abc 7 news anchor eric thomas takes us to vacaville and introduces us to people taking part in the mollie movement. >> mary spinetti is a runner and something she has in common with mollie tibbetts and it has drawn her closer to the young college student. >> mollie could have been me. it could have been anybody, and so i just felt a connection with mollie. >> she started following the case when mollie was missing. >> every day, that would be the first thing i'd wake up and see if mollie was found and the day that tuesday when her body was found, i woke up that morning and just cried. >> but instead of letting her grief turn to paralysis, mary joined an online group started by two of tibbetts' friends back in iowa. they call it the mollie movement. members printout these strips of paper ran kin happens.>>t treats and gift cards on vacaville parking lots.

. >> i'm eric thomas a lineman working for pg&e died near if carr fire in shasta county. jairus ayeta was on duty when he was involved in a vehicle accident. >> cornell bernard is live for us in santa rosa with details. >> ray: friends and relatives of jairus ayeta say that he moved to santa rosa with his family several years ago. friends say he knew the risks of his job, but he was dedicated to helping others. friends say 21-year-old jairus ayeta who everyone calls jay loved his job at pg&e. that's him on the left repairing a power poll. here he is with his best friend brandon. pg&e says he was working in rural shasta county saturday near the scene of the carr fire when tragedy struck. >> they were working in dangerous terrain performing power restoration work when he suffered fatal injuries associated with a motor vehicle accident. >> ray: he was an apprentice lineman who worked with the company for two years. he moved to santa rosa with his family several years ago, his cousin told us by phone how proud she was on jay. >> yeah, i was proud.proud.prou. when he graduated

. >> i'm eric thomas. just a half hour ago, officials said the gunman is david katz, 24 of baltimore. >> he was competing in the tournament and had lost a match. >> we have the latest on this developing story. >> reporter: horror in jacksonville, florida during a video game event sponsored by ea sports. two contestants are playing the madden nfl video game when shots are fired three hours into the tournament play. organizers shutting down the video feed, one competitor said he was struck by a bullet, tweeting i am literally so lucky. the bullet hit my thumb. first responders rushing to the jacksonville landing, a popular river front area. >> i see people running, i see her and tell her to run. >> reporter: police pleading with survivors to stay in place until they are rescued while they search for the gunman. >> we have one suspect in this case, he is deceased at the scene at this point, he is a white male and we're working to confirm his identity. >> reporter: fbi officials working with the sheriff's offi

. >> abc 7 news anchor eric thomas is live in walnut creek with the story tonight. eric? >> reporter: and dan, the person who had the measles has recovered and is no longer contagious, while he or she was, they visited sedona, arizona and los angeles county where the health departments are notifying people. when they person came home to contra costa county they also visited, as you mentioned, and may have exposed people here, at john muir medical center. measles is rare these days because most but not all people have been vaccinated. >> red eyes, fever, sore throat, rash that starts on the head and moves down the body. someone who get measles could potentially get much more serious complications, pneumonia, swelling of the brain, permanent disability. >> reporter: a contra costa county resident with the measles visited john muir hospital's emergency department on august 11th from 11:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon. the same person also had a meal at chow restaurant in lafayette on august 14th from 9:00 in the morning until 11:00 in the morning. >> anyone who

eric thomas is live tonight in oakland to find out if this could, eric, be the final season of competition for some of these student athletes. >> reporter: at this point, dan, all we know for sure is that this year has been saved. ironically football was not one of the sports threatened we limb nation in the oakland unified school district, but the sports teams that were were saved this year by a professional football team. >> one, two, three, hut. >> reporter: these high school golfers have known for a couple days their team would be spared the budget acts. all ten sports threatened we li -- elimination this year would be okay. >> it gives us a sense of community we don't have in regular education. >> reporter: outside donations, including $250,000 from the oakland raiders helped save the day. the raiders owner told us why in an exclusive interview by phone today. >> after school sports were important for me, and kept me out of more trouble than i got in. you know, i've always felt an affection for that. we decided to do the $250,000 to get this thing going, and it's all based on, you kno

live in fairfield, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> terrible. okay. eric, thanks very much. >> of course the crash affected traffic. this is what it looked like earlier today. i-80 is the main freeway between fairfield and the bay area. >> and with all the events going on today, it could be a long drive for some. we are live with that part of the story. cornell >> reporter: dan, we have breaking news we need to talk about. a huge grass fire has erupted just in the last 20 minutes. this is happening off of interstate 80 here just outside the fairfield city limits. this is the east side of the i-80 freeway. not far fromry glen road. we have been seeing big flames. lots of black smoke in the area. we have also seen lots of fire trucks making their way to the scene, which appears to be burning in mostly open space. but there are homes not far from here. we are waiting to see whether any air tankers will show up to douse some of the flames, which continue to burn especially here off to the right. now, this is all happening just across the freeway from where

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas is there live for the latest. eric? >> reporter: and we are in the mary lake neighborhood where up until now there's been a steady stream of cars coming in since the evacuation order was lifted. we're on the southeast side of what was the carr evacuation area. as you see, things are slow now. but cal fire is allowing people to repopulate areas on this side of the carr fire where the blaze is largely contained. police check point was posted at the entrances to make sure that no one except residents and utility workers were allowed in. pg&e crews were on hand to check for gas leaks. for residents, the first order of business was cleaning up and moving back into homes. you're about to hear from two people, a gentleman who actually came home before the evacuation order was lifted. and a woman who was just moving back in today. >> it was a ghost town, very surreal and eery, and so quiet, unbelievable. >> it's such a huge relief, walking in, seeing all my stuff there. i had to leave my fish. they are still alive, thankfully t

eric thomas is there. >> now on the tee, steph curry from charlotte, north carolina. >> reporter: he's not the most famous name in golf, but he is one of the most famous names in sports. christy and michael hughs came to the classic at tpc in heywood for the same reason everyone else did. >> everybody came out this year to see steph. >> reporter: he tee'd off just after nine this morning for the second year the pga gave him an exemption allowing curry to play even though he's not on the pro-tour. >> he doesn't seem like much of an amateur at least for the first three holes. >> reporter: he was at even par at that point. he is a talented amateur, one that a lot of pga pros want to play golf with. >> we get countless requests from our players saying can i play with him and in order to be fair we decided the best thing to do was to go right down our money list. >> reporter: the top money earners who weren't at the pga championship in st. louis were playing here. steph shot a 71 that's 1 over par and he had to have a big comeback on the back nine to get there. >> i three footed, it was 4 o

eric thomas is live in berkeley with a story and a very clear example of the risk. eric? >> reporter: yes, indeed, dan, you mentioned the millions of cars that will be on the road this weekend. the cdc says about every 50 minutes on average 29 people die in alcohol-related accidents. that's why the state, the insurance industry and ford decided this would be a perfect time to tell and show teenagers the danger of impaired driving. >> it's an odd experience. my equilibrium was so off. >> they're getting behind the wheel with movement restricting braces on knees, elbows and necks, goggles that will -- and a wristband that makes his handshake. >> every step i take i feel like i will fall. >> reporter: it's an experiment. the outfits are designed to show teenagers how drugs and alcohol affect perception and fine motor skills. >> these are the 100 deadliest days, the days between memorial day and labor day when we have so many teen drivers on the road. >> reporter: like this august 12th accident on highway 24 in walnut creek in which two antioch teens died, the 18-year-old dri

live in napa, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> eric, thank you. for more on the fire danger facing the bay area right now, let's bring in abc 7 news meteorologist spencer christian. spencer this -- this is problematic all over california. >> it really is, larry. especially here in the northern and central parts of the state where we have so many major fires burning at once. now, this red flag warning is in effect until 11:00 p.m. tomorrow for a wide area, including the areas where the fires are burning right now to our north and over to the east into the sierra and the sierra ridge and foothills. the ridge is -- the gusts will be generally 25 to 35 miles per hour in those areas due north of the bay area. in the east area of the sierra the gusts will be up to 65 miles per hour with dangerously low relative humidity. looking at the ranch fire and the river fire, you can see that it's about 90 degrees in both locations and the wind is gusting to 27 miles per hour. and we expect wind gusts to just taper off a little bit during the overnight hours, and

good evening, thanks for joining us, i'm eric thomas. >> i'm dion lim. senator mccain died at his home in arizona a day after his family announced he had decided to stop treatment for brain cancer. arizona state troopers escorted his body from his home to phoenix. >> his service to his country began in the late 1950s. in 1967 his navy plane was shot down during the vietnam war. he was severely injured and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war. mccain was elected to the house of representatives in 1982 and the senate in 1986. he ran for president twice. >> many are honoring the life of john mccain, including right here in the bay area. >> abc 7 news reporter amanda del castillo is live with local reaction. orr: a south bay moth says senator john mccain helped her through the loss of her 31-year-old son, a man who was killed in 9/11. alice hoagland's friend wrote the senator in 2001, not knowing it would lead to one of the most meaningful moments of her life. alice hoagland was living some of the darkest days of her life when senator john mccain

>> good evening, thank you for being with us, i'm eric thomas. >> i'm dion lim. do begin with breaking news that senator john mccain has died. >> after year-long battle with brain cancer, passed away in family home. he discontinued medical treatment. >> a look back at political maverick. >> a political maverick and military hero, john sidney mccain iii, born on u.s. military base near the panama canal, grew up in northern virginia, middle child of three. naval academy, combat flying over north vietnam in the r. shot down, captured and tortured. 5 1/2 years in vietnamese jail dubbed hanoi hilton. >> you have to have faith that your countrymen are doing everything to bring you home quickly as possible. >> decorated hero turned to politics as second callingment ran for congress from arizona, home to second wife, phoenix school teacher who was his sweetheart after the war. raised three children, including adopted daughter from bangladesh. served five terms in u.s. senate and ran for president twice. >> i'm not running for president to be somebody but to do something.

let's go live to eric thomas with the latest. eric? >> and ama, we've seen families drop by just the past few minutes, dropping off flowers and giving their condolences to chp officer here is at the solano county station. the reason for that, an accident claimed two lives, one of them a chp officer. a solemn procession of police motorcycles led the van carrying the body of the fallen chp officer from the hospital to the solano county coroner's office. kirk gris, a former marine spent 19 years with the highway patrol, 16 working out of the fairfield office. >> today is a tough day. it's a tough day for the california highway patrol. >> this morning they began getting frantic calls from motorists at manuel campos. >> it's a motorcycle involved, possibly a chp motor officer that was hit bay vehicle while he was on a traffic stop. >> indeed, gris had pulled over the driver of a saturn. only moments later, disaster. >> for unknown reasons, the driver of a 3/4 ton pickup left the main portion of the roadway, traveled on to the shoulder, and

in orinda, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> it's pretty bad. eric, thank you very much. >>> let's bring in abc 7 news weather anchor spencer christian for details on the spare the air days. >> wind is a big concern, as you have heard reported already. the wind is a bit calmer in some places today, allowing the smoke to build up, as you can see here on this looping satellite image. stronger wind would blow some of that smoke away, but that would also fan the flames of the fires. right now smoke continues to build up in the central valley, all around the bay area, and over much of northern and central california. you can see how thick that haze. and tomorrow will be another spare the air day for the bay area, with the poorest air quality likely in the inland east bay and the santa clara valley. we have a color coded map that will indicate how our air quality is declining here in the immediate san francisco bay area. dan and ama? >> spencer, thanks a lot. now cal fire has banned all outdoor burning in the areas it patrols in alameda, contra costa a

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas is live in alameda with the latest. eric? >> reporter: and kristen, that fatal attack happened right outside the family's restaurant. at the front door here in alameda. one of the suspects made a court appearance today. the other one is scheduled to appear tomorrow morning. these are the two suspects, 29-year-old dante holloway of oakland. alameda police say this surveillance video shows the two tring to rob 62-year-old cindy lee of her purse outside the restaurant she owned on webster night. on. the two when followed lee and her husband, in california, laying in wait before a murder is a special circumstance that can carry with it the death penalty. police further say holloway attacked with a metal pipe as lee and her daughter's boyfriend struggled with them. paez is accused of punching her, resulting in a fatal head wound. the family released a statement today saying in part we have heard the suspects have been arrested this news only begins to give us a small sense of closure. our family is still grieving over the sudden a

in weaverville, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> all right, eric. thank you so much. and all these nearby fires have us here in the bay area worrying about our air quality. solano county has issued a smoke health advisory. there is no spare the air alert. this live picture from our east bay hills tower camera shows slightly hazy skies. abc news weather anchor spencer christian joins us with the details. >> that smoke from the fires is certainly quite advisable in the bay area as we look eastward and northward. despite that, our air quality here today is moderate to good all across the bay area. it may not remain that way very long. but at the moment we have good air quality. let me show you an air quality map that covers areas beyond the bay area. those yellow and green dots indicate moderate to good air quality which we have here. but notice to our east and northeast, all the orange and yellow circles, indicating poor or unhealthful air. not only in the fires in the sacramento valley, but all the way over to lake tahoe and north to medford, oregon. this is for tomorr

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas spoke with the raiders owner marc davis about this very kind and timely donation, eric. >> let's not forget that marc davis is a product of the oakland unified school district. as you mentioned, football is coming to the rescue of oakland unified, even though football, as you see behind me at skyline, wasn't one of the threatened sports. ten others were, and that is what's happening for them. >> i thought that he was going to be cut. and all of my classmates and friends thought so too. >> an anonymous donation earlier this week saved girls golf and three other sports in oakland skoochlts. >> >> if you play sports, it's something you're part of. >> today a $250,000 donation from the oakland raiders helped save six more. raiders owner marc davis, a product of oakland public schools, told us why they did it in an exclusive interview by phone today. >> after school sports were very important to me, and probably kept me out of more trouble than i got in. so, you know, i've always felt an affection for that. we decided to do the $250,000 to get this thing going

right now live in fairfield, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> eric, thank you. squ and eric was just talking about that traffic mess. what are we seeing? >> we're seeing a lot of red, reggie. this is really busy route between sacramento and the bay area. it could be tied up for hours. this is sigalert, that is where the crash happened right about the two hour mark right now. zooming out we've got about an 8 mile backup on the westbound side, and you are barely moving. i think 3 miles an hour is probably a little faster than it was moving. and eastbound side you're slightly faster at about 8 miles an hour. you're jammed into the fairfield area. not a lot of options if you do want to use the surface streets. probably will save you about 30 minutes but there's no great detour through this stretch. >> and stay on top of any breaking updates with our abc 7 news app. you can download it and enable push alerts for immediate notifications. >>> a quick update on the wildfires. we do have some new numbers for you on the mendocino complex fires which have been burning for

in fairfield, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> so sad. you can show your support for the fallen chp and the officer through this facebook badge we have created. go to the abc 7's facebook page and you can share it. a construction worker was seriously injured on the job in san francisco. abc was there when emergency crews responded to the job site yesterday after a steel beam hit a worker. it happened around 5:00 p.m. work stopped for the night after the accident. the worker was transported to the trauma center with serious injuries. >>> new this morning community groups proposed a plan one san francisco neighborhood will employ local residents for tens of thousands of jobs. the plan would create 8,000 more homes and more than 33,000 jobs over the next 20 years. those jobs include security an programmers. they will discuss the proposal next month when it returns from summer recess. >> happening get its first loo sales force transit center as officials get ready for the first full bus service. congratulation, everybody! >> yesterday san fra

eric thomas has more. >> reporter: these mountain lion kittens are 11 days old.nuggled in a cave in the glen allen kenwood the moat is wearing a gps collar to track her movements. she has been followed for two inside her w for the first time den. quinton martins is an expert lion tracker. he waited until the gps showed the mother was off hunting and then went looking for the lion cave. >> crawling through trees and roots and finally i found this cave with the two little kittens in it. >> reporter: quinton runs living with lions for audubon canyon ranch. so far, they have put cameras on nine mountain lions. the project had a major setback last fall when the fire burned their office and thousands of dollars of high-tech equipment. >> everything was destroyed. >> reporter: private donations got them back in action and all the research lions survived the fire. but the animals still face serious threats often from people trying to protect livestock. if a mountain lion kills livestock or a pet, california law allows the owner to get a deprivation permit to have the lio

eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> thinking about adopting a new dog. don't always believe the breed that's on the label. >> ri searchers compared dogs at two different shelters. they were only correct in guessing the primary breed of the dog 67% of the time. owners are better to the about behavior and not breed. >>> a group of players from hawaii is trying to win the little league world series and the manager became emotional about how the team could help people in the tropical storm's path. >> we told the kids this is our opportunity to give back because we know there's a lot of people at home watching the game and we said if anything for them to  watch us, we can give them hope. they can take their mind off and that's what we hope we did. >> the little leaguers from honolulu beat a team from new york 10-0 thursday night to advance to today's u.s. championship game and you can catch that showdown between hawaii and georgia right here on abc 7 at 12:30. it follows the international final between japan and asia-pacific at 9:30 this morning. >> now your

. >> i'm eric thomas.th news out of alameda county. >> abc7 news reporter is live at the hayward executive airport where the aircraft was originally spu posed to land. >> amanda, the interstate landing even surprised chp officers. >> reporter: eric, dion, it is something you do not expect to see on the side of the road. we are told by the chp that the pilot was planning on landing here from lake tahoe. we're just about 5 miles from where that plane landed. >>> here's something you don't see every day. a small plane on the shoulder of westbound interstate 580 in ash land, an unincorporated san leandro. >> it's crazy to see something like this. it's unbelievable. i mean, to see something that happens like this where you see a plane land on the freeway like this, it's incredible. >> reporter: at 6:46 saturday afternoon a man and a woman who was his passenger made an emergency landing just before the 164th avenue exit. the pilot told the chp the fuel line snapped and caused the plane to lose pressure. neighbor

eric thomas, abc 7 news news. >> talk about patient, while the hidden camera rolled, the mother stayedrs straight before she finally went out to take care of her own needs. we have more video, more links to the living with lions project, at abc7news.com. >> announcer: now your accuweather forecast with drew tuma. >>> live doppler 7 along with satellite. we continue to track that veil of cloud cover overhead this morning. we'll loop this in the past hour. and what you notice is that the cloud cover, it is gradual shrinking. we will see sunshine prevailing across a majority of the region later on today. but right now we still have issues with visibility. we switch live doppler 7 over to visibility mode. you can see in the north bay, santa rosa, down to one mile. along the coast, some issues, half moon bay two miles visibility. atop pier 15, the beautiful skyline of san francisco. you can see the cloud cover right on the tops of the buildings right now. we'll switch it over to the tam cam. once above that marine layer, we've got lots of sunshine on the way. once that sun comes out, it wil

in napa, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> tough duty. eric, thank you so much. >>> happening now, cal fire is holding two community meetings about the mendocino complex fire to give out the latest information as evacuation orders fluctuate. the ranch fire has grown to 112,000 acres and is 28% contained. the river fire is much smaller, about 41,000 acres and is 50% contained. we learned today that these fires have forced lakeport schools to delay the start of class by about two weeks. students originally expected to start next week. >>> in shasta and trinity counties, the carr fire has burn in order than 131,000 acres. firefighters have it almost 40% contained, but it's too soon to say when this fire will be fully contained. more than a thousand homes burned to the ground. even as residents began to return to neighborhoods devastated by the carr fire, we're getting new glimpses of their harrowing escapes. abc 7 news anchor kristen sze is here with one resident's video as he barely got out of harm's way. >> this is jude's story of survival.

. >> eric thomas is live along interstate and 80 with the story. eric?> reporter: and guys, in the time it takes folks toatthe new 29 americans will die in accidents involving drunk or impaired drivers. as you mentioned, the holiday weekend is approaching. that's why the state, the insurance industry, and ford thought this would be the perfect time to remind teenagers and show them about the dangers of impaired driving. >> that's how i feel. >> reporter: that's because skyler and julia both seniors aren't used to driving with movement restricting braces on knees, elbows and necks and vision blurring goggles over their eyes. >> every step i take, i feel like i'll fall. it's crazy. >> reporter: it's an experiment. the outfits are designed to show teenagers how drugs and alcohol affect perception and fine motor skills. >> these are the hundred deadliest days, the days between memorial day and labor day when we have so many teen drivers on the road and as a result we see more teen accidents, injuries and fatalities. >> like this august 12th accident on highw

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas takes us to vacaville and introduces us to people taking part in the mollie movement. >> reporter: mary spineti is a runner and something she has in common with mollie tibbetts and it's something that drew her closer to the young college student. >> mollie could have been me or anybody and i felt a connection with mollie. >> every day that would be the first day i'd wake up and see if mollie was found, and the day that -- tuesday when her body was found i woke up that morning and just cried. >> but instead of letting her grief turn paralysis, mary joined an online group started by two of tibbetts' friends in iowa. they call it the mollie movement. members printout the strips of paper to spread random acts of kindness. >> for mary it meant leaving baskin-robbins gift cards in the parking lots. >> a few people reached out to me and said i got this, that made my day. thank you for being so kind. >> eric silva found one on his car at the gym. >> think it's awesome. i think it's awesome especially in her name. it's just a sad story, but turning something where eve

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas has more. >> reporter: these mountain lion kittens are 11 days old. kenwood area. their mother is wearing a gps collar to track her movements. researchers have been following her for two years through three litters of kittens and the lead scientist hid a video camera inside her den. quinton martins is an expert lion tracker. he waited until the gps showed she was off hunting, then went looking for the lion caves. >> crawling under roots and trees and finally i found the cave with the two little kittens in it. it was just amazing. >> reporter: quinton runs living with lions for audubon canyon ranch. so far, they have put gps collars on nine mountain lions, tracking them as they share their native habitat with humans. they had a major set back last fall when thousands of dollars of equipment were burned. private donations got them back in action and all the lions survived the fire, but the animals still face serious threats often from people trying to protect livestock. if a mountain lion kills livestock or a pet, california law allows the owner to get

in fairfield, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> so sad. you can show your support for officer griess through this facebook page that we have created. just go to the abc 7 facebook page and you can share it that way. >>> new this morning, community groups hoping a proposed plan in one san francisco neighborhood will help employ tens of thousands of local residents. the central soma plan would create about 8,000 more homes and more than 33,000 jobs over the next 20 years. those jobs include security guards, custodians, engineers and programmers. the board of supervisors will discuss the proposal next month when it return from summer recess. >>> happening today, the public can get a first look inside the sales force transit center as officials get ready for the first bus service. >> one. yay! congratulations, everybody! >> yesterday san francisco dignitaries took part in an official ribbon cutting ceremony. mayor london breed says she expects the $2.3 billion facility to become a worldwide destination. >> with its beautiful public art, beauti

in fairfield, eric thomas, abc 7 news. >> that's so tough. show your support for the chp and the fallen officer through had facebook badge that we created with the abc 7 facebook page and you can share it that way. >>> a construction worker was seriously injured on the job in san francisco. abc 7 news was there when emergency crews responded to the westportal muni tunnel job yesterday after a steel beam hit a worker. it happened at 5:00 p.m. and work had to be stopped. the worker was transported to san francisco general with serious injuries. >> community groups hope a proposed plan in one of the neighborhoods will employ local residents for terns of thousands of jobs. >> the central plan will create 8,000 more homes and more than 33,000 jobs over the next 20 years. those jobs include security guards, custodians, engineers and the board of supervisors will discuss the proposal next month when it returns from summer recess. >>> happening today the public can get its first look inside san francisco's new sales force transit center as officials

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas caught up with them today. >> hey, baby girl. how are you? >> you can't say everything is back to normal for teri fox of redding and her 3-year-old mare ellie. >> she has a puncture wound here and a puncture wound here and lacerations right there. >> but no burns, even though she was running loose in the thick of the carr fire. ellie is one of three formally wild horses th s thas that terig to evacuate by trailer as the flames closed in, but ellie refused to get in. >> i had to turn my become on her and make a hard decision to leave her there. >> there were rumors that ellie had been spotted in various areas, but nothing solid until someone told teri to look at this video from abc 8's laura anthony and randy davis, a fire crew trying to calm a runaway horse. >> it's got to be her. it looked just like her. >> but ellie got away that time. later someone, teri thinks it was animal control located ellie and reunited them. it's not all over yet. teri's home survived, but it's still in the evacuation zone. however, she is staying with a new friend,

i'm eric thomas. >> dan and alma have the night off. that tragedy happened last friday in fairfield. officials say the 36-year-old suspect sean michael was driving recklessly before the crash. >> our reporter has details. ornell? >> reporter: yeah erind dion. the chp says the suspect was distracted and speeding on interstate 80 when he caused this terrible crash which could have been prevented. >> this tragedy has affectd all of us here in slerno county and has changed lives here forever. >> reporter: the solano county district attorney announcing a a indictment. authorities say he had made a routine traffic stop last friday when walker struck him with his pickup truck. abrams says he was driving distracted. >> he was driving as an excessive speed on the freeway while he was on his phone and then he caused this accident. >> reporter: the chp says they have witness accounts before the crash. >> we want the message to be sent that your actions have consequences. that answering a phone or sending or answering a text can result in the tragi

eric thomas is live at the hospital with more. eric? >> reporter: kristen, these two exposures would have been in the bay area. there are actually more. the person stopped in sedona, arizona first week of august and in los angeles county a couple days later before coming home to contra costa county. so the health departments in all three locations are investigatou meiod, one of the places where there was a measles exposure was here at john muir hospital. measles isn't just for kids, although babies are the most vulnerable. >> our concern, though, is anyone who's unvaccinated. that might be a baby under 1 year of age, is unvaccinated. most babies don't get vaccinated until one year of age. >> reporter: a resident with the measles visited the emergency department on august 11th from 11:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon. the same person had a meal at chow restaurant in lafayette an august 14th. >> anyone who is not vaccinated or had past disease could have been exposed. >> reporter: the county health department found and interv

eric thomas tweets a similar scene.y, and first responders and pg&e meeting with residents as they drive into their community to check out their homes. san francisco's new mayor london breed signed a new two-year budget for the city. it targets homelessness, housing, street cleanliness and public safety. lean lyanne melendez joins us live to break it all down. >> reporter: if you live or work here in san francisco, homelessness is a big problem you know. housing, how many teachers, for example, do you know that can't afford to live here? street cleaning? well, look around you. and third or fourth of public safety, most of us have been victim of smash and grab. now, this is an $11 billion budget, $5.5 billion each year. she signed a budget negotiated by all city supervisors, 11 billion needed to run the city over the next two years and address our most pressing problems. on the top of that list is homelessness. an additional $60 million will be spent on a number of new services, including $4.4 million on a navigation cen

eric tom eric thomas abc 7 news. >>> a task force from the bay area is in whiskey town. it has seen a lot of devastation there, but members found an undamaged american flag still flying at the town's cemetery. the team decided to lower the flag to half staff in memory of the firefighters who died battling wildfires this year and the task force is made up of an alameda fire battalion chief and a team from the arendo fire district. they posted these photos on-line. for more information on the fires including evacuation orders and what to do in case you need to evacuate, go to abc7news.com or use the abc 7 news app and enable push alerts to get the latest breaking news when it happens. >>> this is the moment that defined 49er dwight clark. the catch. one of the most memorable plays in sports history. > the bay area knows dwight was much more than that one play. a private memorial service will be held to celebrate his life. abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield is live where his family and friends will say good-bye. >> this will be a private memorial service not open to the pub

. >> i'm eric thomas. we begin with developing news, five young lives changed forever after a devastating crash. >> abc news reporter cornell bernard is live at the crash scene in walnut creek. you spoke with the driver's family? >> reporter: i deon. and the family is sending condolences to those people who were impacted by this terrible crash. this fence has been taken out. the chp says he was under the influence when she drove her car off this connector ramp to the pavement below. friends and family members keeping vigil for two 18-year-old women badly injured in a crash sunday morning. the crash killed two 18-year-old men who were also riding in the car. >> everyone needs to be held up in prayer. we're asking everyone to send up good thoughts. i can't begin to imagine the pain they're experiencing right now. >> reporter: her 18-year-old cousin was driving the car which chp said plunged ohi ramp. the car reduced to a twisted piece of metal. >> my understanding this was maya's core group of friends. >> re

eric thomas has the story of one whom who found out her aboved horse was still alive. >> hey, baby girl. how are you? >> reporter: you can't say everything's back to normal for terry fox and her mare ellie. >> she has a puncture wound and a puncture wound and some lacerations there. >> reporter: she's one of tree former wild horses that terry was trying to evacuate by trailer as the flames moved in. but elie refused to get in. >> i had to turn my back on her and make a hard decision to leaveler there. >> reporter: there were r50u78ors the horse had been spotted. then someone told terry to look at this video ofeunway horse. >> it's got to be her. it looked just like her. but she got away. later ellie was reunited with terry. the home survived but it's still in the evacuation zone. however, she's staying with a new friend, joanie, who's putting up her horses and family until they can go home. >> i've made a wonderful friend in terry. we've already made plans to ride together. >> tony's also temporarily taken in four baby goats, 30 chickens and even a couple of pot-bellied pigs. >> these p

that's it for abc 7 news at 5:00 we thank you for your time i'm eric thomas. >> i'm dion lim, on behalfnews, thank you for i >>> tonight, several developing stories as we come on. the president's lead attorney rudy giuliani, and the stunning new reason why he's advising president trump not to testify in the russia investigation. >> truth isn't truth. >> as abc news confirms white house counsel don mcgahn has cooperated extensively with robert mueller. >>> killers on the loose. new details after a string of shootings that have left three people dead, and may be connected. the getaway vehicle police are now searching for. >>> also tonight, a family trapped by a raging wildfire. their attempt to drive through the flames. >> jesus, god, help us. >> the moment they realize they can't go any farther. >>> plus, the police ramming investigation. a teenager taking off after he was stopped for not having a light on his bicycle.

. >> i'm eric thomas. the bay area getting its first look at a new transit hub that could change the way we commute. >> the public got a chance to see san francisco's sales force transit center up close. cornell bernard is live in the city looking at some of the pictures it looks like everyone showed up to see it. >> reporter: yeah, guys. an amazing showing today. in fact, the crowds were so huge here at the new sales force transit center, police had to limit access to the lobby areas and the roof deck due to overcrowding. safe to say those who did get a look were pretty impressed. the wait is over. the long lines of people who wanted to be the first to get a glimpse inside the new sales force transit center. a few first impressions. >> it's really beautiful. >> i'm really excited. i think it's going to make getting back and forth from the city a lot easier. >> it's been a long time coming. but i think it's well worth it. >> reporter: hours after the public open house began, check out the huge crowds which

i'm eric thomas. >> i'm deion lynn. >> a shooting put a high school on lockdown. >> just a block from armey joe high school. cornell bernard is there live where he spokend w students. >> reporter: eric and dion lim, many still scared about the shooting last night that happened near campus which left a teenager dead. and today many were able to return to campus to retrieve the belongings they were forced to leave behind when the stadium was evacuated. >> it was terrifying. >> reporter: karen duff was working in the concession stand right before kickoff of the game when chaos unfolded. >> people started running into the concession stand saying that the school was on lockdown and that there was gunfire. > reporter: karen's son justin is a jv player. he was on the field. >> we just had the anthem and then kickoff. then it was like three pops. >> reporter: it was gunfire coming from nearby washington street and belle avenue. police called it a gun battle. >> there were multiple shooters. it appeared the groups were shooting at each other. >> reporter: sky map 7 shows how close it was to th

eric thomas is in vacaville and shows you some of the people taking part in the mollie movement. >> mary is a runner. it's something she has in common with molly aye tibbets. it's drawn her closer to the young college student. >> it could have been me or anybody. i felt a connection. >> she started following the case when mollie was missing. >> every day, i'd wake up to see if molly aye was found. the day tuesday when she was found i woke up that morning and just cried. >> instead of letting her grief turn to paralysis mary joined an on line group started by two of tibbets' friends in iowa. they call it the mollie movement. they spread random acts of kindness. >> i'm getting someone an ice cream. i went all over the town, the gym. a few people even reached out to me, hey, i got this, that made my day, thank you for being so kind. >> eric silva found one on his car. >> i think it's sawsome. especially in her name. it's a sad story but turning into something where everybody's helping out. >> mary's husband said she didn't get the interest at first but now he couldn't be more proud. >> this

. >> i'm eric thomas. we begin with developing news, five young lives changed forever after a

. >>> i'm eric thomas. >> i'm ama daetz, for sandhya patel, michael finney, thanks for joining us.6:00. >>> tonight, several breaking headlines as we come on the air. president trump tonight doubling down and a threat to strip security clearance. our correspondent asking the president, are you trying to silence critics by taking away critics. what the president said and what just happened. what 60 former cia officers have now done. also breaking, the severe thunderstorm watch in parts of the northeast just as we come on the air tonight. damaging winds, lightning expected. the system flipping a plane leading to rescues. rob has the new track. new york city and boston watching closely. >> developing what the judge in the paul manafort trial revealed. th

hello, thanks for joining us, i'm eric thomas. >> we begin with some of the latest on the most destructive wildfires in the state. today, the governor said he asked president trump to make a major disaster declaration to help residents recover from fires burning in lake, mendocino, napa, and shasta counties. he toured the area scorched by the carr fire in shasta county. >> the fire has charred more than 222 square miles and is 44% contained. flames have destroyed more than 1,000 homes since the fire started last month. after meeting with fire officials, the governor issued a warning to us all. >> we got tough times ahead, and no matter how comfortable you feel or how everything looks good, the part of wisdom is to be ready for what we don't know. >> right now a total of 17 wildfires are burning across the state. they include two wildfires that make up the mendocino complex fires that expanded overnight. they have burned a combined 315 square miles in mendocino and lake counties. cal fire says the wildfires have not merged, despite a report yesterday by a strike team and the fires remain ab

abc 7 news anchor eric thomas has the story. >> reporter: mary spinetti is a runner, something she has in common with mollie tibbetts. >> mollie could have been me, could have been anybody. so i just felt a connection with mollie. >> reporter: she started following the case when mollie was missing. >> every day that would be the first thing, i'd wake up and see if mollie was found. and the day that -- tuesday when her body was found, i woke up that morning and just cried. >> reporter: instead of letting her grief turn to pa ral list, mary joined an online group started by two of tibbetts' friends in iowa. members printed out little strips of paper to distribute random acts of kindness. >> i'm getting someone ice cream. >> reporter: that meant putting treats like candy on windshields. >> a few people reached out to me, hey, i got this, that made my day, thank you for being so kind. >> reporter: erick silva found one on his car at the gym. >> i think it's awesome. especially in her name, it's a sad story, but turning into something where everybody is helping each other out. >> reporter:

. >> abc 7 news reporter eric thomas is live in weaverville tonight where a community meeting started about an hour ago. >> reporter: it did, started about 4:00. peoere trickling out right now. at one point there were nearly 300 people crammed into this theater that seats about 250 to get the latest information from cal fire and law enforcement about the progress in fighting the carr fire. they heard from cal fire that the fire, as you said, has claimed 110,000 acres, nearly a thousand homes and buildings, and left six people dead, two of them firefighters. they didn't expect the fire to move any farther east towards redding. it has bled over into trinity county where we are. between the two counties, 38,000 people have been displaced. but cal fire says they are trying their best to get them back home soon. >> i can tell you our number one priority, besides safety, is to get you home. and we're serious about that. nobody's keeping you out of your house a second longer than you feed to be. >> there are a bunch of people putting their lives on the line to try to save the homes and crops

. >> i'm eric thomas. thanks for inviting us into your home. >>> connect with us 24/7 on facebook and twitter and also on abc7news.com. >>> tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. celebrating a legendary artist, aretha franklin. the queen of soul has died, surrounded by loved ones. what we've learned about her final days. the tributes tonight from so many other artists. and this evening, right here, aretha franklin in her own words. what that song, that word, respect, meant to her. ♪ r-e-s-p-e-c-t ♪ find out what it means to me >>> also, the other news tonight, president trump under fire for taking aim at those who have been critical of him. revoking security clearance of a former cia director, who tonight says trump's talk of no collusion is, quote, hogwash. and late today, the man who oversaw the raid on osama bin laden, his message about all of this for president trump. >>> also tonight, the new audio

. >> i'm eric thomas.d today in jacksonville, florida. >> investigators named him 24-year-old david katz from baltimore participating in the tournament. >> reporter: a live stream interrupted by gunfire. >> excuse me, not an easy out. >> reporter: as dozens of people took part in a video game tournament in jacksonville, authorities say a gunman opened fire. >> what are you shooting with? >> reporter: confusion and panic as gunshots were heard before the game came to a sudden stop. >> it was just supposed to be a nice weekend, supposed to have a nice weekend, enjoy playing madden against some people i've played against online. >> reporter: one witness said he ran to the restroom and hid there for ten minutes. >> it happened so quick. we saw a gun -- i guess he had a laser on the gun and he shot ue. everybody just started running. >> reporter: the shooting happened sunday afternoon at a shopping and dining complex during a qualify

i'm eric thomas. >> and i'm ama daetz. dan is off tonight.t's top story, a complaint filed against bart on behalf of nia wilson's family. >> it's been nearly a month since the 18-year-old was killed in an unprovoked attack. it happened while she and her sisters were transferring trains at bart's mack car their station. >> a man with a knife fatally stabbed nia and wounded her sister lau sister latifah. melanie woodrow is live with today's newly released information. melanie? >> ama and eric, the attorneys for nia wilson's family say there are 22,000 fare evaders. they say john cowell was one of them, and had bart stopped him wilson would still be alive. the attorneys for nia wilson's family said bart failed to provide