thanks for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. cut their credit rating to junk status as the utility faces the possibility of bankruptcy. >> abc 7 news reporter lea melendez is live from pg&e headquarters with how all of this will affect pg&e's many, many customers. leeann? >> reporter: well, you know, fa faced with the possibility of bankruptcy, pg&e is throwing out a lot of ideas out there. for example, they're saying we may have to move from this location. it's just too expensive. they're also saying we may have to sell our gas business as well. what is the old adage, desperate times call for desperate measures? pg&e has not denied reports that it may file for bankruptcy protection and that has everyone talking, from wall street to the california legislature. a bankruptcy would be disastrous, according to

t.u.r.n., the utility reform network, which looks out for customers. >> it's just going to be about paying off the creditors, okay? and we certainly as rate payers end up losers. >> reporter: last year pg&e threatened to go bankrupt as it faced lawsuits resulting from the 2017 wildfires. but the legislature came to their rescue by passing senate bill 901, which placed a cap on how much pg&e could pay out in lawsuits and still remain solvent. any amount over that cap would be picked up by customers. the issue is that the cap in that senate bill did not include future disasters like this year's butte county wildfires. >> that was supposed to be a one-time fix and to come back again a year later asking the same thing is going to be a much heavier lift. >> reporter: even lawmakers who supported that last bill are now suggesting that pg&e get a new board and new management. a spokesperson said the company is reviewing structural options

to best position pg&e to implement necessary changes. the company today announced that three of its executives were leaving, marking a change in their leadership. joe represents many families from the san bruno explosion, which was blamed on pg&e. he says it's time to break up the company. >> go back to wall street and we take over and form and make public companies out of this that are truly then regulated by and looked over by public elected people. >> reporter: and at least one lawmaker is sacramento is talking about possibly bailing out pg&e once again, and that's chris holden of the los angeles area, but he has yet to introduce a bill, and that tells you a lot. i'm live in san francisco, leeann melendez, abc 7 news. >> okay, leeann, we'll see. thank you so much. governor newsom says he had a somber conversation with pg&e

executives about the company's solvency. the governor, however, says theirid fucryiastate, not pg&e. >> yeah, he made these remarks while tackling wildfire prevention in colfax today. abc 7 news reporter leslie brinkley was there. >> reporter: california's new governor strode into the cal fire colfax station to talk about amping up fire protection strategies but talk quickly turned to pg&e. >> i try to be objective about these things as much i can. i'm a fiduciary to the people of the state of california. that's my role and responsibility, to protect your interests, not pg&e's interests, but sometimes those interests my align. >> reporter: ands that where it gets complicated. the governor said he's having long honest cell phone conversations with pg&e executives as he talks with the puc and finalizes the names of the three commissioners he'll soon be appointing to come up with quick recommendations. >> we want a healthy utility. we want a utility that is investing in the future. low carbon, green growth

strategies. that's in an ideal world. that's not the case today. >> reporter: governor newsom said his new budget will add $305 million to fire mitigation efforts, including over 200 million committed to cutting brush and creating fire breaks. he plans to bring on board 13 new engines to be predeployed, 100 infrared cameras and retrofitting blackhawk helicopters and c-130 for fire suppression. >> the camp fire really gave us a test and an understanding that the traditional methods that we've used are not working. >> reporter: so the new governor pledged there will be change. he'll spend more money but he wouldn't commit to exactly what he'd do about pg&e. i'm leslie brinkley, abc 7 news. all right, leslie, thank you. it is worth noting that amid all the talk about possible bankruptcy, the income for the top brass at pg&e is in the millions, according to salary.com writer who retired as

president and ceo in september made $5.8 million in cash and composition. anthony earley makes $5.1. and car insurance sew makes $7.6 million. sky 7 just arrived over the scene. this is happening near the corner of amber lane and blossom court in pleasanton. multiple police agencies are participating in this police activity. you can see sky map 7 there mapping out for you, it is happening at amber and blossom. as we mentioned, police vehicles are dotting the street and people are not allowed in that immediate area. >> yeah, abc 7 news viewer took this picture of the police perimeter near the scene. we understand some people have been prevented from entering and leaving that area, understandably. again, abc 7 news has confirmed this is connected to the search

for the suspect that killed 17-year-old mohammad othman, a senior football player at carlmont high school in belmont. we'll bring you updates on this story on air and online as we get more information. let move on for the moment. the rain and wind are starting to pick up once again. the stormy weather and is causing flight delays at sfo right now. the school says the storm goes from canada to hawaii. let's go right now to abc 7 news meteorologist who is tracking this pretty big system. >> yeah, dan, let's take a look at it on live dopplar 7 right now. spotty light showers not amounting to a whole lot in the last six hours. so let's get you into street level radar here. right around vacaville. you are seeing light showers as we take a look at the wider perspective, this is where you really notice the storm winding up. so it is going to bring us some gusty winds.

we're already seeing them at the higher elevations. moderate strength storm. rainfall totals in the south bay -- gusty winds, large and dangerous surf. look at the winds right now, gusting to 32, m -- the coast, miles an hour gusts. possibly up to 60. could down trees and power lines. so be careful. >> thanks a lot. in the north bay, the weather likely played a role in this mess in san rafael. fire broke out when wires came down after a tree fell. there were some outages, as you might imagine. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is live in petaluma with more. wayne? >> reporter: well, it hasn't started raining hard yet, but it will. this is a day people worrying about the rain and not dealing with it. they've spent the day with their

eyes pointed skyward. watching rain-laden clouds and waiting for them to open and then waiting some more, an almost existential experience at times. >> you don't have an umbrella? >> no. >> reporter: those who looked could have found trouble. this giant eucalyptus people missed cars, houses and homes but it did knock out power to a dozen homes. the highway patrol says one driver suffered minor injuries. all as the clouds kept moving, the weather gave us this very pretty scene in petaluma. call it a bridge over raindroped waters that will likely be moving much faster very scene. >> you're not worried about your hair frizzing? >> no, are you? >> reporter: so, hold on a minute, aren't we the ones who are supposed to ask the questions? let us hope that by this time tomorrow night in petaluma and elsewhere in the north bay people are still in a good mood about this rain storm. live in the north bay in sonoma

county, wayne freedman, abc 7. >> yeah, okay, wayne, we'll check back and see. thank you so much. in less chan an hour, president trump will make the case for a border wall in an address to the nation. we'll carry it right here. this issue has forced a partial government shutdown, now in its 18th day. today buckets of trash from san francisco beaches were boxed up, placed in front of the white house. bay area representative jackie speier and jarrett huffman and others gathered. the trash gathered to send a message. it would normally be picked up by federal workers who have been furloughed. despite the hardships, the president says he will not end the shutdown without border wall funding. there is speculation he may declare a national emergency if democrats won't agree. abc 7 reporter david louie is on the story. >> reporter: with a border security impasse showing no signs of a break, president trump will use the oval office tonight to enlist public support to spend their taxpayer dollars. >> he's going to make his case to the american people that he -- that they should, in fact,

trust him to make this decision with significant amounts of taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: congress has the responsibility to budget and control spending. however, the president can invoke the national emergencies act, which includes authority to channel funds to critical needs. the president's plan goes beyond at $5.7 billion requested to what the president now calls a steel barrier. he wants to spend 675 million to intercept drugs and weapons. 211 million to hire additional border patrol agents and 800 million for custodial care of detainees. this law professor says allocating those funds should raise questions. >> any citizen, any taxpayer in the united states should be concerned when the president of the united states chooses to bypass the system that the constitution created to the -- for allocation of taxpayer money. >> reporter: the president's address will be a test whether there is any hope to break the standoff between the white house and congressional democrats. >> the barrier or the wall can be of steel instead of concrete, if that helps people. it may be better.

>> the fact is, the wall is an immore rattle. it's not who we are as a nation. >> reporter: the president is expected to cite lots of statistics to win support for his plan. however, fact checkers will also be standing by to look for any mistakes that might be made. in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. >> abc news will carry live coverage of president trump's address to the nation, as well as the democratic response. it's set to begin at 6:00, about 50 minutes from now. meanwhile, people who receive s.n.a.p. assistance formerly known as food stamps will continue to get benefits through february. that word just into the newsroom. the agency initially guaranteed funding for the program only until the end of january. if the shutdown continues. now, the department says it's now using a provision, allowing it to pay backed funding within 30 days of a government shutdown lapse. nearly 40 million people receive s.n.a.p. benefits. a lot more to come here. the technique used to catch the golden state killer is used once

more. >> this time it came down to some chewing gum, a water bottle and dna. a cold case from the '90s has led to a confession. california lawmakers hope to do it again. after plastic bags and straws, now comes a laser focus on paper receipts. what could be the first law of its kind anywhere in the country. plus, the oakland a's announce the details for fan fest. as you look live at live dopplar 7, back with mor the question isn't whether he should be impeached any more. he's the most corrupt president in american history. and we all know it. the question now is, how fast can we move past this president so we can build a more just and prosperous future? please, join the more than 6.5 million americans who are demanding action now. because there's nothing more powerful than the unified voice of the american people. together, we will make this happen. need to impeach is responsible for the content of this ad.

a deejay tracked down with dna in a decades-old cold case pleaded guilty today to murderer a lancaster, pennsylvania, woman. 49-year-old raymond charles rowe admitted to killing this sixth grade teacher in 1992. lancaster's attorney general hired a private dna company to search for relatives of the suspect.

dna taken from a water bottle and piece of gum led detectives to rowe. this is the same method california detectives used to track down the golden state killer. investigators say they never gave up on the cold case. >> moving on as if nothing has happened, just like he walked away that day after he strangled her and raped her, closed the door and went back to his life as if he had done nothing wrong. he continued to do that for, well, decades. >> it's still unclear if rowe knew the victim. rowe was sentenced to more than 60 years in prison. there is another effort to go even greener in california. a san francisco assemblyman has proposed banning paper receipts. reporter jas reporter from or station in fresno has the story. >> reporter: paper receipts in the golden state could soon be a thing of the past. past. past. assemblyman phil ting introduced his skip the slip

>> so it's basically saying let's make e-receipts the default as of january 1st, 2022. >> reporter: according to ting, 10 million trees and 21 billion gallons of water are used to make receipts in the u.s. every year. most receipts are also coated with bpa or bps, a chemical that could potentially be dangerous for workers and consumers. >> most people assume that all these receipts can be recyclable. guess what? they can't be recycled because of the bpa. >> i think it will have an impact on our business. >> reporter: retailers like fresno ag hardware already offer e-mail receipts to go along with paper copies. store manager ian williams believes customers should have the choice. >> if they want a physical hard copy, we should be able to give that to them and provide the information that they're requesting. >> all right. have a good afternoon. >> reporter: some saying providing an e-mail address is not an option for them. >> i don't have an e-mail.

>> reporter: the bill might find itself in an uphill battle as there are still plenty of customers that say they want that tangible piece of paper with printed evidence of what they bought. >> i don't think it's necessary. i'd just as soon get my paper receipt. >> well, that was jason reporting. keep in mind, if the bill passes, customers could still receive a printed receipt if you ask. >> seems more green. okay. plans are now set for the oakland a's annual fan fest. the free event will be held saturday, january 26th at jack london square. this is video from last year's gathering. as always, the event gives fans opportunities to get up close and personal with their favorite a's players, coaches and legends. this year, 20 are eted to attend, including budding star matt olson. and david stewart will also be on-hand. so you'll want to save the date, january 26th, from 9:30 a.m.

until 2:00. now your accuweather forecast. >> calender is marked, christen. take a look at live popular 737 good evening, everyone. let me show you what's going on right now. the storm is still off the coastline but we're seeing some spotty light returns across parts of the north bay. just a few light showers that have been pushing through. i want to show you what is offshore. this is what is concerning. really, it's not too far away, so we're going to see some pockets of moderate to heavy rain moving into the north bay, about 40 miles away. this batch from the santa cruz mountains about 60 miles away. brief downpours. right now the spotty light showers right around napa. as you will notice, going into street level radar, lincoln avenue, west fifth street, silverado trail, if you're heading up to the wine country this week, it is going to be a wet one. 50s, 60s. temperatures are pretty comfortable. you'll notice a live picture from our tahoe camera where they are seeing much better snow after the weekend system and

they'll be seeing some more snow coming with this system as well. a live look from this camera. the trees swaying in the wind. camera is a bit bouncy as it is getting gusty in the hills and the cluds are gathering with awe few showers develop. minor flooding is possible, particularly in the north bay and santa cruz mountains. on our storm impact scale, this is a level 2. moderate strength storm. tonight, expect downpours in the north bay and the hills. rainfall totals will be quite wearied to about 1 1/2 inches. ers in we are expecting large and dangerous surf. wind advisory until 10:00 a.m. worth mentioning, again, this storm is really going to kick up the winds so watch out for the potential for downed power lines and trees. high surf advisory, 9:00 p.m. tonight. already seeing those waves building until 9:00 p.m. tomorrow. breakers could be over 24 feet, which brings the risk of rip currents. hour by our we go. tonight, 6:00 p.m., just a few spotty showers.

downpours in the north bay and the santa cruz mountains. beginning to spread across parts of the bay area. 1130, very scattered in nature. the ground will be wet from the overnight system, so do expect more roadways for the morning commute, even though the showers, the amount of activity will diminish. we'll still see those scattered showers right on through noon and even into the 3:00, 4:00 p.m. hours. definitely keep the umbrellas handy going into wednesday. it will be dropped down to a level 1 by then. in terms of your rainfall totals, you're probably thinking why level 2? because the ground is saturated and the winds are going to kick up, you could sigh potential problems, certainly creeks could overflow. definitely potential for roadway flooding. so we bumped it to a level 2. over an inch there up insierra, advisory starts at midnight, runs until thursday. at the peaks with windy conditions, expect travel difficulty. that winter weather advisory is

above 6,500 feet. first thing tomorrow morning, grab your umbrellas. allow a little more time to get to work or your kids off to schools. breezy out there. then in the afternoon you're looking at 50s, 60s. scattered showers for wednesday afternoon. accuweather seven-day forecast, keeping in potential for isolated thunder between tonight and tomorrow morning. level 1 tomorrow. dry thursday. another storm friday going into saturday morning. and then a third storm coming in saturday night into sunday. and then one more as he head towards tuesday. so these are all level ones except for tonight. so get ready. >> all right. >> once it starts, it just doesn't stop, right? >> but it's a good thing. by the way, state wide sierra snow pack 87% of average. >> thanks. it's a question every time you rent a car, should you buy insurance? 12k3w4r7 on your

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all right. now to consumer news about whether you need extra insurance when renting a car. it's always confusing. you wonder should you do it, should you not do it? >> it is confusing. 7 on your side's michael finney is here to help us. i always pass, but i have a feeling you're going to tell us we shouldn't. >> the rules get very complicated. it's not as easy as you think. should you buy the added coverage or are you already covered with your own policy? maybe, maybe not. the answer is it depends. >> let's go. >> reporter: when andrea travels on vacation or for business, she frequently rents cars, but she's often confused about whether to add the rental company's insurance to the credit card and personal coverage she already has. >> it's hard to know if you're fully covered and if you have 9 right coverage. >> reporter: consumer reports says before you rent a car check for coverage under your personal auto insurance, and also through the credit card you'll use. credit cards can change their terms. for instance, discover recently

stopped offering rental car insurance altogether. american express, chase and citi bank still do offer it, but check their terms and limits. if a credit card is your primary coverage, there could be a benefit to using it. >> should there be a claim, the credit card insurance could be in line to cover it and your own auto insurance rates may not change. >> reporter: remember, that to be covered through your credit card, you need to pay for the entire rental with that card and deny the rental agency's coverage. >> however, if you are going to depend on your own auto insurance policy, remember, the rental will be covered under the same terms as your own car. check those terms cary. >> reporter: you should consider adding the rental car companies. that can run as much as $30 a day. liability can run $10 to $15 a a day. in the end, andrea says peace of mind is worth doing the research and paying for additional coverage if it's needed, just to be safe.

if you don't have insurance because you don't own a car but you drive frequently, you might want to look into getting a non-owners insurance policy. yep, they sell them. okay. now let's talk about covered california. the deadline to sign up is january 15th. so, tomorrow i have a lot -- hotline here at the station between 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. get your questions ready. you can contact me through social media, e-mail or here by phone. >> excellent. those are always fabulous resources. >> thank you. >> you'll join us on the midday live show. >> that's where we're starting that tomorrow. this will be all day long. sometimes planning for the future means planting for the future. >> that's right. that's especially true for a local park. we'll have that story next. keeping an eye on live dopplar 7. this

not to the finish.t. but to the beginning. a fight that can only be won, if we stand together for one cause. him. expert care for every new beginning.

let's have hard conversations. >> i feel that the community has failed people of color. >> and hear one another. >> we can use words. >> we don't have to use our fists. >> our concerns might be different but we're in this together. and building a better bay area takes all of us. coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, live coverage of the president's address to the nation and the democrats' response. afterward, the effort under way to help families hit hard by the government shutdown. you can help. we'll show you what's needed. also, the big job at uc berkeley. crews go to work after a man was killed by a fallen eucalyptus. officials say why the trees need to come down anyway. >> finally tonight, a rebirth of orts in san francisco's north beach neighborhood. >> you may remember the controversy last year when crews

accidentally severed the roots of several majestic pine trees. >> they ultimately had to be removed. now after months of renovations, the playground has re-opened with new play equipment and you guessed it, new trees. >> park and rec decided on a smaller, more manageable series. >> went through a lot of discussions about the species replacements. these are called horned beams. they do lose their leaves. as you can see. in the winter. but they'll leaf out again in the spring and summer. >> and even with the drizzle today, the new playground was getting a lot of use,evneju fin wtil theeaves ar o >> weour time. see you again after the president's address beginning at 6:00 and then our broadcast for abc 7 news at 6:00.

tonight, b tonight, breaking news. the president about to address the nation. making his case, why he says we must build the border wall. after his campaign promise that mexico would pay for it. now all of it shutting down the government, day 18. and tonight, angry democrats demanding equal air time, and they'll get it. also tonight, the woman officer who approached a murder suspect, he pulls a gun. she then pleads for her life. >> no, no! >> tonight, the newly released video just in. the fast-moving storm targeting the northeast. more than a foot of snow in some areas, and the tornado tonight, a confirmed ef-1. the schoolteacher facing charges tonight. surveillance showing her dragging a boy with autism through the hallways of the school. we have news coming in on the russia investigation. the accidental reveal tonight. what paul manafort's own legal am