see thunderstorms reaching from stockton down to merced, and fresno and down to bakersfield. that is where the active and potentially-damaging weather exists. it's pushing away from us, we'll take a look at the bay area weather in just a moment. >> and we'll see you shortly. now, developing news in florida. prosecutors just filed second degree murder charges against george zimmerman in the shooting death of a teenager trayvon martin. zimmerman is in jail now. more than a month after the 17-year-old was shot dead, the man who pulled the trigger, george zimmerman was charged. >> we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second degree. >> zimmerman is in the custody of florida authorities. the teen's parents say they're ready for the next step. >> we can't just stop because we have an arrest.

we have keep pushing to get a conviction. after a conviction we have to continue to push to get a stiff sentence. >> tuesday, zimmerman's attorneys made an announcement that they no longer represent him. >> we heard today that george contacted the prosecutor's office directly. >> he's not returning my messages or texts and not returning my e mails. he won't give me a collect call. >> the shooting has heightened tensions throughout the country. many questioning whether it should be termed a hate crime. aand the department of justice is conducting a concurrent investigation. >> if we find evidence of a potential civil rights crime we'll take appropriate action. the facts and the law will guide us forward. >> and he says the evidence

must show it was his intent and state of mind when committing the crime. >> the hit and run driver convicted of injuring a 9-year-old boy after a giants game was sentenced today in a courtroom. abc 7's vic lee is in the newsroom with more on this for us. >> vargas pleaded guilty to felony dui and hit and run charges. he was sentenced to a year in jail in county jail and community service. today in court he was repetent. he faced the judge. >> and vargas apologized to the parents. >> i cannot express words to express how remorseful i feel towards the family. >> the prosecutor read a letter from the family. they were unable to leave philadelphia for sentencing.

>> it's hard to know how sincere you are with your remorse, it can be seen in a person's eyes. >> ryan's parents could not look into the eyes of the 22-year-old that triple -- crippled their son. ryan is now going through another surgery, his fourth. >> you're incarcerated because of your actions but ryan is incarcerated because of your actions. he can't do many of the things he used to enjoy doing. >> vargas left the scene, hitting other cars. and was arrested after a sobriety test showed he was drunk. >> i have learned so much out of this. and and and we want you to become a member of society and make a good living. >> the assistant district

attorney says ryan's parents support the terms of the sentence with credit for time served he could be out later this summer. >> and. >> richmond police are looking for a bicyclist who was involved this morning. abc 7 reports that police identified the victim a 28-year-old riding a blue and purple 21 speed bicycle when it was broadsided. and police dmot have a description. if you have any information you're asked to please call the police department. >> lead investigators looking into the disappearance of morgan hill teenager sierra lamar are poring over sonar images in two reservoirs. divers took two underwater images and in close proximity

to-to-her home. dozens of volunteers continue to search for the 15-year-old who disappeared almost a month ago. 100 people headed out today with maps to search rural areas. and investigators say the images will determine what they do next. >> depending on if any suspicious objects or items come up, they'll send divers in just to double check on the image autos their search may be expanded to two other reservoir autos a scathing report finds pepper spraying of occupy protestors was excess tiff use of force. this video shows police pepper spraying a line of seated protestors. a special task force shows it could, and should have been prevented and criticizes the chancellor and campus police chief for the lack of leadership. uc president released this

statement, he wrote free speech, including nonviolent protest is part of the dna of the university and must prob detectived. i implore students who wish to demonstrate to do so in a peaceful fashion. i expect authorities to honor that. abc 7 will have more reaction from the campus coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00. >> santa rosa police are looking for a vandal who set six cars on fire last sunday night on april 1 on west third street areas of west santa rosa. police say the unidentified suspect apparently in his late teens entered unlocked cars and stole what he could before setting them on fire. there is a good picture of the guy. surveillance cameras caught him in the act. if have you information please contact santa rosa police department. fire officials in contra costa county arrested a known arsonist suspected of setting three grass fires. a 62-year-old brett robert

castroff is accused of setting one fire then starting two more this year, he reportedly admitting to burning papers on a property next to his home. fires were extinguished and officials say the damage could have been far worse. >> this he was lighting grass and crash in an area with a high phone shall for wildfires. and earliest fire documented was in may, 2011 which is the beginning of the wildfire season. >> he was arrested for setting a fire in a trash can. investigators say he may be responsible for setting nine fires in the area. >> bart officials today showed off its own worn down fleet of cars to a key official. transit administration got a look at what it takes to keep the cars on the tracks. that goes from changing the seats and flooring to fine

tuning the electronic components. some ares have been around 40 years making them the oldest rail cars in the nation. >> there is 40-year-old now. by the time they receive the cars some are likely to be 50 years old. twice the age that is the recommendation on rail cars. >> he's urging congress to pass a bill to fund improvements for several years. >> still head a call for drivers to be careful on tax day. >> more coyote sightings, trails closed and warnings out but some questioning whether park officials are going far enough to keep people and pets safe. >> and nokia fumbles in the u.s. today, how the company is trying to smooth things over with cash. >> michael finney is taking your consumer questions through his face dk book and twitter pages and you can contact michael on twitter on

m finney and facebook.com. >> and outside we go for a look at the rush-hour traffic. taking a look at the skyway, live, little bit sticky. folks on the screen inching along slowly trying to get on to the bay bridge. stay with us. the news at 4:00 continues.

breaking news happened in mexico city. apparently large earthquake we understand a 7.0 has rocked mexico city. buildings began to sway and people forced to evacuate. that is a significant

earthquake. we have not had reports of damage or injuries but will get that in as soon as we can. two weeks ago a fairly significant earthquake and there have been several after shocks associated with that quake. don't know if they're connected but what is preliminarily a 7.0 rocked people in mexico city. >> and coyote sightings caused a closure of some trails near golden gate park. abc 7 is live at the park this afternoon. there is also some claims about threatening behaviors. is that right? >> that is right. the city says it gets reports of sightings every day. but last week a woman says she and her two pit bulls were stalked by a coyote so now, dogs are barred from certain trails here in the park.

>> david cruise likes to shoot in golden gate park. easter morning spotting this coyote. >> this is really put out a great energy. very loving energy in my opinion. >> the city has been aware of coyotes living among us. >> through candle stick park area through diamond heights and twin peaks and lake merced. >> and saying they've not been a threat to humans but there are parents the one ones in golden gate park are menacing other dogs so yesterday and today, 22 of the signs went up. they bar owners from bringing their four degreed companions. warning signs are so small, michael did not see them. he walked the dogs in a

now-for bidden area. >> had i noticed i won't have done that. i'll be more mindful. >> experts say coyotes are simply being coyotes and we're getting too close to their dens. >> they're trying to preserve their babies. >> so those trails goring to be off limits until august and park officials will be monitoring. >> thank you very much. >> checking healthy living news this afternoon a number of people living with dementia will soar across the globe. 35.5 people suffered from dementiaz medical care rates improve in many countries. relatives pay foremost of the costs and health experts worry that could drive kblinls below

the poverty line. doctors at university of chicago suggest keeping babies warm might help them cry less when they get their shots or have blood drawn. a small study looked at 47 healthy newborns and the warm babies cried less and stopped grimacing sooner than those receiving a sugar pill. another reason to be careful on the roads number of fatal accidents seem to spike on income tax day. a doctor compared witness other days around the same time of the year between 1980 and 2009. he found 13 more fatal crashes took place on the deadline day when compared to other days. one explanation is stress can distract drivers. and tax day this year falls on april 17th. >> nokia's reeastbound entrance into the u.s. market did not go according to plan. that is in today's after the

bell report. >> good afternoon, dan. nokia stumbled out of the gate with the biggest u.s. release in years. apparently there is a software glitch and they bought the phone $100 to makeup for it. and it effectively reduces the price of the smart phone to zero. marketing blitz isn't the only bad news today. the finish -- finnish phone maker shocked with a profit warning just a week before expected to report first-quarter earnings. and more devices run android software, research in motion is struggling to compete with apple so it's trying a different approach and is planning to open store as cross the middle east where

demand remained strong. and this is the final stages of negotiating a lease on a flagship store in dubai and helps strong sales can makeup for plunging sales elsewhere. checking out market numbers today finally, stocks closed higher and ended a five-day losing streak. today's rebound, thanks to stronger than expected alcoa earnings yesterday, unofficial start to earnings season. your bloomberg silicon valley index posted gains, juniper and cisco came out on top. poor box office performance of john carter put pressure on disney to bounce back with a strong release. the hope is that "avengers" will come to disney's rescue. it's the first marvel film marketed by disney since it bought the comic book company in 2009. early estimates from box office.com show it could

generate $370 million at u.s. and canadian theaters alone. to make sure that happens disney is enlisting help and it's gaming unit is putting ads on a florida monorail and the trailers have already broken records for down loads on i tunes. disney is spending a record $100 million to market the film. we'll see if that works. at bloomberg studios i'm emily chang with bloomberg west. >> want to update you on an earthquake we're just learning about in mexico. it turns out it's 200 miles from acapulco. >> and it rocked buildings in mexico city and there are evacuations. and you can see on the map where this occurred.

this comes off heels of a large earthquake a few weeks ago. >> and this is, as you can see perhaps or not this is a sparsely populated area. and. >> another good aspect of this. >> so let's talk about the weather forecast. >> more rain on the way? >> more showers. certainly. more rainfall overnight and there is violent storms and there is a live view from our east bay hills camera. looking towards south, southeast, clouds traveling across the area and there are cloudy skies and the showers have not been intense except for local down pours. let's take a look.

area is dry and there is widely scattered showers down into the south bay. and there is the north bay, more numerous areas but still mainly light and widely scattered showers. and we're in a low at the moment. and there is a long path of violent thunderstorms and there is snow falling into central sierra. not heavy yet but expected to get heavy overnight there. is a winter storm add advisory issued today. gusty winds here now. temperatures into upper 50s so it's cool. and we have uniformed readings and gusts 23 miles per hour in novato. 22 in napa now. 23 miles per hour in hayward. so winds picking up around the bay area. there is rain continuing

through friday and dry, mild over the weekend. satellite shows a series is coming our way producing scattered showers we're currently experiencing. there is a second system coming through friday, another wave of rain coming through. we don't get a break from active weather until the weekend. starting at 7:00 we'll have wide spread areas of showers or rainfall becoming more organized and heavier about 1:00 in the morning and by 5:00 start of rush hour there is a wider area of rain, showers pushing through. so morning commute could be a slow one, later in the day we'll see breaks of sunshine and scattered showers and then overnight tomorrow night into friday morning next wave of rain comes through. soit will be wet again friday morning for friday morning commute and throughout the day friday areas of showers or rainfall. then, by 7:00 friday evening we'll see it winding down by

that time, we can expect from one to two inches of rain into santa cruz mountains and there is a winter storm watch in effect until tomorrow morning. we can see one to two feet of snow. back in the bay area there are lows to around 50 and tomorrow, as we said, they'll be more rain early in the morning and there is steadier rain tapering off to showers, more rain friday, drying out over the weekend and highs into 70s. >> that will be nice. >> thank you very much. >> and coming up next at 4:00 the "dancing with the stars" decision that had sheri shepherd crying for hours. >> newt gingrich talks about why his campaign is bouncing so many check autos then at 5:00 a new warning about some of the best-selling birth control pills.

a host of "the view" had an emotional goodbye on "dancing with the stars". >> some calling it a shock. the "view" co-host is eliminating from "dancing with the stars". she found out she was going home. >> come here, sheri its a happy cry. it's a grateful cry. it's a -- not many people get to live a dream, you know? and... i got to live a dream.

>> dancing returns monday night here on abc. and also on abc the new drama "missing" starring ashley judd. last night she joined a path for q and a with fans. >> it's wonderful. i've been tweeting to people during episodes that aired so far. and have had a chance for personal dialogue. it's wonderful. >> catch "missing" thursday nights on abc. now to, justin beiber's personal confession. >> i was bullied. most people in their live time have been bullied at some point. i think it's good time people started to make a change. >> that is why he's lending one of his songs to help promote the documentary "bully". for more beiber news go to otrc.com. >> still to come if you read e books or kindel the government

thinks you're paying too much. the story is ahead. >> just wanted to come smell the place. smell the place that has all of this ruckus. >> original suspect in the beating of giants fan brian stow soaks up his celebrity status at the donlers season opener. >> also an 8.6 earthquake sparks panic in indonesia. i remember the days before copd.

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the federal government believes you're paying too much for e books you're buying and reading on your tablet and it is blaming apple they filed charges against apple and five publishers of e book autos david louie has more on this for us. david? >> the justice department is coming down hard on apple and the five major book publishers claiming they conspire to raise prices on electronic books, costing consumers over $100 million. the justice department held a news conference in washington this morning to announce that 16 states and puerto rico are joining the lawsuit. california is not one of them. antitrust officials claim apple and five publishers hammered out an agreement to put pressure on amazon to do the same thing. the justice department says titles were raised from $2 to $5 each. comments made by publishers

top executives and steve jobs and apple were used to bolster this case. >> there is one executive said the goal is to force it to accept a higher level than $9.99 and yet another we've known unless others follow us there is no chance of success in getting amazon to change pricing practices. >> what you're seeing, i think played out as a dramatic way is what happens when an industry undergoes a major change. there are new vehicles for translating and transmitting to the consumer and industry tries to scramble to changes. and sometimes may scramble in ways that are not accessible. >> three publishers agreed to settle this case. and mcmill ian and penguin

have not negotiated to settle. we did contact apple headquarters but the company declined to comment. >> and one former republican presidential hopeful is urging latest campaign drop out to back mitt romney. sick santorum suspended his campaign yesterday despite having the second most delegates narrowing the field. tim pawlenty already endorsed romney and believes the endorsement is critical to the romney campaign. >> we want him and need him to be part of what is going to be the effort to become the next president of the united states. and highlight the flaws of president obama's time in office. we'd welcome his support and endorsement and anticipate and hope he'll be on board fully.

>> santorum has not revealed which of the three he will endorse. newt gingrich replied to claims his campaign bounced a check in ut ut your check bounced in utah. >> that is one of those goofy things. the check was drawn in december. the kt was closed by the time they processed it. it wasn't a question of money. the bank account was closed he added the campaign started to use another bank in january. the campaign says it will make out a new check so the candidate can appear on the primary ballot in late june. >> officials in western mexico rushing to the sight of a 7.0 earthquake to assess damage there. the quake hit a short time ago and tall buildings did sway. there are no reports of damage or injuries.

and two powerful earthquakes caused panic this morning. people feared a repeat of the deadly tsunami that killed people eight years ago. people ran following the quake centered off the coast. then, three hours later an 8.2 magnitude after shock struck near sumatra. authorities issued a tsunami warning. >> the first quake struck there was so much panic and pandemonium rg children are crying and women are praying. they headed straight to the main mosque. >> the washing was counciled after seismologists determined the earth moved horizontally rather than vertically. the quake caused little structural damage. >> syria is hedging bets tonight regarding tomorrow's cease fire. the government of the president assad says it will abide by the deadline thursday

but reserves to right to respond to any aggression. and rockets set buildings on fire and tanks fired shells into the city. the year old conflict left an estimated 9,000 people dead. >> welcome news out of peru. nine copper miners walkedded out today after being trapped six days. a cave in triggered by an explosion the miners set trapped them last week. rescuers boroughed through 26 feet of dirt and rocks and received food and medicine during that ordeal. you can imagine this is a huge media event. a host of cameras were on hand. >> well, here is a cheerful thought. the government looking for robots to take over in case we're wiped out. the story is ahead. >> what happened just before this woman took off all of her clothes in denver airport. >> michael finney is still

taking your questions and he's going to answer them here live just a little bit later, you can connect with michael on twitter and at facebook.com. >> i'm spencer christian, taking a look at western skies from our east bay camera. there are breaks of sunshine but there are more rain and showers headed our way. i'll give you a look at the forecast coming up in just a moment. the news at 4:00 continues.

the original suspect in the beating of brian stow enjoyed prime seats, he signed autographs for fans after his attorney gave him tickets to the game against pittsburgh. that helped exonerate him. >> here i am. >> they said you were never at dodger stadium you were telling the truth? >> yes. yes this, is it. just wanted to come and smell the place. know the place that caused all of this ruckus. >>. stow continues to recover from severe brain injuries. >> a woman ended up in the hospital today after witnesses say she took off her clothes inside of the terminal at denver international airport. take a look at this picture,

you can see a pile of the clothing on the floor in this photo snapped by another travel. a spokesperson said she had kind of brake down. we know someone asked her not to shock in a nonspoking -- smoking area. >> and the department of dpeens looking for someone to build a real life terminator. this is what it would co-look like. the federal government is holding a competition to build the robot that can survive nuclear blasts. the robot would be used to help human recovery and the feds willing to pay up to $34 million to whoever can develop the winning robot. the entries will undergo testing in a simulated environment. >> researchers based in california believe tornado alley is getting bigger across the middle of the united states. tornado alley's traditional path jernts on the great

complains and reports more tornadoes are striking outside of the area. and experts think it should include more of the mid west and deep south. speaking of tornadoes there was one this afternoon in stockton that tore down a garage. take a look. >> there is no one hurt but a rare event. >> there is a line of thunderstorms up and down the central valley this afternoon. you can see there is some storms in the sen tral valley. light, scattered showers areas of moisture down near san jose and pushing into the north bay. more numerous local showers, once again, heavy activity up and down the area down to fresno and snow into the

sierra. there is active weather in the state. tomorrow will remain active and snow in the sierra and large area of wet weather into the northern half of the state tomorrow. dry, sunny in the south. we'll have early morning rainfall. and there are mid-50s on the coast. up into the north bay again rain in the morning and showers into afternoon upper 50s to about 60 into the near east bay and inland there are highs around 60 degrees. and there is periods of rainfall throughout the day. so the active pattern stays with us. we'll see sunny breaks tomorrow, bare that in mind. >> april showers. >> yes. >> still ahead a world war ii veteran's plea for help. >> please come back to me.

>> someone stole his priceless war memorabilia. he wants to make sure the thieves know how much it means to him. >> just heart breaking. this teacher got pregnant then got fired. her boss admits she did a great job. how can they do that? the news at 4:00 continues right after this. stay with us.

a fairly common car break in had sad consequences. it's a matter of what is stolen and from whom. wayne freedman is near the parking lot where this took place. wayne? >> this is where the story that's just gets to you. it happened behind me on april 4th. micky is 92 years old a world war ii veteran a survivor of the attack on pearl harbor. parking his car on the lot, and when he came back, stuff was gone from it. stuff he used to tell people about the war with. he is devastated. >> it, you can't replace it. this is so meaningful.

i survived. >> micky is a tough 92-year-old man. tonight he's tested. the attack took 23 of his friends now, this attack on his personal property has taken a slice of his heart. met yalz, a hat, and a text he uses to teach children were in a car in this parking lot. police have little to go on. he gave so much to this country in world war ii only has a little hope. >> and there is a message for the people. >> don't throw ate way. boy like to have it back. please give it back to me. >> he is hoping whoever took those items is watching tonight he hopes that that person has a shred of decency.

he just wants the items back. wayne freedman abc 7 news. >> that is heart breaking. a single mom to be wants her teaching and coaching jobs back after being fired from a private school in texas. she won awards for coaching during her three years working at heritage christian academy. the school claims she violated the morals clause by having a child out of wedlock. >> and going forth it was ruled a christian school does have that right. because this is a ministry. >> we all have different views and interpretations it's not necessarily the christian thing to do just to throw someone aside because of those. >> she is 39 qeeks along and

may take legal action against the school. >> a san francisco beachside get away for 50 years could be forced to become housing for the homeless. we're live with the battle over this beach motel. >> there are questions like how to rent a car if you don't have a credit card? you can, i'll tell you how up next. >> and the best job in the nation. there are positions available head on abc 7 news at ak. >> and tonight the breaking news in the trayvon martin case. the charges against george zimmerman. what we've learned about where he has been tonight z it is possible that the most sought after new tall qent in this country, finally is a lot older tan you think, including models?

you can make a lot of money in a brave way. we're going to show you after 5:00. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

michael finney is here answering question autos one viewer has a question about renting a car without a credit card. >> did you ever try do this? >> you can't. >> it was a hassle. you can now. a viewer asked this qe. i need to rent a car. i zront a credit card. do you know a place that will rent without a credit card? we called around. most of the major agencies will indeed rent you a car, but... there is some things you have to have. a debit card. number one. and then they're going put a credit hold on some of the money to make sure that they'll get paid. about $350 then they're go owing do a credit check. this is not a quick process for you. you might call ahead tell them you're coming then expect to

spend a half hour there getting this done. then, some companies today said they need proof of insurance. i'm assuming that is if you're not willing to buy theirs so it's going to be a long process but you can get a car rented. a viewer tweeted can you negotiate to do upgrades on your place when rent is going to be raised before signing a lease? absolutely. and as a matter of fact that is when you should be negotiating. often very people contact me and they want to gripe after signing the new lease. you've been there. they don't have to find a new client. a new renter that is going to take two, to six weeks so say they're going up rent say okay. but i need new carpets, new door knobs and paint the back bathroom there. is a very good chance you'll get it done. and most land lords are wheelers and dealer asks z.they're pretty good at

negotiating. you just need to do it before signing the lease. william h asks why can chemicals like nonoxynol-9 be used in cleaning products? because they're legal here in the state. and chi checked at prop 65 web site. as far as state of california is concerned this is not a carcinogen. fit was all they'd have to do is notify you via prop 65 they're allowed to use the item autos thank you. >> and a small motel in san francisco could be forced to become a residential hotel. the beach motel near ocean beach has been operating since a tourist mostel. one step is happening tonight at city hall.

>> bob patel owned and operated beach motel since 1983. he fought and one one legal battle. there is a case brought by the housing clinic being resurrected possibly for a second look by the permitting board. the clinic says the hotel is in violation of regulations and supposed to be a single room hotel. the motel lawyers alerted the sleep yes sunset neighborhood the motel could become a homeless shelter. >> they've decided to lie and lie and lie. we've never gone to any city agency. >> we don't know what the use would be if not a tourist motel. it's a tourist motel f we have anything to do about it it's going to stay a tourist motel. >> this law changed since 1958,

first zoning now forbidding tourist hotels here in this neighborhood and there is an ordinance in the form of sro hotels. the beach thought it had won exemptions but now a hearing at 5:00 could reopen that legal battle basically what's happening is that house keeping from the permitting april yeems board is now reopening this battle possibly. we'll have to wait to see what they decide. >> thank you. >> and thanks for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00 i'm carolyn johnson. remember, you can keep track on the latest breaking news on twitter and you can talk about it on abc 7 news and news at

5:00 continues right now with dan ashley and cheryl jennings. >> this could have and should have been prevented at uc davis. that is part of a finding by a task force using pepper spray on students. >> and the next storm will soak the bay area, i'll have a time line of when it arrives and how much rain we'll receive. >> new focus in the search for missing morgan hill teenager sierra lamar. the efforts to find her takes an emotional toll. >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> we did get a break from the rain. >> it did not last long. north bay got a healthy dose this afternoon. this video shows it coming down in santa rosa. >> here is a live look west across the bay. there are clouds back and more

rain is not far behind. >> there is a look at radar and where it's raining now. >> i want to show you a few showers showing up and there is most of those concentrated in the north bay. so let's get new closer here and show where we're seeing the light to moderate rain just south of there. you can see rainfall around south of calistoga. and we'll show you what it looks like there. you're seeing moderate rain and we're going to continue to see some light pop up showers as you can see here there is some light activity heading east bay and south bay. this cell just southwest picking up a little bit of very light rainfall east of the main street area. it's been intense over a thousand lightning streaks and thunderstorms developed there. there