starting us off by walk walking us through what happened. >> sure. i want to mention i just got off the phone. they say the system is running on time, except for just a two minute delay in an z.out of transbay tube. the accident this morning was just a rear ender. had it happened anywhere else would have ended there, instead it's just the beginning. >> the site that makes bart commuters blood run cold. instead of train as cross the tracks bart workers swarmed the rails. they were racing to realign tracks and replace insulateors damaged outside of the entrance to the tube. two vehicles collided. >> there is a vehicle used for welding on the tracks. it's kind of like a flat rail car. coming over a hill from west oakland, rear ending a high

railer. >> 400 feet of track was damaged it has a lot of weight. when moving there is a lot of momentum the hit another vehicle and moved down the tracks it damaged insul lateors along the way. >> they can be seen underneath the third rail. these are damaged a year ago in a fire at the west oakland station that make sure high votage gos to the train not into the ground. trains tracked through the tube. by then, dang to the commute was done. >> trying to get to san francisco to work. i don't know if i'm going to get there today, it's a nightmare. >> bart plans to continue overnight tonight when it's normally closed. >> hopefully we'll get it up

to full speed so next monday that, everything will be running quickly and everybody will be able to get where they want to go this, weekend. >> so we know what caused damage but what caused the accident? was it failure? that is who bart is looking into now and will let us know when they can. >> those people are now making their way home. here is a live look at the maze in the east bay this, is packed with traffic heading into the city this morning. taking a look right now, traffic is flowing on the left-hand side. things moving and it would be force at this time. san francisco skyway shot that we showed you earlier. lots of heavy traffic there. moving slowly.

and on the right side, slowly as well. we have been talking to commuters today and it's no fun for anyone what bart is a breakdown. >> no fun. it's frustrating for many, many people. here at the ferry building we're told the ferys were more crowded than usual. fires are one way people managed to bypass bart this morning. there were a lot of frustrated workers in downtown san francisco. many faced an hour delay. >> delays i heard about likely we'll take the bus again. it's not a bad alternative. repairs meant delays ranged depending on why you started out. computers forced to drive faced a huge back up on the bay bridge lasting most of the morning. compute yirz forced to seek

alternate transportation two. more boats were placed to help with the crowds. so what does this evening's commute look like? >> it will be better going back home. hopefully i won't sprob lems trying to get back home. >> here on beal street melissa is back to vallejo. making her late for school. >> crossing our finger buzz we're about to sit in traffic. happy traffic. -- traffic. >> bart problems did not constitute an emergency transportation issue but did point out any mode of problem causes huge problem that's is where y.san francisco office of emergency services says when something like bart fails plans kick in. >> whether increased buses and ferries and trains, that is

why we develop these relationships so we can adjust on the fly. >> the ferries we're told are running on schedule. should be advise there'd is critical mass tonight so there may be some traffic issues in downtown san francisco. >> don't forget the waze traffic app and it's free. >> firefighters mopping up a fire right now. flames broke out near a homeless encampment. the overpass there that caused a brief traffic slow down because of visibility issues. firefighters knocked this down in about 20 minutes no. injuries were reported. and no red flag warnings in the nine bay area counties right now. abc 7 news joins us live now

from pleasanton with a look at conditions there. laura? >> firefighters will tell you it's not just heat, or wind or dry fuels. it's all of the above. that is what firefighters here in the east bay will be looking out for this weekend. >> we had a controlled burn. >> firefighters decided to cancel a controlled burn near livermore national lab today because the weather changed in a way that made exercise potentially dangerous. >> we hoped for it because of the wind and movement humidity was getting down into single digits. >> wind and humidity will be the key factors going into what is expected to be a hot weekend in the inland areas like livermore and pleasanton. >> it's very dry. >> than this time last year? >> yes. yes. >> of the west side, the fire department will have extra patrols but not expected to get as hot or ripe for fire

unless a combination of factors converge where wild land interface was a dense population of homes above it in places like richmond and kin sington. >> it's may already. but we have dry fuels as you can see. we become more concerned because we can expect more extreme fire if it occurs in the vegetation. >> over the years we've had quite a few fire autos bob lived here many years and has seen plenlty of fires. >> close to home but feels better going into the summer. since east bay regional parks cleared space behind the house. >> could get warm this weekend. are you concerned?. >> no. because we've got a good fire break here. right here. it gets windy here. it does get windy here. >> someone of the agencies plan to beef up their staffing

levels due to warm weather but they have said if conditions change, they will bring in more people. in pleasanton abc 7 news. >> thank you, laura. so we know it's going to be not weekend but how windy will it be? for that we turn to sandhya pat yeel yes. you can see clear skies right now. we have a red flag warning in affect right now. it runs until 7:00 p.m. saturday the strongest winds are expected to be west of interstate five, so fires can spread quickly which is why the warning is in effect this direction tends tends to dry out the atmosphere some more. now, heading into saturday warming up quickly but a wide

range of temperatures with some 60s and 70s along the coastline we did have cooler weather, i'll show you when coming up. >> thank you. >> fans who are waiting to watch the giants tonight in st. louis have just been urged to leave, and seek shelter because of possible tornadoes. the game has been rescheduled for tomorrow as another wave of disastrous weather is ravaging the mid west this, is a live picture over oklahoma city. two tornadoes have touched down nearby. look at that sky. and people being told by police to seek shelter. there are reports of tractor trailers being flipped but so far, no word of injuries. the will rogers airport there has been evacuated we'll update you on conditions in our next half hour and on twitter.

>> still to come four people sent to prison for a fraud pulled in the chinese community. turns out the bay area isn't the only place they've tried it who is the person seen in this video? the investigation into a case of animal cruelty. >> grieving pet owner never gets this back. coming up,

quick work of firefighters helped rescue a woman. officials say the woman somehow fell into the water around 4:30 this afternoon. a witness through her a life preserver and another, then a life jacket. firefighters pulled her from the water. she had been taken to the hospital, no word tonight on the condition. people who live in the path of california planned high speed rail line and aren't happy about it got their day in court today, they're claiming it's turned into a giant boondoggel. abc 7 news reports from sacramento with a project. >> google earth shows landing that aaron and his wife bought in the hopes of building their dream home one day. that is until the california high speed rail authority proposed running tracks through the property. and he others sued, claiming the bumt train has broken a promise made to voter who's approved a $10 billion bond under proposition 1 a.

to help kick start the project accusing the state of failing to have all financing and approvals for the phase in place before construction starts which is lated for later this summer. without them, they say the state could end up with a train to nowhere. >> we don't want to have a stranded investment. that is not what i want to give properties up for. >> quinton who pushed for the project as a lawmaker then served as president of the high speed rail board now opposes it. the king's county plaintiffs got their day in court. this could delay, or stop, california high speed rail dreams, their attorney wants prop a followed to the t. >> we have a project that could be rolling forward that could end up leaving us with 130 miles of rail that is

unusable for anything. >> the state insists it has complied with provisions of the bond measure. >> there is an identification ofesun no requirement of certainty. reasonableness with those. >> the conversations then become how do i get out of the way? >> the judge has 90 days to issue a decision f california doesn't break ground, it risks losing $3 million for the project. >> a judge in san francisco sentenced four thieves today convicted of swindling klein yeez seniors in what police call the blessings scam. >> the four convicted this

month. and this is the second conviction the da obtained in these cases. the judge allowed our kramz but ordered us not to show their faces. the three women followed proceedings today through translators listening as a judge sentenced three of them to three years in county jail. >> the judge as well as the district attorney sengd a message to this type of behavior. >> they're arrested in october here and approached susan wong who spoke to abc 7 news this week and said the women tried to befriend her and they chatted then one said she was claire voiant. >> number three told me that there is going to be calamity in the household. your son going to die within three days then, my husband

going get really ilt women said they can scare the spirits if she gave them jewelry and wash. -- cash. wong went to police. when arrested, police recovered $47,000 in cash stolen from another victim. >> they had difficult lives and there were pressures brought to bear on them that caused them to get involved in this torrent. >> prosecuters say this was not an ice yol yaited case. two of them still face charges in new york and los angeles for doing the same thing. wednesday, the da held a rally to warn about the fraud. they handed out bag was known numbers to call. the police chief wants to make sure there is no confusion

which is may 1. >> the call has to go to 911 for a response so we can catch these people. it's a good idea to follow up with the d.a.office. >> this so called b scam that occurred in l.a., new york and chicago. two thiefs have charges pending elsewhere but san francisco is the first city in the country to obtain convictions on these cases. >> thank you. >> let's take another live look from oklahoma region right now. you can see it's dark there. we're seeing flashes of lightning. >> this is unsettled tonight. this is a time of the year we do expect severe thunderstorms and tornadoes and have seen some tornadoes moving through the oklahoma area. threat is weakening that. is according to national weather service out of norman,

oklahoma. and i'll show you radar in just a moment. from that region, clear skies here in the by area i want to take you to the southern plains we have been seeing severe thunderstorm and tornadoes outbreaks and look here this is the present time. red indicating a possible tornado here. the yellow indicating possible rotation. and as you look at the last couple hours here, the tornado that moved through oklahoma city you can see it here in red. it moved through and we don't know if these were separate tornadoes for it, because it's so large, the reds indicating the same tornado so of course we're keeping an eye on it. but the tornado threat is weakening looking at a live picture here locally, big difference. golden gate bridge, sunny skies. it's 69 in oakland. san jose, 82 degrees. santa cruz, beautiful day.

got up to 80 degrees and people out and did. just enjoying warmth there. only going to get warmer heading into saturday. santa rosa 86 degrees. union city, 61. mid-90s inland valleys. there is a view ocean beach great place to be if you don't like the theet weekend. elevated fire danger and cooling begins on sunday. i want to show you micro climates. half moon bay, 68 degrees. towards oakland, 85 and inland more you'll feel the heat. 98 in ant yk going to be cooking. we're expecting it to be clear tomorrow afternoon. still clear, fog close as long the coast lichblt and the temperatures go down, sunday

is the cooler. two days tomorrow morning mild, most areas into 50s and 60s. clear skies. and afternoon starts to get hot inland. 88 santa clara. 84 in santa cruz. 90 in cupper tino. here pacifica, 6 degrees that is where you want to go. 76 downtown. 68 in the sunset district. north bay, mid-90s calistoga. clear lake towards east bay. inland communities well above normal. 98 antioch. accu-weather forecast cooler sunday, big drop in temperatures. monday, tuesday, wednesday, low 80s inland. mid to upper 50s coast side. more fog so it's really down

hill. >> thank you. >> just head new

east bay authorities asking for help identifying a man who may have answers about an extreme case of animal accuse. -- abuse. this video shows a man dropping after an animal that

was a 4-year-old german sheperd. a bungee cord and chain cut into her skin and fur. she'd been subjected to severe neglect. authorities say she was rotting alive. >> she had maggots in the wounds, exposed bone pro truded through her skin. this dog was rotting to death in the backyard. >> the dog was eating sticks and dirt to stay alive in such bad condition vets had to put her down. oakland police are now looking for the person who dropped her off. >> tonight money matters a big deal for the world's biggest chip make yes, intel developed a foot hold in the mobile market. routers is reported that an intel chip has been chosen to power galaxy tab 3. until now all samsung devices used chips by arm. dow jones fell 200 points today because of concerns fed might ease up on the stimulus

program. the how up nearly 17% so far this year. >> change coming to all starbucks locations it owns and operates. the coffee giant banning smoke within 25 feet of the shops all 7,000 of them. indoor smoking is already a no. no. this new rule goes beyond the law in california where outdoor smoking is banned only outside government buildings. some ordinances are more restrictive. in oakland a group is calling on the goflt to ban men thol thol -- in cigarettes. one leader of the tobacco control leadership put it ate lous poison to go down easier. it's popular among african americans, 80% of whom smoke menthol autos we have more coming up at 6:00. extreme weather strikes again, more of the latest twister and

danger yet to pass. >> tonight a looming deadline that will leave san francisco without dozens of the experienced police investigator autos the sonar image that may help solve this

>> new information on tornadoes ravaging the mid west two. funnel clouds spotted in bush stadium this evening. so fans waiting were urged to leave. they have scheduled a double header and in oklahoma the situation is more dire. people being told to take cover right now because three tornadoes touched down around oklahoma city. in moore 24 people were killed when a giant tornado ravaged the town two weeks ago. the will rogers airport has been evacuated because it was spotted heading into that direction.

we'll update you on abc 7 news bay area. >> the worst traj can i -- tragedy in the houston fire department. four firefighters were killed while battling this blaze. abc 7's sister station is rorgt the ceiling caved in and fell atop the firefighters they became separated from the group. five other firefighters were injured and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. >> they were enrolled in a program designed to keep officers from retiring but that is a prom ending. >> listen up. >> police station is in the heart of north beach, staffered with senior officers

of the 10 district stations retirements hitting the station hardest half left. the ranks of the patrol officers, depleted. >> three officers now down to one north beach beat. same thing. >> dropped. referred option program was passed by san francisco voters in 2008. it allowed retirement age officers to continue working while collecting pensions. the drop program ends at the end of june. there is another year left but some are leaving next month. the officer had been a cop 40 years, 30 spent patrolling streets of chinatown. >> i just learned about a culture similar to my parents background. >> veteran officers with

decades of experience police union president says hail be a huge learning curve. >> learning how owe conduct yourself on the streets. learning sixth sense of police work. who to talk to and when, what questions to ask. >> dealing with loss will be difficult when 68 of the most senior sargeants leave in a month. they're one that's investigate crimes, a job where experience counts. inspector herman jones has been a cop 30 years and retiring in a week and a half you have to make mistakes. you have to know the people. create a belief for lack of a better term people know they can come to you. the job can be done. >> retirements will hit hard.

at the end of june, jones, and three inspectors here will retire. >> not everybody is walking out of the door. we have talent. >> saying senior officers will support and train cops. >> we do hope to people. and then, we have probation sargeants that worked the station investigations teams. >> to replace patrol officers the department is relying on newy united states. there are two classes and another one officers transfering from other departments. still, the end of the program will leave a big void. >> a team of experts chasing the trail of amelia earhart may be close to solving her

1937 disappearance. the international group says this image taken may show air heart's plane. it's in the right place. air heart and her plane went down during an attempt to fly around the world. >> nasa had been tracking an asteroid that wized past earth today, nearly two miles across with its own moon. that is 15 times further than the moon. the asteroid got a mention at the white house press briefings. reporters were told it pose nose threat to earth. >> you're invited to a party this weekend. how you can ad

we have breaking news in east san jose right now. police on the scene of another potentially deadly shooting. a man shot near capitol

expressway. they believe he may be a teenager. nearby ryan elementary school is locked down. a few students were still on campus but none were hurt. >> if you thought about adopting a pet there might not be a better time to do it than this weekend. animal shelters will be taking to streets with beer, barbecue and barking dogs for a bargain. >> so how much is that doggy in the window? do you believe three? cats, too. all weekend long, all over the bay area. >> this is going to generate loving homes for 5,000 kogs is cats. >> rich runs maddy's fund. >> maddy's fund is investing in creating a no-kill nation we think we can guarantee dogs and cats of america a loving home by 2015. >> and to do it they're making adopting a cat or dog free for

a weekend and paying shelters a reward for animal as dopted. it's happening across five states. including four events in the bay area. they'll donate $4 million to connect people with pets. >> we want to let people know there are wonderful, healthy, friendly adoptable animals in shelter autos spca says there is no down side to free adoptions. it doesn't make animals more likely to wind up back at the shelter because a face like teen yoo's will steal your heart. >> once he you get on this tina bus you become attached. >> it's also outdoors taking over this street here. for folks on the fence about dopting, that could can make all of the difference. >> i think it's a good boy. >> sandra knew roman was anything but a lap dog. after seeing hip on the street last year she realized he was all teddy bear. >> i just saw he was gentle and friendly with kids arks dult autos at this shelter

they're hoping the weekend brings 200 more stories like sandra's. they hope you'll come for beer and barbecue and live music. >> we're on our way to making this a no-kill nation. >> waiting for you. >> yes. >> so cute. >> coming up next perhaps the most unusual pet story we've done. >> you've got to stick around for this one. helping ease the pain of a woman who lost her

tonight we have an unusual story from 7 on your side about a woman so drought over the death of her pet she paid a taxideterminist to preserve it i do not get a lot of taxideterminey complaints but there is a first time for everything. this woman came to me after paying a lot of money to have the pet preserved but never got the animal back this, is not the type of pet many of us

would fall in love with, but this woman did. >> my daughter went with me. we took her in. >> deborah is still grieving. six years after her beloved pet died. it wasn't a cat or playful dog. her grief is about a lizard. >> deborah says this was a foot long white bearded dragon she says had a lot of personality. >> she reminded me of a terrier dog. so much personality. >> we may think of lizards as cold and scaly. >> not soft and cuddley but she would fall asleep on my son's stomach. >> she admits a penchant for reptiles and keeps this cobra in the hallway. so when her bearded dragon got sick, she decided to preserve

it, too. >> keep her around so i can say hi every morning. >> she took the corpse to wilderness taxideterminey. the owner says he could freeze dry the animal. deborah paid 7 $50 and left it there. that was the last she saw of sweet pea. >> i didn't hear from him. i called. well, she's still in the machine. >> a year went by. then two years then, three. he kept saying sweet pea wasn't ready yet. however, another three years went by. she still didn't have her pet or her $750. >> this guy can't just take money and pet and say whatever. >> we contacted wilderness taxes easedeterminey. the owner tells us the machinery had broken down. he'd kept the lizard until he can get it fixed. however,' agreed to send the

animal back and refund the money z sure enough, deborah received a check for $750 and a box with the frozen remains of sweet pea, which we won't show you but it was a strangely happy reunion. >> feels great to see here she tells us i'm just happy deborah is happy when i get the machine back she'll be the first in line to get her pet mounted. now she has a resting place in the kitchen freezer. >> he can move on, i can move on. >> now our thanks for coming through with the refund. she was surprised it stayed intact and she hopes to get it preserved and out of her freezer. >> it's nice to know he was drying to do the right thing. >> we want to update severe

weather we're following in st. louis right now. >> yes. you're looking at -- firefighters out there. just moments ago. seeing storm debris. a lot of lightning flashes. giants playing in st. louis. >> let's check in now with santa patel. >> yes. i want to show you latest radar here. you can see the development of the thunderstorms. into st. louis hear. there was a report of a tornado now. we're just seeing rotation of winds here but there was a report of a tornado. in st. louis flooding is a concern. the severe thunderstorms will continue to roll through the area. here in the bay area we're expect hot temperatures inland. sunshine, 89 san jose.

76 san francisco. up to mid-90s. 68 in half moon bay. going to a's game they're going to take on white sox. we're looking at temperatures ats 79. warming up to mid-80s you'll need sun screen. shorts will do it. you'll notice cooler weather coming for sunday. cooler next week. >> larry beil is here, looking at sports tonight. >> you mentioned giants situation. a's get one of their best players back. the return of josh redic.

good evening. a's will get an added boost tonight with josh redic. redic made the 6th wealth a sprained wrist. the injury happening earlier in the season. redic went crashing into the wall to catch a foul ball here

sh he decided to play through the pain but production wasn't nearly close to numbers from last year. >> i would do anything to get back on this track. this team has been playing with out me, playing great baseball. feels great. diving, sliding, swinging so it is considering we're three weeks ago. >> tonight's game postponed because of severe weather and a tornado warning in the area. they'll play a double header tomorrow. and pablo sandoval probably not going play he's out for perhaps a week. college baseball usf got a large berth facing rice in eugene, oregon. two, one, owls going to extras. giants pitcher strikes out, the ball gets away, the inning

should have been over. instead runner advances to third in the next batter is blake fox. he hits a routine fly ball to left with derrick atkinson, loses it in the sun. are you kidding me? epic collapse there. rice goes on to beat usc. the dons play an elimination game tomorrow. yesterday, cal senior won the individual medalist honors at the golf championship today. the quest for the title continues and no shortage of drama. quarter finals a team match play fl georgia. michael weaver sending bears through semi finals then lost on the first play off hole. when top ranked michael kim lost his match, cal and arizona state even at two matches a piece. brad onhigge, asu john ron missed his putt there and concedes so cal does move on. barely.

aus veilin andrew dodd did it twice today. with a 2-8 needed a birdie just to make the cut which he did. two weather delayed there today. two over 74. woods one over but 10 back of the leader, bill haas. ken duke will have to wait to find out whether the play rounds three and four. second shot, 130 yards out, look at the roll here. down the hill. for eagle. nice. play suspended because of rain, darkness he took time to recognize one of the coaches helping get him there.

kaepernick made a surprise appearance at his high school to say goodbye to brandon harris. >> a lot of great memory was him. he's worked with me a lot. he was the first person to actually let me run the ball. i think i had negative, too? >> you got it good. >> turns out he's in the a bad running quarterback. the nice thing about that? nobody knew he's going to show up that is great. >> what are you doing? >> just how excited he was there. >> surprise. >> wonderful. >> join me tonight, coming up, late word about an outbreak of hepatitis linked to organic berries sold in california. >> big changes for ships and how it could help safe lives of endangered whales, tonight at 11:00. >> and tonight prime time line

up starts with shark tank followed by what would you do and 2020. then, join us for abc 7 news at 11:00. >> but that does it nor edition of abc 7 news. >> from the entire abc 7 news team thanks for joining us. have a great night.

this is "jeopardy!" today's contestants are a structural engineer from seattle, washington... a science writer from chicago, illinois... and our returning champion -- an mba student originally from prairie village, kansas... and now here is the hosteopardy!" -- alex trebek! thank you, johnny gilbert. hello, everyone, and welcome, as w of "j up the week here on "jeopardy!" america's rocket pioneer, robert goddard, was the correct response to our final yesterday, and none of the players got it. but sam, our returning champion, was left with the most money,

and that's why he's back today to face benjamin and kirk. gentlemen, welcome, good luck. here we go. categories. let's find out. and you're all too young to remember it. alex: sam. i'll take the vietnam war for $200, please. all right. kelly. on november 24, 1963, just two days after taking office, this man, who escalated the war, told his advisers, "i'm not going to lose vietnam. i'm not going to let vietnam go the way of china." kirk. who's lyndon johnson? yes. vietnam for $400. kelly again. for more than a decade, u.s. and south vietnamese forces fought vietcong guerillas