tv ABC7 News 400PM ABC February 21, 2025 4:00pm-5:00pm PST
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closures. yeah. >> there's an abundance of rodents this year. >> the mating season is getting longer because of the weather. >> and the rat population is soaring. and it just might have to do with climate change. good afternoon, i'm kristen z. >> and i'm dan ashley. thanks for joining us. as the city of oakland faces a budget deficit of $129 million this year, an audit has found more than a million and a half dollars in overpaid overtime pay. >> that money paid out over the last six years, but the problem could be bigger. abc seven news reporter suzanne fawn is live in the newsroom for us with reaction. suzanne. >> kristen. dan. city leaders say the new findings are absolutely frustrating, especially at a time when oakland has been forced to make cutbacks, overpaid for overtime. an audit finds the city of oakland overspent and paid more than $1.6 million in overtime to hundreds of department of transportation and public works employees. the oakland city auditor says the investigation covered a six year period from
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january 2018 to may 2024. >> we concluded that it was clearly a wasteful practice, and but we you know, we know that it's been in place for quite some time. >> the reason behind it. the city used a different method to calculate overtime than is required by federal law. we asked city auditor michael hueston why. >> we don't know exactly when the problem started, and we don't know whether or not it was intentional or if it was by accident. >> houston says he's reported the information to the city administration and more departments could be investigated. interim mayor oakland kevin jenkins, exasperated when asked about the findings. >> it's absolutely frustrating. that's $1.6 million that could go to supporting parks like this, and that's $1.6 million that could go to supporting festivals that are going on this weekend, including black joy parade, including other festivals. so that's money that could be spent in other places that promote the good in
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oakland. >> the city of oakland faces a budget shortfall of $129 million this year. it will face an additional $280 million shortfall in the next two years. >> at this time, we are you know, the city is browning out fire stations. there's cuts to all kinds of services, some of them critical services. employees have been impacted, been impacted. there have been layoff notices and expenditure freezes. >> the vice chair of oakland's budget advisory commission also weighing in. >> what we're learning from this report is that the city continues to have issues with managing overtime. in addition to these two departments, we're also seeing that police overtime is significantly over budget. and that's been a continuing trend. so at a time when every single dollo the city matters more than ever, we really need to get to the bottom of how overtime is being accounted for across departments. >> and oakland's mayor plans to sit down with the city auditor
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and city administrator to determine what to do next about the overpayments. an investigation may continue to more departments. live in the newsroom. suzanne phan abc seven news. >> suzanne. thank you. happening now, the santa rosa city school board of education is holding a special meeting on school closures to address a $20 million budget deficit. it's a continuation of their wednesday night meeting where they voted to close three elementary schools. on the chopping block today are elsie allen high school and santa rosa comstock and herbert slater middlestock schools. there's also a proposal that would turn three other high schools into seventh through 12th grade campuses. police are back out at a home in antioch today after finding four children living in poor conditions. they first visited the home yesterday after somebody reported a two-year-old alone outside. inside the house, officers found three other children, all aged eight and under, with no adults. police say the kids appeared to need medical attention and were taken to hospitals, then were placed
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in the custody of child and family services. the mother was arrested on child abuse charges when she returned to the home. a hazmat team deemed the home uninhabitable. >> three new developments out of los angeles this afternoon. fire chief kristen crowley has been ousted. fired today by mayor karen bass over the response to those deadly and devastating southern california wildfires. here's reporter rob hayes from our sister station in los angeles. >> from fire chief to just plain fired los angeles mayor karen bass today, terminating chief kristen crowley, blaming her for improperly staffing the palisades and eaton fires. >> we all know that a thousand firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke were instead sent home on chief crowley's watch. these actions required her removal. >> in the wake of those deadly fires. bass and crowley initially appeared supportive of each other side by side at news
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conferences, but it didn't take long for a rift to form. >> we took a $17 million budget cut. >> the fire chief blasting the city for underfunding and understaffing the department, leaving it vulnerable. in turn, bass slammed chief crowley for refusing to put together a required after action report as part of the mayor's investigation into the fire response. and earlier this week, mayor bass, who was overseas in ghana when the fires broke out, blamed the fire department for failing to warn her of the potentially deadly weather conditions that were headed to l.a. >> every time there was a weather emergency or even a hint of a weather emergency, the chief has called me directly. that did not happen this time. >> the fire department says it followed its standard preparation procedures and issued public and media advisories. these warning posts on x, dating back a week before the fires. >> did you see the forecast before you went to ghana? >> no. >> we reached out to crowley for comment on her dismissal, but haven't heard back. in the
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meantime, retired lafd firefighter ronnie villanueva will take the helm as interim fire chief. >> the los angeles city fire department will be prepared. the los angeles los angeles city fire department will respond, and the los angeles city fire department will keep you safe. >> now, we are also learning that crowley is choosing to stay on with the fire department at a lower rank. la's civil service rules give her that option. what the position might be, however, will be determined by the new interim chief in los angeles, rob hayes. abc seven news. >> some good news about the environmental effects of the moss landing battery plant, fire, soil, sediment and water testing in santa cruz county show there are no elevated metal levels related to the fire. the county says there is also no sign of any public health or food safety concerns. the results are consistent with similar tests taken more than a week ago. >> today, president trump clashed with the governor of
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maine over transgender rights during a meeting with governors at the white house. the president told democrat janet mills that she better go along with his executive order banning trans athletes from competing in girls and women's sports, or risk losing federal funding and her job. mills responded, telling the president she'll see him in court. a legal victory for trump today, a federal judge allowed his plans to dismantle u.s. aid to move forward, and the associated press is suing trump administration officials over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech. the administration blocked the ap after it refused to change its style guide to call the gulf of mexico the gulf of america. >> a report out tonight says that mass firings are set to hit noaa, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. sources tell news site the hill that the firings will come after howard lutnick sworn in as commerce secretary. meanwhile, noaa grants related to global
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warming and other topics targeted by president trump's executive orders will be canceled. today, a federal judge extended a temporary restraining order blocking the trump administration's drastic cuts in medical research funding. 22 state attorneys general research universities, medical schools and hospitals filed lawsuits challenging the cuts at the national institutes of health. the suits claim the cuts would devastate research institutions nationwide. the city of san francisco has filed a brief stating its support for the lawsuit. >> a california lawmaker today announced new legislation to overhaul the sanctuary state law. it's being called safety before criminal sanctuary. >> abc seven news reporter dustin dorsey looks at what this could mean for local sanctuary cities. >> california has been long considered to be a sanctuary for all, especially immigrants and their families. but a group of republican lawmakers believe certain laws protecting these communities have gone too far. >> the safety before criminal
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sanctuary act is a common sense measure, a simple reform to tighten up california's sanctuary state policy in favor of better public safety. >> they are proposing a bill that would amend the state's landmark sanctuary bill, sb 54, which prohibits local and state resources from assisting in immigration enforcement, with some exceptions for immigrants convicted of certain crimes. >> sb 554 will absolutely allow law enforcement to make sure that we are able to prevent child molesters, rapists, murderers, robbers who victimize us from being released into our communities. >> the proposed bill would also prevent local agencies from adopting stricter policies than the state's landmark sanctuary bill, which angela chan helped draft. however, chan says the 10th amendment protects against these mandates. >> almost every county in the bay area have. they have stronger policies than sb 54. none of these counties are going to want to roll back their
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policies, so they are going to vigorously oppose a bill like this. that's why this bill is really dead in the water. >> the sb 554 press conference was met with opposition, as have other trump administration immigration policies, supervisor susan ellenberg told us in a statement that policies like sb 554 stand in sharp contrast to the philosophy and ideology of santa clara county. san jose city council member pete ortiz says the city will continue to support the backbone of our society and economy against future threats. >> i just challenge, you know, republicans, whether it's on the local level, state or federal level. how will our society run without these individuals who they seem to have scapegoated and demonized? >> sb 554 would need democratic support and a sign off of governor gavin newsom before becoming law. dustin dorsey, abc seven news. >> proposed new legislation would make repaying victims of crime a priority in california. san francisco district attorney brooke jenkins and assembly
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member catherine stefani introduced the restitution first act today. the bill would require crime victims to be paid ahead of any other orders, judgments or debts owed by person convicted of a crime. current law does not put victims ahead of other debts. >> it's a busy friday. coming up, rat city. what san francisco is doing to clean up its image. >> all right. how to avoid texting scams. we talked directly to the scammers. >> and later, the gallery owner making sure art is accessible to all. >> i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. nice and mild today. and this pattern is going to continue through the weekend. i'll have a look at your forecast coming up i mean, i know how the fire affected me, and there's always a constant fear that who's to say something like that won't happen again? that's fair. we committed to underground, 10,000 miles of electric line. you look back at where we were 10 years ago and we are in a completely different place today, and it's because of how we need to care
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♪ ...at each day's start. ♪ ♪ as time went on, it was easy to see. ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c! ♪ and for adults with type 2 diabetes... ...and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. serious side effects include increased ketones in blood or urine, which can be fatal. stop jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, trouble breathing, or increased ketones. jardiance may cause dehydration that can suddenly worsen kidney function and make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or weak upon standing. genital yeast infections in men and women, urinary tract infections, low blood sugar, or a rare, life threatening bacterial infection between and around the anus and genitals can occur. call your doctor right away if you have fever or feel weak or tired and pain, tenderness, swelling or redness in the genital area. don't use if allergic to jardiance. stop use if you have a serious allergic reaction. call your doctor if you have rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. you may have increased risk for lower limb loss. call your doctor right away if you have new pain or tenderness, sores, ulcers or infection in
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your legs or feet. ♪ jardiance is really swell... ♪ ♪ ...the little pill with a big story to tell. ♪ case. the los angeles district attorney today indicated he likely won't resentence lyle and erik menendez, in their 1996 conviction for the murder of their parents. >> abc news reporter jacqueline lee has the very latest. >> the major decision today in the case of lyle and erik menendez. >> we have put in the hard work to understand the menendez case. >> today, the d.a. closing one path that could have seen the brothers released. the da discounting new evidence of sexual abuse by their father coming to light. >> sexual abuse in this situation. while it may have been a motivation for erik and lyle to do what they did does
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not constitute self-defense. >> those allegations at the heart of the brothers claim they killed their parents in self defense. >> we conclude in our informal response that the court should deny the current habeas petition by the menendez brothers. >> erik and lyle were found guilty in the brutal killing of their parents, jose and kitty. in their $5 million beverly hills home in 1996, they have served 35 years of their life sentence. >> this is done, this is done. >> their case gaining renewed interest on social media after streaming documentaries and shows depicted their stories. the brothers recently calling into the two angry men podcast, sharing they were brutalized behind bars for the last 35 years. >> i was picked on, bullied violently, uh- and it was traumatic and it was continual. >> one other path to freedom for the brothers is clemency from california governor gavin newsom. jacqueline lee, abc news, los angeles.
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>> murder suspect luigi mangione appeared today in a new york city courtroom. the 26 year old is accused of killing united health care ceo brian thompson in december. a shackled mangione appeared in court wearing a bulletproof vest over a green sweater. prosecutors say they have a robust amount of evidence, but mangione's lawyers claim his rights were violated. >> you've probably gotten those unsolicited texts offering you a job. well, experts say unsolicited texs are always scams. abc news reporter elizabeth schultz found out firsthand how these scams work. >> hello. i'm a recruiter at a company. an unsolicited message from a recruiter at a company asking you to apply for a lucrative job. all you need is an internet connection. i say hi, i received your message. is this the remote online job? the response was immediate. the pay is pretty enticing. the alleged recruiter tells me i could earn $50 in two days, $1,000 in four days, and nearly $11,000 in one
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month with commissions simply by filling out online reviews. it takes just 1 to 2 hours per day. sounds pretty doable. the recruiter asks for my current employer name and age. definitely an unconventional job interview right now. and within minutes they reply saying i'm qualified for the job. pressuring me to complete a training right away. do you have 30 minutes of training time right now? we stop responding when they ask for my personal information, but cybersecurity company fortalice took the next step to show us what typically happens. >> you just submit these surveys and you just click the same button over and over again 40 times. and they say you're going to get paid. >> to get paid, the recruiter asks you to create a digital cryptocurrency wallet. >> she kind of prepped me for this amazing experience and this big bulk of commission that i'll get. >> that's when the scam really starts. first, you put down a small deposit of your own money. once you complete the surveys,
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you get your money back and more. >> they'll deposit a little bit of the money into your account to make you think that, okay, this is real. i'm getting money. >> every day you keep filling out the surveys, you keep getting more money back. sometimes hundreds or even thousands of dollars. at this point, fbi assistant director james barnicle says you're deep in a work from home scam. >> they don't know it's a scam, so they trust it, right? it worked. they went in, they deposited some money, they did the tasks that they were assigned, and they were able to withdraw their money. each time the bad guy comes, they're going to ask for more money. >> barnicle says eventually, once you make a big enough deposit, the scammer will lock you out of your account and the money you put down vanishes. >> we're seeing most of the victims are losing tens of thousands of dollars. >> the fbi says consumer losses from these work from home scams soared from 0 in 2022 to nearly $20 million in 2024. what are some of the red flags you look for in that initial phase, where
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scammers are trying to target you? >> unsolicited text messages are always a scam. bad guys are great at building rapport with you, and they'll try to move that into stealing your money. >> elizabeth schulze, abc news, washington. >> they're unbelievable in their relentless i get those scams all the time. i just hit all the junk report. >> junk report. junk. exactly. all right. this is not a scam. we've got gorgeous spring like weather. >> it is too good to be true. >> goodness. >> meteorologist sandhya patel is here with a fabulous looking forecast. >> yeah, it. >> is going to be so nice outside this weekend that you're going to want to get outside. dan and kristen good evening everyone or good afternoon i should say. let's take a look at a live picture right now because it is absolutely beautiful. from our golden gate bridge camera. we have a gentle breeze out there. a lot of sun. as you can see. occasional high clouds. 69, in santa rosa. it is up to 64 in napa. upper 60s in places like concord and 65 degrees in
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livermore. seeing a beautiful view from our sutro tower camera as well. looking at san francisco 60 degrees. low 60s in oakland. you're a near 70 in san jose. redwood city, hayward. high pressur, controlling our weather. that's what's providing us with the mild weather. and that is going to continue through the weekend. as we look at live doppler seven, you will notice those clouds that are just kind of streaming through our skies from time to time. and here is the view from our san jose camera showing you those clouds this weekend. mild days above average. the middle of next week. springlike warmth is going to continue and early march. we're looking at rain possibly returning because i know some people want to know, hey, are we going to see the return of wet weather? well, this is what it's looking like right now. so we take a look at the hourly forecast 515 5060 still pretty mild at 815. if you are stepping out, you might need that extra layer. and heading into tomorrow morning there will be some clouds around. temperatures will be primarily in the 40s. and then into the afternoon. we'll pop up into the 60s and 70s for many
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areas in the evening. cooling back off. so your morning temperatures will range from the low to the mid 40s for most of you under partly cloudy skies. tomorrow afternoon it's a mild one. south bay 70, in santa clara, 72 san jose on the peninsula, 68, in redwood city, 66 menlo park, half moon bay, 62 degrees. downtown san francisco, south san francisco a few degrees above average mid 60s. and in the north bay 66 san rafael close to 70 there in calistoga. santa rosa, vallejo. heading into the east bay. mid 60s around oakland and richmond. 69 in fremont. inland areas. it's going to be really nice and mild. 70 degrees in concord. fairfield 71, in livermore. here's a look at the accuweather seven day forecast. and this mild weather pattern is going to continue through the weekend. we do have nice weather for the black joy parade on sunday in oakland. and then on monday, a system passing to our north will cause the temperatures to dip a little bit. but you
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will notice that the warmth returns midweek and we may be seeing temperatures in the mid 70s. i mean, when you're 76 degrees around the bay. wednesday. yeah. and friday. kristen. dan it is definitely going to feel warm. but you know, like i said, early march, possibly some wet weather returning. >> we need a little more rain. >> we definitely do. yeah absolutely. thank you. >> this sunday the warriors host klay thompson anthony davis and the dallas mavericks. that game is at 12:30 p.m. very exciting right here on abc seven followed by after the game with larry beil. >> and coming up, a sweet sight in san francisco as an iconic donut shop moves. today's tasty celebration. >> and a young boy with a taste for shirley temple's. how i made him a s
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chop is in some sweet new digs, people lined up waiting to get their hands on bob's donuts at its new location on polk street, about a block away from its original store. abc seven news reporter gloria rodriguez was there. >> a line forming around the corner of the new bob's donuts in san francisco, well befores its grand opening on friday. employees frying up fresh donuts at the new spot right down the street from the original location near polk and clay streets. >> oh, we're so excited for the
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new bob's donut! this is one of our favorite places. so iconic in san francisco. >> i'm excited. it's closer to my house, so i'm happy with that. and someone said it's a lot bigger space, so they have places to sit down, which should be nice. so it should be good. >> this original location will be open a little longer and will end up closing. the new location will eventually be open 24 hours a day. >> the original bob's had been there since the 1950s. now the on family owns it. iron tells me her mother in law, a korean immigrant, took over the location in the 1970s. now they're expanding the business. >> this is a bigger location. newer. it's everything makes it more efficient. and, you know, that way we can plan ahead and stick around. >> it's definitely bittersweet. but, yeah, we're really excited to be here in this new location. >> they say they sell thousands of donuts a day, constantly making and glazing fresh donuts all day long. you'll never have
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one that's more than eight hours old. i've been talking to customers and the apple fritter is a fan favorite. they also have the classics and some unique ones as well, like these with fruit loops. >> these are fresh, like handmade donuts. so good. you can watch them make it like it's so good. it's so good. >> the owner also tells me they couldn't come to an agreement on the lease at the old location in san francisco. gloria rodriguez, abc seven news. >> so hungry. now there are some of your favorite disney stars are taking to the ice in the east bay this weekend. disney on ice opened at the oakland arena, debuting their new show, magic in the stars. the disney magic will go next to the sap center in san jose from february 26th through march 2nd. disney is the parent company of abc seven. >> still ahead here. >> digging into san francisco's rat problem. >> i've seen some rats in the alleys at night. >> wherever there are people and food, rats are going to
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proliferate. >> i think they're just smart creatures. they don't want to come out if they're not, if they know they're going to be caught. >> what the city is doing to decrease the rat population. we put abc seven news reporter lyanne melendez on the assignment next. >> and meet the east bay woman helping build a better bay area. one artist
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he has taken a lot of flak for calling san francisco a ratty city. >> but according to a recent survey by orkin pest control services, berkeley isn't entirely wrong. san francisco was named the fourth rattiest city in america. >> abc seven building a better bay area reporter, lyanne melendez, is here to tell us
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about what the city is doing to deal with this. leanne. obviously not a distinction that we want. >> yeah. and we don't have enough coyotes to help, you know. so number one was chicago. okay. number two, los angeles. everybody thinks new york is number one. new york was number three. we were number four. so this didn't happen overnight. san francisco is a dense urban city with some great food sources. it's like playing whack a mole. the city says it has been implementing some strategies here and there, but people are also contributing to the problem. >> the faint rustling sound coming from nearby bushes only adds to our lurking fears, >> until it reveals itself. san francisco has had a rat problem for years. how big? trying to count the number of rats is really not feasible. orkin, the pest control company based in atlanta, took its data from
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local customers around the country. >> the call centers receive calls from uh- from individual people seeking assistance for rodent issues, and those are tabulated at atlanta. but there's yeah, there's an abundance of rodents this year. >> but let's take a more scientific approach. the university of richmond gathered rat stats from some big cities in america and from three international ones. jonathan richardson led the research and found that the rat population has expanded around the world. >> and the things that those rat numbers were tied to are warming climates. so cities that have been warming faster than others also have faster increases in their rat numbers. and cities that have more people also have faster increases in their rat numbers. >> more people often means more waste, and having warming climates can expand the life expectancy of a rat. therefore, more time to mate.
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>> they can spend more time feeding and maybe squeeze out another reproductive cycle or two, which would accelerate population growth. >> the mating season is getting longer because of the weather. >> neve goldman owns alley cat, a rodent exclusion company. >> a rodent female can bring hundreds of little youngs every year. >> doctor richardson's study found that over a span of 12 years, san francisco has had a significant increasing trend in rat numbers. zach reggie aqui with the department of recreation and parks has a job worthy of acknowledgment. he's trying to control the rat population at portsmouth square in chinatown with these sausage looking pellets. how fast do they consume that? >> i mean, it's normally gone within two weeks. >> wow. >> so. >> and tell us what this does. >> so this is a rodent birth
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control. so it should sterilize the rats after consuming it. >> the bait is meant to disrupt sperm production in males and affects a female's ovaries, making it hard to conceive. san francisco has been doing this at a few parks since 2019. they have also set traps and used some kind of poison. all of those methods helped reduce the number of burrows, specifically at portsmouth square from 270 to 48. but in the past year, that number has crept up. when you see those burrows, do you think, okay, it's not working the way we want it to work? >> there is no one perfect magic bullet to get rid of rats. it is doing a lot of things together. it's trapping. it is a waste management, making sure garbage is secure. it's cutting back foliage so that they don't have a place to nest.
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>> managing rat populations is more challenging than ever. in 2020, california became the first state to stop using some toxic rat poisons that were unintentionally harming and killing wildlife. and in january 2025, another bill, ab 2552, went into effect, banning even more poisons. doctor richardson says that's the humane thing to do, but sees a downside to the law. >> there's also some drawbacks in terms of removing some of the tools that may be available for cities, or for private pest management operators to be able to use in certain situations. >> rodents are very agile. they can go underground and they can hide. the solution is to control this. >> burrow had a discarded bag of some sort of snack. >> they'll normally have two holes, an escape hatch and a the one that they go in and out normally. >> most everyone agrees the long term strategy to keeping the
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population down is reducing a rat's access to food waste, put there by humans. so these are the neighborhoods here in san francisco which saw the highest number of 311 reports with the word rodent listed. the tenderloin south of market mission, lower nob hill and the bayview. now most of these sightings occurred in buildings, not parks. the majority of the requests went to the department of public health. now i see garbage on the ground and now i have a completely out, completely different outlook. >> it's a food source. >> yeah, now i think, oh my god, the rats are going to get to them. >> yeah. and i. >> heard food and we have to take ownership of this. >> we do. you know, i heard a mouse can live for like, a week on a grain of rice. a rat is probably similar. it doesn't take much to keep them alive. >> yeah, and they only last about a year. yeah. >> all right, let's do our part, people. thank you. liane. just ahead, a hair raising change in
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for now has just a 0.28% chance of hitting earth in 2032. that's down significantly down from 3% earlier this week. >> we have this uncertainty because we haven't perfectly nailed down that asteroid's orbit yet. every single observation we get will improve our estimations of the orbit of the asteroid, and therefore improve our predictions of its future location. >> scientists say they can redirect or break up the asteroid. now if it does become a real risk to earth. by the way, i interviewed her today at three. she has the coolest job title. yeah, it's project head of planetary defense. >> that sounds extremely important. >> for lawrence livermore lab. yes, she's got an important job, so they don't sound nervous. and now the odds are going down. and as they learn more, they'll be able to figure it out better. but, dan, you're not changing your life plans because of this. >> no, i'm not. but one of the things that fascinates me more than anything is the cosmos. so i'm very interested in this, i will say, and i know we've done
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some testing uh- have been hit many times before over the eons, and we'll be hit again likely. so i think all the research to try to protect us is probably a good idea. >> yeah, this reminds me of y2k. remember in 2000? >> oh, yeah. disaster. >> we were all, you know, waiting for that disastrous moment. never happened, thankfully. but how do you prepare for an asteroid? >> yeah. i don't think there's a way to prepare, but, i mean, the fact that, you know, the likelihood is going down. yeah. is comforting. >> that's okay. we can blow it up now. we can blow it up before it gets us. all right. >> a hair raising theory is causing the new york yankees to ditch their policy banning beards. players can now wear a well-groomed beard, scrapping a policy that had been in place since 1976. owner hal steinbrenner calls the policy outdated, and theorizes it might have kept free agents from signing with the team. people who wanted their facial hair. i would say sandia, as long as they don't have those grizzly adams, you know, like they do in hockey, those really long,
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unkempt beards, i think. yeah. >> as long as they're maintained. okay, then i think it's fine. dan, i agree. >> i'm okay with a full beard. remember brian wilson on the giants fear the beard, the whole thing. >> well that's true. >> it was cool. you know, it kind of defined him. remember that leon? >> yeah i do. i remember interviewing him too and asking him if he was going to get rid of the br the beard. and he said, the beard never. it stays. but i don't understand. they allow tattoos, but they don't allow beards, right. >> yeah. they're changing at least. >> okay. now to another maybe a style issue. should birkenstocks be considered art? according to a german court, they're simply shoes. birkenstock wanted to copyright for slip on styles to thwart imitations by other brands. however, the court ruled that the shoes don't have individuality. to qualify. >> i think they do have individuality. whether other people can copy them, i don't know, but they're unique. >> i so disagree. they have something called cork and latex
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as part of the footbed right there. do you see that? super comfortable. yeah. super comfortable. and what they're talking about they're also talking about these right here i don't know if you can see it. so you see this little layer down there which is very interesting. that is cork and latex. it's unique. and if i was their attorney i would say birkenstock. you know it's not just a shoe. it's an experience. >> wow i like that. >> i do marketing too. >> leon rests her case. >> yeah. >> what would it take for you to quit your job and travel the world? that's a fun fantasy, isn't it? a new survey by tucker research found the average american thinks they need about $287,000 to quit their jobs and just go. gen z says they would pick up and leave if they had $211,000, while boomers wouldn't do it for anything less than $335,000. i don't know what it would take, but it sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? >> it does sound like a lot of fun, dan. but you know what? it
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depends on your lifestyle too, right? like what is considered enough, right? i mean. >> but, you know, one of the great privileges if you can do it is travel, seeing other places, other cultures. and i know young people, leanne, you and you, we have kids. we all have kids about the same age. uh- really enjoy those travel experiences in ways that we didn't when we were their age. they do. >> but i don't want to be a debbie downer. i don't think i would go around the world because i would miss spending time at one location. i think i would do it, you know. >> extended periods of. >> time extended, yes, i agree. count me out. >> yeah. >> okay. i mean, i think 335,000 doesn't sound a lot to people who live in the bay area in terms of being able to say, i up and quit. i'm just going to travel. but there is a way to travel cheaply, right? you can travel to some place and work there and get free lodging. maybe if you're teaching, for example, you know, in a rural village. so yeah, if your heart's calling out for it, go for it. >> well, it's always fun. it's a great privilege to go any place and see how other
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with the way that pg&e handled the wildfires. yeah. yeah. i totally, totally understand. we're adding a ton of sensors. as soon as something comes in contact with the power line, it'll turn off so that there's not a risk that it's gonna fall to the ground and start a fire. okay. and i want you to be able to feel the improvements. we've been able to reduce wildfire risk from our equipment by over 90%. that's something i want to believe. [skateboard sounds]
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in our local communities, making a difference and building a better bay area. >> yeah, this black history month, abc seven news anchor julianne glover takes you to oakland to meet joyce gordon, who has been making art more accessible to all. >> artists are so cool. they're the best people on the planet.
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you should meet some artists. good hearts, big hearts. i am the owner of joyce gordon gallery and director. found my love of art from a kid growing up. i grew up in berkeley with seven brothers, so i spent a lot of time in my room sketching and drawing andmy room writing. i wanted to see a fine art gallery showing artists of color, black artists. i'd seen some, a few, but i thought there needed to be more. hard to believe that i've been here that long. time passes and i've met so, so many creative people, so many great artists. i think i made the right decision. one being downtown oakland. it's
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just kind of evolved into more of a cultural space. it's past surpassed. gallery. people who had just published a book had a new book coming out, and they wanted to do a reading. there have been cd release parties. they have paint parties. i've had two weddings here. my people are very important to me, and particularly the young people. they are really, really important to me. i was probably at a high school the first time i went into a museum or gallery. so i want them to have more an experience more than i did when i was their age. >> what is the reaction been like from the community folks who've come. >> in love it. they just love it. and everybody puts their phones, cameras and they walk through. they really like it.
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yeah. it's exciting. >> and this is the time where you're supposed to pull out your phone and use it at the gallery, right? >> yeah. >> so you point the camera directly. >> damien, you got to tell us about the artwork right here. >> this right here is a few stills from our docu series about teaching artists how to create augmented reality experiences. >> what does it mean for your work to be here? on display at the joyce gordon gallery? >> anybody that you ask, they just have such a great reverence for this space being a place that, like, literally carved out spaces for artists, for black artists, in particular in the bay area for the last couple of decades. it's just an honor to be here. >> i'll never forget there was a african american art piece hanging on the wall, and right next to it was an iranian artist. people thought it was the same artist. we're different in a lot of ways, but we have more in common than we think. >> joyce is a pillar of oakland. for me, it means a lot to have
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the proper setting and to meet with somebody that's actually knowing what she's doing. as far as black art and pioneering in black art. >> and this year, you'll be on one of the floats. i'm waving to your crowds of onlookers. >> i will be 80 next year, and people seem to really like me. that's an honor. that's really something. >> as you reflect on 22 years of being in this space, what's in your heart? >> the joy is what i have brought to the community and how they show me love and appreciation. that's joy for me. >> people and joyce gordon will be honored at this weekend's black joy parade in oakland. she'll be riding in the icons among us float. abc seven is proudly live
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streaming the parade for a third year in a row. you can watch us sunday starting at 1230 wherever you stream. abc seven news. >> it is such a blast, goino be so much fun and the weather will cooperate. >> perfect. let's check in with sandhya. >> it is going to be fantastic. yeah. dan and kristen, let me show you the forecast for the black joy parade on sunday in oakland. it's going to be nice. 62 degrees, light breeze, 2:00 in the afternoon, sun and high clouds and really mild at 4:00 in the mid 60s and still comfortable in the evening. so if you're going, you are in luck. it's not going to be raining like it has in previous years. on live doppler seven we do have some high clouds passing through the area. they'll continue to stream in tomorrow. it's still going to be mild low 60s to low 71. fast forward to next week. look at wednesday's high temperatures. models are indicating mid and even upper 70. that's well above average. thursday still mild. and friday you're looking at 60 and 70 a week from today. so this pattern is going to last as you look at the accuweather seven day forecast above average for the weekend a little dip on
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seven news at 11. yesterday we introduced you to a young social media sensation. today we meet another young man making his mark as an influencer of shirley temple's. that's right. the drink, named after the former child star. abc news reporter danny new has the story. >> hey, guys, it's shirley temple king. >> not everyone is lucky enough to find a passion early in life. >> it's definitely ginger, i'll tell you that. >> and then there's now 11 year old leo kelly, who has beenyear going by the title shirley temple king for the past five plus years. >> the reason i do shirley temple reviews is to better the whole world. shirley temples. >> starting at six years old, this connecticut native began reviewing the beverage that famously features grenadine, cherries and either ginger ale or lemon lime soda. well, actually, if you ask leo. >> you want ginger ale. a lot of people argue that it's lemon lime soda. i politely disagree. >> i test it out. okay. >> but it all began with this video. after leo asked his
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parents to create and run an instagram account for him. it quickly blew up, and less than six months later, he was appearing on ellen. >> why do you love them so much? >> well, like after you drink them, you're like, that's good. >> but fittingly enough. >> i've thrown away my toys. >> since shirley temples are named for perhaps our biggest child star ever. maybe it was meant to be that leo would also be quite passionate about acting. >> want to tell me what's going on? >> my sister, she didn't come home from work last night. >> he even recently guest starred in an episode of law and order svu, and will play kevin james's son in an action comedy coming this summer. >> which came first? your love for shirley temple's your love for acting? >> hard to say. i can't really pinpoint. >> it's the shirley. >> temple king, and i'm here at alden and harlow and harvard. >> but as his acting career continues to grow, leo says he can't stop. his reviews are not until shirley temples around the world are as good as he knows they can be. >> i feel like that's what
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critiquing is all about, is making them better. >> you want to hold all shirley temple makers accountable. >> in the best way possible. >> leo also. >> said he believes the golden number for the perfect shirley temple is three cherries and a whole lot of ice because he said he once gave a restaurant a zero for serving up a shirley temple that was too warm. i'm in new york for abc news. i'm danny new. >> i can see the appeal. abc seven news is streaming 24 seven. get the abc seven bay area streaming tv app. and join us whenever you want, wherever you are. that's it for abc seven news at four. i'm kristen z, abc seven news at five with dan and ama is coming your way next.
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