chow known as shrimp boy. chow serves as a chairman of the free masons and charged with money laundering and dealing in stolen property. he served 22 years now under racketeering conviction. he became active in chinatown politics. in this interview six years ago, chow said he was a reformed man. >> raymond, myself, i upfront face up to the past i have done. and to try to correct my life. >> but the big fish was state senator leland yee arrested and driven to the federal building and booked on weapons trafficking and soliciting money for political favors. meantime, the fbi in sacramento secured his office in the

capitol. a chp officer stood guard he is a candidate for secretary of state. one of california's highest offices. the predawn raids involved fbi, other agsz and local police. >> this morning fbi executed multiple arrests and search warrants. >> hundreds of agents and police hit homes and businesses in san francisco. the raids including this building where federal agents and police carted off boxes of evidence. one of the tarring writs was this home on 42 avenue in san mateo. federal agents seized marijuana plants and other evidence from the house which one source says was the site of a pot grow. those arrested appeared in court to be arraigned one is keith jackson, a well-known political consultant and former school board member whose most-serious charge is murder for hire. the complaint accuses of conspireing with cow and says

jackson, a close friend brought the senator into the deal and and and almost caught by an under cover fbi agent. >> and before going to sacramento, yee was a two-term supervisor in sacramento. and abc7 news is live at city hall with that part of the story and reaction for us. carolyn? >> you probably didn't know this, but "by profession yee is a child psychologist his calling has been politics the 65-year-old once hoped to occupy that office there on the second floor here." the mayor's office. but now, his political career is in shambles. city hall is reeling over the federal corruption charges filed against leland yee. >> i can say i'm in shock. >> yee got his start on the san francisco school board in 1988

serving with tom amiano. >> i'm very concerned about his family. because i knew them personally. and also professionally, about image we're projecting. and what we're going need to do to, you know, salvage that. >> amiano talking about the image of state lawmakers but yee reputation is tarnished jake mcgoldrick was a colleague. >> spent 40 years of his life doing things to help people in this world. and i think it's sad. if he goes through a process and innocence until proven guilty. >> yee's rise to power to not come without controversy. in 1992 arrested in hawaii on suspicion of stealing a bottle

of sun tan oil and in 1999 pulled over by police on suspicion of cruising for prostitutes. yee said it was mistaken identity. still, when he ran for mayor, he seemed to be the candidate to beat until until ed lee entered the picture. yee says he holds no grudges and answered questions about the character. >> for those that have spent decades in public office, under public scrutiny, you know, all of us are required in our own ethics to be reporting everything that we do and have meetings with people or sunshine. you know? i do my best to comply. >> yee is running for secretary of state, no comment today from his campaign manager. >> senator yee known as one of

california's top gun control advocates calling for federal action. ironic, considering he is now accused of firearms trafficking. news group editor is retweeting some of the antigun tweets like this one from last april, nine out of ten americans want stronger background checks and still, 46 u.s. senators are opposed, shame on them, and the gun lobby. and yee reacted on twitter to nra response to the sandy hook school massacre. rather than face reality, and be part of the solution to the proliferation of assault weapons nra passes the buck. well, you can imagine the arrest caused big waves at the state capitol. we have reaction from sacramento coming up at #:30 >> to the wet weather now led to demise of a tree in san francisco smashing on to a car sending a person to the hospital near bush and stockton streets this morning. you can see pieces of the 30

foot tree and damage to the car here. the owner of the cartels abc7 news he was driving and heard a boom. then, the tree just crashed into the car. and here is a live look from our emeryville camera. it's been a mixed bag this evening. we've watched these clouds move through. there are patches of sunlight and dark clouds as well. take a look in san francisco's chinatown. you can see there are and this is a will being at rain coming down in san mateo. let's check in with abc7 news spencer christian. >> okay. we have a relatively calm picture here for the bay area now. we have areas of scattered showers, we're going to have turbulent weather outside of the bay area. reports now of a dangerous tornado on the ground. over in parts of glenn county just northeast of willis.

this tornado is said to be on the ground. this cell moving east northeast we'll keep an eye on that for you. tornado warning in effect now near roseville. a thunderstorm cell is sighted a warning there until 6:30. and a funnel cloud cloud around antioch cited only briefly. so things are calming down here in the immediate bay area. we've got turbulent weather just on the outside of the bay area. we'll watch that for you and have the forecast in just a few minutes. >> the south bay's largest water agency is facing a dilemma. is the current drought the best or worst time to repair a dam? what message would they send to

customers? david? >> well, a delay may not be a viable option. dam could drought impacted the reservoir but it's being kept low because of concerns that it could crumble after an earthquake. >> the dam to slump and crack f that should happen, if it were full water could awes erosion >> the dam built in 1949, believed it sat on bed robbing that two falls were inactive. however, morgan hill had a 6.2 earthquake in 1984 knocking houses off foundations.

engineers estimate that a event would put downtown morgan hill under 35 feet of water. regulators ordered the dam to undergo an upgrade. the reservoir with # 0,000 acre feet of water enough to supply 80,000 homes for a year. some people argue that weakens a call for we can stage construction so we can do some of the most essential parts like downstream enbankment. it won't require emptying the reservoir. >> the reservoir stands at 50% and will not go beyond 68% as a safety precaution. those living in the path don't want to risk a delay and point out low levels due to drought is an opportunity. >> it's important the drought is

functional time to take advantage of it. in >> morgan hill abc7 news. >> we have breaking news. as a result of the storms coming through the bay area and also northern california this is a live picture in sacramento. if you look closely. we've had a funnel cloud. it's been reported. >> and you can see dark skies there in the sacramento area. funnel cloud doesn't touch the ground if it does, then, it becomes a tornado. >> wow. >> well, still to come it's not just rain but there is snow falling in the sierra. how much is coming down. >> plus a touching memorial today why hundreds of firefighters were honored and... >> this is a fun day for you. look at what you've achieved. >> from orlando

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about 16,000 students participated in we day. in oakland. it's the world's largest youth empowerment event of its kind. the kids got a chance to meet big stars. we day brought in artists and thousands of students.

it was more than that. we day was a chance to pat themselves on the backs for what they've done to change lives of others. ask selena he gomez >> we should inspire each other to be better. >> we met some of the game changers like sharma who started a tutoring service for under served kids >> we pair with a local library and tutor students. >> the event sponsored by microsoft allstate and unilever. >> they want to be part of the future. >> off stage, we talked to this brother ask sister who had become household names. >> rainy rodriguez. and rico rodriguez we're at we day. >> these kids worked their way for we day to show them this is kind of a reward, you know?

to celebrate them. >> if you do good things you goat see me perform. to me it doesn't seem like a good reward but it seems to be working. >> he is referring to orlando bloom. >> it's one person deciding to stand up to make a difference. just one kid oochl a word of advice from those who have achieved great things in a short period oochl if you take a look at the world around you, you can do anything you set your mind tochlt >> the event drew students from 400 schools in california. in oakland abc7 news. >> quite a line up. doct doctors taking steps to shut down a tax. but officials say it as been in

a fiscal tail spin as payments from medicare and medical dropped the board began working on the plan if it has to, in fact, shut down. >> a new proposal granting san francisco firefighters of the health risk at the job. dozens of booths placed on steps to remember 230 san francisco firefighters who died from cancer in the last four years. >> it's time to let san francisco know that firefighters are still fighting against cancer ask other illnesses >> the legislation grant being firefighters with cancer full disability benefits unless it can be proven they did to the get the disease because of the job. >> the storm is bringing more snow to the sierra tonight.

it's great news for skiers. they have received a foot of fresh snow and more is on the way. hi, dave. >> it's coming down here. just wind coming in sideways. once the sun goes down it's only going to get worse. take a look at video they're loving this. it turns out some students are getting snow they say it's light, fluffy snow. one guy said this just couldn't

be better. >> this is coming down now. and it's good. and summit. if you're coming up here, or planning a trip next couple days, it's going to be real winter like. make sure you bring chains. bow. >> thank you. dave reporting we check back maybe in a half hoir >> there is a lot of snow coming down. and we're getting decent amount

of rainfall scattered showers about two hours ago. a steady flow, we've got weather inland from the bay area out if the area of willows. there is a dangerous tornado warning to the south of that area. in placer county. and back to bay area we've got cells of showers moving through parts of the east bay now to san ramone towards livermore. so rainfall totals are looking g

over an inch of rain so far. and nearly three quarters of an inch in oakland not a lot down in san jose. how about this view from our camera? that is dramatic looking. scattered showers tomorrow, a saturated saturday. a series of storms, still. looking at showers approaching from just off shore. that will be pushing through during overnight hours. three so seven ivenls of additional snow. chain controls are possible. i would say, likely muchlth back

to the bay area here beginning friday afternoon at 5:00 rain in the north bay friday night, saturday, rain becoming more intense a cold front sweeping through. bringing rain to all parts of the bay area going to be a soggy day. heavy rain including the bay area. we'll makeup a little bit of the rainfall deficit tomorrow, overnight, looking for showers pushing through lows upper 40s to low 50s. and here is the accu-weather forecast. we'll have heavier rain on saturday. partly cloudy, dry sunday. then more waves of rain moving on monday and tuesday we have a pattern now we've been hoping for. if you're patient it arrives. >> finally.

yes. >> you can track rain yugsing live doppler 7 hd. >> just ahead growing concern over a troubling problem. >> why people are stealing grease in growing numbers. back in a moment.

family, friends and first responders said goodbye to a deputy sheriff killed in the line of duty along california's north coast. the sheriff presented the family of deputy with his badge. several people presented tearful contribute united states. >> a california raum tackling a messy crime. grease theft. restaurants say thieves are siphoning gallons of kitchen grease from storage containers a typical restaurant produces 200 pounds of grease every week, bringing in $900 in a recycling

facility. >> we're trying to address it here because we think there is an opportunity to do so. it is going to come down to law enforcement being able to determine who is authorized and who is not >> the bill would require any authorized grease recycler to have a decall so police can identify them. >> the new lead in the search for that missing airliner. plus... >> this fall leland yee is arrested on corruption charges >> and effort to raise california's min

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we start with our top story. stunning arrest of bay area state senator leland yee on gun trafficking. lee and 19 others made appearances in u.s. federal court this afternoon. all arrested in a major sting this morning. abc7 ins has more now from the state capitol in sacramento. calls for the resignation are already coming in. >> we express re-velsion. >> these allegations are serious. they involve gun running and all things that frankly are surreal.

the indictment is shocking. >> steinberg says he and the others are unified of their calls for yee's immediate resignation. >> leave. absent that, we are prepared to go to the floor immediately and suspend him. >> it's discouraging. >> earlier, concord senator said he would reserve judgment about yee but concerned about the image of the state legislature as a whole. >> it's the most important thing the country has is the relationship between elected and voters. when it erodes, democracy takes a hit. it's not good. >> yee is facing allegations and colleagues are no mans to welcome them back. >> they will never set floor on this senate floor unless, or until they're acquitted. >> as lawmakers reacted, the fbi

was removing boxes of potential evidence. in sacramento, laura anthony abc7 news. >> the indictment against state senator yee is long and specific. if you'd like to read it we've posted it on our web site. go to abc7 news.com and look for it under see it on tv. >> legislation raising the minimum wage passes it's first hurdle today the state senate okayed the bill to raise minimum wage going up to $11 an hour in $2015 then another $one in 2016 and 2017. in 2018 it would then be adjusted to the rate of inflation. >> much-needed rain in the bay area today but challenging for morning commuters take a look at the drive along 280 near hillsborough. rain won't make a difference for the drought though. wayne freedman has mixed news

from ranchers and growers. >> in a picture it does tell a better story. case in point this man digging into the soil of this island it's bone dry this, is how a drought looks oochl raining today, it's too late. >> jim is experiencing the drought in multiple dimensions he grows feed, and root is dry. there is no soil. >> and miles away, in napa, he grows grapes. this year will be removing vines from vineyards >> you can't allow grapes to grow if you don't have water to put on maybe you thought we'd skirted

this drought but there is more hope than weeks ago. >> are you optimistic? >> of course i am. i'm a farmer. >> we're in northern marin now. neil walking on a hill that had been brown just weeks ago. now looking at a cow pond that is a ditch. >> should be over the top. >> this is a man with cows to feed lots of could yous. and continues to bring in water for a simple reason. >> we're not going to make it we don't have enough here we might as well do it when we can. >> and we might as well take advantage of the rain when we can. as long as we can. every drop. >> april showers bring may flowers >> in your case? >> grass. >> crops. >> from marin county wayne freedman abc7 news. >> the ground search for victims

of the land continues in washington state. four people confirmed dead but the number only expected to go up new video of the rescue shows a team rescuing a 4-year-old boy in hours immediately following the mudslide crews now combing through just mountains of debris and mud using sonar and cameras in the search for bodies. 90 people are still missing. >> in the last hour search and recovery crews resumed a hunt for malaysia airlines flight 370 and a glimpse of new satellite images could show pieces of the boeing 777. these images captured on sunday providing fresh clues about where this plane could have gone down. they show more than 120 floating objects, some as long as 75 feet a dozen plain planes set out today in search of the debris field. >> all right. moving to tonight's money matters a slide in tech companies dragged markets down.

dow fell 98 points, and the nasdaq dropped 60 points. s and p fell 13 points today ending 1852. facebook one of the biggest losers down nearly 7%. after announcing a reality p can. another disappointment was king digital, slumped on the first day of trading down 15% to $19 a share. the company raised $449.5 million in its initial public offerings. >> 11 eyes strauss announced it's planning to eliminate about #00 jobs part of a restructuring effort over 12-18 months it's expected to save up to $200 million per year. and forbes ranked most-valuable teams in baseball. new york yankees topping the list. $2.5 billion. giants were fifth.

a's were third from the bottom. >> still ahead hottest new apple products and apps on display now. >> how mac world managed to stay a hit after apple stopped selling. gets up to 795 highway the passamiles per tank.sell des eal's , we're th salesperson #2: actually, we're throwing in a $1,000 fuel reward card. we've never done that. that's why there's never been a better time to buy a passat tdi clean diesel.

husband: so it's like two deals in one? avo: during the salesperson #2: first ever exactly. volkswagen tdi clean diesel event, get a great deal on a passat tdi, that gets up to 795 highway miles per tank. and get a $1000 dollar fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models.

>> if you have an apple device there is a convention in town just for >> you know it's bound to happen. >> an app gets kids online before they're old enough to read. >> it's only bubbles. >> the story supports video, their reaction and shares part of the showcase at this year's mac world. >> had is the 30th year it's been in san francisco. we're part of the story of tech culture in san francisco. >> this year there are newcomers like 3 d video head set. >> brand new visual

>> and old favorites like crazy talk >> we had to come with a gun this year for 2014 >> now, app making puppets has an ipad version. you can take your tv reporter anywhere. >> that is crazy. >> crazy talk oochl we do more stuff they become a bigger part of the show the show took on a second name the name stuck. >> mac world i world may be a eye full. >> mobile is an evolving story one of the things we're seeing is how the devices are controlling external devices >> like pet q. it has a web cam, a laser pointer they love to chase. >> through the app so it's allowing to you do a real game. >> control your favorite robot. you can text with it.

>> what we've found is people still >> the paper shows up on the screen. almost magic as seeing through walls. >> the camera for the iphone, no doubt someone will use it for a selfie and maybe turn that into a puppet. in san francisco, abc7 news. >> a lot of cool stuff there. >> concerns over safety of old batteries. >> like a hand warmer. >> it is. just getting hotter and hotter. >> is there danger in your junk drawer? michael finney has a look at what you need to know.

some believe malaysian airlines may been brought down by lij yil ion batteries burst into flames. >> michael finney says taking a

moment to think about that could go a long way to protecting your family. >> the investigation has proved batteries burst into flames and that causes disasters. so if they can bring down a plane they can burn down a home. >> a lot of us do this with our old batteries throw them in a drawer. we know we shouldn't throw them in the trash. while waiting they're dangerous. >> all batteries have a positive and negative current. if you bridge across, you will generate a flow of electricity. >> that is bill ferin. he owns this batteries plus store in san rafael. here, he is showing me the problem. >> you've put these together. >> they will clip together. yes. it's possible. >> getting hot. >> yes. >> so that is where danger comes

in. it's the heat >> it's a hand warmer. it >> is. will get hotter and hotter. >> the fire departments environmental management coordinator worries about these things >> we've collected 100,000 pounds. yes. it's a lot we did a lot of batteries. >> she says batteries do burst into flames. not often. but it happens. >> it's unusual for batteries to cause fires but it's a possibility. we want people to know storing them properly is easy. it's easy to prevent. >> had you do you protect yourself? put batteries in their packaging if available, if not, protect your depleted batteries using common tape. >> just put tape across the top terminals and bottom terminals. >> just protecting the

terminals. >> that is all. yes. that is double protected we recommend that. >> san rafael has disposal bins in fire houses i posted resources to check out your town. go to abc7 news.com. >> yes. that is important. >> yes. thank you. >> sure. >> let's turn to a discussion of the rain coming back. >> yes. >> spencer christian is here now. >> yes. all we have at the moment around the bay area is just light scattered showers. they could become more numerous but we've got some turbulent weather outside of the bay area. violent thunderstorms producing a tornado on the ground over in glenn county. tornado warnings in effect for this area. storms seem to be moving near chico. down south of that area into parts of placer county and sacramento county we'll have a tornado warning in affect until 7:00 this evening.

throughout the area near roseville. so storms have been quite violent and turbulent things are calmer here we have wide hi scattered trickles of showers passing through. tomorrow, we'll see in the northern half of the state showers continuing that includes the bay area. high temperatures low to mid-60s near the bay and inland. here is the accu-weather forecast. we've got a period of wet weather ahead of us including heavy rain saturday. main more on monday. this pattern going to be with us for a while. it was much-needed months ago. >> yes. >> thank you, spencer. >> let's talk basketball now. >> yes. larry is off. >> you've got a jump this sweet 16 tip off tomorrow around the nation. plenty to cheer about. both men and womens team involved

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>> updating breaking news with arrest today of state senator leland yee. you're looking at a live news conference. this is leland yee's attorney.

>> people are driven by a sting by under cover operatives any comment on that? seems like a lot of this was... >> as you know 137 page complaint was filed first time that we saw it was in court today. we haven't had a chance to really read it from front to back. we'll defer comments until we've had a chance to sit down and go through that. >> senator spent two hours behind closed doors this morning. do you know if he talked? >> no comment. >> what is the next step? >> monday, we come back for bail conditions. this is a case with 19 defendants. in due time will be assigned to a district court judge. for all purposes. need less to say when you have 19 defendants involved, one lawyers. things about scheduling you've seen in the paper work that this

goes back to 2011. >> what is the maximum penalty? if convicted? >> maximum penalties are on the sheet filed today i'll refer to that sheet. >> okay. you're listen together attorney for state senator leland yee facing a battery of charges >> yes. arrested on charges including gun trafficking bribery, wire fraud now, we're hearing from his attorney. and he says he expects to be back in court on monday. >> this process jus today >> sanford men may be considered biggest surprise of the sweet 16. six years since reaching this point. cardinals are a seasoned team.

cinderella they're a daefrng russ team. >> you know i had to explain to players i followed them sometime. they've had a good program. always had a rich tradition their call is very good. so these kids used to playing in a high level they're very good. >> we have a heck of a challenge. and expect the very difficult game. and we can have a chance to do something special. >> led by two-time big ten player of the year maggie lucas home court advantage is key. >> at the end of the day you just want to play well in front

of fans we're just excited to play. it was a great focal point for us in first and second rounds we want to get back. it's a big challenge is that we're back back. what are we going do? >> an unusual five day break here before facing fem miss friday night. maybe a good thing. they're both a little beat up. gives them time to heal. and have you to be healthy for playoffs >> healthy for anybody. it's important. be cautious and also effective. going to playoffs you know? you want to be as healthy as possible. timing is good. >> and a

>> thank you. >> join me tonight at 9:00. carolyn will be with us today. latest on arrest of state senator yee. >> and a change after a teacher is accused of molesting students. >> we'll see you then. thanks for joining us. have a good night.

this is "jeopardy!" here are today's contestants -- a retired middle-school teacher from rogue river, oregon... a university honors program manager from birmingham, alabama... and our returning champion, a science policy fellow from arlington, virginia... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! thank you, johnny. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. bit by bit, the bird buis st. that's the case for nancy akerman, our champion. won a couple of thousand dollars two days ago. won $10,000 more than that yesterday.

today, who knows? but she has to contend with deborah and clay. good luck, players. here we go. let's find out what the categories are in this first round, shall we? oh, boy. you have to name the event for us. in quotation marks. you know what that means. so, nancy, start. chemical elements in poetry, $200, please. deborah. what is silver? yes. let's continue the chemical elements for $400. clay. what is gold? right.