new developments tonight in the deadly laptop robbery in oakland. abc7 news introduce one of the prime suspects. keeping the peace on bart. abc7 news is right there with them. plus, eyes in the sky. the chp is called in to track sideshows in the east bay. fire victims and fema. new confusion over who owes what and why. we dig in to figure it out. and the cost of the kincade fire and the power shutoffs. a new report on the bottom line for sonoma county. and what some called the modern hooverville. the proposed crackdown for cities that don't do enough to get rid of them. >> now news to build a better bay area from abc7. >> it has been nearly two wee since zheng died trying to get back his stolen laptop in oakland. tonight we're hearing from the man accused of actually taking that computer. this story really touched a

nerve in the bay area. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. two men have been arrested and are facing charges in the case. i-team reporter melanie woodrow spoke with one of the suspects today at santa rita jail. >> she is in the newsroom now with the very latest on this. melanie? >> dan and kristen, i spoke with 21-year-old javon lee over an internet video visitation to santa rita jail. he did not want to appear on camera, but he did answer several of my questions. for the first time we're hearing from one of two men accused in connection with 34-year-old shuo zeng's death. the man died in oakland as he attempted to get his stolen laptop back. 22-year-old byron reed and 21-year-old javon lee are in custody. reed is the suspected getaway driver and lee was involved in taking the laptop. they agreed to speak to abc7 news, but did not want to appear on camera. he says reed is his friend. when i asked if he was with reed december 31st, he said, quote, i'm not trying to talk about

that. >> do you belong in jail? should you be there? lee responded, quote, no, i shouldn't be here. according to charging documents, surveillance video shows two individuals snatching a laptop from zeng. the two suspects fled into a waiting vehicle which later struck him. according to charging documents, lee was identified in surveillance video and by witnesses. do you think you're on that surveillance video that police say they have of what happened? lee said, quote, i don't know. i don't think so because i didn't do anything. zeng's funeral was this past weekend. his family accepted a scrapbook filled with supportive messages filled on postage notes which previously covered starbucks windows after his death. i also asked lee about his prior robbery conviction. he did not want to talk about that. i did not have an opportunity to speak with byron reed. both men are scheduled to be back in court later this week. melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >> menie, thank you. an effort is about to begin to crack down on car burglaries

in the east bay. the cities of oakland, berkeley, piedmont and san leandro have formed a task force to combat the problem that exploded in those cities last year. oakland saw a 25% increase over 2018. each city will provide two officers a month to work in the other jurisdictions. the chronicle says the program will start this week. happening now on bart, a new team of officers is deployed to monitor trains and platforms as part of a new plan to reduce crime in san francisco and oakland. abc7 news reporter liz kreutz is live. liz, bart says this is because riders say they want to see more police on the trains at night. right? >> that is right. good evening. this is definitely bart following through with their promises here, especially aer that fatal stabbing on a bart train in hayward last year which led to more calls for safety on their trains. now starting tonight, 12 new police officers will be patrolling the trains at night, seven days a week. they hope this will help crack down on crime. on your commute home from work tonight, you might see more

police presence on bart. not just on the platforms, but actually riding the trains. >> we've listened to our riders, and they've asked for more police presence on weekends and at nighttime. so that's going to be their primary focus. >> these 12 new patrol officers will be dedicated to riding trains on popular routes between san francisco and oakland from 2:00 p.m. to midnight seven days a week. bart says they'll work in teams of two. >> on a max day, we'll have all 12 here. some days on scheduling it could be fewer than that. >> we went along for a ride. within minutes this team spotted a man openly drinking beer. >> is that a beer? there is no drinking alcohol on the trains. thanks. is that common, that sort of thing? >> not necessarily for this time of day. he did try to hide it. as soon as i walked by, he covered his hand. but no brown paper bag. >> bart police say they hope the increase in officers will lead to a decrease in all levels of crime, particularly cell phone theft, which they've recently seen more of.

>> with an extra layer of security officers walking through the trains and the stations, would-be thieves will recognize that and be less opportune place for them to come in order to steal cell phones. >> margaret fine, a human rights lawyer riding bart says she believes having mental health workers riding trains could be more helpful. >> given the number of people who are unhoused who have mental health issues, substance abuse issues, i wonder where is the mental health response to this? >> and bart says their officers are trained in how to deal with people with mental illnesses. i also want to point out this initiative is in addition to the ambassador program launching next month. that program will add ten new community service members to the trains. they'll also monitor them at night. live at the embarcadero train station in san francisco, liz kreutz, abc7 news. >> okay, liz, thank you. a sideshow happened right off interstate 580 and san leandro last night and a chp helicopter caught it, as you can see. this is the intersection of

foothill boulevard and carolyn street. you can clearly see cars spinning around, smoking their tires, burning rubber. this went on for several minutes, and if you look closely, there was a decent-sized crowd gathered to watch. while all of this was going on, traffic backed up at the freeway exit and on-ramp because of the sideshow blocking the intersection. the chp broke it up. there was no word on whether anyone was arrested or cited, but it was a big disruption. the fremont police department tweeted it had to break up sideshow in the northern part of the city last night that did not go well. the rowdy crowd threw things at the officers as they responded to the scene. fema is clarifying what fire victims will have to pay when it comes to pg&e's bankruptcy. wayne freedman is live in santa rosa with more on that. wayne? >> well, good evening. this is a story that comes under the headline of one more thing. wildfire survivors know all about it. they get their house back, there is one more thing, one more thing, one more thing. well, i know they have another one more thing from a most

unlikely serious. at least a possibility. it remains both a burnscape and a construction zone. we're in fountaingrove tonight. but if we're talking fema, this could just as easily be butte county or paradise where fire victims are not happy. fema started out as a here. >> and now they're a zero. >> like many tubbs fire victims, michael williams thought he was done hearing from fema, but now that federal agency says it might have to go after some fire victims for money from their fire insurance settlements if pg&e does not repay fema some $3.9 billion of its own claim from the fire. attorneys for fire victims are furious. >> this is enormously frustrating. these folks have waited well over two years to get made whole by pg&e. made whole after all this time, and fema comes in and trying to blow it up. >> fema, meantime, spent the day in clarification mode saying blame pg&e.

the agency would only be looking to recoup about $100 million in funds that duplicated insurance payments, and then only if pg&e did not reach a settlement with fema for damage from the fire. >> we want to make sure survivors get everything they can from pg&e, but at the same time, taxpayers can't have provided assistance once and pg&e provide those same individuals with the same expenses. >> and that's the rub. fema seeks restitution because pg&e has admitted being at fault, but the utility has yet to pay. fema insists seeking repayment from victims would be a last worst case resort, but they're perceived as being the bad guy. >> it almost feels like a bait and switch. >> what should happen is fema should obtain reimbursement from pg&e after pg&e settlements with the wildfire survivors. >> as for pg&e, well, pg&e claims no responsibility in terms terms of having to pay money back to fema. here is a statement from pg&e

released today. quote, fema does not have a valid legal claim against the company. the bankruptcy court has approved our settlement agreements, resolving all major wildfire claims. so we'll be seeing what happens next. in fountaingrove, wayne freedman, abc7 news. >> we sure will, wayne. thank you. new details meantime on the i impact of the kincaid wildfire. it has cost sonoma county $725 million in economic losses. that's according to a report by moody's analytics research company. the number also includes losses due to evacuations and four pg&e power safety shutoffs a the time of the fire. sonoma county officials say the shutoffs or evacuations impacted a total of 380,000 residents. about 75% of the county's population. new developments now on the governor's effort to reduce the homeless population. the state is considering taking a punitive approach. we learned today that a homeless task force appointed by governor newsom wants to allow the state

to sioux citys that fail to reduce the homeless population. doing that would require amending the state constitution and voters would have to approve it. word of that plan comes the same day the governor began a statewide homelessness tour in nevada county. >> mayor, city administrators, county supervisors, assembly members, state senators all say the exact same thing. homelessness is the issue, the number one issue in the state of california. >> 150,000 homeless across the state now. governor newsom says $650 million in emergency grants is going out now to cities and counties, and they will soon receive new fema trailers and medical tents to help homeless people. well, football frenzy is on its way to reaching new heights. >> we're all excited. the entire bay area is excited. >> the 49ers are now one game away from the super bowl, and tickets to the game are not cheap. i will have the game-time

forecast, plus a look at when your next storm will be bringing us wet weather here in the bay area. that's not the only storm. i'll be back with those details, coming up. also ahead, the professional athlete making a big gift to a local elementary school. it's enough to make some people get up and dance. and the bay area connections to the oscar

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ all we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪

fan noise is big a difference as probably our team is. we've gotten a lot louder as we've gotten better. i thought they had been loud and great all year. i didn't think it could get much louder. but it definitely was on saturday. >> yeah, it was loud, and it was appreciated. that was 49ers coach kyle shanahan, speaking today about the 49ers faithful. >> and those fans are going toby out in force this weekend when the 49ers take on the green bay packers at levi's stadium.

one last game to get to the super bowl. >> abc7 news reporter chris nguyen is live in santa clara with more on that. and chris, the economic boost to the area, right, from all of this is significant? >> hi there. members of the business community here in santa clara say they love the 49ers, but they love them even more now that the team is finally doing well. with the 49ers one step closer to the super bowl, members of the faithful are savoring the team's success thus far. >> i just see their want. and it's just a difference that i'm seeing this year from past years, and just their heart to really get in there and play. >> that difference isn't lost on 49ers head coach kyle shanahan. >> i think any time you have a team that has a chance to be in a situation we're in, where the warriors have been through a lot, sports are great. it gives everyone a break from stuff, and you always want to support your home team. i'm glad we're giving them something to be proud of this year. >> as shanahan reflect on his

team's performance over the weekend, fans stopped by the 49ers store at levi's stadium to stock up on merchandise ahead of the nfc championship game against the packers. >> defense got to get after aaron rodgers and force them to make turnovers. i think we got this one. i think we're super bowl bound this year. this is our year. >> with the 49ers success extending into the postseason, other local businesses are feeling it too. burger im at the mercado is typically slow in january, but mangement says sales have gone up in recent weeks because of the team. >> when 49ers win the game. so people are hanging out here. we have the full bar and the happy hour. >> members of the silicon valley central chamber of commerce say every little bit counts. >> definitely. definitely getting busier. you definitely have a lot of people who are enjoying the 49ers playing and the close games, and yeah, they're spending money. >> we checked with the hilton hotel, which is next to levi's stadium. they were fully booked over the weekend. they're expecting similar figures for the packers game.

we're live in santa clara tonight, i'm chris nguyen, abc7 news. >> it is really exciting. christmas, thanks so much. getting a ticket to the 49ers game of course will not come cheap. a tally by event search engine ticket iq found the average price on the secondary market for the game is $934, which it says is the third highest for a conference championship game in the last ten years. and get this, it's 50% more than the last time the niners hosted the nfc championship game back in 2012 at candlestick. so you know, the game is officially sold out. so you'll only be able to find tickets on the secondary market on-sites like nfl ticket exchange where the cheapest ticket we saw was $380 for standing room only. aaron rodgers raised a few eyebrows among people who lived in the bay area a long time when he was asked after his game what his plans are after the game. >> i'm just going to enjoy a nice glass of scotch tonight and get on to the film on san fran

and get ready for a tough opponent. and get on to the film in san fran. >> all right. yeah, yeah, he said san fran. he is from chico, you know. so it's just one of the references that locals don't like, of course. and it's just one of many nicknames for san francisco in general, besides what he said there is frisco, baghdad by the bay, the paris of the west, the golden city, just the city, my favorite, fog city, the city by the bay. and just the bay. by the way, a survey by the public relations firm this year found that among people here in the u.s., 65% use san francisco. 46% also use the city, and 37% call it sf. how about nfc championship city? >> it's going to be the new nickname. >> let's talk about the weather forecast. it could be raining a little bit at levi's this weekend. >> hopefully not sunday. not sunday.

saturday, kristen and dan, we're going to see some showers. but by sunday at game time at levi's stadium, we're talking a mild 61 degrees at $ getting sunnier as the day goes on. 57 by the evening. really good-looking weather for the big game. live doppler 7 right now showing you a lot of clouds, a little bit of sprinkle activity right around lake county. also around mendocino county. ukiah reporting a few hundreds of an inch of rain in the last couple of hours. take a look at where the storm is up around the northwestern portion of the state. it will eventually move down in our direction and we'll get wet here in the bay area. temperatures right now 40, 50s. look at this gorgeous shot as we look towards the shark tank right now. look at the storm impact scale. it's a level 1 tonight. tomorrow morning scattered light showers, less than 0.2 of an inch for most. it is breezy in the hills and we'll keep it going through tomorrow. 7:00 tonight, north bay is seeing the showers. as we head into 11:00 p.m., they're right across the central

bay, and going into tomorrow morning's commute, you will notice some isolated showers at 5:00 a.m. it will continue to remain on the wet side for parts of the bay area into the afternoon, 3:00 p.m. north bay, still looking at those showers. it winds down as we head towards the evening hours. take a look at the rainfall totals. not a lot. this is going to be a lot like the system that came through into this morning. we're expecting anything from a few hundreds to 0.16 in calistoga. win it weather risery until 10:00 a.m. in the sierra. the snow level down to 3500. 4 to 8 inches expected. we're already seeing the snow in the mountains right now. temperatures in the first thing in the morning, 30s, 40s. grab those umbrellas. you'll need them for the first half of your day as we head into the afternoon. looking at temperatures primarily in the 50s, unless you're at lakeport. it is going to be breezy, with a few more showers,er fromly in the north bay. a stronger storm coming in on thursday. it's a moderate strength storm with moderate to heavy rain. gusty winds, about a half inch to just over an inch of rain.

higher in the hills. dusting of snow is expected over the highest peaks. here is a look at when that one arrives. wednesday night into thursday morning, the thursday morning commute looks nasty right now. 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. going into noontime you see higher elevation snow over mt. hamilton and the lake county hills. that's something we'll be watching carefully. there is winter storm watch, excuse me, for lake county, shasta county. thursday afternoon, it's above 2500 feet. and in the sierra it's a winter storm watch for wednesday into friday. 1 to 2 feet expected. up to 3 feet for the highest weaks. accuweather seven-day forecast. level 1 for tomorrow. scattered showers. we have 1 coming in wednesday night with wind, rain. level 2 thursday. it's going to be a stormy day. friday is going to dry out and saturday a one light system bringing us rain with lingering clouds sunday, and then another chance come monday night. but that sunday window. >> uh-huh.

>> very important for the nfc championship game. right now it's looking good. >> thank you, sandhya. all right. oscar nominations and the ties that bind.

welcome to hollywood north. three bay area film studios are celebrating oscar nominations. >> i don't belong here! >> emeryville's pixar picked up a best animated feature nomination for toy story 4. it was directed by livermore native and grenada high school grad josh cooley. >> how you doing, there, 3 p 0? >> taking one last look, sir, at my friends. >> okay, that part brought me to tears. >> that was moving, i have to say. >> lucasfilm in san francisco picked up three nominations for "star wars: the rise of skywalker". they include original effects and music score and sound editing. disney is the parent company of

lucas, pixar and abc7. >> this is jimmy hoef fa. >> glad to meet you. >> and los gatos-based netflix scored 24 nominations including nine for "the irishman" and five for "marriage story." we'll find out who the winners are on sunday, february 9th. abc7 is the only place you can watch the oscar. still ahead, the big name athlete helping a local elementary school succeed. >> but first we want to thank resh from an overpass fence. thanks, resh, share your pictures using the #abc7 now.

to deal with the problem.icians but they wouldn't. so we took it to the voters and forced big tobacco to pay its share of healthcare costs. we fought oil companies for new clean air laws and closed a billion dollar corporate tax loophole to fund public schools. by going directly to the people we got results. that's not something you see a lot of from washington these days. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. let's make change happen. where you can find games, news and highlights. all in one place, right on your tv.

the new xfinity sports zone. use your voice to search every stat, standing and score. follow the teams you love and get notifications when the game's about to start, so you'll never miss a minute. with the xfinity sports zone... ...everybody wins. now that's simple, easy, awesome. click, call or visit a store for details. i'm ama daetz. coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, chinatown business owners are on a mission to take back their neighborhood and boost business when the sun goes down. also, today's show of support for the moms illegally occupying an oakland home. the plan if officers show up to remove them. plus -- >> i was blown away.

all the lightning in the sky, it looks so unreal. >> and the bay area filipino community responds to the massive volcanic eruption in their homeland, all coming up at 6:00. dan, kristen? >> thanks, ama. we'll see you then. finally, a victory at the at&t pebble beach tournament was a good stroke of luck for bay area students. >> their library is now stocked with shelves full of new books. the books are part of a program run by the accounting firm kpmg, which makes a donation when a sponsor golfer wins a tournament. >> the kids may not know who pro golfer phil mickelson is, but it will spark their imaginations. >> the libraries are connecting with their favorite books and characters and things they're interested in. just having the help of making the space feel welcoming or new or with the books and the environment just makes a huge difference. >> and what we want is all around the world for kpmg to be making an impact on the communities where we live and work.

>> well, all told, the school will receive more than 3500 new books. >> that's awesome. "world news tonight" with david muir is next. we appreciate your time.

tonight, the unsettling move. the u.s. now expelling more than 20 saudi military trainees right here in the u.s. the attorney general is now calling it a terrorist act. the deadly shooting at a u.s. naval air station in pensacola. what they've now learned. and the move tonight to expel those saudis who came here to the u.s. to train. also tonight, the images coming in now. a confirmed tornado hitting a high school. cars on top of each other. more than 20 tornadoes and severe weather killing at least 12. and now two new storm systems moving in. one right across the country. snow and ice in the east. ginger times this out. it could have been much worse. the deadly attack outside new york city. we have alarming new reporting tonight. the bomb in the car, the