San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Bay Area colleagues recall working with Kamala Harris
SAN FRANCISCO — On Sunday, President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has deep ties to the Bay Area.
In 1998, Harris became assistant district attorney in San Francisco, prosecuting homicide, sexual assault, burglary and robbery cases. Two years later, Harris began working for then-city attorney Louise Renne, handling child abuse and neglect cases.
“We worked together quite closely during that period of time,” Renne told CBS News Bay Area on Sunday. “I found her very personable. She was easy to get along with. She was a strong person. On the personal level, I know Kamala to be a family person. I know her to be honest. I know her to be straightforward. I know her to be a determined person. I know her to care a lot about the things we as Americans care about: education and equality for everybody.”
Renne, who was the first female city attorney in San Francisco history, said there is one, specific day that is ingrained in her memory while Harris worked for her office.
“When you’re dealing with family and children that are in the court system, obviously it’s not always for pleasant reasons. So when adoptions take place, that was a happy day because children were being adopted into a permanent home situation. So, I remember the first day that Kamala was going to be the head of the court proceeding for adoption. She came into my office with an armful of teddy bears. She said, ‘Louise, come on! It’s adoption day! We’ve got to go over, we’re going to hand out teddy bears!’” Renne said. “To me, that showed a real side of sensitivity and a warmness of heart that I have always remembered.”
Renne endorsed Harris’ bid to become San Francisco district attorney in 2002, a race in which she was the least-known among three candidates who included the incumbent, her former boss, Terence Hallinan.
Harris would win in a 2003 runoff, becoming the first person of color elected as district attorney of San Francisco. She was re-elected to a second term in 2007 after running unopposed.
During Harris’ second term as district attorney, Connie Chan was her aide. Chan, who is currently a San Francisco supervisor representing District 1, joined a long list of Democrats Sunday endorsing Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I am who I am today because of her. She inspired me to run for office but, really, she inspired me to dedicate my life to public service,” Chan told CBS News Bay Area. “She hears everybody out about what the problem is then, on the spot, says ‘OK, then what is our solution today?’ She will not let people walk out of the room until we propose solutions to the problem. This is someone who is going to bring us together to problem solve.”
Chan described Harris as hardworking, analytical and thoughtful.
“She doesn’t just jump into something because a press headline says so. It’s because she has really thought it through and she makes those decisions by putting people first instead of politics,” Chan said.
Renne is waiting for the process to play out before endorsing Harris but said she would not hesitate to support Harris if she’s chosen to be the Democratic nominee.
“If the Democrats select Kamala Harris to be the standard-bearer for the party? Absolutely! And will I campaign on her behalf? Absolutely. I have relatives all over the country. I have people I know all over the country. I would travel on the campaign trail, if need be,” Renne said. “She has a depth of experience of dealing with people at all levels. Not just at the top level but at all levels. When she was in the city attorney’s office, you weren’t dealing with rich people. You were dealing with poor people. You were dealing with families and children in stressful circumstances. So, you could see firsthand what is going on in real life. And I think that’s important for anybody in politics at a high decision level to really have that kind of a broad understanding. And Kamala has that kind of a broad understanding.”
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The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have signed DL Gracen Halton to a four-year deal. With the signing, the 49ers now have all eight of the team’s 2026 draft picks under contract.
Halton (6-3, 293) was the first of two fourth-round draft picks (107th overall) selected by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Oklahoma. He appeared in 47 games (10 starts) over four seasons at Oklahoma (2022-25) and finished with 84 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two passes defensed. In 2025, he appeared in 13 games (seven starts) and tallied 33 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble (returned for a TD), earning Second-Team All-SEC honors. In 2024, he appeared in 13 games (three starts) and recorded 30 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. In 2023, he appeared in 11 games and tallied 11 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. As a true freshman in 2022, Halton appeared in 10 games and recorded 10 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss.
A 22-year-old native of San Diego, CA, Halton attended St. Augustine (San Diego, CA) High School.
San Francisco, CA
Multiple people lose eyes, hands in illegal fireworks-related injuries in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco emergency departments and first responders experienced a sharp increase in serious injuries over the Fourth of July weekend, with illegal fireworks and electric scooter crashes contributing to some of the busiest days in recent years.
At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, medical teams treated a wave of patients suffering severe trauma. In one incident, bystanders rushed to help a person who was bleeding heavily after a hand injury. A 911 dispatcher described the call as “Extreme Trauma. Hand injury.”
Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, said surgeons worked to treat patients with devastating injuries.
“We are able to do a lot with and sometimes save the function of the hand and eye. Unfortunately, there are injuries that exist every year where we are not able to do that even with the expertise that we have,” Colwell said.
MORE: SF police in riot gear crack down on 4th of July illegal fireworks shows: ‘It was crazy’
According to Dr. Colwell, four people lost eyes, five lost hands and at least 15 people suffered serious injuries related to electric scooters over the weekend.
“We saw a lot of electric scooter accidents. And I think part of it was that their traffic was such that that was a more efficient way of getting around town. But we also learned very clearly that the combination of electric scooters and how fast you can go in San Francisco, particularly going downhill along with not wearing a helmet and adding alcohol on board, is a really bad combination,” Colwell said.
ABC7’s data team reviewed San Francisco EMT data and found that medical incidents on July 4 and July 5 were about double the number reported during the same period in 2025.
Lt. Mariano Elias of the San Francisco Fire Department said emergency crews handled significantly more calls than usual.
“We had almost 200 more calls than we normally have so we had roughly 576 calls in a 24-hour period,” Elias said.
MORE: Over 400 people arrested during chaos at Newport Beach July 4th celebrations, police say
Illegal fireworks activity also sparked fires across the city. Firefighters responded to Telegraph Hill, where crews quickly contained a blaze.
“We did have two house fires that night on the 4th of July, due to fireworks activities,” Elias said.
City officials estimated that more than 100,000 people were in San Francisco to watch Fourth of July fireworks, creating traffic congestion that complicated ambulance response efforts.
“All the gridlock between, people coming and going from, the Golden Gate Bridge. The city was very impacted on the streets. So that was an issue. The one particular ambulance did, involve themselves in an accident. So, someone hit the ambulance. So that patient had to be transported and moved to a different ambulance,” Elias said.
First responders warned that illegal fireworks activity typically continues for days after the Fourth of July and urged the public not to take unnecessary risks.
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