right now at 5:30, new heights for conservation, details behind a daring climb in california of the world's largest tree. and the new program that could help out a lot of first time homebuyers is raising some

concerns, the rise in zero down mortgages. and looking out live to the state capitol where lawmakers have a lot of questions for caltrans this evening. >> good evening again. i'm elizabeth cook. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are responding to our cbs news california investigation. it found damage claims from potholes and debris on california freeways tripled in the first half of last year while caltrans cut damage payout rates in half. lawmakers also want to know why caltrans is suddenly denying so many damage claims. >> reporter: when we tried to get answers from caltrans, agency officials refused to speak with us or even answer written questions. keep in mind your tax dollars pay the salaries of those caltrans officials, but while they can try to avoid us, they can't avoid the lawmakers that control their caltrans budget. >> i think the bottom line is they don't pay claims.

>> reporter: southern california assemblyman joe patterson has been fighting for accountability from caltrans for over a even introducing a bill to try to force them to pay for hundreds of windshields cracked and shattered by loose gravel over four months on this busy stretch of i-80. the agency refused to pay. >> we're not going to pay that out because we're aware of the situation and working to fix it. >> reporter: patterson's bill died. >> they knew it was a problem and the fact this they continue to not pay is crazy. it's mind boggling. >> reporter: then he saw our statewide investigation last week and angie's story about a pothole that popped her tire felt all too familiar. >> super, super dangerous with cars all around. i had ptsd for the longest time. >> reporter: she explained when a tow truck brought her car to a nearby dealer for repairs, she learned she wasn't the

first to hit that pothole. california law says if the state knew about a dangerous condition and didn't fix it, the state is responsible to pay for the damages. you can sue, but caltrans offers an early resolution claims process. >> i showed them the pothole. i showed them the tire with a huge chunk taken out of it. >> reporter: but like most, caltrans denied angie's claim. >> if they denied my claim, are they paying any claims? >> reporter: we analyzed the state data and found as caltrans' damage claim spiking, payouts are plummeting. in fact, caltrans used to approve one of every ten damage claims. now they approve one out of every 25, meaning caltrans is denying 95% of damage claims. >> they make it so hard i really think they want you to go away. >> reporter: determined to prove caltrans knew about her pothole, angie requested pothole reports under the california public records act. >> month after month after month i would get these emails saying, we'll get back to you in another two months." >> reporter: they delayed giving her the evidence she

needed until it was too late for angie to take caltrans to court. >> took me over five months to get a response when i was asking them for information and i'm a legislator. >> reporter: but it's what caltrans director tony tavares said in this letter to patterson that really raises questions. shattered windshields are so dangerous state law requires them to be repaired in 48 hours, but patterson was told, "the nonprojectile debris did not present a dangerous condition to public property and that's why they denied the claims." >> to me it sounds the government's claims procedure is deny claims. >> reporter: how is it possible roadway debris repeatedly shattering windshields is not a dangerous condition. >> the assembly transportation committee is called to order. >> reporter: patterson brought our investigation to the assembly transportation chair who tells us she's now demanding answers from caltrans, including detailed information on their claims

process and the apparent inconsistencies in an effort to enhance transparency and accountability to insure the claims process is fair. patterson's also considering new legislation to protect people like angie. >> i think caltrans needs to be held accountable. >> reporter: she may lose her opportunity to sue the state simply because caltrans won't give them the necessary records in time. >> if it takes them that long to provide the records, maybe constituents should have that long to sue. >> reporter: we are still waiting for public records we requested. in the meantime several lawmakers we've spoken with say they are now considering a joint legislative audit request to look deeper into caltrans' denied claims. >> to see our full caltrans car damage investigation or to use our interactive

tool to find the worst places in your area, go to our home page. according to the california association of realtors, for the first time ever median home prices in the state surpassed $900,000 in april. one billionaire is looking to bring back zero down mortgages. the new program is from united wholesale mortgage and led by the owner of the phoenix suns nba team. homebuyers who qualify won't need to put down a down payment. the program is only open to first time homebuyers and those make nothing more than 80% of the area's median income. critics say the program fuels bad memories of the 2008 subprime mortgage meltdown. rising housing costs are also forcing some retirees back into the office. 74-year-old jeannette campbell is one of those former retirees. she took a part-time job 12 years after retiring as a teacher because

she just couldn't make ends meet. >> i thought i would be taking care of my grandchildren, traveling the world. i couldn't afford to pay my morning. so i didn't want to be left out in the street homeless. >> a survey by aarp found one in four working adults 50 and older expect to never retire and 70% feel prices are rising faster than their income. the company pointed to lingering effects of inflation as well as rising housing costs and debt levels. tomorrow a popular program that helps millions afford internet service will shut down because of a lack of funding. the fcc reports nearly one in five households took advantage of that program with the cost of internet and wi-fi going up, the closure threatening to throw nearly 60 million americans into financial distress. coming up, what lengths would you go to to help preserve nature in all of its

glory? meet the south lake tahoe man that climbed the world's largest tree to do just that. and later a rooster survived for weeks on the streets with an arrow in its neck, how the power of social

a nonprofit organization aimed toward protecting ancient trees and forests has taken their research to new heights. they recently climbed the largest tree in the world and they were the first to do it. reporter shelby riley tells us more about this project. >> reporter: the general sherman tree in sequoia national park stands at 275 feet tall. ancient force society based here in south lake tahoe was the first group to ever climb it. >> this tree's awesome. as the

largest tree in the world, the sequoia national park was very concerned about the general sherman tree and wanted us to go up there and look to see if it was being attacked or not. >> reporter: anthony ambrose, executive director of the ancient forest society, says they climbed up the general sherman tree earlier this month to see if the tree was being attacked by native bark beetles. >> there's been this beetle attacking and killing a small number of sequoia trees trout the range. >> reporter: general sherman is visited by around 2 million people per year. >> it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. i never expected to be able to climb the general sherman tree. >> reporter: one of in the reasons ambrose says it's important to make sure it's in good health. >> the tree appeared healthy and thriving and able to successfully fight off the beetles. >> reporter: christy brigham with sequoia and kings canyon national park said they were

also testing beetle detection methods. >> by having tree climbers, drones and satellite imagery all from the same tree at the same time. >> reporter: she said drought conditions and wildfires have made the sequoia more prone to these attacks. however, they are still very resilient. she says only 40 sequoia trees have been killed so far as opposed to hundreds of pine trees during the drought. >> so it was a huge relief to find that the tree was as healthy looking at it from in the canopy as it appeared from the ground. >> don't look down, right? the park doesn't have plans now for the ancient forest society to go up again since the tree this is good health, but they do have a number of other projects they'll work on together in the future. still ahead, a historic launch for boeing set for tomorrow, what it's looking to do in space that has never been done before. coming up in sports, the yankees are in town for a weekend series at third and king street. we'll tell you who just got called up. plus the ballers are

ramping up for their season opener next week. we'll tell you about the journeyman veteran closer that's ready to knot some saves this year. we go on the road with a touching story about one veteran who quit high school to serve his country, how his community banded

we're in the middle of... livin' large! and having a big day! in the middle of being the fun uncle! in the middle of being a kid again!

beep! beep! there's something for everyone in illinois. the middle of everything! boeing will try again

tomorrow to launch its new starliner spacecraft. this comes after a series of delays, including a scrubbed takeoff earlier in the month because of a valve problem and then a helium link. the starliner sits right now on the launchpad at cape canaveral and it's supposed to blast off tomorrow morning aboard an atlas 5 rocket. >> so from a station standpoint from our crew and ground teams, we are ready to go fly this mission and we're excited we are on the doorstep of this historic mission. >> the final test flight will carry nasa astronauts butch wilmore and sunny williams to and from the international space station. this will mark the first time boeing sends humans into space and forecasters say weather looks pretty good right now. exciting to watch that. it looks like the weather will cooperate for all the weekend activities going on the next couple days, right, darren? >> remember how we were talking about oh, the weekends keep getting rained on. well, in one

sense the pattern is still locked in that way because the cooler weather is coming for the weekend. we are going to be 10 degrees cooler tomorrow than many inland spots are today. you can see what's missing when you look at the view out our windows there. we still have no marine layer. that has not come back. it might be back enough on sunday morning that you see it, but it will be back on saturday even if we don't get the clouds. we're still going to get an onshore influence and tomorrow's temperature drop is going to be very noticeable, especially if you are inland. let's not stand on redwood city because you're one of the examples. it's going to be 17 degrees cooler tomorrow in redwood city. i'm going to switch these out and show you what the actual daytime highs are and what 17 degrees cooler actually means. i think the best thing to see first is just the change. livermore will be 14 degrees cooler, 10 degrees cooler in the santa clara valley tomorrow. it will not be any different tomorrow in san francisco or oakland. you guys are already doing okay and you

don't need that much of a significant drop. santa rosa, you'll be 2 degrees warmer. weird the way this is working out because what's going on is the onshore influence is really going to hit from san pablo bay south. let's do another tour. you're still in the mid- to upper 80s for san jose. you weren't terribly hot today. you're just not changing tomorrow at all. 70 in oakland tomorrow. no more 90s, antioch down to the low 80s tomorrow, redwood city, your 17-degree drop. this is one of the places tomorrow. if we do see the marine influence, it's going to focus through this part of the bay, stronger onshore influence, maybe a few patchy clouds tomorrow, livermore 75 tomorrow. the numbers for the santa clara valley, you're going in the mid-70s. let's go to the forecast imagery here over my shoulder and we'll see

how this plays out and why the real story is not the weekend cooldown, although i know the weekend is always the most important part of the forecast for most of us. the headline has to be next week. if we watch the temperatures change in relation to average for this weekend, we're well below it. watch the dramatic change transitioning into next week. some of us will be 15 to 20 degrees above average. some of us will be hotter than yesterday. the big drop now, expect even more of a warm-up by the middle of next week. i'll slow you that in the seven-day forecast. you know the weekend looks good. inland, you're low to mid-80s. we've seen that already. of course, look at the difference by wednesday. so temperatures really take the big jump on tuesday. they peak on wednesday and then they start coming back down again. this will be a quick intense warm-up, but mercifully, it's not going to last long. it's like the spike wednesday and the temperatures

come down going into thursday and friday. liz, back to you. time for a check at what's ahead. we switch over to juliette. >> we're talking about a brazen jewelry heist in broad daylight. a dozen robbers smashed their way into a store and hear from witnesses who saw it go down in minutes. this $2 million fixer-upper on the peninsula is touching a nerve around the country, the real estate listing that's gone viral. let's now go to matt and some sports. >> thanks, jules. >> it's a big weekend for the giants. the yankees are in town for a weekend showdown. casey smith called up and we'll have a recap tonight on "the late show." it's not what the 9ers needed a reminder of the super bowl, but the chiefs paid a

visit to the white house today following their third title in five seasons. it wasn't their first rodeo at the oval office, but it led to a great moment between president biden and travis kelce. >> i'd have travis come up here, but god only knows what he'd say. travis, come here. it's all yours, pal. >> my fellow americans, it's nice to see you all yet again. i'm not going to lie, president biden. they told me if i came up here, i'm going to get tased. i'm going back to my spot. >> at least he's honest. the major league dream is never done in independent ball. one oakland baller is still chasing down his aspirations even if he's on the older side of the roster. >> one guy said, you might be the grandpa of the group." i don't know, man. i'm a pretty

good looking grandpa. >> the 29-year-old bradley aldett has had no shortage of stops in his baseball career. >> i played at three universities and got signed by the southern illinois miners up in marion, illinois, played for them a bit, got releases from them, took a little time off and got resigned in the frontier league for the miners in new jersey. >> the jacksonville, florida native now finds himself thousands of mile from home. >> i'm going to keep playing baseball regardless until i cannot throw anymore. you only got so many in the tank. >> he keeps a steady job running a concrete business with a friend. >> it's tough job, but pays the bills. >> winning is an addiction for

him who wouldn't give it up for nick. >> i'm in control up there. i feel like that's cool, but it's also a really big responsibility. i go out there winning. that's it. >> here it comes. swings on it, floater into shallow in center field. coming in is harden. he camps under it and makes the grab. burdette has come in to get the save. >> reporter: he loves being a baller but knows he won't be satisfied until he gets his big league shot. >> somebody is going to buy out this contract. somebody will. by the end of the season i'm 100% confident anybody on this coaching staff is going to get it done ten out of ten. >> we'll be broadcasting all home friday games on pix+. that starts next friday. >> it's a great lesson, to never give up.

still ahead at 5:00, cats are said to have nine lives, but you may want to

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of a movie, but this is for ut real. a lone rooster who had his neck pierced by an arrow

had to survive on the streets of antioch for weeks, but the power of social media helped this sad story have a good ending. >> reporter: for robinhood, the rooster, dinnertime is his favorite time of day and he likes to let you know. his happy life here at funky chicken animal rescue in vacaville is his new lease on life following a dark past. >> i had no idea that he could even survive for that long without care. >> reporter: robinhood, the rooster, was first spotted in antioch in march. neighbors took notice posting these pictures on social media. you can see he has twine wrapped around his legs and an arrow sticking through his neck. >> i was horrified, absolutely horrified. >> reporter: after disappearing for weeks robinhood miraculously was spotted again. >> and i was shocked. there you go. >> reporter: running a full-time animal rescue, smith couldn't leave and try to find him, but she didn't want to give up.

>> thankfully, with our reach on social media he was reposted a lot of times and a wonderful woman named arlene went out there and looked for him. >> we didn't know what happened to him. we didn't know if he passed away. >> reporter: arleen correa does animal rescue in antioch. she started a search of her own. it didn't take her long before finding him. >> actually was hanging out in an area behind a park trail which was opening up into an abandoned house and it took me about 15 minutes to catch him. >> reporter: she took robinhood to an avian vet where he was treated for wounds on his legs and the removal of a six-inch arrow through his neck. >> it was through one side and out the other. it was horrific. i don't know how he survived. >> reporter: robinhood was taken here, but his troubles weren't over yet. soon after he battled a severe skin infection, almost taking his life again. >> with a couple trips back to the vet and more antibiotics

and more cream, thankfully, he pulled through. >> reporter: fast forward to today, robinhood is fully recovered and spending time with the hens, a new lease on life for this little bird thanks to those who made it all happen. >> he's about 6 months old. so he's only going to become an even better rooster. >> reporter: he has a long life ahead of him. >> a long happy life. >> we love a happy ending. if you're wondering how the rooster got its name, the character robinhood was a skilled archer. so that seemed to be the most fitting. okay. that's it for the news at 5:00. cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich starts right now. >> thanks so much. we're talking about a bold julie heist in broad daylight, a dozen robbers smashing their way and ransacked a newark store in minutes. we hear from stunned witnesses who saw it all go down. it's a mcdonald's drive-thru, but for jewelry. >> it's terrifying for a small business to be attacked in this

way. plus police in riot gear arrest dozens of protesters blocking the uc santa cruz campus, the tense standoff. and it is a comeback for a craft beer pioneer, what the head of a yogurt brand has in store for san francisco's beloved anchor brewery. >> this is the godfather of craft beer. so we wouldn't know craft beer today if it wasn't for anchor. plus the stage is set, how the city is gearing up for an outdoor rave that's expected to draw more than 20,000 people. this is cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich. >> good evening. thanks for joining us at 6:00. boarded up windows, smashed glass, it's hard to imagine a quiet newark shopping area was the target of a daring jewelry heist in broad daylight. police say more than a dozen robbers busted their way into two locked doors to get inside a jewelry store, ransacking the place