Skip to main content

tv   CBS News Bay Area Evening Edition 6pm  CBS  June 20, 2024 6:00pm-6:31pm PDT

6:00 pm
>> what we're learning about today's big operation which included two other locations connected to a powerful family that runs a recycling company, we're digging into their past and political connections. by the time they're executing a search warrant on the mayor of oakland's home, they have done a lot of the background investigation. >> this all comes a few hours after another traumatic event in oakland where 15 people were shot during a juneteenth celebration near lake merritt. >> this type of behavior and level of violence is unacceptable. this is cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich. >> hello. i'm sara donchey. a bombshell investigation in oakland, the fbi carrying out multiple raids across the city today, among them, the home of oakland's mayor sheng thao. agents served a search warrant at 5:30 this morning at
6:01 pm
her home on maiden lane which she shares with her boyfriend. all day long we saw agents coming in and out of the house with boxes of evidence. we do not know yet if the mayor is the target of this investigation, but we do know the fbi swarmed at least two other locations, one in a home on viewcrest court, the other at an office building on embarcadero west. both those locations have ties to the politically-connected duong family that runs the recycling company cal waste solutions. our kevin ko is live at the office of cal waste solutions and has been digging into the duong family's past, but first lauren toms has been at the mayor's house. what have you learned about the investigation? >> reporter: yeah. federal authorities have cleared the home of oakland mayor sheng thao, but questions are mounting how she could be connected to activity that would have prompted this raid in the first place. law enforcement experts tell us the fbi must be highly confident in
6:02 pm
their evidence to conduct a public raid on oakland's highest ranking public official. shock waves reverberating through the highest ranks of oakland city government as mayor sheng thao's home was raided by federal authorities. it remains unclear what agents were looking for when they arrived to the home just after 5:30 a.m., but roughly five hours later about a dozen agents left with at least ten boxes and two bags of material from inside of the home. former federal prosecutor tony brass says the raid indicates agents are highly confident in their allegations. >> by the time they're executing a search warrant on the mayor of oakland's home, they have done a lot of the background investigation. that is a bold move because it says a couple things. number one, it says they have enough probable cause to go in the house, but it also says they were unable to secure the sort of cooperation that one would expect from an elected mayor. so if they had to get a search
6:03 pm
warrant to obtain documents, hard drives, and to obtain information, that already points the finger of corruption at the oakland mayor fairly substantially and i think they must be pretty far along indeed before they take a step like that. >> reporter: former fbi special agent in charge jeff harp says agents were likely looking for items that may be connected to a white collar crime. >> they'll take books that have notes in them. they were going to take any kind of media, thumb drives, computers, cell phones, and all that data will be analyzed, mirrored and she'll get her computers back. >> reporter: members from the recall effort arrived at thao's home just after 5:00 p.m. demanding answers from the mayor. former superior court judge who was ousted by thao is also part of the recall effort against thao says the raid escalates calls for her to step down. >> i was stunned to tell you
6:04 pm
the truth. i was shocked. i was disheartened and just extremely disappointed that she has -- that this shame has been brought to the city. we are a national disgrace. it is unfortunate because oakland deserves so much better. >> reporter: but tony brass says the raid on the highest ranking city official indicates authorities are certain of her involvement in misconduct. >> this really does besmirch the name of the mayor of oakland, so they better be right. this says there's corruption and we couldn't get the cooperation of the mayor in investigating this corruption. >> reporter: i want to be very clear here, sara. we still don't know just how the mayor is involved with this federal investigation and she has not yet been charged with or
6:05 pm
convicted of any kind of crime. >> lauren, important distinction there. i guess the big question is what does the mayor have to say about all this? have we heard from her in any capacity today? >> reporter: not yet, sara. the mayor has been entirely silent all day. we have seen a little activity inside the home, but we don't believe that to be of the mayor. she has been absent from city hall. we have reached out to her office. we have not heard any word. she was also notably absent from a public event she was expected at earlier today. so no word from the mayor or anyone related to her on just how she could be involved in this investigation. >> that is a big piece of this puzzle, lauren. i can assure our viewers we'll continue to reach out to her and her office. thank you so much. we want to go now to kevin ko who is leave at the offices of cal waste solutions with more on the family behind this
6:06 pm
multimillion dollar company. kevin? >> reporter: we not only saw the fbi here at the office building of cal waste solutions in oakland today, but we also saw irs criminal investigation special agents going into this office on embarcadero. the duong family, they are the family that owns and operates cal waste solutions. they have built a legacy here in the bay area and in vietnam where they fled from. fbi agents and the irs raided california waste solutions office on embarcadero in oakland. the recycling company's office is located on the third floor and the vietnamese american business association or vaba is just below it. several people confirm vaga was also raided by federal agents today. >> very surprising because all these companies doing good for the community, trying to have recycling going on and clean up
6:07 pm
the mess that we have. >> reporter: cal waste solutions is owned and operated by the duong family whose journey to the bay area was detailed in an earlier cbs news bay area story. >> saigon as we call home, but our alert is here. >> reporter: the duong family escaped vietnam on a boat when north vietnamese soldiers seized their properties in 1975. after arriving to the bay area, the family settled in the tenderloin. the family would pick up cardboard from the streets to make money until they opened the first recycling warehouse in west oakland. california waste solutions is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars, employs about 300 people, and invests back into vietnam after opening a solid waste and recycling company called vietnam waste solutions. our story in 2015 featured andy duong whose home on viewcrest court was raided earlier this morning. over the years andy duong has become a regular face in local, state, and national
6:08 pm
politics. he helped organize a trip to vietnam last year that included local delegates, including oakland mayor sheng thao. andy duong's instagram also shows him standing side by side with some of the country's most powerful politicians, including president joe biden and vice president kamala harris. during today's raid at cal waste solutions' oakland office, federal agents hauled out two carts stacked with boxes with andy duong's name written on labels. carl chan is president of the oakland chinatown chamber of commerce. >> basically the duong family has been involved with the city of oakland with the contract called california waste solutions for many years and so this time it's involved with the mayor and i guess, you know, potentially many other folks. >> reporter: federal investigators now probing one part of a family's rags to riches story. at least one member of a politically connected family is now under
6:09 pm
the microscope. i also got in touch with teresa hoang, an executive with vaba and also works for cal waste solutions. she tells me, "we're confident officials will let us and the public know that there is nothing unlawful or anything wrong. the officials know more than anybody right now what the investigation is about." hoang also says vaba was a host and coordinator for that trip to vietnam that included oakland mayor sheng thao. >> reaction pouring in from oakland residents after the news of the raids broke. some were shocked. political opponents have already condemned it. >> terribly shocked. i woke up this morning prepared to address the juneteenth incident at lake merritt yesterday and as soon as i turned on the news, i saw what was breaking.
6:10 pm
>> others are saying they're waiting to learn more as facts continue to come to light. former oakland police chief leronne armstrong who is now suing the city after being fired last year by mayor thao is also weighing in on these raids. in a statement he said, "this is a sad day for the city of oakland. oakland is a city in crisis, crime, violence, shootings, uncontrolled homelessness, unmitigated encampments, the budget deficits and more. the biggest obstacles to overcoming these crises is the failures in leadership and city hall." the optics of these raids certainly aren't helping the mayor. two days ago the alameda county registrar confirmed it has qualified for the ballot. the recall vote will probably happen in november, but thao's opponents are asking for her to recall now.
6:11 pm
also we mentioned 15 people were shot in oakland near lake merritt last night after a fight broke out at a sideshow after a peaceful juneteenth celebration that drew thousands of people. nobody died, but police say some of the victims are in critical condition. others suffered flesh wounds. some lost fingers. police say some police officers took punches to the face and one woman was arrested for assaulting an officer. >> this type of behavior and level of violence is unacceptable. the opportunity to celebrate with your family and friends should never be marred by gunfire. >> police say the violence broke out when someone jumped on the hood of a car. multiple people attacked that person. eventually someone started firing shot. police recovered more than 50 shell casings from that scene. still ahead, giants willie mays honored tonight at the place where it all started. >> reporter:
6:12 pm
6:13 pm
hey, flex. considering there's a heatwave, it's kinda chilly in here. oh, that's because i'm pre-cooling the house with the ac before 4 pm. then i'll turn our thermostat to a comfortable 78 or higher that way i could stay cool later. ooh, what about me? you're never cool. oh.
6:14 pm
the giants are playing a game in birmingham, alabama, tonight. willie mays, a san francisco giant all time great, died tuesday, though this game had been planned prior to that. ryan yamamoto made the trip out to birmingham. let's go live to him now. ryan? >> reporter: hey, sara. vern was the first to tell me that
6:15 pm
the moment i walked inside rickwood field i was going to feel the history. i was going to feel the presence of the greatness of the baseball players who played inside that ballpark and he was absolutely right. you could just feel the power and the presence of the negro leagues, including a 17-year-old willie mays who got his start inside rickwood field. although we are now mourning the passing of willie mays this week, this evening's game held even more significance. fans truly braving the deep south heat to experience today's historic game at rickwood field, including jim thornson who decided to dress for the occasion in his bright orange tuxedo. he says he had likely watched willie mays play 150 times in san francisco and was always a childhood hero. >> quick story, in sixth grade we had to do an essay on our favorite male figure and everybody said their dad or their grandfather. in sixth grade i wrote my essay about
6:16 pm
willie mays. so i grew up with him in san francisco. i saw him play as a little boy. my grandmother took me to the '62 world series. >> reporter: also in the crowd hanging with fans signing autographs, former san francisco giant hunter pence. i had a chance to go one on one with the world series champion. trying to process what happened this week with the passing of the say hey kid. does that just bring added significance to today's game? >> absolutely. i think it's important to note he died peacefully among family and loved ones and this game meant a lot to willie. it meant a lot everyone got to see where he grew up and to see where some amazing baseball was forged and played amongst the american negro leagues. so to him this was special and i think this adds a huge amount of significance to honor willie and the great players that played here. >> reporter: and the great hunter pence really summing up
6:17 pm
the feelings of a lot of people inside rickwood field from the fans, players, to the staff, everyone here inside birmingham, alabama, watching the game because even though we are mourning the loss of the icon willie mays, a lot of people are making sure today's game is all about celebrating his life, celebrating his legendary legacy as a baseball player, as a human being, as an ambassador to the game and also celebrating his hometown right here in birmingham, alabama. >> i have a feeling there's not going to be another baseball game quite like this. it's amazing that you're able to share this story live with our viewers. we appreciate it. back in san francisco giants fans have been pouring through oracle park all day paying their respects to willie mays, who was with the giants when they first moved to san francisco in 1957. this is some live video at oracle now where fans are watching the game in alabama on the big screen. coming up at 7:00, vern glenn takes us onto the field and speaks with some of those fans.
6:18 pm
for the summer solstice, weather today was pretty much what we expect in june complete with quite a bit of fog swallowing up the buildings of downtown san francisco late afternoon into early evening. temperatures were near or slightly below average for highs today. we have
6:19 pm
6:20 pm
6:21 pm
in sonoma firefighters have stopped forward progress of the point fire in healdsburg, now 75% contained. all evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted for this fire. it's burned more than 1,200 acres and destroyed at least three structures and left two more damaged. meanwhile the sites fire up in colusa county has burned more than 19,000 acres making it the largest active fire in the state currently and is only 20% contained. interesting to see that when we had here in the immediate bay at least this very gloomy kind of chilly day, lots of june gloom sticking around for now, right, paul? yeah. that onshore breeze did help air quality. some haze on the horizon is largely due to smoke in the upper level of the atmosphere and ground level air quality will be okay the next couple days. the wind and midlevels of the atmosphere are directing the bulk of wildfire smoke away from the bay area.
6:22 pm
as the temperatures warm up, the threat of more fires getting started will go up, not off the chart, but something to monitor. high pressure will build in the upper levels of the atmosphere, the heat dome over the desert southwest edging closer to us, close enough for a brief inland heatwave. like the past couple, it's only going to be a day or two. temperatures step up tomorrow, peak saturday and back to near average temperatures the second half of the weekend. here's some of the haze in the distance looking out from san jose, temperature there just below 70 now, low 70s for livermore and santa rosa, just one location in the 80s, right at 80 degrees in concord, 50s in both san francisco and oakland. the fog, not smoke, will what about you see a lot of the rest of tonight and into early friday morning. as the area of high pressure builds, it helps squish the marine layer which means the fog will back up quickly. along the coast i don't think you'll see a lot of sunshine tomorrow, maybe by
6:23 pm
saturday more sun peeking through the clouds. temperatures tonight later dropping down to near or slightly below average levels, low 50s morgan hill, most of us in the low to mid-50s to begin friday morning. inland you go to the low to mid-90s by tomorrow afternoon, right at 50 at half moon bay, just above 50 in san francisco with the usual cool spots in the north bay valleys, down into the upper 40s in petaluma to begin the day tomorrow. the dog walking forecast tomorrow is brought to you by my dogs, dag and scooter, because i forgot to schedule a dog for today's dog walking forecast. if you want to me help out, there is my email address. you can share your dog's picture. temperatures will be a little too warm for an afternoon walk tomorrow reaching the mid-80s in our neighborhood. elsewhere
6:24 pm
temperatures will get up to around 90 degrees already. let's fill in the rest of the map for tomorrow afternoon. temperatures on the hot end of the spectrum, mid-90s around antioch and brentwood, concord low 90s, mid-80s in san jose, mid- to upper 80s most of the north bay with a mix of 60s and 70s around the bay, 80s down the peninsula, low 60s along the coast. the worst heat risk tomorrow we'll see is in the moderate category and saturday will only have a little bit of the high category. already that moderate heat risk is going to be disappearing from the map on sunday as temperatures return to closer to normal and margely where they'll remain through the remainder of the seven-day forecast. let's look first inland with mid- to upper 90s on saturday and then settle down to normally warm temperatures the last full week of june, mid- to upper 80s on a
6:25 pm
widespread basis, some of the hottest spots maybe up to around 90 degrees. temperatures around the bay aren't going to warm up as much. we won't get the offshore winds to push that hotter air towards the water, only upper 70s on saturday, back to the lower 70s sunday through at least thursday next week. along the coast, no real warm-up. temperatures go up a couple degrees with that additional sunshine on saturday, then back into the june gloom. sunday largely cloudy overhead and a noticeable breeze making things feel cool. >> thank you so much. a quick look at what's coming up tonight on the cbs evening news with norah o'donnell. >> coming up on the cbs evening news, public libraries may seem like an institution of the past, but for our eye on america, we look at many across the country that are writing
6:26 pm
the book on innovation. when we come back, a poetic farewell to the great willie mays.
6:27 pm
6:28 pm
we leave you with a tribute from the great willie mays. >> willy connects and hammers it. >> reporter: a hit heard around
6:29 pm
the world, a chanting cheer that united the world. when it came to baseball, no one could amaze like willie mays. >> willie's incredible play. >> reporter: he changed the game with a catch so clean transforming every park and every seat. his talent broke barriers around culture and race. his swing was fueled by both power and grace. when it came to baseball, no one could amaze like willie mays. from new york city to the city by the bay, his unforgettable 660 home runs could always make your day. a 24-time all-star, he set the bar for both excellence and esteem, empowering a whole generation to dream because when it came to baseball, no one could amaze like willie mays. for a baseball league, his impact was major earning every bet and wager earning the right of an eternal hall of famer, an
6:30 pm
influence so giant, benevolently defiant. with his life he brought america's pastime to life. endless smiles and joyful tears, we will never forget his 93 years because when it came to baseball, no one could amaze like the mighty willie mays. >> he will be missed by many here in the bay area and far beyond. the cbs evening news with norah o'donnell is next here on kpix. local news continues on our streaming service, cbs news bay area. we're back here in just 30 minutes with cbs news bay area at 7:00. i'll see you then. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> capitol hill, time 6:00 p.m. >> norah: tonight, chilling never-before-seen video of the nation's capitol shot before the deadliest terror attacks on u.s. soil. why 9/11 families want you to see it.

179 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on