>> i'm dan ashley. companies trying to help build the wall are facing some serious backlash here in the bay area including boycotts. but one of those is willing to take the heat for its idea about how to keep illegal immigrants out. abc 7 news reporter laura anthony is live in mitrichmond h the story. >> according to the latest government estimate the president's version of the wall would cost $22 billion. well this company here in richmond says they can build it for a lot less in large part because most of the parts are no bigger than this. >> we already got an angry tweet today. >> reporter: liz stern knew putting her company's name on the federal list of firms offering to help build president trump's border wall was a risky move but the founder and ceo of similarity stands by it though she doesn't support a brick and mortar wall at all. >> we are very pro immigration, and very pro diversity. our idea is to actually

implement a non-physical security system that is more effective, so building a brick and mortar wall is going to be hugely expensive, and not terribly effective. here's a smaller spot where it looks like new buildings have been built in this remote area. >> reporter: similarity is an artificial intelience and software company that combines digital imagery from satellites and drones with microcomputers to detect changes for instance on a border. >> and look for patterns that might indicate human trafficking, weapons trafficking, drug smuggling, even terrorist activity that may be coming towards the border. >> it doesn't reflect our values as a city. >> reporter: meantime city leaders in oakland, berkeley and san francisco have initiated boycotts of all companies on the federal list, even minority or women-owned firms like similarity. >> we stand with the principles of the cities that are

boycotting people on the list, but we feel that what we're doing is much more secure and is actually finding the bad guys. >> reporter: of the 600 companies on the federal list, 100 are in california, about two dozen in this the bay area. in richmond, laura anthony, abc 7 news. california's chief justice is deeply concerned about the federal immigration agents are using state courthouses as bait. chief justice tawny sacaue wrote a letter to attorney general sessions and john kelly will reports of arrests made after court hearings. she wrote "policies of stalking courthouses and arresting undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom pose no risk to public safety, are neither safe nor fair." three federal judges spoke out today against president trump's call to break up the ninth circuit court of appeals. the court based in san francisco refused to reinstate the president's first travel ban last month.

republicans last tried to split the court in 2005, claiming it has a liberal slant. high caseload and is too far for judges to travel. the congressional black caucus accepted president trump's invitation to the white house for a meeting. all 49 members are invited including congresswoman barbara lee and los angeles representative maxine waters, who have both been very critical of the president. it is not clear if they will attend. 40 years, that's the sentence a federal judge gave matthew muller for kidnapping denise huskins. it's been nearly two years since the kidnapping that vallejo police initially called a hoax, the so-called gone girl case. melanie woodrow is live outside court with the emotional day in court. >> reporter: two lives, two families lives have been forever changed by these events and that's why we saw a packed courtroom here today on one side family and friends for the victims, denise huskins and aaron quinn, and on the other side family and friends for the

death, matthew muller. this is the first time that huskins and quinn came face to face with matthew muller in nearly two years. denise huskins bravely shared being kidnapped and raped by muller twice, and she also shared a very personal story about having been molested as a child, a story that she says she shared with muller when he abducted her. she began speaking, she physically turned to muller, she looked at him, and she said to him "the voice has a face, it has a name, now we finally meet." through tears at times stopping to catch her breath, denise huskins bravely described being kidnapped and raped twice by matthew muller, saying the only way i got through it was to picture that it was aaron i was with. >> she was very, very brave and very good. beautiful human being. >> it was emotionally exhausting.

and i had no idea how bad it was for denise. >> reporter: aaron quinn told muller you strategically destroyed our lives. aaron who was a physicl therapist, rhetorically asked how can i help people when i am so broken? matthew muller spoke briefly saying he was sick with shame. the judge sentenced muller to 40 years, the amount the government asked for, as part of his guilty plea deal. muller family friend steve reed. >> the family hopes that there's some degree of towards closure by the sentence and what occurred today. >> reporter: huskins aand quinn wanted muller to get life. quinn also said he had legitimate concerns about the quality of the kidnapping investigation, a sentiment echoed by his attorney. >> there was an fbi-led investigation and vallejo is now the fall guys but an fbi agent led this investigation, isolated aaron, they should have figured 20 minutes into this that these people were victims. >> reporter: in sacramento, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news.

>> huskins complete victim impact statement was released after the sentencing. in it she said "hopefully for the sake of his own soul he will rehabilitate himself behind bars, but i have no doubt that this man should not be free to walk amongst the rest of us. i don't say that because i believe in revenge, in eye for an eye but because of my experiences with him i know without doubt or recitation that as long as he walks free, there will be more victims." we have the full statement on our website, abc7news.com and on our abc 7 news app. hayward police say tonight that a 16-year-old girl shot and killed by officers was pregnant. 16-year-old elena mondragon tide after a confrontation with police officers. they went to hayward to investigate a string of robberies tuesday. the officers shot at a car when it drove toward them, mondragon was a passenger in this car. police captured a man suspected of running from the scene, found in san francisco. mondragon's family says he is

her boyfriend. a san carlos maen is in custody tonight accused of drug charges and pretending to a dentist. the san mateo county narcotics task force arrested 59-year-old joseph hirsch on tuesday, following a three-month-long investigation. authorities found narcotics and drug-making equipment in a crude dental office on old county road. it's not clear if any patients were injured as a result of their treatment or how long hirsch was reportedly treating people. martinez police believe they stopped a pair of suspected mail thieves. you're looking at a picture of officers holding stolen mail along with a homemade key used to break into large community mailboxes. officers captured a man and a woman after getting a call of someone trying to pry a mailbox open this afternoon. police say they uncovered evidence of mail theft inside the suspect's car. thieves had targeted mailboxes on morello avenue and near star flower drive. today is the five-year

anniversary of sierra lamar's disappearance. the trial for the man accused of murdering the teenager has been going on for seven weeks. we were inside the courtroom today and jeannine is live with what happened. >> reporter: the case seems to be moving along swiftly. there's been no major delays so far, the prosecutor is still presenting evidence against the suspect torres outside the courtroom sierra's family reflected on how long it's been since she disappeared. see yes that lamar became known as everyone's daughter when she disappeared five years ago while walking to her school bus stop in morgan hill. today her father steve headed into court thinking about the dreaded anniversary. >> it's always a sad day, this day but we're thinking of sierra. >> reporter: today's testimony focused on another part of the case against torres, the accusation that he tried to

kidnap three women at safeways around morgan hill several years before sierra's disappearance. the prosecution said fingerprint evidence on a stun gun, knife and battery found at the scenes of those other attacks points to garcia torres. >> what the defense wants to establish is that it was not mr. garcia torres that committed these safeway attacks, and they're saying that the forensic evidence is very minimal here, and there's an innocent explanation for how that fingerprint could have got on the battery. >> reporter: on cross-examination, the defense focused on whether the fingerprints found on the evidence was reliable or possibly tainted. the dna of one of the investigators was transferred on the stun gun and he testified it was embarrassing and he's not sure how that happened. >> what you'll see the defense try to do is suggest if it wasn't done properly at the beginning, it really doesn't matter what the evidence shows at the end. >> reporter: lamar's friends watched the proceedings to lend their support, knowing today may be especially difficult for the family because of the anniversary. >> that was the day that the lamar's life was turned upside down and a day they can never

escape. >> reporter: the trial is expected to last through april, if convicted garcia torres could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. in san jose, janine de la vega, abc 7 news. carol crist has a lot to smile about, voted in as the first woman to lead cal. she tells abc 7 news the greatest challenge she faces. the hacking at yahoo! shareholders take action saying the company did not do enough to protect them. . i'm meteorologist sandy patell. three storms are on the way. will they impact your weekend plans? why 930 is middle aged. and from garlic to. alees to chicken soup, food can be as good as medicine.

someday, gus will invent this thing and change the world. this is the thing that could change gus' world. and this is the doctor that could cure that thing so he can grow up to invent this thing. sutter health. proudly caring for northern california, birthplace of pioneers. since 1952, ten people have

been at the helm of uc berkeley. all of those at the top spot have had at least one thing in common -- all men. well that changes right now. carol crist was appointed to the position today. she's the first woman to serve as cal's chancellor. the university of california regents unanimously approved the appointment of crist today. leighanne melendez tell us what challenges the new chancellor faces. >> reporter: it's the first time that uc berkeley has a woman at the helm, the former president of smith college had come out of retirement to return to cal in 2015 as an administrator, and now to lead the university. >> enthusiastically and unanimous lay prove the appointment of carol crist as our new chancellor. >> reporter: she first came to uc berkeley in 1970 as an assistant proveor. the 72-year-old will receive the same compensation as her predecessor nearly $532,000, including housing. >> brkly transformed me and it

transformed my understanding of higher education. >> reporter: yet she's quick to point out the university faces tough times ahead. crist believes it's time to reimagine the school's financial model, which relies on two bloc grants, tuition dollars and what they get from the state. this comes aas the regents are expected to approve a cap on the number of higher paid ought of state students allowing for more california students to enroll. that cap would be 20% at most ucs and 24% at cal, ucla and uc san diego. in exchange, the uc system will receive $18.5 million from the state. >> it's a net positive for the university. >> reporter: the regents will vote on the caps proposal in may before the start of the state's fiscal year. in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news.

a lawsuit has been filed against sunnyvale based yahoo! one day after it was revealed russians were behind a massive data breach. the law firm based in burlingame filed on behalf of yahoo! shareholders. yesterday the justice department charged two russian intelligence agents and two hackers in a breach of yahoo! that affected at least half a billion user accounts in 2014. the lawsuit claims yahoo! executives are personally responsible for that data breach which wasn't revealed until last year. >> so this case seeks to hold the board at yahoo! accountable for failing to stop, prevent and disclose for over two years hacks that their own senior executives knew all about. >> he's asking for changes to the executive compensation packages for senior executives including those who stand to benefit from the merger deal with verizon. snap inc. shares tumbled

below $20 today for the first time since the company's ipo. shares closed at just under $20 and down 4% after the company received another sell rating from an analyst. snap warned it may never be profitable. the stock remains up 17% from its $17 ipo on march 1st. youtube is investing in competitive gaming. the video signed a multiyear deal with esports platform faceit. some believe esports is the next big thing in live event and could draw millions of viewers online. revenue from esports is expected to surge 41% this year to almost $700 million. >> 41% increase, that's significant. >> yes. now to an easy way to stay healthy, looking at food that can heal. >> i like that. 7 on your side's michael finney is here with more. >> this is an interesting one. we all know how important it is to eat healthy and preventing chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

certain foods can have a more immediate benefit in helping other everyday ailments. consumer reports has some suggestions for what to eat and when. when grace was pregnant with her daughter, she confirmed what research already shows, ginger can help ease morning sickness. >> to combat the nausea i tried everything, essential oils, i tried saltines and i found sin ger helpful. >> reporter: if you want to cure what ales you, consumer reports suggests looking in the kitchen first, what you find may provide good healing power. >> some foods do have medicinal properties and' not just hype. it's backed up by science. >> reporter: got a headache, try drinking a tall glass of water. dehydration is a common cause of headaches. nibbling on an apple and a handful of wall nets may help, too. >> it's a combination of carbs, healthy fat and protein that prevents a dip in blood sugar. >> reporter: if you've been having trouble sleeping you may have tried warm milk but studies

suggest kiwi fruit witch in b vitamin may help the brain produce sleep inducing chem cass. all three destroys sulfur compounds and neutralize the odor garlic causes. all know no foods have proven to shorten a cold, chicken soup and frankly any soup can hydrate you, helping your lymph system flush out the virus. which means as grace found out, maybe grandma was right all along. now if you battle heart burn and acid reflux, you can try stopping the burning sensation by eating a banana. some research suggests bananas may act as a natural antacid. >> i will testify to the use of ginger. works. >> okay, there you go. while we're talking about health, the key to a longer life? try being a little narcissistic, the conclusion of dr. mario martinez who has spent decades

studying centenarians. he spoke today at the boomers and beyond luncheon, anchor jessica castro was the mistress of ceremony. the doctor said people who felt middle age at an earlier age die earlier. >> cultures middle age is 45, beyond 45 they age faster than other cultures that believe that middle age starts at another age so it's a cultural belief but your biology will follow it like a marker. >> isn't that interesting? dr. martinez says one thing he noticed about the centenarians he studied, those who felt attractive lived longer even if they didn't follow the healthiest lifestyle habits. let's check out live doppler 7 right now. we are tracking high clouds out there. we have some chain chances coming into the picture. ones for monday through wednesday, all light systems. thursday we're looking at a moderate strength storm a two.

over the weekend small chances of seeing some wet weather so i want to show you a lovely live picture from our sutro tower cam camera, towards ocean beach we have a variety of clouds. 59 in san francisco, in the mid-60s mountain view, oakland, san jose, 72 degrees in gilroy. lovely picture from our emeryville camera. high clouds coming in filtering our sun. 67 in santa rosa, napa it is milder today than it was yesterday, livermore 70 degrees and we're going to keep that trend going. look at the view from our exploratorium camera. the sunset will be pretty because of the high clouds. make sure if you catch a picture #abc7now. high clouds and patchy morning fog overnight, warmer conditions for st. patrick's day and three storms over the next seven days. st. patrick's day planner hour by hour forecast the sun comes up at 7:17 a.m., and i think it's the luck of the irish that allow to you enjoy a beautiful day if you have outdoor plans for st. pa trach's day, mix mixx

sun and high clouds in the afternoon, temperatures remain mild at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow morning low to upper 40s, there will be some high clouds and a little bit of fog around as you look at the hour by hour forecast for your weekend plans, 8:00 a.m. a few light showers may develop in the north bay, we continue that chance better possibility in the evening right around 5:00 p.m. and the best chance in the north bay continuing through the late ni night hours. carry an umbrella. not much of a system it's disorganized and going up to the north of us, but it will just brush us enough to bring us the potential for a shower or two. sunday morning could be an early chance and that's it. highs for your friday will look like this, upper 60s to the mid-70s, we may see a few low 80s there. certainly a warmer friday for you, but just as you get used to that idea we take it away. storm impact scale it's a one for monday through wednesday, light to moderate rain expected, gusty winds at times, and there is a possibility of thunder

particularly tuesday and wednesday, the hour by hour forecast at noon monday some showers developing but the main system comes in monday night as we head into tuesday, some moderate pockets of rain and you will notice as we go into wednesday, those showers will still continue. they'll lighten up but there will be the potential for thunder on that day as well. we head into thursday and another storm comes in, that one does look stronger as far as the series of storms that are coming through and that's where we may have some potential flooding problems thursday into friday. so here is a look at the rainfall totals, by sunday evening, a couple hundredths of an inch with the weak system coming through. wednesday evening going into thursday evening we are tracking upwards of an inch of rain in our wettest spots. accuweather seven-day forecast it is a warmer st. patrick's day, chance of showers, cooler weather saturday. slight possibility sunday. one on our storm impact scale for the first day of spring which is monday, rain and wind by evening, one on tuesday and wednesday, we're still looking at a wet pattern thursday, that

stronger storm two, it is going to linger into friday night, so a slow moving soaker and that could potentially lead to some problems. we may see a wind advisory, potential flash flood or flood warnings, so you can download the abc 7 news app and dan and that will help to you navigate. the terrifying moment people are forced to run for cover when mt. etna erupts. that's next. then at 5:30 on "world news with david muir." >> senate reed leaders reveal no evidence of president trump's wiretapping claims. the shopping mall murder the new headline tonight and a manhunt after a woman escapes the trunk of her own car, the one thing she used, coming up. >> david, thanks. see you then. new at 6:00 the random act of kindness by raiders quarterback derek carr that restored a local man's f

tourists and journalists hoping for a better look at europe's most active volcano had

to run for their lives. mt. etna had put on an impressive show for days spewing lava and steam but no one expected today's explosion. about, bc film was rolling when magma hit snow and sent rock and debris flying into the air. the film crew and injured tourists were shaken up. no one was seriously hurt. this kind of explosion experts say is rare. one of the worst commutes in the bay area has gotten a little better, express lanes on 14 miles of 580 between dublin and livermore opened a year ago, and today they're being called a success. congestion pricing is driving the system so with transponders sensors and cameras tracking over 30,000 trips a day by solo drivers and carpoolers along the corridor. the average driver paying $2 to $3 and the maximum anyone paid was $9.75, but many are getting a free ride. >> you have to have a fastrak flex if you want to travel toll free as a carpool on the i-580

system. >> fastrak flex tells the system how many are in the car and drivers in the express lanes are averaging speeds about ten miles per hour faster. >> not bad. her name was rose but that's not what they're planting. >> up next what could be the called the tree of life for a wo

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find new roads at your local chevy dealer. coming up tonight on abc 7 news at 6:00, the napa high school hazing scandal, tonight the district superintendent tells abc 7 news what he thinks will happen once the issue is settle. also -- >> everything is so expensive. you have to have like two or three jobs just to survive. >> ready to get clipped? the proposal under consideration that could make things like haircuts and manicures cost a lot more. and from michael finney the woman who thought her $5,000 computer was worth every penny until something went wrong. that's coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. now the burning age-old

question, if you're a tree, which tree would you be? that was answered today for one of chinatown's loudest advocates. >> abc 7 news at st. mary's square, planting a tree in honor of rose pak, key in getting the central subwith a i to chi chinatown. >> she died in september and the city planted a giko biloba tree to remember pac, native to china. >> it's very strong like she was and yet beautiful. the leaves are like fans. so we're all fans today of rose pak. >> each year for arbor day san francisco plants what it calls a signature tree. >> and reverend fong phrased that beautifully. i've seen many events with him a great guy so nice to see that >> absolutely. >> "world news tonight" is coming up next.

tonight, breaking news. no proof, and still, the white house fires back. after senate leaders reveal they have found no indication, no evidence of president trump's claim that president obama wiretapped him. our correspondent asks "does the president stand by his claim?" the white house shoots back. defending the budget. massive increases in defense, and homeland security. and dramatic cuts elsewhere. the white house asked about after school programs, meals on wheels, the environment and on climate change -- they say, we're not spending money on that anymore. the escape as mt. etna erupts. tourists burned by lava, pelted by rocks. the camera crew rolling on everything. still digging out tonight and yet a new storm brewing. the new track hitting just before the weekend