♪ we belong ♪ ♪ we belong together ♪ ♪ we belong ♪ hulu on disney+. available with disney bundle. plans starting at $9.99 a month. today on getting answers. electric cars making an impact on the bay area's carbon footprint. we're talking to the lead researcher of a new study about how much these cars are helping out the environment, and you may have heard of san francisco's homeward bound program that provides unhoused people with transportation to be reunited with their families. while the city is no longer tracking where those people are going. why? the standard will join us with what they found. but first up, the oakland a's, they got what they wanted. they

are packing up and leaving the town. we have full coverage on the move out to sacramento. thanks so much for joining us for getting answers today. i'm julian glover. well it is officially official right. the a's rooted in oakland since 1968, will now trade the bay breeze for the state capital. we heard from the team leadership just a short time ago. >> i just want to say how excited i am to be here in west sacramento in sutter health park, uh- celebrating a momentous day for this community and a momentous day for our 123 year old franchise. we're excited to be here for the next three years playing in this beautiful ballpark, but also being able to be able to watch some of the greatest players in baseball. uh- launch home runs out of this very intimate, the most intimate ballpark in all of major league baseball for the

next three years. >> abc seven's casey pratt reported about the rumblings of the team's departure on tuesday, and by this morning, fans and local elected leaders, they were sharing their thoughts about the announcement. >> it's not surprising, you know, and like the song goes, you know, i'm going to i'm going to kiss you. let's just say goodbye and i will miss you. but at the end of the day, it's a business, and it's a business for the, you know, the, the owner. and they're looking for where can they earn the most money? >> casey pratt, the man who's been following this every step of the way, joins us live now from not sacramento, but west sacramento, where the news came down early this morning. casey, any surprises from that team press conference? >> yeah. one of the first things that jumped out to me is that when a's owner, john fisher, showed up and talked about who he's excited to see hitting home runs out of this quaint minor league park, he mentioned aaron judge. he didn't even mention

any players on his own actual team, interestingly, right when the press conference ended, i approached john fisher and his handlers. fisher was not answering questions, and he skedaddled right out of here. so vivek ranadivé, the kings owner, answered questions. a's president dave kaval spent time with me one on one. we can talk about that in a little bit, but there's a stunning lack of accountability from the a's ownership at times like this, when the tough questions need to be answered. and i think that when you see what happened here in sacramento, really what this was was vivek ranadivé, the kings owner, trying to capitalize on an opportunity to grab major league baseball and bring it here. finders keepers. right. possession 9/10 of the law. if baseball's here when vegas flops, hey, maybe they'll stay. or maybe we'll show them that we can be a major league market and we'll get to keep the team the major difference, julian, is the oakland offer was demanding an agreement for expansion. they weren't going to sign anything unless baseball promised them that they would

stay in northern california. the kings owner told me he didn't get any such guarantee. >> that is such an interesting point right there, casey, i know you've been trying to get john fisher for months at this point, right? as these developments have continued to come down when it comes to the a's, we'll talk about what dave kaval told you in just a bit, casey. but i want to just work out the logistics of this deal so we know it's not going to be an easy one. getting the a's to sacramento. they're going to be playing there at sutter health park, where the minor league team currently plays the river cats. but they got to do a lot of upgrades to be able to get up to mlb code. is that even feasible for next season? >> yeah. it's feasible. they've recently renovated the clubhouse areas. there's still a lot more that needs to be done. remember julian, this used to be the triple-a home of the a's before it was the triple-a home of the giants. so back when i was an a's beat writer, i used to spend a lot of time out here, and the players i know i reached out to about this said that the facilities are not adequate.

even with the upgrades. you can't have aaron judge, who apparently is john fisher's favorite baseball player, coming out here and playing in a minor league park, you're going to have to do some things. so right now what we're looking at, julian, is the transformation being completed. the a's now have the lowest payroll in baseball. they traded away all of their stars and now they're playing at a minor league park. the triple a's the most quaint park in all of major league baseball. >> as we heard john fisher say just a few hours ago. okay, so you were able to speak to dave kaval, a's president, after that big press conference. you had some one on one time with him. what did he share with you, casey? >> yeah, to his credit, he went up to a suite. they brought me up there so we could spend some time talking about everything. it has actually been a while since dave kaplan. i connected, believe it or not, because this replies have been turned off and they stopped trying to talk to people out in oakland as they went towards vegas. so, you know, what he'd said to me was just that the deal in oakland simply didn't work out. it wasn't good enough. it wasn't

going to be enough for them to stay in the bay area. and i think the biggest thing i know, money is going to be a huge part. but they kept saying they couldn't guarantee expansion, they couldn't guarantee the name and color. staying in oakland, these weren't things that they were authorized to give up. if major league baseball could see the forest through the trees and recognize an opportunity with all the money in the bay area and actually help facilitate expansion or another ownership group, there's no reason they couldn't get oakland and las vegas. but the problem is they were just so eager to get out the door and find any way to make that happen. and when sacramento kings owner vivek ranadivé put sacramento on the table that undercut the city of oakland's leverage completely, it drove the price down. even late tuesday night, my sources at the city told me that they conceded on a large amount of the money they were asking for the a's for the lease extension. even with that large monetary concession, they were basically just asking for $60 million total over three years. with the expansion guarantee, you got to keep in mind $60 million.

nowadays, that's less than shohei ohtani is making for one season. i mean, it's not a very big gap. so the a's chose to come here. no details were given about the tv contract negotiations or what the actual terms were. vivek did tell me when i talked to him three years with a possible extension for a fourth year of vegas isn't ready to go, but this is not a permanent solution. no matter how they want to see it. vivek can say, we're going to get people here. we're going to show them we're a major league market and maybe we'll get to keep baseball. he got no such assurances. all this did was put the a's directly in the path of getting las vegas completed. that is it. it granted them amnesty at a time when they were backed against the wall, because they absolutely needed to figure out where their home for next year would be. it's 2024. they're playing their season now. up until today, they didn't even know where they were going to play next year. major league baseball not happy about that julian. >> yeah, i imagine so. >> so much of this is still up in the air and it clearly looks

like the team tried to just move quickly, right. to find a home for the 2025 season. very interesting that you think ranadivé is kind of power grab if you will, right. trying to lure the a's to sacramento or west sacramento, i should say for a bit. uh- really won't be something that can have some legs to it that can stand beyond three years, maybe a fourth year if it goes to that. casey i know you're so plugged in with the fans, so i just want to ask you what you've been hearing from fans. i know you were out at the home opener last week. they were staying in the parking lot, not going inside of the stadium, trying to show john fisher you're making the wrong call, man. what have you been hearing from the fans out there today? >> the fans are just passionate and engaged. they're not happy. i think you have to understand that there's a lot of nuance to the situation out here. if you're watching at home, you got to remember the sacramento kings were almost ripped out of this very market to seattle. they were on the ropes, their broadcasters were crying on the air. kings fans rallied, their

mayor rallied. the commissioner at the time rallied. they saved this team. vivek ranadivé was a hero who saved this team. he also runs this minor league ballpark. so what he did was very opportunist. tick kings fans. most of them are also a's fans. so they've dealt with this firsthand. they've seen how vicious and grueling it is when a team is about to be ripped away from your market. they've seen their owner save that team, and now what he's done here in sacramento by undercutting oakland's leverage and bringing them here to this market, it's completely the opposite, right? like he's taken all the goodwill he had with the fans and he's tossed it. i don't think anybody quite expects how muddy this process is. and when you get in bed with the team that's trying to do what they're doing in oakland and moving it to vegas, you're not going to escape from that clean julian. so he's taking a big hit right now. the fans are upset. kings fans are upset. everyone's upset. but there is general excitement in

sacramento. mlb being in sacramento should be something that everyone's excited about able to celebrate. but in this context, it's almost impossible to feel good about it. it just feels dirty. >> only a few seconds left to your kc, and i know we're going to see you later on on abc seven news at four, five and six, but if you could rub that crystal ball in a few seconds, do you think that there is a shot at all of getting a an expansion team into oakland in the near future? part of. >> yeah, part of my back and forth with vivek ranadivé was he said that he believes that they will be able to show that this is a major league market, that rob manfred, the commissioner of baseball, told him he wants mlb to be back in california if he's removing a team, they might expand to nashville, maybe expand here after vegas. there is a chance, but it's a tough chance. julian, because you're telling me now sacramento has to pack this place for three straight years when they're being offered the lowest paying team in baseball, a team with no stars, a team with the worst record in baseball. you're going to have to show up and eat all

that up, because if you don't, you're not considered a major league market. i think that's unfair for the people of sacramento. >> so much left to be told here. and of course, casey, we will be following your reports every step of the way. we'll see you back here on abc seven news at four. casey pratt live for us out there in west sacramento. we appreciate it. yep. all right. coming up here on getting answers. new research from uc berkeley shows electric cars might actually be making a significant dent in reducing our carbon footprint. the lead you got it? let's go back to the beginning. are you... your electric future. customized. the fully-electric audi q4 e-tron. get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. ♪ ♪

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study from uc berkeley is shedding some light on this issue. joining us live now is the study's lead researcher, professor ronald cohen. professor, thanks so much for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> of course, this is such a fascinating study, and we want to get into the findings of it now. it really sounds like it's a positive step for how much of an impact electric cars could be making. can you break down the numbers for us? what exactly did you find in this study? >> so what we found was that the total amount of co2 emitted in the bay area has been decreasing by about 2% per year, and the state's goals call for a little more than 3.5% per year. so we're well on the way to achieving the state's goals for, getting to zero emissions by 2045. >> and so what else might we need to do, right, to kind of get us even closer in line to that 3% number that you

mentioned? that's what the state wants us to, be in line with when it comes to reducing those carbon emissions. >> so our emissions fall broadly into three categories transportation, indoor facilities and home and commercial heating. and so we need to make additional progress in all three of those areas. we need, to continue this incredible revolution in electric vehicles and bring that also to the trucking industry. we'll need to transform our homes from natural gas use to electric appliances and elec heat and hot water, and we'll need to shift our heavy industry to things that use less co2. >> and certainly all priorities here for the state of california. what was so interesting about this study is that you controlled for a lot of other external factors to what you all were looking at, which was specifically the decrease in

emissions from cars because of electric vehicles. when i saw the headline, i was thinking i wonder if the decrease in traffic that we saw, especially during the height of the covid 19 pandemic attributed to this, but you all found that it was not the case, right, that you were able to control for those factors. >> that's right. we did see that, you know, as we all know, when we weren't driving and we were staying at home during the height of the covid pandemic, there were less emissions for those few weeks, but we didn't stay home long enough to make a difference. long terme. and so what we see now is that over the full five years, which includes those covid years, but up through the end of 2022, we see a steady decrease in emissions from transportation. we see that the emissions per mile driven are decreasing faster than the total emissions, so that cars are getting more fuel efficient and electric cars are driving that. overall decrease.

>> curious if you might be looking to expand this study? it's my understanding that this was just focused on the bay area. i believe about 50 centers across the bay area. are you all looking to expand the study to other parts of the state, perhaps even the country? >> that's right. so, we started here to learn how to make these measurements and to do an analysis that reports on co2, but we now have additional pilot studies in los angeles, providence, rhode island, and glasgow and scotland. and we're looking to grow with partners, everywhere across the world. >> it's really interesting. i think we are in a bit of a bay area bubble right here. we see a lot of folks that are driving electric cars. perhaps you even drive one, but anytime you're on the freeway, you definitely see like, wow, another electric car, another tesla. do you think that

other parts of the state, even other parts of the country, would fare as well as we do here in the bay area when it comes to the adoption of evs? we know there's a been a big, federal push to try and make them more attractive to folks with these rebate incentives, but what do you think? yeah. >> so i think i was i hadn't looked at the adoption until we wrote this paper. so it turns out here in the bay area, about for a little more than 4.5% of cars are electric and hybrid electric. that's almost double the rate in southern california, and certainly much more than other parts of the country. but i think our success here will be a model for other people, and they will follow our lead, you know, adopting electric cars hasn't changed anyone's way of

life that you'd notice in the bay area, and it's doing, as see it's dropping co2 dramatically. so bringing, climate benefits as we go forward very there if we contine and stay attached to the goal. >> all right. and once again, the bay area being early adopters, proving how good and beneficial it can potentially be for the environment, professor cohen, we really appreciate your time. thanks for joining us. >> thank you so much for having me. >> san francisco's homeward bound program provides unhoused people with a one way ticket to leave

thousands of unhoused people travel back to their home and be reunited with their out of town families. but two years ago, the program stopped keeping data on the people they are trying to help, essentially saying, so long and good luck out there. our media partner at the sf standard took a deep dive into the issue. is homeward bound lack of tracking system a problem, and if so, why? joining us live now with more insight is standard reporter garrett lahey. garrett, we appreciate you being here. >> thanks for having me. >> so first, can you just give us a background of the homeward bound program? how does it work and when did this start? >> yeah. so the homeward bound program started in 2005, i believe it was mayor then mayor gavin newsom who had started it. and what it is, is basically it's a way to help connect people who are unhoused on on the city streets with family elsewhere in the country. and the idea is, you know, instead of having the city provide aid here, they can be reconnected with their families at home, wherever that is, to have them be cared for over there. and

it's a one way bus ticket train or plane to get them to wherever their family is. and so it's been going on since 2005. but the city stopped keeping track of where they were sending these people in june 2022. >> so it's been around for almost 20 years this homeward bound program and can you give us an idea of how much money san francisco spent on the program since just june of 2022, when they stopped tracking where they were sending people? >> yeah. so since then, they've spent just over $202,000 on the program since june 2022, and that's equates to about 400 people that they've helped move elsewhere back to, you know, family out of, you know, within california or out of out of state. so about $202,000. and that equates to about 400 uh- one way tickets, as it were. >> we've heard a lot of pundits, you know, and even some electeds here in san francisco say a large portion of the unhoused

population isn't from san francisco. what does the most recent survey actually show when it comes to how many people had an address here in the city? >> yeah. so that survey is one where people who are unhoused are actually asked where their, you know, if they had a address in san francisco previously before they became homeless and what the survey found was that 71% of respondents who were unhoused said that they had an address in san francisco, meaning they were san francisco residents before they became unhoused. but that number, as you mentioned, you know, that's kind of come into question for one reason. it's because the data is self-reported. so, you know, it's not always it may not be the most objective survey in the eyes of some who might someone who might be skeptical about whether these folks are being completely honest, for example. >> sure. and now to the million dollar question here, garrett, why did the homeward bound program stop collecting the data on where homeless people were being sent in early 2022 with like, what's the benefit of not

collecting the data there? >> well, you know, unfortunately , you know, for my colleague david, who actually did the story, what what the reason was because, well, actually, we don't know the reason. that's that's what it is, was david had asked the city's homeless department, you know, why has this not been tracked since june 2022? and the department never actually elaborated on why that is. so that big question, unfortunately went unanswered. >> and it's such an interesting thing to stop collecting, right? >> it seems to be me. at least it would be pretty easy to say we're buying this person a bus ticket to go hear a plane ticket to go there, a train ticket to go here. let's continue to collect that data. i do quickly want to ask you about the recent legislation that was passed to expand the homeward bound program. what changes will that bring about? >> so that's the good news, is that the you know, first of all, this data will be tracked again starting in july. and that's part of legislation, as you mentioned, to expand the program

and what namely will do was legislation that was passed by the board of supervisors, and it will expand the homeward bound program to not only people who are, you know, living on the streets, but also people who are in shelters and permanent supportive housing because they're unhoused folks, too. they just aren't living outside in the elements. so those folks will be eligible for the homeward bound program starting in july. >> okay. well, we will see how the program expands and if it will continue to stop collecting the data of where they're sending folks. garrett leahy over at the sf standard, we appreciate you joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> of course, you can check out this story. and more of the san francisco standard's other original reporting. it's on their

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seriously consider reparations for the legacy of slavery and decades of policies that excluded and harmed black californians. one of the bills currently being considered is an apology to the black community. in a new abc seven originals documentary, i'm sharing the stories of families who could be repaired by reparations and the lawmakers trying to make it a reality. let's start with that apology. do you think that there is the political will here in the capitol to even get an apology passed? >> i think there is a will. i think we have a governor who understands the importance of apology. now and i hope our colleagues in the legislature, both in the assembly and the senate, will see the importance of that as well. if reparations in california stops there with the apology, what will it say to the people here in california? i'd say we're not serious. >> so why should california be on the hook for reparations? >> find out and explore the

journey of the first and only state level reparations task force in the documentary california's case for reparations. it's available right now on abc seven news.com. and wherever you stream abc seven news. that will do it for getting answers. world news tonight with david muir is up next. i'll see you back here at 4 p.m. >> take care. tonight, breaking news. the deadly storms in the northeast. trees down on homes. one crashing into a pro pain tank, leading to a deadly home explosion. and in new york city, the close call. authorities say a southwest flight came dangerously close to the control tower. you will hear what air traffic controllers start saying. first tonight, that powerful and deadly nor'easter slamming the northeast, blinding rain, dangerous winds. and in some places tonight, more than a foot of snow. a tree falling on a propane tank, then the explosion. the home destroyed. lightning striking the statue of liberty. more than a half million without power tonight.