>> and finally tonight. pandas in the snow. you've never seen this much cute. the storm that wreaked havoc for millions in the northeast. nothing but fun for bo li and xing bao. the smithsonian national zoo's giant pandas said the zoo on x flakes stuck to their fur as the bears frolicked and somersaulted. it was positively the panda snowman of our dreams. adorable. and to the good people of california, stay safe tonight. that's nightline for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here. same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night. >> more americans choose abc news, america's number one news source. >> who is this guy? >> he was kind of creepy. >> pure evil. we were shocked. >> this is every woman's nightmare. this is not just any

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abc seven live. breaking news. apocalyptic. >> this is. we've had small fires. nothing like this. >> it sounds like a freight train is coming through the trees here. >> watching more and more homes in different neighborhoods that are going up in flames. >> it is just a see. a massive wall of embers that just get blown across the area. >> i'm struggling to fathom what

the damage is going to look like when the sun comes up. >> when the sun comes up. who knows what we'll see. devastation in los angeles tonight, with a number of wildfires racing through neighborhoods. >> extreme winds and barely a drop of rain fueling an explosive firestorm that firefighters cannot even begin to fight. good evening. >> i'm ama daetz and i'm dan ashley. thanks for joining us tonight. we have team coverage tracking the two wildfires devastating los angeles from the iconic pacific palisades on the coast to the suburbs of altadena. >> iconic landmarks from palisades high school to the getty villa are on fire tonight as the palisades fire scorches five football fields a minute. >> the palisades fire started this morning and the winds caused it to explode in size, burning nearly 3000 acres and reaching the pacific ocean. at least one firefighter and several people have been injured. >> the eaton fire started this evening. it's near altadena and has burned at least 400 acres. there are evacuation orders for

nearby pasadena. the palisades fire moved so fast, people literally had to make a run for it to evacuate, and that meant ditching their car. >> the smoke just got really bad. so i just started packing up all of our stuff, and we got in the car to go, and then all the cars were abandoned, so i had nowhere to go. so i just had to get out of my car and start walking. the smoke is so bad i don't i have no idea where we're going. >> more than 30,000 people are under an evacuation order because of the palisades fire, and that now includes parts of santa monica. let's get to reporter nico kousouris watching building after building burn in past pacific palisades. >> just devastating palisades high school. we have confirmed just about 15 minutes ago there was a firefighter. that's one of their concerns. but so is the palisades playhouse, which is right across the street that has also burned down. they said their main focus right now is to evacuate the people that were inside palisades playhouse and

also nearby buildings. look at this building that's burned to the ground as well. i'm still trying to figure out exactly what this was. i think it was a business because there is a sign that says 50% off everything. so this obviously was not someone's home. but we do have some homes nearby in the street. this is bode beaudoin streets right across from palisades high school off temescal canyon. so the homes in this neighborhood looks like they are in danger. >> and evacuations for both of these fires have been frantic. this was the moment a nursing home in altadena was evacuated as that eaton fire exploded. people rushed to a parking lot as flames spread blocks away. reporter sophie flay reports. from that nursing home. >> you can see this is some of the equipment that was used to help transport people to get them into those ambulances, to get them into those emergency vehicles, to transport them to their evacuation center again,

which is in los feliz. but look at this. i mean, we have we have beds, we have stretchers, we have we so many wheelchairs. this was not easy. this was not easy and terrifying for so many of these people, for the people inside the nursing home, this assisted living facility, and of course, for their family members. >> sophie flay on the scenes. now, several firefighting crews from the bay area are in los angeles right now trying to save homes, but these vicious conditions are making that a nearly impossible job. as you can clearly tell. abc seven news reporter lauren martinez looks at the factors driving this very dangerous situation. >> bay area firefighters are helping to protect structures against the wind whipped palisades fire. five engines from the south bay are in los angeles county. three engines from cal fire's san mateo santa cruz unit, and two and two engines from cal fire santa clara. it's our job. >> it's what we're here to do. >> public information officer chelsea burkett was once a firefighter herself. she says the strike team there must stay

alert with the weather. >> every fire is different. that's the biggest thing, is there's no fire. that's the same. and so anytime any of our firefighters are going in to fight a fire, it's important for them to make sure that they're paying attention to what they're doing, because it's not going to be like the last fire that they were on. >> the first responders are taking drastic measures to help. at one point, a bulldozer pushed abandoned cars in order to clear a path for fire crews. >> hundreds of cars on sunset boulevard, and it does appear to get the correct machinery into this fire zone. >> the fire moved quickly, and what officials are calling a highly dangerous windstorm, craig clements, director of the wildfire interdisciplinary research center in san jose, explains when that is perpendicular or near perpendicular to the terrain. >> and so what happens is the wind is forced over the terrain and it increases on velocity on the downslope side dramatically. and so that's what's happening in southern california. >> peak winds are expected

overnight. >> the higher the wind speed, the longer the embers can be transported. so you get farther distances of ember transport and the flame front itself can actually move faster. >> got a lot of unchecked fire on the left flank, clements said. >> it's not uncommon to have a large fire in the winter, but this extreme fire behavior is associated with dry conditions. >> it all depends on the conditions leading up to the winter season. the fact that southern california is so far behind in precipitation is really what's leading up to this, you know, firestorm that's happening across the la basin, governor newsom said. >> with the unprecedented winds, the state will continue to mobilize resources in the south bay. lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> and we continue our team coverage of this. so we want to get to sandhya patel, who is tracking the conditions tonight. >> yes, sandy, we knew these winds were coming. you told us about it very clearly, but firefighters did what they could to prepare to prepare. but the winds are just unstoppable. not

much they can really do. know. >> this is an extreme situation. dan and ama and they are dealing with a life threatening situation down south. with that wind storm now a firestorm, we have a third fire that has just broken out in sylmar. here are the two major fires burning right now. the palisades fire. it is gusty. you can see 24 mile an hour winds. it is very dry. and the other fire nearby 74 mile an hour wind gusts. so definitely a dangerous situation near altadena as well. look at some of the other wind gusts right now. malibu, 92 miles an hour. malibu hills 83. red flag warning. particularly dangerous situation. red flag warning going right now. and it is in effect until thursday evening as those wind gusts anywhere between 80 to 100 miles an hour in isolated spots will continue. so that is a concern. you look at some of the winds going into the wee hours of the morning. san luis obispo 41, los angeles 37. still gusty for the early morning hours and then the winds will continue to increase and

then decrease as we head into wednesday night into thursday morning. you could see the smoke plume from those fires moving out over the ocean. just how ferocious those winds are here in the bay area. we don't have the fire danger. we do have the gusty winds from mount tam. you can see right now it is 52 mile an hour. winds on big rock ridge, 56 mount aluminum and the winds at the lower elevation. 39 half moon bay 30, in hayward. a wind advisory is still going until 10:00 tomorrow morning. could see a few power outages and some downed tree limbs, so definitely keep that in mind. we are monitoring this very dangerous situation. we'll be back with more on that later. >> dan. yeah, sandy, thanks a lot. we'll come back in a moment. just incredible and terrifying. what's happening here? we'll return to fire coverage in a few moments, but we want to move to something else for just a minute. for years, we have followed a tragic story of violence on the freeway. the court case is now moving forward this month for the people accused of killing a five year old in a shooting on 8-80 in the fremont area. abc seven news reporter j.r stone

explains her family's concerns with a new district attorney at the helm. >> i just want justice because that's what my daughter deserves. >> sophia crisostomo is fighting for her daughter eliana, who back in april of 2023 was shot to death as their family drove along i-880 near the border of fremont and milpitas in alameda county. >> they killed my daughter on my father's and my mother in law's birthday. we were heading to dinner that day. no road rage whatsoever. >> the preliminary hearing in the case is next week. former alameda county district attorney pamela price posted a video statement about this case last summer. >> those three men have each been charged with murder with gang and gun enhancements, but they were not charged with murder under special circumstances, which would make parole not possible during sentencing if they are convicted, and something that legal analyst stephen clark says

would be possible to do in this case, since it was a drive by shooting. >> am i correct in saying without the special circumstances, there would be a possibility for parole? >> absolutely. what the special circumstances allegation does is ensures that someone never walks the streets again. >> sophia's son was sitting next to her late daughter when she was shot and killed. she says her son is now in therapy, but still struggles after witnessing what happened to his sister. >> i remember her voice saying she wants chocolate cake. that was her. that was. i remember the last thing that she said. they took her for no reason. >> our calls and emails to the alameda da's office, which is being run by an interim da, were not returned tuesday night. clark says the public will be

watching this case and others like it closely. after the recent recall of da price, the voters spoke very clearly in alameda county that they did not want pamela price or her charging philosophy to be in charge of the da's office any longer. >> in just how aggressively are these cases going to be prosecuted, particularly when you have the indiscriminate murder of a young child? >> j.r stone, abc seven news. >> hundreds came together tonight at the congregation emanu-el to celebrate san francisco's new mayor elect, daniel lurie. it's an interfaith service. mayor london breed participated in at her church. third baptist before she took office. abc seven news anchor dion lim was at tonight's event, the first of many this inauguration week. >> under the dome of congregation emanuel. a procession of nearly 60 interfaith leaders kicked off an evening of celebration for

incoming mayor daniel lurie tuesday night. >> it's in solidarity of our city, right? and it's in solidarity of community and the value of interfaith. how good. >> along with the music and a reading from the quran. >> and to us who are muslims, we say, assalam o alaikum. >> a portion of the night's program included prayers for our city. >> this new season of leadership under mayor lurie help him to free up affordable housing projects that are so close to breaking ground. >> touching upon the need for housing safety. our homeless crisis. >> may we hear the cries of those who make our streets their bed tonight. >> and an overall renewal for san francisco. >> say you're beautiful. >> meantime, in chinatown, preparations were underway for an inauguration day night market concert and unity banquet at far east cafe. lurie is the first mayor to celebrate his first day

in office in the neighborhood. kevin chan, owner of legacy small business the chinatown fortune cookie company, is excited about the attention the chinese community and us, even me, have high hopes on him, but hopes to turn his community's fortunes around after lingering problems in the neighborhood. >> i see a bunch of garbage everywhere every day, and the tourists come by and see this. they walk up to see it. they walk down. they see it. it's disgusting. >> chan is choosing to be cautiously optimistic because all the politicians departments. >> i hope it's not a show. >> back at congregation emanu-el, daniel lurie's own father, rabbi brian lurie, gave his blessing to his teary eyed son. >> i love you very much. >> who then made this promise back to the city of san francisco. >> and i commit to all of you that i will never stop working on behalf of all of you and every single san franciscan. thank you, and i'll see you tomorrow. >> in san francisco. dion lim, abc seven news. >> it's a big day tomorrow. join

us for complete coverage of lurie's swearing in. we will stream the inauguration ceremony live starting at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow on abc7 news.com and abc seven bay area app as well. >> how do we keep ai from being used for crime? the role of san francisco based tool played in the new year's day cybertruck explosion. >> great america's days are numbered and may be fewer than we thought. the bad sign for the iconic south bay theme park and ahead in sports, the 40 niners make another change to the coaching staff, while the giants coaching staff, while the giants add an a molly leaving was one thing. but then i thought mom's osteoporosis might keep us stuck on the couch. no way. ♪ if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, and are at high risk for fracture, you can do more than just slow bone loss. you can build new bone in 12 months with evenity®. evenity® is proven to significantly reduce spine fracture risk. she said the evenity® she's taking builds new bone.

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are a number of wildfires burning right now. ferocious fires the palisades fire erupted this morning and has burned nearly 3000 acres. a number of homes have gone up in flames. the eaton fire started this evening near altadena and pasadena. it is at 400 acres but is moving rapidly and we have seen a number of houses on fire. tens of thousands of people are under an evacuation order, and a new fire just broke out 45 minutes ago near sylmar. this is a time lapse. it is already up to 100 acres and is burning just north of interstate two. ten people are being told there that they need to evacuate as well. >> new details tonight in the new year's day cybertruck explosion outside the trump hotel in las vegas. investigators say the man behind the explosion used artificial

intelligence to plan it, relying on a san francisco based company's tool. police believe it's the first time the technology has been used to plan an attack on u.s. soil, but it's something experts have been raising the alarm over for months. which brings us to tonight's deep dive. looking at the dark side of innovation. >> abc seven news reporter tim johns has a look at the role chatgpt played in the cybertruck explosion, and the big questions about ai and crime following the cybertruck explosion. >> outside trump tower in las vegas on new year's day, investigators are now saying they believe the suspect used artificial intelligence. >> we also have clear evidence in this case now that the suspect used chatgpt artificial intelligence to help plan his attack. >> police say the suspect searched history from chatgpt, showed he used the ai tool to look for information on topics such as explosive targets, as well as how far certain rounds of ammunition would travel. the las vegas sheriff calling the

suspect's use of generative ai a game changer. >> it's actually the worst case scenario that we that we are afraid of. >> professor ahmed bonafe is a tech expert at san jose state university. he was part of a group of silicon valley leaders who wrote a letter to the white house in 2023 urging president biden to create guidelines surrounding the creation and use of ai. bonafe says the cybertruck explosion is exactly the type of incident that letter was hoping to stop. >> if somebody is asking about something like this, information is available, but at the same time, this is going to be a flag. either you block that information or you alert the authorities. >> some disagree, though. that includes josh richmond, a spokesperson for the electronic frontier foundation. >> we're not sure we see how this is a game changer, given that such information has been available online via traditional search engines for decades and in public libraries for a century before that. >> chatgpt creator openai echoed those sentiments and said they were working with law

enforcement. on tuesday, they released a statement which reads in part, we are saddened by this incident and committed to seeing ai tools used responsibly. our models are designed to refuse harmful instructions and minimize harmful content, but with artificial intelligence only expected to advance at an exponential pace moving forward, manafoe believes now is the time to act. >> we still can't catch this early before it gets out of control. >> the suspect in the las vegas incident died during the explosion in san francisco. tim jonze, abc seven news. >> okay, we need to get back to the weather because it is causing a great deal of destruction. >> it sure is down south. these three fires now burning in the los angeles area. meteorologist sandhya patel is here with the forecast and the real trick. the problem here, sandhya. the wind. >> yeah, and the wind is not going to let up anytime soon. it is a ferocious wind. its extreme down there. dan, let me show you a live picture from our sister station down from southern california. and as you may already know, these fires tend

to create their own weather conditions. so that is another thing that the firefighters are going to have to battle. let's take a look at the wind gusts right now. you will notice malibu hills 83 miles an hour. altadena 40. malibu vista 40. 54 castro peak. it is going to be a long night ahead. you have very, very dry conditions. life threatening situation unfolding. so high pressure has been building in behind the departing trough, which is now pushing into the desert southwest. we're basically sandwiched in between. and so those winds are really just fueling those fires. keep in mind, southern california has had very little rain. we're in the middle of winter here, and the windy, dry pattern is not helping any. so the strong santa ana winds are pushing those three fires that are burning. this was the last images that i saw right before the sun went down. and you can see clearly the smoke from the palisades fire moving out over the ocean

for miles. that is going to be a problem. obviously here we've had our share of winds. want to talk about the peak gusts so far? mount saint helena 84 miles an hour. and that was this evening 52. big rock ridge 63. blackhawk less around oakland hills, about 35 miles an hour. look at your high temperatures. it was a mild to warm day. record setting 72, santa rosa 69. in kentfield. it was pretty mild in san jose 70 degrees 68 oakland, napa, richmond 66 san francisco and half moon bay 65 degrees in livermore. a live view once again from mount tam, and you can see just how shaky that view is. we do have high clouds passing through the bay area right now. we're still tracking those winds, clocking up to about 50 miles an hour overnight 50 in calistoga, 33, san francisco, 37. in fairfield, you'll notice even 40 mile an hour winds around 4 a.m, but the winds really start to back off by 8 a.m, and then they'll continue to ease going into the early afternoon hours. we'll hang on to the mild weather,

though, for the afternoon. look at how mild it is because of the winds. right now, temperatures are in the 50s and the 60s. a live view from sutro tower. it is also a bouncy view through tomorrow morning. windy weather continues along the coast. the dangerous beach conditions. even though that beach hazard statement has expired the rest of the workweek, we are looking at mild to warm conditions and sunny weather. so going into tomorrow morning we start off with 40s and 50s. quickly those temperatures rise with the downsloping or offshore winds. so we're talking about low to upper 60s. and then by evening a few clouds begin to creep back in. temperatures will drop off into the 50s. so your morning numbers will range from the 40s to the 50s. unless you're around lakeport and ukiah, sheltered from the wind dropping down to the 30s as we look at the afternoon. highs 63 in the city, 68 in santa rosa, 65 in san rafael. fairfield 64, oakland fremont 68, san jose 63 degrees in concord and santa cruz on thursday. it's going to be a pretty mild day. we're going to see 60s and 70s records are likely friday. those

temperatures do dial back. and then as we head towards saturday, another mild round of weather heading your way. the accuweather seven day forecast. windy early in the morning. it's a mild afternoon. possibility of records on thursday and then temperatures even though they come down a little bit, still above average going into the weekend. early next week, our dry pattern continues. bright sunny skies for you. no rain

california's great america is going to close, but that could happen much sooner than expected. our media partners at the bay area news group report. new documents show the lease for the santa clara amusement park could be terminated at the end of june 2028. this would force it to shut down. prologis purchased the property in 2022 and agreed to lease it back to cedar fair. that's the company that runs the amusement park. the park was slated for closure in 2033. now it could be (vo) fargo is your virtual assistant from wells fargo. (woman) oh, come on! come on! (vo) fargo lets you do this: (woman) fargo, turn off my debit card! (woman) i found it! i found my card! (vo) and also, this: (woman) fargo, turn on my debit card. (vo) do you fargo? you can, with wells fargo. what else can fargo do? quickly tell you what you spend on things like food. (dad) fargo, what did i spend on groceries this month? (son) hey dad, can the guys stay for dinner? (dad) no... (vo) learn more at wellsfargo.com/getfargo.

after sunday's season finale. he wouldn't address any potential coaching changes until the team made some final decisions. espn reports the niners are relieving nick sorensen of his defensive coordinator duties. he could remain with the team in a different role. kyle and gm john lynch are set to meet the media tomorrow. a frustrating night for stephen curry and the warriors against miami at chase center tonight. final seconds of the first half off the heat, miss haywood highsmith somebody box out. puts back the buzzer beater. heat up 13 at the half. trace jackson davis with one of his better games of the season. slams it home. season high 19 points. dubs down six after three early fourth. curry this is just silly. splits the defenders and lays it in. how about a score and shimmy at the end of it. curry had a game high 31. the dubs actually pull within one but it was all heat. after that you foul on the corner three. that's bad miami

extending their lead. and then bam adebayo was a problem. dunk and one. and then later in the fourth. alley oop to the gold medal. olympian 19 points nine rebounds five assists. miami closes on a 2712 run. warriors lose 100 1498. they're 18 and 18 overall. macklin celebrini right into your living room. sharks wrapping up a six game home stand against vegas tonight. first period marc stone on the breakaway. 11th of the season one nothing golden knights they led two nothing after one. sharks get one back in the second. it's william eklund power play goal two one game. but vegas gets it right. back in the third. jack eichel backhanded pass across to viktor olafsson shoots and scores! golden knights win, four two. they sweep the season series. hot stove news from espn. the giants and justin verlander, agreeing to a one year deal pending a physical. the future hall of fame pitcher is a two time world series champion, three time cy young award winner. he's going to be entering his 20th season when spring training opens next month in scottsdale. andre iguodala at the first ever tgl golf match.

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to miss having all those boxes in my house here on set, though. >> my go to move is to put them in the freezer. the thin mints? yes. >> the thin mints, especially samoas, are my favorite. big glass of milk. >> all right. coming up, the dog that was saved by a drone. >> plus electric flying taxis. why? some executives are hoping they could be