abc 7 news reporter wayne friedman is on the story. >> reporter: you're looking at the largest early voter turnout in marin county history with more than 100,000 ballots cast already. that's more than half the registered voters. panner lowe was one of them today but after talking with us she did have some questions. >> are you worried? >> well, now i am. >> reporter: and all because of her signature. this is how she signed her driver's license. and now on the ballot you'll see it's definitely changed. will this vote even count? >> how will i know? >> reporter: the answer begins inside the marin county civic center with a sorting machine nicknamed betsy ross. every incoming early ballot goes through here. >> we get three passes. three passes total. >> but not three votes? >> but not three votes, no. but not three votes. only one vote. >> reporter: once every second the machine scans signatures and compares them with a data base. roughly 25% do not make the first cut. just because these ballots are challenged doesn't mean they're disqualified. they move on. this is a process. >> i just

abc 7 news reporters laura anthony and wayne friedman are checking in on customers affected in the east bay and north bay. let's begin with abc 7 meteorologist drew tuma and the forecast. the red flag warning still on. >> yeah, that's right, kristen. frequently gusting over 50 miles per hour. still some isolated gusts out there right now. you can see fairfield, tracking that fire, winds gusting to 30 miles per hour. 24 the current wind gust in santa rosa. elsewhere, the winds not as strong. in our hills right fierce as they were earlier this morning, but still of concern. you can see winds gusting 15 to 35 miles per hour. not only the wind, bone-dry air. look at relative humidity in the single digits across much of the bay area. so we have that red flag warning that will continue along the coast and the lower elevations until 5:00 p.m., for the next hour. however, it will be extended until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow for the north bay mountains and the east bay hills. kristen, we're going to hour by hour show you those winds over the next 24 hours in the accuweather forecast in a few minutes. >>

>> when we find piggy one way or another. >> reporter: in sonoma county, wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> maybe, hopefully somebody took piggy smalls in and we'll now see the story and hopefully they'll be reunited, dan. >> let's hope. piggy looks extremely sweet. with any luck he is okay. we'll continue to keep tabs. >>> up next local experts weigh in on a vaccine advisory committee meeting. their concerns and the veterans that never quit on their team. when being a fan gets tough, and stretching your budget gets even tougher... ...our agents put in the time and legwork for you, ...so saving on auto insurance is easy. because saving a little extra goes a long way. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. >>> today remdesivir became the first and only drug to be approved by the fda as a covid-19 treatment. the antiviral drug is from gilead sciences in foster city. abc 7's special correspondent explains what the drug can and can't do. >> the most important thing people need to understand is remdesivir an antiviral isn't necessarily a cure. it doesn't matter what the president said. it

abc 7 news reporter wayne friedman explains. >> reporter: sonoma county. color it purple. and that's not political. in this era of covid purple might as well be the scarlet letter. >> we're like living in a cartoon. >> reporter: with so many other counties moving to less risky tiers, sonoma county remains an exception. it is still purple. an infection rate of more than 5% and heading in the wrong direction. among people in this county it's taking a toll. >> how much sleep did you get last night? >> 30 minutes. >> reporter: kayla moore of santa rosa raising three kids on her own, keeping them at home every day for distance learning and working the graveyard shift every night. >> kids deserve to be in school. they need to be in school because it's messing with their mental health. it's not okay. my daughter's not okay. and i'm not okay. >> reporter: since sonoma's numbers spiked the county has increased free testing, especially in high risk neighborhoods with $30 gift cards as incentives. if somebody comes up positive the county will pay them to stay at home. >> if you get c

abc 7 news reporter wayne friedman has more on what investigators said today. he joins us live from napa. wayne? >> reporter: they call it -- this happened a week ago last monday night. the napa county sheriff's department does have a policy of showing body cam videos after such incidents. you're going to see it here, and i need to warn you it's unpleasant and it's quite graphic. >> stop. stop! >> reporter: nine days later you see here bodycam footage from what the napa county sheriff's department describes as an unfortunate but justified shooting of 47-year-old juan garcia. toxicology would show he had a blood alcohol level of .338. four times the legal limit. the sheriff's department says sergeant david ackman, a 21-year veteran, feared for his life, suspected garcia might be carrying a weapon. he fired six times. [ gunshots ] >> shots fired. shots fired. >> you shoot until the threat is eliminated. and that's what he did. >> reporter: attorneys for the family are not so sure. based on the video, they do not believe the sergeant gave mr. garcia enough time or

in napa wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >>> the arrests of 125 undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities in california. i.c.e. released this video today of the week-long operation that ended alast saturday. some raids took place in bay area cities including daly city and this one in san francisco where a man was arrested for having two duis. federal immigration officials say agents focused on cities with sanctuary policies and on people who were arrested for crimes but were released despite having immigration detainers against them. san mateo county supervisor david canaba responded to the raids today saying "this sweep is another political ploy by the trump administration to undermine california's statewide sanctuary law. these raids tear apart the lives of hard-working immigrants and their families, who contribute vitally to the state's economy and culture." >>> state lawmakers demanded answers from the e.d.d.'s top officials today on why thousands are still waiting for benefits while fraud remains rampant. it happened at an assembly hearing and 7 on your side's michael finney is live