i can tell you that we're carefully and pains takingly going through all of the evidence that we have thus far. i can tell you that we will do everything in our power to seek the truth. as z.to seek justice for sierra lamar. >> the 15-year-old disappeared on the morning of march 16th, despite two months of sheriff searches, as well as community volunteer searches she's not been found. garcia-torres's family was in court today and told abc 7 news earlier this week after his arrest that they believe he is innocent and never knew sierra. coming up at 5:00 we'll tell you what they're telling us today, and how some community members reacted to this first appearance. in san jose, abc 7 news. >> thank you.

>> right now, breaking news in pleasanton. sky 7 is overhead, police have discovered a body found at laurel creek drive not far from stoneridge mall. >> investigators shult down part of dublin county road. police and the sheriff's department are on the scene right now. they're removing a trash can from the middle of the street and placing it into a van. >> no word what type of evidence was inside there. we'll stay on top of this and bring you more information as soon as we have it. >> and findings of an investigation into last month's fatal yacht racing accident were released this afternoon. u.s. sailing and the coast guard made recommendations public. mark matthews joins us live with details. mark? >> we're here because san francisco yacht club was the home yacht club of the slow -- low-speed chase. the yacht hit by a rogue wave in april washed up on to the

rocks in the farallon islands. the coast guard pulled safety permits for two races and u.s. sailing began looking into what went wrong. the april race disaster that killed five sailors on board this chase. u.s. sailing began putting together a panel of experts to make recommendation on how to prevent an accident like this. >> interviewed quite a number of people involved from the race committee, competitors, the people that were on the boat. >> and the president of the u.s. sailing spoke with me today via skype from massachusetts telling me that the recommendations are a lot of common sense. they include enhanced training of sailors in seamen, ship and pilotting and understanding wave development in shallow waters and keeping a safe distance on the down wind side. two, once a training seminar in the use of mandatory

skipper's meetings, number three assurance of compliance with minimum requirements, improved race management would include accountability of all bets on the course, who is on board, and their contact information which ought to be shared with the race committee and compliance with permits and improved communications with the coast guard. >> i think that the sport of sail boat racing has a fairly good track record with safety. however, we have had a srdz of accidents over the past year that are disturbing. the chicago mac race, the farallon tragedy. and the ensenada race last month. all of these things are a wake up call we've got to pay more attention. >> we'd like to get reaction from sailors here at the yacht club, but sensitivity around the accident involving a

low-speed chase caused him to say he doesn't want reporters on board this afternoon. we have heard from the coast guard there is a big race. this weekend it's a race from san francisco bay down to monterey. and that race is going to take place. there is no restriction on off shore racing coming from the coast guard. abc 7 news. >> thank you. >> and wind blown sands shut down the san francisco great highway this afternoon. and and traffic is closed between float and skyline boulevards and and this continues day after day. here is spencer christian with the latest on these. >> you're right. we've had strong gusty winds throughout the week. right now gale warnings in affect over the san francisco bay until 9:00 tonight and waves have been brisk all day

long and picked up into afternoon hours. several days. these are current wind gusts 31 miles per hour gusts in the bay and other location wez have gusts at 25 miles per hour or greater up to 31 miles per hour at fairfield z we also have showers moving into our direction which i'll tell you about later, first let me give you a look at what's happening in lake tahoe now. this is from our heavenly camera. temperatures into 50s now, into sierra, rain we're getting tomorrow, if we get it will maybe translate into snow. and it could be accumulating snow into higher elevations. >> and oakland city leaders announced their new budget this afternoon. the news coming the week the warriors made a high profile announcement they plan to move so-to-san francisco in five years.

>> the mayor said this afternoon this is the best budget she's worked on in her many years in city government. it does look good, no cuts in jobs or services for fiscal year 2012, 13. that is the first time an oakland mayor has been able to say that. that comes after tough times during which oakland had to layoff a thousand employees, 20% of the work force. now, the city plans to increase funding for a police academy and reforms, restore senior hours and put more money into economic development, including spending $1.8 million to complete an environmental impact study on the proposed coliseum city project. the decision to move ahead with that comes just days after warriors announced they'll be moving to san francisco. >> do you feel like you're treated fairly by warriors? >> i'm not going to get into that.

i think warriors are welcome back. what we're focusingyç

parts of an effort to get guns off the street. carlos nafa junior was shot by a stray bullet on international boulevard in august. a fund-raiser will take place tonight at a restaurant on international boulevard. all donations will go towards purchasing gift cards in turn used for a gun buy back program in f in the city june 2. a mountain view man is under arrest after he drove on to a street that was sealed off for the president's motorcade. police say he did not stop and he drove down the street the wrong way, and then crashed into a curb, took out a light and hit trees.

police say there is no evidence he intended to harm the president. speaking of mr. obama he can add $4 million to his reelection account. the president hosted an expensive breakfast at the fairmont hotel, 20 asian americans paid $35,000 each for tickets in addition to two other pricey fund-raisers held last night. the president left the bay area this morning shortly before 10:30 on his way to iowa for a campaign stop. >> officials waiting to get inside of a nuclear-powered submarine that caught fire last night and swept through the compartments in dry dock in maine. they were not threatened by the fire and officials hope to begin venting smoke and fumes so they can get in and assess the damage. a massive wildfire in new mexico destroyed 12 homes and threatening dozens more, burning 70,000 acres and crews

have been unable to attack flames because of fierce winds and erratic behaviors. the fire started at two separate blazes and both sparked by lightning. >> still head on abc 7 news at 4:00 details on why facebook share dz not pop on day one. we'll be live with that. >> also, why researchers think children delivered by c section are more likely to be obese. >> one bay area beach that you'll want to avoid.

a possible connection between childhood obesity and delivery by c section. researchers found children born via c section had twice the risk of obesity by the

time they're three years old saying it might affect bacteria in the gut. researchers also found that mother who's delivered by c section tended to weigh more than mom who's deliver vaginally. >> women who try to kick the smoking habit during pregnancy but can't may still be able to help lung health of unborn children, saying vitamin c can improve a babe ease lung function and the study show that babies born to smokier who's took a vitamin c supplement had better lung function z calcium supplements may be doing more harm than good. researchers in switzerland found people reported regularly taking the calcium supplements were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack than those who who did not use any supplements. this is the 11 year sudden

study of 25,000 people, applying only to supplements. people who consumed from foods tended to have a lower risk of heart attack. >> on to business news, facebook closed well below ipo price and shares up slightly. let's go live with today's after the bell report. >> you can't quite call it a come back there is shared closed today at $33 a share. the company now down 13% since opening day but the controversy over who did what wrong and when is only getting more ugly. bloomberg learned more about who was on the call with facebook and the bankers decided to raise the price of the ipo including morgan stanley's ceo. and facebook's cfo. not there was mark zuckerberg.

sources tell bloomberg eversman wanted to maximize gains and minimize the stock's first day pop to 10%. jp morgan bankers indicated there was demand for shares above $38 a piece but they settled on 38s ndz the end. there is a take on how much this ipo flop has cost the retail investor. bloomberg crunched numbers and sources tell us 25% of the shares were sold to individual investors meaning main street lost $600 million. and there may be business as usual, facebook released a camera app for the iphone. the app is similar to intsa graham and imemployee dz not have input on this no word yet on when the app will be available for android.

>> u.s. stocks closed lower today, investors weighed developments in europe. your bloomberg silicon valley index lower and shares of hp rallied more than 3%. and sony says it will pay for 3 d glasses given out in theaters. sony and major chains had fought for months over who is going to foot the bill. with the opening tomorrow, sony says it will pay this time. but warns it will not pay indefinitely. and wonder why ibm doesn't want employees talking to siri? it's because she may have a big mouth. big blue's chief information officer tells m.i.t.technology review ibm fears questions employees ask will be saved and stored. after instituting its bring your own device policy they found a slew of popular apps which could pose risks. apple's siri is on that list. in san francisco, i'm emily

chang with bloomberg west. back to you. >> thank you. >> and stay out of the bay in san mateo county is the message from a group keeping an eye on local water contamination. >> the group "heal the bay posted a report card. during dry weather 98% beaches did good or excellent grades. >> bacterial contamination peaks during wet weather. and. >> when it rains they tree. causes back ups and sewage spills into storm drains and they get into the bay. >> no bay area sites under the top 10 most-contaminated beaches those are in southern california most near malibu, which is interesting. >> big problem out there today is that wind.

it's back. >> and all this week, pattern has been breezy overnight and windy with gusts increasing and over san francisco on this clear day, blue skies and strong gusty winds this, is the close up loop of our satellite image showing clouds near the coast being blown away by strong winds again. there is a gale warning over the bay. here is a look at current gusts up to 51 miles per hour now at sfo. similar pattern to yesterday. there is 37 miles per hour gusts and gust up to 25 miles 'u

and sonoma county and over solano county seems to be the spot for thunder to develop. if it does at all. and then, later into evening hours and tomorrow night we'll see it tapering off.

and there is a winter weather advisory for central sierra including tahoe. two to six inches of snow possible above 6,000 feet. eight inches likely or possible at higher elevations. back here in the bay area, partly cloudy skies. lows upper 40s to around 50. tomorrow's highs not so high, mainly into 60s inland and low 60s around the bay. here is the accu-weather forecast. there is still expecting a warm up over the weekend. and memorial day weekend won't be hot but will be milder than now. we won't see 8 owes again inland until mid week, next week. >> all right. >> pleasant. >> yes. >> very. >> and coming up on abc 7 news, emton john cancelled concerts because of health concern autos and a robot that is its own paparazzi. >> then at 5:00 punishment three bay area middle schoolers face under a law cracking down on cyber bullying.

and we're live at the san mateo bridge, you can see this 18 wheeler being towed away that. is a good thing because past the bridge all traffic was stopped. there is a massive back up right now. and in hayward for cars trying to make their way across the bridge and the sky 7 pans there, towards the toll plaza, you can see traffic just

stacked up there and not moving. the good news is that big rig has now been cleared from the scene. so traffic will be beginning to flow once again. >> i'm sure there is a stretch there where there are cars moving but not yet. this is fun. some robots have a mind of their own, nasa rover snapped a picture of its own shadow. this is the latest self portrait since the rover, named opportunity, landed in 2004. he was taken on the rim of a massive crater. the rover waited for just the right lighting to send this post card back to earth. hard to believe. >> it's amazing. >> and looks great. better than most i take. >> there is a big day for music. the new series duets preemers and a music super star is recovering from a health scare.

>> elton john is on orders to cool his engines this weekend. he was hospitalized this week for a severe respiratory infection. doctors say he needs to rest, forcing him to cancel three shows in las vegas. and four of the biggest stars warming up to mind the next big super star. john legend, kelly clarkson and robin thick looking for unknown singers to duet. >> i think a big part is picking the right song. not only for their voices but also, for the audience. >> this is a crash course in learning how to entertain and perform and how to be a great singer and a great performer, when standing next to john legend and jennifer nettels you better get your game together. you can see the difference between confidence of an established performer and someone just getting started. >> catch fire works tonight on

abc. >> country super star tim mcgraw lending his southern voice, will give away a mortgage-free home to a veteran on each stop of his tour this summer with ken knee chesnee. remember to check out otrc.com for all of your latest entertainment headlines. >> and still ahead at 4:00 those predictions about higher gas prices turping out wrong. plus... >> this is hard to believe he'd do something like that. >> neighbors are stunned by an arrest in one of the nation's first high profile missing children cases.

there is an arrest in the case of a missing child whose picture was the first ever to appear on milk cartons. >> the 6-year-old etan disappeared and a convenience store worker told police he killed the boy. >> abc 7 news has more. >> is this new information about what happened to etan paits turned out true, it will be an unsettling answer. authorities say a man admits he strangled the 6-year-old walking to school one morning and then, officials say hernandez told them he put the body in a box to dispose of it.

last month, investigators say they didn't find human remains when the cold case was reopened and excavated the basement of an apartment. relatives of hernandez, watching the dig called police and said in the past hernandez hinted he was involved in the disappearance, yesterday, police arrested him at his apartment in new jersey. hernandez has not yet been charged. >> it's hard to believe he would do something like that. i don't think he did it. i mean, you never know with people. >> one neighbor says hernandez and his wife and daughter who live there have been quote, the best tenants ever. back in soho he used to work in a corner store not far from the bus stop where etan was walking. the boy's parents held out hope woe come home and never moved out of the neighborhood. >> i just can't imagine what they've gone through. i hope that we're one step closer to bringing them some measure of relief. >> and police say after

several suspects have come and gone they're cautiously optimistic they've cracked the case. >> this friday will be the 33 anniversary of etan's disappearance. >> and a man was reached a $4 million settlement with the police department over a confrontation that left him with an injured spine n 2007, police entered the home of a 62-year-old without a warrant to investigate a possible assault on his girlfriend. he claims officers shocked him with a stun gun, then put him in a choke hold, police argue he was resisting arest when daysed. his lawyers say this is the largest such settlement in the bay area in the last decade, ending a civil rights lawsuit. this will be paid for through the city of vallejo insurance. >> democratic leader nancy pelosi urged california lawmakers not abandon high speed rail because of tough economic times, he made the comment to california high speed rail conference and note

that had great projects like golden gate bridge were built during the great depression. california could lose over $3 billion unless it commits $2.7 billion in state bonds. saying lawmakers need to look beyond the state's immediate needs. >> we know that building the infrastructure really builds a new life for our community. and every way. >> and california lawmakers are negotiating with the federal government trying to extend that bond deadline until august. owe however, transportation secretary ray lahood threatening to give the seed money to other states. >> and there is welcome news for memorial day travelers. the current averages for regular unlead ntd bay area according to the triple a are 4.39s ndz san francisco, 4.31s ndz oakland. prices are down from a week ago. here is abc 7 news reporter karen travers.

>> summer kicks off this weekend and americans are hitting the road for fun in the sun. triple a suspects 35 million americans will travel 50 miles from home for memorial day weekend, a 1.2% increase over last year. >> travel is picking up a bit. >> just a few weeks ago experts predicted five, even $6 gas. >> prices have gone up every day for almost a month. 28 in a row. >> good news for drivers, it turns out those forecast maze have been too aggressive. prices have dropped in recent weeks. in early april, the national average for a gallon was hovering around $4 now down about a quarter. and what happened to those dire predictions? this week, the price of a barrel hit a seven-month low. analysts point to a dip in the u.s.. >> and with iran had lessened that pushed oil and gas prices

up. the global economy slowed down. >> analysts say we've likely seen the peak of the prices. >> it's like a form of stimulus or a little tax cut people are getting going into spring and summer driving season. >> nine out of 10 americans expected to travel by car. and the trips will be a easier on their wallets. >> i'm happy with $3.50, and $3.79 the week before that. >> experts expect prices to hold abc 7 and at least it's not over $5, right? >> the little girl surviving a freak hunting arrow accident is going to be fine. >> harvard apollizing -- apoll jidzing for a brief biography of one of its notorious alums.

>> skies are clear, now showers moving into our direction. the accu-weather forecast

doctors rescued by a 7-year-old girl shot in the back with a hunting arrow. she was playing outside with her dolls in a small wisconsin town. a stray arrow struck here, went through her lungs and diea graph, stomach, liver and spleen. doctors say it was two sent meter as way from causing

fatal injuries. >> instead of her watching her recover coy have been at her funeral. >> doctors removed the arrow in a two and a half hour surgery. officials don't know where it came from. shooting arrows within town limits is against the law. >> and a european auction house cancelled the plan to sell a vial of ronald reagan's blood. it came from a lab that test thed blood after the assassination attempt on his life. the seller plans to donate it to the presidential foundation in southern california. >> and the latest harvard university alumni book is causing controversy including an enry from the una bomber, he graduated from harvard in 1962. the enry lists his occupation

as president mer and wards as eight life sentences. he was convicted of killing three people and injuring 23 others during a bombing spree that lasted from 1978 to 1995. the harvard alumni association apologized for publishing this entry. >> and there is a look ats the weekend forecast. >> unusual weather continues. into the sierra there is a winter weather advisory. and from 6:00 tomorrow evening. we expect two to six inches of snow, possibly eight inches into higher elevations and this is strong winds and continuing to have winds tomorrow, and there is a showers chance of showers in parts of the north bay tomorrow, high temperatures are into 60s inland.

we've got a big celebration of the 75th anniversary of the golden gate bridge coming up sunday and there is conditions partly cloudy skies, which means partly sunny skies and there are breezy conditions on the cool side. temperatures 58 into afternoon to 54 late at night. fire works scheduled for 9:30 sunday evening. and if we have partly cloudy skies and clear skies we expect viewing conditions should be favorable for fire works. and this is going to be cooler than average. >> your animation is almost as nice as real fire works. >> and. >> that is fire works sun but festivities starting tomorrow aichl look at what you need to know about the golden gate bridge's 75th anniversary, next. >> and just in time for summer

travel, there is a lead on a hotel chain. you can get a clean room for less than $100 a night. i'll show you the trick of getting green hotel deals ahead. >> and i'm going to have to look for route autos getting ready for detours coming to muni starting tomorrow.

you've heard that the golden gate bridge turns 75 this weekend. there is a giant party sunday, tomorrow, the governor and house democratic leader nancy pelosi will come for a ceremony kicking everything off. you'd be wise to leave your car at home. there will be skeer yoi parking and the bridge district encourages party goers to take public transit and allow plenty of travel time. >> it's an exciting time for us and it's going to be difficult to get to the event but we hope everyone takes time, plan as head, call 511, go to golden gate and the

various transit sites. make your plan now. >> and you need to know that traffic on the bridge will be interrupted from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 that sunday night because there is a big fire works show. the bridge will close part of the time. there are some of the highlights from 11:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. they'll be bans and dancing at the marina green. starting at 11:00 a.m. there is a parade of vintage water craft featuring 75 years of classic boats. and the big event is 9:30 sunday night. best views will be from fort point down to marina green. we have links and details about sunday's big party at abc 7 news.com. >> and keep in mind golden gate bridge are not the only places where traffic is going to be a mess this weekend. caltrans is shutting down the dunbartonon bridge for memorial day weekend beginning at 10:00 tom night and plan to

have the work completed in time for it to reopen by 5:00 in the morning tuesday. our waze traffic app can help you navigate any detours. you can down load and go to abc 7 news.com to find out more. >> you're thinking i'll take mass transit. that is not going to help you out. construction at church will force the light rail line to stop running altogether. >> and we have all of the details. >> the work has begun. and starting tomorrow evening, bull dozers will replace train autos to shut down this busy

rail line and create diversions will have an impact on a lot of people. >> it runs the bredth of the city from ocean beach to cal train, serving 25,000 riders, it will shut down tomorrow and not reopen until june 4. there will be a partial shut down of the j church and there is a overhall of the roadway along the area, these renderings show improve manies for pedestrians, bikes and car autos i'm going to have to look for alternative routes. or walk. and this is 22 so it's going to be inconvenienced. soit has to be done. >> there are a variety of

alternatives and there is a special plan event sunday where 300,000 are expected to attend. oor summer vacation season is officially starting with memorial day weekend. rates are heading up. >> michael finney with tips on finding best deals available. >> rather than drive or walk, that is what i suggest. according to consumer reports, the rate is expected to top 100s thdz year but there is a survey finding good budget hotels that will cost you less. >> finding a nice home -- hotel room can take work. a good place to start is with the web site. >> hotels have imposed best rate guarantees. that is find an advertised price lower, and we'll watch

it plus give a bonus. >> book at the site then keep looking online for a cheaper rate this, pays to look for special deals on hotel types like up to 20% off and come plentry parking. >> if you want to save and get rock bottom rates do what i do. use hot wire, price line name your own price program, or use travelocity top secret hotel. they don't reveal the name until after you committed to purchasing it can lead to big bargains, todd booked a room what turned out to be the james a high end hotel in chicago. rate? $133 a night. best rate the hotel or any other site offered was $234. and while budget hotels are the cheapest place to stay, consumer reports says some are no bargain. this survey of 2300 subscribers found america's best value in, among the

worst. a better bet is where rooms can go for $59 per night offering decent upkeep, they're clean, check in, most of the time is a snap. >> and consumer reports says if you can't plan ahead, and need to book at the last minute there are ways to save there, too. there is a free smart phone app showing deals on hotels in some 30 cities including san francisco, and you can start checking rates at noon in the time zone. i down loaded that just to keep track of it. some days not so good. other days, very good. >> worth checking there. >> yes. >> thank you. >> and just ahead on abc 7 news, the high intensity effort by some students to develop low energy appliance autos and science in action. some m.i.t.students find a way to make ketchup move. >> latest lego item is now the target of another bar code

switching scheme. >> and there is diane sawyer with a look at what she's working on. >> hello, tonight on world news we're going to have morn the case of little etan pals and what we've learned about evidence that may have cracked the case. and how you prove gimt after all of these years. >> al qaeda recruits online. there is a team fighting back for the usa. we'll tell but them tonight right after abc 7 news at

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nasa has just released some incredible images of the sun's surface. the space agency put out this enhanced video showing activity on the surface of the sun. amazing. >> this is wild. it was shot during a 24 hour

period in september. >> that is very cool. >> if you're one of the people always frustrated, trying to... what? there is another line to this, trying to get the last bits of ketchup out of the bottle a new design could mean the end of the problem. >> a team came up with a super slippery coating that makes inside of the bottle so frictionless, the ketchup just slides out. >> they say the substance is nontoxic and they suspect fda to approve it solving one of the great problems of man kind. >> threw go. >> a contest challenged college stud dwronts think big about using smaller ams of energy. >> and there is a team hoping to come away with the prize. >> clothe driers take up a ton of energy and people are running them and so we need to

solve that problem. >> that is what this team did adding this heat exchanger. >> this is students say it's the first of its kind. >> and there is going to be the first person to do it. >> and there is a small roof top unit that cut the drier energy use by 84%. >> we're shocked and it's crazy but we're excited. >> more excited to enter the national competition to build greener appliance autos this is to push energy efficiency as we can to address very, very serious problems of climate change. >> moving a driver isn't the osyest thing but students didn't have is to. in another move the lab hosted

a competition virtually. >> our next team is santa clara university. >> nine teams showed their ideas to a panel of judges. >> this is organizers hopt winners will be society. >> training engineer tooz work in an area that has not and abc 7 news. >> and thanks for joining us for abc 7 news at 4:00. >> and you can keep track of the latest breaking news and talk it and abc 7 news at 5:00 continues now with dan ashley. >> and thank you. standing by their loved one in court. why family members do not believe garcia-torres is responsible for sierra lamar's murder. >> and i'm sandhya patel.

changes coming tomorrow, possibility of showers and thunderstorms. we'll talk about that coming up. >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> cheryl jennings is off tonight. and tonight he's been charged with murdering sierra lamar. and spoke with his family today. we're live in the court house in san jose. >> and like the suspect's sister told me woe like to talk at length but they've been advised not to make anymore comments to the media. and it makes this case eligible for death penalty. the district attorney says he's not going make that decision for some time. >> and garcia-torres is and it

is filled with people who is involved with the search for the teenager he is accused killing and and this charge is one count of murder and he forcibly kidnapped her. the two-page statement of facts presented by the district attorney does not testimony us anything new about the evidence against him. >> what i can say to you is that where we'll proof that case is in a courtroom in front of a jury with facts. >> sheriff investigators did find dna from garcia-torres on clothing and sierra's dna in his red jetta. one former prosecutor says the case does present challenge autos from a kidnapping standpoint very strong evidence. and now, you have to establish a trauma or something like that. you need