San Diego, it's Friday!
The first major storm of the season is settling over San Diego County today, and we’re tracking the rain’s impacts on our region ahead of what’s shaping up to be a very wet weekend.
Plus, a man convicted in a deadly East County hit-and-run is getting out of prison sooner than expected. We’re following through with the victim’s family and their new call for changes to a state law.
Grab that cup of coffee -- here’s everything you need to know to start your day informed and prepared:
THE STREAMLINE:
ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Friday, Nov. 14 -- everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:
TOP STORY:
The San Diego area is in line for a significant soaking from a rainstorm that will begin Friday and linger through the weekend with a potential for cloudbursts, flooding and heavy downpours.
The best chances for rainfall will be across northern areas Friday night into Saturday, with all areas expected to receive moderate to heavy rainfall by early Sunday, increasing the flood threat, said the National Weather Service.
USEFUL RESOURCES: LATEST SAN DIEGO COUNTY WEATHER ALERTS | INTERACTIVE RADAR
Unsettled atmospheric patterns out of the west and north will bring increasing chances for showers to the county beginning Thursday night, with heavy precipitation and possible thunderstorms likely at times late Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, according to the NWS.
RELATED: Free sandbags available at various San Diego County locations
As a result of the weather, the San Diego Housing Commission activated inclement weather shelters across the city. Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of homelessness services nonprofit Father Joe's Villages, welcomed those without shelter.
"Safe and dry shelter can be the difference between life and death for our most vulnerable neighbors, including families, young children and seniors," he said. "Our staff and volunteers work tirelessly throughout every inclement weather period to ensure that people are safe, warm and fed. Last year alone, we provided 4,672 bed nights of inclement weather shelter, which adds up to one person sleeping in one bed per night.
"Along with a bed, those who seek shelter at Father Joe's Villages can speak to staff and be connected to additional services, whether that be behavioral or medical health care, substance use support, job training and case management, to guide them on their journeys to find a permanent home."
A full list of available inclement shelters beds can be found at https://sdhc.org/homelessness-solutions/.
By Sunday morning, the bands of wet clouds will deliver 1.5 to 3 inches of rain along the coast and across the inland valleys, and up to 5 inches in the mountains, forecasters reported. Up to an inch of moisture is expected in local desert communities.
The potential for strong cloudbursts over the period prompted the NWS to issue a flood watch for the San Diego region, effective from late Friday through Saturday evening.
The showers will continue in more scattered fashion Sunday, and additional rainfall will likely fall across the county at times next week, according to the weather service.
Story by City News Service
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS:
Coasts
Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is speeding toward a vote next week on releasing files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a step that comes after months of resistance from Republican leaders.
They have no choice but to allow consideration of the bill after a petition on the measure reached the necessary 218 signatures. It comes at a time when new documents are raising fresh questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email that Epstein wrote to a journalist that said President Donald Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House has accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the Republican president.
Public speculation has been rampant for years about Epstein’s operation, death and connection to powerful and wealthy individuals, including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, tech billionaires and celebrity academics, among others.
Why is the House about to vote?
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced a petition in July to force a vote on their bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The effort was backed by all House Democrats and four Republicans, including Massie and Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
Minutes after Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona was sworn into office Wednesday, she signed her name to the Epstein petition, pushing it to the magic number of 218 — a majority in the 435-member House.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said following Grijalva's swearing-in that he would expedite the petition process to bring a vote on the bill to the House floor early next week.
Johnson has pushed back on claims that he has obstructed the Epstein legislation to protect Trump or others. He told reporters Wednesday that the Republican majority took issue with the phrasing of the measure, which he claimed did not adequately protect victims. Johnson has also pointed repeatedly to the Epstein investigation being conducted by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has resulted in thousands of pages of documents being released, including more than 20,000 on Wednesday.
What does the bill do?
The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted, per the bill.
The department, however, would not be allowed to redact information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
Is it going to pass?
Johnson, who had dismissed the petition as a “moot point,” said he will bring the measure to a vote next week. If everyone who signed the petition supports it on the floor, it will pass.
But the bill appears likely to pick up additional Republican votes — potentially dozens or more — now that it is moving forward. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who did not sign the discharge petition, has said he plans to back it.
The tougher test will come in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53–47 majority and it would likely take 60 votes to move the bill to final passage.
Asked in September whether the Senate would take up the Epstein bill if it passed the House, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said, “I can’t comment on that at this point.”
Thune added that the Justice Department “has already released tons of files related to this matter.”
“I trust them in terms of having the confidence that they’ll get as much information out there as possible in a way that protects the rights of the victims,” Thune said.
Can Trump stop it?
If the measure passes the Senate, it would go to Trump, who almost certainly would veto it. He has opposed the discharge petition from the start, even reaching out Wednesday to two Republicans who had signed it.
“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
A president's veto can be overridden with a two-third vote in both chambers. That has only happened twice since 2009.
Massie said Trump can avoid the entire ordeal by releasing all the Epstein files held by the federal government.
“There’s still time for him to be the hero,” Massie said of Trump.
Story by Matt Brown and Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press
CONSUMER:
As we enter the flu season, the age-old debate between brand name drugs and generic medications resurfaces again.
WATCH — Scripps News Group’s Jane Caffrey talks to one expert to find out if paying the extra costs for a brand name better protects your health:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH:
The family of Austin Spirz is reeling after learning the hit-and-run driver who killed him on Thanksgiving night in 2023 is getting out of prison after serving less than a third of his sentence.
Aubree Pinkston, Spirz’s longtime partner, learned this week that Gary Baker — the man convicted of killing Spirz — will be released in February 2026 despite having been sentenced to just over five years in June 2024.
WATCH — Reporter Michael Chen follows through with Pinkston about the state's decision that she calls "a slap in the face":
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