we had food on the table. >> reporter: this is a family whose love knows no limits. >> i can't help but to think now the compassion, the generosity and the love that we're receiving is a testament to that life that he led. >> reporter: that life marked by service. >> the life of a police officer that he devoted to protecting others, and a life of a father that he ultimate hi sacrificed if protecting his family. >> reporter: his life ended thursday morning. a father of one of his grandchildren, 30-year-old robert vega, is accused of shooting and killing him. off camera, sandra vega said robert vega called gus dad. she jumped from the home's second story window because she didn't think she would see her 6-year-old grandson again. officers apprehended vega

without ins kent at his fairfield apartment. any loss is tragic. especially a fallen officer. this loss is equally confusing. >> continue to pray, continue to lift them up. >> reporter: while answers are hard to come by, the faith that guided the family to open their hearts to love is the same faith that's keeping their hearts open now. >> through god and family and friends, we will get through this, and i know it brings peace to my dad to know we won't do it alone. >> reporter: a lot of support for this family. sandra vegas told me that gus was her protector. the family has set up a go fund me page where people can make donations to a memorial fund and all of that information is on our website, abc7news.com. live in vallejo, melanie

woodrow, "abc7 news." >> thank you. some frightening moments today out at the mavericks surf competition. there was some highlights you need to see. now, this was the one we're talking about. one santa cruz native suffered the biggest wipeout of the day. he was and 2/3 of the way down the wave's face when he fell. he said it felt like the whole ocean landed on him. water started pours into his ears and mouth. he pulled the cord on his safety vest and that got him to the surface. in the end, a santa cruz surfer won that. and he took home the coveted big wave trophy. safety officials are warning

surfers and swimmers to act safely at all bay area beaches this weekend. >> stay out of the surf line, stay as part out of the surf line as possible and don't ever go on rocks. those there most dangerous things you can be on. >> authorities say el nino is powering the waves and will continue to make beaches dangerous through april. the danger proved all too real earlier this week in pacifica when a 61-year-old man drowned trying to save his wife who had been caught in a sneaker wave. today, we're hearing from the wife who lived. vic lee is live at ocean beach with her story. vic? >> reporter: kristen, the message that first responders want to send is simple -- just don't go swimming out of in the

waters out there. don't even go wadding. even six inches of moving water can take a person down because of the strong undertow and that's sadly what happened to larry moore on tuesday. the waves today were big and rough. the coast guard choppers seemed to come out of nowhere. >> he gave his life for me. >> reporter: on tuesday, 63-year-old claudia moore lost her husband, larry. they had been walking along the beach. she decided to wade out into the water. >> and suddenly, there were three, four huge waves. the third one was up to my hips and the sand was gone under me and i fell. it was like 200, 300 pound men pushing you down and it sucked me under. i know that's when he ran after me. >> reporter: the riptides were too much for 61-year-old larry

moore, a physically strong man. >> there's just no way even a strong man can get through that. >> reporter: the coast guard sent two helicopters and a cutter. they spotted larry and were able to pull him out. a waiting ambulance transported him to the medical center but it was too late. separated from her husband, claudia was able to ride the swells back up to the top of the water. two men swam up to her. >> they were able to get me out where i could get on my knees and we all three crawled out. but it was very strong. >> reporter: she hopes by talking about her personal tragedy, she can prevent others from misjudging the seemingly placid waters. vic lee, "abc7 news." a truck, a muni bus and several cars ended up in a jigsaw puzzle of a wreck today. this is video from sky 7 hd. you can see a white pickup truck that landed backside up on the bus and the car. this happened just south of fallon avenue near the city

college of san francisco. two people inside went to the hospital. the speeding driver hit and killed a 50-year-old pedestrian in san francisco this morning at the corner of geneva and athens street. the woman died at the hospital. no word on whether the driver will face charges. san jose place are asking for your help finding a hit and run driver suspected of killing a bicyclist on busy winchester boulevard. the car was solved in the hit and run was found abandoned nearby. david louie is live at the scene. david? >> reporter: san jose police report no breakthroughs yet to identify and find the man responsible for mowing down a bicyclist. the car that he abandoned may provide important clues, including fingerprints and dna.

employees found this wrecked honda civic this morning. police responded and quickly tied it to a fatal hit and run collision. a man riding a bike was struck and killed. parts of the bike war scattered across the pavement. witnesses said the car was last seen going north on winchester. >> it really shocked me. when i saw the car, it was crushed, like the guy landed on top of the wind shooeld. >> reporter: miguel gonzalez shot this video from the electronics repair shot next door where he works. >> a police officer with a motorcycle has been stopping cars lately, because they drive

on this car over 50, 60 miles per hour. >> reporter: winchester has designated bike lanes but residents have a warning for bicyclists. >> if they're out here at night, be careful because people fly down this vote. i try to stay off the sidewalks at night around here. >> reporter: the coroner's office is holding the identify of the victim until relatives are notified. david louie, "abc7 news." tonight, cycling advocates want the city of berkeley to extend the bike lanes after a bike crash nearly killed a woman. advocates say recent changes in

law allow for changes without additional approval. neighbors in a san jose neighborhood are in disbelief. red tape marks the spot. what was found that has so many people on em? plus, saving the state's wildest landscapes. how a large part of california is now protected forever. and -- ♪ steph curry lipsyncing to an old beach boys song. find out why. find out why. coming find out why. coming it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks at chase atms.

technology designed for you. so you can easily master the way you bank. chp investigators are asking for help figuring out how skeletal remains got to a site

off i-280 in san jose. the bones were found east of san jose city college off 280 in richmond. chris wen has the story. >> reporter: along this busy stretch of road along interstate 280, red tape marks the spot where a disturbing discovery was made. >> it was the majority of the human skeleton that was found. >> reporter: the chp was called to the scene last night after being notified by san jose police. about a month ago, a woman was involved in an altercation with her boyfriend as they walked along this fence. he threw her phone into the bushes. she hopped the fence to retrieve it but stumbled on the skeletal remains. for whatever reason, she chose not to report it until last night. >> there were some teeth found, so they'll run dental records to try to get an i.d. on the individual. >> reporter: pauline ward wonders if it's connected to a nearby homeless encampment.

>> i see people walking down there all the time, so i'm very surprised it took so long to be discovered. >> reporter: angie barnes grew up nearby. >> we all just need to keep working on our neighborhood watch and having each other's pack, and we need to keep our eyes open. >> reporter: the chp isn't sure how long the body was there, but it was dadly decomposed. anyone with information is urged to call the chp. two animal rights activists from oakland have pleaded guilty to vandalizing a fur shop and freeing shows of mink. the pair were accused of violating the animal enterprise terrorism act after going on a

cross country vandalism spree, targeting fur companies. this was in 2013. he could serve two years in prison and they also agreed to pay $400,000 in restitution. a burned down home destroyed by a fire in pacifica today. it sits on a cliff, north of the pacifica pier. firefighters have not figured out what caused the fire. nobody was hurt. crews at dallas-ft. worth international airport are investigating a possible mechanical problem on a flight that left san jose this morning. a mechanical issue for another american airlines flight forced a plane yesterday to make an emergency landing in san antonio. the complex will bring 272

luxury apartments and town homes to three city blocks near 101 and the country station. the developer will contribute nearly $6 million in community benefits. some oppose the project, though. city officials promise it will rejuvenate the downtown area. three federal agencies are teaming up to study the safety of -- the epa will look into a possible risk for young athletes. limited studies have not shown an elevated health risks for playing on fields with recycled tire crumbs. president obama today designated nearly 2 million acres of california desert as national monuments. the monuments are called castle

mountain, mojave trail and sand to snow. they will connect death valley, joshua tree and mohave national preserve. dianne feinstein asked the president to use his executive power. in a statement, she says to a city girl like me, this expense of desert is nothing short of awe inspiring. large sections of death valley is usually barren landscape or springing to life. officials say it takes a perfect storm for this to happen. flower seeds are screen across the desert. the haste super bloom was in 2005. >> could we use those as a gift

for valentine's day? "abc7 news" was at the flower mart today. we caught up with one man who wanted to surprise his life a little early. >> we got her two long stem ecuadorian roses. i think she'll be happy. i think i'll get about a month's worth of good credit after this. >> americans are expected to spend nearly $2 billion on flowers this weekend. >> let's check in with meteorologist sandhya patel. >> bright, sunny forecast for you for valentine's. if you don't have a valentine's

or chocolates or flowers, all you need is this. it's a beautiful evening and i want to show you live doppler 7 hd. a chance of rain is in the forecast. right now, just some clouds passing through, and as we take a look at one thing you will have to watch out for is the rough surf. the surf advisory remains up until 8:00:saturday, currently up to 16 feet at monterey bay. a lovely view of the sun getting ready to go down. our highs today, a good 6 to 9 degrees above average. antioch made it up to 77 degrees. a view from san jose camera. if you're stepping out, look at

this beautiful view. you have to look up. santa cruz crews showing you how nice it is outside. possible records monday and tuesday. and much cooler weather when rain arrives mid work. until then, look at these temperatures, they're going to soar valentine's day going into next week. amp high of 62 for san jose. you'll be well above average until thursday and friday. we'll drop you closer to where you should be this time of year as that main moves in. the week ahead for san francisco, also a warm one. if you have outdoor activities this upcoming valentine's day. and then thursday, we'll finally drop below normal at 60 degrees. tomorrow, the weather at pebble, cool start but low 60s later in the day with the sun out. we've been rating our storms all

winter long and while january was pretty wet, february hasn't shown up to be so wet yet. wednesday evening going into thursday morning, looks like rain is going to come back into the picture. so a shift in the pattern. tomorrow morning, some fog at the coast, low 50s for starters. for the afternoon, beautiful in the south bay. 68 santa cruz, 69 sunnyvale. 65, half moon bay. downtown san francisco, 67 degrees. 69 in san rafael. accuweather seven-day forecast, spring-like warmth for valentine's day weekend, near 80 degrees monday and tuesday.

chance of rain wednesday night into thursday morning, a one on the impact scale. so let's get everything straight, dan is not cheap and the forecast looks sweet. >> thanks. still ahead tonight, we're going to show you -- >> help you fall asleep and something to eat, too. it's all part of finney's friday free stuff coming up next. then at 5:30 --

tesla is hard at work p perfecting its model x. this is tesla's first suv. a limited number have been delivered to customers. they expect to ship more as the year goes on. >> i'm so distracted by that

aroma. what is that i smell? >> it's a shame the camera doesn't have a nose. >> this is phenomenal. this is from dusty buns. they're a hamburger joint and take a look at this. they're celebrating their second anniversary on march 2. dusty buns has no freezers, everything is made fresh, all grass fed beef. >> it smells delicious. >> and while she's looking that, this is for kids or you. you may decide maybe i'm going to take a nap. quiet time entertainment has you

covered. take a look at this. it's got some cool music that goes with it. made for kids. works for adults, as well. >> that is cool. >> it's a 1995 value. why would you spend any of that money, that's my question. >> we want it for free, michael. >> just logon to abc7news.com. >> thanks, michael. this is so 2016. >> that's right. the nba all-stars get their own twitter emojis. >> you'll see how the splash brothers turned out. that's when "abc7 news" continues.

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i'm ama daetz in the "abc7 news" room. coming up, we'll take you to mexico where people are awaiting the arrival of pope francis. we'll show you what's being done in anticipation of his visit. plus -- >> i was in the parking lot crying. >> a mixup at a major retailer almost left the family without any holiday gifts.

see how someone made things right. all that plus much more coming up on "abc7 news" at 6:00. >> ama, thank you very much. see you then. coming up on "abc7 news" at 11:00, the hidden world of emojis. what your kids are really saying when they text those symbols. i'll have that story for you tonight on "abc7 news" at 11:00. >> that will be really interesting. the nba is going emoji at this weekend's all-star game. >> each player will get their own personalized twitter emoji. >> the idea is to get fans to vote for the mvp. >> steph curry, klay thompson and draymond green on the right. >> curry and thompson will have a rematch of the three-point shooting contest. >> larry beil will report live from the nba all-star game

tomorrow and sunday. and follow his updates on twitter. ♪ >> mrs. obama tweeted this funny video today. it was made last week while the golden state warriors visited the white house. >> they are lipsyncing a song. that is fun. >> makes me want to eat fruits and vegetables. >> after i get this hamburger. >> of course. "world news tonight" is next. >> for all of us here, we appreciate your time and hope to see you again in half an hour. >> and happy valentine's day.

breaking news tonight. what donald trump just threatened to do. trump tonight saying he might sue ted cruz over being born in canada. and on the other side, bernie sanders is asked, is he standing in the way of history? the first woman president. how he answers. also breaking, the fbi on the case. a horrific machete attack at an american restaurant. and life-threatening cold on the way. temperatures in some places not seen in almost 100 years. diane sawyer is here tonight. and 17 years after columbine, one of the mothers of the shooters. breaking her silence on