player in this wild aquatic community. and hopefully, this research will ensure that it survives for future generations. there he goes. [music] seven news. the nba all-star weekend is giving san francisco a chance to shine bright on the world stage. and it's bringing in big bucks for the city. >> we have a voice, and we need to speak for the people who can't. it's just something that needed to be done. >> they have a message for the president. these protesters pledged to walk 21 miles today across the bay area and under

consideration for a while tonight. we know if san francisco will start enforcing parking meters on sundays and extending weekday hours. abc seven news starts right now. >> always live abc seven news starts right now. >> it's not just a game, it's an experience. and san francisco is cashing in on a full weekend of activities centered around tonight's nba all star game. good evening and thanks for joining us i'm dion lim. we do have live team coverage for you tonight. obviously we are at the game. but first the big impact is off the court. let's get to abc seven news reporter suzanne fawn with a look at the business boost that is helping build a better bay area. hi, suzanne. >> hi, dion. this three day basketball extravaganza has energized san francisco. people here are pumped, and they're showing their love with their wallet. >> i got the katie ford galaxy. i'm going to play basketball in them. >> devin harris of trenton, new

jersey has his kicks, and he's standing in line to get the latest and greatest pair. he's hoping to get what these guys just got. >> highly hyped. everyone wants them. >> like everyone here in line at the nike store. harris has spent a lot of money during the big basketball event. >> i've given san francisco almost $2,000. i am, i'm in the hole right now, but when i get home, i'll make sure i make it right. >> how did you spend it? >> oh, everything. shoes, food. good experiences. uber. i'm about 200 plus an uber right now, but. yep. >> san francisco hopes hundreds of thousands of people, just like harris, will be at the nba all-star events. >> the nba has really done this thing. and bringing the joy back to the city. >> every single year. just turning on the dunk contest, a three point contest, the skills challenge and the game on sunday is always a treat just to watch. >> i watched the dunk contest. mac mcclung was insane. this is a once in a lifetime thing. the

last time all-star was here was 25 years ago. >> from local restaurants to hotels, union square to pop up shops. visitors are pumping big bucks into the region's economy, which hopes to bring in about $350 million. the nba all-star weekend has attracted fans young and old, like eight year old ryan pryor. >> every single nba team on it, and some of them are patches like the knicks, the bulls, the lakers and then the warriors, celtics and 70 sixers. >> many fans are catching sunday night's big game at a watch party. others are seeing it in person at chase center. some ticketed experiences start at a whopping 500 bucks. diego martinez is visiting from saratoga. he's sporting his merch and checking out all the action at chase center, ending with sunday night's big game. >> it was a gift for christmas. >> martinez has his eye on one player in particular. >> type of curry. never, can never go wrong with him. >> and as you can imagine, the traffic around here is crazy

right now. we still have hundreds, thousands of people coming. they're walking, they're taking uber, they're taking the bus. they're taking muni. now, this nba all-star weekend has, definitely set the stage for future events to come in san francisco. and of course, we're talking about the super bowl next year and world cup. we're live here in san francisco. suzanne phan abc seven news. >> this is just the beginning, suzanne. thank you. well, a program that helps the city's unhoused is getting a big financial boost from an nba legend. we first told you about it yesterday. charles barkley, who has been critical of the city, is donating $250,000 to support the glide foundation's work. glide ceo talked about the donation today. >> he was really passionate on the work that we're doing. as people come into the meals line, the people walk into the glide. we're talking to them about are you house? do you need food? are you looking for a job? all the sort of navigation services that we do. this money is going to continue to support that sort of

operation that we do every day in the community at glide. >> now, the announcement came after barkley spent a day volunteering at glide, which actually surprised the organization. they found out with the rest of the world when he announced it on tnt's inside the nba show. well, the all star game tips off in mere minutes, and the big talk has been about the new format. larry biel and chris alvarez are at chase center as we speak, and larry has some big breaking news that just came in. >> major headline here on all star sunday. lakers star lebron james says he's not playing in the all star game because of nagging foot and ankle problems. now the all star format has been completely changed for this year, and the reason for that is last year's all star game was a debacle. the winning team scored 211 points. nobody played defense. no intensity. the commissioner was furious. veteran players were upset. so they decided, we're going to blow this whole thing up. and we got a whole new format. >> yeah, a whole new format. so we know the east versus west

that is gone. now. we have four teams of eight, and one of those teams of eight is made up of the rising stars, who won friday night to advance into sunday, the showcase and draymond green. not a fan of the idea. >> i think the format can be cool. the format. but in order to play on sunday night, you got to do something to get to sunday night. not not be some other rookies and sophomores you got. >> i'm with you. >> you got it. you got to really do it. you know what i'm saying? it's hard getting a sunday night. i tell you from experience, it's hard. i respect the optimism. like we should we going to try this and we going to try that next year. like he's always ahead of things and i always respect that. >> you know chris draymond makes a good point because you should have to earn your way into the game. but you know having this first and second year players out on the court with the actual veteran all-stars, they are going to go after them trying to run them into the ground. there will be some intensity. >> yeah, the young guys want to prove their worth and maybe a solution to this. you have four guys from the

rising stars winner, and then four other traditional all-stars make up that team of eight. maybe a little bit of the young guys, but a nice mix might. might be what we're looking for. >> well, maybe it's time for commissioner alvarez to be in charge of the league. the patriots are pretty good. >> i think it's. >> pretty good. all right, dion, back to you. >> uh. commissioner really does have a nice ring to it. all right, moving on now a n remains missing after reports of two people falling into the water off san francisco's embarcadero. crews rescued a woman yesterday night. they used thermal imaging cameras, drones, powerful floodlights and boats for the search. a police spokesperson tells the chronicle that the search for the missing man resumed today, and includes crews from the fire department, the california highway patrol and coast guard. the lithium ion battery of an electric scooter exploded this morning, sending one person to the hospital. that's all. according to the south san francisco fire department. this happened in a residential motel used by the county as transitional housing. the scooter was being charged in

one of the rooms when that battery exploded, starting a fire that then set off the sprinkler system. that water damage displaced 38 people who are now in need of housing. two developing news now out of the middle east. u.s. secretary of state marco rubio today says he fully endorses israel's objective in the gaza strip, saying hamas, quote, must be eradicated. abc news reporter marcus moore has details now from tel aviv. >> secretary of state marco rubio arriving in israel this weekend, on sunday visiting yad vashem with israeli president isaac herzog, honoring the 6 million victims of the holocaust, signing a book of remembrance and laying a wreath. secretary rubio also met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. the secretary endorsing israel's war goal to eradicate hamas. >> hamas cannot continue as a military or government force, and frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer, or as a force that

can threaten by by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. they must be eliminated. >> prime minister netanyahu promising to do just that. >> we haven't finished the job. we will. israel will destroy hamas military and government capabilities. gaza will look different. >> president trump, weighing in after setting a deadline last week for all of the hostages to be handed over by noon on saturday, writing on his social media platform that it's up to israel to decide what to do about the deadline and that the u.s. will back whatever decision they make. three more hostages were reunited with their families on saturday after being released by hamas. but there is still concern for the remaining 70 hostages. families imploring netanyahu to move into phase two of the cease fire, which calls for all of the hostages to be brought home. negotiators are expected to meet in doha, qatar, this week to discuss how to move into phase two. and arab leaders are also working on an alternative plan to president trump's suggestion that palestinians be moved from gaza during reconstruction to

neighboring egypt and jordan, a plan that has been widely criticized. marcus moore, abc news, tel aviv. >> the government cutting continues. the irs will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season. the latest effort to shrink the government. plus, now we know whether san francisco will start to enforce meters on sundays. the decisions by city transportation officials on how they want to fill a budget deficit. >> i'm spencer christian. we have one more little rainmaker coming our way. and then springlike warmth. i'll have details in my accuweather forecast coming up when abc

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of protesters marched from san mateo city hall to san francisco city hall to oppose mass deportations of immigrants. that march was organized by four young advocates from immigrant families who formed the group right over borders. >> we need to speak for the people who can't. we need to walk for the people who can't. it's we are here and we're we're so we have so much power that some people don't even realize they have. so your voice speaks volumes, and you need to come out and use your voice and send a message and make a statement. so that's why it was very important for us. >> the four organizers met years ago in high school and now as young adults. rumors of ice raids in their city of san mateo and the bay area inspired them to take action. the 21 mile march made stops at san bruno city hall and the daly city city hall in the south bay. dozens gathered to protest elon musk this afternoon. take a look. this was outside the palo alto

tesla sales showroom, where organizers say today's protest was to stand up against the billionaire, calling him bad for democracy. this all comes after anti-tesla protest events around the nation yesterday. musk owns tesla along with space x and x, formerly known as twitter, but is currently serving as a special government employee to president trump and heading the department known as doge. his role has drawn a lot of controversy in recent weeks, largely because of his access and decisions as a non elected official. we are learning today that the trump transition's mission to reduce government waste is now focusing on the irs. about 15,000 irs employees on probationary status face possible termination as early as next week. abc news reporter chuck syverson takes a closer look. >> sources say the employees do not work directly on processing tax filings, buto much of the agency's work is connected to that central

mission. it's the latest move in the ongoing and unprecedented purge of the federal workforce. >> we want to downsize government, but make it better. >> these sweeping cuts first, targeting roughly 200,000 probationary federal employees across the government. at least 2000 workers fired from the department of energy. more than 1000 from veterans affairs and another 1000 from the centers for disease control, including half of the agency's doctors and scientists who respond to outbreaks at home and abroad. president trump empowering elon musk to dramatically slash the government's budget. these actions have left some fired federal workers scared of what's next. >> we're under attack by billionaires, but i'm not a billionaire. so, you know, for me, the next steps are scary. >> and now the pentagon, which employs 3.4 million troops and civilians bracing for possible cuts, too. chuck sivertsen, abc news, new york. >> we've been following sfmta's budget crisis. the agency is facing a $50 million budget

deficit for the next fiscal year. they say they've figured out where $35 million will come from, but need to secure the remaining 15. sfmta says it has ruled out charging for parking on events or sundays as its meters, but it is considering three other options. they include muni service cuts, other agency wide cuts, including the school crossing guard program and maintenance and bus stop lighting projects, or spending $15 million in reserve funds. the board will discuss short term options on tuesday. learning more about an icon of the wild. state biologists just completed an effort to better monitor california's small but rebounding gray wolf population. >> i'm spencer christian. we have a few weather changes coming our way. first, a little rain and then a big warm up. i'll have the accuweather forecast in just a moment.

♪

dreams begin here. welcome to the goodnight club.

keep tabs on california's small but rebounding gray wolf population. wildlife biologists last month captured an radio collared 12 wolves. those collars provide detailed information about habitat and location. biologists can then share that information with ranchers about wolf activity. the california department of fish and wildlife says it will begin issuing annual wolf reports starting in april. they are magnificent to watch. >> i was thinking the same thing from a distance. >> that's right. don't get too close. >> you're fascinating creatures. they really are. we got some interesting weather coming our way this week. >> we really do. >> yeah. a little bit of rain on the way. very, very little, though. around midweek. as you look at the satellite radar image, you see high pressure is going to give us a mainly clear skies and dry weather the next couple of days. but there's a

weak disturbance developing out there that will be coming in to bring maybe some light showers midweek. but right now we're looking at calm winds. wind speeds under ten miles per hour, just about everywhere. not a big temperature change from this time yesterday. some locations are a couple of degrees warmer, like concord, livermore, san francisco and north bay areas which have had lingering clouds all day. a little bit cooler than at this time yesterday. 56 degrees in san francisco right now. upper 50 at oakland, hayward, san jose, redwood city and 55 at half moon bay. clouds getting a little bit lower at the golden gate right now. it had been bright sky there just most of the afternoon. 52 degrees right now in santa rosa. petaluma, 5256 napa. upper 50s to low 60s at fairfield, concord and livermore. nice view from emeryville. looking at the western sky. clouds getting lower, but the sun is breaking through there a little bit. these are our forecast headlines next two days. partly cloudy and dry. wednesday we'll see some light rain, mainly in the north bay. won't last very long. then thursday through sunday we'll have a spring-like warm up coming our way. so this evening and

into the late night hours, we'll see a little bit of clearing going into the midnight hour, but then a few clouds come back into the picture overnight and possibly just an isolated shower up near cloverdale, and then partly cloudy skies for most of the day tomorrow. overnight lows will be mainly in the mid 40s, a little chillier up north, with some upper 30s around the santa rosa area and fairfield a low of 39. highs tomorrow, mainly in the upper 50s to around 60. down in san jose we might see 62 degrees so relatively cool tomorrow, but we have a warm up coming later along with this rain. here's the forecast animation taking us into early wednesday morning, when that light rain will start to push into the north bay. there may be a light shower or two in other areas, but this is mainly a north bay event and it will be out of here by wednesday night, followed by lots of clearing and a fairly significant warm up coming our way. here's the accuweather seven day forecast tomorrow. of course presidents day. enjoy the partly cloudy and mild conditions, and that high should reach 60 for inland

and 60 for the bay. i guess i made a typo with that 65. then on tuesday and wednesday we'll see mid 60s as the highs for most locations. but notice the big warm up at the end of the week. friday upper 60s around the bay and inland. low 60s on the coast, 70 to 72 degrees inland and around the bay on saturday and sunday and mid 60s on the coast. it's yeah, a nice preview of spring. >> yeah. i mean, at this rae we're going to be in the 80s by next week. >> we might. >> be. all right. spencer. thank you. one last chance to seek good fortune. we'll take you to the last event today for san francisco's chinese new year festival. that's

a day of remembrance. there was a ceremony at the kabuki theater in japantown, which commemorated the executive order that led to the detention and imprisonment of 120,000 japanese americans during world war two. men, women and children were forced onto trains and sent to concentration camps without due process. organizers say the event should serve as a cautionary tale. >> here we're having a situation once again where the government is talking about imprisoning people based on their race because without due process. so i think our lesson, the object lesson here, is that we don't want history to repeat itself. and that's why it's very important to have this kind of observance. >> survivors and their descendants led a candle lighting ceremony. another remembrance event begins in just

a few minutes in san jose, san francisco's chinese new year parade is over, but the festivities continue. people were out and about enjoying the community street fair in chinatown today. there were more than 100 vendor booths, activities and entertainment for all ages. it all happened along grant avenue from california to broadway. that two day fair wrapped up at 5:00 this evening, and we do have a lot more coverage of the chinese new year parade and festivities at our website, abc seven news.com. you can watch yesterday's parade in its entirety. you'll also find links and stories right there on our front page. well, just ahead. the sweetest scandal of the week. next. the rise to fame for an opossum who really likes dessert.

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attention for binge eating an entire costco cake. that's very disturbing. kim dodged it, apparently left the cake on her front porch of her nebraska home because her refrigerator was too full. she wanted to keep it cool. hours later, she learned a hungry opossum eat the entire thing. dodge it called animal care. when the stuffed opossum wouldn't leave. nebraska wildlife rehab says the animal was panting, but alert will be okay. fans have flooded the wildlife center with messages of support for the now viral cake bandit, which, even as you just saw, has her own t shirt. of

course, she was panting. it's a big job to eat all that sugar. >> yeah, well, i guess the next time i have some leftover cake and don't know what to do with it, i'll invite the opossum over. >> and we had a debate. it's both opossum and possum, apparently. >> i guess either or. yeah, like merriam-webster says, they're both acceptable. >> that's right. i don't plan to say that word often. >> nor do. >> i. >> nor do i plan to share my cake very often. >> see you tonight at tonight, we're following several developing stories as we come on the air. at least eight people are dead, including a mother and child, after historic flooding in kentucky. >> plus, the high-level talks that could reshape europe and the middle east. we begin with that deadly flooding. kentucky's governor is calling it one of the most serious weather events in a decade. many deaths are attributed to people being trapped in flooded cars. officials say they have made moreha