Evening. Thank you for joining us. Im dan ashley, and im ama daetz. Although mail in ballots are popular and more convenient, some people still made time to vote or drop off their ballot in person, saying taking part in the democratic process was important to them. Im just doing my duty. I want to see changes. I mean, good changes come in my neighborhood for my society and for the people that you know that live in the city. So i have to do this so they see a change and for the Better Future for our children generally. I think you should get off your butt and vote, okay, if you can. I know a lot of folks think that their their vote does not count, but it definitely does. And so i always like to say at the local level, thats where you always get stuff done. If you havent voted yet, polls are open until 8 00 tonight. You can also hand deliver your mail in ballot at a drop box. County Election Office or polling place, as long as its delivered by 8 00 tonight. If you prefer to mail it, your ballot must be postmarked today. However, keep that in mind and if you havent registered, you can still vote in the next three hours with a provisional ballot. So even if youre unregistered, you can take part. Thats true. And we have live abc seven News Team Coverage this Election Night on some of the biggest races. Reporter cornell bernard is covering the race to fill one of californias senate seats. Well get to that. But lets begin with abc seven News Reporter zach fuentes on the effort to fill californias 16th Congressional District in the east being vacated by congresswoman anna eshoo. Zach. Yeah, thats right, with anna as she having announced her retirement. This is the first time in more than three decades that this congressional seat is opening up, and the list of candidates Going Forward is long. The three front runners, though, are democrats, many of them familiar names throughout this 16th Congressional District, san jose state political professor Melinda Jackson gave a rundown of three of them. Weve got sam liccardo, former mayor of san jose, served two terms in san jose. Great name recognition in the south bay. Pretty popular mayor. We have evan low, whos currently in the state assembly, was a former mayor of campbell, also, you know, good name recognition in that part of the district. And then we have joe simitian, who has also had a long political career, served at the state assembly at the county level, but his base of support is a little bit further up the peninsula. So you have kind of, you know, these three democrats sort of with their their home base in different parts of the district. So those might be the candidates with the most name recognition in the race. Theyve not necessarily raised the most money. According to opensecrets. Org. Org, its newcomer democratic candidate peter dixon, who has raised the most with more than 2. 7 million. Liccardo, low and simitian followed in second, third and fourth. When it comes to fundraising. So political expert jackson, who you just heard from there, says name recognition might go a lot farther with the people who tend to turn out in primary elections than campaign dollars. Remember, the top two candidates move on to the general election polls closed tonight at eight. We will be hearing more from the candidates throughout the evening, but right now live in palo alto. Zach fuentes, abc seven news. Zach, thank you so much. One of the biggest races facing all california voters is a u. S. Senate contest. 27 candidates filled fillled to fill the seat of late democratic senator dianne feinstein, who died last fall. But four leading contenders are hoping for victory, including east bay congresswoman barbara lee. Abc7 News Reporter cornell bernard is live in the newsroom with more cornell. Im barbara lee is the highest ranking black woman in congress, but shes an underdog in this race, currently trailing in the polls behind her rivals new numbers from the political analysis site fivethirtyeight show poll averages for the primary. The frontrunner appears to be adam schiff, who was polling around 25, putting him a bit ahead of former Major League Baseball player steve garvey at 20, followed by katie porter with 18 and barbara lee roughly at 9. Lee has been representing californias 12th district in oakland and the east bay since 1998. She told the new yorker magazine. Shes always been behind in the polls because shes not on tv all the time. Lee has been a longtime advocate of Racial Justice and worked to pass protections for women and the lgbtq community. But her positions have not always been popular. Professor nolan higdon, from cal state east bay, says lee holds a pivotal legacy in the democratic party, not only because she was able to win a seat in congress but maintain her political stance. So barbara lee, really, throughout her career, kept those progressive positions. Uh as early as being one of the lone members to vote against the authorization of the us military in afghanistan during the war on terror. Uh followed that up by voting against the war in iraq, which may not seem like a big deal now, but to people who are alive at the time, you know, the context was that people were almost talked about as if they were traitors to the country for not supporting that war. So it was a very brave act from a young congressperson. And lee has not come close to her rivals. Campaign fundraising. Federal election filings show that as of last month, schiff had brought in 31 million, while katie porter collected 16 million. Thats compared to 4. 8 million for barbara lee and about 6 million for steve garvey in the newsroom. Cornell bernard, abc seven news. Okay, cornell. Thank you. Stay with abc seven news for our Election Night coverage. We have a team of reporters and experts across the bay area to keep an eye on the races that matter to you the most. And tonight at nine, you can watch results of the california primary streaming anywhere you watch abc seven news, bay area online at abc seven news. Com, and on your abc seven news app. All right, lets move on. For the time being, an arrest has been made in the death of a beloved corner store clerk owner in oakland. Oakland police say a juvenile is in custody in connection with the homicide of majid alhasani. The Alameda CountyDistrict Attorneys Office filed charges against the juvenile for their involvement in the crime, which happened back in january. As we reported at the time, the clerk was shot in a corner store on linden street during a suspected robbery and was pronounced dead shortly after at a nearby hospital. A san pablo man is facing two counts of murder in the mysterious disappearance of his wife and mother in law six months ago, 40 year old toll lay and her mother, 74 year old tran, have been missing for nearly six months. Police are now asking for the publics help. Abc seven News ReporterLeslie Brinkley explains why this 40 year old mother, toe lay and her 74 yearold mom, tran, mysteriously vanished from their san pablo home in september. Lays husband, phuc vo, reported them missing. Mr. Vo, you know, had called us to report that his wife and her mother had left the residence after a family argument, and he hadnt seen them. Police treated it as a missing persons case and followed up on them voluntarily traveling to southern california. But evidence wasnt adding up until december, when investigators pointedly asked vo if he had seen his wifes honda fit since they disappeared. Have you seen that car at all . No. Probably says no. He said no. And then that same day, mr. Vo is seen entering, you know, his wifes vehicle and actually driving away. Police said that made vo a person of interest in by last week, they served a search warrant at the familys home in san pablo with the help of other local Law Enforcement agencies, vo was arrested. And yesterday, the contra costa District Attorney charged him with two counts of murder with special circumstance enhancements. Hes being held in the martinez jail. Police say this tragedy extends to the suspect in the victims two Elementary School aged children, who are caught in the middle of this homicide and are now living with other family members. As of now, you know, the victims have not been located, were still. You know, actively processing, you know, evidence following up on leads. San pablo police are asking for the publics help in figuring out a motive and where the bodies of the two missing women might be located. They say the couple had financial problems. Is mr. Vo being cooperative and offering information on what happened to them, he has not been forthcoming with this information, with information on you know, what may have occurred or where, where the victims may be located in san pablo im Leslie Brinkley, abc seven news. A san mateo judge will hold a status hearing for convicted murderer scott peterson. Its believed to be in response to a group called the la Innocence Project requesting more evidence from the original trial. They claim to have newly discovered evidence supporting petersons claim of innocence in the death of his wife, laci, and their unborn son back in 2002. New uncertainty in the case of the 81 year old man accused of hitting and killing cycling champion ethan boys last year in the presidio, the chronicle reports. Prosecutors told a judge yesterday they are close to a deal that would reduce the felony vehicular manslaughter and dui charges against suspect arnold low to misdemeanors. Low would face a maximum of a year in jail, according to the chronicle. The judge seemed incredulous about the possible deal. Low is expected back in court on march 18th. Still ahead, could another luxury designer in San Franciscos union square be leaving soon . The other company, now reportedly looking to sell its four Story Building and new renderings, just released today on what the as new stadium could look like in las vegas. Las vegas. The as released renderings today of the ballpark project. The 33,000 seat stadium will have a roof that opens to a view of the las vegas strip. The stadium is also designed to include an 18,000 square foot jumbotron, which would make it the largest screen in Major League Baseball. Construction is set to begin in april of next year. Another big retailer may be considering leaving San Franciscos union square. The San Francisco chronicle is reporting that luxury designer burberry is looking to sell its location on post street. Its a 17,000 square foot space right in the heart of union square. As you probably know, the asking price is unclear, but building the building last sold in 2001 for more than 16 million. The newspaper also reports burberry has found a possible new location at geary and grant street, and is considering leasing the building on post. Credit card fees will soon cost you less. The Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau made it official today, cutting the typical late fee of 32 down to eight. The agency estimates the new maximum fee rule will save americans 10 billion every year, an average savings of 220 a year. Credit card debt is currently at an all time high, with the average American Family owing 6,000. The new rules take effect in about 60 days. Now, this comes as President Biden gets ready to deliver his state of the Union Address on thursday. This afternoon, the president posted this photo with the caption state of the union prep. Get ready, folks. A notable guests include women who fled their states for abortion services. The first person born via in vitro fertilization, and families of hostages being held in gaza to watch thursdays state of the Union Address. Just stay with us here at abc seven. Well bring it to you live. Our coverage begins at 6 p. M. Coming up. In addition to the recent blizzard in the sierra, california has experienced two winters of major storms. So what does it mean for a reservoir . Is it giving people lots of great food for 6 dollars, and letting them choose between two delicious sandwiches . Great idea, devon. Run with it that went well. And you run and get my 6 jack pack. Welcome to jack in the box my french toast sticks are back starting at 2. 50. Now with a sweet new twist Cinnamon Sugar churro. Dunk, bite and savor them any time of day. Or all day its totally up to you. Only for a limited time. Welcome to jack in the box instagram users. Outage tracker. Down detector says as many as half a million users reported issues logging in or accessing the sites shortly after six this morning. The platforms were down for about two hours. Cal state east bay professor of Communications Grant keene says the outage, happening on the morning of election day will likely raise some questions. It comes at a time when we are so aware of the role that technology and social media are playing in our lives, and the decisions that we make and Something Like this at this time when were already, aware of whats going on, some of the issues of particularly with ai and, conflict in the world, it really is something that weve come to rely on. And so it feels uncertain, he says. Social media platforms are often vague about the cause of these kinds of outages. Until they are sure the problem is fixed. Across california, reservoir levels and the snowpack are sitting at or above historic averages. Thats due in large part to the major storms weve seen over the last two winters, including the recent blizzard in the sierra, which really helped. Abc7 news south bay reporter Dustin Dorsey explains what that might mean for the drought as we go forward. Rain can be inconvenient, but its worth it, especially here in california, where we once lived in a seemingly never ending drought. But two years of major storms allow. Accuweather meteorologist to say the golden state may stay drought free for a while. The plentiful rain and mountain snow of the recent years sets the groundwork for accuweathers forecast of no widespread drought in california for the next two years into for all of 2025 and into the early part of 2026. Accuweather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter is confident in his forecast for four main reasons. Reservoirs are averaging around 118 of long terme historic average, thanks in part to storms of 2023. This year, weve seen near to above normal rain through february and the recent blizzard in the sierra helped push the state above historic averages as well, and both rain and snow are projected to stay that way. This month. Abc7 news meteorologist drew tuma says this puts the state in a great position. Weve had two very good winters that has set the stage for keeping our reservoirs full during the summer and our snowpack is at a very healthy rate. That will have good snow melt during the summer and into the fall, which should help to keep our water supply sufficient. An Important Note accuweather projects no widespread drought conditions, but things may still run dry at a local level. Valley waters matt keller feels good about the water in the bank, but knows Climate Change could quickly impact water supply. We had that record breaking dry start to the year in 2022, and we had that snowpack melt in 2021, so weve seen extreme weather events recently. While we do, you know, we can look forward to two years and have high hopes. We also know that we just need to be prepared. Preparation is always key as drew says a la nina next year may lead to a drier than average winter, but theres still plenty of reason for optimism after two wet years. Dustin dawsey, abc seven news that is reassuring. It is. I always conserve, though. I dont care how much rain we get, how much water anyway because its just good practice. Its good to do all right, but it is nice to see sandia that weve had such a big change in our water supply last couple of years. Yeah and really just productive last couple of winters. Dan and ana, the good thing is, is always a good idea to conserve, as i mentioned, because some years we can go with not much rain at all. And weve experienced this right now. Let me show you some live pictures. A preview of whats to come. There is some sun showing up from pier 39 to santa cruz, even Oakland Airport and tahoe. So some beautiful views, but we cant get to the sun just yet. First we have to deal with the showers. So let me show you live doppler seven. We do have spotty showers right now. Theyre not widespread. Theyve been like this all day long. Fairfield sassoon city heading across 80 so far 2000 400 of an inch of rain in the last 24 hours in santa rosa, two hundredths in san o, down the peninsula from stanford to palo alto, sand hill road, you are seeing some light showers. And around castro valley. 580 so the commute will be impacted as we are dealing with minimal impacts , but certainly impacts from the wet weather. Here is the reason why were seeing it. Area of low pressure off the california coast. The water vapor imagery really shows it well. Its really just providing the lift to the moisture. Most of that moisture is up around northern california, where they are seeing the rain and the snow over the higher terrain temperatures right now in the 50s and 60s. Gorgeous view from santa cruz. Camera tomorrow. Off and on, showers thursday and friday. Its going to turn sunnier and milder. And this weekend, dont forget to spring forward on sunday. Oscar sunday is when we go to Daylight Saving time. Just a reminder though, it is going to be unsettled this weekend. Ill show you that accuweather seven day in just a moment tonight and tomorrow were going to go wi