In politics and delve into the legacy she leaves behind. I remember the hours, days and the nights that we would have to work to try to work through and the challenges we come from different parties. We have different philosophies, but we put our state first. As reaction pours in about the news nationwide and the sign of a friend is someone who stands by your side to fight the good fight and the good days and on the bad. Dianne feinstein. She was all of this and more. Live from jack london square. This is mornings on two. The nine a somber start to the day this friday, september 29th. A live look at washington, d. C. Where flags are at half staff at the white house this morning following the news of senator Dianne Feinsteins death. We learned earlier today that the california senator actually cast a vote last night just hours before her death. A moment ago, we spoke with former San Francisco mayor willie brown. Incredible stories of her life, her political career and her as a person continue to emerge. Were glad youre with us today. The death of longtime california senator Dianne Feinstein at the age of 90 is still reverberating through the political world. And in the bay area in particular, senator feinstein was the oldest sitting senator having been elected back in 1992. Ktvu political reporter greg lee looks back on her storied political career. Trailblazer for icon political giant Dianne Feinstein dedicated her life to Public Service and broke many barriers along the way. She served 30 years in the us senate. The first woman to represent california in the Upper Chamber and the longest serving woman senator ever. Most of my positive energy toward this job. But her political career began decades earlier in San Francisco. The stanford alumni was elected to the board of supervisors in 1969, becoming the boards first female president in 1978. That year, a shocking act of Political Violence by both mayor moscone and supervisor harvey milk have been shot and killed. Feinstein was at city hall when the killings occurred. She found supervisor harvey milks body. George moscone, his murderer, at the hands of supervisor dan white, put her in the Mayors Office and sparked one of her biggest career fights. Gun violence, i believe to this day, if dan white didnt have a weapon that he wouldnt have done what he did. In 1992, she was elected to the us senate and soon pushed a federal ban on assault weapons. The 1994 landmark legislation was passed and lasted ten years. Feinstein has been advocating for its reinstatement ever since, along with other gun safety laws. If you give people the ability to easily purchase a weapon that can be devastating to large numbers of people, some of them will use that. She was also a leading voice in legalizing gay marriage in equal rights for the lgbtq community, authoring the respect for marriage act. Americans should be free to marry the person they love regardless of Sexual Orientation or race discrimination was not new for feinstein. She fought as the first woman in many roles and empowered many others. After my time, a majority were women. I appointed a woman city attorney, a woman treasurer with a front row seat to history alongside other trailblazing women, but a long way. We have come in this nation. Feinstein says her biggest regret was a vote to support the iraq war. She later took on the cia, spearheading an investigation into interrogation techniques after nine divided by 11, releasing this report is an important step to restore our values and show the world that we are, in fact, a just and Lawful Society city. She was unafraid to speak her mind to friends and foes. President s are supposed to bring people together, not drive them apart, feinstein would passionately take on what she saw as the biggest threats facing our country Global Warming is happening, aiming to prevent and combat wildfires and deal with the effects of drought. How many times must a man look up . In february 2022, feinsteins husband since 1980, richard blum , passed after a long fight with cancer. She released this statement. At the time, my husband was my partner and best friend for more than 40 years. He was by my side for the good times and for the challenge. His im going to miss him terribly. After three decades in the senate, feinstein announced in february 2023 she would retire for choosing not to run for reelection in 2024. Her health had been in decline and a bout with shingles led to a more than two month absence from the senate. When she returned, she faced questions and concerns about her health, but insisted on focusing on the work of solving problems and passing bills. Senator Dianne Feinstein leaves a legacy of service to the country and her community. She, a towering figure of San Francisco and california politics, whose life and career were both groundbreaking and historic. This is such a great country and its been factionalize ized and trivialized with rhetoric. We must stop that. We must come together as the great power that we are for the good of the nation. And i think of mankind. Thank you for your support. Well go now to senator Dianne Feinsteins hometown in the building where her political career started. We listened to now San Francisco mayor, london breed speaking on the senators death for people for neighborhoods, for bridge building, for all the things that have made our city such an incredible city over the years. And i want to just also take us back to when i was a kid and when i was excited about playing for Dianne Feinstein, the mayor of San Francisco, the first woman, an mayor of San Francisco. I was in the Ben Franklin Middle School band. I played french horn and we worked so hard to get ready to play for her right here at city hall. We were known as Dianne Feinsteins band, and any time there was any event activity or what have you, we basically were chosen as the band to perform for any occasion. And i remember for begging my grandmother begging her to get me some new pantyhose. I remember her begging my grandmother for something new to look nice for the mayor and she in fact bought the band sweaters that we wore that day. The band sweaters that we wore so proudly. And there was a level of pride to be in front of the mayor, to watch the mayor witness us play and to be she was so proud of us and she said so. And she took the time to talk to us. It express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band, jack martins was our conductor. He was our teacher. He was our friend. He loved her. So and in fact, when the 49 won the super bowl and she loved the San Francisco 49 ers, they had a big celebration at the fairmont hotel. And, you know that the Ben Franklin Middle School band was right there to play for her. She stopped by to say hi to us. She made sure she brought over joe montana and let me tell you, that was one of the best moments of my life. I still remember it today. Growing up in San Francisco, she was always someone we looked up to so much, so that when she ran for senator , we helped in her campaign. I remember doing the envelopes and doing whatever it took. She was the first woman to really step out and to do this extraordinary work, both as president of the board of supervisors, others as mayor of San Francisco, as the senator for the state of california, and just last night, she was on the senate floor casting votes because she truly believed in doing her duty, being an extraordinary Public Servant and it is clear that she cared about making a difference in the lives of so many. One of the first things that she did when she was on the when she began to serve as a us senator, we were experience saying in 1992, the tragedy of what happened with 101 california and the work that she did to get an Assault Rifle ban in place was extraordinary, especially at that time. She did it because she knew how important it was. She was constantly courageous and she continued to push the envelope, build relationships across the aisle. And she worked hard to work with other people because ultimately she she wanted to accomplish things. She is truly a role model. She is an amazing individual. And so many of us, especially in the city and county of San Francisco, know will miss her dearly. It wasnt just because of the work she did, it was because of the love and the compassion that she shared for so many people. And before i open it up to questions, ill just say you know, Dianne Feinstein never stopped being mayor, whether she was calling me to ask for something to be done or calling my chief of staff, sean ellsberg , who used to work for her and any little thing was not too little for Dianne Feinstein. If there was something wrong with a sidewalk, a corner, an issue, it did not matter. She took the time because she cared so deeply about about seeing San Francisco look and feel good and wanted to make sure that what we were doing here on the local level was a great example of how to make significant changes. And she wanted us to make those changes and make San Francisco look and feel good for everyone who was a part of the fabric of San Francisco. I also want to say that she built so many extra ordinary relationships and international relationships. She made San Francisco an International Destination when in fact the shanghai sister city relationship, senator Dianne Feinstein, developed that along with other sister city relationships to recognize the diversity and how important it is to bridge the gap between communities and our city. I can go on and on about how so many of the things that she did here locally as mayor set the tone for what San Francisco has become and will continue to be a beacon of hope for. So many people for years to come. And so i want to again, thank you all for being here to recognize senator Dianne Feinstein and her legacy in San Francisco. We are again honoring her by lowering the flags at half mast. We will have a condolence book on the fourth floor at noon for people who want to visit and sign the book and pay their respects. And we will share that book with the public and we will share that book with her family. And we are not aware of the specifics as it relates to her services. But we will definitely provide that information as soon as it is made available t us. So again, thank you all for being here today. I agree its not lost on me that on the San Francisco mayor london breed speaking on the death of california senator Dianne Feinstein from the very building where senator feinstein started her own political career. She served nine years on the board of supervisors. Then suddenly, november of 1978 was thrust into the role of mayor following the assassination of then mayor George Moscone and supervisor harvey milk. She served as San Francisco mayor for nine years, ran for governor, lost it and then came back and ended up winning a long Standing Senate seat. So many of her policies and politics were born from San Francisco. And we heard the mayor speaking about just that. Were continuing the following. The breaking news as the country is reacting to the death of longtime california senator Dianne Feinstein. Senator feinsteins career includes many firsts and ktvu is james torres is here with reaction coming in this morning. James sal, as you can imagine, reaction coming from not just all over the state but all over the country, too. But when were talking about some of our state leaders here is some of the words. And of course, the statements were seeing coming from people like governor gavin newsom, of course, the former speaker, nancy pelosi, also chiming in. Hillary clinton even offering some thoughts and prayers as well. Each of them using very similar language, of course, saying they are heartbroken to learn the passing of their friend, using words like mentor as well, calling her a trailblazer and saying that she created a really improved, made such a difference in the National Security and personal safety of this country. Of course, we also heard from President Biden as well, who just spoke about 30 minutes ago on the late senators legacy. She was a historic figure, trailblazer for women and a great friend, dianne made her mark and everything from National Security to the environment to gun safety to protecting civil is going to mir dearly and so will jill and i. Now, three politicians in particular, we kept a close eye on this morning. Of course, three politicians were looking to fulfill that, or rather fill that seat that senator feinstein would leave behind when she would complete her term in 2024, the first being adam schiff here, representative of california, saying today our nation lost a giant of the senate. California lost its trailblazing leader. And i lost a real friend and mentor. Im also going to bring up representative katie porter here who said senator feinstein, again using the word trailblazer for women in california politics. I wish her loved ones strength during this difficult time. East bay congresswoman barbara lee also chiming in here this morning, saying this is a sad day for california and the nation. My profound condolences go out to her family and her loved ones. Now, we also heard from House Speaker kevin mccarthy, also from california, also knows what its like to work closely with senator feinstein, except in this instance. Its, of course, across the aisle here. Here are some comments he said this morning from the floor. I worked with the senator for quite some time together on many different bills. But the one that i think stands out was our water legislation. It was historic. It was the first time in california history the more than 25 years that we were able to pass water. This is the win act. And i remember for the hours and the nights that we would have to work to try to work through and the challenges we come from different parties. We have different philosophy, but we put our state first and were hearing from politicians, both democrats and republicans, offering just very sweet words, sentiments honoring the legacy of the late senator and saying that there will never be one like her. Well send it back to you, garcia, andre and sal. All right. Thank you so much, james. We also spoke with california state senator scott wiener. He talked about his relationship with senator feinstein and discussed her political legacy in the city. San francisco was in her bones. She never truly stopped being mayor of San Francisco. She cared so, so deeply about this city, no matter how powerful she was in washington, she was always a San Francisco leader through and through. And for me, ive known her for quite a long time and she actually believed in me and supported me when i first ran for the board of supervisors. And no one really knew who i was and was just so kind to me. So just a wonderful human being and a great leader and a huge loss for our country. Im sad there will never be another Dianne Feinstein, state senator scott wiener says senator feinstein was instrumental in helping the Gay Community get through the hiv crisis when she was mayor of San Francisco in the 1980s. And we continue to follow the breaking news of senator feinsteins passing here now. California now in the midst of a once in a generation race to succeed feinstein in the senate, we will talk with the political analyst next about im all about fall, especially this new Pumpkin Spice frosty. Kathryn . so im taking some me time out here. Question for you sofries are a utensil, right . Good question. Ok. It is a good question can you give us an answer . choose wisely. Choose wendys new Pumpkin Spice frosty or cold brew. Ya know, if you were cashbacking you could earn on everything with just one card. Chase freedom unlimited. So, if youre off the racking. Or crab cracking, youre cashbacking. Cashback on flapjacks, baby backs, or tacos at the taco shack. Nah, im working on my six pack. Switch to a king suite, or book a silent retreat. Silent retreat . Hold up yeeerp . I cant talk right now, im at a silent retreat. Cashback on everything you buy with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. How do you cashback . Chase. Make more of whats yours. [luxurious music] treat yourself to rich, ghirardelli chocolate and luscious caramel. Experience ghirardelli caramel squares. In a bag and a bar. Makes life a bite better. Are touching on many of the subjects related to Dianne Feinstein, one of the most significant ones we havent touched on yet is the cia torture report that senator feinstein spearheaded. Talk a litt