all right doctor nolan higdon from csu, east bay thanks for that. ahead finding fame thanks to one particular presidential candidate california? comedian is really leaning into this political season >>>>the bay area events calendar, brought to you by broadway san jose. >>>here's what's happening in the bay area this weekend. enjoy island cuisine ukulele music, and celebrate the spirit of the pacific islands at the 29th annual bay area aloha festival in san mateo, or sink your teeth into the gravenstein apple fair in sebastopol >>>>somewhere in the middle of nowhere, >>>the award winning best musical come from away is returning to san jose for one weekend only this november. download the broadway san jose app now to access the pre-sale code. tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. at broadway san jose. dot com. the event calendar is bro >anne>well, social media influencers are not the only ones capitalizing on the presidential campaign season. some comedians are also getting a boost online reporter elizabeth wagmeister has that story >>>>the former >>

nolan higdon, thank you so much for joining us. really appreciate your expertise. >> always a pleasure to talk to you. thank you. >> up next we're going to shift gears. the largest lunar new year celebration outside of asia has a new home right here on abc seven. all the detai what's the definition of character to you? umm... would you be a superhero or a supervillain? if you could say one thing to big tobacco, what would it be? it's so important in this time of change that we reclaim our sacred ways. i had to open my eyes. you can't continue to do this. deep breath. i'd want to ask them “why?” (♪) have a big announcement here at abc seven news. lion dancers stopped by our station to celebrate the new home of the san francisco chinese new year parade, the nation's oldest, largest lunar new year celebration will be broadcast live right here on abc seven. in february. parade organizer tony lao and the president of the san francisco chinese chamber of commerce, donald liu, talked with us about the exciting news on abc seven mornings.

so i think politically, that's a good move for the democratic party. >> professor nolan higdon, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> and a programing note. live coverage of the dnc starts here on abc seven tonight at 7 p.m. that's followed by the bachelorette. you can watch wheel of fortune at 10:00, followed by jeopardy at 1030. and sky seven live over the disabled train near the macarthur bart station, and bart says there were reports of smoke on that train. right now, we're in the vicinity. but let me just tell you, bart service has stopped in downtown oakland, in the antioch, berryessa, richmond in san francisco. directions. please seek alternative means of transportation between ashby, rockridge, lake merritt and west oakland stations. because of that, you see that train down there. everybody says got out safely is what bart is telling us. so that's the good news. but again, there were reports of smoke on the train. right now this is stopped. and i mentioned the service interruption. we have a crew on the way to the scene. we'll bring you the latest as we get it all right. with millio

joining us now for more insight on project 2025 is nolan higdon, who is a communications and history professor at cal state east bay. nolan, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thanks for having me. >> so, nolan, this essentially is a portrait of the america that conservatives hope to implement. so let's get down to it here. and speaking specifically about presidential power, basically from what the understanding here, this breaks down the barrier that have kept any american president from becoming a dictator or one ruler of this country. is that your understanding of, of at least the presidential powers part of this somewhat. >> you know, i think project 2025, in a lot of ways is really a lot of just basic conservative viewpoints. so there are some some differences. but for the most part, this is kind of basic old conservatism that believes that bureaucracy is undemocratic and that we should have a stronger executive to be more efficient. and so i think that this, what's, argued for here in project 2025 really is consistent with where conservatives have been, previously

doctor nolan higdon is a professor at uc santa cruz. he watched it to nolan.mer president obama said he was the only guy dumb enough to go after michelle obama in a speech. he is known as one of the best orators of his generation, but i think last night we learned he isn't even the best speaker in his own family. i completely agree the energy from michelle obama was electric. anybody who watched it could could certainly feel it. she had the crowd hanging on every word she said, and it was just a really great speech where she asked voters to take action. it was really reminiscent of jfk's speech about ask not what your country can do for you. and she was just really tore the house down. even obama had to admit it early on in his speech that it was tough to follow his wife. well, the other thing that was very obvious was the, you know, incredible enthusiasm and energy, even in the state. roll call. i know you can't see what's happening on television. we're seeing obama now. the obamas now. but but i'm thinking specifically of little john in the georgia delegatio

nolan higdon says while young voters are certainly more energized following biden's exit, they're still concerned about key issues. >> the gaza issue is going to be critical for her because those young voters were turning against biden, either refusing to vote or some threatening to vote for trump. she's going to try and keep those voters. >> reporter: criticism aside, harris returns to san francisco having reset the race for the white house and having fired up a key democratic base. >> her candidacy and the choice of governor walz has really turned the dynamic around in terms of young people's involvement. >> reporter: the fairmont hotel did tell us they are preparing now getting everything ready. they've got signs up to let you know where you can and can't park. we should know at this point all tickets for this event are sold out. >> wow. quite a price range, too, for all the donors. we'll know when she's along her route, shows streets will be closed off and we'll know someone is coming through, a dignitary. thank you so much. >>> meanwhile former president donald trump is expected to

. >> uc santa cruz professor of media studies nolan higdon says newsom and harris have always stood out in the democratic party. >> i think they're certainly two rising stars within the democratic party over the last decade. >> higdon says newsom played a big role in bolstering support in the golden state for president biden. higdon says harris has her own strong ties to california donors and the democratic party. what's in the cards for newsom as he navigates a new role behind harris? >> gavin is going to be done with his governorship here in the near future as well, probably looking for a federal position. and i can imagine working somewhere in kamala harris's cabinet would get him a great opportunity to put more on his resume, to make the justification for being a president in 2028. >> and professor higdon says governor newsom clearly has his sights set on the white house, even going back to the president obama years. higdon says governor newsom was looking at potentially running in 2016, and higdon doubts newsom will stop looking at which year could be his year to run. live in the s

cal state east bay professor nolan higdon says harris will likely pick a less progressive choice. >> i think harris is probably going to try and choose a candidate who she thinks will get more of those center, center right voters, i think with the history of sexism and racism in this country, she's also going to keep an eye toward that, what candidate might be able to overcome some of those challenges with polls showing harris and trump nearly neck and neck, higdon expects the vp announcement to give harris a boost. >> she's expected to make a decision by tuesday. then the two will go on a battleground state tour together. this all comes as donald trump and his running mate, jd vance, held their first rally together in georgia. one of the seven states that could prove pivotal in november. at the same time, there's a disagreement about when and where the two candidates will debate. there was a debate scheduled on abc for september 10th, when biden was the nominee. trump had previously agreed to it, but now wants to do a debate september 4th on fox, instead saying if harris doesn't agr

san francisco da to california attorney general to us senator and now vice president professor nolan higdon says harris is on friendly territory, tapping into a familiar and wealthy donor base. >> just two, three weeks ago, democrats, you know, assumed that donald trump was going to take the white house. there was a lot of fear within the party and the donor base that supports the party. >> professor higdon says harris is building on the enthusiasm her campaign has ignited, sparked by the addition of walls hoping to turn enthusiasm into donations. >> so harris, despite the fact that she had low approval ratings and there was a lot of doubt behind the scenes about her uh, she's seen as a, you know, a game changer. >> but not all are as enthusiastic protests are planned for sunday, led by pro-palestinian supporters who have taken to the streets across the bay area for the past ten months. >> a lot of groups like the uncommitted movement and the abandoned biden movement are also really pushing her to come out with a policy platform that includes an arms embargo against israel to end the genoci

cal state east bay professor nolan higdon expects harris to pick someone that's less progressive and can get the center or more right leaning votes. the campaign even launched the republicans for harris group yesterday. higdon says whoever she picks, she's going to try to keep the momentum she has going now. >> i spoke with both the vp pick and the convention for harris to get a bump in the polls. i think harris is enjoying a bump in the polls right now. also, there's new energy for this candidate after democrats were pretty skeptical right before she was announced as the candidate. there was a lot of momentum at trump's back, and since then it's really been all harris, higdon says. >> whoever she picks, she's really going to try to keep that momentum. the convention is two weeks away in chicago. that's where harris will formally accept the nomination. now. right now, polling shows harris and republican nominee donald trump essentially neck and neck. so these next few weeks are critical for both of their campaigns. dave, back to you. >> all right, amanda, thank you. time now. 705. we

. >> uc santa cruz professor of media studies nolan higdon says newsom and harris have always stood out in the democratic party. >> i think they're certainly two rising stars within the democratic party over the last decade. >> higdon says newsom played a big role in bolstering support in the golden state for president biden. higdon says harris has her own strong ties to california donors and the democratic party. what's in the cards for newsom as he navigates a new role behind harris? >> gavin is going to be done with his governorship here in the near future as well, probably looking for a federal position. and i can imagine working somewhere in kamala harris's cabinet would get him a great opportunity to put more on his resume, to make the justification for being a president in 2028. >> and professor higdon says governor newsom clearly has his sights set on the white house. even going back to the president, obama years. higdon says governor newsom was looking at potentially running in 2016, and higdon doubts that newsom will stop looking at which year could be his year to run. live in

president that, according to a lecturer of history and communication at cal state east bay, professor nolan higdon, says he spoke about a winning legacy with us on abc seven news at three. >> even though this may seem like a side issue to some democratic voters, all those numbers in the periphery can really matter when it comes to determining the electoral college. as folks like you know, hillary clinton know, even though hillary clinton had a smashing victory in the popular vote, she was unable to win the electoral college, lost it by about 120,000 votes, and a handful of key states. so we're not talking about a lot of voters changing the outcome. and the uncommitted voters in michigan could prove pivotal. >> we're down to 77 days until the election. look at the clock on your screen there. it's counting down to the moment the polls open on election day, november 5th. >> bart is getting back to normal tonight after smoke stopped a train on the tracks in oakland, causing major delays. service was shut down at macarthur bart for more than an hour. abc seven news reporter leslie brinkley talked to pa

>> cal state east bay professor nolan higdon says harris will likely pick a less progressive choice.y and choose a candidate who she thinks will get more of those center, center right voters. i think with the history of sexism and racism in this country, she's also going to keep an eye toward that, what candidate might be able to overcome some of those challenges, with polls showing harris and trump nearly neck and neck, higdon expects the vp announcement to give harris a boost. >> she's expected to make a decision by tuesday. then the two will go on a battleground state tour together. this all comes as donald trump and his running mate, jd vance, held their first rally together in georgia. one of the seven states that could prove pivotal in november. at the same time, there's a disagreement about when and where the two candidates will debate. there was a debate scheduled on abc for september 10th, when biden was the nominee. trump had previously agreed to it, but now wants to do a debate september 4th on fox, instead saying if harris doesn't agree to the new one, he won't debate her

senator and now vice president, professor nolan higdon says harris is on friendly territory, tapping into a familiar and wealthy donor base. >> just two three weeks ago, democrats, you know, assumed that donald trump was going to take the white house. there was a lot of fear within the party and the donor base that supports the party. >> professor higdon says harris is building on the enthusiasm her campaign has ignited, sparked by the addition of walls hoping to turn enthusiasm into donations. >> so harris, despite the fact that she had low approval ratings and there was a lot of doubt behind the scenes about her uh, she's seen as a, you know, a game changer. >> but not all are as enthusiastic protests are planned for sunday, led by pro-palestinian supporters who have taken to the streets across the bay area for the past ten months. a lot of groups like the uncommitted movement and the abandoned biden movement are also really pushing her to come out with a policy platform that includes an arms embargo against israel to end the genocide in gaza. nadia rahman is a long time political

senator and now vice president, professor nolan higdon says harris is on friendly territory, tapping into a familiar and wealthy donor base. >> just two three weeks ago, democrats, you know, assumed that donald trump was going to take the white house. there was a lot of fear within the party and the donor base that supports the party. >> professor higdon says harris is building on the enthusiasm her campaign has ignited, sparked by the addition of walls hoping to turn enthusiasm into donations. >> so harris, despite the fact that she had low approval ratings and there was a lot of doubt behind the scenes about her uh, she's seen as a, you know, a game changer. >> but not all are as enthusiastic. protests are planned for sunday, led by pro-palestinian supporters who have taken to the streets across the bay area for the past ten months. >> a lot of groups like the uncommitted movement and the abandoned biden movement are also really pushing her to come out with a policy platform that includes an arms embargo against israel to end the genocide in gaza. >> nadia rahman is a longtime poli

that's according to nolan higdon, lecturer of history and communication at cal state east bay. he spoke with us about a winning strategy. >> even though this may seem like a side issue to some democratic voters, all those numbers in the periphery can really matter when it comes to determining the electoral college. as folks like, you know, hillary clinton know, even though hillary clinton had a smashing victory in the popular vote, she was unable to win the electoral college, lost it by about 120,000 votes and a handful of key states. so we're not talking about a lot of voters changing the outcome and things like the uncommitted voters in michigan could prove pivotal. >> and of course, we are counting down to election day. take a look at this clock on your screen. we are 77 days away from the moment polls open on election day. that's, of course, november 5th. >> tonight you have a chance to weigh in on public safety cameras in a high crime area in san francisco. the police department holding a community meeting to discuss four proposed locations in the bayview district. they wo

i spoke with professor of history and communication at cal state east bay, nolan higdon, about some of the key things to look for this week, something i think voters be wise to pay attention to. >> harris is, you know, really in a honeymoon phase right now. and what i mean by that is vice president harris is the new candidate. there's a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of excitement. but harris has not been forced to do a lot of interviews, take a lot of policy positions. and once that starts to happen, that's when you can sometimes see divisions. and this is where she's in quite a difficult place. i think it behooves her to echo support for president biden and president biden's agenda, but she also wants to distinguish herself as someone different while building the coalition of voters. and as you note, there are a lot of divisions within the democratic party, and she's going to have to make an effort to try and get all those different fragments of the party under one umbrella to vote for her in november. >> of course not everyone speaking at the democratic national convention is a politician

well, coming up at 8:00, we're speaking with cal state east bay professor nolan higdon about harris'syou can watch live on roku, pluto, and online at nbcbayarea.com. now to a live look in daly city. this is where a school district looking to bridge those housing gaps with 56 new affordable units. groundbreaking for this started in 2019, construction wrapping up over the summer and along east moore avenue. now teachers have been seen moving in ever since the construction made part of a bond measure approved by voters. currently, staff housing is at 90% capacity. a ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 1130 this morning. team usa picking up some more serious hardware in paris within the last 24 hours. that includes one stanford alum who is bringing home gold today in the bay's jesse geguri is going one on one with a track and field star that's officially made the olympic record books. all right, check this out. joining me now. this is a special treat. valarie allman she is a discus thrower gold medalist. she doesn't have her gold medal yet. she will be getting it later tonight. but e