now abc seven mornings live. >> battering waves just kept coming through and tearing people's boats up. it was overwhelming and stressful. >> owners boat owners docked in the santa cruz harbor, surveying the damage left behind by high tides earlier this week. now at five, the plan from the harbor master about how to clear the debris and repair damage there. >> and a bay area tech worker turned whistleblower found dead in his san francisco apartment. the action his parents are now taking. >> and helping those in need while bringing life to empty

storefronts. the effort that started as a holiday collection is now expanding. good morning. you made it to friday. it is december the 27th.day. it is >> yeah, it was a wet commute in, wasn't it? >> yeah. a lot of standing water out there. sue was mentioning that. so the big issue we have this morning is the heavier rain is exiting. but now we have the aftermath of those showers from last night. so. live doppler seven this morning showing you we're not tracking heavy downpours, but we have some light rain out there across the peninsula through the east foothills of san jose this morning. we'll flip it into live mode. and you really notice we're not seeing any bright colors right now indicating any downpours. but certainly we have some wet spots out there. we have a couple of flood advisories, in effect, some in the north bay, some in the east bay. and what this just means is we do have that standing water on our area roadways this morning. so take it slow out there until that water recedes. it's also pretty windy. winds are gusting 30 to 40mph through the bay shoreline, currently gusting 40 right now in oakland. so we're at a level one today

for isolated showers. morning gusty winds. the winds will relax throughout the afternoon, but we still have that high surf along the coastline. it's also mild out there this morning temperatures hovering around 60 degrees. so we have a lot of cloud cover today and isolated showers throughout the afternoon. daytime highs right around 60 degrees. let's check in with sue and see how those roads are doing this morning. >> good morning drew. good morning everyone. it's a wet friday as drew mentioned very windy, especially overe waldo grade and the golden gate bridge. this is a view of the golden gate bridge toll plaza. we don't always get to see this view. a very light traffic at this hour. you do have three lanes southbound. eventually that will open up to four lanes in the southbound direction. to emeryville. we go lots of gaps between the headlights, which means everybody is moving at the limit. we've got about a 32 minute drive on the 8-80 corridor, westbound from hercules all the way into san francisco. very light conditions. our big problem spot this morning is the caldecott tunnel. it's bore number

four. we had a tow truck and a car on the shoulder. then it reversed itself and went into bore number three. so that's where it sat for a while with lanes blocked. and it looks like due to the backup that it may have been cleared. so we'll check back. >> all right, sue, thank you. the post-christmas rush home is on at airports acros the country. we do want to take a live look this morning out at sfo. more than 400 flights were delayed yesterday and 11 were canceled. the weather is putting a damper on things not just locally, but in many places across the country, with snow and severe storms. weather also playing a factor on the roads in the sierra. those returning from their holiday celebrations have been dealing with some slow moving traffic. chains are required on highway 50 from twin bridges to meyers and on interstate 80 from truckee to kingvale. you can follow along as the forecast evolves with the abc seven bay area app. it gives you access to the same live doppler seven tools. our weather team uses. we'll also send alerts with important updates.

>> this morning we are expecting to learn more about the santa cruz wharf collapse. the city of santa cruz will hold a press conference at 11:00 today. for now, the pier has been closed indefinitely. 17 stores and restaurants shut down since monday, when a 150 foot section of the wharf collapsed into the ocean. as for the santa cruz harbor, boat owners are still reeling from the damage done when high surf waves all rolled in earlier this week. many boats are damaged there, some completely submerged. here's reporter brooke kinniburgh, just like you just want to just stop it. >> and it just kept battering and battering and waves just kept coming through and tearing people's boats up. it was overwhelming and stressful. >> this is video of the first wave sweeping through the santa cruz harbor monday. several waves crashing into boats, leaving hundreds damaged. and this man without a home after three months of living on the water docks, started breaking off the second wave.

>> it was just tore everything up. my dock broke apart right away. this is my boat down here. and from then on, people are just. i was just terrified. >> harbor staff and u.s. coast guard volunteers are cleaning up the mess, pulling in pilings that floated ashore, getting debris and pieces of boats and dock out of the water, and working to get sunken boats to the launch ramp. >> the channel is still hazardous, too. we have a lot of floating debris. things are underwater you can't see you could run into. so that's why we're really concentrating on trying to get the debris out of the channel first. >> anderson says the harbor is working with the company to map the harbor floor to determine how many boats are underwater. he expects the cleanup and rebuilding process to take a while, saying this incident is comparable to the 2011 tsunami. >> the last three years or so, we've had large swells that have caused significant damage in the harbor, and that's that's something that's it's kind of a new thing, but it's something

that we're going to have to prepare for in the future. and it's unfortunately, it's just going to be the new nol down here. >> and that was brooke kenebrew reporting there. well, members of a mosque in san francisco are raising concerns about anti-muslim incidents. their surveillance video caught a man tearing pages out of the koran earlier this week. he has a history of harassing mosque members at the islamic center of san francisco. it's not the first time a mosque in the city has been targeted this year. in april, another man smashed six windows on a mosque on sutter street with a skateboard. >> we are experiencing a 30 year high in anti-muslim and anti-palestinian racism, and our goal is specifically to elected officials and to law enforcement to send a very clear message that hate will not be tolerated in san francisco against any community. >> muslim leaders say the rise of hate is not just about donald trump as the u.s. changes

leadership, but also what they call the u. s. backed genocide in palestine. >> new developments in the death of a former openai researcher known for being a whistleblower. his parents have now hired an independent investigator to determine his cause of death. that's according to our media partners at the mercury news. back on november 26th, san francisco police found the body of 26 year old suchir balaji in his san francisco apartment after officers were called to do a well-being check. the medical examiner says balaji died by suicide and there are no signs of foul play. but his parents have doubts and they've hired an expert to perform an independent autopsy. balaji died just three months after publicly accusing openai of violating u.s. copyright law while developing chatgpt. his information was expected to play a key part in lawsuits against the company. openai has said all of its work is legal under fair use laws. >> we have an update now to a

story we first brought you yesterday morning. an oakland family in mourning is feeling the love of their community following a deadly christmas day fire. 37 year old steve weatherford junior died rescuing family members from their home in oakland while it burned.ome firefighters say weatherford helped several people out of the home, but was overcome by smoke after going inside one last time. a gofundme to help cover the memorial service and the family's financial needs. it's now nearly at $15,000. we have a link to it on abc seven news.com. the fundraiser is being organized by neighbors in his community. >> 508 in the accuweather forecast. we're looking live at the golden gate bridge, the toll plaza, this morning where the roads are wet. we do have flood advisories out there this morning for standing water. a lot of ponding on our roads may be tough to see early on this morning, so great idea at a little bit of extra time to your travels as you get out the door the next couple of hours. right

now temperatures. look at these numbers. if we stopped right here, for a lot of us, these would be our daytime highs. our average daytime highs this time of year. so it is warm this morning. upper 50s to the lower 60s. not only warm, it's also quite humid. we'll flip it on over to our dew points. this measures how much moisture is in the atmosphere. and when these numbers are in the mid 50s to the low 60s like they are right now, you feel that air. it just feels really humid. this morning we'll have drier air work in here over the weekend. live doppler seven along with satellite showing you we had that heavy rain overnight. picked up about a half of an inch to an inch in most areas. we do have light snow falling right now in the sierra. chain controls in effect on 8-80 but not on 50 this morning. so the winter weather advisory continues until noon. additional snow up to about five inches. it's pretty windy this morning. we have gusts upwards of 60mph at times. back here at home, looking at your rain chances today, we're not tracking any intense showers, just some mist and drizzle throughout the day and isolated shower

at best. so expect a lot of cloud cover today. temperatures only upper 50s. lower 60s remains humid. more showers over the weekend. we'll show you that. guys coming up in a few minutes. >> okay. thank you so much, drew. up next, the future is more and more uncertain for immigrants in america. as trump prepares for his second term. we have new information out this morning. >> plus more fallout over the ongoing bird flu outbreak. the warning to pet owners about what foods to stay away from. >> and this morning, you can get your hands on some free furniture. yes, free. it's l happening in the east bay. we have

from the incoming administration. president elect donald trump's pick for border czar is sharing new details about proposed mass deportations. here's abc news reporter nicole d'antonio. >> this morning, the man president elect trump tapped to be his border czar, sharing in new interviews his plans to deport undocumented families. trump's former acting ice director, tom homan, who oversaw

family separations during the first trump term, says in a series of interviews that the administration does not plan on separating families, but instead do something different. >> they're going to be put in a halfway house. they can be or they can stay at home and wait for the officers to get the travel arrangements and come back and get the family. you know, the best thing to do is for families to self-report themselves. >> homan also argued that families could leave their u.s. born children behind, but most likely won't. he also says that massive tent detention centers will be built to house families. homan also defended the estimated $86 billion price tag, saying the process will save american taxpayers in the long run. meanwhile, a new battle is brewing over work visas. trump advisers elon musk and vivek ramaswamy are facing off against another trump ally, laura loomer, over support for h-1b visas for foreign workers. the tech pair arguing that a revamped version is needed for business. loomer claims that the visas take jobs away from american workers. as of last night, president elect trump had yet to weigh in on the latest back and forth on h-1b visas. he

has restricted them in the past. nicole d'antonio, abc news, washington. >> the end of the year also marks the end of the line for a legacy hardware store in san francisco. the shelves, as you see here, are mostly bare at poppenhausen hardware in west portal. the store has been around for 88 years and it is now going out of business. the owner says the store never fully recovered from the pandemic. >> habits changed as soon as the pandemic began, and we saw a 30% reduction in customer count on the street. and that is not a number that a small store like us can recover from. >> poppenhausen hardware opened back in 1936, changing ownership only twice over those 88 years since it has been in business. a local charitable tradition in the east bay got a big upgrade this year. mary meyer and nesta smith runs the do gooder garage

out of her home every holiday season, taking year in donations and distributing them to local organizations and families in need. many of the brand new items come gift wrapped, and this year she teamed up with a local retailer and began operating out of an empty storefront in lafayette. >> i invited the community in lamorinda to give, and i was blown away by the response. it's been the best thing i've ever done in my life. >> the storefront opened december the 7th. even though the holiday season is coming to a close, the care collective isn't. with all the support they've gotten, smith will keep it open as long as she can, welcoming in families across lafayette, moraga and orinda. te nonprofit habitat for humanity will host a free furniture friday in oakland. the hope is to clear out some of the warehouse to make room for new donations. abc seven news reporter lena howland joins us in studio this morning. and, lena, you visited the warehouse

yesterday. amanda. >> that's right. and i can tell you it is true when they say they have something for everyone in there. and the goal isn't just to make room for new donations, but they also want more people to know that their shop, restore oakland, is there to serve as a resource for everyone. >> oh no way. >> the sauna's going no matter what you need. >> free couch. totally free. >> chances are. >> oh, look at that. i found a tub. >> you can probably find it at habitat for humanity's restore oakland shop. >> according to kane cabrera, if it has a little green sticker, it is yours to take on friday. >> thousands of items marked with free furniture. friday labels will be yours for the taking. they need the community's help to clear out their warehouse to make room for new donations. >> it's a bit of a win win for everyone involved, right? so for us, we get to create inventory space. we allow more donations to come in so we can help service the community. at the other time, we get to have people come into our store, see what we get to offer, see what they can to help provide what the community.

>> all proceeds from items still marked for sale go right back to the community. >> it helps us build homes for our community. that's our biggest thing. home ownership needs to happen for everyone. everyone deserves a decent place to live. >> the free items include thousands of pieces of art donated by a san francisco museum. >> they just had them sitting in the back. they were like, we need space. we have archives and archives and archives. we need more space. these are sitting. take them and they're free. they're free. they're all free. you get to take them. >> what's perhaps the most important job of all? >> today i am marking all the furniture that i can. down for the free furniture. >> friday belongs to loxley wanless. >> there's a lot of things that i know. have been here for a while, and that's kind of how we're choosing. furniture is so expensive now. it's crazy. so it's nice to be able to help people all the time, all while helping to reduce, reuse and recycle. >> one less thing for the landfill. one last thing to go into the trash. it's just it's great all around now. >> free furniture friday kicks off this morning at 9:00 and it will go until 4:00, so we've it

still got a little time after the midday show today. but keep in mind there are a lot of larger pieces of furniture, appliances and art, so it might be wise to bring a truck or a larger car. if you want to pick up some of these treasures. >> oh my goodness, open to everybody. >> yeah. >> and you did a great job covering it because i would have been like, my name will go on this, hold this one for me too. >> yeah, yeah. you're already calling your relatives who has a truck, right? exactly. yeah. bring it up. bring it up. oh my goodness. thanks, lena. thank you. this morning we are tracking more rain over the next couple of days. a live look outside from the exploratorium camera showing you the embarcadero lit up in 40 niners colors. we have monday night football right here on abc. the lions in town. it's going to be a nice day for a game next week, but this morning we're dealing with rain. here's a look at the 24 hour rainfall totals. more than an inch of rain in santa rosa for half moon bay, san francisco, oakland about two thirds to three quarters of an inch of rain, a little lower in livermore and san jose. but we all saw steady rain the last 24 hours. we still track that high surf

advisory again. this is in effect until sunday afternoon. 4 p.m. waves right now across parts of the region, 12 to 14ft high. and from time to time again, we could see breakers 20 to 30ft. so stay out of the ocean through the weekend. live doppler seven gives you the active sweep at best. we're finding light showers, mist and drizzle, and a lot of areas. we do have flood advisories in effect, just meaning that there is a lot of standing water out there on our roads this morning. it's still dark, so may be hard to see some of that standing water. so just be aware of that. looking at winds it is gusty right now, but heading into the afternoon the winds really back off. so here's 3 p.m. and winds will be less than 15mph. so there's some good news there. we do track a level one throughout the day. today. it's not steady rain by any means. it's just isolated showers from time to time. we have those morning gusty winds right now that relax this weekend and high surf along the coast today. so plan out your day here. here's future weather. by noon it's just cloudy. it's humid. temperatures right around 60

degrees. later on this evening, we could track an isolated shower along the coast in the north bay. let's get you into the weekend. future weather showing you isolated showers still to be found first thing tomorrow morning. we keep a lot of the cloud cover through saturday, then saturday night into sunday. this is our last push of wet weather. sunday morning will track some steadier showers, but this system will get out of here pretty quickly and by monday we are drying out. so look at rainfall totals through the weekend. not a whole lot of rain, but we are expecting anywhere from a quarter to a half of an inch through sunday. now, early next week, things get a lot calmer for the niners game on monday. kickoff temperature 53 degrees. it's clear and cool, but we're turning cold by the fourth quarter temperatures into the mid 40s. so today we have a lot of cloud cover and isolated showers, humid upper 50s to the lower 60s. here's the accuweather seven day forecast. an isolated shower today with wind and surf. evening. rain tomorrow morning. rain to sun on sunday. and then a dry pattern prevails. a sunny start to the new year next week guys. >> all right. thank you.

coming up the seven things to know this morning. >> and new year. new you and some new laws. the policies taking effect next week after (tobias) you can get a great vehicle and support a good cause. (taylor) it helps us connect with our community;

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one. we are tracking showers, windy conditions this morning and rough surf on our coast. here's live doppler seven this morning tracking those light showers. a level one today for those isolated showers. we have some gusty winds this morning. high surf along our coast. upper 50s to the lower 60s today. >> number two weather is having an impact on post christmas travel, both on te roads and at airports across the country. triple a is predicting a lot of people packing the airports and some heavy traffic on the roadways through sunday. >> you saw the chains required on highway 80. not on 50 yet. we're tracking your commute this morning. or lack thereof. no bay bridge metering lights at this hour. we do have a lot of flooding and standing water in the north bay. in fact, some road closures. highway 121 from 37 up to 116. several lanes are blocked there, and you can see in the purple. highway 121 and highway 12 up towards wetmore

and towards schellville also flooded. >> number four, a high surf advisory is in place for san francisco's ocean beach through sunday. fire officis say swimming is strongly discouraged due to dangerous rip currents and a heightened risk of being swept out to sea. the national weather service predicts the bay area will see breaking waves between 20 and 30ft high until sunday afternoon. >> number five at 11:00 this morning, santa cruz city leaders will give an update on the wharf collapse. the pier has been closed indefinitely, shutting down 17 stores and restaurants since monday. >> number six, the next mega millions drawing is tonight. the jackpot is now up to $1.1 billion. the odds of matching all winning numbers is one in more than 302 million, according to lottery officials. >> number seven recology's christmas tree collection in san francisco is now happening through january. residents can place their trees on the curb the night before their scheduled pickup. trees must be cut to

five feet or less and free of all lights and decorations. well, a new ordinance in santa clara county to clear homeless encampments near creeks and rivers is now in effect. the valley water district passed the ordinance last month to clean up 300 miles of waterways. last week, san jose's mayor joined an outreach effort to inform about 1000 people living in encampments of the new rules. san jose is spending $27 million on cleanup and housing for those being displaced. >> 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 of the ordinance will not begin until january the 2nd. people living in encampments will have 72 hours to relocate or face a misdemeanor charge with a fine. >> if you can believe it, in just a few days, we enter the new year, and that means a slate of new laws and policies. >> hundreds of new california

laws go into effect starting january the 1st. abc7 news anchor karina nova takes us through some of them. >> artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of our lives, but not all of it in a positive way. several new laws offer some protection against abuse. it's now a crime to create and post a sexually explicit image or video of a real person that was created using artificial intelligence, but made to look real. social media platforms now have to provide mechanisms to report these deepfake videos, and they have to take them down quickly. if you're a victim of doxing when someone posts personal information about you online, like your address or phone number, you can now sue for up to $30,000 in damages. ever heard of a cannabis cafe? you will in 2025. a new law allows cannabis retailers to prepare and sell food and beverages in newly created lounges. that means customers can buy and use cannabis at a business while they eat a meal or watch a live performance. interested in

buying pet insurance? providers now need to tell you whether they base their premiums on the age of your pet or where you live, and if their policies exclude certain preexisting conditions. having trouble keeping track of your online subscriptions? service providers have to get clear consent for automatic renewals or continuing service, and they have to send you annual reminders of what you signed up for. the law also makes it easier to cancel automatic renewals if you need to take paid family leave to care for a sick family member or a new baby. your employer can no longer require you to take vacation time. first, if you're a freelance worker, employers now must provide a contract in writing indicating that work will be performed and how much and when you'll be paid. california is expanding its protections against racial discrimination to include traits such as hairstyles or textures that are associated with certain races, and the minimum wage is going up to 1650 per hour. fast

food workers have a higher minimum wage. karina nova abc, seven news. >> all right. a lot of new laws going into effect there. we've compiled a more extensive list of new california laws on our website. head on over to abc seven news.com to check it out. >> stepping up to save a community park theater coming up at 530. the generous gesture by one family and

watching abc seven mornings live. >> we have a new health alert stemming from the bird flu outbreak, and this one is targeting your pets. now, at 530, the food officials say you want to stay away from emotional structures washed away with a collapse of the santa cruz wharf. >> now, loved ones are turning to beach visitors and the internet to help collect the pieces. >> and are you ready to be a billionaire? tonight is the mega

millions drawing, and the jackpot is now topping $1.1 billion. >> good morning everyone. it is friday, december 27th. yes. >> and you can dream big this friday morning. maybe it will be a big dream. maybe it won't. >> well, they said one. your odds of winning 1 in 302,000,000. so, yeah, one in never. never. basically. >> but you got to believe. let's check in now with meteorologist drew tuma for a look at the forecast. more rain falling down and some high wind, too. drew. >> yeah, exactly right. julian. a live look from our okay camera this morning. some light rain falling across the airport. it's also warm out there this morning. 60 degrees right now in oakland. and it's very humid. you're going to notice that muggy air when you step outside. live doppler seven this morning. light showers at best right now. we do have a lot of standing water from heavier showers late last night. so a few flood advisories in effect across the region. just know we do have some ponding on our roads this morning. may be hard to see that standing water early on, so add some extra time to your travel this morning. look at the winds right now. they are strong across the

city. 36mph oakland earlier this morning gusting to 40mph. so it's breezy early on. the winds relax later on this afternoon. so today we're at a level one for those isolated showers. morning gusty winds and high surf along the coast. so throughout the day today we don't have any intense rain. but throughout the day you'll notice a light shower from time to time and some isolated drizzle. so pretty cloudy out there today. it stays humid and mild temperatures on either side of about 60 degrees. let's check in with sue. see how the commute is going. >> yeah, we've got lots of standing water drew, as you mentioned, and some road closures flooding a lot of spinouts on the roads, according to the chp. take a look at the richmond-san rafael bridge light. very light headed over towards san rafael for about an eight minute drive. your 80 corridor all the way into the city from hercules is moving at a pretty good clip. okay, here's the issue. we've got road closures and standing and flooding water from sears point highway 37 onto 121 up towards 116. also

highway 12 up towards wetmore and schellville is under water. that purple means the road is shut down again. a lot of flooding around bay area roadways. accident on 880. not really causing much slowing, but it's right in hayward at a street and another one at dixon landing road with standing water as well, and will go up towards san ramon on 680 south. and again not really affecting the freeway, but be aware that there are just several solo spinouts around the bay. >> all right, sue, thank you. in just a few hours, santa cruz is going to give an update on monday's wharf collapse. it has been closed indefinitely. meanwhile, pis are washing up and some of thems have special meaning for families. there were memorial benches on the portion that collapsed. abc seven news south bay reporter lauren martinez spoke with one family, asking for people to save what they find. >> whenever roberta rodriguez misses her son, she comes to

santa cruz, where he loved the water. in 2005, her son david passed away when he was 22 years old. a bench memorializing david sat at the end of the santa cruz wharf, but on monday it was swept away and destroyed when high swells caused the end of the wharf to collapse. that bench was a sacred space. >> it was a great place to just go sit and watch the ocean and think about him and think about our our life here and how short that was. you know, that we he went home so soon and we just miss him every day. >> the bench was installed nearly 20 years ago. >> for us, it means everything. my son grew up in this area, so he was always crabbing off the pier. >> with the help of friends, posts were made on social media to be on the lookout for any pieces that might wash up. >> these guys found the birth date kind. >> strangers found two boards of the bench in separate areas on

christmas. one board is inscribed with david's birth date. the other board is inscribed with gone fishing april 21st, 2005. it was found by a father and daughter. >> of course we love our miss our loved ones during the holiday, so i really see this as a christmas miracle. >> the santa cruz wharf has different benches commemorating lost loved ones. one woman is crediting the reddit community for helping her find the nameplate to her mother's bench that was swept away, as well, as one stranger was putting up fliers. another found the board for rodriguez aboard to her son's bench is still lost at sea. >> we are missing one more piece, and it's the top piece that has his name on it. david ramon deanda, aka dave rodriguez, hopes people will keep an eye out for it. >> she's grateful for all the help and compassion she's received this week in santa cruz. lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> hurts is apparently looking

to pull the plug on its tesla fleet. people who rent the electric vehicles are posting on social media. they're receiving offers to buy them. the prices are definitely competitive, with one person sharing. hertz offered a deal of just under $18,000 for a 2023 tesla model s. the original price tag was around 39,000. hertz made a major investment in electric vehicles three years ago, purchasing 100,000 teslas. >> the launch date for speed cameras to be implemented around san francisco is being pushed back from february to march, according to the chronicle, electrical and structural engineering challenges forced the delay. once the cameras are installed, drivers will be sent warnings if they drive more than 11mph past the speed limit. in some areas, they will be ticketed once that one month grace period is over. an anonymous family is helping lafayette save a piece of east bay history. lafayette park theater on golden gate way is a mainstay of the downtown layout

and a push for help from the community. one family agreed to match any donations to the theater's renovation project of up to $25,000, but the offer only stands until the new year, so the countdown is on for more funds. >> when they realize that their $5 all of a sudden becomes ten, or their $50 becomes 100, and it goes towards this, you know, really significant, once in a lifetime effort to bring a project like this to the east bay. >> the place hasn't been used for movies since 2005, but a renovation could preserve the architecture and allow it to be used for live music, weddings and even youth programing. >> in just a few hours, the nonprofit habitat for humanity will be hosting a free furniture friday in oakland. the hope is to clear out some of the warehouse to make room for some new donations. abc seven news reporter lena howland joining us live in studio this morning. and, lena, you got to tour the warehouse yesterday. >> i did. good morning julian.

today that habitat for humanity has asked for the community's help in clearing out their restore oakland shop in order to make room for some new donations from asana, couches, bathtubs,ns doors, artwork, and so much more. no matter what you need, you can probably find it at habitat for humanity's restore oakland. shop. all of these items are donated by people and businesses right here in the community. restore oakland typically works like a thrift store, like a thrift store, but for today, only thousands of items marked with green free furniture. friday labels will be yours for the taking, all while helping to reduce, reuse and recycle. sending one less thing to the landfill. >> it's a bit of a win win for everyone involved, right? so for us, we get to create inventory space. we allow more donations to come in so we can help service the community. at the other time, we get to have people come into our store, see what we get to offer, see what they can to help provide what the community furniture is so

expensive now. >> it's crazy. so it's nice to be able to help people all the time. >> all proceeds from items that are still marked for sale today go right back to habitat for humanity to help build homes for people in need across the community. now, free furniture friday kicks off this morning at 9:00 over at restore oakland and goes until four. live in studio lena howland, abc seven news. >> i'm sure they're going to have a big line this morning. appreciate it. thank you so much, lena. well, business is brisk in and alameda. store ahead of tomorrow's big mega millions drawing. or make that tonight. actually, hang on to those stocking stuffer lottery tickets. the jackpot will be at least $1.15 billion. >> if i won, i would make all my family very happy. and my friends. because. plus, i was wondering if you donate half of it to schools. will that work too? because schools need help. >> the odds of winning the mega millions jackpot won in more than 302 million, according to

lottery officials for today'so gma first look, here's abc news reporter andrew dymburt. >> in this morning's gma first look who wants to be a billionaire? the mega millions jackpot swelling to an estimated $1.15 billion. another historic drawing ser tonight. a winner could take home the fifth largest prize in mega millions history. there were some big winners on christmas eve for new millionaires, each a mega ball shy of the grand prize, though. mega millions calling 2024 the most unusual jackpot year in history, with only three grand prizes won, but all of them in top ten territory. that includes the $1.3 billion winner from new jersey, who finally claimed their prize this week after nine months of mystery, the odds are steep to win the jumbo jackpot about 1 in 302,000,000. and coming up at 7 a.m. what former contestants want you to know if you hit it big with your gma first look, i'm andrew dymburt, abc news, new york.

>> all right, good luck. mo, tv and music. we're reviewing some of the most popular and viral moments in media of 2024. but first, let's get a check on the weather with meteorologist drew tuma. hi, amanda. >> we'll take you to san jose at 540 this morning with a live look outside. we're looking at mostly cloudy conditions, and the big takeaway is it is muggy. it is humid and it is warm this morning. we're at 58 degrees right now. that dew point, which measures how much moisture in the atmosphere is elevated right now. so area wide temperatures. look at this 60 degrees in hayward and oakland this morning 60 right now in napa you barely need a light jacket this morning. but what we'll show you are the dew points. and again this measures how much moisture is in the atmosphere. and when these numbers like you see on the board are in the mid and upper 50s, that is humid air for us. so it feels muggy this morning. not a great hair day out there. and today it will be a cloudy day with these mild temperatures. so looking at the forecast over the next couple of hours, you notice just some small percentages

when it comes to any sort of mist and drizzle. you'll notice a lot of cloud cover and temperatures. i mean, we're holding steady. we're pretty much almost at our maximum high today with temperatures in the upper 50s to the lower 60s. here's live doppler seven along with satellite. we had some heavier showers move through in the overnight hours. the rain is tapering to. isolated showers throughout the day. still have some snow falling in the sierra chain. controls are in effect on 8-80, but not on 50 right now, so additional five inches of snow as we head towards noon today. it's pretty gusty up there. winds 60mph, so it's a cloudy day and isolated shower. we have temperatures in the upper 50s lower 60s and it does remain humid all day today. looking at the three day forecast into the weekend, we go more shower chances saturday evening into sunday morning. but next week is looking fantastic. as we head towards the new year, we'll show you that ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus on a

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widely known as jay-z and sean combs, known also as diddy of sexual assault, can remain anonymous. in a lawsuit, the woman alleges she was 13 years old when they raped her during a vmas afterparty in 2000. jay-z and diddy deny the claims. the judge's ruling means the case will proceed as a jane doe's sexual assault lawsuit, bute judge said she will revisit the decision as the case progresses. we are just a few days from a new year, but this year was a big one for the entertainment industry. >> 2024 had a lot of memorable productions and movies, tv shows and music too. abc news reporter reena roy gives us a look back. >> check check check. can you hear me? animated sequels and r-rated superhero flick in one magical movie musical dominated the film landscape of 2024. here's a look at the top movies at the domestic box office this year. the number one movie is

disney pixar's inside out two. there's a part two we're going. the sequel follows a teenage riley who learns to cope with brand new emotions like anxiety and embarrassment in second place. it's deadpool and wolverine ii pienta ryan reynolds. hugh jackman's superhero flick became the number one r-rated movie of all time at the domestic box office. >> some of us are just different. >> rounding out the top five are wicked, moana two, and despicable me four. at the oscars. oppenheimer was the big winner with seven awards, including best picture, best actor, best supporting actor and best director. what was at the top in tv in 2024? should we run away together? the limited netflix series baby reindeer had everyone talking, as did bridgerton season three. >> friends. >> fx's shogun dominated the emmy awards, winning 18, including outstanding drama series. >> this is the hill we die on, and yellowstone's final episodes were a ratings juggernaut for

paramount. >> no surprise about who dominated the music scene this year. number one on billboard's 2024 hot 100 artist chart was, you guessed it, taylor swift. swift's eras tour was also the top grossing concert tour of the year, pulling in more than $1 billion. also in the top five biggest tours this year were coldplay, pink, luis miguel and bruce springsteen. reena roy, abc news, new york. >> puerto rican music musician bad bunny is releasing a new album on january 5th. it's called debbie ramos fotos, which translates to i should have taken more photos. bad bunny's sixth studio album comes one day after he teased a 17 track list on social media. each song is titled bomba, which likely references the puerto rican musical style and dance. he recently appeared in the teaser for adam sandler's film happy gilmore two, which comes out next year. >> i did not know there was

going to be a happy gilmore two. >> oh my goodness. they just released the latest trailer. >> hilarious. looks good. okay. all right, all right. >> so we get bad bunny the first week and then beyonce the second week. >> look at that bonito. beyonce. >> happy new year to this morning. >> we're tracking that high surf advisory along our coast right now. this until sunday. so the waves right now 12 to 13ft in spots. again breakers could go 20 to 30ft through the weekend. it's windy out there. we had some heavier showers first thing this morning. they have tapered, but the wind is still pretty strong in some areas from novato to the city. we're seeing winds 20 to 30mph. some gusty winds in hayward across sfo too. the winds will back off as we head throughout the afternoon, so we're not tracking a windy day all day today. here's live doppler seven at best. you have a light shower in your neighborhood. the heaviest rain is out of here now. throughout the day we're just tracking some mist, some drizzle. the chance of an isolated shower throughout the afternoon. let's talk about those winds. look at this afternoon. by 3 p.m, we no longer have those. really

strong gusts will taper those winds to less than about 15mph throughout the afternoon. so let's show you the storm impact scale. we're at a level one today for those isolated showers. morning gusty winds again. those will weaken throughout the afternoon. and we're tracking that high surf along our coast. let's plan the days ahead. today it's a lot of cloud cover. it's humid out there. it's mild with temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s. an isolated shower at best throughout the afternoon and into the evening. it's a similar story. first thing tomorrow morning, the clouds hang on. we'll track some isolated showers. i think saturday night into sunday morning is our next best chance of finding widespread rain across the region. here's 730 sunday morning and this system will start to clear throughout sunday afternoon. and that means next week we'll see dry conditions and sunshine return to the forecast. not a whole lot of rain coming our way over the next three days. for a lot of us, less than half of an inch of rain is coming our way. certainly the storm last night brought

heavier showers, and now we'll just find some scattered isolated showers through the weekend. so early next week for the niners game at levi's on monday night. 53 degrees with clear skies at kickoff. and by the fourth quarter it's getting cold. temperatures into the mid 40s. so today it is humid. it is mild, upper 50s, lower 60s with an isolated shower and mostly cloudy skies. here's the accuweather seven day forecast showing you. we'll track those isolated showers today. it is windy at times in the morning. surf along the coast. evening rain tomorrow with morning rain to sun on sunday. and then we see a sunny pattern. work back to the forecast. it is dry and chilly for new year's eve on tuesday, with a sunny start to the new year on wednesday. >> guys dry for new year's eve. dry for the first day of hanukkah. christmas you've been delivering. drew. we love it. all right. coming up, new at six. we are talking about a new space at sfo. we'll give you a look inside the airport's sensory room. >> but first smuggled into the bay area, how local wildlife experts are helping to care for exotic animals who shouldn't be here.

>> and at 550 on this friday,

not to give their cats raw food. after a house cat in oregon died of bird flu. officials are tracing the illness to frozen cat food that contained raw turkey. that cat food. northwest naturals was recalled. but experts warn the problem goes beyond a single brand. >> we do have many reports of cats acquiring bird flu, predominantly from raw food sources. so this goes with raw milk as well as raw meats. >> and it's not just house cats. at an animal sanctuary in washington. 20 big cats were killed just in the past month after a bird flu outbreak there.

cougars, tigers and lynxes among the dead. workers now quarantining sick animals there. while cats seem to be more vulnerable to bird flu, there are reports of dogs also contracting the virus. >> scientists at the california academy of sciences travel around the world performing critical work to keep global environments healthy and climate ready. >> and in some cases, creatures from those environments unexpectedly come to them, landing right here in the bay area. as abc7 news anchor dion limb learns, that's when the work begins. >> so we're offering tilapia and earthworms today. >> it's dinner time for some hungry young fish about to hit a monster growth spurt. the specimens, called arapaima, were plucked out of the amazon in peru and illegally imported into the u.s. biologist kelsey pauling is teaching them the aquatic table manners they'll need when they're moved to a bigger tank at the steinhart aquarium at the california academy of sciences in san francisco. that's where they'll

grow to roughly the size of a human. >> so having the hoop. we're hoping that when we move them into a different system, they'll still recognize this as where they get fed. they'll come up to the surface. >> she says the academy got the call after the arapaima were intercepted by u.s. fish and wildlife in l.a. wherever they were heading probably wasn't good. >> they are not good pets because they grow up to 6 to 8ft in length. they live 20 plus years. >> or they can and potentially cause environmental havoc if they're released into a non-native environment. but it's not an isolated incident. for years, the california academy of sciences has assisted fish and wildlife as they patrol sfo and other entry points in the state, combating everything from illegal smuggling to bad decision making. >> oh for sure. i mean, there are people that are quite naive with respect to what is a poisonous animal or a plant, for example, or something that's noxious. there are people that are quite knowledgeable and can tell things apart and still decide that they want to have those kinds of things, so they will bring them into the country. >> charles delbecq directs

aquarium projects at the academy. he says their biologists routinely identify protected exotic corals illegally poached from the aquarium trade. this reptile exhibit is home to a gila monster hiding in the background between the similar beaded lizards. >> they're venomous and they will bite and they will not let go, and they will slowly pump the venom into you as they do that. >> back at the office, we see the legacy of species already exploited before they even arrive in the u.s. so any products that are made from endangered species are not allowed to be brought into the country either. everything from snake skins to seahorses to crocodiles. >> the crocodilian skull that was brought in this one actually has a strong odor to it, probably because of the way it's been coated with something. so that's why it's in this jar. >> the academy takes in many of the confiscated animals, and works with zoos and aquariums around the country to help find homes for the rest. the work can be as rewarding as it is unusual, even in the case of a soon to be giant predator. >> we also really try to focus

on not only animals surviving, but also thriving because they can't go back into their native habitats. >> in san francisco. dion lim abc seven news. >> coming up on abc seven mornings at six. independent investigator the latest in the death of a former open eye researcher who was a whistleblower. >> and we'll also talk about the new smart station, where the sonoma-marin area rail transit will open its 13th station in just a few weeks. >> and a meteorologist, drew tuma. you're looking live at our okay camera this morning. we do see some light rain on the camera. it is warm out there this morning. 60 degrees right now. it's also quite humid. the winds out of the west at 15mph. live doppler seven this morning showing you the heavy rain is out of here. we have some light showers dotting the region. a level one today for that isolated shower, some morning gusty winds, high surf along the coast. looking at your rainfall chances today. not high by any means, but an isolated shower moving

through your neighborhood will find upper 50s to lower 60s for daytime highs. the news at six is next

seven mornings live now at six. >> the collapse of the santa cruz wharf. boat owners now surveying the damage after that scary scene earlier this week, and more than a dozen businesses remain closed. >> and this morning we're taking

a live