down to a half of a mile. again, it's also quite chilly out there. current temperature right around 49 degrees right now. so let's look at the visibility map. the peninsula is actually doing quite well. even the city not dealing with fog. it's parts of the south bay, the east bay and the north bay like santa rosa down to a quarter of a mile. a similar story in concord, highway four. again, you've got some low cloud cover, similar story on 580 as you come through livermore this morning. so be aware of

that. now, the dense fog advisory actually not as expansive as it was yesterday, but for a lot of us, we are seeing that low cloud cover this morning. it's also quite cold. 38 in santa rosa right now down to 38 in danville. 42 that current temperature in oakland. good morning, san francisco. it is chilly 47 degrees. so future weather showing you the fog forecast even by 9 a.m. we're probably fighting a lot of fog through the carquinez strait and delta later on this afternoon. that sunshine is back and very similar to yesterday. we'll have temperatures in the upper 50s to the lower 60s. let's check in with gloria. see those drive times this morning. >> good morning. yeah drew mentioned the fog. and some of you may experience some g this morning. again today, i know that i drove in from the peninsula. not foggy there, but check this out. bay bridge toll plaza. definitely some fog there this morning. still early. so the metering lights are off right now. you won't find too much traffic there at this time. and looking at our bay bridge camera, you can see the traffic is also flowing nicely here, especially right after the yerba buena tunnel. the fog does clear up there. doesn't look too foggy

where you're looking right now, and overall just pretty much looking nice at this time of the morning. again, it's early, so mostly in the green. no major slowdowns at this time. amanda. >> all right gloria. thank you. happening today a new era for law enforcement across california. proposition 36 takes effect, and the goal is to reduce crime by increasing punishments on criminals. abc seven news reporter lena howland is live in walnut creek this morning. with what you need to know about how this will work. lena. >> amanda, good morning to you. prop 36 is something that would bring back harsher penalties for theft and certain drug crimes issues that have plagued the bay area and the state in recent years. now, this is something that voters overwhelmingly approved last month by nearly 70%. prop 36 reverses prop 47, which passed back in 2014, reducing some felonies to misdemeanors. reclassification meant crimes such as repeat

shoplifting merchandise under $950 carried a much lighter sentence. sacramento county sheriff jim cooper says so far this year, they've arrested around 1000 people for retail theft, and about 80 to 90% were just given citations. but now, with prop 36, he expects a big change in the behavior of re-offending because it really changed the landscape, because up until now, if you stayed below 950, you got a citation and didn't go to jail. >> now, if you have two convictions, that third conviction becomes a wobbler. it can become a felony and really has some teeth into it. >> prop 36 also creates a new treatment focused court process for some drug possession crimes. in a statement, state attorney general rob bonta said, let us harness the strength of our partnerships, the power of new legislation and the collective resolve of our community to create a safer and more secure environment for everyone. now,

business owners also say they have great hope for prop 36. that's because when they've. called for shoplifting, sometimes no one responds because up until today, that crime was just a misdemeanor. live in walnut creek. lena howland abc seven news. >> lena. thank you. a san francisco jury found them guilty of killing cashapp founder bob lee, convicted of second degree murder. that case generated national attention initially with the debate over violent crime in the city. prosecutors argued mo money stabbed lee to death in april of 2023, after lee had introduced his sister to a drug dealer. while his legal team argued it was self-defense. >> it's just this case was extremely hard to prove because it was just nima's word versus my brother's word, which he's not here to be able for anybody to be able to hear those words. >> my son is not such a thing, such a person. he's the kindest person. every mother would love to have a son like him. i know

my son well. >> many could face up to life in prison. there is a hearing scheduled for january 10th. >> as the case played out over several months, many considered the city of san francisco to also be a victim. of course, in a much different sense. following bobby's murder, the city's reputation took a hit in both the national and international media. abc seven news reporter tim johns takes a look at the damage done and how city leaders are hoping this verdict proves the critics wrong. >> san francisco district attorney brooke jenkins triumphant tuesday after nemo mckinney was found guilty of the murder of bob lee jenkins. taking time to thank her team, but also to call out some of the high profile people who use the crime to bash san francisco. the da specifically mentioning tech billionaire elon musk, who tweeted about the attack to his millions of followers in 2023. back then, musk speculated it was a random attack by a repeat offender, and we knew it was something different. >> and i think today proved once

again that we are a city committed to accountability. we are a city committed to public safety. >> musk wasn't the only one posting about the incident. many in the tech world jumped on the attack, using it as an example of how they believe san francisco was a city full of crime and lawlessness, and now you have to overcome that. >> so every time something happens, that's a high profile event like this murder, you know, it tends there tends to be a piling on effect. >> jim wunderman is the president of the bay area council. he says lee's murder was another blow to a city already struggling after the pandemic. even if the numbers didn't back that up, data from the fbi and local police department shows that san francisco has one of the lowest homicide rates of any major city in the country, a trend that's been happening for years. while the justice system is, of course, designed to be fair. people like san mateo county district attorney steve wagstaffe say high profile trials like this one add an extra layer of pressure on everyone involved, something that wagstaffe says. san

francisco da brooke jenkins surely felt she. >> of course she wants justice. that's her number one goal, but she recognizes that people will judge her city, her county a lot by outcomes. >> and what occurs with the trial now over, city officials hope san francisco will be able to move on, hoping to recover its reputation as one of the world's great cities. >> i believe that that story is going to get through, and people will start coming back. and when they do, then they tell their friends and their neighbors to come. and i think san francisco is going to recover, you know, quite nicely. >> balwani is set to be sentenced in the coming weeks in san francisco. tim johns, abc seven news. >> we've been covering the case from the very beginning, and if you want to go back and read any of our previous reporting or maybe listen to reaction outside the courtroom, go to abc7 news.com. >> well planned, targeted murder meant to evoke terror. those were the words from the manhattan district attorney as he announced the indictment

against the man suspected of killing unitedhealthcare ceo luigi mangione has been charged with first degree murder as an act of terrorism in the december 4th shooting. and gloria is at the live desk with the developments in the case. the whole country has been watching. >> yeah, the whole country certainly has been watching this, reggie. the case against luigi mangione is building with a grand jury indictment that upgrades his charges to first degree murder, alleging the killing of brian thompson was an act of terror. prosecutors allege that mangione waited almost an hour for thompson to arrive at a conference in manhattan, adding that he shot the ceo with a nine millimeter ghost gun equipped with a 3d printed suppressor. prosecutors have also presented mangione's writings as a deepening fixation on unitedhealthcare, and that mangione came to believe he was the first person to confront purported greed head on. >> there is no heroism in what mangione did. this was a senseless act of violence. >> mangione has received support from many in the court of public

opinion, where the shock of thompson's killing has been eclipsed by anger over health insurance companies. a survey from emerson college finds that 41% of people under 30 consider the actions of thompson's alleged killer acceptable. mangione remains jailed in pennsylvania, where he was arrested. he has an extradition hearing scheduled for tomorrow. reggie aqui. >> thanks, gloria. tomorrow you can watch manhunt. luigi mangione and the ceo murder a special edition of 2020. it's a deep dive into the story that riveted the nation, providing a minute by minute investigation of the cold blooded execution of the unitedhealthcare ceo and the shocking social media backlash that turned the alleged murderer into a folk hero for some. that's tomorrow night at ten here on abc seven, or streaming the next day on hulu. >> 510 in the accuweather forecast. we're looking at 8-80 in oakland this morning. you can see kind oe haziness the fog that is in spots this morning right now in

the east bay, oakland coming in at 44 degrees that visibility less than a half of a mile. so just like yesterday we begin with low clouds in spots probably closer to 10:11 a.m. we break through this fog and we'll find sunshine later on this afternoon. so looking at the day planner today, get ready for that dense fog advisory. this will last until 9 a.m. i wouldn't be surprised if they extend it maybe to 10:11 a.m. we have better visibility coming our way by noon and then partly cloudy skies this afternoon. temperatures very similar to yesterday will be in the upper 50s to the upper 60s for daytime highs. but look at the visibility map. we do have some areas that are pretty low right now. when you look at this map, you're looking at how far you can see in terms of miles and in places like oakland, concord, santa rosa. right now, we can only see about a quarter of a mile out there, the city doing just fine. much of the peninsula is a-okay. then you head into the south bay. in places like san jose, we're less than a mile. livermore coming in with a half of a

mile visibility right now. so patchy fog is out there this morning. that dense fog advisory does continue until 9 a.m. we'll have a mix of sun and clouds later on this afternoon. we'll hit a high of about 68 in san jose, 60 in the city, 62 in oakland, 66 in santa rosa, about 59 the high in concord. so we do keep it dry the next three days through the end of the week. but rain is back in the forecast starting this weekend. reggie, we'll talk more about the rain return in just a few minutes. >> drew thank you. not closing yet. how much longer? a legendary chinatown restaurant will stay open for now. >> yeah. protecting unhoused residents. the program one south bay city is implementing national film registry. >> the 25 movies just added to the list.

shut down at the end of this month. we told you about it just a few days ago, but now we're learning it will remain open for an additional month. the co-owner of samuel told sfgate he had been misinformed about

the lease end date, and they can now stay open through january 26th. that gives the restaurant more time to find an interested buyer. last year, longtime chef and co-owner david ho announced he's retiring, leaving his business partner scrambling to find a replacement in the south bay. >> a massive project is about to begin, and a little more than two weeks, the city of san jose will start relocating 1000 unhoused people living along creeks and rivers to clean up pollution. they'll start by focusing on 12 miles most impacted by encampments, including coyote creek. this week, an outreach team started to count how many people are living in that area, and the city approved an unprecedented $27 million investment for this cleanup effort. mayor matt mehan says the funds will help will help add more than 1000 safe and managed places for people to stay. >> they come in different forms. this is safe parking and safe sleeping. prefabricated modular units, converted motels. most of

the units will be rooms with a door that locks. >> enforcement begins january 2nd. people experiencing homelessness will get a warning and 72 hours to relocate. if they don't leave. they could face a misdemeanor charge and fine. >> in sunnyvale, city leaders are offering free hotel rooms to unhoused residents during inclement weather. the city is renting out hotel rooms free of charge, and will cover two meals a day for up to 20 days. >> it makes all the difference in the world. it really it makes the difference between life and death in some cases. >> i hope, and i know that this program will put a stop to that loss of life even once. it will be worth it, but i know it will be more than once. >> supporters say the program takes down barriers residents face when dealing with traditional warming centers, like occupancy restrictions and referrals. it will officially begin during the next big storm and run through april, and if it is successful, the program will be extended in the future. >> oakland based p-g-and-e's

could be getting a massive loan from the u.s. government. the utility announced yesterday. the department of energy has plans to offer it $15 billion to make major upgrades to its infrastructure. it's the largest loan ever from the department's loan program. p-g-and-e's says the money could be used to improve its hydroelectric systems, which produce enough energy for 4 million homes. they could also upgrade power lines and expand substations and transmission networks, improving reliability and invest in things like battery storage and electric vehicle charging. mark toney, the ceo of the utility reform network, says overall, this is a win for california. >> this will allow p-g-and-e's to make needed investments in wildfire safety, in expanding the ability of the grid to serve more customers. >> not everyone is so sure, though. several consumer groups, including the environmentaloups, working group, believe the loan is just temporary relief for

p-g-and-e's. they believe repaying the money will result in higher rates in the long run. every year, 25 movies are added to the national film registry and this year, a film with bay area ties made the list. the 2010 movie the social network, which chronicles mark zuckerberg's co-founding of facebook, is among the films named to the registry. facebook, as you know, is headquartered in menlo park. other films added this year include beverly hills cop, dirty dancing, and spy kids. >> disney's new movie mufasa the lion king, opens in theaters friday. this is the origin story of how mufasa, an orphan, became the lion king. alicia vitarelli, from our sister station in philly, spoke with the actors behind a famous duo, timon and pumbaa. all right, here we go. >> one. two. three. how can we help? >> seth rogen and billy eichner are back as pumbaa and timon. >> so, just to be clear, we're not in this story. >> there's a lot of stories with all of us. tell one of those.

>> it was really fun, and we got to improvise basically the entire thing, and we get to record together, i think. you could include an enthusiastic, rambunctious warthog and a charismatic meerkat. >> you can't help but fall in love with. >> i think we just feel really comfortable together. no one's afraid to look stupid or try things. and the fact that we're there together, which is pretty rare for these movies, that we get to record the voices together. that really helps. >> hi. we're here to. >> this time, the warthog and the meerkat are babysitting kiara, the daughter of simba and nala. >> i think you keep going. >> she's voiced by blue ivy carter, who joins her mother beyonce in the beloved franchise. >> i thought this was a comedy. >> turns out the pumbaa antimony sideshow comes in handy as we learn the story of how mufasa, an orphan, became the lion king. >> the king will never accept a stray. >> i'm not a stray. i'm just lost. >> and how? his adoptive brother taka, a prince would become

scar. one of disney's most feared villains. come on, mufasa. let's get in some trouble. i needed a laugh. like at some point. >> yes, that's our one job. >> yeah, it's like a real traditional comic relief type situation. >> in real life, rogen and eichner exude that pumbaa and timon energy. i thought to myself, i need more. i feel like, where's your. i need this whole film. >> do you want this? i mean, people need to write letters. >> oh, we're writing letters now. >> we want this dm. maybe a dm is. yeah, i think i shared this earlier that i went to school with billy eichner. oh, yeah. that's right. yeah. >> it's always fascinating because now i listen to him and i'm like, oh my goodness. i can only imagine if the friendship was there in college. >> i know. to be clear, he i don't even think he would know my name, but i definitely knew his. >> you never know. write that letter, steve. hi, this is reggie. do you remember me? do you remember steve? he writes. >> i was tall, too. >> i was told i was scared of

you. i'm scared of you. of reggie aqui. this morning we're tracking areas of fog. one area that is not seeing the fog is san francisco. live. look outside from our exploratorium camera. if you were with us yesterday morning, you realize you could not see a single building from this vantage point. this morning it's different here, but we are dealing with patchy fog in other areas. so the dense fog advisory in effect until 9 a.m. this morning. you can see areas of santa rosa, concord, oakland, livermore, mountain view. we have this low visibility and this fog is ebbing and flowing. so one minute we have great visibility. another minute it lowers. that's how the morning is going to go around here until about 9 a.m. once we get this fog to really lift. it's also chilly numbers a lot cooler this morning compared to yesterday morning. widespread 30s in the north bay, the east bay around the bay shoreline. we're mainly in the low and mid 40s at this hour. so look at the morning planner. you want to bundle up, add a few extra minutes to your travel time because we do have that low cloud cover out there. once

we get closer to 9:10 a.m. 11 a.m, we'll start to see some of that sunshine peek through the cloud cover. and this afternoon it is a mix of sun and clouds and pretty comfortable temperatures. a lot of us will go into the low and mid 60s later on this afternoon. now overnight tonight it's another chilly night. we do expect some foggy areas, especially in the east bay. once again, some of that tule fog moves in from the sacramento valley overnight. lows again in the 30s and in the 40s. live doppler seven, along with satellite storm track, remains to our north, but by the weekend that changes. so we'll find future weather showing you some light rain moving in here. here's saturday morning. we'll likely see another wave of energy sunday night, and some of this activity will continue into early next week. here's monday if you're thinking of traveling on christmas eve. this is christmas eve at noon. it looks pretty messy around california, so we'll likely be tracking several storms on the seven day forecast. here's the accuweather seven day showing you morning fog today. milder and sunny tomorrow. we'll have that fog likely back here to

finish the week on friday. there's that morning rain on saturday, some evening showers on sunday and it stays pretty wet early next week guys. >> all right drew thank you. coming up the seven things to know this morning getting into the holiday spirit. >> a preview of tonight's iheartradio jingle ball right here on abc seven. >> and we'll take a live look outside here at 522. more fog in the ♪ mac and cheese, so delicious. ♪ ♪ sweet potato souffle. ♪ ♪ ham and turkey, hooray. ♪ ♪ feasting on some honeybaked all day. ♪ every bite is a celebration with the honey baked ham company.

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by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay. seven things to know this morning. number one today, proposition 36 takes effect across the state. it brings increased penalties on drug and theft related crime. supporters say this will be a big step forward in reducing things like retail theft across california. >> number two, oakland is moving forward with budget cuts as it deals with a huge deficit that includes a hiring freeze. however, the city council decided last night to take $10 million from the sale of the coliseum site to keep several fire stations open. >> number three today, officials could vote on a plan to raise tolls on the seven state owned bridges in the bay area. under the proposal, tolls would rise as high as 1150 for certain drivers by 2030. >> number four, if you're still working on getting those holiday gifts in the mail, it's almost time to give up. today is the

deadline for usps ground shipping to get a package somewhere by christmas. >> number five, we are tracking some areas of dense fog this morning. a dense fog advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. you can see visibility on your screen, with some areas down to a quarter of a mile. now the afternoon will be a mix of sun and clouds. daytime highs will be pleasant for most of us in the low and mid 60s. >> and number six, we have a mass transit alert for you if you take caltrain. train 503 northbound is canceled at san jose, and train 107 will be helping out those passengers. >> number seven, grubhub has agreed to pay $25 million to settle accusations it misled customers, drivers and restaurants. the ftc says the food delivery company hid fees from diners, deceived drivers about pay and added restaurants to its platform without consent. >> in today's gma first look, a lawyer for the menendez family is criticizing la's new da for not reaching out to family members. here's abc news

reporter andrew dymburt. >> in this morning's gma first look, the family of eric and lyle menendez taking on la's newly elected district attorney. >> enough is enough. >> this morning, the attorney representing 24 menendez family members is speaking out to gma's matt gutman, criticizing la's new da for his recent media appearances. >> he's decided to go on every national news program and to be able to talk about, you know, his own viewpoint of this. and he has a ton of leverage because we have family members who've been injured and have been, you know, overlooked in this process. >> what you're saying is he hasn't actually made the time to talk to the victims and the family members themselves. >> they suffered loss. they've also seen the rehabilitation. they are the best people to talk to. >> and coming up at 7 a.m, we'll have the very latest on the menendez brothers case and how the da is responding with your gma first look, i'm andrew dymburt, abc news, new york. >> the santa cruz based joby aviation is one step closer to

having their air taxis take off. joby recently completed a series of test flights, which were approved by the faa as part of the certification process. it's expected to launch in 2026, in san francisco, los angeles and new york. >> sunnyvale one of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit is with music, and abc is your home to watch your favorite artists in one place. abc is bringing you the iheartradio jingle ball 2024 tonight. the annual concert has an incredible lineup of performers this year. it is hosted by none other than ryan seacrest. >> i love this show because it really does kick off the season. this is the time of year we have so much fun this time of year, and we have a chance to bring on artists that we've known for a while and new artists to this year. >> the lineup includes meghan trainor, katy perry, 21 pilots, gracie abrams, shaboozey, benson boone and paris hilton. you can watch it right here on abc seven at 8 p.m. if you missed it, you can watch it all the next day on

hulu. coming up at 530. two new towers where these oceanfront properties are being proposed. >> but first, this live look outside. it ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus on a new 2024 audi q5 plug-in hybrid during the season of audi sales event.

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there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus on a new 2024 audi q5 plug-in hybrid during the season of audi sales event. abc seven mornings live now at 530. >> cracking down on drug and theft crimes. a proposition that increases punishment goes into effect today across california. the measure passed overwhelmingly in the november election. >> budget cut plan approved oakland moving forward with the first phase of cuts. now the coliseum is playing a big role. how it is. plus. stop right there. >> stop right there. look at the camera and smile. yeah. >> there you go. do you want to be entertained? dear san francisco holiday edition, i got a sneak peek at the exciting experience you can check out right now at the old home of beach blanket babylon. i even learned some stunts. they told

me i was going to do one thing and they said, why don't you jump through this hoop? why don't you stand on this man's shoulders and feel like you're going to die? >> and he did so gracefully. you all because he was showing us some behind the scenes stuff i could never deny. you'll see. good morning everyone. it is wednesday, december 18th. >> here's meteorologist drew tuma doing stunts and tricks. >> and those guns were out. did you see those arms? what's that routine? yeah. i love you. the accuweather forecast. we are looking at foggy conditions out there this morning. this is a live look in san jose where we do have a dense fog advisory in effect 49 degrees right now. visibility right around a mile. so it is chilly out there where some of that low visibility. showing you the map. it's not everyone that is seeing the low cloud cover. in fact, the city a big portion of the peninsula, parts of the north bay doing just fine. where you see the number ten, that's unlimited visibility. but there are those areas like santa rosa, concord, even oakland right

now down to an eighth of a mile visibility. so 8-80 in this region is certainly getting impacted by some low cloud cover this morning. here's the dense fog advisory. it's not as expansive as it was yesterday, but still we are dealing with those low clouds first thing this morning. this until 9 a.m. so after 9 a.m. the cloud cover breaks down. we get afternoon sunshine. it will feel pretty nice, but this morning with that cloud cover it is quite chilly. 39 in sonoma right now we're at 49 in san jose down to 43 in oakland. so that fog advisory until 9 a.m. a mix of sun and clouds later this afternoon, most of us going into the low and mid 60s. let's check in with gloria and see what the commute this morning. >> good morning. for many of you who are driving this morning, the fog will still be an issue. check this out. this is in oakland. this is our live look at our 880 camera. and it's hard to even make it out on the screen. but this is where the coliseum is. i mean, it's just so foggy. you can just see some of those headlights that are heading towards san leandro area. but other than that, really no issues other than the fog there. and going down south

to san jose, we're also seeing some fog there. it is a little bit more busy on the southbound side, where the headlights are heading up to the peninsula with no delays. but as you can see from our camera, our 101 8-80 camera. really no delays in this area also. but you know, some parts of the bay area, you may not have issues with fog, but as you see here, san jose, oakland definitely more pronounced. amanda. >> all right. gloria, thank you. guilty. that's the verdict from a san francisco jury in the killing of cash app founder bob lee. lee was stabbed to death last year in the south of market neighborhood, and the case drew national attention. now, he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. around 30 to 40 friends and family members of bob lee packed the courtroom yesterday for the verdict. his brother, oliver lee, expressed his relief, saying the verdict is the first step in the healing process. >> i know for a fact i'm never going to have my brother back, but this is the best of all. worst outcomes. >> following the verdict, mo mooney's mother spoke publicly

for the first time, saying her son is innocent. >> it's very disappointing and uh, but i should first say my deepest condolences to the family. this is a difficult time for everyone. >> well, mooney's mother also said they plan to appeal the verdict. he faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison starting today. >> certain drug and theft crimes in california will come with much harsher punishments for people who are caught and prosecuted. prop 36 is taking effect more than a month after voters approved the change, with the hope of reducing crime. let's go to abc seven news reporter lena howland. she's in walnut creek this morning. lena, this is a change that had a lot of support in last month's election. >> yeah, reggie, it really did. this is something that voters overwhelmingly approved by nearly 70% last month. and business owners we've talked to since its passing say they see great hope with prop 36 taking

effect today. prop 36 brings back harsher penalties for shoplifting and also certain drug crimes like fentanyl trafficking. this initiative reverses prop 47, which passed back in 2014, reducing some felonies to misdemeanors. reclassification meant crimes such as repeat shoplifting merchandise under $950 carried a much lighter sentence. small business owner alan leatherby, who owns multiple leatherby's family creamery locations in the sacramento area, says they've been hit hard by this. >> we have theft in our stores. we had regular people that would come in, you know, sometimes every single day and steal from us. and what do you do? and you call the police and they get right back out the next day. >> now, prop 36 also creates a new treatment focused court process for some drug possession crimes. and it requires courts to warn people convicted of selling or providing illegal drugs to others that they can be

charged with murder if they continue to do so and someone dies. attorney general rob bonta said with this going into effect today, his office is committed to fighting organized retail crime head on. live in walnut creek. lena howland, abc seven news. >> all right, lena, thank you. and retailers are losing out on billions of dollars every year because of an increase in shoplifting. gloria. one big box store is now experimenting with a new pilot program aimed at preventing crime. >> amanda, we're talking about walmart. retail giant walmart has revealed some of its employees are now using body cameras to crack down on crime this holiday season. the cameras are all part of a pilot program that is being tested in one store in texas. walmart has not released many specifics, saying this is a pilot. we are testing in one market and we will evaluate the results before making any longer term decisions. cnbc reports the company is instructing employees to record an event if an interaction with a customer is escalating. retail theft

has spiked in recent years, with many critics blaming laws that have been too sofn crime. >> the retail industry continues to contend with increasing levels of shoplifting and violence, often due to the involvement of organized retail crime groups. >> retailers reported a 93% increase in shoplifting incidents last year compared to before the pandemic, costing them more than $121 billion. and walmart is not the only retailer trying this out. earlier this year, tjx, the parent company of tj maxx, homegoods and marshalls, started equipping some workers with body cameras. live in the studio gloria rodriguez, abc seven news. >> all right. gloria. thank you. and with one week to go until the major december holidays, amazon workers could soon go on strike at multiple southern california and national facilities. the teamsters union just voted to authorize the strike, saying amazon has repeatedly refused to recognize the union and negotiate contracts. workers are upset about wages, benefits and

working conditions. a strike during the busy shopping season has many wondering how this could impact the holidays. >> san bernardino facility is the largest air hub in the western united states. more than 1000 workers are employed there, and a strike at that facility could be very disruptive. in the critical week leading up to christmas. >> now, strikes have also been authorized in new york and illinois. amazon says it has increased pay, and the average worker makes $22 per hour. time is running out to finish your holiday shopping and shipping. the usps deadline for ground shipping is today. if you want to get your gift somewhere by christmas for priority mail express, you have until saturday. the fedex shipping deadline was yesterday, but you can still do same day shipping all the way through the 24th. the deadline for ups is tomorrow or the 23rd with next day air. >> oakland is making do. thy

are dealing with some serious budget issues, so they're going to use the coliseum to play a big role in the immediate future. the vote came after a lengthy debate that included public comment last night. safety, of course, a big concern not just from those who were commenting, but also the council members themselves. there was an amendment made to take $10 million from the sale of the coliseum property to help keep fire stations open. you might recall the budget called for brownouts, which is when you close a fire station for a certain amount of time. council president nikki fortunato bass acknowledged the city's difficult situation. >> okay. thank you everyone. that was certainly not easy. however, we look forward to continuing to partner with the administration, the finance team and all our department heads, as well as our workforce and the public to continue putting oakland on solid ground. >> one thing that was also cleared was whether jobs will be cut. for now, there's going to be a hiring freeze for tonight. bass also took over as interim mayor at the end of last night's

meeting. it was mayor sheng tao's last day after she was recalled in last month's election. >> a former tech executive will lead a new city office in san francisco. mayor elect daniel lurie says he's hiring ned siegel as the first ever chief of housing and economic development. siegel worked for five years as the chief financial officer for twitter. lurie and siegel have known each other since they both attended a private middle school in the city. >> another big development plan is in the works for san francisco's outer sunset. the two mixed use towers, 124 stories high, another 22 stories high, would have 446 units of housing. our media partner, the sf standard, shared these renderings. 207 units will be below market value for seniors. this is on sloat boulevard at 45th avenue. it's the same site where a different company wanted to build a 50 story residential and commercial tower. many in the community pushed back on that because of the size, and the developer ended up withdrawing the application.

we'll see what happens this time. now it's our abc seven mornings advancer a preview of some things happening in the bay area today. >> first, the proposal that could increase the cost of your commute if you cross one of the bay area's seven state owned bridges. the metropolitan transportation commission could vote on the plan today. if approved, tolls would rise slowly starting in 2026, hitting 1150 for certain drivers by 2030. this plan would also change the carpool lane policy to require three people to use the hov lanes on all bridges. the meeting starts this morning at 930 in the north bay. >> sonoma county resident and celebrity chef guy fieri will be ringing the bell for the salvation army's red kettle. he'll be there from noon to one at santa rosa plaza. it's the third year that he's participated, and the salvation army says all donations will stay in the community to help those in need locally. still ahead, a keepsake from the coliseum, the souvenir some are embracing after the a's final season in oakland. but first

checking the weather with drew. >> hey there. >> 542 this morning and we're looking at a live picture from the golden gate bridge, where we're doing just fine when it comes to any sort of visibility. but you hop over into the east bay and it's a quite a different story. this is a live look at okay, this morning you can barely make out the tail of one of the aircraft at the gate this morning. so we do have some areas of low visibility right now. 43 at the airport. visibility basically down to an eighth of a mile. that's not the only place that's dealing with the low cloud cover this morning, traveling through the south bay, san jose, less than a mile. even in the north bay, we have some patchy fog. santa rosa at a quarter of a mile. much of the peninsula is doing fine. even the city has great visibility right now, but we do have a dense fog advisory. this in effect until about 9 a.m. this morning. looking at the morning planner, we have that fog over the next couple of hours. closer to 9 a.m. we'll start to see sunshine break through that cloud cover. temperatures are chilly this morning, starting out in the 30s and

in the 40s, but later on this afternoon, underneath a mix of sun and clouds, we'll have temperatures going into the 60s. so 62 in oakland today, 66 in santa rosa, 68 in san jose, 60 in san francisco, 63 in fremont, half moon bay coming in at 61 degrees. now, the three day forecast, we do keep it dry through the end of the week, but heading into the weekend, rain is back in the forecast. we'll show you that coming up in a few minutes. let's check in with gloria and see a traffic alert this morning. >> we do have a traffic alert, as you mentioned. so the metering lights have flipped on over at the bay bridge toll plaza. they flid out about almost ten minutes ago, and you can see it starting to get really crowded out there, especially those middle lanes. it is backed up to the end of the parking lot at this time. and you'll also see it's very foggy there. so we are experiencing fog in different parts of the bay area. some areas like the peninsula, you may not experience it at all right now, but east bay bay bridge, some portions you are going to experience that fog. so pretty much as you approach the tolls, you'll experience the fog all the way out to treasure

island. if you're going from highway four to san francisco, it will take you 45 minutes at this

while recovering after a car slammed into this bar in san francisco. you can see the aftermath at the mira loma club on portola drive yesterday afternoon. the fire department says two patrons were hurt. they were taken to the hospital. the driver of the car got checked out but decided not to go to the hospital. the driver was not arrested and the cause of that crash is still under investigation. >> one of the hottest holiday gifts in the bay area. apparently actual dirt from the oakland coliseum. it was collected by one of the founders of last dive bar during the last a's game at the ballpark. two ounce jars of dirt went on sale yesterday, and they were going for 50 bucks, and they sold out in a matter of

hours. last dive bar also offered just the jars in four different variations, and those sold out as well. >> okay, holiday entertainment, but flip it. if you're looking for a show this week that literally jumps through hoops, head to san francisco's north beach neighborhood. in the theater that used to host beach blanket babylon for 45 years, you'll find dear san francisco home for the holidays. it's a special seasonal version of the acrobatic center production that runs year round. if you haven't been to club fugazi lately, get ready for circus that is up close and has a surprising emotional pull. i got a chance to train a bit with the multi-talented cast. so tom, are you going to kind of take me through along with your crew, some of the stuff that you do? yes. are you going to be gentle? >> no. don't know. circus. circus is not gentle. that's right. circus is hard, but it's fun. all right, let's do it. we're gonna start with pole climbing. all right. come over here. let's do it. stop right there. stop right there. look at the camera and smile. yeah.

there you go. >> my god. just. >> and say you love the circus. >> i love the circus. yeah. so much. yeah. let's go, baby. come on.h. yeah. let's go, baby. come >> if. if the vibe of dear san francisco is about coming together and lifting each other up and celebrating how much we love this city and the people in it, we also feel that it's a perfect place to be for the holidays. so much of the principles of the show are really about coming together, enjoying each other, and it's actually a very sweet, emotional aspect to the show that i just think works perfectly for this new holiday addition that we've created. >> and the holiday edition of dear san francisco runs every day through next week. do you see this? do you see how close the man's face came to my face? in any case, it runs every day except for christmas eve and

christmas day. and make sure you're streaming at seven this morning. i know, right? sorry. i keep getting distracted by this video. we're going to show you this whole piece about dear san francisco, including how the founder of this company that created the show got started in the circus when she was just a very little girl growing up here in the bay area. she was a parte of the pickle family circus. and there's a lot of if you didn't know, there's a lot of circus ties here in san francisco. so a lot of the big shows that you see, whether it's cirque du soleil or virgin cruises now does circus shows on board. a lot of it. or on broadway. a lot of it comes from here. >> i have to imagine that after your performance, they're asking you to be part of it. >> you know what? they didn't. oh, the callback did not come. no, i'm still waiting. yeah. i assume that after they see the piece, they'll realize the impact i've made. >> but you know what? >> you climbed up that pole. no problem. you know what a pro i have to say? >> the climbing of the pole. they were impressed by that one. that was impressive. i think they thought they were getting

me on that one. >> you're like, not me. >> and. oh, okay, i can do it. he's familiar with the pole. >> oh my gosh. sorry. >> let's go to the bay bridge toll plaza. not familiar. oh, man. a live look outside. we've got some low visibility here. you notice the fog coming off of the headlights? use those low beams this morning as we track that dense fog in areas. the dense fog advisory. this will last through 9 a.m. so we have areas in the east bay, the south bay that are dealing with visibility less than a half of a mile. similar story around santa rosa as well. after 9 a.m, the fog will lift just like yesterday, and we'll get a sunnier afternoon on the way. temperatures are chilly out there, 30s and 40s right now as we track that patchy fog. so you want to bundle up and maybe add some extra time to the commute this morning as the drive times a little bit slower with the lower visibility temperatures later on this afternoon. we'll get you into the low and mid 60s, so it does feel nice today under a mix of sun and clouds overnight. tonight

it's another chilly night, 30s and 40s. and again we may see some of that tule fog from the sacramento valley spilling into the delta, the carquinez strait. and that could create low visibility once again in the east bay. live doppler seven along with satellite storm track still to our north. that will change as we head into the weekend, because we do have storms that are brewing out in the pacific. so future weather. let's get you into saturday. that's our next chance of some light showers first thing saturday morning, a little breezy. we'll track another system likely sunday night into monday. and then if you're thinking of traveling on christmas eve, i do just want to show you. tuesday, we do look to find a very wet and windy christmas eve out there. so the next seven days we're going to add to our rainfall totals. here's a look at the map. this is through christmas eve and will likely find more than an inch of rain in some spots, closer to 2 or 3in in the north bay. so the accuweather seven day forecast showing you we have morning fog today, giving way to afternoon sunshine, sunny and dry thursday and into friday. then winter

begins here on saturday. and as it does begin, rain is back in the forecast in the morning. some evening showers on sunday and they'll track more rain heading into christmas eve. guys. >> drew. thank you. new at six. remember those two astronauts stuck up in space? well, their return home has been delayed again. the reason from nasa. >> but first new location. a popular barbecue joint opening its doors in a new city in the east bay. >> first this live look outside as the golden gate bridge commuters make jen b asks, "how can i get fast download speeds while out and about?" jen, we've engineered xfinity mobile with wifi speeds up to a gig, so you can download and do much more all at once. it's an idea that's quite attractive. or... another word... -fashionable? i was gonna say- "popular! you're gonna be pop-uuuu-larrr!" can you do defying gravity?! yeah, get my harness. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile.

and see “wicked,” in theaters now.

effort and the effort to end junk fees. the federal trade commission finalized a rule that would ban surprise fees for events, hotels, and vacation rentals. the rule requires businesses to disclose total

prices up front, rather than tacking on extra costs like convenience fees when you're checking out online. this is projected to save consumers 53,000,000 hours in wasted time searching for that actual price. ftc chair lina khan sat down with for an exclusive interview with abc news. >> this should really provide the american people with just some more clarity and confidence so they don't feel like they're getting, you know, cheated. this is really about saving people money and saving people time. >> the ftc says the final rule would take effect in april. >> frontier airlines has new all you can fly pass, and if you get it now, you'll get it at a discounted price. the airlines go wild pass is good for one year starting in april. it allows customers to book flights with as little as a day's notice for domestic travel, and up to ten days in advance for international trips. there are some additional fees and restrictions. the pass will cost you $300 until midnight, then

the price jumps up to $700. >> happening today in the east bay, a barbecue restaurant is opening. lafayette horned barbecue shared the news on instagram. the restaurant is going to be right next to headlands brewing on mount diablo boulevard. the original location in oakland was heavily damaged by a fire in november of last year that is beingvember of investigated as arson. since then, horn has been operating out of maddie's old fashioned, which is also owned by its namesake, chef matt horn. if you haven't had it, it is delicious barbecue. >> all right. well, a lot more news. still ahead at 6 a.m, san francisco leaders hoping to move on from a high profile case that drew controversy online. >> plus, it's been years since this flooded, abandoned lot has been bothering so many neighbors. now something is finally going to be done about it. >> then a pilot loses control, crashing right next to a busy airport in honolulu. my goodness. first here's drew. >> hey there amanda. we are tracking that low visibility this morning. a dense fog advisory is, in effect, a

great idea. download the abc seven news app. there you can track the fog using this exact graphic that will update in real time. you can see where that fog is at this morning. it's with us through 9 a.m. later on this afternoon, we'll get into the

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