holiday gift. good evening, i'm kristen sze. >> and i'm dan ashley. that employee has now filed a race discrimination and harassment lawsuit against south land construction. >> abc7 news reporter laura anthony is live at the alameda county courthouse in oakland where that suit was filed. laura? >> reporter: kristen, she said this was the last straw. a racist laced package she believes was for retaliation for her speaking up about prior incidents. >> this is not a joke. this is very serious. >> reporter: she says it was a holiday gift from her boss, a rhinestone purse with a confederate flag on it. inside photos of her boss and his wife dressed in donald trump attire with more confederate memorabilia behind them. >> it made me sick to my stomach. and i felt like dirt, like he considered me to be less of a human. >> reporter: these photos show south landowner kenneth hayden and his wife anita. they appear to be taken inside

an office cubicle. here is a picture of them out of costume together on hayden's linked in page. >> i never dealt with something that was so offensive where someone was so proud to inflict an injury message on another person. >> reporter: wright worked as a project administrator at south land for a year and a half. she said there were other incidents, including a few weeks before the christmas party when she and a latina coworker were called in to hayden's office. >> and he told us that we were his [ bleep ] and we need to take notes on the project that he was going to discuss. >> reporter: we reached out to the haydens at their pleasanton office, also by e-mail and phone, but no reply. the company website does state its core values. south land construction seeks to serve our customers, vendors and employees as we serve the lord jesus christ by displaying honesty, integrity, loyalty, respect for others and ourselves. >> they portray to be christians. i am a christian. so, for them to do something

like that to someone, it says a lot about their character. >> reporter: wright's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for discrimination, emotional distress and wrongful termination. in oakland, laura anthony, abc7 news. >> this is a real tragedy. a 15-year-old boy accidentally killed his friend in antioch this morning with a pellet rifle. we have fire department radio communications from the initia moment after rescuers arrived at the home. >> the information, this was a pellet gun to the chest, it was accidental. there's no adults there. >> con fire, medic 55, advise engine 85 cpr. >> and the 15-year-old boy who was shot died at the hospital. >> while people in a working class neighborhood just south of downtown san jose are worried about what will happen tonight, they woke up early today to fire engines responding to six suspicious fires.

abc7 news reporter david louie is live at the willow and vine streets area at one of those fire sites today. david? >> reporter: dan, san jose fire investigators have not officially declared this the work of an arsonists. but they say the fire is highly suspicious. this store lost its power and had to close for the day. neighbors in this area say that if this is arson, they are very concerned the responsible person is still at large and may be intent on doing more damage. >> any time we have fires that are all coming in around the same time in the vicinity, that is going to be suspicious. >> reporter: the six fires came in two waves. three of them at 2:00 a.m., and the other three about 2 1/2 hours later. most were small involving dumpsters or small piles of debris, but one was major, burning a caged storage area behind a grocery and liquor store on the corner of willow and vine streets. the fire spread inside and damaged two back rooms. >> all the fires are currently open investigation with the unit. they are still gathering information, talking to people,

interviewing witnesses and looking at video surveillance if there is any. >> reporter: this stretch of willow street is dotted by shops owned by latino merchants such as roberto who is alarmed by the fires. >> this is scary because you come over here and you don't know what's going on here. >> reporter: he has owned his shop for ten years. long-time residents say they don't deserve this. >> but they're doing the best to feed their families, educate their families, you know? good for them. >> reporter: because this became a structure fire, san jose called a second alarm sending five engines three trucks and three battalion chiefs to the scene. while not yet classified it is arson, investigators are hoping the security camera may help identify the suspect. why this is happening is still a mystery. >> i have no idea. we are families here. they're all families. >> reporter: in san jose, david louie, abc7 news. >> police are on the hunt for

the gunman who shot a store clerk in san leandro. it happened sunday night at this chevron station. detectives tell abc7 news a security camera captured the shooting, but the video is so disturbing they won't release it. a man wearing a hoodie went into the store with a gun and demanded cash. as the clerk was getting the money, the robber fired. >> robberies take place and we often see the suspects come in, and they may or may not produce a weapon. and oftentimes they get what they're looking for and they leave. but in this case for no apparent reason and we hope we get to the bottom of why this individual shot. >> that store clerk is in critical condition. police are hoping security cameras and nearby businesses may have also captured video that might help. >> police in sunnyvale are trying to track down a shooter who killed one man and injured another. this happened at a strip mall off san rafael street. abc7 news reporter jeannine de la vega is there live. jeannine, this is not an area

considered a problem area. >> reporter: yeah, it is rare. police say it is very unusual for a violent crime like this to happen in this area. in fact, it's sunnyvale's first homicide of the year. crime tape sealed off the fair oaks plaza all morning. the strip mall near 101 and lawrence express ways is full of shops and restaurants and known to be safe. but earlier this morning, two men were gunned down here. the news sent a shock wave through the neighborhood. >> oh, god, yeah, especially with like i almost didn't bring my son to school today. >> reporter: neighbors say they heard three gunshots at 2:00 a.m. when officers arrived at east wayne avenue, they found a 20-year-old latino man dead in the parking lot next to this white suv. another latino man was on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds. he's in the hospital in critical condition, but is expected to survive. >> obviously it was some type of altercation occurred in the parking lot between these two victims and some other parties. how many that is, we don't know right now. that is part of our investigation. >> reporter: detectives collected evidence outside la

ronda a night club that closed just before the shooting occurred. it is unknown if the men were patrons or part of the staff. >> we reached out to the managers and we're trying to see if there is any video, anything like that. >> reporter: employees from surrounding businesses weren't allowed in the strip mall. the news shook up customers who were turned away. >> when i come to this taj mahal, which is an indian grocery store to pickup stuff. i came to pickup meat, i'm shocked to see the store closed. >> you have no clue what is going on, who did it or anything. >> reporter: police say so far there are no witness accounts giving a suspect or car skrilgs description. it is a mystery they are hoping evidence surfaces and gives them leads. in sunnyvale, jeannine de la vega abc news. >> police have discovered stolen packages and trying to return them to their rightful owners. 41 packages are believed to have been taken from the porches of east bay homes since the beginning of march. they were found in a storage unit after a man was arrested for taking packages outside

homes on bay farm island. 45-year-old john paul is being held at santa rita jail in connection with this. >> it is a rainy day from rohnert park to san francisco to walnut creek. it is a rare june event. let's go to abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel for more. sandhya. >> yeah, dan, the showers verified as we expected. as you look at live doppler 7 now, you will notice there is still a bit of green on the screen. very spotty in nature. it's drizzle or a light shower as we take you to street level radar. bay shore, san bruno avenue, bay view district. also in the east bay we are seeing a few showers right around coming skyway crockett. as you take a look terrain fall totals, a trace of an inch in san jose to 24 hundredths of an inch in santa rosa. that is the average rainfall in santa rosa, that is what they got in one day. hour by hour 6:00 tonight could see spotty showers. this continues at 9:00 p.m. and by 11:00 p.m., just some lingering clouds.

we'll take a look at your weekend forecast coming up in just a few minutes. kristen? >> sandhya, thank you. a new report finds three out of four african-american boys in california are not reading or writing at grade level. abc7 news reporter lyanne melendez looks at the implications and shows us one group that is trying to help the kids make the grade. >> reporter: in every ethnic group girls did much better than boys in last year's state english test. boys identified less with reading and writing than girls. african-american boys scored the lowest. this is troubling to amos brown whose church sponsored freedom schools. >> that's why we don't have our fair share of students at sclej, at san francisco state. the enrollment is way down. >> reporter: african-american male students are also more likely to be suspended and drop out of school than other demographic groups. identifying with books and the curriculum is important to many african-american male students,

but many times what's here isn't always relevant to them. reverend james smith is the director of the freedom school. >> the materials that we're using, the pictures, even the books, many of their faces are african-american. and then their leaders are african-american. >> reporter: an added bonus, music education will be part of their summer learning. following that report, third baptist church has now decided to expand its program from six to eight weeks and encouraged other churches and organizations to do the same. >> because if we don't, we will be providing more inmates for prisons and jails. >> reporter: freedom school begins next monday at rosa parks elementary school. in san francisco, lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> california lawmakers in the spotlight as the former fbi

director testifies in washington. >> why didn't you stop and say, mr. president, this is wrong? >> i was so stunned. >> next at 5:00, the block buster day on capitol hill. plus. >> they called me aun at thty. some call me mama. >> no matter which way the cookie crumbles, the warriors and cavaliers in

all right. some breaking news just into the abc7 news room. the second suspect charged in december's deadly ghost ship warehouse fire in oakland is now in the bay area. max harris was booked into the santa rita jail in dublin about 45 minutes ago. harris was arrested monday in los angeles. took a few days to bring him here. he and ghost ship founder

derrick almena face 36 counts of voluntary manslaughter. the order was delayed to link updates with harris. they are both scheduled to be back in court next thursday. >> the most riveting drama is not coming out of hollywood, but d.c. fired fbi director james comey testified before the senate intelligence committee this morning. he sheds new light on the russia investigation and describes how president trump urged him to stop looking into former national security advisor michael flynn. former fbi director james comey claims president trump was not honest with him when he was dismissed. >> i was also confusd by the initial explanation that was offered publicly, that i was fired because of the decisions i had made during the election year. those were lies, plain and simple. >> comey says he believed the president had ordered him to end the michael flynn investigation. >> the president of the united states with me alone, saying i hope this, i took it as this is

what he wants me to do. a >> you may have taken it as a direction, but that's not what he said. he said i hope. >> diane feinstein wondered why comey didn't take a stand right then. >> why didn't you stop and say, mr. president, this is wrong, i cannot discuss this with you? >> that's a great question. maybe if i were stronger, i would have. i was so stunned. look, i've seen the tweet about tapes. lordy, i hope there are tapes. >> comey called the flynn conversation concerning, but says he drew no conclusions. >> i don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation i had with the president was an effort to obstruct. >> we spoke with congresswoman barbara lee of oakland who was comfortable saying what comey would not. >> i think that the testimony was very objective, but also to me with what comey said today, if this does not constitute an obstruction of justice, i don't know what does. >> thank you very much. thanks. >> president trump ignored questions about comey's

testimony this afternoon at the white house. but his attorney weighed in. >> the president feels completely vindicated and is eager to continue moving forward. >> and we posted video of some of the most talked about moments from today's hearing at abc7news.com. you can also watch it by downloading our abc7 news app. >> as you know, the golden state warriors are one win away from sweeping the cavaliers in the nba finals. they beat the cavs last night in a nail-biter 118-113. now, there is one woman in cleveland who supports both teams. abc7 news reporter wayne freedman is live in cleveland with a sweet story. wayne? >> reporter: dan, this is a simple one. you can call it a taste of home around the road from nba players. they know when they come to cleveland, if they have a sweet tooth, they also have a source. why does this man look like he has something to hide?

it's a long story, one that in cleveland requires a trip beyond the traditional tourist areas into a red brick suburb where in this house, dozens of miracles occur before every nba playoff game. >> try one? >> reporter: it smells really nice, but i don't have a sweet tooth. >> you don't have a sweet tooth? >> reporter: no, ma'am. her name is diane simon and those dozens of small miracles taste like heaven or so we're told. around the league she's known as the cleveland cookie lady. that would include players like draymond green and steph curry who likes sugar cookies, red ones. >> after the game he probably had about ten. >> reporter: draymond favors snicker doodles. >> to me he's like a little teddy bear. >> reporter: she's become a word of mouth sensation. she takes no money for this, just an occasional picture. this batch of chocolate chips will go to kevin durant and that is where the trouble started. >> you have to try my cookie. before you leave this kitchen.

>> reporter: rumor has it that no one can eat just one. i am speechless. hence the box, one dozen sinfully good.diane's fans incl suspicious looking character who doesn't have a sweet tooth. in cleveland, wayne freedman, abc7 news. >> well, if we got hold of those cookies, man. >> he does now, wayne. we're hoping he brings some back. they look terrific. the coverage of the game starts tomorrow at 5:30 here on abc7 news. before it starts, join abc7 sports director larry beil and #dubson7 pregame brought to you by jeep. larry and shu will be live tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. >> announcer: now your accuweather forecast with sandhya patel. >> hi, everyone. we did have slippery streets today and still seeing some. looking at live doppler 7, light returns indicating there is still isolated stuff going on.

so showers or drizzle. bay shore, you'll notice bay view park road street level radar where we are seeing a little bit of moisture in the inland east bay around danville boulevard, diablo road, also seeing a few showers and drizzle being reported. now, as we take a look at our temperature trend, yes, over the weekend average high for san jose 79, you're going to remain cooler than average. right on through about early next week and then look at the temperatures just soar. you're going to see a 10 plus degree warm upcoming your way next week. so, if you've been craving, wanting, desiring the warmth, it's coming. but for a few days, hang onto the extra layer. right now a live picture and you will notice from our mount tam cam that we do have definitely some raindrops on our screen here. we'll have to still contend with that. 60s, 70s right now. 62 san francisco, 67 oakland. half moon bay 59 degrees. that's been our range, upper

60s, low 70s. a murky view as we look toward the bay bridge, 60 in santa rosa, 68 currently in concord. from the exploratorium camera pier 15, clouds are still lingering. isolated showers drizzle tonight, mainly sunny tomorrow afternoon, and keep it cooler than normal this upcoming weekend. here is your hour by hour forecast. 6:00 tonight, still looking at a few showers developing and this is just low level moisture, 8:00 p.m., still seeing a little bit of spotty returns there. the system has long passed, but we still have a lot of cloud cover. 5:00 a.m. tomorrow, you will see the cloud cover across the bay area for the commute. and then it continues to hang around in the afternoon. right near the coast, but for the rest of you, it is actually going to be brightening up. tomorrow morning starting you out with mainly 50s, a few upper 40s. a cloud cover will be heavy as we entered tomorrow afternoon. temperatures coming up. 70s, right near the coast. upper 50s to low 60s and that's where you'll see still gray sky well into the afternoon. here's the deal, though.

you don't have to worry about any rain drops. livermore high school graduation tme, 6:00 in livermore, it is going to be bright and sunny for the graduates there. temperatures in the upper 60s dropping down to the low to mid 60s later on in the evening so you might need a light jacket for later on at night. but overall looking like nice weather for the graduates. congratulations to them. you can always download the accuweather forecast app and keep track of the temperature changes, live radar, anything you want to know. accuweather seven-day forecast will show you what's ahead and that is morning, sun tomorrow for most of you. temperatures will remain below where they need to be for this time of year. saturday, sunday, low 70s inland, upper 50s coast. i do want to draw your attention to the possibility of sprinkles between saturday night and sunday. a weak system will be coming through. don't be surprised if you see a few drops. we'll turn things around. it is a warmer pattern. upper 80s to low 90s inland. kristen, dan? >> thank you.

>> what is lurking in your mattress and why it is a good idea to check right now. that's next. >> and new at 6:00, how to make sure the low property taxes you're enjoying get passed on to your children. that and a lot more at 6:00, but kristen and i will be right back here.

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all right. on to some consumer news now. the importance of cleaning something you probably use every day. >> 7 on your side's michael finney is here to he will us more about that. michael? >> bedding, your bedding. that's what we're talking about. consumer experts report why cleaning pillows and mattress is a good idea for your health and how you should go about doing it. you spend a third of your life in bed so why not make it a healthy haven? consumer reports says it's a good idea to periodically clean up your pillows and mattress.

>> cleaning your mattress and pillows, it removes dust mites and allergens. it will keep your health in good condition. >> next deodorize. spink l a one pound box of baking soda on the mattress. >> leave it there for 24 hours. make other sleeping arrangements for the night. >> for pillows, fluff them every day. run the pillows through a dryer on the know heat cycle once a month or hang them outside on a breezy sunny day. if needed some pillows can be washed. >> latex you shouldn't wash. >> for feather and down pillows submerge in warm water and a small amount of detergent. knead gently. throw the pillows in a dryer or no air dry setting. >> it can take hours for pillows

to dry. we want a completely dry pillow to prevent mold or mildew. >> you can add a couple towels to speed up drying and tennis ball or two to keep the pillows from clumping in the dryer. so, how often should you do this? experts say you should follow these tips at least twice a year to keep your mattress looking and by the way, smelling its best. >> good advice. thank you, michael. >> sure. >> a pan for a pint? interesting idea. a local watering hole with a deal to do something good. that's next. >> but first we want to thank abc7 news viewer albert for this picture from lebron edwards national wildlife refuge in fremont. share your pictures with us on social media. >> yeah, and you might use

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coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, the debate that will advance in berkeley tonight over banning something you see everywhere, plastic straws. and a famous local family pays for a prosthetic that this try athlete says will make his dreams come true again. and we are bursting with warriors pride here and we're not the only ones. hear why china is also cheering for the dubs on their way to a championship title. all that plus much more coming up in just half an hour on abc7 news at 6:00. dan, kristen? >> alma, thanks a lot. see you then. >> in china, that's how you say

warriors. go warriors. we'll work on that. the san jose state student has come up with a great way for us to get rid of extra pants while getting a pint in return. >> the tasty exchange happens at rogue public house on union street in san francisco's north beach. an intern at north beach citizen came up with the idea there was a resource center for people living on the streets. >> they are looking for a particular type of pants. >> generally speaking the population we serve is mostly adult men and the taller bigger variety and we just need bigger pants. >> the pints for pants event begins tonight at 6:00. just drop off the pants in the donation bin and the pint is yours. >> that's great. who doesn't have some extra pants lying around, right? goes to a great cause. "world news tonight with david muir" is coming up next. i'm kristen sze. >> and i'm dan ashley. for sandhya patel, michael finney, all of us here appreciate your time. say warriors again. >> there you go.

>> i'm learning. >> love it. have a great night. we'll sigh you later. >> see you at 6:00 tonight, washington.at 6:00 tonight, the fallout. new reaction coming in after fired fbi director james comey testifies before the american people about his meetings with president trump. what he says about the president and the white house. >> those were lies, plain and simple. and tonight, comey on the president's alleged request, in the middle of the michael flynn investigation. the moment he said the president asked everyone in the oval office to leave the room. and on the president's threat that there could be tapes. >> oh, lordy, i hope there are tapes. also tonight, firing back. the white house saying the president is not a liar and the president's personal lawyer attacking comey for leaking details from their meetings. comey tonight, admitting it. the new surveill