san francisco fire department. reporting live in san francisco, j.r. stone, abc 7 news. >> yeah. certainly is, j.r. thank you. and as we mentioned before, right now cortez's body is about to arrive at the san francisco medical examiner's office. we are taking a live look from streets nearby. you see it there, you see all the lights and the firefighters still paying their respects. this is 3rd street and evans avenue. you can see the medical examiner van there. the procession from the hospital to here began about an hour ago. firefighters and other first responders have been lining the entire route and they've already been joined by some civilians who are also out there because so many people want to share their support and really so many people are wondering how this happened at a training incident. we're expecting a news conference to happen shortly. hopefully we will learn a little bit more. regardless we will bring that news conference to you live when it happens. >> honoring the memory of jason cortez. >>> in the north bay the family of a man shot and killed by napa county deputies wants to know exactly what led up to his death. the shooting happened monday following what deputies say was a routine traffic stop. a

. >>> new 11:00, the san francisco medical examiner's office said it is overwhelmed with drug overdose cases. the san francisco chronicle is reporting four times more people in san francisco have now died of overdoses and the people who have died of covid- 19 in the city. 468 people overdosed between january through august of this year. that's about two people a day. 441 people died of overdoses last year. fentanyl is reportedly driving the increase in fatalities. >>> the world health organization says that new coronavirus cases hit a record of more than 350,000 today. that includes more than 54,000 cases in the u.s. the w.h.o. says it wants countries to be able to avoid lockdowns and governments must ensure the vulnerable are protected and everyone takes measures to stop the spread. >>> millions of californians have depended on an extra $300 a week in unemployment assistance from the federal government. but the final round of federal money said to go out just as the state is getting back on track with new claims. >> [ laughter ] i don't know what i'm going to do. >> reporter: the frus

. >> reporter: now, the san francisco medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine exactly how he died. reporting live, henry leigh, ktvu f0x2 news. >>> now, we go to the south bay where work crews with the valley water this week kicked off the water districts annual fall cleanup of the guadalupe river and surrounding creeks. crews focus to today's effort near the ulmerton area of the river. the cleanup is in advance of the winter he rainy season which is a part of ongoing flood protection efforts and the reason region. as well as efforts to keep trash from flowing into the bay. water officials say crews are collecting all kinds of garbage from socket shopping carts to close with many of those items coming from nearby homeless encampments. they also said because of the coronavirus, crews have to work around those encampments, which have grown since the pandemic. >>> we are facing difficult weather over the next few days, there is no easy way to put it. right now, we are under a red flag warning for parts of the north bay, mostly, but our hills and mountains, and we are going to

and applauding] ♪ ♪ >>> my name is doctor ellen moffett, i am an assistant medical examiner for the city and county of san franciscopsy, review medical records and write reports. also integrate other sorts of testing data to determine cause and manner of death. i have been here at this facility since i moved here in november, and previous to that at the old facility. i was worried when we moved here that because this building is so much larger that i wouldn't see people every day. i would miss my personal interactions with the other employees, but that hasn't been the case. this building is very nice. we have lovely autopsy tables and i do get to go upstairs and down stairs several times a day to see everyone else i work with. we have a bond like any other group of employees that work for a specific agency in san francisco. we work closely on each case to determine the best cause of death, and we also interact with family members of the diseased. that brings us closer together also. >> i am an investigator two at the office of the chief until examiner in san francisco. as an investigator here i investigate all mann

the san francisco medical examiner's office is working to identify the man and contact loved ones. >>> the price of trying to do business. how much it will reportedly cost a bay area gym that violated a health order during the pandemic. >>> and on the national scale, ominous signs the pandemic is far from slowing down. the record just set in the united states. >>> and a little later, we've been following the problems plaguing california's unemployment agency. we'll take a look at another i'm jerome gage. i'm a full-time lyft driver. when this pandemic first started, i bought my own ppe because uber and lyft didn't provide it. these companies have been exploiting drivers like me for years. now prop 22 denies us basic rights like unemployment benefits and sick time. uber and lyft are billion-dollar companies, and they still won't let drivers get access to unemployment benefits. that's just wrong. tell uber and lyft to stop exploiting their drivers. vote no on prop 22. >>> as we all work through this pandemic, education is just one of the ways abc 7 news is committed to building a better

right now cortez's body is about to arrive at the san francisco medical examiner's office.reets nearby. 3rd

firefighters are expected to hold a procession later this afternoon from the hospital to the san francisco medical examiner's office and they'll be doing that in his honor with a large gathering. this is a developing story we're working to get more details and kron four's teresa stasio is following it for us. she'll have the latest information later tonight on kron 4 news at 5 in the meantime you can always get details on our website kron 4 dot thank you so much for joining us here on kron 4 news at 3 o'clock i'm justine waldman the big thing that we're watching right now is the stage has been set for the vice presidential debate at the same time there is some confusion over another round of covid-19 relief money. last night president trump said any deal was off but then backtracked just a few hours later. our washington dc correspondent trevor shirley is live for us now with details on where things stand and also has new information on the president's health, good afternoon >>hey good evening, thanks for having me so with this point we know the president spent at least part of his day in the oval office, wh

the san francisco medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to learn how he died. >>> two people in recovering after an elderly driver jumped the curb and hit two men on the sidewalk at tuesday on 3. this road posted shows the aftermath. the 86-year-old driver was trying to both. both pedestrian westbound taken to the hospital with nonlife- threatening injuries. the driver was cited for speeding. >>> san francisco mayor london breed announcing a new unit in the city's police department to help support diverse communities. the new community liaison unit will be made up of five officers from the department's community engagement division and focusing on improving crime reporting, supporting the victims and their families and investigating hate crimes and prejudiced based incidents. it is part of major breed's reform plan and efforts to prevent violence while making communities feel safe while they work with police. >> a state assemblyman will introduce new legislation to help prevent conflicts of interests by district attorneys that prosecute police misconduct cases. elected prosecutors would ha

his body has been brought from san francisco general where he was taken here to the medical examiner's office in san francisco. this is in newell, along newell. firefighters are now waiting. we're waiting to see if they take his body out or if his body has already been taken in. again, a somber day for this 13-year veteran of the san francisco firefighters. a father, son of a firefighter as well, and a 13-year veteran of the department. >>> moving on now, prince harry, a santa barbara resident nowadays, was wearing a notable mask this week. he gave a huge boost to a black-owned business. it's the duke of sussex posed with runners in l.a. before the virtual london marathon. he was wearing a mask from taylor jay, an oakland fashion designer. taylor jay is known for her relaxed clothing, but like other entrepreneurs, she had to pivot during this pandemic, and her protective masks are hot seller. >> very chic. we'll be right back. give you my world ♪ ♪ how can i, when you won't take it from me ♪ ♪ you can go your own way ♪ ♪ go your own way your wireless. your rules. only with xfinity mobi

. >>> my name is doctor ellen moffett, i am an assistant medical examiner for the city and county of san francisco. i perform autopsy, review medical records and write reports. also integrate other sorts of testing data to determine cause and manner of death. i have been here at this facility since i moved here in november, and previous to that at the old facility. i was worried when we moved here that because this building is so much larger that i wouldn't see people every day. i would miss my personal interactions with the other employees, but that hasn't been the case. this building is very nice. we have lovely autopsy tables and i do get to go upstairs and down stairs several times a day to see everyone else i work with. we have a bond like any other group of employees that work for a specific agency in san francisco. we work closely on each case to determine the best cause of death, and we also interact with family members of the diseased. that brings us closer together also. >> i am an investigator two at the office of the chief until examiner in san francisco. as an investigator here i inve

pictures, this procession, which will include san francisco police, now escorting the body of fallen firefighter paramedic jason court those the medical examiner. it will wind its way from s.f. general throughout the city, and on to the medical officer's office. as we mentioned, jason cortez's father served in the san francisco fire department, as well, so his family, knowing the risks of the job, but obviously never anticipating some like this would happen. >> all right. we'll continue to monitor that procession, and in the meantime, we'll move on here. >>> the director of the cdc has now given the all clear to vice president mike pence to take the stage later tonight in utah for the debate with senator kamala harris, after president trump and many people close to the vice president have contracted coronavirus. lauren blanchard with more now on some of the precautions that are being taken tonight. >> reporter: the two vice presidential candidates mike pence and kamala harris ready to take the same wednesday night in salt lake city utah for the first and only v.p. debate. >> we know mike pence very good debater, and he gets a lot of credit, be

>>well an independent investigation has been launched by the san francisco district attorney's office along with the medical examiner and department of police accountability. >>having friends over not full. and you're kicking my or your goal. >>this gracious coming up next on the kron 4 morning news a bizarre outburst caught on camera in the south bay. why one family claims that this woman's actions during a gender reveal party. it was racially motivated. plus a los angeles dodgers will take on the tampa bay rays in game one of the world series today. we'll take a look at the pandemic precautions that are in place and president trump lashed out at the nation's top infectious disease expert doing a campaign stop in arizona. but here we have to say coming up in just a bit stay with us. >>welcome back everyone the time now is for 14 good morning and thanks for staying with us we're taking a look at your forecast highs for this afternoon. and i think this looks pretty good. although some of you will be getting pretty close to the 90's this afternoon but we're looking at mostly sunny skies around the bay area if you're a

medical examiner was vague about the cause of death. but not this guy, dr. michael hunter, chief medical examiner in san franciscog bleeding within some of the muscles. >> reporter: he made it crystal clear to the jury that cassy's killer strangled her. >> once you see injuries to the neck, petechial hemorrhages, evidence of assault that you can form an opinion. and i have formed an opinion that this represents strangulation. >> reporter: but why should the jury decide brad did that? >> he was in the academy from january 2006. >> reporter: this is ed reynolds, retired silver city police chief and also, once, brad's police academy instructor. the man who taught him the chokehold. >> when i execute this technique, you pull down. >> reporter: so eerily similar to what darlene demonstrated. >> his arm was up on her neck like this. >> reporter: all of which was interesting, said defense attorney nathan gonzalez, but did not prove that brad was the killer. in fact, he told the jury, they arrested the wrong man. >> it will be clear that other people had access, motive, and ability to complete this crime. >> reporter: bu

afternoon sky fox was over the procession as they took cortez his body from san francisco general hospital to the medical examiner's office as you heard a moment ago. he was only 42 years old. married with two young kids. his father was also a firefighter. henry lee is here with more on what happened.>> reporter: we are hearing a towemourning the in firefighter who gave his life to protecting the city he loved. >>> a somber gathering at san francisco general hospital as firefighters mourn a fallen brother. firefighter paramedic jason cortez died wednesday morning after a training accident a few blocks away. >>> we can confirm that this was at a training incident. >> reporter: it happened at 10 am at the fire department's division of training in the mission district. cortez the hospital. >>> the emergency room personnel valiantly work aggressively to revive him. unfortunately shortly before 11 am this morning jason succumbed to his injuries.>> reporter: the fire department would not discuss what led to his death. the circumstances are under investigation. immediately after the incident firefighters converged on the

. >>> a new report finds that drug overdose deaths in san francisco mber already surpassed las the medical examiner's office says around 470 people have died from accidental drug overdoses in just the first eight months of the year. that averages to about two deaths every day. fentanyl is to blame for most of these fatalities. last year there were 441 overdose deaths. the report says san francisco could see 700 overdose deaths by the end of this year. >>> and turning now to education, san francisco unified has dropped a bomb shell proposal. the board announced that they may switch an elite high school's admissions process to a lottery system. abc7 news reporter kate larsen spoke to emotional parents and a school board member about what the future may hold for lowell high school. >> lowell high school in san francisco's sunset district is a nationally recognized school. currently students are admitted based on grades and test scores. because of the pandemic grades and scores have mostly been eliminated, so the proposal is that all entering freshmen would have an equal opportunity to attend through the

a man has died after police found him on fire in an alley in san francisco's south of market neighborhood the city's medical examiner's office has identified the victim as eric moore and but did not have a city of residence listed for him. officers were patrolling the area when they were flagged down for assistance regarding a fire in determined that morning was on fire. he was pronounced dead at the scene. the case is being considered a suspicious death. still ahead on kron 4 news at 3 p jenny has begun restoring power to some areas affected by the power shut offs. >>we'll have a live interview with 3.45 on where bay area counties stand this and after the break why celebrities are criticizing governor newsome over his pandemic thanksgiving guidelines >>we've got some breaking news. we want to tell you about a fire sparked over in the east bay contra costa county fire protection district tweeted this out saying there's a vegetation fire burning in solano county and the strong winds are pushing smoke into contra costa county. please please remain rather vigilant for fires please only call 911 if you see flames. this is

>>an independent investigation has been launched by the san francisco district attorney's office along with the medical examiner and the department of police accountability, a link to the town hall meeting tonight can be found on kron 4 dot com live in the newsroom. ella sogomonian kron 4 news. >>thank you al and coming up areas of the north bay once again facing critical fire weather this week learn what fire officials doing to prepare and the deadline to get more covid relief from capitol hill is looming we take a look at what each side of the aisle is asking for. and where more than a month away from thanksgiving, which means holiday shopping still ahead what stores have already announced. that are i didn't choose this job because it was easy. but i can't say i expected this. to fight these fires, we need funding - plain and simple. for this crisis, and for the next one. prop 15 closes tax loopholes so rich corporations pay their fair share of taxes. so firefighters like me, have what we need to do the job, and to do it right. the big corporations want to keep their tax loopholes. it's what they do. well, i

>>and independent investigation has been launched by the san francisco district attorney's office along with the medical examiner and the department of police accountability. >>well the oakland city council president is recommending a pair resolutions to try to stop gun violence. so far this year the city has had a 38% increase in homicides in the city has experienced a 38%. as i said increase city council president rebecca kaplan introduced a resolution declaring gun violence. prevention a top priority for law enforcement and that includes filing some crucial investigative positions that had her filling some crucial investigating positions have been left vacant for years she also wants to terminate the opd his participation in the fbi's terrorism task force both resolutions will be presented to get today's city council meeting. >>well today will be a warm one much like yesterday was not as warm as last week, but this time around with winds beginning to increase this afternoon a high fire danger over the next few days which we'll talk more about after the break. >>i'm tracking your morning commute around the bay

. >>> the body of a fallen san francisco firefighter paramedic jason cortez escorted from the medical examiner's office, to the mortuary today. we will tell you how the members of stationhouse three are working to support the family. >>> alive look out to the traffic conditions over the golden gate bridge this evening. trenton use of 6:00 will be right back. taking california for a ride. companies like uber, lyft, doordash. breaking state employment laws for years. now these multi-billion-dollar companies wrote deceptive prop 22 to buy themselves a new law. to deny drivers the rights they deserve. no sick leave. no workers' comp. no unemployment benefits. vote no on the deceptive uber, lyft, doordash prop 22. one ride california doesn't want to take. doordash prop 22. when you take a it all begins to un-ravel. ann ravel's no reformer, she's backed by big corporations who've poured hundreds of thousands into her campaign. and she opposes ballot measures to make the economy more fair for working people. only dave cortese is endorsed by the california democratic party. he's helping us battle the pa

. >>> a new report finds that drug overdose deaths in san francisco have already surpassed last year's staggering number. the medical examiner's office says around 470 people have died from accidental drug overdoses in just the first eight months of the year. that averages to about two deaths every single day. fentanyl is to blame for most of these fatalities. last year there were 441 overdose deaths. the report says san francisco could see 700 overdose deaths by the end of this year. >>> and san francisco unified has dropped a bomb shell proposal. the board announced that they may switch an elite high school's admission process to a lottery system. abc news reporter kate larson spoke to emotional parents and a school board member about what the future may hold for lowell high school. >> lowell high school in san francisco's sunset district is a nationally recognized school, can you notally students are admitted based on grades and test scores. but because of the pandemic, grades and scores have mostly been eliminated, so the proposal is that all entering freshmen would have an equal opportunity to attend through the public sc

. >>> a new report finds that drug overdose deaths in san francisco have already surpassed last year's staggering numbers. the medical examiner's office says around 470 people have died from accidental overdoses in just the first eight months of the year. that averages to about two deaths every day. fentanyl is to blame for most of these fatalities. last year there were 441 overdose deaths through the entire year. the report says san francisco could see 700 jooverdose deathsy the end of this year. >>> san francisco unified has dropped a bomb shell proposal. the board announced they may switch an elite high school's system to a lottery what the future may hold for lowell high school. >> reporter: lowell high school in san francisco's sun bel district is a nationally recogni recognized school. because of the pandemic grades and scores have mostly been eliminated so the proposal is that all entering freshmen would have an equal opportunity to attend through the public school lottery system. >> this is o'mow an exciting opportunity for us. >> gabriella lopez is a former sfusd teacher and vice president of the san francisco board of

medical examiner are investigating. >>> and new details about the san francisco firefighter killed in the line of duty last week. jason cortez died after he was knocked over a third floor fire. ercise. from athat h accidenopet those details were released from a preliminary report into his death. the fire department says it will investigate whether covid-19 safety measures which included fewer firefighters taking part in the training activities might have played a role. cortez was a 13-year veteran firefighter and a paramedic. cal osha and police are condu conducting their own investigations. >>> a riverside family's halloween decorations are so realistic people called the fire department thinking that there was an emergency. this raging inferno looks like it's engulfing the home, but it's actually a display that's all in good fun. the family started putting up pirates of the caribbean themed decor three years ago and they added realistic looking flames and got the fog machinet sme. neighb some called 911 thinking it was a real fire. >> we had a hook and ladder here, another big truck on the side. initially they

medical examiner's office. this is breaking news. we are learning of the death of a san francisco firefighter.ring you more of this sister as we get it on this baking news. >>> a biochemical professor at uc berkeley, the work of a doctor has been compared to using molecular scissors. they developed a method of genetic editing. it offers the promise of one day curing inherited diseases. this morning, he spoke during a zoom news conference from uc berkeley about the award. >> it's been an extraordinary time to be involved in science, to be working at a public university where we value education, and we understand that the product of our labors has to benefit the public and the public good. >> the doctors have won several international science awards. now, they'll share a $1.1 million cash prize. this morning the chancellor of uc berkeley said there's one more prize she's being awarded and that's her own parking spot on the cal campus. >> valuable right there. >>> and multiple reports, two las vegas players and the titans players, they have a positive test. this is the first positive test of the

san francisco general hospital this morning, upon hearing the news, to salute their fallen colleague and pay their respects. a line of firefighters carrying a flag draped casket to the medical examiner's van and >> this is a very trying time, as jason was well-liked in our department. >> reporter: the procession began less than an hour ago. we are hearing that it is close to the medical examiner's office now. a ladder truck with colleagues and fellow firefighters paying tribute, making it way through the city. he was a beloved father of two young children and also the son of a san francisco firefighter veteran. cortez joined the force in 2007 and served at station three in the tenderloin as a firefighter and paramedic. the exact details are unclear at this hour, but they confirm it happened around 10:00 a.m. at the mission district training facility. he was immediately given life support, medical attention. then brought to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and died just before 11:00 this morning. >> we are trying to make sure that his family is the number one priority and that they are given all the time necessary to mourn this, along with all of his brothers and sister

san francisco. the data is different from what you saw from the medical examiner last week. the medal examiner data includes both post closed and open cases and the data that i'll present is only closed cases. so, it only goes through 2019 and as you probably saw, the data for 2020 suggests that we're on track for the deaths in san francisco. so, this chart shows you the number of drug overdose deaths by mutually exclusive category so in the bottom in flew, is opioids without stimulants on board and as you can see, it is fairly flat and it increases a little bit in recent years but otherwise it's not too, not interesting too much and the orange bar and the gray bar and the cream bar which of the second third and fourth bars from the bottom, those three bars those that are actually increasing the most in last couple of years and this is opioids and and looking at just ownership deaths this gives you an idea of the number of opioid deaths by type of opioids and so in plumas is pro description opioids and things like morphine, oxycodoan and things like that and excluding heroin

san francisco, i am darlin'. >>> disturbing trend on the rise, roughly 2 deaths a day. the conical reporting of the more than 1000 bodies, by the city's medical examiner's office. januard . st, arly half had die an overdose. and of those were reduced, nearly a third or homeless. >>> this is highway four, it happened just after ththdriver this point, it is not clear what caused that driver to lose control. is an is a, drivers under arrest on suspicion of dui, after a crash that killed a pedestrian. it happened on s. jackson ave., just before nine last night, the pedestrian later died at the hospital. it is the 15th fatal crash this year involving a car and a pedestrian. >>> a man accused of tying a new street tree branch of the berkeley marina has been arrested, on a hate crime charge. if the employee reported think it happened, and then snapped this picture for proof. the man was later arrested on university avenue, he is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. >>> still to come, is an error armada the answer to california's wildfire problem? this is common sense. get overwhelming force out of fire. >>> the new proposal to reroute money for