get to china by city officials and then in this case, we have the call waste folks who are also the heads of the vietnamese american business association. and they were one of the supporters of that trip. >> right. the trip last year to vietnam that mayor tao was a part of. other city officials on that trip, there were members from the port and the port commission, because it was a trade trip. >> i don't know of any other elected officials that were on the trip. >> okay. so let's just say we don't know. again, we need to preface that, you know, but if

it has something to do with the trip, would there ordinarily be on such a trip gifts, for example, that you would then need to disclose as a publicly elected official? >> that's there's those if you are receiving gifts or uh- stays at hotels or anything like that, you are supposed to report it. now that's on the local, on the national, there's a question about if you received a gift or something like that and something happened down the line. favorable. is that is there a question there? all of this is yet to be sorted out, but i will tell you that right now, this puts the mayor in a very uncomfortable position. just this week, the recall drive to take her out of office in november qualified for the ballot in november, and the fbi is not going to resolve these chances are not going to resolve this case between now and the election. so she's just going to be out there. >> this is going to take quite some time. right. and of course, the fbi is saying very little right now. and she herself has not said anything publicly today. no. >> or made an appearance that's a bit unusual. yes. i've tried

to contact her staff. we've been trying to get any kind of statement. she canceled appearances and we don't know where she is. and it's unusual not to hear at least something from somebody saying. but then, on the other hand, i got to say, i can't remember the last time a mayor's house was raided by the fbi where it's just it's just unheard of. yeah. >> and i got to ask you if the threshold is any higher. obviously, they had to have a search warrant, and they were granted the search warrant because they had something, what is could that be something? >> and i'm wondering, you know, well, we don'tnow what the s kne something is, but we do know that that theore lawmakers are not given any special preference or, held to a any other type of standard than the average person . >> however, the fbi and the federal offices are cognizant of the press surrounding something like this. so they do not do it just willy nilly, we were also initially we heard that the city hall perhaps was also searched or some offices there. do you know anything about that? >> i heard that possibly that

occurred. i don't have any idea of what offices were searched or whose offices were searched. right now it appears to be, confined to the mayor or possibly her boyfriend. whoever is the residents of that address and the waste company officials. >> right. we don't have any confirmation that her boyfriend is a target. >> no, we have no. and he's not a public official on the search warrant. what? we had was a location where they went. and this was this was the location. >> let's talk a little bit more about, you know, other than that trip to vietnam that the gangs were active in arranging, what about weren't alone. >> other groups helped helped arrange it. >> right. we should say that. and then. but the fact that calloway's solutions is a vendor for oakland. right. does that make people look a little deeper at any relationship? yes. possibly. absolutely. >> because it's a contract. what you have are these we had the same sort of situation in san francisco. the city's award, an exclusive contract to that group to perform a service. then they

build the public for it and uh- uh- california waste solutions has had controversy in the past over its billing, resulting in lawsuits for an allegations that they were overbilling landlords and some property owners in oakland. so any sort of back and forth between a vendor for a city and city officials does subject it to scrutiny. >> i want to ask you, if you think oakland as a city has had issues of this type before. you've been in the bay area a long time, you know, is there any reason? well, there were an investigation was launched earlier, a couple of years back by the city's ethics commission alleging that possibly members of the duong family, possibly, laundered or used straw people to make contributions to local officials. >> that was one allegation. so it is still been on quite a bit. yes this this it's an ongoing investigation. but no, i can't recall anything like this in oakland. >> right. what else can you tell

us about the headlines that the family, the duong's and callaway solutions have been in a part of? >> well, first of all, there was the question of the bid itself. they are a minority owned contract. it was a big push at city hall to get it awarded. they are an innovative company. they are most very well thought of. they not a lot of complaints about them. there are back and forth, like i said, between some people who felt that they were getting overcharged and the courts did side with them, but it's not. we haven't had labor troubles with them or anything like that. okay, phil, don't go away because i want to talk to you more about the political ramifications. >> as you refer to the recall coming up for mayor tao and a whole lot more with regard today's breaking news of the fbi and other federal agencies raiding the home of mayor chen tao.

continuing our coverage now of today's breaking news story. and we have a map of the locations. but there were raids across oakland today by the fbi. says u.s. postal service involved. and this is centered on mayor chantelle of oakland, her home on maiden lane was raided. fbi agents took away a whole boxes of things. and, phil, you were here for all that. and of course, other offices raided include those for cal way solutions, which has a contract with the city of oakland. so let's just briefly, you know, talk about what this means. chen tao hasn't been on the scene all that long. she's only been mayor since last year. and before that city council. not too long. right. what's her background? what's her story? >> well, she's from the central valley and she moved to oakland, and she's a single mom. she was in an abusive relationship for a while. she was even homeless. but nonetheless, she got herself through college, and she

eventually became an aide to councilwoman rebecca kaplan. and then when a seat opened up in the montclair area unexpectedly, she ran for that and she was elected. and then she was elected oakland in a very tight race. mayor of oakland in a very tight race. she doesn't have a lot of base in oakland, as they say in the business. she's not necessarily well known, but she was a lot of people's second choice for mayor, and she won. >> it was ranked choice voting, but no sooner had she won the election, then she the skies just started falling in on her. >> the first was the firing of police chief leronne armstrong. it was a question about whether she acted quickly. she acted appropriately on that or she was overreacting to a federal monitors. possible pressure, that set off a snowballing effect. the african american community was very in favor of lauren armstrong. they were upset about that. there was a missed deadline for state funds for public safety that started things rolling. and then we had the whole oakland a's leaving the howard terminal. and

meanwhile, also crime snowballing in oakland as well. you put those together and it's a hard combination for basically a rookie mayor. >> it certainly is. i mean, even just yesterday at a juneteenth event in oakland, 16 people were shot and one person severely assaulted. today the police officer's association just put out harsh words for city leaders. they didn't name leaders. but she is, of course, the top city leader. so with all these headwinds and as you mentioned, the recall petition signatures just got verified. what does this mean for her? what when is she going to face the voters? >> well, she faces the voters probably in november and it won't be on her terms. she won't be going up for reelection. she'll be facing a recall. she doesn't run against anybody in a recall. you're running against yourself. the voters are just going thumbs up or thumbs down. >> you can't come out with governor newsom. >> no, with governor newsom. we had governor newsom on the recall, but we had a list of candidates to replace him. so he could run against larry elder, the conservative republican talk show. him exactly. she doesn't have that option. it's either me

or someone else. anyone else. so that that's that's that's a tough race, right? that's a tough yeah. this is also happening when the district attorney of alameda county is facing a recall on the same ballot. and when lauren armstrong, the police chief that she fired, is on the ballot running for city council, so that's going to drive people to the ballot. who wants to see him elected into office? right. that's right. sort of, okay. >> so and also, you know, another bad card in the hand is the budget situation in finances in oakland are just terrible. they're talking about right now. they're pinning their hopes on selling half of the coliseum site for $105 million to balance the budget, and which is a deal for that place, probably it's precarious. if the if it would even clear in time to make a difference. so one card after another has not gone in her favor. >> so let me ask you, you mentioned the da, alameda county , not just oakland, but alameda county da, pamela price, also facing that recall, but she and tao are both more on the

progressive side compared to the people they defeated. yes. do you think this at all reflects a swing or a shift in voters since they were? >> it does because the issues when they when she was running for mayor and when pamela price was running for district attorney, was how do we hold the police back and hold them more accountable, possibly redirect police funding? all that shifted in the last couple of years. and, you know, this is a very tough political place to be, especially for a local politician, because i know that it's said and we say it, you're innocent until proven guilty. that is it. you are innocent until proven guilty. however when the fbi knocks on your door and the television cameras are rolling, the innocence part of that just seems to is tough to pronounce it very strongly. >> i mean, there's a difference between the court of, you know, there's under suspicion of public opinion. you're under suspicion, you're under a cloud. and that's going to, it's probably a source. if it's mayor tao, take it. okay, but i do wonder if you think this will

play out in, you know, the ads that will surely come in her recall. >> we'll see. i can can't imagine how it wouldn't. >> yeah, well, she hasn't, you know, spoken out about this yet. no she hasn't. >> we were waiting to hear word. we're waiting to hear word of at least, a concern. i'm continuing to work for the betterment of the people of oakland. this will be resolved. i'm sorry for the distraction. for you and for the city, but we haven't heard that. >> we haven't heard that right. all right, so do you think this could get any bigger, as in more parties could be implicated somehow? >> you know, you never know. you. you never know. in this case of san francisco, they started. and every time they brought somebody in, they said, what else do you know? what else can you give? can you give up somebody else? the feds will turn people, as they say in the, in the business in the return for somebody higher up. but i don't know if you can get higher than the mayor. >> all right, abc seven insider phil matier, thank you so much. really appreciate it. and of course, phil will continue to stay with us. and our entire abc seven news team will keep

covering this breaking news and remember, you can get the latest news anytime with the abc seven news app. download it now and enable breaking news alerts, then look for our continued coverage later this afternoon on abc seven news at four. up next top leaders, bright minds and the music that inspires them. our media partner, the san francisco standard, launches a new podcast highlighting songs that tell the stories of people's lives. the host. s

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oh, yes please! oh! little things like this help save our power and help save us from outages. with flex alerts, the power is ours. or island. in that spirit, our media partner, the san francisco standard, has just launched a new podcast called life in seven songs. the very first episode features san francisco mayor london breed and joining us live now to talk about it, sophie bierman, director of special projects at the san francisco standard and host of the standard's new podcast, life in

seven songs. sophie, it's good to see you. i'm giving you a hug. it's been so long. >> thank you for having me. good to see you. >> we used to have you on all the time, along with all your awesome colleagues talking about stories, and then you went on this life changing track and now you're back. okay but this is not about you. well, kind of is about you, but, tell us about this big idea behind life in seven songs. yeah. >> so it's a podcast called life in seven songs we talk to, we say like some of the world's most fascinating people across all fields. so we have people in sports and business and politics and what have you, arts. and we just ask them to tell us about their lives, tell us their life stories. we often start in childhood and the twist is that they bring seven songs that help tell that story, the songs that shaped them. and it's very revealing and intimate at times. funny. it's a lot of fun. >> you say fascinating people. who do you consider fascinating? like what walks of life? what types? >> there's too many people. honestly. i've reached out to thousands and there's so many. but some of the folks we have interviewed are our own mayor, london breed, who has a fascinating history here in the

city. johnny ive, the former designer for apple, who you know is the mastermind behind the devices we wear and have all around us. norman foster, a world architect, a designer of the hearst tower, just so many different people. wow. >> okay, so you began with two episodes. they've dropped one of them, as you said, is mayor london breed. here's what she said about one of her picks. the truth hurts. >> yes, i picked lizzo. >> truth hurts because. because the buck stops with me. i make the decisions. i run the show. i handle whatever it is that i'm here to handle as mayor and that should never be diminished by attributing it to anyone else, especially a man. because i'm not a man, i'm a woman and i run this city and i am 100% that next song. >> what was bleeped out there? >> i love that so much. next

song? yeah. what did you think? yeah. i mean, her music was just fascinating, and that's what's so fun about it. >> what were some of the others? >> so she had beyonce on there. she had lauryn hill, she had candy girl. by new edition, i mean it really ran the gamut. she wanted to talk about breakups, crushes when she was just a little girl on the plate on the playground. so it just you get a whole other side of people, and that's what's so nice about it. >> and these are not things that you normally hear her talk about at press conferences. oh, no. that right. and here's what she said about push it when salt and pepper came out, they represented an era where a woman could be a rap artist but also be sexy and be fun and be feminine and be hard all at the same time. >> so salt and pepper, which song did you choose? >> i chose push it. >> how does that one go, i will let you play the song because i'm not going to be breathing heavy on this podcast, but their outfits alone and the moves they

made in the video, it was it was epic. yeah she was smart because, you know, you can see that working its way into a campaign ad. >> i was trying to set that up a little bit and she was not having it. oh, but you know what? >> those are authentically her. i can totally see it, okay, so your other episode in the first batch you dropped also music producer d'wayne wiggins, right? why him? >> yeah, i mean, he's just fascinating. of course, he's the lead singer of tony, tony, tony uh- an amazing r&b group, but also has mentored all of these artists, beyonce and destiny's child and zendaya and so many others. and so the thesis of that was really how did he find his own sound and the seven songs he chose, you know, walk us through that. but also, how did he help all these young artists find their sound and let them do that? so his his story is great. it's really fun. >> okay, so what are sophies life in seven? >> i had a feeling, you know, i have the luxury of still getting to work on it a little bit. it's not the easiest homework. i have a few, you know, my song with my husband. it's kind of embarrassing, but it's 50 cent

amusement park. don't ask too much. just the funny story part. did you get together for the first time at amusement park? we do enjoy going to amusement parks together. and what else, richard thompson comes to mind from childhood, songs like persuasion and beeswing. but, you know, i until i get on the show and someone forces me, i'm still tinkering away at my list. >> okay, i'm tinkering a little bit, but in the spirit of our segment here, i did put out my yes, all seven and seven songs. well, here's six that would fit on the screen. okay, but take a look. >> oh, my. can you see them? yes. dancing queen, i love you from abba. >> right. took a chance on me and dancing queen. yeah, because i actually learned english to listening to abba. no kidding. because i came here as an eight year old immigrant, not speaking a lick of english. and of course, i would listen to the swedes to learn my english. that explains a lot. but they were fun songs and i thought they were so cool. and then you can see a few, probably from my teenage years. >> yes. okay and i see you ended with taylor swift as well.

>> oh yeah. shake it off. because as a tv newscaster, you always have to be able to shake it off. any professional really, or anyone in life. which one do we leave off here? something, okay. i actually chose an unusual one that didn't make it on there, from the mexican band mana or maya moore. oh, no, i took a trip to puerto rico and manall was blasting, and it was such a good time, good vibe. and i loved everything about it. and so i came back and i listened to all their songs and i was able to sing a bunch of them, not knowing a single word like what it meant, but it just felt so good. >> this is what i love about the podcast, is that everyone's minds start churning and they're like, what are my seven songs? you know? and music just brings us back. it brings us back to a place instantly. yeah. transports you. >> you know what? you guys do some innovative stuff and this is just the latest. so the sophie's podcast, life in seven songs. thank you so much for coming on. good luck with having me. all right. and of course, abc seven will continue to bring you the fun features from the standard. and also there's city focused journalism. look for that twice a week right here on

getting answers at 3 p.m.

and coming up on abc seven news at four team coverage on that breaking news involving the fbi raid at oakland mayor shantel's home. tonight, several developing stories as question we come on the air. new york city firefighters battling two major fires in the searing heat. amtrak suspending service for hours. passengers stuck from philadelphia to new york city to new haven. and the passenger jet coming within 500 feet of