serious allergic reactions may occur. i just look and feel better. i got real relief with cosentyx. watch me! feel real relief. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. new developments in the fatal chase for a stolen laptop. friends and family are speaking out tonight about a man they say was very special. a rescue off the peninsula. a woman and her dog are swept to sea as the dangers of rough surf become all too real. breaking news at sfo, we just learned what may have caused all this smoke. also tense moments in san rafael where a small van is engulfed in flames. in marin, the one thing that means everything after the teenager who wore it was killed. car-free on castro street. the plan to turn a downtown street into a pedestrian mall in mountain view.

>> now, news to build a better bay area from abc 7. >> he was always so caring. >> a woman mourns the loss of her cousin killed while trying to stop someone from stealing his laptop. condolence notes fill the windows of the coffee shop where it started. >> i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. the man died on his 34th birthday. >> melody woodrow spoke with the victim's friend and cousin today. >> reporter: dan and kristen, they are absolutely devastated. they can't believe he's gone, especially on his birthday. you can see flowers have been set up here where he died. this was just hours before a joint birthday party, new year's eve celebration that he was hosting at his apartment. tonight we're honoring his family's request to not reveal his name yet. >> people who live around montclair are still struggling to make sense of a young man

killed outside this starbucks, dragged by a getaway vehicle as he attempted to get back his stolen laptop. >> i thought, i don't know this man, i wasn't here. but i live here and he was part of my community. >> reporter: sue graham set up these post-it notes for people to express condolences an confusion. peter saying the victim's co-workers and friends stopped by. he found out the night the software engineer was killed. the young man died on his 34th birthday. friends like tseng were waiting outside his apartment for the celebration when police called. >> were were in shock and disbelief. >> reporter: so was his cousin who says he was more like her brother. >> lefs so caring and he's always looking at me. i just saw him last week on a trip together. >> reporter: she has ideas why he ran after his laptop. >> i know he had a lot of

research on his laptops, and also he's a great photographer. >> reporter: starbucks customers who witnessed his horrific death can't believe how quickly he was gone. >> i picked up his phone, still sitting on the counter. it was still warm from him holding it. >> his parents are coming from china and his cousin from new york to identify his body. oakland police have made two arrests thanks in part to all the surveillance cameras that captured the getaway car and license plate. the alameda county district attorney's office says the oakland police department hasn't turned over the case to them yet. melody woodrow, abc 7 news. >> melody, thanks very much. right now we have breaking news out of san francisco international airport. >> we just learned why smoke rose from a united airlines jet. they say there was no fire

aboard. the smoke began rising while the jet was being pushed outside a hangar where united performs maintenance work. smoke can rise from a plane due to resittal oil in its engines. this afternoon's incident did not affect flights at sfo. emergency officials tell us a woman's dog fell into the ocean and then the woman went after it officials say the woman was still swimming when she was rescued but she was in serious condition. rescuers say conditions were tough, even for them. >> water, breaking surf, 14-foot swell, ten to 20-foot waves, heavy backwash conditions. >> the half moon bay review reports the dog was able to run back to shore. meanwhile, a little further north, many people went to the beach in pacifica to check out

the waves. website surfline evident mates they were between five and eight feet. you can see how they compared to the height of pacific pier. in the south bay new details about a fire at a san jose apartment complex overnight. arson investigators are now looking into the fire. a bystander put it out in the carport. crews found two suspicious devices when they arrived, possibly home made bombs. the bomb squad evacuated the building and detonated the devices. no one was hurt. in the north bai the san rafael fire department started the new year in an unexpected way. the city's police department tweeted video of this white van on fire. the engine exploding. then firefighters dousing it with water. it happened about 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot of north gate mall. no word on what caused the fire. again, in this instance no one was injured. the city of mountain view commissioned a $265,000 study to

look into converting the small portion of its downtown into a pedestrian plaza. abc 7 news reporter anser hassan joins us on castro street. >> reporter: kristen, good evening. this is the part of the street they're looking to convert to a pedestrian plaza. it's not just making this area more pedestrian friendly. it has to do with this caltrans station and the tracks nearby. most people eating outside on castro street in mountain view say it would be nice to not have traffic interfering with lunch. getting cars off the road sounds like a great idea. >> the kids go play over there, scooter or skating. >> while the family eats? >> yes. >> reporter: the current proposal is to convert this section of castro street into a pedestrian plaza. unlike cities where pedestrian friendly streets are part of revitalization projects, mountain view's move may be out

of necessity. with the electrification of caltrans, cars won't be allowed to cross castro street. traffic has to be rerouted either by building an overpass or underpass which would cost upwards of $100 million. a less expensive option, a pedestrian plaza. >> open up a couple more stores like shopping, things like that, it will be better. if they keep it this way, just restaurants only, it will be bad. >> this restaurant has been open for ten years. like many business owners, he fierce rerouting traffic could lead do a loss in foot traffic. >> castro street has to be rerouted no matter what. it's kind of the best worst solution. >> reporter: sarah opens opal on castro street. she has similar concerns. she says the city has to do something to draw people to the area for this idea to work. >> on santana road there's a cute area with the cafe and you can sit in the middle. there has to be something to

draw people in. fountains, cafes, live music. something to draw people to the city of the town rather than just closing off the streets. >> reporter: once the design plan is complete, the city plans to hold three public meetings to discuss the topic. turning your attention to sports jerseys. those of us that get attached to them do so because of feelings. it brings us to a quest for a missing jersey in marin county and the remarkable story behind it. here is abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman. >> reporter: it is the last practice for the branson high school bulls before a big game tonight. while they'll have five men on the court, they will still go to battle feeling one man short. >> he was our distributor, leader, scorer, playmaker. >> reporter: on the shoes, "all

for you." quentin wiggins died on highway 101 last june. >> there had to have been ten or eleven colleges on his list. >> reporter: how do you go from such promise to such pain? >> yeah. rfr quintin's mother now wears his image around her neck and carries him permanently on her left arm. she did have his number 11 home jersey but gave it brack to the team where his best friend peyton opened the season wearing it. >> we wanted his jersey to be out there for his senior year. so we were like, we absolutely need peyton to wear the jersey. >> reporter: he did until bad luck intervened in oakland. someone broke into peyton's family car and took a backpack containing the jersey. >> there's glass all over the ground, and i looked inside, my bag was gone and my heart dropped. >> reporter: getting the jersey back has become as important for the team and quentin's family as winning a championship. they had planned to retire it this year.

>> having a duplicate jersey is just not the same as having that jersey, the won that he wore, the one he sweated in, the one he played in, won championships in. >> reporter: just like any other high school jersey, but please, they ask, whoever took this one, please bring it back. no questions asked. >> it means everything. it is absolutely priceless. absolutely priceless, like there's no -- it's a one-of-a-kind. >> reporter: in march ryne county, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. nearly half a billion animals are in trouble and that heartbreaking count includes 8,000 koalas. local experts talk about the koalas needing so much help in australia. >> those fires causing a mass evacuation. thousands of people trying to get

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we'll start this segment of the broadcast talking about the horrendous fires in australia. >> you can see in this map more than 200 fires are >> oh, my god. >> at the moment, everybody is panicking and it's pretty surreal. >> it's absolutely a time for vigilance. zblit's just a whirlwind. you do what you have to do to survive. >> headed down to the beach to evacuate and get closer to clean air. >> eerily familiar to us in california. there are traffic jams as people try to get out of the area. at least 18 people have died, more than 12,000 homes have been destroyed. >> australia's prime minister scott morrison went to one town hit hard by the fires but left

early after residents questioned the governor's response. >> how are you? >> i'm only shaking your hand if you'll give more funding, so many people here have lost their homes. >> every single time this area has a flood or a fire, we get nothing. if we were sydney, if e with were north coast, we would be flooded with donations, with emergency relief. >> people are very upset as you can see. the prime minister leaving after that. the fires have devastated the ecosystem and the tourism industry. abc 7's liz kreutz has more on that. >> reporter: these images are all too familiar, more than 200 fires are burning across two of australia's most populous states. the u.s. embassy told tourists on the coast of new south wales to get out. at sfo today people arriving from sydney described it as apocalyptic. >> lived there 30 years and

never seen it like this. you look out the window. >> sometimes my eyes get a little watery. >> reporter: the fires are also having a devastating impact on wildlife. nearly half a billion animals are feared dead. the koala population is suffering. >> mate, you're badly burned. >> reporter: koalas parched, approaching humans fighting for their lives have been shared all over the world. koalas are already considered vulnerable. the san francisco zoo has two and allowed us inside their habitat. >> already their numbers are threatened and you add in these huge wildfires, they're taking away again more trees, that's compounding the problem and putting their numbers in real dire threat. >> reporter: koalas have very particular needs. they only eat eucalyptus. the zoo here keeps four different types for them. this is also how they get their water. >> you don't often see koalas drinking water.

when you do, it typically indicates that there may be something else going on with the animal. >> reporter: millions of dollars have poured in to help a koala hospital in australia. >> so what happens when the fires end? >> they're going to have to plant a lot of new trees. flr san francisco, liz kreutz, abc 7 news. >> that's heartbreaking to watch. they are trying to save as many animals as they can. >> good luck to them. in the meantime, we want to get to our accuweather forecast. a high surf day. >> sandhya patel has more. >> we'll be seeing changes in our weather. rough surf right now, kristen and dan. showers are coming in the not-too-distant future. you'll notice it's pretty clear other than passing high clouds. there is a high surf advisory until 9:00 p.m. tonight. 11 to 14 feet. the breakers, much higher, 20 to 25 feet, possibly higher. you can see the wave heights are 10 to 14 feet.

there is a risk of rip currents. so thing that you will have to watch out for, something to keep in mind in you're spending time at the coast because it is so beautiful out there. i want to show you right now what the weather looks like as we take a look at those temperatures. they're not coming up for whatever reason. we'll move it along. temperatures right now in the 50s and the 60s across our region. so just an absolutely beautiful day, beautiful sunset as you will notice, and we'll move along to our next graphic which is from santa cruz. look at the most sunset sky. it's absolutely gorgeous. some people are enjoying it. areas of fog in the morning, mainly sunny and mild in the afternoon. there is a chance of showers late friday into early saturday. it's a level one of our storm impact scale. scattered showers, best possibility in the north bay and there will be light winds. we don't have to worry about the winds. tomorrow night, 11:00 p.m., rain begins in the north bay. it spread southward as we head to 3:00 a.m. saturday morning.

5:00 a.m. you'll still see showers from the east bay towards the santa cruz mountains. by 7:00 a.m. it's beginning to wind down. a quick moving system. not everyone will see rainfall. it is definitely going to be one of those that could impact your late friday night, early saturday morning plans. most of you will be from a few hundredths of an inch but places like cloverdale could pick up up to .25 inch. the fog will be dense in patches. mid 30s to the mid 40s as we head into the afternoon hours. it's going to be another lovely day. upper 50s to low 70s. tomorrow 59. 59 in oakland. low 60s from san mateo to fremont, livermore, 64 degrees in san jose. accuweather seven-day forecast, morning fog giving way to a chance of showers. level one for your saturday. early morning showers and we'll brighten it up for sunday and monday. a chance for a few showers returning late tuesday into earl wednesday.

computer models are still not in agreement for that, late tuesday into wednesday. we'll put a chance in for now and monitor as we get closer. >> thanks, sandhya. if you're thinking about a new mostly.

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now to consumer news. we've talking used cars. >> "7 on your side's" michael finney is here with why they might be a good idea. >> i almost always buy a used car. >> some are skeptical about buying a used car fearing they may be taking on someone else's headache. there are easy ways to avoid that. clint walker spent a lot of time looking at used cars before he bought this kia soul. >> affordability and reliability was very important. i was looking through a ton of cars and it was excruciating. >> reporter: jake fisher of consumer reports says used cars can be a great choice and can save you a bundle.

>> the real sweet spop is a three-year-old used car. you can typically get one for about half of what you'd pay for a new car and many of the 2016s have the latest safety gear. >> reporter: look for forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection and blind spot warning. for reliability, toyotas have consist accidently been standouts. if you want more luxury, consider a lexus. as clint discovered, every used car has its own unique history. being thorough helped him avoid surprises. >> if you want more peace of mind, look at a certified pre-owned car, you'll pay a little more but get a warrantee very similar to the one you'd find in a new car. >> it's always a good idea to get an independent mechanic you trust for a bumper-to-bumper inspection. expect to pay at least $100. but it could be well spent if a costly problem is spotted before you buy.

no matter what or where you buy, check for any open recalls at the national highway traffic safety administration site. we'll put something on our website about that. you want to make sure any recalls get fixed. just ahead, everyone has heard of autonomous cars. how about an autonomous school? we'll show you how that works. >> first we want to thank thomas for the lovely picture of the hills in fairfield. share your pictures with #abc7now. >> you may see it on air or online at abc7news.com. heads up about new programming on abc 7. on saturday mornings you can catch two hours of "good morning america." >> that's right. and that goes from 5:00 to 7:00. gma will air at 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning. abc 7 news will return at 9:00. so

let's face it. we have a trash problem in san francisco. >> and find the solutions. let's have hard conversations. >> i feel the community has failed people of color. >> we can use words. >> our concerns might be different but we're in this together and building a better bay area takes all of us. i'm ama daetz, coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, a woman knocked on her ex-boyfriend's door in dublin and ends up dead. why police say this may be a case of self-defense. fast track, taken to court. michael finney looks into a lawsuit involving toll evasion penalties. leaving california, the exodus is real with many people heading to one city in particular. not portland or seattle. tat's all coming up on abc 7

news at 6:00. >> who is getting us now? you'll find out. the grand opening of what some are calling the convenience store of the future. >> check this out. a completely autonomous store is open at a shell station called a nano store. >> you download an app and register the credit card. once you're at the store, you'll be sent an access code. then you walk in, grab what you want and go. no clerk, no money, no hassle. a receipt will be emailed to you as soon as you leave. >> the store is a mobile store. as you can see, it's literally a modified shipping container. in the future, imagine we can put those mobile stores in rural areas, in urban centers, in universities and other areas. >> well, the store is operated by a company called aifi which plans to open additional stores at gas stations in the coming months. >> that's interesting. the future is coming right at

us. "world news tonight with david muir" is next. >> for all of us here, thanks for joining us. >> we'll see you again in half an hour at 6:00. trumpand total disaster.mplete let obamacare implode. nurse: these wild attacks on healthcare hurt the patients i care for. i've been a nurse in new york for thirty years. i know the difference leadership can make because i saw what mike bloomberg did as mayor. vo: mayor bloomberg helped lower the number of uninsured by 40%, covering 700,000 more new yorkers, life expectancy increased. he helped expand health coverage to 200,000 more kids and upgraded pediatric care--- infant mortality rates dropped to record lows. and as mayor, mike bloomberg

always championed reproductive health for women. so when you hear mike bloomberg on health care... mrb: this is america. we can certainly afford to make sure that everybody that needs to see a doctor can see a doctor, everybody that needs medicines to stay healthy can get those medicines. nurse: you should know, he did it as mayor, he'll get it done as president. mrb: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. [ dramatic music ]ing ] ahhhh! -ahhhh! elliott. you came back!

tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. after the attack on the u.s. embassy in iraq, new reports of a missile strike at baghdad international airport. this coming hours after the u.s. warned iran may be planning new attacks on american interests. hundreds of additional u.s. troops now in the region. martha raddatz standing by. the severe storm and flooding threat at this hour. ice flying from a truck, causing a major pileup. the system moving into the northeast overnight. ginger zee timing it out. the urgent warning to american tourists. a state of emergency in australia. the country's worst wildfires in history. the u.s. embassy urging americans to evacuate. our crew there on the ground. vaping crackdown. fle fda banning most kinds of