tom vacar. not you yet. okay. you save your jazz hands. no. happy new year. we're going. we're going this way. happy new year, tom tom vacar. you're all psyched about new year's. tom vacar. give us your best. your best jazz hands to celebrate the new year. rosemary oroczo is here as well. thank you for being here. and of course, last but certainly not least, the incomparable the talented, the skilled. no, keep going. handsome, keep going. no! it's great. no. got his name by buying time. great prompter. what does it say in the prompter? well, happy new year to everybody. good to have you all here. all right, let's start with the first topic here. you know, this is this is a time to celebrate. do you like going to actual new year's eve parties, or are you more of a stay at home kind of a person? tom, what about you? going to the new year's eve party, like it or not? >> well, i used to. when i was younger. i go to any party i would go to and would have a trouble remembering it. but in recent years,

tom vacar joins us live from pacific palisades. tom, i know you've had a busy day. what's what's the latest on the ground down in southern california? >> well, the latest is that we told you an hour ago that we believed that there were concerns about possible collapse of a multi-family dwelling, whether a condo or an apartment building. we're not exactly sure. and the belief was that because it had been burning for a long period of time, and they were spraying a lot of water on it, that it had been heated sufficiently, that it might collapse, and nobody's being allowed to go down. this part of sunset boulevard, which is closed anyhow. but sunset boulevard is a major, major thoroughfare in los angeles and closed now because of the fires. but we're sticking around just to see, because the source that gave us information, very reliable source, and said that the police were told not to let anybody down there for fear that this might happen. now, whether or not it happens is completely unknown. but whenever they see any kind of stress in a building like this, they're goi

ktvu tom vacar giving us the very latest from malibu tonight in southern california. tom, we appreciate the support right now. also, firefighters are working to protect homes and neighborhoods that still remain threatened inland closer to pasadena. but for other neighborhoods, this firestorm just too much and leveled homes. ktvu zac sos arrived on scene late this afternoon in the area of altadena, and shows us some of the damage from the eaton fire. >> we are at the eaton fire in altadena, some 10,600 acres now burned. 0% containment they have around, i'm told 700 more than 700 firefighters working on this. and they are certainly facing their challenges right now. everywhere you look, really another fire popping up. these are the type of spot fires they really can't do anything about. these fires get put out. they come back up with the wind. just a few minutes ago down there. you can probably make it out just in the distance. that is a bank of america. it was fully engulfed with flames, probably just about 15, 20 minutes ago. the firefighters arriving trying to do thei

happy new year, tom tom vacar. you're all psyched about new year's. tom vacar. give us your best

we'll swing now to our tom vacar, who is also in southern california. tom is busy tracking the effect of the palisades fire in malibu, much closer to the water there. what's the situation where you are, tom? >> this is the grim part of all of this. i want to show you something. after the fire was over in this part of malibu, a loved one called in asking for a welfare check on one of her loved ones. the sheriff's department deputies came out and they saw what they thought could be human remains. now, the jurisdiction of this is under the homicide. it doesn't mean it's necessarily a crime, but it is their jurisdiction. so they called the scene in to investigate. and this pickup truck, low lying pickup truck that you see here is actually a coroner's wagon here in los angeles county. they called them in, and now they are working behind covers over there on what are very likely to be remains, whether or not they are human, it's very likely that they are simply because they're taking such care and such concern about all of this. now, while this is going on, th

tom vacar ktvu, fox two news. >> tom, thank you for that report tonight. fremont police are looking for a missing 14 year old boy. officers say they are looking for 14 year old khan samimi. he is described as 190 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. officers say he was last seen at his home on quantum drive on christmas eve, and has not been heard from since. investigators say he took extra clothes with him when he left home. anyone with information is asked to contact fremont police. [music] the new year will mark the start of services to honor the life of former president jimmy carter. ceremonies will be held in both georgia and washington, dc. and as fox's caroline elliott tells us, the memorials are set to last over several days. >> both public and private events to honor former president jimmy carter are scheduled to take place over nine days beginning january 1st. >> i feel like i would feel with a family member passing and for so many americans saddened by the loss of jimmy carter, they will have multiple opportunities to say good-bye to the 39th

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> tom, what are the chances that this decision could be reversed, that these fire stations could open earlier or reopen, or that these other four won't actually be closed? >> well, it really depends. mostly, i think at this point when you look at all the options, mostly depends on the sale of the coliseum, because that would provide some instant cash, which what they could do lots of things. there are other things they could do is say, we're not going to do that and we're going to make cuts elsewhere in government. but there's been so much cutting in government that you have to say, does it really make a difference, or is it going to really be anything better? the answer would be probably would be better for the city at large, but it would still be a big, big problem for oakland. so the bottom line seems to be sell the coliseum, use that money. unfortunately, it won't last long, but it will buy time. >> all right. something we'll watch closely. tom vacar reporting live. thank you so much for that report. well, governor newsom is proposing a $322 billion

our tom vacar has been in the fire zone now for the past three days, and he spoke with victims of the palisades fire. >> that's great. grandma. that's my grandma. >> this photo album is essentially the sole remnant that an elderly couple was able to grab from their home. as the firestorm was about to incinerate it and everything within. the shocked and saddened owners mike and dolly perdomo's, asked their daughter to speak with us about the family's loss and her parents. >> my father is an immigrant who came here with $1 in his pocket and mom, she's very sad. my mom was a stay at home mom for years. the loss. this is my childhood home that i was born in and lived in until i started college. and then in college, i moved in with my grandmother and lived in that house for quite a few years. it's like watching your childhood burn down a decade ago. >> her parents house was burned down from illegal fireworks, but the family rebuilt. >> so this was their new rebuilt dream house. and my mom had bought all this lovely furniture and that's all gone. >> also lost her grandparents nearby home. >

tom vacar thank you for your reporting throughout the day today. we know it's your last report. ciate all of the work you did today. >> thanks, tom. >> pg and e sending workers and equipment to southern california to help restore power. the utility is providing mutual aid to the l.a. department of water and power. some teams will help with getting power back on, while others will check for fire damaged equipment. like we just saw tom point out. pg and e also sent two blackhawk helicopters to l.a. to support cal fire's firefighting efforts. still to come, he is described as being the best nacho maker in the bay area, and his truck and trailer were stolen. how the community is rallying behind him. >> also, the golden state warriors got a bit of an injury bug to start this four game road trip. could they stop the pistons win streak? we'll ave that story tonig highway. this is in the area where ktvu tom vacar just gave us that live report. businesses, homes, all of them leveled along this iconic stretch of roadway. and this evening, tens of thousands of wildfire evacuees are still st

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> the 11:00 news on ktvu.w. >> one hour to go before crowds across the bay area ring in the new year. excitement building in san francisco for a big party. hello again and happy new year's eve i'm cristina rendon. first responders are preparing for a busy night tonight as people celebrate the start of 2025. the bay area's biggest party happening along san francisco's embarcadero. a live look for you here, where there is a heavy police presence tonight among the crowds for tonight's fireworks show. ktvu. joey shows us how everyone is counting dow. >> san francisco firefighters preparing for a busy night, with the department expecting 100,000 revelers to watch the fireworks along the embarcadero, attracting onlookers from near and far. >> the people here, just the whole excitement, the lights, you know, everything. the food here, iea

tom vacar. not you yet. okay. you save your jazz hands. no. happy new year. we're going. we're going this way. happy new year, tom tom vacar. you're all psyched about new year's. tom vacar. give us your best. your best jazz hands to celebrate the new year. rosemary oroczo is here as well. thank you for being here. and of course, last but certainly not least, the incomparable the talented, the skilled. no, keep going. handsome, keep going. no! it's great. no. got his name by buying time. great prompter. what does it say in the prompter? well, happy new year to everybody. good to have you all here. all right, let's start with the first topic here. you know, this is this is a time to celebrate. do you like going to actual new year's eve parties, or are you more of a stay at home kind of a person? tom, what about you? going to the new year's eve party, like it or not? >> well, i used to. when i was younger. i go to any party i would go to and would have a trouble remembering it. but in recent years,

ktvu tom vacar has the story. >> sam and allegra rubin lived in this pacific palisades home for 34 years. the first wave of the palisades fire missed it. the second wave incinerated it. yet sam and allegra feel very, very lucky. >> i feel fortunate that i have insurance, and my insurance was supposed to cancel on february 1st. fortunately, it didn't. and i was out shopping for, you know, other policies that would have satisfied my lender, weiss ratings, a well-respected company that grades and rates insurance companies, says farmers insurance and usaa denied payment on almost half of the claims they received in 2023. >> insurers object, saying the rating company's data overinflates the number of unpaid claims, since some claims are under the deductible, or that the policy does not cover such claims. but the l.a. times quotes the rating company ceo saying it's not fair for me to say all these rejected claims were legitimate, b it's equally unfair for insurance companies to claim they're all illegitimate. consumer watchdog president jamie court says this. >> i think it's really troubling w

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> all right on this new year's eve, meteorologist mark tamayo. looking at the weather and everyone has the same question because fireworks, i mean, those shows have been, you know, affected by low cloud cover. >> yeah, i think we're conditioned because of the summertime fog. yeah, the july fog. so if you're like a if you're at a fireworks aficionado, you might want to. this is your night, right? this is your night july. yeah. because yes, the weather will definitely behave tonight. no rain. that is good. yeah, we're looking pretty good for tonight as we head into your new year's eve forecast in san francisco. and we are not expecting much in the way of rain or anything like that. just some high clouds drifting overhead and some cold temperatures. so definitely bundle up with a thick coat and sweater or something like that. temperatures dropping off into the upper 40s by midnight. so definitely a chill in the air. in fact, cold enough that we do have a frost advisory for the north bay inland valleys and the santa clara valley that begins tonight 1

tom vacar ktvu, fox two news. >> all right. i'm here with ktvu meteorologist mark tamayo, and the good news is quite a bit of rain. they haven't really had measurable rain since, what, april? something like that. >> i think los angeles going lax was .03 going back to october 1st. oh my gosh. >> well here it comes. >> it's coming. yeah for sure. so the changes are developing for tomorrow. in fact a nice change setting up for friday and into the weekend. so as we check out the hughes fire right now the fire zone, it is still windy. so right now it's still a challenge for the fire crews. winds gusting over 30 over 40 miles an hour. relative humidity is very low, down to 8%. now the red flag warning that will continue tonight and into your friday until 10:00 tomorrow morning. and then a change in the wind flow will be a nice welcome change for all the fire crews down there. here's the forecast model at midnight. you'll notice we'll see a wind switch. and this is tomorrow morning 10 a.m. and those winds actually not too bad. so this

ktvu tom vacar has that story. >> in what can only be described as a flash mob of faith and friendship, something extraordinary is happening at santa anita park. >> so we need ten people who are able to kind of lift and do some heavy lifting. >> so we'll do one, two, all for free. and to whomever. clothing, sundries, hot or cold packaged food to eat here or take to their shelters. >> warm hot dogs. anybody else want warm hot dogs? >> for volunteers a labor of love. >> they all have to eat. and what's better than some organic local fruits from the fruit trees here? >> i don't see rich or poor. i just see the need. and so people coming together, it's amazing to see just everyone from everywhere come together from the deepest depths of his heart. >> victor edgardo capella put out the most heartfelt donations toys. >> it's really important because as a kid, i didn't have any toys. and it's so nice, like having some kids, having fun. >> it all started a few days ago at the rose bowl. >> you're very welcome. >> we thought we were going to give out 500 hot dogs and, you know, call it a day. >

tom vacar live in the newsroom, tom. thank you. >> well, people all across the bay area head out to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome in 2025. the chp will be making sure all hands are on deck during this statewide crackdown. >> more officers will be on patrol looking out for impaired drivers or those who are driving recklessly. starting at 6:00 tonight, the chp will launch its maximum enforcement period, and it will continue through tomorrow at midnight. last year, during the new year's holiday period, the chp arrested 892 drivers on suspicion of dui. statewide. >> all right. let's welcome to the show, chp officer andrew barclay, to talk more about the effort underway to keep the roadways safe. thanks so much for joining us. you know, we talk about this every year and saying, listen, make sure you're safe. and yet hundreds and hundreds of people, you guys catch on the roadway not doing that. i know your enforcement period starts at six, but really when do you see the most problematic time of night? i'm guessing it's after

ktvu tom vacar will be joining us live from pacific palisades with one of the stories over the bay areas afternoon. >> a partly cloudy, cooler day with the offshore winds expected to kick up, and another wind advisory for the bay area as well. i'll have a look at what we can expect for the an enjoyable day over the bay area with temperatures coming down from yesterday. we didn't see any records this afternoon, but still felt very spring like. even birds singing out there this afternoon. here's a look at storm tracker two. just a few high clouds passing over the bay. we do have a system moving through the pacific northwest, and that is bringing in some of that cooler air, even a little bit of an onshore breeze out there for some this afternoon. this is going to sink into the rockies once again. and that will set up the offshore flow that will bring the dry winds back to the bay area. and a wind advisory that begins at midnight. right now, the winds are still generally light. again, seeing a little bit of an onshore breeze coming in from the south. napa at seven miles per hour. a northwes

tom vacar be safe out there.nk you so much for that live report and really showing us what we're dealing with down in southern california. >> all right. to stay on top of the developing story, just download the fox local app. there you can find around the clock coverage out of southern california, including those live updates from officials as well as from residents. [music] >> well, tonight, an investigation is underway after four bodies are found in a santa rosa home. what neighbors say they heard and saw. >> also an update tonight on a deadly road rage shooting in contra costa county. a (vo) with fargo, your virtual assistant from wells fargo, you can pick up the tab, even when you forget your wallet. (kaz) i got this. (ben) fargo, send kaz $145 dollars with zelle. (kaz) smooth. (vo) learn more at wellsfargo.com/getfargo. (humming) behold! a glorious round table pepperoni pizz... huh? ah. huh. well, behold the pepperoni and grilled chicken...? what the? (clears throat) behold, the pepperoni, grilled chicken an

tom vacar be safe down there. thanks so much for that report. and the air quality as you saw from tom's picture. and you can see from this video, it is a big concern in los angeles because you can see how hazy the skies are with that orange hue and that thick smoke. health officials say the air quality is dangerously poor and people are being advised to stay indoors as much as possible. meteorologist mark tamayo joins us now with a look at what we're seeing down there and when conditions are going to get even better for them. mark. >> yeah, they are trending in the right direction, but the wind does not go away completely. claudine. in fact, you can see that you were looking at tom and his live shot. it was still windy out there. so there's still the wind is a big factor in southern california, but some changes in the short term. now the high wind warning to kind of warn everybody about those extreme winds that will expire in about an hour at 6 p.m. today. the red flag warning continues until 6 p.m. thursday. we are expecting the winds to pick up

tom vacar there. thank you. life threatening and destructive winds are set to hit much of southern california, bringing extreme fire weather conditions to the area. winds could reach up to 80 miles an hour. the national weather service is warning it will affect not just parts of california, but in nevada and arizona as well. red flag fire conditions could stick around in southern california through thursday. meanwhile, a fast moving fire has already erupted in the pacific palisades area of los angeles. it started around 11:00 this morning, has grown to about 20 acres so far. people could see smoke rising over the santa monica mountains. evacuations are currently underway. the pacific coast highway is shut down. we'll continue to follow the latest developments and bring them to you as we get new information. bay area firefighters are rushing to southern california as a powerful windstorm is about to hit that region. now a red flag warning is in effect. cal fire san mateo santa cruz unit shared this photo as five

ktvu tom vacar live on market street tonight with more on this. tom, it feels like we're going through this yet again. >> there is no sugarcoating this. it's just another bad turn for the city by the bay. a marquee retailer here for 20 years is leaving this spring. bloomingdale's five stories of the san francisco center is its last remaining major store. it will be gone in april, even though its lease has another two decades to run. >> it's very depressing. actually, a lot of downtown is very depressing, and that's why i don't come as often as i used to. >> before covid. this place used to just be super vibrant and active, so it's disappointing to see so much leave the city. >> bloomingdale's, a division of macy's, which is also leaving downtown san francisco, said we are hopeful to be back to serve the san francisco community in the future and look forward to introducing new ways to provide enhanced service to our loyal local shoppers. >> i've been here since i was like a little kid, like 2 or 3 years old. i remember coming to san francisco. used

tom vacar in our newsroom. tom, thank you for that. >> all right, let's keep talking here about the winds in southern california, because we want to bring in meteorologist mark tamayo. you're tracking the red flag conditions that are still persisting in southern california. but they are going to let up here. the winds will. but by tomorrow, we hope. right? >> yeah, that's our thinking, alex. as we do head into your friday, we'll see a weather shift. but today the winds have been a big challenge for the fire crews. we had a high wind warning earlier today and a red flag warning that continues. so there is the hughes fire, as you can see, to the north of santa clarita, that little red perimeter there, that is the fire perimeter. and as you can see, it's just really showing up on this map, just a defined area as we show you the current wind reports. and unfortunately the winds still a factor you can see gusting to 28 to 32 miles an hour, that warm spring sites a higher elevation, but gusting to 46 miles an hour. th

okay, tom vacar in our newsroom. tom. thanks. >> the drama involving embattled san mateo county sheriff cristina corpuz is now taking a new turn. sheriff corpos legal team has filed documents with the county indicating that the sheriff plans to sue the county for $10 million. ktvu fox two reporter mark sayer is live in redwood city tonight with a look at what's in those documents. mark. >> well, janet, before you can file an actual lawsuit against a government agency, you have to first file what's called a claim. and sheriff corpus and her attorneys have now done that, leading us to some information about what might be in a future lawsuit. there are high ranking san mateo county sheriff cristina corpus is the first latina and the first woman to lead the department, and her attorney, brad gage, believes that is what is at the center of the controversy surrounding her leadership. >> she won an election, and now we believe that there are some people that don't want to see change, particularly if it's brought by a latina. the

ktvu tom vacar live tonight in the city with more on this story. tom. >> a bad turn for the city because once again, we have a marquee retailer, a marquee retailer here for 20 years that says by spring we're gone. francisco center is its last remaining major store. it will be gone in april, even though its lease has another two decades to run. >> it's very depressing, actually. a lot of downtown is very depressing, and that's why i don't come as often as i used to. >> before covid. this place used to just be super vibrant and active, so it's disappointing to see so much leave the city. >> bloomingdale's, a division of macy's, which is also leaving downtown san francisco, said we are hopeful to be back to serve the san francisco community in the future and look forward to introducing new ways to provide enhanced service to our loyal local shoppers. >> i've been here since i was like a little kid, like 2 or 3 years old. i remember coming to san francisco. used to be the thing to do, especially like during like black friday or the holidays, you know, e

tom vacar fox news free care camps are opening up in l.a. county as well, designed to give kids and teenagers impacted by the fires a little space to play amid the stress of all the fires. >> we're going to have field trips, hands on activities, free play, quiet spaces, active spaces. so much fun. we also are going to provide meals, and the department of mental health will be on site to offer their services as well. >> these camps will be for four different parks listed on your screen. the county currently says they will run through january 31st. >> well, a number of bay area bars and restaurants are hoping to help those affected by the devastating los angeles wildfires, giving you a live look now at hello bagels in albany. that bagel sandwich shop says it is going to donate all sales this weekend to feed the streets, a los angeles nonprofit that distributes, donates, donated food, clothing and other items. there you see a sign on the door telling you about that fundraiser. so if you walk in there today, that is how you can help. >> huevos r

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. k, back to you. >> tom, i'm curious, are any of those athletes on scholarship? and if they are, will they honor those? >> well, they are on scholarships and they probably will honor them for a period of time. but once this program ends, pretty much everything else ends, as i understand it. but i can tell you that they're already talking about filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of the students, that they're going to go to the labor board and see if the state did everything right in terms of informing people with transparency, if they did it in enough time. et cetera. et cetera. this fight is not over, and the people of sonoma county really have to make a decision. do they really want to see this school really go down the dumps or even be eliminated, or do they want to step up and help support it? $24 million a year is not a whole lot of money in the scheme of things, but it's really going to be up to the local community if the state does not step up. >> yeah, well, i feel for those

tom vacar ktvu fox two news. >> what a fantastic report there, tom. thank you very much. and yes, we have more rain as soon as tomorrow. in fact, we do have a winter weather advisory around the rim of the greater lake tahoe area. but as you are heading there, a winter storm warning goes into effect tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and we're talking about an elevation down to 5000ft. so this does indeed, in fact, affect the truckee area. not so much blue canyon, but you will have snowfall there about up to six inches around the lake level and up to a foot of snow above 5000ft. back at the ranch. back at home. live weather camera. increasing cloud cover and those clouds will lead to rain showers here in the bay area. right now. temperatures across the board a pair of fives in concord. it is now 54 degrees in east palo alto at dc. palo alto just dropped to 52. it's 57 degrees around the rose garden district of san jose. this is a big, beautiful area of low pressure. it's already providing ample rain showers right there right now in eureka, and a little bit of snow is in

ktvu tom vacar previewed the snow, water, and fire numbers as we cross our fingers for more water andess fire. >> as the new year begins, it's good to take a look back and see what's happened with california's fire and water. essential elements, but also something that can lead to real problems. the golden state has had some big fires last year, but they didn't come in swarms in 2020. for cal fire and the u.s. fire service battled more than 8000 fires in california that consumed just over a million acres in 2023, aided by a very wet year. there were about 1200 fewer fires that burned less than a third of the acres. but even combining both years, that's less acres than the annual average over five years. >> if you compare where we were 20 years ago, ten years ago, you can just tell that the innovation, the technology that we have to use and also the public's education on, on, on being fire safe is just so much more better than where we were. >> super aggressive fire responses, fuel clearing projects, utility system hardening, home hardening and more than a thousand forest surveillance

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> all right, tom, thank you for that. a new bid for tiktok is in the works to try to keep the app from being banned in the united states. san francisco based perplexity, an ai search engine company, has proposed merging its business with tiktok and giving the u.s. government a 50% ownership. this would be part of an initial public offering of at least $300. million shares owned by the u.s. government would not have voting power, nor would the government get a seat on the company board. some iphones with tiktok still installed are selling for big money on ebay, prices have ranged from hundreds of dollars to as high as 25 to $30,000. many users deleted the app when it briefly went dark on january 18th, when the federal ban took effect. now, even though tiktok has since been temporarily allowed to operate, the app is still unavailable to download in the apple or google play stores. next at five taking the oil industry to court. the bay area state senator, who wants victims of natural disasters to go after big oil. also, shot

tom vacar ktvu fox two news. >> tom. thank you. we have some new video as the fbi continues its search for whoever planted pipe bombs in washington, dc the night before the capitol riot in 2021. we have a closer look at that surveillance video and the reward now being offered for answers. and we know it now. the world knows it. stephen curry is officially the greatest shooter of all time. and he showed why last night at chase center, we have a look at stephen curry's incredible performance that has placed him i the will go into the basketball hall of fame is the greatest shooter of all time, and last night, his performance will go down as his most accurate shooting game ever. the warriors blew out the philadelphia 76 ers 139 to 105. steph had 30 points. he made all eight of his three pointers. here is one of them. that's his most ever in a game without missing one. and maybe even more amazing he did it with a sprained right thumb. wow. tomorrow night, steph and the warriors will be hosting the memphis grizzlies. and if steph wants

that's where we find ktvu tom vacar tonight.ho's been on scene there now for a good 24 hours, tom? >> well, my guess is that they're probably going to find some more bodies in a number of these fires simply because they're so overwhelmed by the fire itself that they really haven't had time to thoroughly search for things now. most of the people will be accounted for because they will have either called friends, and then they won't have people asking for welfare checks and all of that kind of stuff. but my guess is that they're going to find more, because this is such a large fire, and there's so many homes that were taken down as much as we saw in coffey park, and certainly as we saw in paradise. now behind me, i want to show you something. this is a very large building, a condo, an apartment house, something like that, just off of sunset boulevard in in palisades here. and you see up to the upper left hand corner of that, you see a kind of an orange glow. might you might think that would be like some sort of embers or something

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> and certainly a move in the right direction. all right. thank you tom. well, new at 530, a final report on reforms at the san francisco police department. what the doj is saying about the progress that's been made and a policy to check facts on facebook is now ending. why? meta executives say it is all in the name of free speech. and the latest on the fast moving, wind fueled fire in southern california. we continue to follow those developments in the palisades fire, where 30,000 people have been evacuated. firefighters and public officials warning residents it may get worseefore stay ahead of your child's moderate-to-severe eczema with dupixent as they welcome the feeling of touch with clearer skin and less itch. the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists helps heal their skin from within. severe allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for face, mouth, tongue or throat swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing. tell your doctor of new or worsening eye problems, like eye pain, vision changes, or blurred vision, join

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. [music] >> coming up on ktvu news at 630.ay area man says he struggled to find a job after college because he is on the autism spectrum. but then he got a life changing opportunity. how he caught the attention of the san francisco sheriff and san francisco says it just got grant money to help revitalize a stretch of powell street. how the $36 million will be used, and the chandelier lighting it wi bri thousands of people will be celebrating the new year in san francisco. when we've got clear skies there. although chilly temperatures are expected for the fireworks show. you're taking a live look at the city right in front of that ferry building this morning or this evening, i should say. and you can see some folks out there right now. there are lots of bars and restaurants along the embarcadero, and they are counting on a bustling night, hoping for plenty of customers. police do say they will also be on hand to make sure people enjoy those festivities safely, and the chp will be busy looking for impaired drivers on bay area hi

reporting live tom vacar ktvu, fox two news. back to you. >> yeah, certainly a lot of pressure on city leaders in oakland right now, tom. thank you. >> there has not been any official announcement yet, but former congresswoman barbara lee has taken the first step toward running for oakland mayor, according to oakland's public ethics commission and the secretary of state. lee officially filed paperwork today for a campaign account to run for oakland mayor. campaign accounts are generally open to raise money and gauge interest when asked. lee's campaign spokesperson told ktvu the congresswoman will be making an announcement about her decision later this week. the mayoral nomination period is expected to close on january 17th. >> today, congress certified president elect donald trump as the winner of the 2024 election. >> as fox's rebecca castro reports, today's proceedings stood in stark contrast to the last time congress met to certify a presidential election on january 6th, 2021. that's when trump supporters stormed the capitol t

tom vacar ktvu fox two news. >> and a nice solid start for northern california with the rainfall and the snowfall. so as you can as you heard in the story. yeah, the nice nice snowpack developing. of course it's a long term deal, right. we need to add some more snow to the base and hopefully that will happen. in fact it will happen in the short term. take a look at the sierra snowpack, the updated numbers from today. it's all breaking down. so remember the atmospheric rivers were focused up in northern california. that pattern clearly reflects that 161% of average up in northern california. those values do begin to come down, though, for central and southern sierra. but a statewide average, at least with snowpack of 108% of average and more snow in the sierra forecast. with a winter storm warning in place tomorrow for the west slopes of the sierra, and snowfall could be right around 6 to 12in, so this could lead to some issues trying to get over the passes for both 80 and 50 at times throughout the day tomorrow, all in response to our next system, which is offshore here and it moves

tom vacar ktvu, fox two news. >> turning now to our bay area weather, a live look for you here. as the sun is setting on the oakland skyline across the oakland estuary. pretty clear skies, maybe a few raindrops, but i'm not the expert. we're turning to chief meteorologist bill martin with a look at what's ahead. hi, bill. >> yeah, i'm an expert on sunsets, for sure. here it is, 2025. got another angle on this evening. sunset. if you're not looking at your tv, go look at it and you'll see some beautiful colors. days are getting longer. that's kind of cool. hope you had a nice day. we got rain in the forecast. we actually had a few sprinkles out there today. just a few light sprinkles. no windshield wiper stuff. just a few drips and drops here and there. friday though, we get back into some rain. it looks like it's going to rain most of the day on friday or in the morning a little bit in the afternoon. not a ton of water from the sky. it's a colder system, but it will produce in the mountains. so right now you got tomorrow, right? you got thursday, and then friday is your wet day.

new at 630 ktvu, tom vacar reports. >> sam and allegra rubin lived in this pacific palisades home fors. the first wave of the palisades fire missed it. the second wave incinerated it. yet sam and allegra feel very, very lucky. >> i feel fortunate that i have insurance, and my insurance was supposed to cancel on february 1st. fortunately, it didn't, and i was out shopping for, you know, other policies that would have satisfied my lender, weiss ratings, a well respected company that grades and rates insurance companies, says farmers insurance and usaa denied payment on almost half of the claims they received in 2023. >> insurers object, saying the rating companies data overinflates the number of unpaid claims since some claims are under the deductible, or that the policy does not cover such claims. but the l.a. times quotes the rating company ceo saying it's not fair for meo say all these rejected claims were legitimate, but it's equally unfair for insurance companies to claim they're all illegitimate. consumer watchdog president jamie court says this. >> i think it's really troubling w

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> a freezing winter storm shut down schools, cut power, and canceledsoutheast over the weekend. more than 600 flights to and from hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport were delayed today, and a ground delay was issued to de-ice planes. yesterday, a thousand flights were delayed or canceled. temperatures are warming up and some areas are starting to thaw. now to ktvu chief meteorologist bill martin with a look at the conditions right here in the bay area. >> bill. yeah, the weather has been stunning. we had those record highs yesterday and no records today. i didn't see any, but temperatures were darn near as warm with 69 degrees in vallejo is the warm spot. 68 in santa rosa. we're watching southern california, right? beautiful sunset for us. we've got great conditions. if it weren't for all the rain we've had, we'd be sweating it out, too. we'd be looking at red flag warnings or fire weather alerts. but again, fuel moistures are much higher than southern california, where, like i said earlier, lax, they're at about 1% of their rainfall for t

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> we're talking about our weather.outhern california interstate five over the grapevine reopened today after snow forced it to close. california highway patrol escorted southbound traffic as that snow fell last night at a pretty good clip. this is the same stretch of road in kern county that was closed not too long ago due to castaic wildfire. ktvu chief meteorologist bill martin here with a look at the forecast. bill looks cold there. little cold here. >> yeah, definitely the case. and they did get the rain, greg. and it was beneficial. rain, quite frankly. so there were concerns that there would be could be some real issues. as always, the case with rain in l.a, they don't drain well. but with the fires they were concerned. but the rain, i think, really was just right, right at the right amount that it really did wonders for containment on all fires. and i think they got away with it and there's more rain to come. they're going to be much better off in terms of the red, the code red situation with the low fuel moistu

ktvu tom vacar has the story. >> sam and allegra rubin lived in this pacific palisades home for 34 yearse first wave of the palisades fire missed it. the second wave incinerated it. yet sam and allegra feel very, very lucky. >> i feel fortunate that i have insurance, and my insurance was supposed to cancel on february 1st. fortunately, it didn't. and i was out shopping for, you know, other policies that would have satisfied my lender. >> weiss ratings, a well respected company that grades and rates insurance companies, says farmers insurance and usaa denied payment on almost half of the claims they received in 2023. insurers object, saying the rating company's data overinflates the number of unpaid claims, since some claims are under the deductible, or that the policy does not cover such claims. but the l.a. times quotes the rating company ceo saying, it's not fair for me to say all these rejected claims were legitimate, but it's equally unfair for insurance companies to claim they're all illegitimate. consumer watchdog president jamie court says this. >> i think it's really troubling wh

ktvu tom vacar has the story. >> bloomingdale's five stories of the san francisco center is its lastining major store. it will be gone in april, even though its lease has another two decades to run. >> it's very depressing. actually, a lot of downtown is very depressing, and that's why i don't come as often as i used to. >> before covid. this place used to just be super vibrant and active, so it's disappointing to see so much leave the city. >> bloomingdale's, a division of macy's, which is also leaving downtown san francisco, said we are hopeful to be back to serve the san francisco community in the future and look forward to introducing new ways to provide enhanced service to our loyal local shoppers. >> i've been here since i was like a little kid, like 2 or 3 years old. i remember coming to san francisco. used to be the thing to do, especially like during like black friday or the holidays, you know, everyone would come here for shopping and all that. >> san francisco mayor daniel lurie reacted this way. although this closure is disappointing, i'm energized every day by businesses

tom vacar, ktvu, fox two news. >> governor newsom is proposing a $322 billion budget without a deficit. the governor unveiled his budget plan today in turlock. it comes after two years of significant budget shortfalls. the governor says he's, quote, proposing little new spending, end quote. now, his plan does include additional investments in public safety and health care and funding for education and infrastructure. the plan is mostly a placeholder until the month of may, as the state waits to see if president elect donald trump will follow through on threats to revoke billions of dollars in federal funding to california. >> revenues in the state are up $16.5 billion. this is a snapshot subject to change significantly by may. a snapshot of the revenue projections above and beyond what we had projected last year. >> governor newsom's administration plans to provide more information on the budget proposal on friday, which is the deadline to present it to state lawmakers. [music] coming up, congress certifies the results of the presidential election. we hear from the person who made it o

ktvu tom vacar has that story. >> a major microprocessor chip makers lost ground, with nvidia falling 17% monday, losing almost $590 billion of its market value. the tech heavy nasdaq stock exchange lost 612 points. that's more than 3%, while the s&p 500 lost 1.5%. it's all due to deep seek, a chinese lab that just launched a computer system that can do what western developed artificial intelligence systems can for far less cost and on less expensive microchips. >> investors in their portfolios woke up this morning walking into a buzz saw, and the question of the day is to panic or not to panic. >> san jose state engineering professor ahmed bonafe is a ph.d. in artificial intelligence. >> so they proved with $5.6 million, they can create a chat bot similar to chatgpt for with just $5.6 million, compared to hundreds of million dollars spent to create chatgpt four. >> like chatgpt, copilot and ibm watson deep seeks new model is a chat bot that takes research questions, then provides answers by applying human like thought processes called ai artificial intelligence. >> but i think it's t

ktvu tom vacar takes a closer look at the long term fire outlook and the implications it could have. >> in less than 24 hours, the hughes fire consumed over 10,000 acres. this fire is getting the headlines. the palisades and eton fires are still burning and dangerous. >> from the palisades to our multiple wildland fires that have occurred in the city and around the city within our region. it's been extremely challenging. >> consider this even a week before the month is over, california has already racked up more than 51,000 acres burned, compared to just four acres by this time last year, and just 457 acres over the five year average. rain is expected in l.a. this weekend raised concerns about mudflows, but the national weather service says the rains will not be significant to create dramatic flows or extinguish the fires and terrain. drying santa winds will not abate until at least the end of february, often continuing into the spring. syracuse university paleoclimatologist professor tripti bhattacharya studies the history of climate changes. >> the santa ana winds, which bring this

tom vacar ktvu fox two news. >> today marks national maternal health awareness day, which is dedicated attention to the health the health struggles mothers face on both the physical and mental level, even during pregnancy. women are at increased risk. according to the american college of obstetrics and gynecologists, 80% of maternal deaths are considered preventable. earlier on mornings on 2 to 9, we spoke with two kaiser permanente doctors about the importance of help for new mothers during pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. >> we talk about not only the physical recovery, but the mental recovery. and psychological is every bit as important, and we're there for them, and we have many different options to get extra support through the health care system. >> what have you heard from women you've been able to help? >> so it's really interesting. once they have gotten through this really tough time. and on the other hand, and it's about that realization that, oh, actually, you know, being a super mom is asking for help is getting the support i need, activating the support system and trying

ktvu tom vacar reports from pasadena call it a feeling of friendship. >> flash mob.s of people showed up for an opportunity suggested online by pasadena's job center, to volunteer time to clean up the rose bowl. city's windblown and debris cluttered public parks. lin lee works in pasadena and came from her home in nearby arcadia on the weekend just to help. >> i think nowadays we live in like the age of social media, so a lot of things can go really far with just, you know, like one click or like one share. i didn't really know about this until i looked things up from like instagram. >> nearby hotels are filled with evacuees and those who lost their homes, who finally have a place now to walk their dogs. >> for the last two days, this was like walking through a cactus field. this was knee deep hazardous. >> that includes teddy kerner, who says his altadena home was incinerated in just four minutes. i know this is hard reality. >> we've all been kind of, you know, okay, live with it. it is what it is. you know, it's happened. be real about it. >> when kerner took his

tom vacar, ktvu fox two news. >> that was seriously interesting, tom, thank you very much.o let's stay with that whole tahoe theme right now, and let's take a look at what you need to know. if you're heading to the greater lake tahoe area, you need to consider the conditions, because we do have this system working its way into not only our local area, but also the greater lake tahoe area. and this is why the national weather service has issued a winter storm warning, in effect by tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. nat lake level, we're expecting up to six inches of snow above 7000ft. we are anticipating up to about 8 to 9in of snow above that, a full foot. and when you're at about 8000ft and even in the highest peaks, we will see some winds up to 100mph. so there will certainly be some ski lifts on hold. now, from the mountains to the sea, we have a high surf advisory that goes into place tomorrow as well. it's an angry ocean out there. some of the waves up to 18ft lapping on shore. and that's why we have a beach hazard statement in effect. and this is warranted all the way through

ktvu tom vacar reports. >> sam and allegra rubin lived in this pacific palisades home for 34 years.st wave of the palisades fire missed it. the second wave incinerated it. yet sam and allegra feel very, very lucky. >> i feel fortunate that i have insurance, and my insurance was supposed to cancel on february 1st. fortunately, it didn't. and i was out shopping for, you know, other policies that would have satisfied my lender. >> weiss ratings, a well respected company that grades and rates insurance companies, says farmers insurance and usaa denied payment on almost half of the claims they received in 2023. insurers object, saying the rating company's data overinflates the number of unpaid claims, since some claims are under the deductible, or that the policy does not cover such claims. but the l.a. times quotes the rating company ceo saying, it's not fair for me to say all these rejected claims were legitimate, but it's ually unfair for insurance companies to claim they're all illegitimate. consumer watchdog president jamie court says this. >> i think it's really troubling when you

ktvu tom vacar caught up with lowenthal and found out why the fire marshal wanted to be sent to the firesta rosa fire marshal paul lowenthal knows all too well what people are going through. ever since the tubbs fire devastated santa rosa, we saw in 2017 what at the time was the most destructive wildfire in the state's history. >> that's a title that you don't want, but at the same time, that's not a title that you want to lose, because that means that somebody else has gone through something worse than you. >> the eaton fire has special significance to him personally. >> i'm actually from pasadena, born and raised down here, went to school in altadena. a lot of friends either displaced, evacuated or have had their homes destroyed. >> his childhood school burned. >> my middle school was elliot on north lake. and so to see it and to see what this community's been through, obviously i and a lot of people from my area know it all too well. >> personal friends are suffering. >> i am aware of friends that i grew up with that have had their homes destroyed, and that's part of what i also want t

tom vacar ktvu, fox two news. >> all right, a little bit of rain on the way to close the week.hief meteorologist bill martin will have your complete bay area forecast. >> new year, new generation. the role artificial intelligence. will play in the lives for children n more money to get around the bay area this new year. tolls on all seven state owned bridges went up today. it now costs $8 to cross. that's up from $7. the mtc says the higher tolls will help pay for bridge maintenance. the toll hike does not include the golden gate bridge because it's not state owned. its toll was also raised in july. it also now costs more to ride bart. effective today, the average fare increased by $0.25. bart says the increase is to keep pace with inflation. it's expected to raise about $14 million per year. it will be used to fund train service, better cleaning new fare gates and for adding more police and unarmed safety ambassadors. billions of minimum wage workers will be getting a raise in 2025. >> an economic policy institute analysis says 21 states will be increasing minimum wage pay thi