attract the attention of would-be rescuers he could see. they were not far from where they were stranded in a remote forest. >> i had pink blankets up in trees and yellow straps and all over and we left bottles by the river and we did everything we could. >> what made a difference thursday evening as shown in the vlahos instagram video that had them surveying. >> and he left things in the side of the riverbank and he covered all of the possibilities. he had a strobe light out and he had lights that shine on them and they found him because he was shooting up the strobe light. that's what they saw. >> camping with family we are told nick vlahos had plenty of supplies, enough to last him and his kids a week. >> keeping them warm and fed was one thing, but through it all the 41-year-old vlahos also had to keep his two young children calm and not reveal his own fears to them.

oh! >> come here! okay! >> 5-year-old nicky and 3-year-old mila emerged from an ambulance thursday night. it appeared vlahos did just that. >> i know! how cool! >> it was a big one! and it was super strong. >> was it scarey? >> it was really scary. >> it was fun? >> kind of. >> it was really fun. >> in sierra county, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> well, they were missing for two days, but for their family you know it must have seemed like a month and tonight overwhelming relief now that nick and the kids are safe. abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez is live in piedmont where they're celebrating with friends and family. >> reporter: you know, i think it's grandma who will probably have the best mother's day ever for a number of reasons. first of all of course, her grandchildren are safe and her

three kids are here at home and they weren't expecting them. tired and obviously too sleep toe talk mila and nicky vlahos finally arrived safely at their grandparents' home in piedmont. their father nick was not with him. he stayed behind to help crews get his pickup truck out of the wilderness where it was stuck for two days and alex vlahos, his brother flew in from hawaii. >> we are so blessed and so happy and we want to thank all our friends and family that prayed so much for us and sent out so many positive vibes. >> the grandparents were there last night when vlahos and the kids arrived after being rescued. >> today back in piedmont, they took a stroll and reflected on the past two days. >> i was so worried that my grandchildren would be traumatized, but they said it was like a camping trip. my son just extended the camping trip so, cool, huh? >> reporter: his sister left new york city to be here with the

family. >> i was worried about my mom. just to be supportive and then a couple of hours before my flight left we got the good news. >> vlahos wife remained in kentucky where she's have saiding her 102-year-old grandfather. >> she was upset with nick for endangering the kid but it's natural for a mother. >> i figure that my son did it this way so my daughter from new york my son from hawaii could celebrate mother's day. >> reporter: sometimes unforeseen circumstances have a way of turning out for the best. in piedmont, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> this story has touched a lot of hearts. we have a photo gallery of the rescue on our website abc 7 news.com. take a moment to check that out. >> also we have good news about the man accused of following and then attacking a 13-year-old teenager in san jose. this is surveillance footage of the man. this suspect is under arrest. take a look now at mohammad

khaliqi's nearly clean-shaven face shot, a mug shot of today and the surveillance picture of the attack or tuesday, much different. >> he has more curly hair and a beard. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen joins us now with the details. >> social media really helped with this case and the suspect was arrestsed for san leandro this morning without incident according to police. let's go ahead and put his booking photo on the screen for you and this is 31-year-old mohammad khaliqi of san jose and as cheryl mentioned you could see he altered his appearance and it was different from what was captured on security cameras and the suspect was wanted in connection with two separate cases and the most reesencecent assault was attempted in rio vista in west san jose. the suspect followed the 13-year-old victim as she walked home from school. he ended up forcing his way inside the home and the girl was able to fight off the attack.

they received more than 100 tips from the public and many who saw the video on social media and they were able to use that information to track him down to a residence in san leandro. >> all of the credit belongs to the citizens who called in with those tips. without their help it would have been very difficult to arrest the suspect within 48 hours. >> reporter: khaliqi actually lived within balking distance of the attack location the first one happened on april 2nd and officers responded to the market in san jose after the suspect followed a 28-year-old female victim into the public restroom and attempted to assault her and khaliqi will be booked into the county jail with attempted sexual assault and false imprisonment. >> back here live, the deputy chief called khaliqi a monster and he is glad he is off the streets and knowing that the victims and their families will be able to breathe easier, as well. we are live tonight at san jose police headquarters, i'm chris

nguyen, abc 7 news. >> thank goodness, thanks very much, chris. >> a san francisco attorney and political consultant is in custody on child pornography charges and police arrested enrique pierce on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography images along with receiving and buying stolen property. pierce helped san francisco supervisor jane king win election in 2010 and a year later he led the effort to help ed lee to seek a full term in office. prosecutor filed charges, against -- andy mar was working as a temporary bailiff inside a red rood city superior courtroom in april upon the custodian was talking to a court clerk when he says mar pointed his gun at him and court was not in session at the time. sources are investigating an injury accident involving a pedestrian and a private charter bus and investigators said the

incident happened at fourth and king streets just after 10:00 this morning and the pedestrian, a 42-year-old man was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and police say the driver did remain at the scene and they have not said what caused the accident. >> and it is under way this afternoon after a giant crane collapsed and today near levi stadium and this happened at 7:30 this morning while construction crews were at stadium tech and sky 7 hd was over the accident about 7:30 on great america parkway and you can see what happened. fortunately, nobodia was the job site was injured. hundreds of people in san francisco say they're being forced out of the city. abc 7 news was at city hall as protesters marched to send a strong message to city leaders. stop the e vicks and stop building luxury condos and give the people of the mission district more affordable housing. >> the last time that an affordable housing project was

built was in 2009 and that was six years ago. we need action now and that's why these people are here. >> think about when you move to san francisco what family you displaced. >> activists want a two-year hold on construction of luxury condos and city leaders say there aren't enough homes to keep up with the growing population and the housing crisis hitting other parts of the bay area and in a few minutes they are displaced all over the peninsula. average rent in the county is now $2700. evictions and skyrocketing rents are blamed on the tech boom. vic lee will have a live report for us ahead at 6:00. thousands of people in the bay area who lost their homes in foreclosure crisis are now able to buy again. 7 on your side goes house hunting with what it takes to qualify. what you need ton if you're a boomerang buyer on aishs 7 news.

equipment problems caused two big delays for bart today in the same place and one of them was cleared just moments ago. >> and both problems happened in san leandro. the first one was just before noon and officials say there was a glitch with the track switch and officials have yet to say what caused the second problem and a reminder for this weekend, there will be no bart service between the fruitvale and coliseum stations and they will close the tracks between those two stations and the bus bridge will be set up and it will cause significant delays for riders. >> talk about delays and don't think about using the san mateo bridge and it is going to be closed. caltrans will begin shutting down some lanes at 7:00 tonight and the entire span closes at 10:00. it's scheduled to remain closed until 5:00 monday morning for maintenance and new pavement and a big head's up and it will be closed memorial day weekend. anybody trying to get to the east bay and the peninsula between there this weekend can either use the bay bridge or the

dumbarton bay bridges. and a reminder to for help navigating on the potential problems, you can download waves and join on apple's app store or google play. the drought and drinking water -- >> the temporary barrier being placed right now. coming up construction in the delta and why environmentalists say it could reduce water supplies for millions and forget about bake sales. there is a new way to raise cash for schools and a couple of ways. >> have never been done until now. silicon valley versus hollywood and from hillary clinton to jennifer lopez the search for money has a-listers targeting tech. do you like turkey

in the sacramento and san joaquin delta, some call it a drought barrier. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is live tonight to explain exactly what's going on there. wayne? >> reporter: good afternoon, dan. some people call it a drought barrier and some people call it an economic or ecological barrier. we're in bethel island and take a look over my right shoulder and see the tower out there? that is part of the project. it looks fairly close and it used to be but it's a long way around now to this place in bethel island and that has people who work here and depend on this economy concerned. in a state where people keep asking what government is doing about the drought, here is a drastic measure. construction of a temporary drought barrier on the west falls river and sacramento delta and still not everybody is happy. >> this is a sad day and to see

this going on. when finished, the rock barrier will close out 750 feet of channel and block title saltwater from flowing into the delta from which kontcontra costa county. she draws water from what will be a salty side of the barrier. >> are my cows going to be watered with sub water? is my sub irrigation going to turn salty. >> by the time the department of water resources removes the barrier next fall it would have spent $40 million. the construction park will be a six-week, 24/7 job. >> would it be easier to drop them in or the full amount? >> you open up the bottom and dump the rock in so to pull it out you have to grab every pocket full of rock. >> the easier and more difficult out part is one reason why resident of bethel island worry. >> i don't feel confident

because of the funding and the cost of it. scott mack owns and runs bethel harbor marina with his wife janey. this barrier, they say threatens both their economics and their ecosystem. >> they can't get to us. >> this is what happens when the state does something. some win and others lose and all for the sake of a greater good. >> from bethel island wayne freedman abc 7 news. san francisco schools are heading in the new direction whether it comes to raising mono pep mayor ed lee announced a partnership between the school district and that is an online fund-raising platform and the district will use the site to post technological needs and ask for done eggs and it is the first-ever crowd funding and they call it a breakthrough opportunity. >> i think you and i will be amazed with what will come out of this city if they choose the right opportunities and we have an opportunity to make that

happen for them. all of the money donated goes to the schools minus a 1% fee that they will keep. president obama two years of community cljes is getting another push from tom hanks. for the second time this year tom hanks has written a letter praising community college. in the letter hanks recalls driving driving there with one of his kids. that place made me what i am today. he added over the course of my career i've only continued to reap the benefits of the classes i took there. high praise obviously. the letter came out as mr.m obama was getting ready to deliver the commencement. jennifer lopez was out selling her brand herself to silicon valley venture capitalist. the women entrepreneurship and

diversity section at venture scape. it's a two-day venture capital conference. she sees the merger of hollywood and silicon valley especially on social media. she wants to match her celebrity with the burgeoning tech industry to create a billion dollar business empire. >> i reached a large audience in the beginning when there was no social media and there was the revolution that happened in the past few years. we all have like, our little armies. >> lopez says her large fan base and her army gives her a global reach across a number of demographics including women and millennials. hillary clinton was back in the bay area dipping into silicon valley's wealth to fund the campaign. it brought out donors to the portola valley home of john donohoe. clinton was able to raise another $3 million. she spent wednesday in san francisco fund-raising and meeting with mayor ed lee. republican rand paul will

open a campaign office in san francisco in a south of market shared work space. this marks one of the first 2016 presidential candidates to stake a claim in the city. the kentucky senator will make an appearance tomorrow in san francisco. good news for sharks fans. the team will remain at the shark tank for the next decade and possibly through 2040. the sharks signed a lease extension with the sap center that will keep them playing home games there through 2025 and then it will renew annually for 15 years beyond that. nhl commissioner gary bettman praised the sharks fans and the city and he called the tank one of the loudest and most exciting arenas in professional hockey. the demolition at cal-state park appears to be around the half way point by the looks of this video it was shot by sky 7 hd earlier today. crews started tearing down the area in february and the demolition is expected to take three months. >> i know it had to go but it's tough to see.

>> let's talk about the weekend weather forecast. >> sandhya patel outside now with the forecast. >> dan and cheryl, the weekend is really important, you know? it's mother's day weekend and the weather is going to be absolutely beautiful for any of your plans with mom. right now it is bright and sunny behind me and a bit on the breezy side. live doppler 7 hd will show you that it's not bright everywhere. we do have fog around the point rays area and the coastal spots are looking at some gray skies and as you take a look at the northern sierra our radar is tracking some thunderstorms moving southward and they're not going to make it to our area, obviously, but we are seeing a few leftover clouds looking from the cumulous clouds that were falling apart now. 58 in san francisco and san jose 68, and one of the chillier spots in the mid-50s and if we look at the golden gate bridge camera you'll see the low cloudiness advancing and it is currently in the 60s and napa petaluma and mid-70s and

concord, livermore and looking toward sausalito and richardson bay here and we're keeping an eye on the low clouds which of course be on the increase and we're looking at a chance of rain late next week. here's the pacific satellite picture and that area of low pressure that brought us showers and it's leaving california and it's taking its moisture with it. we'll continue to see a steady sea breeze into next week as the wind flows from the high to the low, pretty typical for this time of year. look for the low clouds to push into some of our in landz locations and tomorrow morning starts out cloudy drizzly and then the clouds hang around into the afternoon near the coast, but the rest of you, you'll have a nice sunny one. bay and inland. i want to turn your attention very quickly to the atlantic here where we're keeping an eye on the first named subtropical storm of the atlantic and it's ana packing winds of 45 miles an hour. if you have travel plans to north carolina or south carolina this is expected to impact the carolina coastline on

sunday with some heavy rain, but the rain will begin as early as tomorrow night. we're looking at the wettest spots picking up six to eight inches for the rest of you and two to four inches over there and surf will be building, as well. mid-40s to the low 50s and a cool morning to start off your weekend and a little on the damp side and it's just a little drizzle with the overcast skies. tomorrow afternoon it's a nice day in the south bay, 71 san jose and we'll call it mostly sunny on the pen lanes and 69 redwood city and clouds linger on the coast keeping it cool in pacifica and 66 degrees and same thing for daley city and san francisco, north bay and low 07s and santa rosa, napa, in the east bay you'll get to 65 in oakland and san leandro and sun the be shining inland and 73 livermore and san ramon. accuweather seven-day forecast will feature clear conditions and mid-50s and mid to upper 70s inland, so for all of the moms

out there i think some moms prefer fog and some moms prefer sun. we have it both for you and cooler early next week and then a slight chance of rain thursday, better opportunity for seeing wet weather on friday. >> yeah. we'll be tracking hopefully another system coming through and it's still about a week away. >> thank you so much, sandhya. >> all right, a cool drink or a great sandwich. >> we have a fabulous pl

jamie wanted a taste of the real new orleans and we just couldn't say no to that face. then we wanted more of that local flavor so betty says... oh yeah, that's betty. you're going to want to do this alligator thing. and betty didn't lead us wrong. a little later we passed some dancing. and who doesn't like dancing? especially when it's followed by fireworks everyone's nola is different. follow yours.

♪ all right. free food and free drinks. >> we've got you hooked up. >> i'm ready and that's the city free stuff. >> free lunch. >> there is such a thing as a free lunch. >> togo's you know them right down the street from us here. they'll give you a turkey an avocado and the avocado sandwiches that they make every day absolutely made inhouse, you know, hand mashed and all of

that. you guys know -- >> whole wheat, too. >> thank you. >> it's fabulous and worth five bucks and then we go along with that and we're going to give you a free chi chi rodriguez fresca. this is from taco and they're located in the marina and they spell taco t-a-c-a-o. the the agua fresca is in strawberry mango, pineapple and more and it's a $2.50 value and you're not going to spend a time from it. >> slurping that thing. >> yeah. >> this looks so good. >> how would we get this. >> what a great question. or at any time you can logon to abc 7 news.com. >> or query. >> there you go.

>> great stuff michael. >> thank you. steph curry and his mouth guard. most of us have seen the warriors star dangle it as he chews on it, rig female announcer: when you see this truck, it means another neighbor is going to sleep better tonight. because they went to sleep train's ticket to tempur-pedic event. save up to $300 on the cooling comfort of tempur-breeze. plus, get up to 36 months interest-free financing. sleep risk-free with sleep train's 100-day money back guarantee. and of course, free same-day delivery! are you next? announcer: make sleep train your ticket to tempur-pedic. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

covering walnut creek burlingame, campbell and all the bay area, this is abc 7 news. i'm ama daetz in the abc 7 newsroom. coming up new at 6:00 an i-team exclusive. dan noise reports on the million dollar conviction of a shark fin dealer and what this means for the illegal trade. also a bay area tribute to an ailing legend. we have some big-name stars praising joni mitchell. and upon on your side unlocks the mystery of car colors and why are there so few choices and are red cars ticketed more than others? michael finney has the answers and it's all coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00. >> the warriors are reaching milestones this week on and off the court.

>> today abc 7 news was in san francisco's western edition and they celebrated the renovation of a community gym. >> it is the 50th gym and the good tiedings foundation. a new court at the hutch community center will be more than just a gym for the neighborhood. >> when the kids say that they're going over to the center, they'll have a freedom of thinking their kid is safe and that's very important in certain neighborhoods in our city. in addition it has a warriors logo and plus, it was painted blue and gold to honor the team. >> that looks nice. >> speaking of the warriors, abc 7 news was at the oakland international airport when the players arrived. >> the team took a charter flight to memphis where they played game 3 and 4 against the grizzlies and they're hoping to rebound from the game two loss. >> but they'll have to do it in front of a hostile crowd and the series is tied at one a piece

and game five will be -- >> they can do it and it is followed on abc 7 after the game and join abc 7 news sports director mike beil along with hall of famer nate thurman and gonzo martin. >> we want to see your warriors pride and we'll be featuring fan pictures on air and on abc 7 news.com and the dubs on 7 and you post your pictures to social media and we will find them. one last note about the warriors and specifically steph curry. >> journalists crunched the numbers about his free throws and he has the highest percentage when his mouth guard is out of his mouth than in it. >> he is 75% with it in and 85% when it is dangling. this is food for thought and something to chew on. >> he did not just say that out loud. >> on television. >> thanks so much for joining

us. happy mother's day i'm cheryl jennings and sandhya patel and michael finney we tonight, millions bracing at this hour. the mother's day mess. the first named storm, swirling up the east coast. heavy rain and winds. and the tornado terror. the alerts up right now as we come on the air. we are live from oklahoma tonight. the deadly plane crash on a very busy american interstate. everyone onboard is killed. our team on the scene with what we're learning right now. breaking news. the fbi, and the stunning reveal about isis already in america. after the texas chaos, they say, hundreds of followers in the u.s. the urgent steps being taken tonight. parents accused of trying to smuggle their 8-year-old boy across the border, in a suitcase. and, unbuckled. this bus driver falls out of her seat. the passengers thrown just as the bus turns onto the railroad tracks. and, the surprise victory this week, no one saw coming