you saw kelsi thorud outside the 9ers game braving the elements.s faithful will have to do the same through the rest of this evening, but the diminishing trend of showers in the north bay is largely the case through tonight. the showers will become a bit fewer and farther between as we head through the rest of tonight. let's look at futurecast and wind the clock forward as we go through the next couple days. the scattered showers become more sparse overnight, but they don't entirely disappear. there's a chance at we head through the overnight hours at least a couple sprinkles here and there, more showers scooting through the northern half of the bay area to begin the day friday. that's the focus of the scattered showers activity, along and north of i-80 most of friday, but the atmospheric river will start to spread more rain across more of the bay area later friday evening, really arriving after midnight friday night with the first band of heavy rainfall to be followed by a second band of heavier rain early saturday morning. this is going to be acc

kelsi thorud caught up with a couple of fans to find out about their special connection to the traditionover 15 years, linda zimmerman has made it her annual tradition to see san francisco's gay men's chorus christmas concert. >>>>it's just fun. it's just fun. they have some serious music, but then they do a lot of parodies and a lot of laughs. >>>>linda moved to san francisco from the east coast back in the 70s. she says in recent years, the concert has become a sort of home away from home for her. >>>>i'm an elder orphan, which means i don't have family. i have a limited support system, so i come to see them just to lift my spirits, and they always do that for me. >>>>then one year the chorus brought something even bigger into linda's life. >>>>but i met susan at the herbst theater probably seven years ago. >>>>linda says that year she bought a ticket last minute and just happened to get seated next to susan ledford, who had done the same. >>>>it's different every year, and it's always fun. >>>>the two hit it off and forged a friendship. now, every year since that fayetteville meeting,

. >> jurors are weighing 21 days of testimony and thousands of pieces of evidence, and as our kelsi thorudeports, their job is not as simple as it may seem. >> reporter: after two days without a verdict, jurors are set to resume deliberations in the bob lee murder trial on sunday morning. the defense attorney was in the courtroom for the entire deed of the trial. they now have the task of combing over thousands of pieces of evidence to reach a verdict. >> i think they're trying amid six weeks of testimony and evidence presented by both sides to determine if nima momeni killed bob lee without any legal justification like self-defense and if the d.a. has proven that beyond a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: yeah, that's really interesting. there is always that kind of line of thinking that the longer the deliberation, the more likely, potentially it could be a not guilty verdict. i guess how do you feel about the length of deliberation right now and kind of how the jury has been handling their instructions and moving through this? >> you're right. typically the longer the jury is out, the bett

. >>> good morning, it is sunday, december 8th and i am kelsi thorud. that is the sound of syrian rebel shooting guns into the air as they celebrated this morning in damascus. this comes as 50 years of authoritarian rule by the assad family crumbled in the face of a lightning fast rebel offensive for just a week and a half. syrian state tv aired a statement today saying president bashar al-assad has been overthrown, also outside monitors say he has fled the country after those rebel fighters reached damascus. bradley blackburn is following this breaking story. >> reporter: on the ground in damascus, images of syrian president bashar al-assad loom over abandoned military checkpoints. there was celebration in the streets of the country's capitol as rebel fighters said they had taken control of the city. rebels have rapidly advance across the country in recent days, taking control of major cities , a lightning shift in a long , simmering civil war. in the city , a statue of the former syrian president was toppled by a cheering crowd. rebel leader said the

kelsi thorud caught up with a couple of fans to find out about their special connection to the tradition reporter: for over 15 years, linda zimmerman has made it her annual tradition to see san francisco's gay men chorus christmas concert. >> it is just fun. it is just fun. they had some serious music, but then they will do a lot of parodies and a lot of laughs. >> reporter: linda moved from san francisco to the east coast back in the 70s. in recent years, the concert has become a sort of home away from home for her. >> i'm an elder orphan, so i could see that to lift my spirits, and they always do that for me. >> reporter: and then one year, they brought something bigger into linda's lives. >> i met susan at the theater where it is probably seven years ago. >> reporter: that year, it just happened to get seated next to susan ledford who got the same. >> it's different every year, it's always fun. >> reporter: the two hit it off, forging a friendship. now every year since that faithful meeting, they've been coming to the concert together. >> it is something to do on my own and with linda

kelsi thorud has more on the closure's impact in the neighborhood and the calls for the city to intervene. >> reporter: amos brown is calling out safeway. saying that the company's decision to close their location in san francisco's fillmore district is just another example of systemic racism. >> this is a snap at black people. and we're saying we see it, we feel it, and as the world needs to understand. >> reporter: the heart of african american community it in san francisco. it was once the epic center of the west coast jazz scene, but reverend brown says decades of racist policies and discriminations have severely hindered the neighborhood's growth. now with safeway leaving, the area will have less access to fresh food. >> it's a total bust. where are we going to go? we feel like we're kind of being abandoned. we're not sure why they're closing so many stores. >> reporter: and they have those safeways too. >> yeah, so i don't know where they're going. >> reporter: safeway says the store will be closing on or around february 7 of next year. in a statement, the company said it chose to s

kelsi thorud has the story. >> how do you vote? >> aye. >> trustee, how do you vote? >> aye. >> and myself, aye. motion passes unanimously. >> reporter: after close to five hours of discussion and public comment, alum rock union school district board of trustees voted unanimously to close six schools and consolidate four others. the decision brought high emotions for those on the public and online. >> and we can provide a better education if we close some schools. is everybody going to be affected? is everybody going to be mad? yes. but who will benefit in the end? who will it benefit the most? the children and their learning, and that is why i'm here. >> reporter: the district is facing a fiscal crisis due to a significant decline of student enrollment in recent years. the school closures will help balance the budget. still, many parents were not happy with the way the board went about deciding these closures. many voiced their displeasure in person at monday night's meeting. >> it breaks my heart that all the schools are being considered to a closure, knowing we're

our kelsi thorud introduces us to the book society. >> reporter: there's a new book shop in the bay and this one pairs some of your favorite reads with some of your favorite wines. >> thank you. >> it's about judith jones who discovered julia childs and so hence, a french bourdeaux going with the story. >> reporter: laura guzman is the owner of book society in berkeley. she says this shop has been a long time in the making. >> i was working at a used bookstore in downtown oakland and realized these are my people. this is the space, but a lot of places aren't meant for you to stay and enjoy. >> reporter: so laura decided to create a space where people could come in and not only peruse the stacks, but also stay a while and enjoy a glass of wine. >> what's cool about this is the whole experience is meant to be seamless. so i you in exchange for an id a book society card you tap here and you can select a taste, a half glass or full glass. >> reporter: book society opened its doors to the public on december 7th. laura says the community's response has been amazing. >> we were talking about i

kelsi thorud has the story. >> how do you vote? >> aye. >> trustee, how

our kelsi thorud has that story. >>> five, four, three, two, one. >> reporter: the world tree of hopebright at grace cathedral in downtown san francisco. tree, unlike any other in the world, decorated with close to 20,000 cranes. >> there are so many cranes that it looks like it is snow flopped, which is amazing. >> reporter: she's been the tree's lead designer since the inception 19 years ago. it is not just a past time for her, but it's a family tradition. >> i have been doing this since i was five years old. and my grandfather wrote two of the first books in english, so it runs in my blood. >> reporter: it's a symbol of hope for so many across the globe. they have a handwritten wish on it sent in by people both near and far. >> they come in from all over the world. and we have special wishes on the tree from obama, hillary clinton. but really it's the people. >> reporter: the founder and the executive director of rainbow world fund says this year, the tree seems to mean just that much more to so many. >> and it feels like an uncertain time for people. it is important that they find

. >> jurors are weighing 21 days of testimony and thousands of pieces of evidence and as our kelsi thorud, their job is not as simple as it may seem. >> reporter: after two days without a verdict jurors are set to resume deliberations in the bob lee murder trial monday morning. criminal defense attorney shannon dugan was in the courtroom for the entirety of the trial. she says jurors now have the task of combing over thousands of pieces of evidence to reach a verdict. >> i think they're trying amid six weeks of testimony and evidence presented by both sides to determine if nima momeni killed bob lee without any legal justification like self-defense and if the d.a. has proven that beyond a reasonable doubt. >> that's really interesting. there's always that kind of line of thinking that the longer the deliberation, the more likely potentially it could be a not guilty, you know, verdict. i guess, how do you feel about the length of deliberation right now and kind of how the jury has been handling their instructions and moving through this? >> reporter: i mean you're right. typically the long

. >> in the next hour kelsi thorud will join us live in pacifica. she spoke with the mayor as officials evaluate the emergency response. >>> san francisco's sunset district was another area in the tsunami zone. our amanda hari spoke with neighbors impacted there. >> reporter: people here near the coast tell me they were initially a little bit scared. luckily, things have calmed down here quite a bit. the waves behind me now look similar to the way they usually look this time of year people saying to me. earlier some people say the waves were bigger. patrick odie sometimes thinks about the possibility of a tsunami, knowing that he lives in a tsunami-hazard area. he lived in the sunset for two years now and thursday was the first time he needed to take action. >> yeah. i got the alert, started getting my stuff ready and tried to get to higher ground. >> reporter: he walked up the hill towards the lands inn lookout. his alert was on his phone, but what he didn't hear was the city's outdoor warning system. in the past it would have sounded during a tsun

kelsi thorud caught up with people sharing that special moment. >> reporter: for the first time in close to 20 years, the first night of hanukkah and christmas are on the same day. and the place to be to celebrate both was here in union square. the massive 22-foot tall bill graham menorah towered over the crowd just feet from union square's christmas tree. hundreds of people gathered to take photos with the tree and witness the menorah lighting ceremony. >> it is community. and so to celebrate in community and that it fell on christmas day too, so we're celebrating with the universe. >> happy hanukkah. >> really emotional, because i can tell that not everyone is jewish and the community is coming together. >> reporter: he came with his young daughter. he told us he's been coming for the last seven years and after all the jewish community has been through over this last year he was delighted to see so many people of different walks of life gathered together. >> so it's just showing that there is an option to be all together and bring light to our lives. >> reporter: it's a time of year th

kelsi thorud is live in pacifica with more on the tense moments this morning, what officials are saying about the response. it was a bit of touch and go for some people. >> reporter: hey, ryan, yeah. there are a lot of people out here tonight kind of taking in the coast. it's a much different scene, much calmer than this morning where there were scenes of sometimes chaos and frantic people trying to evacuate when they thought there was a potential tsunami coming this way. frightening moment for thousands of people in pacifica as they raced to higher ground fleeing the tsunami zone. >> i grabbed the dog, my passport. that's about all i could get my hands on. then i got out and as i was driving out, the police and fire trucks were blaring down the street with their sirens. >> reporter: students evacuated from schools closest to the ocean. our chopper was over oceana high school as students lined up on the football field waiting to be bussed infield, the evacuation causing a nightmare on roads, cars backed up for miles on highway 1 trying to get out of town. >> there was helicopters flying

our kelsi thorud stopped by a pub where they're already busy. >> reporter: kezar pub was packed with 49ers fans monday night catching the last home game of the season. >> it's going all right. it could be worse. >> reporter: it's the kickoff of what is expected to be a busy next few days for bars across the city, with the nfl game, new year's eve, and a slew of college football bowl games. servers here say they're ready for it. >> we're a team, and we like to work with each other, and so we just help each other out and make the best of things. >> reporter: kezar says it's not planning to do anything too out of the ordinary to ring in the new year. but that's no problem to their loyal customers who they expect will come out in droves tuesday night. >> yeah, we have regulars and everything. it's just routine, you know? >> reporter: thousands are expected to head out to parties across the city and take in the night's iconic fireworks show. some are even trying to figure out how to do both. >> so i don't know about the balloon drop or the fireworks, which i want to say in person. but i a

kelsi thorud caught the show and caught up with a couple of fans about their special connection to that for over 15 years, linda zimmerman has made it her annual tradition to see san francisco's gay men's chorus christmas concert. >> it's just fun. it's just fun. they have some serious music, but then they do a lot of parodies and lot of laughs. >> reporter: linda moved to san francisco from the east coast back this the '70s. she says in recent years, the concert has become a sort of home away from home for her. >> i'm an elder orphan, which means i don't have family. i have a limited support system, so i come to see them just to lift my spirits. and they always do that for me. >> reporter: then one year, the chorus brought something even bigger into linda's life. >> but i met susan at the herself theater probably seven years ago. >> reporter: linda says that year she bought a ticket last minute and just happened to get seated next to susan led ford, who had done the same. >> it's different every year, and it's always fun. >> reporter: the two hit it off and forged a friendship. now eve

as our kelsi thorud shows us, board members are banking on a different tactic. >> going forward, the school district must value our voices. >> reporter: the san francisco unified school district board of education has approved a plan to offer supplemental early retirement to older eligible teachers at the end of this school year. the move is a part of the district's strategy to cut costs and balance its budget. >> we are trying our best to get to a responsible fiscal health in a way that also prioritizes the experience and dedication of our employees. >> reporter: but not everyone agrees that buying out teachers is the best way to save money. dozens of people took to the microphone during public comment to voice their concern with the policy. >> more older, experienced teachers leaving our schools replaced by new, younger, less experienced teachers will result in poorer learning outcomes for our students. >> it is absurd to talk about cuts while our schools are still crippled by vacancies. at best we have been short by two full-time classroom teachers, which is hugely destabilizing.

as kelsi thorud tells us, their job is not as simple as it may seem. >> reporter: after two days withouterdict, jurors are set to resume in the bob lee murder trial on monday morning. criminal defense attorney was in the courtroom for the spirity of the trial. she says jurors now have the task of combing over thousands of pieces of evidence to reach a verdict. >> i think they're trying amid six weeks of testimony and evidence presented by both sides to determine if nima momeni killed bob lee without any legal justification like self-defense and if the d.a. has proven that beyond a reasonable doubt. >> that's really interesting. you know, there is always that kind of line of thinking that the longer the deliberation, the more likely potentially it could be a not guilty, you know, verdict. i guess how do you feel about the lept of deliberation right now and kind of how the jury has been handling their constructions and moving through this? >> and it is generally the perception. if everybody agrees quickly on the evidence and the law, they could come back with the exceptions. they have a re

the only full service grocery store in the historic lay black neighborhood and kelsi thorud has moreclosure's impact to the neighborhood and the calls for the city to intervene. >> reporter: reverend amos brown is calling out safeway. saying the company's decision to close its location in san francisco's fillmore district is just another example of systemic racism. >> this is a slap at black people. and we're saying, we see it, we feel it, and the world needs to understand. >> reporter: the fillmore has long been the heart of the african american community in san francisco. it was once the epicenter of the west coast jazz scene. but reverend brown says decades of racist policies and discrimination have severely hindered the neighborhood's growth. now with safeway leaving, the area will have less access to fresh food. >> it's a total bust. em een, where are we going to go? we feel -- like we're kind of being abandoned and we're not sure why safeway is closing so many stores. >> fillmore had a -- safeway. have a safeway too. very far over there. yeah. so -- i don't know where they're g

one recall organizer tells our kelsi thorud he feels betrayed by elected officials. >> albert chow isl supervisor, guard owe. >> i don't trust him. i can't. you know? that's really what it comes down to right now. >> reporter: chow says thatdistrains is the support of prop k that look today close down a section of the great highway and turn it into a park. >> this ballot measure was never mentioned. was never brought up in any sunset meetings and was never in any emails or never in a newsletter. in fact when he ran for supervisor, he said he supported the compromise. >> reporter: the measure passed with 54% of the vote last month but chow says a strong majority of voters in his own district were against the proposal. >> you saw that district 4 or district 1, district 11, district 7 excuse me, voted no on in proposition overwhelmingly. so as a west side resident, most people did not want this to happen. >> reporter: that's why on tuesday, a group of sunset residents submitted a formal letter of intent to recall enguard owe. when asked his thoughts on the recall effort, he had this to s

our kelsi thorud introduces us to book society. >> reporter: there's a new bookshop in the bay and this of your favorite reeds with some of your favorite wines. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> it's about judith jones who discovered julia child's. hence a french bordeaux going with the julia child's judith jones story. >> reporter: laura guzman is the owner of book society in berkeley. she says this shop has been a long time in the making. >> i was working at a used bookstore in downtown oakland and realized these are my people. this is the space. but a lot of places aren't meant for you to stay and enjoy. >> reporter: so laura decided to create a space where people could come in and not only peruse the stacks, but also stay a while and enjoy a glass of wine. >> but what's cool about this is the whole experience is meant to be seamless and so i give you in exchange for an id, a little -- looks like a library card. a book society card that you tap here. and then you can select a taste, a half glass, or full glass. >> reporter: book society opened its doors to the public on december 7th. la

our kelsi thorud has this story. >> five, four, three, two, one. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporterhining bright at grace cathedral in downtown san francisco. the tree, unlike any other in the world, decorated with close to 20,000 origami cranes. >> so amazing,. >> reporter: linda has been the tree's lead designer since its inception 19 years ago. origami is not just a past time for her -- pastime for her. it's family tradition. >> i have been doing origami since i was 5 years old and my grandfather wrote two of the first books in english on origami. >> reporter: the tree a symbol of hope for so many across the globe. each crane has a handwritten wish on it sent in by people near and far. >> they come in from all over the world request we also have some special wishes on the tree from president obama and hillary clinton and courteney cox. rupaul. but really it's the people'stree. >> reporter: jeff cotter the founder and executive director of rainbow world fund says this year the tree seems to mean that much more to so many. >> feels like a very uncertain time for people and i think

kelsi thorud takes us inside operation holiday cheer. >> reporter: this holiday season has been unlike other for brittany daniel and her family. >> my daughter was diagnosed with a kidney condition 22 weeks. while i was pregnant. and so this is the place to come for babies with kidney conditions. >> reporter: brittany's daughter was born on veterans day and immediately transferred from their hometown hospital in fresno to ucsf benioff children's hospital. for the past six weeks brittany has been staying here in san francisco. her husband and two other children coming up to join her whenever they can. >> my son 4 and my other daughter is 2. so they've been back and forth. >> reporter: throughout all of this, brittany has been staying at family house. a nonprofit that houses families who have children getting life-saving treatment at the hospital. >> it's amazing. i mean, our room here has two bedrooms so then we get a room for our kids that has two little twin beds in it. they love it. i feel like every day we walk in and there's a new toy for them. >> reporter: katherine thompson is th

kelsi thorud caught up with the couple of fans to find out about their special connection to this tradition it her annual tradition to see san francisco's gay men's chorus christmas concert. >> it's just fun. it's just fun. they have some serious music but then they do a lot of parodies and lot of laughs. >> reporter: linda moved to san francisco from the east coast back in the '70s. she says in recent years, the concert has become a sort of home away from home for her. >> i'm an elder orphan which means i don't have family. i have a limited support system so i come to see them just to lift my spirits. and they always do that for me. >> reporter: then one year, the chorus brought something even bigger into linda's life. >> but i met susan at the herbs theater probably seven years ago. >> reporter: linda says that year, she bought a ticket last-minute and just happened to get seated next to susan ledford. who had done the same. >> it's different every year and it's always fun. >> reporter: the two hit it off and forged a friendship. now every year since that fateful meeting they've been comi

our kelsi thorud caught up with people sharing the moment. >> reporter: for the first time in close tos, the first night of hanukkah and christmas are on the same day. and the place to be to celebrate both was here in union square. ♪ ♪ the massive 22-foot tall bill graham menorah towered over the crowd, just feet from union square's christmas tree. hundreds of people gathered to take photos with the tree and witness the menorah lighting ceremony. >> it is community. and to -- celebrate in community. and that it fell on christmas day too. so we're celebrating with the universe. >> happy hanukkah. >> really emotional because i can tell that not everyone is jewish and the community is coming together to connect with the light means a lot to all of us. >> reporter: moshi came to the lighting ceremony with his young daughter. he told us he's been coming for the last seven years and after all the jewish community has been through over this last year, he was delighted to see so many people of different walks of life gather together. >> the -- lights lately. so it's just showing that there's a