Transcripts For KOFY ABC7 News On KOFY 7PM 20150106

Had to shoot a man who followed him home after a road rage incident. Good evening, thank you for joining us. The 911 recordings of this incident were played in court today at a preliminary hearing. Abc7 news i Team Reporter dan noise has been following this case. He is here tonight with that story. Dan . Alma and dan, at todays hearing, it was the prosecution that interdeuced the 911 calls dr. James simon made but may wind up helping the defense even more. July 17th of last year dr. James simon calls for help. The recordings introduced at todays preliminary hearing by the marin County District attorney give us the clearest picture so far, what happened that morning, how 69yearold man wound up with two bullets in his left abdomen. He told an officer who rode in the plans with him that dr. Simon in his red smart car cut him off where Paradise Drive merges into one lane in corte madera and simon hit his brakes. That upset the man who followed simon home. Reporter after that warning shot simon hit the man twice with a nickelplated ruger revolver. He told the dispatcher he had no other choice. Walk up to the car with my gun drawn looking for a shooter. Reporter michael lap the was the first prosecution witness today. Epps the mayor of Corte Madeira the own other of a wellknown ice cream a reserve police officer, he was first on the scene and recounted what simon told him. Protect my wife. I feared for my life. What was i supposed to do . Reporter dr. Simons lawyer tells me the d. A. Has helped his case and that he will argue when the hearing continues tomorrow. Simon feared for his life and fired his gun in selfdefense. I will be there and tell if you this case does go to trial. Thanks very much. Well abc7 news has learned new information about a Police Shooting in San Francisco last night that seems to support claims that the victim wanted to be killed by officers. This is a letter apparently written by 32yearold Matthew Hoffman explaining what he was planning to do. Abc7 News Reporter vic lee was the first to report on the contents of the letter earlier today. It begins with dear sfwers, you did nothing wrong. Hoffman tells the officers please dont blame yourself. The man wrote to his father and friends about financial troubles and failed relationships. San Francisco Police shot and killed hoffman last night when he flashed a gun at officers outside the Mission District station. That turned out to be an air soft pellet gun. In sacramento today, Governor Brown set some ambitious new environmental goals for california n the next 15 years, he wants half the electricity we use to come from renewable sources. He wants to cut the use of oilbased fuels in cars in half and he wants to double the Energy Efficiency of california buildings. Brown and republican earl warren are the only california governors who serve offed three terms in office. Today, brown was sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term. We have a picture from when he was sworn in for the first time, that was back in 1975. 40 years ago tomorrow there it is. Abc7 News Reporter Laura Anthony was in sacramento today when history was made. The tasks ahead are daunting. Reporter he may be starting an unprecedented fourth term but appears california governor jerry brown has no maps to slow down. The challenge is to build from the future not steal from it. To live within our means and to keep california ever golden and creative as our forebears have shown and as our descendents would expect. Reporter the 74yearold brown dedicated a good portion of his address to education including greater funding for k through 12 and lessening the burdening on those seeking higher education. I will not make the students of california the default financiers of our colleges and universities. Reporter brown made no mention of a controversial plan to build water tunnels in the delta but he briefly mentioned highspeed rail and improving californias overall infrastructure and he vowed to continue the fight to preserve the environment, create more Renewable Energy and less pollution. We are needlessly turning the gold we have inherited from our forebearers into straw. Reporter lawmakers on both sides to of the aisle applauded the governors speech but republicans later took issue with several key points. We already have electricity rates that are 50 higher than our neighboring states so at what point does being on the leading edge of environmental reform impact our ability to create jobs for our middle class . Reporter one area both sides can agree on the governors continued effort at pension reform including a proposal to have state employees brie fund their own retire. In sacramento Laura Anthony, abc7 news. Also sworn in to their second terms in office today, Lieutenant Governor gavin newsom and attorney general camilla harris, both from San Francisco. Pot are said to be interested in running for governor in four years. Oaklands 50th mayor today, the former Council Member welcomed by constituents and other elected officials as well as protesters outside the Paramount Theater in oakland. Abc7 News Reporter Lyanne Melendez is live with how the mayor plans to turn things around in a city facing serious problems. Lyanne . Reporter well, before that, i have to say that the mayor arrived in this vehicle, the snail mobile, which he has made somewhat famous now. But watch the new mayor focus on development and growth here in oakland. Now the city is an old city, oakland is and the infrastructure is also old. Now, she will also focus on education. Thats what she told us but in the first 30 days, the may letter focus on also reducing the crime rate here in oakland and also trying to keep oaklands sports teams from leaving. More than 100 demonstrators gathered outside the paraunmo theater of the arts as oaklands new mayor officially took office. I i state your blame. Name. Reporter the group demanded an end to police brutality. Here to ask her which side are you on libby . Reporter she said she embraces these kinds of demonstrations but will not tolerate the acts of vandalism oakland has experienced. A new year and we have a new mayor and we want libby to be clear that we expect her to be an active part of ending the war on black people. And i am going to continue to hold our Police Departments feet to the fire to do more to prevent that type of damage. Reporter local businesses have been impacted by the violence and looting caused by a few protesters. Her goal is to have a better working relationship with police, something former mayor kwan didnt have. Please raise your right hand. Reporter one of three council bhebs was sworn in today. He believes the city should do more to try to hire more officers. We have students out of community college, high school, a pipe line for the city of oakland into our police department. I think that changes the whole dynamic. Reporter during her first 30 days, the mayor says she will focus on a deal to keep the raiders from leaving oakland and, of course, the as as well. I will not put public money into the deal but a lot of other things that we as a city and county can do to keep our sports teams developed an incredible coliseum complex out in the coliseum area. I am very focused on that right now. Reporter for now the raiders appear to stay for at least one year in oakland while a deal is reached. Of the office of mayor for the city of oakland. Congratulations. Thank you. Reporter in oakland, Lyanne Melendez abc7 news. Chuck reid the former mayor of san jose has landed a new job. Reid will be joining the Real Estate Group of san joses hopkins and carly law firm. Reid is a 197 graduate of Stanford Law School and the managing partner of a law practice before serving two terms as mayor. He has extensive experience in real estate land use and environmental law. Reids successor has taken office but his ceremonial swearing in is tomorrow. A man accused of neglecting dozen of horses in morgan hill will serve 90 days in jail. Humberto uribe was sentenced today for felony animal abuse. 38 horses were seize from him in november after complaints from neighbors about the conditions they were living in. His jail term will end this week because of time already served. His sentence also includes five years probation, counseling and he will not be allowed to care for any animal for ten years. Rescue groups and residents have taken in those neglected horses. Three dozen families at a san jose apartment complex finally have hot water and heat tonight after a big tree fell and ruptured a gas line. It took six days to complete the repair at the apartments off 280 near San Jose City college. Residents want to know why it took so long. Abc7 News Reporter david louie looked into it. Reporter you can imagine the frustration when theres no hot water running out of the tap or shower, when it stretches into six days theres a limit to asking friends to shower at their house. Howard hun, a disabled card club employ, why i joined fellow residents in pestering work crews how much longer it would take to repair a gas line that was ruptured when a tree fell on it last tuesday. This is what it looked like captured on google earth. Pg e says the landlord was responsible for the repair. All the neighborhood come out here to check in and go to finish the job as soon as they can but the people that do the job, they cannot tell you until, you know when they finish like five, six days. Reporter a man identifying himself as a property manager would not talk to us on camera about the delay, however, the Building Division of San Jose City hall said it was never notified about the repair job until later friday afternoon. It offered to send out a inspector to approve the repair but the work was not completed until this morning. The repair work was completed and then the city did expedite the paperwork so it could be issued immediately and the gas has been turned back on as of today. Reporter once the repair was inspected and approved pg e crews quickly sent out a team to put the gas meter in line. Crews also went to each of the 36 units to light hot water tank pilot lights. The situation is really a good reminder for Property Owners to contact the city right away when a gas line has been broken and needs repair so that we are at the ready to expedite the process. Reporter six days enduring cold nights and cold showers are finally over. What are you gonna do now . Gonna jump in the shower, take a shower. Reporter a long, hot shower . Yes, sir. Reporter in san jose, david louie, abc7 news. I will bet. Well, there is more to come here tonight on abc7 news. Just ahead the truth about an electronic cigarette. They are not as safe as you might think. A bay area city launches a campaign to clear the air. And we will show you where your Christmas Tree goes once the holidays are over and the benefits we get from recycling them. Im spencer christian. Tomorrow, near record warmth in some parts of the bay area. I will show you how warm it will be where you are in my accuweather forecast in just a moment. Good news for air travelers about their bags. Really. Huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Yeah, Everybody Knows that. Well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast . You got to know when to holdem. Know when to fold em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run. You never count your money, when youre sitting at the ta. What . You get it . I get the gist yeah. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Those who ride muni and b. A. R. T. Will begin to see a new ad Campaign Launched by San Franciscos tobaccofree project. The ads dont target regular cigarettes but the increasingly popular ecigarettes. Abc7 News Reporter, carolyn tyler, has the story. Reporter according to the centers for disease control, 20 million americans have tried vaping at least once. Inhaling and exhaling vapors from liquid nicotine through a batterypowered device. Unlike traditional cigarettes, theres no tar or carbon monoxide, but the San Francisco Health Department believes theyre dangerous. It contains heavy metals, just like cigarettes do. It contains carcinogens, just like cigarettes do. Most importantly, it contains nicotine. Reporter the Health Department is posting hundreds of billboards like these on muni buses and b. A. R. T. Trains in an effort to educate the public. But former smoker Shauna Anderson visiting tasty vapor in oakland, says ecigarettes helped weep her off her camels and Avery Hastings views vaping as harm reduction. Cigarettes are toxic waste dumps you put in your body where stuff like this is just a little bit less of a toxic waste dump. So for me i dont care. Reporter last year, San Francisco supervisors passed an ordinance regulating ecigarettes the same as traditional smokes. Sponsor eric maher is especially concerned about the thousands of teenagers lured by the candylike flavors. The ecigarette companies and big tobacco are really trying to use this new frontier of vaporizers and ecigarettes to hook a new generation and its a local governments role to protect the public health. Are it should be regulated but should be regulated fairly. Reporter the owner of tasty vapor is also a member of the smokefree alternatives trade association. You cannot penalize the large number of adults who have been resigned to smoking out of fer of a couple of kids picking this up. Reporter the fda proposed regulations last year but they have not been finalized. Carolyn tyler abc7 news. Two suspected car thieves are in custody tonight following a highspeed police chase from lafayette to oakland. It was wild. The object of the chase, a red sedan, crashed on highway 24 near the called cot tunnel and slammed into two other vehicles one of them overturned. There you see it in the middle of your screen. The Highway Patrol says the chase reached speeds in excess of 100 miles a hour before officers stopped the chase just east of the tunnel. It started in lafayette where police ran the cars license plate and it came back stolen. Victims of last months rain storms can now get some help from the federal government. The u. S. Small Business Administration has opened a temporary Disaster Loan Outreach Center on miller avenue in south San Francisco. People and businesses impacted by the heavy rain we had can come here to apply for lowinterest loans to help rebuild and repair the damage. Its a tough time, you know, holidays and the weathers cold and you dont have a home to live in. Youre just displaced and its hard. So, we are thinking this is very critical for them and hopefully, many, many of the residents will be able to get the help that they are seeking. The help center will be open through january 15th. For more information go to our website, abc7. Com. Time to start thinking about recycling those dried out Christmas Trees. Ecology workers have already picked up thousands of trees around San Francisco. They are being taken to this processing yard near candlestick where the tree stands and leftover decorations are being removed. The tries wont be composted, they are too acidic for that instead, they will be made into biofuel. Very full of energy. They are they have this pine pitch in there and so we chip them up, griped them and then that goes to a biomass facility and its used as fuel. Last year, 539 tons of Christmas Trees were recycled in San Francisco. Remember, the tree should be placed on the curb on regular gar badge collection days. Recycling Program Continues until january 15th. Almost smell the pine scent watching those pictures, cant you . The anonymous donor behind tips for jesus has hit San Francisco again. The mysterious frequent diaper left a large tip for servers at the tacolicious on valencia street friday night. The tip, 2,000. The restaurant says the person who left the tip comes in all the time and is amazing to the staff. The tip will be shared with everyone who works there. Thats nice. Way to start the new year. Absolutely. We are starting a mild warmup maybe . No such thing as average weather conditions here in the bay area. Averages somewhere between extremes, two extremes, extremely mild or extra emily cold. Tomorrow will be the extremely mild. Here is a look at live doppler 7 hd. Clear skies right now. Some high clouds above. And of course we have poor air quality. Today was our fourth consecutive spare the air day. Tomorrow will be the fifth. A time lapse view late after into approaching sunset from our east bay camera emeryville, see a little bit of haze with the clouds there. Tomorrow, spare the air day number five in a row, see poor air quality across the entire region, but especially for the inland east bay and Santa Clara Valley. Remember, no wood burning through tuesday. Now, a live view from our rooftop camera looking out over the embarkcaderoembarcadero, temperature readings, 57 San Francisco 51 oakland. 55 san jose and morgan hill. Half moon bay, 59 degrees. A live view looking toward coat tower from our exploratorium camera, 51. Santa rosa 48. Napa, 46. Navado fairfield, 49. Chilly up there. 53, con copped and livermore. Sutro tower looking out over San Francisco, forecast features, sunny and warmer the next two days, record highs possible in a couple locations tomorrow. A slight chance of sprinkles by the end of the week. Not rain, just sprinkles. Satellite image showing a strong ridge of High Pressure, dominant feature in our weather picture now, deflecting the jet stream well to our north, not allowing any rainmakers to move generally or directly at us. We have stagnant conditions continuing also with this dome of High Pressure sitting over the bay area. Thats why we have declining air quality and more spare the air days. Forecast animation, 6 00 tomorrow morning, which point, there will be a little bit of fog moving from the Central Valley through the delta and carquinez strait. Skies generally clear, a little bit of a warmup, not much of a warmup from san pan blow bay northward and eastward, going southward, high temperatures near record levels tomorrow parts of the Santa Clara Valley and monterey bay area. Overnight, see low temperatures dropping into the mid to upper 30s again, inland valleys, north bay and east bay, mainly 40s around the;1g bay. Tomorrows highs will climb to upper 60s, low 70s south bay. Hits the predicted 72 degrees, a record high for tomorrows date in gilroy see upper 60s, peninsula, on the coast, downtown San Francisco, 64 degrees tomorrow. Up in the north bay, throw mid60st mid to upper 60s on the east bay and inland east bay, a bit cooler than some other regions, still mild low to middle 60s. Here is the accuweather sevenday forecast. We will likely have more spare the air days because the air quality does not appear to be improving because we dont see any shift in this current pattern. But by the end of the week we will see a few more clouds and maybe some sprinkle on thursday and friday then a cooler pattern develops over the weekend. Maybe that will bring in some fresher, cleaner air. Look forward to that. Thank you, a man is suing the California Department of corrections for workplace harassment. The man says his coworkers and supervisors have been bullying him because of his accents since he was hired as a prison guard in 2002. The sudanese immigrant says the harassment got worse when his coworkers at the Sacramento State prison found out he was a muslim and prayed daily. My car was joked about, my hair was joked about. The harassment got so bad, even inmates made racial and religious slurs. His supervisors ignored his complaints. He was transferred to solano prison last year where the harassment stopped. The California Department of corrections has not commented on this lawsuit. Expect some big changes on the Golden Gate Bridge after this weekends 52hour closure. All about safety. Crews will be place a movable median barrier on the brim to prevent headon collisions. The bridge district has recorded 16 since it started keeping track in 1970. There have been five deaths in collisions since 1990. This has been a long time. Coulding, a huge amount of research and development has gone into this and, yeah, this is a this is the kill money nation of many, many years of engineering. And watch your speed. Right now the speed limit is 55 Miles Per Hour on the waldo grade, driving south bound from the waldo tunnel to the Golden Gate Bridge entrance. Common day its reduced to 45 Miles Per Hour. And heres a live picture of the bridge on this monday. It will close at 12 01 a. M. Saturday scheduled to reopen next mop date 4 a. M. Well, still ahead here tonight on abc7 news, the downside of these Falling Oil Prices and their impact on the economy. How long can chevron afford to stay the course . Also tonight, the high rise homicide of a wall street hedge fund manager. May surprise you to learn who police have in custody. New details from the trial of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect. Why the government said no to a eapldeal. Bulldog you dont need superpowers to help someone. Sometimes, all it takes is a warm heart and a cold nose. Thats why mattress discounters good deed dogs is raising money to Train Service dogs for people with disabilities. I would never imagine a life without an assistance dog ever again. I relied on people a lot. He helps me live a more independent life. Bulldog we need your help to do more. Give at mattressdiscountersdogs. Com, or any mattress discounters. Mattress discounters good deed dogs helping dogs help people [ bell ringing ] that is the sound of your 401 k plan taking a hit today as wall street opened the new year on a sour note. For most of us a decline in crude oil prices has been good news. Gasoline is sure a lot cheaper, but look what happened to stock prices today. The dow jones average fell more than 300 points to 17501. And its all because oil prices have fallen to 50 a barrel for the first time in more than five years. Shares of chevron stock fell 4. 5, down almost 20 in six months. Abc 7 News Reporter is live now in San Francisco with a look at why your retirement account may depend on an upturn in oil. Reporter one of those reasons is because if youve driven to any gas station in the bay are youve noticed that a gallop of gas now is less than 3 at most stations. Lots of people have predicted that that would never happen a lot of those people also predicted that a barrel of oil would never go below 100 today as mentioned it actually went below 50 that is a big deal for a company like chevron. The driver of this orange charger had one of the biggest smiles on his face when he was pumping gas. I love the prices right now the prices for gas right now is extraordinary. Reporter for 2. 35 a gallop at this arco in richmond he has reason to be smiling you down the way at the chevron refinery, there may be a little uncertainty, plummeting oil prices pushed down the Company Stock by 4 and close at 108. 08. Still better than five years ago when their stock was trading just under 80, but thats also the last time oil was selling at the 50 a barrel mark which is what its at today. Chevrons doing very well because they are a company that has Refining Capacity in california, california has a particular blend of gasoline that they use. Reporter a professor at uc berkeley and former Obama White House adviser is waiting to see if these low prices will push chevron away from investments in alternative energies. Do they make kind of a smart pitch to build a new Energy Economy or try to maximize profits on the short term now. I would vote for the long term, but we will see. Reporter for now, it seems no jobs are affected at chevrons san ramon headquarters or richmond refinery which employs 1200 workers. The chairman said, i would like to close with a couple thoughts about chevrons price outlook given the price declines. Our priorities havent changed. For consumers this is the big question. How long do you think its gonna last . I wouldnt say too long. I just i feel like someones losing money somewhere and its gonna change. Once we get comfortable it will change. Riverview riverview they have seen the Price Fluctuations before. Abc7 news. Tragedy in europe tonight for the u. S. Ski team. Two of the teams top prospects were killed today in an avalanche. They have been identified as 19yearold bryce astle of sandy, utah and 20yearold ronnie ber lack of new hampshire. Four others escaped unhurt. They veered away from a prepared slope near the Training Base in the austrian alps near innss brouck. Indonesian Authorities Say they may have found the tail of the plane which contains the black boxes and may provide clues about what caused the crash. One large piece of wreckage detected in the java sea turned out to be a sunken ship. 162 people were aboard the plane when it crashed december 28th. The son of a Millionaire Hedge Fund founder has been charged tonight in his fathers murder. Thomas game better, the founder of waynes Scott Capital Partners was found shot to death last night in his manhattan apartment. Today, prosecutors charged his 30yearold son, Tommy Gilbert with homicide and criminal procession of a weapon. The medical examiner ruled the death was a staged suicide. Investigators said Thomas Gilbert recently told his son he would no longer pay his represent and reduce his allowance from 400 to 300 a week. Prospective jurors in the Boston Marathon bombing trial got their first look at the suspect today. Dzhokar tsarnaev faces 30 federal charges in the 2013 bombings. The first group of 200 potential jurors was brought into court for the first phase of jury selection much reporter chris. We is in boston with the story. Reporter new sketches from inside a boston federal courthouse show the long lines of potential jurors arriving on the first day of jury selection in the trial of dzhokar tsarnaev. Over the next three days, these men and women will fill out questionnaires and then a select few will return for direct questioning. All to narrow the estimated 1200 candidates down to 12 jurors and six alternates. Czar my yev is accused of teaming with his brother to detonate two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. He also faces charges for the death of an m. I. T. Police officer. His brother was killed after a shootout with police. A plea deal to avoid the Death Penalty was opposed by the justice department. The trial could take several months. When it begins, Defense Attorneys are expected to characterize czar my yev as an impressionable teenager manipulated by his older brother. What the prosecution going to point out is how much independent action the younger brother had. How many things he did on his own. Reporter im chris welch reporting. Samesex marriages will be legal in florida in just a couple of hours, but a judge gave couples in one county a head start. Im lifting the stay. Supporters cheered after the jim cleared the way for the licenses to two women and two men. This is the first samesex couple in the county to say their i dos. The Christian Family coalition had this reaction to the decision. Its the death of democracy in florida. Its an unfortunate day a day of shame for our state when in 2008, 8 million voters cast their ballot on this issue and now their vote has been thrown out. That election has been declared null and void. Florida will be the 36th u. S. State where samesex marriages are legal. Safe way today agreed to pay all you have to do is take your picture holding one of these 10 scratch offtickets called emerald tense, then send it in with a clever description of who you would like to have dinner with and why the grand prize of 4,000 Dining Experience at one of the worlds top restaurants, the french laundry, in the napa valley, and a twonight stay at the napa valley lodge. The whipper will be decided by a panel of judges and i a numbers onned in time for valentines day. Just go to abc7. Com for a link to more details. I want to have dinner with the lottery winner. Oh yeah. Yeah, that would be cool. Well, could this be the year that taking a selfie replaces typing a password . Coming up next we are going to show you whats hot my whole life, i didnt have Health Insurance because i couldnt afford it. My daughter depends on me, so its very important that i stay healthy. Now that i have Health Insurance, i can take care of myself and my family. [ highpitched ] nailed it [ normal voice ] youre right, that was really easy. I know, i told you so. On progressive. Com you can compare our progressive direct rates with our competitors rates, so shopping is easy. You dont sound like flo. [highpitched] yeah, i do. [ clears throat ] who you talking to . [ normal voice ] what . Whats on your hand . Noth my wedding ring. [chuckles] symbol of our love and understanding. Comparing rates for you. Now thats progressive. [ highpitched ] nailed it i was a little bit concerned about my health. I was very happy to make my first doctors appointment. I love my doctor. Im in for the first time ever. You too can enjoy Quality Health coverage. To enroll, or find free inperson help go to coveredca. Com everything you got for christmas may be obsolete already. Tech companies are assembling right now in las vegas to unveil their latest and greatest products at theeapt International Consumer electronics show. Incredible stuff. Tonight, abc7 News Reporter Jonathan Bloom gets an early look. Reporter among the 150,000 people expected at this sprawling Consumer Electronics show in las vegas about 5,000 are journalist and for writers like dean takahashi of games beat, a test of endurance. I will probably walk about you know 30,000 steps a day, each day and by the end of it, lucky if im not sick. Reporter all that to be the first to touch and write about the latest damages and biggest, brightest new tvs. Gigantic screens, gonna have the most beautiful images you could possibly imagine on them. Reporter this year Consumer Reports tells us the hot new feature is quantum dot technology. Tiny little crystal these put right in front of back light of the tv that makes colors richer and more saturated. Reporter like last year its still all about ultrahd and curved screens, large and small. Computer monitors that are curved and we are seeing a bunch of curved smartphones, too. Reporter and smart watches. This year remains the age of wearable tech and connected things, like belty, the belt that automatically loosens when youve had a little too much to eat and just about every home appliance. You can now chat with your washing machine. You can like ask ask if the load is done or do i need to switch from the washer to the dryer. Reporter or you can chat with your houseguests with light fixtures that have cameras, speakers and microphones hidden inside them. You can actually listen to and see and talk to anybody whos in your house even while youre away. Reporter if you like security, you like this an app that lets you take a selfie instead of typing your password. Develop technology which is likeness texts you are a like person and do that by various methods, one is looking at pupil dilation. Reporter to dilate the pupils of veteran journalists, ces needs something unexpected. I want to be surprised with technology thats meaningful as opposed to technology for technology sake. So something that really changes time. Thats what we are all looking for. Reporter the show runs through friday, they have until then to find it Jonathan Bloom abc7 news. Great stuff. Up next 7 on your sides Michael Finney with new baggage rules for airlines. For over 60,000 california foster children nights can feel long and lonely. I miss my sister. I miss my old school. I miss my room. I dont want special treatment. I just wanna feel normal. To help, sleep train is collecting pajamas for foster children, big and small. Bring your gift to any sleep train and help make a Foster Childs night a little cozier. Not everyone can be a Foster Parent but anyone can help a foster child. First impressions are important. Youve got to make every second count. Banking designed for the way you live your life. So you can welcome your family home. For the first time. Chase. So you can. There are new rules tonight for the kinds of carryon baggage you can take aboard an airplane. 7 on your sides Michael Finney keeps track of these things and says this is actually good news for many flyers. Can you believe that . No. A baggage rule that could help you. Im not used to reporting on this side of things. I know that its normally not going to be good for passengers but this change will actually be a huge benefit. Passengers walking through San Francisco international airport, luggage in tow, can pretty much depend on their luggable arriving in one piece at their destination when they arrive. But those traveling with musical instruments, not so much. Im a singer songwriter, i have traveled internationally with my gibson hard bodied case guitar all over the world usually its a pain. Reporter Airline Workers have long been accused of being pretty hard on musical instruments. United united you broke my favorite guitar reporter now it isnt just united but that airline became famous for it when this video went viral back in 2009. But things are about to change. Those traveling with guitars or any instrument have just won a huge victory. Great news. The department of transportation just issued its final rule thats gonna clarify that passengers have the right to take on to a plane and use as part of their carryon a small music aal instrument like a guitar toer violin that fits inside the overhead bins. Reporter even if the case is bigger than an allowable carryon suitcase which brings us back to our singer songwriter, jessica. I have good news for you. What is the news . In two months time you can take your hard case on or any instrument that can fit in the overhead, even if it doesnt fit in the little carrier check, you can take it on. Thats great. Thats wonderful. Really great news for me. Reporter get this, passengers traveling with larger instruments, if they are not too large and too heavy, will now be allowed to buy a seat and strap their instrument into it. Can you imagine sitting next to that . A bunch of rules about that. The new rules go into effect at the end of february. Can i just stuff all my cloths into a guitar case . There you go. I may try it. All right. Lets get on over to spencer and check on our weather. Not checking, right . Not checking, right . Live doppler 7 hd, clear skies now, thin high clouds passing of earth bay area. Lets check todays readings in San Francisco with the average readings to this date. Normal high temperature, 56 degrees for january 5th today, 61 degrees here in the city morning low, s above the average low. Sunset, by the way time sunset time, by the way, was 5 05 p. M. Tomorrow, look for sunny skies statewide and relatively mild to warm conditions. That includes the bay area, where we will see high temperatures tomorrow, mainly in the mid to upper 60s, especially around the bay and pushing southward, the south bay where we will see some highs up around 70 degrees we are expecting a high of 74 santa cruz tomorrow. Thats close to a record high territory for the date and here is the accuweather sevenday forecast. Mild weather the next few days with highs in the mid to upper 60s, up to maybe about 70 tomorrow and wednesday, a couple of locations, then get a pattern for the weekend, not much of a chance of rain, just maybe some sprinkles late thursday or friday. Okay. All right. Thank you so much spencer. All right, some hoops to talk about. Revealed here. Going to be fun tonight. The splash brothers meeting another dynamic duo, the thunder, coming to town. St bulldog you dont need superpowers to help someone. Sometimes, all it takes is a warm heart and a cold nose. Thats why mattress discounters good deed dogs is raising money to Train Service dogs for people with disabilities. I would never imagine a life without an assistance dog ever again. I relied on people a lot. He helps me live a more independent life. Bulldog we need your help to do more. Give at mattressdiscountersdogs. Com, or any mattress discounters. Mattress discounters good deed dogs helping dogs help people good evening. The warriors have the best record in the entire nba at 265. In the playoffs started today, golden state and phoenix would match up in round one, but lurking just two games behind the suns the thunder from Oklahoma City and the warriors will meet the thunder tonight at oracle arena. Abc 7s mike shumann is there for us. And you know okc now healthy, they are a very scary team. Well no question, larry. And the warriors look fogger their 12th straight home victory tonight here against okc, two of the most prolific scoring duos in the nba in the same building. Thunder and lightning with kevin durant and Russell Westbrook against the flash brothers, seth curry and clay thompson. Always fun for the fans to watch, but as a player, got to be tough to defend. Durant who feels it. Probably close guard there is in the league as far as being that tall and being shooting problems he does, be able to put on the floor, handle the ball at 6 11. This game, never seen a player like him just so fluid and to be that big and agile is pretty amazing. Russell westbrook and durant missed a third of the season with injuries and still averaged a combined 52 points a game to the splash brothers 44. Coach kerr knows they are going to score but you got to make them work. Westbrook shut shot out of a cannon, durant, crossovers, shooting three, 6 11. You cant let him do that you got to be the addresser defensively. The splash brothers versus 00 and lightning. Both are gonna get their points and both trying to prove they are the best one two punch in the league. They have a bit of an edge. We have a few young guns who are really trying to show the league who they are and about themselves. So, good matchup. Clay Thompson Says he has the answer to silencing thunder around light thing. They are not as deep as us, believe that i think we can wear on them with our depth. Westbrook has 30 1 2 last time he was here in december. Gonna need a lot from the brothers. Live at oracle arena, mike shumann, abc 7 sports. Larry . Thank you. The nfl has admitted the refs blew a pivotal call in the cowboys lions game. Dallas got the benefit of the call, went on to whip the game. Eight minutes left. Dallas line packer Anthony Hitchens called for pass interference on plan done pettigrew. The rest, picked up the flag, no, no penalty, never happened. No explanation nfl admitted holding, we froze it there should have been cold, kept the lions drive alive who knows how it unfolded after that. The mechanics of the announcement and the communication is something that we will focus on and focus on that with all of our officials who are going to work throughout the playoffs. Whats done is done. Serena williams dragging today in perth. So she did what most of us what like to do ordered ane1 espresso in the middle of a match. Serena asked if it was illegal to order an espresso. Its not. You can do it. At the time of her order, she was down a set tootilys opponent. Scarfed the thing down serena recovers gets the jolt and wins, love6, 63, 6love. It was miracle coffee. That is a story that certainly would have gotten a booyah from our old friend, stuart scott, the longtime sports anchor died yesterday, only 49 years old. He and i worked together at espn for about six years and what a lot of people dont know is that it wasnt always cool being stuart scott especially for stuart scott. He faced a lot of resistance in the early days. Nobody at the time was doing highlights while singing rap lyrics or making tupac references. Stu developed a style that resonated with so many young viewers, especially young black kids and from the the moment he uttered that first booyah, he exploded from just another sportscaster to pop culture celebrity. The man was a pioneer with a style that is always going to be unique. Stuart scott gone way too soon at age 49. Sad. Abc7 sports brought to you by bank of the west. Start our careers at the same station, he was just a terrific guy. A nice guy. Thank you, larry. Join us tonight at 9 00 on cable channel 13678 the state laws that you might have missed. Did you know we now have a state amphibian . How the law got passed tonight at 9. Abc7 news at 11 00, a clothing ad is bauned. We will show you the image deemed harmful and irresponsible. Here is tonights primetime lineup on abc7. That is it for abc7 news. We appreciate your time. See you later on tonight. sighing okay, so you walked in on me having sex. I still think we should discuss it instead of sitting here in awkward silence. Everythings different now. I know too much