he said it sounded like a bomb. >> the airplane is porpoising, climbing, descending, never really getting high off the ground. >> late word this afternoon that ethiopian airlines plane crash that killed 157 travelers has claimed the lives of two brothers from redding. >> melvin and bennett riffle were on vacation. one redding official says it was supposed to be the brothers' last adventure together before melvin became a father. >> the crash is rattling traveler here is and around the world. that's because six months ago the same model of plane, a boeing 737 max 8 crashed in indonesia. >> southwest has 34 of these planes, more than any other airline in the world. air canada and american airlines are next with 24. each the airlines are still flying the boeing 737 max 8s, saying they are safe. >> however, airlines overseas have grounded these plans for the time being. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. the faa today said the plane is

airworthy, but senator dianne feinstein is now asking them to take a second look. >> she says, quote, continuing to fly an airplane that has been involved in two fatal crashes within just six months presents an unnecessary potentially life-threatening risk to the traveling public. >> abc 7 news reporter melanie woodrow is live at san francisco international airport. melanie, some travelers seem a little nervous. >> kristen and dan, some of those nervous passenger here is at san francisco international airport. many more of them online and all of them tonight frustrated. that normal rebooking policies are still in place, despite those two fatal crashes. after two boeing 737 max 8 fatal crashes in less than five months, passengers arriving at san francisco international airport today on one of air canada's max 8s were measured in their response. >> i trust air canada. it is worrisome to a certain extent, but i didn't put too much attention to it.

>> in october, a lion air boeing max 8 crashed in indonesia, killing 189 people after a sensor malfunction. sunday ethiopian airlines 737 max 8 crashed just six minutes after takeoff. 157 people died, including eight americans. >> lyon air was clearly the result of inadequately trained pilots and an airplane that never should have been dispatched. here we don't know for sure, but it does not appear something related to pilot action. >> ethiopian airlines grounded its other four max 8s. regulators in china and indonesia are doing the same. the max 8s continue to be in service here in the united states. travelers on twitter have been less measured in their response. one tweeting in part, does anyone want to play russian roulette? just fly on one of air canada's max 8 aircraft. air canada tells abc 7 news it has extensive analytical data supporting the safety of these aircraft. air canada, southwest, and

american airlines say they're normal rebooking policies remain in place. >> that hopefully will not be the same type of plane, but then again, we bought our tickets. >> the union representing american airlines flight attendants issued a bulletin saying if they feel unsafe to work the 737 max, they will not be forced to fly it. while the pilots union is cautioning its members against speculation. so how can you check the flight that you're on, what sort of aircraft you'll be flying? well, when you go through the booking process, you can click on the flight number or word details to see that information. if you've already booked your flight, you can either look up the flight number or go back online as though you're rebooking the flight or booking it for the first time and click on flight number. once again, the word details to see that information. live at sfo, melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. >> all right, melanie. of course, we talked about the

north american carriers not grounding that aircraft for now. but some international carriers have. what are they saying about that in terms of the rationale? >> well, they haven't shared the rational per se. but something to consider here is that the max is not a large part of the fleet for those international airlines. now all of the airlines here say that they stand by the safety of this aircraft and that they're following faa regulations. but some people who are well versed in this industry have pointed out that a grounding here in the united states would have a larger service disruption because this aircraft takes up a larger part of the fleet here in the united states. kristen? >> all right, melanie, thank you so much. well, along the russian river, recovery took a turn for the better today as the county began moving in garbage trucks to get rid of all of the flood damage that you've seen in the last few days. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman joins us live from mill

street in guerneville with the story. wayne? >> or close to mill street. i actually moved from the time i wrote that intro, dan. i'm at a hotel at the momentum. stuffed behind us is some of the stuff that is going have to move. it's going to take a couple of weeks. this might be paradise for a dumpster diver, but when it's your stuff or that of your friends and still piled high after a flood -- >> this is going to take months. >> larry boger of guerneville 12 days after the disaster. he still hopes fema might officially declare. >> i'm not wanting to be a political football. they need to come help us out. >> today it was the county helping. day 1 of its $2.5 billion investment to clean the region of flood residue. >> it is unbelievable how much stuff there is in the streets right now. we do believe this will be a record breaker in terms of the amount of debris removed. >> and that only begins to describe the issues here. >> you're dealing with toxic waste. you are dealing with a lot of emotional issues. you're dealing with shock.

>> judge brings owns the r3 hotel. before getting his flood garbage into bins, he still needs to remove it from 19 of 223 rooms ruined by high water. >> one of the problems that the dumpster people are going have is finding a clean spot to put the dumpsters. >> yes, so much garbage remains in places that drivers feel challenged to find parking spots in places. the damage is overwhelming. consider the stumptown nursery owned by dorothy hagen. why not just give it up? >> i just don't want. to. >> when the flood hit, this place was under 16 feet of water that building there floated off this foundation you're looking at over here, and this building here floated off another foundation. lying there. >> that was my office. and this was the door right here. >> but it's not all bad. back at the r3 hotel, jeff bridges found a couple flood survivors in his swimming pool. two k koi.

somehow they made it through the pond to the bar to here. >> they could have gone anywhere. >> as we come back live, now you know why we returned to the pool. there he is, right in the corner, one of the two koi, making his way to a piece of chicken floating in the top of the pool. typical of guerneville residents, i don't think he is going anywhere. i don't think he wants to. live in guerneville, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> should be happy in that pond right there. wayne, thank you. a fremont family is speaking out after they say a doctor via a robot video broke the news that their grandfather was going to die. kaiser permanente is disputing their claim, though. abc 7 news reporter luz pennia is live. >> thank you, alma, that's right. the quintana family tell us they were expecting a doctor to come physically inside a classroom. instead, the granddaughter saw a video rolling inside the ropt room so she took out her phone

and recorded the whole thing. what she didn't expect was for that doctor to tell her that her grandfather was going to die. >> unfortunately, there is nothing we can treat very effectively. >> in a prognosis that would have been difficult to accept under any circumstance became even more painful for the quintana family of fremont when the doctor used a robot to deliver the bad news. >> the doctor said that there was no lungs left and that he was ready -- he was needing to have comfort care, and that that would entail a morphine drip until he died. >> at the time katherine quintana's daughter elisa was the only family in the hospital room. quintana had left her daughter behind after the doctor assigned to her father in the icu explained that she would give the family the final results the next morning. instead, a different doctor rolled in via video. so he never heard from the doctor the prognosis. he heard it from your daughter?

>> yes. because he couldn't understand the man. he couldn't hear them, and the robot couldn't come all the way in the room. it could only come so far because it's a big machine. it couldn't come close enough to my dad. so there was no bedside manner there was no compassion. he was reading in a script. >> 78-year-old ernst quintana died a day after the news that his lungs were failing. >> my dad's reaction was to my daughter, well, i guess i'm going to go quickly, then, and he put his head down. that was it. >> kaiser permanente defends its use of technology to treat patients and confirmed as part of its policy, a nurse or a doctor is always in the room. in a statement to abc 7 news, kaiser said in part the evening video conversation was a follow-up to an earlier in-person physician visit and was not used in the delivery of the initial diagnosis. we regret that our use of the video call did not meet the quintana family's expectations

of a compassionate experience. >> they never even bothered to call us. they just did this to him. >> in the video recorded by ernest quintana's daughter, you can see a doctor in the broufnltd. >> i think in maybe regular patient care somebody came in for tonsils to be taken out or just normal care, you know, telling simple test results is fine. but not for people that are dying, that are at their last end of life, it's not okay. >> the quintanas hope that this experience will change the policies of this hospital and also let patients choose if they want to be seen by a doctor in person or via video. live in fremont, luz pena, abcnews. >> thank you very much. 28 years of questions are starting to be answered in vacaville. vacaville police today said they have identified a woman who was found dead in a field in 1991.

she is 38-year-old cynthia merkley, also known as cynthia velarde. contractors were starting to build the premium outlets when they found her body. police today say they have contacted her family. she was estranged from them at the time her body was found. still, anyone who knew her is asked to come forward with anything they might know. police say this are no obvious signs of foul play. bart is looking into what caused a computer crash that created a system-wide shutdown for several hours saturday morning. bart said today a software failure at a specific network switch locked up the complex computer system that routes trains. the computer error delayed the start of saturday's service by three hours, and everything was not back to normal until 11:00 a.m. bart hired cisco to find out what caused the glitch, they're doing the comprehensive forensic analysis. they're going to tell what's went wrong and what do we need to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> bart says there have been no

problems since workers reset the system saturday morning. one woman's mission. a san francisco grandmother continues to recover after a terrible beating, and her granddaughter, who has become an advocate not just for her family, but for the entire community. warriors star klay thompson takes fans to task. now coach kerr is doing damage control. >> i'm abc 7 news sandhya patel. look at what we're seeing, sunshine for a change to start off the workweek. off the workweek. off the workweek. (music throughout)

and you realize great minds shop alike? yes. or when you find those name-brand shoes that everyone notices? oh, yeah! or when you get exactly what you need for your growing family? yes! that's yes for less. yep! yes, yes, yes, yes... yes! seriously, 20 to 60 percent off department store prices every day. at ross. yes for less. we are constantly looking at ways to build a better bay area. a woman is looking at ways to make it a better place after her grandmother was brutally beatenth working with the family of yik oi huang in the story you'll only see on abc 7 news. >> really praying that she can

talk to us again. >> there is now a piece of paper at 89-year-old yik oi huang's bedside which she can use to point to what she needs. an improvement from that fateful january 8th morning when huang was on her morning walk and brutally beaten nearly to death and in a coma. >> no one should suffer from violence from hatred. >> determined to make this predominantly asian community a safer place, granddaughter sasanna yi and her family led the charge to changing the way the community interacts with law enforcement. >> this has ignited in all of us the desire to help and to bridge communities. >> community forums and more patrols with chinese speaking officers, and money for a new police substation, all spawned from family pain. all reasons why susana will be honored by the board of

supervisors this week. >> she has been an avid leader in this and we're excited about everything she has done. we have people from the community that are out looking out for our elders, looking out for our senior, bringing community together. >> great-grandma huang still has a long way to go. she suffered a stroke and is in critical but stable condition. there is now at least hope for a more understanding community and conversation that will continue for a long time to come. >> we want to show that in times of different, tragic crisis, there's a great chance for opportunity and healing and a chance to ask what can we learn from this situation. >> i'm dion lim, abc 7 news. >> now the suspect in huang's beating is 18-year-old keithon. she was arrested in connection with several other robberies. he is facing 16 charges including attempted murder and

elder abuse. warriors coach steve kerr is saying he doesn't necessarily agree with klay thompson about how roracle doesn't live up to its hype last night. but says he gets it. it was a big loss for the warriors last night against the phoenix suns. after the game, klay thompson called out the fans for lack of energy. >> i mean, that's the first time lost to that team in 19 games. it's ugly, but i expect our crowd to be a little more into it too. i know it's not the play-offs, but it is our last go-round at oracle. at least you can stand up when we make a big play. we need that energy, especially in time of the year. >> after that today kerr did a little damage control. >> i think i understood what he was talking about, but it's all tied together. when you play well with a great energy and spirit, fans are going to be naturally more excited. i do know one thing, that we really thrive on the energy at

oracle. and i think the fans have helped us win at a high level. and we need them, but we got to give them more to cheer about for sure. >> yeah, the warriors begin a four-game trip wednesday in houston. they won't play at oracle again until march 21st. yeah, they feed off of each other, the players and the fans. >> and the fans for the warriors have been fantastic for decades. they really have been enthusiastic all those years, even when they weren't winning. did you fill up at the pump this weekend? are you still in a little bit of shock? >> 7 on your side's michael finney is here with more on that. >> prices have gone up. 6 cents a gallon nationwide on average. that's actually brett pretty good compared to this time last year when prices were up nine cents. prices have increased because refineries are halting for maintenance. analyst trilby lundberg says a average price for regular

unleaded is $2.50. the highest is $3.39 in san francisco. yeah, of course. the lowest is $2.13 in st. louis. should home dna testing be regulated more stringently? direct to consumer dna tests like 23and me are lightly regulated and privacy advocate says maybe we need to change that. the national consumers league says it's asking the federal government to hold hearings on privacy protections. there are more than a half dozen major at-home dna test kit, including those from national geographic, ancestry dna and home dna. police had gained access to dna information without consumers' knowledge or permission, and that's what's led to this call. now it is time for finney's monday free stuff. yes! for the 14th year in a row, i hop is giving away a short stack of buttermilk pancakes tomorrow

from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. with some restaurants actually serving until 10:00. ihop asks that donations be made to charity. but that's not necessary. on thursday of this week, it is national p iday celebrating the mathematical constant of the ratio of the circumference of the circle to its diameter, 3.14, or pi. just about every restaurant or store dealing with pie, pizza, chicken pot pie, dessert pies have a deal going on. so before ordering, ask what their pi deal is. >> better be no more than $3.14. >> thank you very much. i hope you enjoy the sunshine today. we did. >> yes. and if you missed it for some odd reason, you're going have plenty of chances apparently. sandhya patel is here what the accuweather forecast. >> i noticed that everyone is smiling today as the sun is out. it really has been a nice looking day. let's check out live doppler 7.

yes, there will be plenty of opportunity to soak up the sun. right now no rain to speak of us on our radar. we've had plenty of it. temperatures are up compared to 24 hours ago. 13 degrees warmer in novato. up 7 in san francisco. up 10 in livermore. let's take a look back. dry days versus rainy days so far this year. it is very obvious that the green there, the rainy day, we've had more rainy days that dry days here in the bay area. i know it has added up. it has measured up. we are out of the drought, and it has made a difference. so let's take a look back as the two what it's been like in march. the last ten days we have had measurable rain. today we're breaking that cycle on the 11th. we actually have dry conditions, and we're going to continue with that streak for the rest of this week. so if you have home projects, want to get outside, just enjoy the sun, you have your opportunity. here is a live picture from the golden gate bridge camera where it is nice and sunny right now. the sierra snowpack has been doing well as well. statewide snowpack is 161% of

average. so we can enjoy the sun without feeling guilty is what i say. santa cruz camera looking at a lovely view of the sun shining right now. here is look at those temperatures. 59 in the city. it is 62 oakland, san jose. 64 degrees in mountain view. well expect those temperatures to continue to come up. from our east bay hills camera bright skies here, and the numbers are in the mid 60s from santa rosa, to napa. 67 in concord. look who is enjoying the sun from our pier 39 cameras. sea lions soak it up. the bright skies. clear and chilly. windy tomorrow with a few passing clouds and a spring-like warm-up is expected later this week. a dry cold front comes through overnight going into tomorrow. and that will bring us a few more clouds. but as of right now, the only change-up it's going to bring is the clouds and the wind. so let's track that for you hour-by-hour. a little breezy tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. the winds will continue to forecast as we head into the afternoon. close to 40 miles an hour along the coast. and then topping that tomorrow night. so even though it is going to be

comfortable out there in terms of temperatures, the wind won't make it feel so comfortable tomorrow. today we haven't had much wind. tomorrow morning chilly start with maybe a few patches of fog. mid 30s to upper 40s. you can download the app. windy day. numbers in the mid-50s to the low 60s. mix of sun and high clouds. here is look at the accuweather seven-day forecast. and the gusty winds will relax a bit as we head towards the end of the workweek, and the temperatures eventually will come up as we head towards friday, saturday, sunday. and even into monday. low to mid-70s inland. mid-60s coast. low 70s around the bay. i would have to say some of you just may get spring fever later on this week. enjoy the sunshine. >> already got it bad. >> yeah, we're talking about you, dan. >> sandhya, thank you very much. a ceo helps a little

cal state college students protested at the state capital today over deteriorating living conditions for thousands of students. the cal state students association is urging lawmakers to support reduced tuition, improved financial aid and services for homeless and hungry students. lawmakers say they are working to find solutions, including reduced parking fees on campus. >> your issues our issues. we need students to succeed. we need our universities to thrive. you are our future. we know that. we need you to do well for all of our sakes. >> a recent study shows nearly 20% of community college students in california are homeless. advocates for the 23 cal state campuses say the problem is just as bad in their system. san francisco's levi strauss has big plans. the company announced it wants to raise half a billion dollars in an ipo. the stock is expected to be priced between 14 and $16 a share that would give the

company a valuation of $6 billion. reports say levi's wants to transform itself into a broader lifestyle brand. specifically, it wants to expand its tailor shop and print bar that allows fires to customize jeans or print their own designs on t shirts. levi's made its first pair of jeans in 1873. the company did go public in 1971 buzz but was taken private again in 1985. a 10-year-old australian boy who wanted to start his own airline got a personal response from the ceo of a major carrier. alex wrote to the head of qantas seeking how to make his airline a success. he already started the new service called oceana express with his friends. he was delighted when he got invited to a private meeting to compare notes on what it's like to run airlines. sharp kid. >> dream big, right?

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well, finally tonight, it's never a good sign for a business owner when customers forget the grand opening. >> but at a new donut shop in texas, the tweet of a lonely shop owner brought people by the dozen. >> yeah, that's right. literally, billy tweeted this video with the mentssage my dads sad because no one is coming to his new donut shop, along with the empty parking lot. >> it caught on, getting 254,000 likes and 147,000 retweets, and the social media attention brought customers to the door. >> we're actually closed yesterday. so people wanted to come, but i told them we were closed. and i told them to come tomorrow morning. i guess they followed through. >> they did. so far the donuts are a big hit. the shop has sold out on the first two days of business. awesome. >> am i crazy for wanting to cry over a donut story?

>> sweet. >> that's great. thanks for joining us tonight. >> we appreciate your time. for kristen sze, i'm dan ashley. tonight, the deadly plane y. crash. will any passenger jets be grounded here in the u.s.? this evening, boeing's response. what they're saying now, after a new boeing 737 crashes, killing all 157 people onboard. several americans onboard. the pilot's distress call. what they reportedly said. crashing just six minutes after takeoff. other countries tonight grounding that plane. breaking news as we come on. what house speaker nancy pelosi just said about president trump and impeachment. it's making news. the president's record budget proposal tonight. billions for his border wall. cuts to education, the epa and what about medicare and medicaid? our correspondent also asking, what about the growing debt? we're watching a major storm tonight, about to sweep across the country. bracing for damaging winds.