Body was transported from the hospital to the medical Examiners Office. We begin with allie rasmus who was at San Francisco city hall where acting mayor london breed had condolence and heartfelt praise for the late mayor. Reporter the new acting mayor, london breed, spoke at length about her colleague. She explained the flags at city hall and across the city will be at half staff for the next 30 days for this period of mourning, marking the unexpected passing of ed lee. A visible sign of his passing along with small bouquets that have been left at the front steps of city hall. You can see a small gathering of people at city hall gazing at some of the halfdozen or so flowers, candles in handwritten notes that have been left on the steps starting around 8 am this morning. The memorial continue to expand and grow in number as the morning goes on. 24 hours ago, london breed was the board of supervisors president. Mayor ed lee pastor raed passed away around 1 30 am and moments later she was sworn in which the charter dictates. At the podium this morning, she said, i know i must assume this responsibility because i ask for your prayers. Lets carry on in mayor lees on a. She talked about his career in public city as a city workers serving under four different mayors and five different departments during the course of his career. She and other city leaders and figures i have spoken with said on their experience coming even if you agreed with ed lee on policy and politics, he was always professional, warm and willing to listen. Ed was not a politician. He did not always deliver the best soundbite or carry the room with unspoken charisma. never mattered to him. Disagreements never deterred him. He was humble and determined no matter the job he held. He was fair and collaborative, no matter the heat of the moment. What mattered most to him always was helping his fellow san franciscans. And occasionally delivering the almost perfectly timed corny jokes. Is not a human being in this life who wont say he was there was a more desirable decent, honorable person. He literally gave his life to the city. Thats not a figurative statement. Its a stunning thing. Reporter that was the current Lieutenant Governor gavin newsom speaking about ed lee. He worked as a city administrator under him when he was mayor. He unexpectedly became mayor when gavin newsom left after being elected Lieutenant Governor. Lee was elected in his own right and then reelected in 2015. Also at this News Conference the San Francisco City Attorney spoke. He talked about the path Going Forward and the procedures still ahead to phil lees vacancy. London breed is the acting mayor but San Francisco voters will have a chance to vote in a special election in june 2018. We will have more on that part of the story coming up in 30 minutes. A short time ago mayor lees body was transported from zuckerberg San Francisco general to the medical Examiners Office. Christien kafton was there and joins us live with more. Reporter we are now at the coroners office. This is where the honor guard brought mayor lees body about an hour and a half ago. The honor guard has now left. The latest word we have from San Francisco police is that they are waiting to talk with the family to figure out how they will proceed from here. We have learned the mayor collapsed last night at a safeway on monterey road. He was brought my ambulance to zuckerberg San Francisco general between 10 30 pm and 11 pm. We hear he was awake and communicating in the ambulance. Hospital staff this morning said the mayor was brought in. They did everything they could to save and but say he died at 1 11 am. He was in Critical Condition and we attempted lifesaving measures for several hours. He died at 1 11 am on the morning of tuesday, december 12. This morning. Reporter we also had a crew that went over to the safeway where the mayor collapsed last night. Staff say the mayor was a frequent visitor and would often shop there late at night. They say his wife was by his side last night and that he was in good spirits as he was shopping when suddenly he collapsed. He was happy. He was smiling and all that. But, it was sad to hear what happened to him this morning. Reporter the official cause of death is now under investigation. We are expecting to hear more at some point in time from the San Francisco coroners office. Coming up at 12 30 pm we will have more on the procession. It was a sight to behold as dozens of motorcycle, San Francisco Motorcycle Units escorted mayor lees body through the city one final time. Ed lee was the 43rd mayor of San Francisco. He was known for his cordial manner. Friends say he was down to earth and easy to talk to. Quiet but a strong leader. Originally he did not want the job. He needed to be persuaded. As dave clark tells us, the mayor leaves behind a lasting legacy. Reporter ed lee was sworn in as interim mayor on january 11, 2011. Then mayor gavin newsom resigned to become Lieutenant Governor. The board of supervisors unanimously appointed him. There are 11 approvals. Reporter ed lee was born in seattle, washington, to blue collar parents who came to the u. S. From china. His father was a cook. His mother was a seamstress. That greediness that my dad had in his life to be able to raise a family of six. Reporter lee graduated from Uc Berkeley Law School and became a civil rights internal. Known for helping low income tenants, women and immigrants. I wanted to use the law to open up doors for a lot of people who laws prevented them from being successful and being equal. And this drives me a lot personally. Reporter ed lee worked in different city agencies before becoming city administrator in 2005. He was reappointed for a second term in 2010 and then became interim mayor a year later. San franciscos first Asian American mayor. I will do my very, very best to represent all of the communities that you live in, that we cherish and make this city a great city. Reporter lee described himself as being antiestablishment, fighting against social injustice but once he was in office he said he was going to work with the establishment. I love this city and we are not going backwards. Reporter lee one a Mayoral Election in november 2011 and a second term in 2015. Political analysts say his accomplishments include bringing more Technology Jobs to San Francisco, lowering the citys unemployment rate, bringing the warriors to San Francisco and redeveloping the mission bay area. I have three more years and three years is actually quite a bit of time. But at the same time im feeling that ive got the energy to start sprinting because i need that 30,000 units of housing. Reporter issues he was still working on included battling homelessness, finding more Affordable Housing and reducing the number of pedestrian traffic collisions. Lee says his political philosophy was based on his upbringing. You learn sacrificing in the beginning. We learned modesty. We learned to be humble with people that may have even less. Reporter dave clark, ktvu fox 2 news. A lot of reaction on social media regarding mayor lees death. We saw an interview with the Lieutenant Governor, gavin newsom. He also sent out this tweet earlier saying absolutely heartbroken by mayor lees passing. We lost a selfless leader and dedicated Public Servant whose intellect, integrity, boundless optimism and contagious love elevated our city. Jan and i mourn the loss of a dear friend. Our prayers are with anita, brianna and tania. Also sending out a tweet is the mayor of san jose. The mayor said a dear friend and colleague has left us too early. It was a good and incredibly gracious man at a time when goodness, graciousness and civility are not sufficiently valued in public life. My heart goes out to eds family. Also sending a tweet was david to think i was stunned and deeply saddened to learn about the passing of mayor ed lee. Years before he was mayor i knew him as a devoted Public Servant who just got things done with the deep love for our city. San Francisco Police chief scott sending out a tweet this morning, we mourn the loss of mayor ed lee. A great leader and friend. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. Of pd. The man convicted of kidnapping and killing a morgan hills teenager is back in court to be officially sentenced. We will also hear from her mother who was also in the court room. Another mild day around the bay area. When will we see some rain . We will have a look at your forecast. And we will have the latest on a fire in the Oakland Hills destroyed two homes. What firefighters are doing to prevent flareups. A man convicted of kidnapping and killing sierra lamar is sentenced this afternoon. The court is in recess right now. Until and garcia forces faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole after the jury decided not to send him to death in june. The same jury convicted him of kidnapping and killing the girl as she made her way to a bus stop in 2012. Her body has never been found. This morning in court in a last ditch effort for a new trial, garciatorress attorney tried to discredit the lead investigator and motion for a new trial. That is expected to be rolled on after the current recess. Sierra lamars mother is also expected to speak. Antioch police say they soft their oldest cold case homicide. The kidnapping rape and killing of a 14yearold girl. Police arrested Mitchell Bacom at his home last night. Investigators say you been a suspect after suzanne bombardiers body was found in the antioch ridge 37 years ago. He was unknown by the girls family and he had a criminal record but it took until earlier this year for dna evidence to specifically link him to her death. While we are static and arrest was made in this case, it will not bring suzanne back into her familys lives. Police are now working with other agencies to determine if Mitchell Bacom is responsible for other crimes. Oakland city workers suspended the strike and have returned to work. There is no contract agreement with the city but the union says the involvement of a mediator is making a difference. The two sides continue and the workers will work. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an overnight fire in the Oakland Hills. The fire started before 11 30 pm off highway 13 in the hills above montclair at a house that is under construction on snake road. Fire official said two homes that were sidebyside burned to the ground and strong wind blue embers to a neighboring street. The fire damage three homes. Fire crews have been on standby at that scene watching for flareups. The cause is under investigation. Lets check in with conditions out there. Pretty quiet. We are in a dry pattern but that could change by the middle of next week. There are some hints on that. Its another Beautiful Day out there. Lindsay in monterey said this weather is going to other folks but is warm and tranquil in monterey. 67 in carmel valley. 74, carmel. Pacific grove, 66. That is a heat way for them. Its nice up and down the coast. The big news this morning with the temperatures. These were some of the lows. East petaluma, 24 degrees. There were many 24, 25, 26 including sebastopol, kenwood and alexander valley. Walnut creek checked in at a cool 29. Its freezing in the morning and the afternoon is warm. Otherwise its clear. We cant find much at all. Southern california, 6 humidity. 86 degrees. North, northeast breezes. Unbelievably dry. 74 degrees and 8 in montecito. This is called a sounding. They take the layers of the atmosphere. It was at a record dry level over oakland today. Its never been this dry ever. That tells you its not just Southern California, is also northern california. Calm wind. The wind has tailed off in terms of intensity and speed in Southern California that they still get a hint of that offshore. Yesterday they had cloud cover and today its sunny. A lot of that smoke continues to show up but its decreasing rapidly. Many of the fires are between 85 and 100 contained. Some of that will sneak up here. 50s and 60s on the temperatures. Near 70 in monterey again. Temperatures yesterday were very warm. Santa cruz hit 78. Probably not as warm today. There is a slight normally or easily component. Its not that strong but there is enough of a breeze for most that the coast is warming up. 55, ukiah. Down toward monterey, 73. We are in a completely reverse of what we usually see in the summer. High pressure is large and in charge. Its not showing signs of breaking down. Southern california is very tranquil. The system on there is producing a few high clouds. 60s and 70s. Temperatures are above average. It should be between 57 and 59. 1015 degrees above average for this time of year. A little breezy and cooler on saturday. I am hanging my hat on the 20th and 21st. There are signs of a pattern change. Lets hope so. The man arrested on charges of using a weapon of mass destruction and yesterdays new york city explosion is charged in federal court today. According to the complaint, akayed ullah told authorities he did it for the islamic state. He also faces charges of supporting an act of terrorism and making a terroristic threat. Rick leventhal has more from new york. Reporter the Early Morning commute in new york city thrown into chaos monday morning by a mostly ineffective terror attack. Police said a man strapped a pipe bomb to himself and detonated it in a pedestrian tunnel between the sprawling Port Authority bus terminal and the times square subway station. Eyewitnesses describe a frantic scene after the bomb went off. It was so scary. And then everything slowed down. Reporter the suspect, akayed ullah, was born in bangladesh and moved to the u. S. Seven years ago. Police say he has isis sympathies but appears to have been selfradicalized with no known ties to international terrorism. Leaders of the bangladeshi and community in new york now strongly condemning the attack. Our people are peaceful. We do not accept any sort of terrorism or violence against another innocent human being. Reporter security ratcheted up across the street as the investigation continued with heavy armor teams guarding bridges, tunnels and transit hubs. Most commuters seem to be taking it in stride, acknowledging the danger but trying to stay to their normal routines. I was nervous coming into manhattan. Ive never been nervous before. These are the times we live in. Reporter authorities believe he acted alone and has now been formally charged with possession of a weapon, supporting acts of terrorism and making terroristic threats. Rick leventhal, ktvu fox 2 news. Prompt takes to twitter to hammer back against allegations hes been guilty of Sexual Misconduct. That story and more coming up after the break including breaking news. We are looking at a situation where a following in oakland. There you see it from skyfox. This is happening near 41st and foothill. Skyfox sees several blocks close to traffic and a heavy police presence. Maybe close to a dozen Police Vehicles out there. We are hearing this is a suspect that has barricaded himself inside the residence. There is apparently a warrant out for this persons arrest. We are trying to gather more information and will keep you updated here on the noon news. Stay with us. We will be right back. Lets take a check of stocks at this hour. The dow is up. Analyst credit optimism over the tax bill and recent vamping of the Corporate Tax system. The s p is up and the nasdaq is down slightly. The polls are open alabama for the special election in the senate race that has attracted national attention. Take people with you to the polls. Grab folks that you can. Because, as we all know, this election is going to be one of the most significant in our States History in a long time. Thats video of democratic candidate doug jones voting this morning. If he wins he will become alabamas first democratic senator since 1992. The republican candidate, roy moore, has been accused of Sexual Misconduct with teenage girls when he was in his 30s. We are alabama. We are republican. And we are not going to stand by and let other people from out of state and money from california control this election. President trump endorsed moore but other Republican Leaders including the Senate Majority leader say they believe the women who have accused roy moore. President trump is pushing back against allegations of Sexual Misconduct using twitter today to say he is the target of false accusations and fabricated stories. This comes one day after several women who previously accused trump of Sexual Harassment held a News Conference to urge congress to investigate. Here is the story. Reporter President Trump taking to twitter this morning to push back against allegations of Sexual Misconduct calling the testimony by more than a dozen women quote false accusations, fabricated stories and fake news. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also hammering back in the latest press briefing. This took place long before he was elected to be president and the people of this country in a decisive election supported President Trump and we feel like these allegations have been answered through that process. Reporter the tweets also taking a personal twist calling out senator kiersten Jahlah Branch as a quote mike quade who came to him baking for Campaign Contributions and would do anything for them. The new york senator among several democrats who have been calling on prompt to resign due to the allegations. Payment part of the president s effort is namecalling and its not going to silence me. Its intended to silence me. It would not silence the women who stood up against him directly and is not going to sign with the millions of women out there. Reporter the political sparring, on the heels of several women uniting to share their stories of trumps alleged misconduct and urging congress to investigate. This is a partisan issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is how women are treated every day. Reporter the president tweet said she would do anything for contribution and is receiving online backlash from some who read the post as a form of harassment in itself. Next, our coverage continues on the death of San Francisco mayor ed lee. Details on the lifesaving measures taken before he passed away. Also, what were learning from a late morning News Conference. Back to coverage of the death of San Francisco mayor ed lee. Christien kafton is live in the city with more on the honor guard that accompanied the mayor through the streets of San Francisco. Reporter first we will talk about it update. We are hearing that crews are preparing to move ed lee, mayor lee one more time. If you look behind me you may be able to make out some San Francisco county sheriffs deputies. There is also a contingent of San Francisco Police Officers on standby. We are hearing that they will be moving mayor ed lee one more time to a mortuary in daly city. The honor guard you talked about a moment ago, a Motorcycle Unit from the San Francisco Police Department they brought the mayor here about an hour and a half ago or two hours ago. They are waiting to hear from the family about how they want to proceed. We do have video of the procession earlier this morning. We watched the escort rollout from zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital around 10 30 am, as skewered in mayor lees body here to the medical Examiners Office. We have learned the mayor collapsed last night at the safeway on monterey road near balboa park. He was brought by ambulance to San Francisco General Hospital. We hear he was awake and communicating during the ambulance ride. The hospital staff confirms the mayor was brought in and they did everything they could to save him but they say he died at 1 11 am. Workers at safeway say the mayor was a frequent visitor and he would often shop late at night and they say his wife was by his side when he collapsed. Coming back to our live picture, you can see there are deputies here. There are Police Officers on standby at this point in time. We are waiting to hear when they will be preparing to move the mayors body one final time. We are on standby. We expect that to be similar in nature to what we saw in terms of the procession going from zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital here to the medical Examiners Office. Lampert it will include full orders. That means a contingent from San Francisco police and from and the Sheriffs Office as well as possibly a San Francisco Fire Department escort. We will look to see what happens. When it comes to determining the exact cause of death, have you heard anything about a timeline from the medical Examiners Office when the public make it word of that cause of death . Reporter no. We have not heard when they will be discussing that. Since the mayor died in the hospital, presumably they have a great deal of medical information. That should speed the process for the medical examiner. The medical examiner will then be able to confirm the diagnosis by the hospital staff. You can see that a hearse just arrived from the mortuary in daly city. Again, preparing to take the mayors body from the medical Examiners Office to the mortuary. A very difficult time for the family. A prayer for these next steps and what is so unexpected. Thank you so much. We will stand by for developments. Late this morning city leaders held a News Conference at San Francisco city hall. The outlined details about the next steps moving forward following mayor lease unexpected death. Allie rasmus is standing by with the story. Reporter the News Conference was part eulogy. They offered prayers and condolences to the late mayors families and there was some discussion about steps Going Forward to fill his vacancy. I want to show you the front steps of city hall. The memorial out here people have been coming all morning and leaving the flowers and mementos. Someone left a photo you see their of the mayor on the motorcade during the parade for the warriors in oakland earlier this year. There is also and lgbtq california flight on the steps along with handwritten notes thanking ed lee for his service. Along with this visible sign, the flags on this building at city hall and citywide will remit at half staff for the next 30 days during this period of mourning. At a News Conference earlier today we heard from the new acting mayor of San Francisco, london breed. She was sworn in after mayor ed lee passed away this morning. She had been the board of supervisors president. City charter dictates that the president become the acting mayor in these situations. This morning she said i know i must assume this responsibility be asked for prayers. Lets carry on and mayor thes honor. The City Attorney also spoke this morning talking about the path forward and the procedure for filling the vacancy. He said for now, london breed is the acting mayor of San Francisco. She will have all of those duties at such time as the board of supervisors votes on a successor should they choose to do so although they are not required to do so. In any event, there will be a an election june 5. The last time a board of supervisors president was sworn in as mayor because of the death of a sitting mayor was in 1978 when Dianne Feinstein became the acting mayor after George Moscone he was killed. The City Attorney was asked if there was any indication whether the board of supervisors now would be acting to appoint someone other than london breed. He said no. For now it appears london breed will be the acting mayor of San Francisco for the next several months, at least until the special election in june of next year. People continue to come to pay respects by leaving flowers, notes, candles and photos they have of the late mayor ed lee. The president of the board of supervisors, london breed, is now the acting mayor of San Francisco. We have more on her background as she begins the job of leading the city. Reporter london breed will be the first africanamerican female to hold the cities top job. She is a San Francisco native. She was sworn into the board of supervisors in 2012 and since 2015 has served as president. She has overseen a 10 billion budget and 30,000 employees. The acting mayor was raised in Public Housing by her grandmother. She graduated from Galileo High School and attended the university of california where she earned a bachelor of arts in Political Science and public service. She also has a masters in Public Administration from the university of San Francisco. Her goals include improving housing, the environments, Public Safety and transportation. Here are some of her accomplishments. Passing legislation to increase housing along transit routes. Rehabbing unused Public Housing for homeless families. Leaving a clean Electrical Energy program to cut co2. Passing drug take back legislation to keep medical waste out of landfills and waterways and enacting the strongest band on styrofoam in the country. There was discussion in that she planned to run for mayor in 2019 but she has never filed any paperwork proving that. Meanwhile 11 other people have. Stay with ktvu fox 2 news for continuing coverage on the death of mayor ed lee. We will be right back. Sfx tinny headphone music sfx feet shuffling life can change in an instant. Be covered when it does. With a health plan through covered california. We offer free expert help choosing the best plan for you. And all of our plans include free preventive care. Financial help is available, so check for yourself to see what savings you qualify for. For Health Insurance starting january 1st, enroll by december 15th. Because you never know when life. Will change. Get covered today. New information about the San Francisco Police Officer who shot an unarmed carjacking suspect. You were looking at body camera video of the incident. Police have now identified the officer as christopher somalia. Police say this was his fourth day in the field when he pulled his gun and shot keita oneil. Oneill had allegedly shoved a state lottery worker to the grant, grabbed her keys and carjacked her minivan. Were learning more about the Google Engineer whose body was found naked and facedown last thursday and a Santa Clara County water leak. Authorities say by the time chuchu ma was reported missing, her body had been spotted on the bay trail. An autopsy was performed friday but the cause of death is not known as officials are awaiting toxicology results. Authorities say they are investigating all possibilities. We are talking to family and friends and acquaintances. We are trying to get a picture of what was occurring up to that point and beforehand. Everything. This doesnt stop. Police say they have interviewed a boyfriend who reported her missing. She was a graduate of University Texas at austin ml victorian of her High School Class before moving to the bay area. Reporter one of the three men wanted for kidnapping a girl 20 years ago is now behind bars. Kevin lin is accused of abducting Kristine Chiu in 1995. Word of her kidnapping shocked the small affluent Community Member having top schools in the state. Kevin lin was in court for his arraignment. We received information from the u. S. State department about a person seeking to get a visa. That information matched with our warrant and to some extent. Further investigation cost is to identify kevin lin. The younger was held captive for 10 hours trying to extort 800,000 in ransom money from the family. When they were and her parents were in taiwan, they let her go unharmed near sfo. One man was convicted in 1997 and was released a few years ago. A third suspect was never caught. California and the Trump Administration squaring off in federal court over Birth Control coverage. A judge in oakland will hear arguments on whether or not to block new rules allowing employers to opt out of Birth Control coverage for women the state says the administrations rules could result in the loss of nocost Contraception Services for million of women. Supporters of the changes say they protect religious freedom. The judge is not expected to immediately issue a ruling. 400 square miles have burned in the Southern California wildfires in the biggest fire keeps growing. The thomas fire as destroyed at least 800 buildings and damaged hundreds more. Its now 20 contained but there are concerns it could run over fire lines because more high wind is in todays forecast. The fires burning in los angeles and san diego counties are 90 contained. Firefighters said they could have one of the Los Angeles County fires contain tonight. The Sonoma County government will face a 21 million shortfall because of the october wildfires according to the press democrat which reports the estimate includes the loss of property taxes on burned homes and businesses and an additional 10 million spent by the county on staff overtime for the disaster response. The paper also reports that budget shortfall could be higher. The county does not know how much of the cost of debris removal, it will have to pay. A crisp a day out there. At this time of year we are always looking at the forecast. Steve paulson is trying to figure out when we get the wet stuff. There are signs of a change next wednesday or thursday. Lets hope it makes it. We could use it. We are stuck in a pattern for the coast, they are saying its nice. We dont see temperatures like this in june, july or august. 66 in pacifica. Montero, 73. Moss beach, 70. Foster city, 59. A complete reversal of what we usually see. There is an offshore breeze. Gusting to 18 out of the northeast at half moon bay. Sfo, due north. Not as warm towards santa cruz today as yesterday. They were 78 yesterday. It does not look like they are getting that component of the northeast breezes as much today. Its clear and hazy down in Southern California. Humidity at 6 in Southern California. 2 with a northeast breezes for most. The breeze is variable. Its not as pronounced as it once was and when speeds have come down. It is bone dry and temperatures are very warm. Los angeles, 82. The same as palm springs. San diego, 78 degrees. Baker field, 59. It still warm and sunny and a little hazy. The thomas fire is the only main fire still going right now and it is producing some slim. Occasionally come some of that will drift up. , especially on the coast. One observation says 68 in half moon bay. We have plentys we had plenty of 20s this morning. A 5 degrees spread on the lows in the highs. High pressure holds on for a couple of days. There is nothing developing yet but pin your hopes on the middle of next week. There are signs that things could change. 60s and 70s for the temperatures. These are about 1015 degrees above average for this time of year. Except for a breeze in a cool down on saturday, we remain dry through the weekend. Hanukkah, and eight day jewish festival begins at sundown and there are numerous events throughout the bay area. Starting today there are nightly menorah lighting ceremonies at union square, lake merritt and westfield oak ridge shopping center. Hanukkah ends on the evening of december 20. Its also known as a festival of lights and rededicate a Sacred Temple in jerusalem when a band of jews defeated the greek serious rulers 2000 years ago. The jewish people went to light the temples menorah and they only found one days apart to of olive oil to burn but it lasted for eight days. We want to remind you of our annual one warm coat collection drive. You can donate a new or gently used coat, or other winter items that several bay area locations. You can also make clothing donations at participating ups and big o tire stores. We will be back after the break. [baby crib musical mobile] millions are still exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke. And some of them cant do anything about it. But you can. Protect your family. Visit tobaccofreeca. Com. As we continue to remember the legacy of San Francisco mayor ed lee we look now had his impact on the city. In february, amber lisa done with the mayor to talk about his goals for preserving and improving the city he loved. I get to change a lot of this. Reporter on this great day, the mayor spoke about his long ties to chinatown and his optimism for improving the lives of immigrants. I am glad because of the things we were able to be accomplished. Reporter we spoke with him about an hour inside a restaurant at the busy intersection of broadway and columbus, chosen for its history of giving back to the community. This is why i feel so strongly about protect in our immigrant community and enhancing it and providing it a pathway whether its to citizenship or for economic success. Reporter the mayor said his desire to help immigrants started early. The seattle native graduated from uc berkeley with a law degree. As a young attorney for the asian law caucus, he fought for the rights of immigrants and tenants in the face of racism and exclusion. I wanted to use the law to open up doors for a lot of people who laws prevented them from being successful, being equal and this drives me a lot personally. Reporter and chinatown, he said he came to her. His parents came to america to look for a better life. Their stories echo those of his parents. They came from a small rural village in the Southern Province of china and settled in seattle. That grittiness that my dad had in his life to be able to raise a family of six just being a cook. Reporter and mom worked as a seamstress. The family lived in Public Housing. Pour in material wealth but rich in life lessons. We learned sacrificing in the beginning. We learned modesty. We learned to be humble with people that may have even less. But we also learned how to fight and survive at the same time. Reporter the mayor said his parents immigrant experience is a continuous reminder of the work he still needs to do to improve the lives of all immigrants. One project underway is a renovation of all the citys Public Housing and another goal is to provide more Affordable Housing. As mayor he said the fun part of the job is participating in the Chinese New Year parade, an event he has enjoyed for decades as a behind the scenes volunteer since 1974. He said he helped set up booths and worked logistics. Lee said his favorite part is the audience. I love going through the crowds and singing the different ethnic faces of all the crowds and seeing the 10 rows thick. Reporter whether hes working the parade or at city hall meeting the challenges of running San Francisco or out greeting constituents he takes it all in stride. Some critics suggest the mayor has forgotten his roots and he tells us he wants to be known as the proud son of immigrant parents who has learned to listen, observe and unify. The man who never wanted to be in that office is remember today is a man who did a great job on the second floor there in city hall. We talk about how reluctant he was and how he had to be post. I remember all the facebook groups and videos that came out trying to convince him for mayor when he said he would not. And through the years how he seemed to really embrace and take the role. You heard in an earlier interview where he said three years. Its not enough time to do all the things i want to do but i will do a fast sprint to get it done. Its so shocking to everyone to have this loss of him this morning. And he ran for reelection. You get a sense there was a lot of pride for him representing the city and do a great job. London breed this morning said at city hall that he made it a point for people who live in Public Housing that they are not people who live in Public Housing, they are san franciscans. And that was how we were first introduced to him back in the late 1970s. He organized a tenant strike in Public Housing and chinatown and got them together to demand better rights. There are a lot of people who are still working in those areas and are in the city right now remembering him today and the work that was started well before we knew him as the mayor of San Francisco. At this time we are watching developments in San Francisco. Right now it does appear the honor guard is getting ready to accompany the mayors body to the mortuary in daly city. Lets go back to Christien Kafton outside the medical Examiners Office. We are here in front of the medical Examiners Office. It does appear they are beginning some prestaging that they will need to do to move the mayors body from here from the medical Examiners Office to the mortuary. We now have a pair of San Francisco fire vehicles, hook and ladder truck and a fire engine behind it. Both will be part of the motorcade that will accompany the mayors body from here. We also see a number of San Francisco Police Officers. It may be difficult to see but if we go toward the end of the block you can see that a San Francisco police Motorcycle Unit is there. There are also some Motorcycle Units about 50 yards or so to our left. They are not ready to leave yet but we understand they will be leaving and they will accompany the mayors body on its final journey through San Francisco. At this point in time there is no word on when that will happen and no word at this time when the family will be holding a private or public funeral service. Presumably at some point in time there will be a large public service. Many people want to say their final farewell to mayor ed lee. We will continue to monitor the developments and see what we can find out about how to process how the process will continue and will bring that to you throughout the afternoon. Talk about in terms of how this took everyone by surprise. Everyone had to try to move and get into place. And for the police, the firefighters and Public Officials we have seen this very heavy sense throughout the city. As everyone tries together and do what needs to be done. Whether its taking over the helm and all the precision all logistics. This is a difficult day for many people. Absolutely. I think you hit it. There is a heavy sense of sorrow for many people here. Ive seen lots of Police Officers and sheriffs deputies and firefighters and city officials. All of them have a very heavy expression today. I think its really hitting home. This news struck so suddenly and surprisingly. Nobody anticipated this. There was no indication, to us, that there were any medical issues that the mayor was facing. I think that for everyone, we were all taken by surprise by this. Shock and sorrow and people are trying to navigate their way through this. A lot of people want to pay their respects and say farewell. One of the things you get a sense from amber lees package, you get a sense of the man. What you disagree with him on policy on the way the city is progressing, he was genial and had an infectious smile. He genuinely was interested in what people thought about how he was doing his job. He was genuinely interested in what san franciscans thought and what they were concerned about. Many people want to say their farewells. Thank you. I remember running the mayor down a couple times asking for an interview when he was off to a meeting or just leaving city hall. He was always kind enough to stop. Some individuals in politics sometimes dont stop. For some reason, mayor lee and my interaction with him he was a great man. We would talk about sports. He was a giants fan and he was happy to have the Golden State Warriors agreed to build a new arena in San Francisco. I remember him and those world series parades and the ceo of the giants write out a statement that says he was a true san franciscan who devoted his life to serving our city and supporting those most in need. He was the giants number one fan and we were blessed to have shared so many wonderful memories together. Especially those world series years. And you get a sense of pride and wanted to make things better. He was born in seattle but he spent so much of his adult life in San Francisco. We call him a true san franciscan. Its a complement because he was very active in chinatown and in the chinese immigrant community. He spoke cantonese which is the predominant language spoken in San Francisco. 35 of its population is Asian American
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