the strong storm on the way this weekend. look at the clouds outside, now, good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. we're preparing for strong winds and rain with team coverage around the bay area. let's begin withdrew tuma. >> yes. we're going to see the beginning stages of a wet, windy weekend. there are down pours moving throughout the region. we're seeing less intensity in terms of rainfall. these shades of green are rain showers moving throughout the bay area, look at this. kentfield, an inch of rain. and this weak system moves through, we're still expecting more down pours this evening. so on our scale now,

light storm developing and these are heavier showers. we stay unsettled through the 10:00 and 11:00 hour but a stronger storm is going to move here saturday. the full accu-weather forecast is coming up. at 6:00 rain may have contributed to a deadly accident south of pittsburgh. investigators say a woman driving on kerker pass road. the car flipped over, killing the woman. taking a look at traffic now, you can barely see. one on one in san rafael. the northbound commute is very heavy and basically a wash out. >> taking a look in tahoe,

expecting more than a foot of snow this weekend. and our last check, no chain controls for 80 or 50. team coverage continues with cornell bernard, live in pacifica. cornell? el nino back in a big way tonight. waves starting to crash over the sea wall here in pacifica and just check out the surf. it is churning out some very big waves tonight and with storm clouds, the city is getting ready. crashing waves in pacifica, pounding the sea wall on beach boulevard. this is nothing. weekend storms could produce monster waves. >> we got 20 foot swells. >> public works supervisor and crews are ready, closing streets, filling pot holes and dropping sandbags along the water front where el nino is ready for round two. >> we're probably going to get

about an inch and a half of rain. so the amount of rain is one main concern. >> the rain brought neighborhood flooding with it. but no one wants the water to get higher. >> well, i hope it doesn't turn into anything disastrous, but i'm not fearful. >> it's a race against time and the weather for this crew which demolished a cliff side apartment building. >> i don't think we're going to make it, but we'll try. >> down the street, a crumpeling cliff. max jones and his son are monitoring this cliff which appears to be eroding. >> yes. today, today, possibly sunday. this whole thing shoulding gone by then. >> do you think so? >> yes. >> the cliff is off limits and several homes around it, red tagged. >> ten years ago, we had more shoreline and so the erosion is taking and reclaiming it, going back.

>> this crew fighting beach erosion by shoring up this water front with dirt and rock. more insurance against el nino. >> people protect their property. and you know, just trying to prevent mother nature from doing its thing. >> 20 foot swells expected by sunday. this could attract a lot of spectators. there is a warning to folks, sneaker waves are expected on the beach. and a warning to them, never turn your back on the surf. stay behind those railings, thank you, cornell. abc7 news was in oakland where the theme was umbrellas for everybody walking around lake merit. in downtown san jose, puddles formed and the bay area received a quarter inch of rain today. it's not just the rain making the storm powerful, strong, gusting winds could make things

dangerous in your backyard. eric? >> reporter: we're talking about trees that are vulnerable to saturated ground and gusty winds as we expect this weekend. that is why arborists were out today. dozens of spots around the bay area, the background music was chain saws. and wood chippers. these are the sounds of arborists and tree cutters trying to get ahead of the storm. in pleasant hill, this tree was targeted and this is just the start. >> we're gearing up, got crews ready to go for the weekend. you know? some trees are going to fall out there. >> probably a combination of drought, weakened roots and blustery winds. that is why pg and e has crews out today trimming branchs away from power lines. >> this is actually diseased and

we want to make hur to move it and have it removed before the storm hits. >> pg and e says it's a 365 day per year job, not just when a storm is looming. that is why they're on the lookout for potential problems. >> we can see an outage. and that is one of the things we want to avoid. >> they want to avoid a tree. >> where there is a saturation of soil, and weekend roots can't take the pressure sometimes. >> reporter: it's probably too late to get cal works to come out to your house, but after they're gone, it may be a good idea because they say when this storm system leaves this will be another at some point. >> thank you, eric.

we'll track the storm all weekend. join us for morning news at 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. to see how it develops overnight. you can enable push alerts to get updates. now, an i team investigation into the police shooting death of alex nietto. >> dan noyes was in court, joining us now with an ex-choosive interview. >> reporter: valid or not, he tells me he's concerned about his personal safety after coming forward and testifying against the police. those he's used to being in the spotlight, he was not keen on talking to the i-team in court. besides the four police officers that shot and killed alex nietto he's the only one who saw it happening, he was jogging at vernal heights park that night. he discounted the story.

they told nietto to put his hands up, he said no, you put your hands up and pointed a weapon. >> that did not happen. >> he told me the officers opened fire after their only command, stop. >> not long, half a second, also. >> where were his hands at the time the police started firing? >> in his pocket. >> one piece of evidence from the medical examiner's report may support that. there was a small piece of bone in his left jacket pocket, consistent with a gunshot wound to the wrist. the deputy city attorney attacked theodore's credibility, asking, do you have problems with memory? she answered, slightly, as i say, a drink a lot. it kind of helps sometimes, i do not remember sometimes. >> you mentioned sometimes, you drink and your memory is not so good. is your memory clear and firm

from that night? yes, my memory is clear and firm from that night. >> you're sure about what you saw? >> you're going to ask me that a million times, i will die, standing saying what i say. >> another witness testified about seeing neitto eating a burrito with a weapon under his jacket. it turnedu! out to be a taser i did not find him alarming in any way. his parents had to leave the room when autopsy photos were put up. today would have been his 30th birthday. >> my home boy, alex, born march 4th. >> his best friend posted this video to remember. the judge says the trial could last until friday. >> thank you, dan. >> there is a mystery problem

plaguing bart. >> it's putting train cars out of service. and how bart is trying to keep commuters moving. >> lapd became aware of an item recovered allegedly by a citizen. >> 20 years after o.j. simpson was acquitted for murder, a discovery at a demolished brentwood home puts it back in the spotlight. >> i would love this availability in the future. >> some of the best and brightest in this prestigious competition. >> i'm michael finney. head on 7 on your side, th

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one of bart's substations is off line tonight, on purpose. the agency is trying to get to the root of a problem damaging some cars and delaying commuters. >> laura anthony is live and this problem is nothing new. >> hi, ama. well, one after another we have seen cars pulling in here and they're packed more so than normal. and in part because many trains are running one car down because many have been damaged by this problem. >> their train cars are getting side lined by a mystery problem,

that means cars are getting more crowded. >> i do notice there is a lot of crowd. >> it has to do with a technical issue, bart says is happening on eastbound trains traveling through the transbay tube. >> cars that have older propulsion equipment were experiencing spikes in voltage and the circuitry was getting damaged. >> so far, 80 cars have been affected, and taken out of repairs in the yards. bart says it's becoming more frequent lately. bart is taking this substation off line. they don't think it's the source of the problem. >> we're still trying to figure out what caused it. we did major inspections, and looked at the third rail, the

track. >> the trains are packed. >> more crowded. you can get here, it's packed. sometimes, people don't want to move for you. >> ever since the strike, it seems like there is something going wrong. so it's just par for the course. >> bart expects to have all cars repaired and back in service by monday. >> what are your thoughts on the trains? we want to hear from you like we did during the 2013 strike. share your videos and comments with us on social media. the second lead scare in a week has a school districts waiting for answers and some parents worried about their kids. days after tests for lead at heelsberg elementary proved to be a false alarm, new tests were performed at healsberg high.

>> that is the superintendent for a second time, they're testing water for fear of lead contamination. >> we're trying to get out in front of it and make sure the kids are safe. >> it is healsberg junior high this time. hence, the test followed by a warning which led to importing water and taking any food preparation that invochls using water off the campus. parents are pleased at how the district handled it so far. >> i think we're going to deal witness more and more. and i think it's not going to just be a healsburg school problem. >> there is also a sonoma county health problem. that agency ran tests this morning and we won't know results until next week. >> it doesn't necessarily mean their child as lead poisoning. it's how much water they've consumed and whether or not it has caused problems with them.

>> the superintendent has a child attending school in the district. >> you want to make every precaution. and treat your student like other kids. >> for more information and how to protect yourself and your children, go to abc7news.com. >> spencer is off. we have drew tuma in today. >> it's going to be quite a weekend and it's shaping up. saturday, this could be the strongest storm we're seeing this season. some winds could be damaging. right now, a temporary lull. we have had down pours this afternoon, and some light showers. and into the north bay, you can see pockets of light green colors around napa and yontville. those are isolated showers at

this hour and there are temperatures holding in mid and lower 60s and we're rating light to severe, giving you a better idea of what to expect. tomorrow, it's a three. we've only ever had two other storms so it's rare to see heavy rain in the forecast and strong wind. and hour by hour, we'll start out saturday morning and just isolated showers that are similar to this afternoon. what we're going to watch, really light around 6:00 you can

see this red line line, it's going to add moisture into it and increase winds. and saturday, moving into the heart of the bay area, then, in the wake of the cold front, winds are going to diminish and taper to scattered showers. saturday a south breeze only strengthening into the evening hours. and so we're going to be on the watch for possible power outages. so time line of saturday, between noon and 6:00 that is heavy rain and winds, sunday,

this is a two on our scale. some isolated showers monday, may get a break sunday and down pour early monday morning. so a wet weekend is on the way. tomorrow, it's all about the strong storm that is entering the bay area, strap anything down that may be loose. a thunderstorm possible sunday. scattered showers monday, and another storm thursday and friday. >> and watch out for he those tree branchs. >> coming up, they're the best and brightest in a computer science competition hosted by intel. >> of the final

. we'd like to thank our viewer for sharing this from her backyard. >> i think we're going to get a lot of photos. >> yes. >> some bay area high school students are on their way to solving world health problems but first, stopping to compete

in the intel science search. >> at a computer, combatting cancer, and an app to diagnose asthma. >> it's so alarming people are dying from diseases that can be detected early and treated just because they don't have access to the expensive systems. >> these seniors are tackling world problems. miya created a device and app to test lung function. >> there are 3 million people who have a type of pulmonary illness and 90% are in the developing world. >> it tests for copd, emphysema and restricted lung disease. she's headed to washington, d.c. as a finalist for the intel science prize along with

jonathan mah. >> i'm excited to head to washington, d.c. >> his work centers on targeted cancer treatment. he's using pubic genome data from cancer patients. >> and predict which drugs or drug would be the best to treat you. >> two of 40 finalists nationwide, the students are competing for more than $1 million in awards, but you can't put a price on experience, they say. >> to me, the best part has been the process, right? from doing research, to writing the paper. that experience is one of the most valuable parts of the competition. >> others include a 17-year-old that goes to st. francis high, creating a low cost virus imprinted film that can help detect and identify viruss in

less than one minute for less than $1. and a 17-year-old created a treatment for an incurable type of brain cancer. and one student figured out a way to predict cells that become resistant to cancer fighting drugs. they're very, very, smart kids. >> yes, they are. >> and almost 20 years later, a discovery to the o.j. simpson trial. plus, live doppler 7 hd continuing to track the storms. the accu-weather forecast is

regarding an alleged knife

that may have been recovered. a knife reportedly found on simpson's former brentwood estate. the lapd is investigating to see if the knife could be possibly connected to the murders of simpson's ex-wife nicole brown simpson and her friend, ron goldman. somewhere around the rubble, a construction worker allegedly found a knife on the simpson estate. lapd says the worker discovered it and gave it to a police officer who happened to be working across street he was working a movie job. >> instead of turning it in, the officer in question kept it, and thought the case was closed. >> i find it almost impossible to believe that the officer would have it and not report it. >> police would not describe the knife, but news reports say it's a folding knife that may look

like this one. it's now at lapd lab with the hopes any dna evidence has been preserved. according to tmz, in january, the now-retired officer told someone he wanted to have it framed. that person told his supervisor simpson was acquitted after a trial that lasted eight months. ron goldman's family issued this statement, we cannot validate every claim with a discussion as it only creates more unnecessary hype and encourages the media circus. nicole brown simpson divorced the former football star. she and goldman were killed outside of her apartment not far from where oj lived. >> if the evidence they had before, which was tremendous, if that didn't convict him, that won't, either. >> if experts determine the knife was used to killed them, he can not be tried twice. >> the santa clara county

sheriff called the head of the jail reform commission a liar, and wednesday, sheriff smith purchased cameras for the county's main jail. and a day later, they captured a brawl, a former judge said the groups never should have been in the same area. and the sheriffs released a scathing letter today and the response speeds in rart part, i am amazed at your level of defensiveness. >> another round of el nino storms, we're expecting possibly half a foot of rain and heavy rain is expected tomorrow in the area and a flash flood watch starts tomorrow afternoon.

a crew spent five sandbags. the soil is hardened now and cannot absorb rain. >> and caltrans has been building a new seven-lane overpass. instead of moving throughout the weekend, the switch has been rescheduled for next weekend. and you can use the free app to track weather and weather powered by el nino. and we have resources on abc7news.com. from honduras to the bay area, there are protests around the world over the murder of a human rights activist honored in san francisco only last year. >> kristin zee is here with the

outcry. >> today, police fired tear gas at students protesting the murder. and here in the bay area, a couple dozen protestors are carrying signs here in san francisco. this is happening outside of the office of senator feinstein. today, she would have turned 43. in april, she was in the bay area receiving a prize. this is video provided by the nonprofit which gives large monetary awards to environmentalists. she was calling for a stopping of a hydro electric dam that would have cutoff food, water, and medicine. >> her bravery, her courage.

she acknowledged risks and said she wasn't going to stop. >> she was shot to death in a home police were supposed to have been protecting. honduras' president promised a full investigation. >> thank you. >> and a big change to the college admissions process. >> students will be taking an updated version of the sat. up next, michael finney takes a look at whether test prep courses are worth the money. >> there is many patients, not many kidneys are available. >> new at 6:00 the invention that can do a lot more than

drew tuma will have an update on the forecast in just 10 minutes. >> brace yourself, the new sat will be taken tomorrow by high school students. >> and michael finney looked into the best ways students can prepare for the changes. >> i'm glad we dodged this. >> yes. >> it is a big change, many students are getting ready by

taking test preparation classes and paying for tutoring. this year, americans spent $816 million for the classes. tonight, we look to see if they're worth the investment. ty calls this a stressful period. he plans to apply to uc berkeley and university of santa clara. he's been attending tutoring sessions at c 2 education center. >> just helped me a lot and made me more comfortable. >> rates are as high as $5,000 for nine months of tutoring. >> it's not just a test prep that a student receives. is really being able to receive college counselling and help. >> at st. ignacious high school, more than 99% of the students go to college. >> some students need to work

with an individual, whether it's a one on one situation, or someone in a classroom setting. >> others may do well on their own, using a test preparation book or free tutoring. anyone taking the preparation tests will be offered free classes from the khan academy, designed to boost scores. the goal is to measure current knowledge, versus the old, a predictor of how well a student will do in college and marks the return of the 1600 as a perfect score. >> the test is becoming harder from a content perspective. >> the best preparation might just be school itself. >> rely on the course work they're doing and work they're doing in courses. >> stephanie chan is a freshman at lowell high school with her heart set on harvard or stanford. she's already prepping. >> i'm assessing the new sat.

>> she's taken the old sat, and based on the scores decided to stick with the old scores. >> i did better on the old one. so i was like, i should stick with this then. >> students have a choice of taking sat or act test. most will accept the higher score with college applications tox see my reports go to abc7news.com and select 7 on your side. >> so much stress on these kids. >> if you love watching wheel of fortune, this weekend is your chance to audition. the wheel mobile will be in and all of the details are posted on abc7news.com.

next, a ucsf invention that can do more than filter blood and do it faster. plus, how you can help a gu i was walking home. just picked us up two breakfast croissants for four bucks, when this bear attacked. with one swipe, it devoured one of the croissants. then jack showed up and took care of the beast, so i could escape. and that's what happened to your breakfast croissant. and yours? it survived. share it with yourself. freshly cracked egg with ham and bacon, or sausage, get two breakfast croissants for four bucks.

nearly half a million americans are being kept alive by a machine that makes them virtual captives for hours at a time. >> reporter: this kidney patient, david anderson, can't escape the routine. four hours per day, three days a week, hooked up to dialysis. transplants are remote. >> there are many patients and not many kidneys available. >> soon, a revolution could free anderson and thousands of patients like him. >> so you're looking at different versions of the artificial kidney. >> uscf researcher are testing an implantable, artificial kidney designed to filter the blood. >> production of hormones, vitamin d and assist blood

pressure control. >> the various versions contain a membrane and a bio reactor, primed with living kidney cells that interact with the body. in tests, the device was able to function in mice without triggering rejection. >> we can keep them ahiv for a long time, functional. >> the results are so promising the team just got a major boost. national institutes of health is giving a multi million dollar grant to move it towards human testing. experts say the need is urgent. the cost of dialysis is now estimated $90,000 a year. and ucsf professor says the costs are far higher if you include the medications. >> yes, those things would get better. when you have normal kidneys you don't take any of those things. >> if the current trials are successful, dr. roy hopes to

test with human patients, possibly in the next two years. the team is working to stream line the device. >> we want to get this to patients as soon as possible. so the initial devices may be external and wearable. >> and if human trials begin, anderson said he'd be standing in line. >> it's the solution in my case. >> in san francisco, abc7 news. >> just for the perspective, dr. roy says the patients makeup about 1% of the population. >> another check of the forecast. heading out this weekend, you want to pay attention to drew tuma. >> yes. you do.

and we note these light showers at this hour and this is ahead of a strong storm we're tracking for saturday. and to break down the saturday storm, we'll see down pours develop. the winds will strengthen and the key time is between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and that is when we see wind gusts will be a current. winter storm warning going into affect and over three feet of fresh powder. the accu-weather forecast shows you stormy and rainy. and we'll track another stoem.

>> this is going to be our third three. so it's been sometime. >> time to meet estella, a guinea pig with a this chair fits her perfectly. >> estella going after that lettuce. >> i would, too. >> in sports a huge upset for the cal women and madison

>> the warriors won 29 games, the next year won 26 games. and together, this year's warriors have 22 games left. they're 55 and 5.

and so time record with their 44th win over two seasons. that is mazes just about everybody including steve kerr. >> 50 games over 500. crazy. you can't dream this up. >> any time there is a new coaching staff, the second year is going to be more comfortable. and confidence level is just deeper this year. >> and we've got two games on abc7 this weekend. join me tomorrow and sunday,

here on abc7, warriors visit the lakers. and around 3:00 we'll look ahead to the final games. >> the cal womens team went 4 and 14 and the bears taking on co-conference champions, and again, inside and scoring 45-41, cal. i think you're going to see the theme here and it's the first time a ten seed has beaten a two in history.

>> this speaks to the conference and this league prepares us, and we prepare for this. and i just am so proud of players and you can't beat asu without being tough. that is what they were today. >> bears moving on to take on the number three 6:00 and stanford women will take on washington in about an hour and a half. a legendary tennis writer became the first newspaper writer today. and her first were nice pants, bud. he's an icon. back to the field now in spring

training madison balmgartner. he allows the homer to he struck out the side in the second and johnny kwato is not going to start as scheduled. and mashon lynch enjoying his time in the nfl. and showing his hoop skills, stealing and dunking. and that is no doubt thinking i'm just here to dunk in the middle league. >> yes. thank you. >> well, join us tonight at

9:00, what elan musk said after his rocket came back to earth. and the bay area braces for what could be the strongest storm of the season we're on the coast with the warnings and ahead of this wet, windy weather. >> from all of us, thanks for joining us. we'll see you at 9:00 and 11:00.

this is "jeopardy!" here are today's contestants -- an artist from decatur, georgia... a space policy analyst originally from state college, pennsylvania... and our returning champion, a writer and editor from deer park, texas... whose 3-day cash winnings total... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! [ applause ] thanks, johnny. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. hi, folks. welcome to our program. when she became champion a few days ago, rachel won $4,700.

the fortunes of war. you never know how things are gonna work out. yesterday, she won over $25,000. therese and natasha, you've got your work cut out for you. but good luck. here we go. jeopardy! round. and these categories to deal with... notice the "j" in quotation marks. each correct response will begin with that letter. ...comes next. followed by... then... who remembers? woman: [ chuckles ] and finally... champ, off you go. let's go with tony-winning play titles for $600. [ beep ] "the rose tattoo." rachel. let's go with tony-winning plays for $400.