our nation's capital amount >> former fbi director robert mueller will over see the federal investigation into possible russian collusion. >> a russia reaction is coming in right now following that development in announcement. less than an hour ago, president trump released a statement, quote, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know -- there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. >> reporter: this development stunned the white house which did not know about the justice department's announcement until 30 minutes before it was made. former fbi director and u.s. attorney robert mueller will over oversee the ongoing investigation into the trump campaign and russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. the president has called this investigation a hoax. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were pressuring acting tln general rod rosenstein to make the independent appointment. attorney general jeff sessions has recused himself from anything involving the presidential campaign and russia because of his own contacts with

the russian ambassador. today's announcement comes in the middle of chaos at the white house. >> it seems like we are learning disturbing new allegations about president trump, not just every day, but, ladies and gentlemen, every hour. >> reporter: most recently that bomb shell allegation that the president tried to interfere with the federal investigation allegedly asking then fbi director james comey to back off the investigation into trump's former national security advisor michael flynn. tonight bay area members of congress are mostly applauding mueller's appointment. >> everyone in this country should breathe a sigh of relief right now. >> reporter: senator diane feinstein tweeting, bob mueller was a great talented attorney. kamala harris tweeted with general sessions and rosenstein compromised, this was a necessary step forward. house minority leader nancy

pelosi calls it just a first step, she says in a statement, director mueller will still be in the chain of command under the trump appointed leadership of the justice department. he cannot take the place of a truly independent outside commission that is completely free from the trump administration's meddling. >> robert mueller has strong ties to the bay area. mueller worked as litigator here right out of law school until 1976. >> mueller's career then took him to various u.s. attorney offices including the san francisco office where he became chief of the criminal division. he again left the bay area in 1982, but came back in 1998 as the u.s. attorney for the northern district of california. >> now we just spoke with john rose a nell owe, rose a nell owe was the u.s. attorney in san francisco. >> i think it's great. by temperament, by integrity, by background, experience, and by commitment, nobody better than bob mueller. i think anybody would tell you that. he's one of those persons who really knows every aspect of this and has served in many of

the positions that are part of the process of investigation and prosecution. so, i think he'll do a very thorough job. >> up until today, mueller was working at a d.c. law firm. he resigned right away upon agreeing to accept this role as special counsel. in a statement tonight, he says, i accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability. he now has 60 days to put together a budget for resources to conduct the investigation. that investigation will include subpoena powers. >> and we broke this news about mueller's appointment to oversee the russia investigation with an alert at 3:07 p.m. that is through the abc7 news app and you can download the app to get breaking news on your phone or tablet. >> and we have some news from contra costa county on a series of car fires. >> james bishop is facing 18 charges in connection with 11 fires and investigators say they

are looking into whether he is responsible for 30 or more arsons throughout the county. authorities used surveillance video of bishop's toyota rav spotted leaving the scene of several fires. >> they are releasing more information about bishop. let's listen a he they are confident that they have the right person, an arsons have gone down since they have arrested this suspect. now, coming up new on abc7 news at 6:00, reporter kate larson with what fire officials say were the common links seen in each of these fires that helped lead to this arrest. >> meantime, emotional testimony today from the sister of sierra lamar as jurors consider the penalty for convicted killer antolin garcia torres. family members and even a juror wiped away tears as danielle

lamar wiped away tears as she testified about her sister. according to the san jose mercury news, danielle lamar testified about the daisy era disappeared saying, quote, there were cops everywhere, and i knew it wasn't good. it's up to jurors to decide if garcia torres receives the death penalty or life in prison. >> well, the battle of the western conference finals has led to a legal fight for the warriors, not on the basketball court, but in the court of law. san antonio spurs fan is actually suing the warriors and zaza for injuring spurs superstar kawhi leonard during game one. he reinjured his left ankle when he landed awkwardly on his foot. a spurs fan filed a lawsuit claiming that he deliberately injured leonard. the warriors have no comment. to football, tom brady's

go segisele said he had a concussion. there are no records saying he had a concussion. they are working with the players union to gather more information on this. if it is discovered that the patriots hid brady's concussion, they could face a big fine and possibly the loss of draft picks. brady has not missed a game since he tore his acl and mcl in season opener in 2008. >> one of the most publicized and anticipated events ever at levi stadium, we're talking about u2 and it's joshua tree tour 2017 concert. all right, you can see from sky 7 here live over the scene, hundreds if not more fans already lined up outside the stadium there. the concert gets underway just over an hour from now. and that means fans and commuters are fighting for space on the road. abc7 news reporter david louie is live at the stadium. how is it going, david? >> reporter: chris, how many

u.u2 fans have been to levi stadium? they may not know where to park. there is parking available so they should be okay. some of the tech workers who work in buildings nearby apparently left early in order to try to avoid severe congestion. for u2 fans it is going to be all about the music once they get inside levi stadium. the challenge for fans wll be getting through commute traffic and finding a place to park. lots opened at 2:00, 4 1/2 hours ahead of showtime. they already had certain roads closed this morning and detours in place to help with the traffic flow. the challenge for residents living near levi will be the amplified sound and what time the performance ends. by contract, the show must be over by 10:00. neighbors have already gone to a beyonce concert last september that generated noise complaints in san jose. >> the baby gets fussy because we have to kind of -- but we had to buy a machine to create white noise so that way it can drown out and he can focus on that

instead of the concert. >> reporter: u2 did a sound check and rehearsal that ended at 10:00. before an audience all bets are off. >> i'm sure it will be a fantastic concert. that means the music will be loud. we have a 10:00 p.m. curfew during the week so we face some difficult situations if the music doesn't end at 10:00. >> reporter: there are no specific fines for shows running past curfew. noise levels kick in. the maximum they aren't operational yet. in santa clara, david louie, abc7 news. >> but it should be fun. air quality officials say they have determined the cause of a rotten egg smell in san francisco and richmond last december. today bay area air quality officials announced they issued

four citations of violations to the chevron refinery in richmond in connection with that foul odor. they say it was a sulfur odor caused by releases at the refinery. chevron denies the charge but has agreed to pay $181,000 in fines. chevron released a response. quote, given the 11-mile distance across the bay and the wide geography of the odor complaints, we believe it is unlikely that the flaring was the source of the odors. well, the san jose unified school district is in scrub down mode tonight. that is after hundreds of students got sick. all signs pointing to norovirus. abc7 news reporter chris nguyen explains what the district is doing now to keep those nasty germs from spreading. >> reporter: recess was a little different today for students at hacienda magnet. the play structure as well as the playground equipment off limits as the san jose unified school district deals with a stomach flu outbreak. se calls it a smart move after her two daughters were forced to

stay home because of the virus. >> my girls yesterday slept most of the day, naps and then slept through the night. >> reporter: hacienda was hit the hardest with nearly 90 students who reported feeling sick. district wide the number has grown to 240 cases spread across at least ten campuses. >> when our son comes home, we make sure he washes his hands and takes care of everything that he needs to take care of and we watch him to make sure that he doesn't have any signs of it. >> reporter: at each of the schools impacted by the outbreak, nurses are going from room to room, teaching students how to properly wash their hands. high-touch surfaces are being wiped down with bleach. at ann darling elementary, principal ron hammond says communicating with families has been the key. >> maintaining that communication and we're thoughtful about it, we're intentional about it. and i think that's what's kept our numbers down and i'm very proud of the effort. >> reporter: some schools have canceled noninstructional activities for the time being. >> it was sad to lose out on back to school night. it was sad to lose out on some of the activities. but i think if we can contain it

in a shorter amount of time and move on, i think everybody will be better. >> reporter: the district is also utilizing extra janitorial staff for after hours cleaning. in san jose, chris nguyen, abc7 news. >> a bay area college issues a dire warning. now layoffs are planned and changes are coming to the curriculum. >> budget cuts loom for a north bay sheriffs department. people living there are now thinking twice about their safety. >> i'm abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. it will be cooking this week. i'll have the temperatures coming up. >> bee sting in a heist, one person calls you're going to be hanging out in here. so if you need anything, text me. do you play? ♪ ♪ use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap, to friends at more banks then ever before.

you got next? chase. helping you master what's now and what's next. if you live in sonoma county and you're worried about losing some of the services offered by the sheriffs department, you're not alone. what began as budget discussions

have now led to accusations of premature cutting of vital services. abc7 news reporter wayne freedman is live in petaluma to explain. wayne? >> reporter: budget cuts have a tendency to be political especially when dealing with a government entity. in this case the sheriff's agency sheriff's department. some people think this discussion has begun prematurely. business as usual inside the sonoma county sheriffs department today, at least on the surface, but there's tension in the air. >> well, everybody year it costs more to do business. >> reporter: and now it's looking at a budget cut. the county is asking everybody department to describe what measures it would take to cut between 3 and 6% next year. it asked the sheriff's department for $6.5 million and somehow some way the department's early projections appeared on yesterday's board agenda. >> i don't know. i don't know how it got into the agenda. i assume that they wanted it to be public. >> reporter: the department's proposals include cutting back on staffing and outlying areas

and reducing community services. they do not want to cut back on emergency calls. >> every cut hurts. every time we cut a position, it will hurt. our goal is that if someone needs emergency assistance, they will still get a deputy coming to their door. >> reporter: the president of the sheriffs union is not pleased either. >> we're at bare minimums now. any time somebody calls in sick we're having to call other people in from work or from home, or other locations, have them work extra hours. they're working 12 hour shifts already and we're barely able to keep up. >> reporter: meantime shirley zane told us the so-called cuts are necessary due to union pay raises and better benefits. they aren't actually cuts, she says. more like asking departments to work within their means. we asked her if there is wiggle room. >> of course there's wiggle room, but i don't think we want to make a budget using scare tactics with the public. that's the point. >> reporter: do you think they are? >> i think that was the reaction that the sheriff got from the

board yesterday unfortunately. >> reporter: the board will vote on all budgets in june. from sonoma county, wayne freedman abc7 news. >> for the first time in its 165-year history, oakland's mills college is declaring a financial emergency and warning of impending layoffs. more than 30 staff and faculty positions could be slashed because of a projected $9.1 million deficit. the small liberal arts school is the bay area's only women's college. the president of the college warns mills is not generating enough revenue to support itself. today's declaration will allow mills to restructure its expenses and move ahead with the layoffs. >> tonight it's being called a largest bust of its kind in fresno county. nearly a million dollars worth of stolen bees. the accused master mind behind the theft is 51-year-old. deputies say he went from county to county targeting contractors he'd befriend. in all he's accused of stealing

nearly 2,500 hives. >> the monetary value of the bees and the bee boxes, that's $875,000. so, this is the largest bee theft investigation we've ever had. >> one insider described the lot as a chop shop of stolen hives. deputies say the suspect had been renting out of the stolen or renting out the stolen hives to various parts of the state in exchange for money. >> well, the roads will be packed for the unofficial start of summer. >> tonight 7 on your side, michael finney has the story. >> memorial day weekend will be crowded so will airports and train stations. some 39 million of us say we will travel more than 50 miles away for the holiday. that's the most in 29 years, and a million more than last year. aaa says the economy is stabilizing and americans feel more confident that they can afford a long weekend get away. the u.s. state department expects more than 20 million applications for passports this

year, and that will be a record number. the busy year, however, is no surprise. u.s. passports must be renewed every ten years, and it was ten years ago that a new law went into effect for requiring passports for americans traveling to mexico, canada and the caribbean. that new law resulted in a surge of passport applications in 2007. now, back thn, delays stretched into the months for some individuals, but this year the state department was ready and processing, which is said to take between 6 and 8 weeks, is often occurring in three, four weeks, and sometimes even less. new numbers are in, and the delta -- i should say, and delta airlines topped the list for online arrivals for march. the latest government rankings show second place was held by hawaiian followed by united and american. virgin america had the highest rate of delayed flights and discount carrier spirit airlines drew the most consumer complaints. delta also had the lowest bump rate, jetblue had the highest. >> all right, good stuff.

thanks, michael. >> sure. >> it was just a lovely day to be outside, right? >> we wanted to hold class outside but we were not allowed. drone view 7 gives us a look at hoit tower in san francisco. so will this nice sunshine stick around? >> let's ask meteorologist sandhya patel. what do you think, sandhya? >> i wouldn't have it any other way, dan and kristen, since you're enjoying it so much. we'll keep it coming. the temperatures at the levi stadium for the u2 concert, take a look at the numbers. 69 degrees, dropping down to 56 later tonight. if you're already there and waiting outside, at least you're not going to be too uncomfortable for the concert. so, it is nice weather at levi stadium in santa clara. and great looking weather no matter where you are. on live doppler 7, we're not seeing any fog here in the bay area and we are not expecting any, at least not any time soon. take a look at the temperature change. compared to 24 hours ago, you're up 13 degrees in antioch,

7 degrees warmer in novato. we're going to see those temperatures rising over the next 7 days. for my golden gate bridge camera, chamber of commerce day as you see here, 60 degrees in san francisco, upper 60s t low 70s from oakland to san jose, half moon bay 59 degrees. lovely view from emeryville camera as we look at downtown oakland. a little hazy. santa rosa to napa, livermore, concord, this is one of those spots where it's not too populated. santa cruz beach, but that will change over the coming days as the heat begins to increase. warming trend revs up tomorrow. summer like heat this weekend and we are looking at a cooler pattern early next week. first thing tomorrow morning it will cool off nicely. mid 40s to the low 50s. clear start to your morning and you definitely will need that extra layer as it will start out cool. for the afternoon it's mild, especially along the coast. mid to upper 60s there. you're going to be up into the low to mid 80 inland.

plenty of sunshine for you thursday afternoon. still in the comfort zone but not for long. summer like heat coming your way. the warming continues on friday. you're going to see upper 60s to low 90s. look at the hot weather coming up saturday, sunday low to mid 90s inland, low 70s coast side. good idea to download the accuweather app many you can talk it on the go with you and it will help you plan your day. if you are planning to go to breakers this sunday, check out the forecast, it couldn't be better. mid to upper 50s in the morning. lots of sunshine. wind is not going to be an issue. it is not going to be terribly hot so great running weather or walking weather. mid 60s to the upper 60s. here's a look at the accuweather seven-day forecast. we're going to see the heat peak as we head into the first half of your weekend. tomorrow low 60s to mid-'80s we're easing you into the heat. warming continues friday. temperatures in the upper 60s to low 90s and it's cooking inland mid 90s saturday to sunday, beach weather low 70s. cooler monday, at least at the

coast. the fog begins to run. it is going to cool down in all areas really tuesday and wednesday. we'll drop you back down to the 80s inland, 60s coast side. but as we head towards the weekend, a good ten to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. yeah. >> the graphics look like -- we want to go with you. >> it would be nice. >> what if you break your phone at the ballpark? the oakland a's have you covered, at least for one guy. that's next. >> and new at 6:00 from 7 on your side's michael finney, the potential downside of energy efficient windows. you know they could be melting furniture and damaging pl

many children and pregnant mothers may need to be retested nor lead due to an issue involving a common lead test. the fda today said the test may have given falsely low readings. the blood tests were made by ma gel an diagnostics. this is company video.

the tests are used in most doctor's offices and may be faulty when used with blood drawn from a vein than a finger rick. any adult or child who had blood drawn for a lead test since 2014 may have to be retested. residue from some popular products that control fleas on your pet may have an environmental impact. find out how protecting your cat or dog could be putting the san francisco bay eco system at risk. i have that special report tonight' on abc7 news at 11:00 over on channel 7. >> if you were near the golden gate bridge you may have seen whales drawn to the bay for the second year in a row. sky 7 brought us these beautiful images live during the abc7 news morning news. marine biologists say it's the whales feeding season so they're probably chasing food like krill and anchovies. the population has grown so they are getting creative in looking for food. oakland a's slugger smashed more than a home run in last

night's win against the seattle mariners. >> he hits one high and deep to left field. and that, baby, is going into the upper deck. >> and one fan sitting in that upper deck ended up getting his phone smashed by that ball. it had that much velocity. he tweeted the athletics hoping they might do something. he got a little heat on social media for it. >> my phone got hit by oakland last night, home run ball, broke it. >> and twitter is giving you -- >> a little bit. all that stuff, yeah, no hands. whatever, though. >> the a's told peter they would replace the damage done by healey's homer. all's well that ends well. perhaps use a glove to catch the ball instead of a phone. >> note to self. they used to rule the skies. flight in the dinosaur age, we

have a sneak peek. >> we want to thank a viewer for this picture at stone lake. >> use the hashtag abc77

i'm alma daetz. coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, angered today over this photo, a fruit vendor detained in the east bay. tonight, was it a case of racial profiling or a deputy just doing his job? also the cost of last month's bart station black out and what is being changed to make sure it doesn't happen again? and the big announcements out of google's i.o. developer's conference including the new reality in virtual reality. all coming up on abc7 news at

6:00. kristen and dan? see you then. >> a flight like no other. >> the california academy of sciences for a preview of a new exhibit on terasaurs. visitors can try to fly like one in an interactive dislay. >> they lived 100 million years ago. they were flying reptiles with wings much different than birds. >> they have one digit that is actually makes up their wing. they have an extended finger, essentially, that holds their wing with some flesh that comes off of it. >> and they also had claws coming out of those wings. >> you can get a close up look this friday at california academy of sciences. that looks fun. >> yes, and the visitors are so graceful. with their wing motion. "world news tonight with david muir" is coming up next. i'm kristen sze. >> and i'm dan ashley. we appreciate your time. we'll see you at 6:00. >> we leave you with this beautiful shot looking at the bay. enjoy.

tonight -- breaking news as we come on the air. the department of justice, just moments ago, revealing they will appoint a special counsel. former fbi director robert mueller will now serve as special counsel overseeing the fbi investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election, and any possible collusion with associates of the trump campaign. the department saying it's in the public interest, and it comes as many republicans now join democrats in demanding that james comey testify before the american people about the notes he took during his meetings with the president. also breaking, millions now bracing for severe storms at this hour. after a deadly tornado outbreak already. entire neighborhoods wiped out. new watches across several states tonight. and the disturbing video now emerging. new questions over who was behind these beatings not far from the whi