students who want their application fees returned. the lawsuit claims stanford degrees are not worth as much as before because prospective employers. the complaint says had she known that the system at usc was warped with fraud, she would have -- what they got was a process tainted by bribes and school officials who failed to assure an honest application process. law professor david levine says they may get it. >> that is a good case. >> reporter: stanford university says the lawsuit is under review. while the university of san diego says it does not comment on pending litigation and

conducting investigations into the allegation. bay area mom filed a $500 billion lawsuit. she writes i feel like my son was denied access to a levine says that lawsuit might not stand up. >> it is too much of a long shot. too many problems with that kind of a lawsuit. >> reporter: we reached out to all of the universities. only heard back from those two so far. >> melanie woodrow thank you. and more new developments on this case this afternoon. the attorneylienne of the key w helped the fbi bring charges. rick singer's lawyer tells abc7

news that rick singer cooperated with the fbi for six months. the lawyer says singer is pleading full responsibility and pleaded guilty. >> actress lori daughter is also facing backlash. >> the hall mark channel is no longer working with loughlin. saying it has stopped development of all productions involving loughlin that airs on their channels. including "garage sales mysteries." she returned to the u.s. and was arrested in los sephora no longer working with

her water. olivia repeatedly told her followers she wasn't really cared about the school she was interested in going to the parties. the school says it plans to conduct a case by case review for current students and graduates who may be connected. the irs is looking into the so-called donations. state lawmakers are calling on uc president to open an investigation on whether employees at uc campuses accepted bribes. the list of the parents are one of the top viewed stories on our website.

>> sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. >> every day one of them is out of service. >> complaints about broken b.a.r.t. escalators is not new. >> i can get on the escalator with my walker but i see people struggling all the time. >> a big fix coming to b.a.r.t. and going to cost big bucks. b.a.r.t. is set to spent $100 million to fix escalators in san francisco. eric thomas live with the details. >> reporter: $96.5 million. they are fixing 41 escalators at all of the downtown san francisco stations. and the people we talked to say it is about time. almost nothing in a b.a.r.t. station that gets riders more wound up than old unreliabl escators. >> alwayhe tyslows the process

>> when they are out, and you have to walk, it makes it difficulty. >> often times it smells like urine, it is disgusting. >> one of the biggest complaints in our b.a.r.t. week of stories this from jesse, once every one to two weeks, the up escalator at the west end of the b.a.r.t. platform is out of commission. >> this is the biggest repair and restoration that wee ever had. >> reporter: replacing 41 escalators at downtown b.a.r.t. stations. >> this is how we welcome people. are they welcomed to an entrance where escalators are working and safe from the rain and not dirt

on the stairs. >> reporter: the project will take seven years $96.5 million. maintenance will be handled by a company from new jersey in part to work out all of the bugs and to beef up the workers. >> i met a person who was chased by a hand. >> reporter: that worker was not injured. it came in under the projected amount that they thought it was going to cost. and each escalator has to be almost custom built and now they have to hire state certified

technicians. that is a state law and there is a shortage of state certified technicians. live in san francisco, eric thomas abc7 news. thank you. we learned about that massive t its tracks. a switch failed and that overwhelmed their computer system. now they are speeding up plans. a redundant data center will be operational in a few months. >> transit officials are investigating how missed signs. they say micro cracks that appear during the construction spread across the welding process. tests also showed the beam located over fremont street had weak spots. construction companies working on the project ultimately were

responsible for quality control. >> the micro all of these things construction issues. and we rely on the contractor to fix them. >> repairs on the terminal set to begin in early june. new information about the confrontation between sheriff's deputies and a man suspected in shoplifting. ending with deputies shooting and killing the man. the man had a long rap sheet. leslie brinkley joining us live orte the the late. dertment tol me man stole items from a thrift store. the man tried to get away by

ficer 30 feet backwards. it was daylight, afternoon. a report of a theft led it the first deputy arriving to find 41-year-old charles ballard outside his suv in the parking lot. she wanted to question him. but he ignored her and got in his car when a second officer pulled up. >> he starts the car and puts the car in reverse with the door up. the door catches our deputy and takes him into a 30-foot drag. >> when we heard it works becaus bang, bang, bang, bang. died at the scene. e. >> he had been arrested in

alameda county alone 50 theft o, drug sales and evading police. >> reporter: the woman passenger is wounded but not considered a suspect. a dog in the suv was unhurt and rescued. they say they were baffled at first as to why a man -- >> well, we lost leslie's report but got the gist of investigators haven't come up for a reason for all of the injuries at this prestigious nita are banng track.an a nita are banng track.an a race day drugs and whips at the

track from this day forward. >> we know first hand, that -- >> princess lilly b broke legs in santa anita. a big change for california. the state is now completely drought free. >> a tragedy in the water. two grey whales found stranded. what might have happened. >> i am meteorologist sandhya patel, you can see bright skies. temperatures continue to wide. how much warmer coming up. i am michael finney, the telephone can get us on and

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the count down to the tax deadline, it is on. >> that means it is time once again for "7 on your side" line. >> reporter: they are at your disposal. give us a call or go on to our facebook page or

finney. he is a cpa from the california society. what is going on? >> well all of the laws change significantly for the tax filing season. some started at the end of 2017 and most took effect at 2018 and coupled with the government shutdown, we got off to a slow start. difficult to communicate with the irs. i understand they are backlogged maybe up to a year withhe utdows today? >> people that wanted to file earlier couldn't get answers to their questions. we had reduced communication

efforts. so it put everything behind. >> people need to get going on their taxes right now, right? >> absolutely. don't wait. it is different. so questions need to be answered. >> new questions coming up with the new law and we are here to help. >> reporter: thank you very m h much, from the california society of cpas. you can call us or log online and have your questions answered. start now. reporting live from the "7 on your side" office i'm michael finney. >> today is pi day. and what better way to celebrate by setting a a a she recently set a guinness world record for calculating pi to the most number of digits.

it took her four months. she says it was a childhood dream to set such a record. good news with all the rain for the first time, california is free of drought. only about seven% of the state has abnormal dryness. just last november, the entire state had some form of a drought. and the third image shows the state was abnormally dry. >> and when rainfalls flours bloom. attracting butterflies. increas butterfly's food supply. one expert calls this year's migration california's biggest since 2005.

>> beautiful weather. >> i think i know what larry does in the afternoon, watch butterflies. >> and games. >> let's take you and show you live doppler 7. we are seeing some high clouds going through our region right now filtering the sunshine from our sutro tower camera. and it is really a nice day for sailing out there. those winds have relaxed. 61 in the city right now. oakland, mountain view all in the mid-60s. comfortable weather. as we look back towards san francisco, sausalito. and it is 68 in vacaville and 63 in livermore. a light breeze right now along the embarcadero. few clouds at 8:00 p.m.

and chilly inland at 10 p.m p.mm look at the blue sky to match the bay. sunny and even warmer tomorrow. spring like warmth this weekend. with a possibility of showers by the middle of next week. the afternoon temperatures are going to be really in the mild comfort zone if you will, 63 san francisco, half moon bay, 64 san rafael. 67 degrees in concord, fremont. 69 in san jose. plenty of sun to hit the beach. grab your sunshine. ocean beach 63 degrees. 66 in santa cruz. saturday mild warmer expected. mid-70s above average on sunday. the coast is going to see the temperatures rise and warm

enough for march as we head towards monday. look sunny and milder temperatures rising on saturday. feels like spring. starting off next week with near 80 degrees inland. a slight chance of nighttime showers tuesday. we will feature a level 1 cooler conditions. and for pi day, for dress for stem, today i am dressed in purple because i want to inspire young girls and women to pursue careers in stem. science technology and engineering and math. so joining forces with accuweather. >> thanks. >> steph curry jumping back into the tv game. the return of his online show. >> i have been in relationships that i thought would have worked

out. >> meet the new bachelorette that is just a head. >> traffic, the golden gate bridge, i was anticipating a lot of congestion. but if she was on the golden gate bridge right now, no woman 1: i had no symptoms of hepatitis c. man 1: mine... ...caused liver damage. vo: epclusa treats all main types of chronic hep c. vo: whatever your type, ask your doctor if epclusa is your kind of cure. woman 2: i had the common type. man 2: mine was rare. vo: epclusa has a 98% overall cure rate. man 3: i just found out about my hepatitis c. woman 3: i knew for years. vo: epclusa is only one pill, once a day, taken with or without food for 12 weeks. vo: before starting epclusa, your doctor will test if you have had hepatitis b, which may flare up,

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>> nicole kidman added to the list of speakers. not only an actress but also an advocate for women rights and equality. there will be more than 50 speakers and 30 sessions at the conference. now that the bachelor is over, we are getting to know the

next bachelorette. she hopes to be engaged by the end of the show. brown explains how previous break ups have shaped what she is looking for in her next relationship. >> hopefully finding real love that is adventurous and fun and continues to allow me to grow on my own and my person on his own and we can grow together. >> grow together. the bachelorette premiers may 13. and on may six a two-hour special of the biggest bachelorette reunion ever. steph curry, a show where curry and a special gift

kickback in a lyft. >> every time we have a conversation, have to have your own dictionary. >> sharper than a porku pine spine. rare like a steak. >> sharper than a porkupine is good. >> meeting up for their love for the bay. riley morrison, embiid from the sixers. and happy birthday is in order because steph turned 31 today. and to mark the occasion, his sponsor is releasing a brand new pair of sneakers, under limited pairs of the sneaker are available at a pop up shop in downtown oakland. off the corner of broadway and ninth. and also available at railer.

and saturday first ever, ever, from inside the chase center. after the game crew will take you to the warrior's future home. right around on abc7. this will be the vote about the very nature of our constitution. >> a blow today for the president on his efforts to build a border wall. >> and seven on your sid on youd michael finney has tax experts answering your questions, call to simone, i leave the van gogh. to harrison, the wine collection.

grace, you get the beach house, just don't leave the lights on, okay? to mateo, my favorite chair. to chris, the family recipes. to craig, this rock. to jamie, well, let's just say, enjoy the ride. the redwoods to the redheads. the rainbows to the proud. the almonds to walter. the beaches to the bums. and the fog to, who else, karl. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything in your power to preserve and protect them. with love, california.

and here are the stories making headlines at 4:30. two new lawsuits filed today on the scandal that has rocked multiple university. students saying their degrees are not

worth anymore and more lawsuits are likely. eric thomas tweeted about another big project that b.a.r.t. is under taking. the agency launching a nearly $1 million plan to replace old escalators. 41 escalators in total will be replaced. wayne freedman digging into a usgs report. wayne tweeted startling numbers from a report depicting damaging. and a big blow today for president trump from the republican led senate his own party rejecting his national emergency. serena marshal reports. >> the nays are 41.

the joint resolutionssed. >> reporter: 12 republicans crossing the aisle and voting with democrats. the $3.5 billion from the pentagon to his border wall. >> this will be a vote about the very nature of our constitution, our separation of powers and how this government functions hence forth. >> reporter: a sentiment echoes by republicans. tennessee republican says the founders gave the power of the purse to the department to limit the president's power. >> never before has the president asked for funding, the congress has not provided it and then the congress has used the national emergency act to spend the money anyway. >> reporter: the president disagrees. arguing the constitution has nothing to do with it. >> it is a border security vote.

it is pure and simple. >> reporter: after saying for weeks, today the majority leader standing with the president. >> he has operated within existing law. if congress has grown uneasy with this new law as many as, we should amend it. >> reporter: this resolution of disapproval was more about messaging but could help the lawyers who were traveling the constitutionality in the courts to make his case. families of the sandy hook massacre can sueaks. massacre can sueaks. ned school in 2012. the families sued remington. remington claims it can't be

sued under federal law. abc7 news was in san jose. the unions want local governments to >> you do the math. 50 agents is not nearly enough to contact over 22,000 high risk individuals throughout california. >> police union leaders urge californians to support senate build 230. it will give police officers more training. jussie smollett was back in court today. he entered a not guilty plea. charged with more tha of disord

conduct. abc news reporter with the latest. >> reporter: standing before a judge in chicago. >> we waive formal reading of the indictment. >> reporter: actor jussie smollett pleading not guilty. >> i don't know if y'all have been reading the blog examines all of that foolishness but it has kind of been a tough week. >> reporter: last thursday a grand jury charged smolette of 16 felony accounts. it was back in january, that he told police that he was a victim of a hate crime. put investigators contend smolette orchestrated the attack. and paid the men to carry it

out. >> mr. you must return. >> reporter: he also learned today he will be allowed to new york and california to meet with his attorneys as long as he notifies the court. he is due back in court on april 17. the fbi and new york city police haven't named a suspect in the killing of a crime boss. he died after being shot outside his home in stanton island. >> i never ever thought something like that would happen. this is a very quiet area. very peaceful. >> he has been arrested prior by the feds are a focal point of this investigation but nothing

is being ruled out. >> this marks new york's first killing of an under ground boss. detectives believe john gotti orchestrated that murder. japan banned boeing 737 max plans today. an american announcement about satellite data influenced their decision. finding similarities of the crash of seethe beto o'rourke has kicked off his campaign. announcing his bid at a coffee

shop in iowa. he narrowly lost his bid to ted cruz last not one, but two whal stranded in the bay area in one week. i am dion lim in san francisco. is this a coincidence or something more? scientists want to know. >> i'm meteorologist sandhya patel, if you haven't had a chance to get the ross spring dress event is here-finally! so you can say yes to the biggest selection of the season. yes! or stop and ask yourself, "can i afford both?" at these prices, oh, yeah. or find a look that's, like... wow ...at a price that's, like... whoa. that's yes for less. seriously, 20 to 60 percent off department store prices! more new dresses means more reasons to say yes. at the ross spring dress event. on now!

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georgand a busy day ahead. george has entresto, a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. ♪ the beat goes on ♪ the beat goes on that was great! ♪ ♪ ♪ new wok fired shrimp, another american chinese creation

from panda express. two dead grey whales were found in san francisco bay this week and while it is not uncommon, these cases are perplexing scientists. dion lim went looking for answers about these deaths. what do we do? >> reporter: larry, and ama, it is all about the similarities between these two cases. both of the whales were female, about one-year-old and 23 feet long and that is why the folks at the marine mammal center want to examine the cases to find the cause. this is where the marine mammal center brings dead whales for necropsy. with that necropsy

that revealed one of the males rtthing according to research pathologists at the mammal center, these were not cases where human was to blame. he said they are looking into the possibility of global warming having an affect on the whales and migration patterns changing. >> it is important for grey whales one of the longest migration of any species on the planet. so all of the feeding is done in the north. and the arctic is where global warming is having its greatest impact. what we have learned anecdotally, is the whales migrating south have been in poor body condition. >> reporter: to give you an idea of how large the scope of the research is, the team working on

examining these whales consist of 20 people from including scientists at labs all across the country. live where we are looking towards angel information. live in france, i am dion lim, abc7 news. >> thank you. a local museum is raising money to give bay area viewers a bird's eye view of a well-known pair of falcons. they can now be monitored 20/7. the museum is raising money during the big give today. a past fund-raising effort brought in more than $15,000 to install permanent cameras. the falcons are expecting their first offspring of 2019.

>> i wonder if they look up to the camera, a little privacy please. >> beautiful bird watching weather. >> you watch the butterflies, you watch the birds, larry, you have a lot of time on your hands. tomorrow there is no rain, just sun shine. temperatures to the 60s to the low 70s. and for the st. patrick's day parade, you couldn't ask for better weather in san francisco. when the parade gets underway, you will need plenty of sun screen, shade. enjoy the milder pattern. it is going to warm up for the weekend. saturday and sunday is when the temperatures will come up into the 70s.

monday near 80 degrees. a light level 1 system will bring us cooling trend. this is an accuweather seven-day forecast that appeals to everyone. bird watching, butterfly watching. >> sti aroun and jus soaking it up. >> lounging and soaking it up. >> that's my life. thank you, sandy. and that and putting on makeup. >> that's your favorite part. >> a new landmark for silicon valley. the unique ideas we found. >> i am michael finney.

to take care of yourself. but nature's bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and well-rested. because hey, tomorrow's coming up fast. nature's bounty. because you're better off healthy.

the one with the designer dog collar.(sashimi) psst. hey, you! nature's bounty. wondering how i upgraded to this sweet pad? a 1,200-square-foot bathroom, and my very own spa. all i had to do was give my human "the look". with wells fargo's 3% down payment on a fixed-rate loan and a simpler online application, getting into my dream home was easier than ever. get your human to visit wellsfargo.com/woof. what would she do without me? we're a little more than a month away from tax day. there really are a lot of questions. >> yeah, like how do i avoid paying. and "7 on your side" michael finney is going to tell us right now. >> reporter: we notified the irs about us. when you get off set, they have questions for you.

the "7 on your side" tax hot line is going on right now. you can give us a call 4159547621. all of these experts standing by and one of them is bart. and he has been with us for years and years. you are with united way. >> i am with united way. >> reporter: and your program is called? >> earn it. keep it. save it. it is about preparing tax returns for people free of charge. and we like people with the earn it, they should keep it, and save it. so we are trying to do those things. >> reporter: we should all do that. who qualifies for your help? >> basically, if you are about $60,000 or less, we can go ahead and do your tax returns for free. >> reporter: for free, that's excellent. >> for free.

also other free programs and if people want to find out where those programs are locally, all they have to do is dial 211. >> >> reporter: 211. what is the biggest questions that you are getting for taxes? >> why is my refund smaller. >> reporter: that's what we are hearing from everybody. >> but they have forgotten that their with holding is lowered. they have seen lower in your paycheck. >> earn it. keep it. save it. thank you for your time. 211 if you want to get free help. or right now. reporting live from the "7 on your side" offices. >> i am not big on his plan to keep it. >> many locals might think san

francisco is the world's most exciting city. but the city by the bay ranked well above the front runners. new york took the top spot. asking questions of more than 38,000 people worldwide. rated on food, culture, happiness. and after new york, the top five included melbourne, chicago, london, los angeles, san francisco didn't come in until 31st. new york has the statue of liberty. and but in silicon valley, no landmark representing the tech capital of the world. that is set to change. jobina fortson explains. >> something that they are going to make in the park. something nice. >> reporter: designing a landmark for silicon valley.

>> how many zeros? a $1 million bill? >> reporter: first thought. >> that it will not be the winning design. >> reporter: well don't let that discourage you. he is the executive director of the san jose light tower corporation. next month they will kick off a worldwide ideas concept. over time, it has become an eye sore. >> many wereesigned as an idea competition. san francisco city hall, eiffel tower. >> i love that idea. it is supposed to be a three dimensional hockey puck. >> millions of pounds of plastic and trash that come into the bay each year, so we can maybe source some of that from this local run off and maybe use some

of it in the architecture. >> sj and then made. >> reporter: here is a good luck at some designs. who knows, maybe we have already met the architect. jobina fortson, abc7 news. there are so good ideas. >> i'm not sure about the hockey puck. >> it was three dimensional. >> how about a giant micro chip. >> i liked when we had that giant polar bear in san francisco. but make it more techie. >> so a techie polar bear. >> wait. what if it moved. >> draw it up. >> yeah, i'm good at that. all right. regular tickets went on sale today for the harry potter and

cursed child. >> that site was back up and running a few hours later. the show opens on october 23rd. >> teeny tiny works of art. >> it kept getting smaller and smaller and i saw my coin sitting in the coin jar. >> creating amazing art on the face of a penny. >> kristen is here with what is ahead. >> how about the fruit cocktail invented in san jose. new at 5:00, most parents are not guilty of buying our parent's way into college, but what are we guilty of? >> everybody is panicking. saw flames. >> parachutes and pi, there

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that's just right for you. this is the best day of my life. oh boy. i mean, this is the fourth best day of my life. get more of what you want and less of what you don't. nailed it. you think so? yep. now that's simple. easy. awesome. get started with xfinity internet and tv for $34.99 a month for 12 months. click, call or visit a store today. beautiful works of art hand painted on little pennies. >> just wait until you see these creations. ♪ >> i like the challenge of being able to put so much detail in such a small space. so it kept getting smaller and smaller. and i saw my coins sitting in the coin jar.

so i ended up picking up a penny and painting on a piece and i fell in love. copper is something that people have been using for a long time and a lot of the paints are transparent. so having that copper gives it a beautiful goal almost and the harry potter and the lord of the ring pieces that i do are some of my two favorite series that i like to read and watch and i just had a client ask me to paint

when you are working on such a small piece and oils take so long to dry, you need to make sure that you are not just pushing your paint around and make it muddy. it might take two hours to lay the first layer. and while that is waiting to dry and i have my pallet available and i am still on my paint mode, i continue to work on other pieces. i love to travel and i do love to be outside. i do paint on location. so i will go and head into the mountains. but some of my favorite things is that i will have some of my clients send me photos of a beautiful moment they had and send me a coin. i get to see the world in all of these little different places that you would never see. >> wow. >> she is so talented. >> details. >> you can see more at

localish.com. >> thanks for joining us, i am will be. >> i am ama daetz. >> he is going to spend the rest of his life in prison. >> this guy accused in a brutal murder of a san jose woman. we are learning how graphic this crime really was. >> the harrowing moments after a serial thief tried to get away. >> there is a new price tag on a growing threat facing the bay area. >> after the comes the the the e volley, a bow on a winter. our experts standing by to answer your questions. new develops in a case of a san jose murder. considering the death penalty. the suspect is undocumented and

is charged with killing a woman in her home. good evening, i am dan ashley. >> and i am kristen sze. let's get to david louie live in the county courthouse with this new development. >> reporter: prosecutors are still being tight lipped about certain aspects of this case such as how suspect allegedly got into the home of bambi larson on the morning of february 28. what he allegedly did to the victim if he is convicted could make him eligible for sentence in prison without parole or the death penalty. >> he is going to spend the rest of his life in prison so that he