now from abc 7 live breaking news and that breaking news is in oakland where something that looks like a pipe bomb has shut down the area around the federal building. there are evacuations in place for people nearby abc 7 news. anchor liz. kreutz is on the scene force and joins us live with the very latest liz. hi, dan, and alma the fbi is now leading this investigation. they are still trying to figure out exactly what. is inside the suspicious package, but they do believe that it could be a pipe bomb. we have sky seven video flying overhead all afternoon. you might be able to see that package. it's a plastic bag and officials say around 12:40 today a person walking around frankagawa plaza dropped off that bag at the foot of a flagpole right outside the federal building law enforcement was alerted and a heavy police

presence arrived here at the scene. we know that there's fbi homeland security officials here, alameda county sheriff bomb squad oakland pd and the coast guard canine unit now about a half an hour ago. we got update from officials. they talked about whether they plan to blow up this package. here's what they said. this is a location that we've made safe. our first rule is to always preserve life. and so at this point the only lives that are in danger are bomb technicians who are downrange dealing with the device, so it'll be up to the the captain and his team as how they proceed so that that is one option, but we'd like to preserve as much evidence as we can to further the investigation by the fbi. for an update on this situation out of oakland where bomb technicians are assessing this

device that was found. so we are keeping an eye on this. we will bring you any more details as soon as we learn any new information now the last major incident at oakland's federal building was in may of 2020 federal security off. david patrick underwood from pinole was shot and killed while inside the building's security post a second guard was injured in the drive-by shooting both men were watching the building during a demonstration nearby over the police killing of george floyd. the acute shooter has pleaded not guilty new details now about the man arrested today for killing a ucla grad student at her job last week pasadena police arrested 31 year old sean laval smith just before noon today on a bus ben. after a passerby recognized him from media coverage of the case. we have learned smith has an arrest record here in the bay area according to the san mateo county sheriff's office smith was arrested last january and daly city for vandalism and obstructing an officer. he's now accused in the fatal stabbing of 24 year old brianna

kupfer at an upscale furniture store in los angeles a customer walked in and found her dead. the man accused of fatally pushing an east bay native into the path of a subway train in new york city over the weekend will be held without bail and will undergo a psychiatric evaluation 61 year old simon marshall was reigned from his manhattan hospital bed today prosecutors say he confessed to pushing 40 year old michelle go into tracks at the 42nd street times square station go was born in berkeley and grew up in fremont. she called new york city home for more than a decade. a judge said he would not send marshall. psychiatric facility until after the evaluation prosecutors say they are still investigating the push to determine whether it was a hate crime. we all need to share in responsibility to keeping our street safe drivers pedestrians and you know us included going out there and and responding to these high incident intersections. tonight two men are dead and a woman is still in the hospital after being hit by a car while

trying to cross the street highlighting concerns over traffic safety in san jose. now this comes as the city tied its all-time high in traffic deaths last year abc 7 news reporter dustin dorsey explains. how city leaders believe a solution to this growing and serious problem starts with the entire community? the city of san jose may be on its way to a milestone, but it's a record city leaders don't want to break. this is a terrible start of the year. three. people were hit by a car along almaden expressway and san jose last night police. say the driver had a green light yet two more lives lost after a record-tying 60 traffic deaths in 2021 it took until march 6th of 2021 to reach six traffic fatalities this time last year. we had one traffic fatality on san jose. and last night's two fatalities for our sixth and seventh the city of san jose's department of transportation says almaden expressway is one of 17 priority

safety corridors big streets with lots of lanes and high speeds. police say speed was not an issue last night, but it's a point the dot. wants to make to residents are asked for the public is to slow down first and foremost. our other ask is to pay attention and that obviously applies to everybody using the road. and the accident last night the three people involved were not using crosswalks to cross the street. in fact police say that's the case most of the time in pedestrian traffic fatalities. i believe all of our pedestrian fatalities this year have been people that were outside of crosswalks the messages, please use a crosswalk, right? at night, especially on an expressway the city's vision zero task force has six million dollars dedicated to quickbuild improvements like new signage and signal timing to help curb deaths, but city leaders say it ultimately comes down to all of us. well, don't decide to crash their car into somebody or get hit and so it's up to everybody to pay attention when they're out there using the road.

it's gonna take a collaborative effort from not only drivers pedestrians us as well in san jose jose dustin dorsey abc 7 news. california attorney general's office has launched a civil rights investigation into the santa clara county sheriff's office attorney general rob bonta says the investigation will try to determine whether the office led by longtime sheriff lori smith engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct. this investigation comes amidst deeply concerning allegations relating to conditions of confinement in the offices jail facilities resistance to lawful oversight and other misconduct. fanta wouldn't go into any specific details because it's a pending investigation abc 7 news item investigations into the troubled jail system date back years, including several questionable inmate deaths and just last month the grand jury accused sheriff smith of corruption and prison mismanagement. bart received a recognition today that's anything but an honor the public transit agency

was awarded the california golden fleece award. the award exposes waste fraud and abuse in california government abc 7 news reporter melanie. woodrow is in the newsroom with bart's response melanie and out exactly an oscar not exactly dan. this is the independent institute's 12 such award a dishonor given to you california state or local agencies tonight bart spok. and says the report is from an anti-government think tank and not worth reading. the author of the report titled crime grime and greed at bart says he spent a year researching and writing about bay area rapid transit the report examined bart's performance and operations. we concluded that bart fails across the board bart is unreliable dangerous financially reckless and inefficient according to the report bart sales on items writers care about the most like on-time performance bart does very poor in that area over the last few years. it has about a 10 to 15% failure

rate bart. spokesperson. alicia trost says the agency's on-time performance is above 90% sometimes it's as high as 97% literally right now as i'm speaking to you. it's 98% she says on time performance dipped when ridership previously went from 390,000 to 440,000 having that number of people in our system does was the race true says bart's violent crime rate is down 39% compared to last year. the reports author alleges bart doesn't focus on optimizing the rider's experience because it doesn't have to he says 40 to 80 percent of barts operating revenues come from government subsidies instead bart focuses on satisfying politicians who controlled the subsidy purse strings the reports recommendations include scaling back or ending subsidies and selling bart to a private for-profit ent. trust says that's not help art was intended the idea that we should no longer receive any government money and that we

should privatize is ridiculous and goes against you know, what the bay area region wants from bart and from public transit. bart says weekday ridership is currently at 25% of pre-pandemic levels. saturdays are at 39% and sundays at 36% in the newsroom melanie woodrow abc 7 news melanie. thank you in oakland. the city planning commission is meeting right now and is expected to recommend final certification of the environmental impact report for the howard terminal ballpark development plan the 3500 page document provides a detailed analysis of the 55-acre project if approved today the city council will likely vote on final certification next month today on midday live mayor libby schaaf called today's action a huge milestone for the project. this environmental piece really sets the stage because it shows how this really is being held to the highest environmental standards, and it's not going to exacerbate pollution or congestion.

mayor schaff says she hopes all aspects of the ballpark plan will be settled before the end of this year and while we're talking sports in the bay area the south bay could soon be home to a world-class cricket stadium major league cricket and santa clara county have entered into negotiations to transform 14 acres at the fairgrounds in san jose into a 15,000 seat cricket stadium. the proposed stadium would host mlc and national team matches the league also hopes to bring major international events to that. state wildlife experts say a mountain lion that killed another big cat in a belmont neighborhood overnight is not a threat to public safety this doorbell video shows one cat dragging the other down hastings road around four this morning a neighbor actually called police two hours earlier after hearing the cats fighting listen.

the department official and wildlife say the cat killed in this incident was a female and believe the aggressor was a male. we don't know what motivated these two lines to get into fight. it's not extremely unusual, but of course it is unusual and it is very noteworthy that it happened in a somewhat residential area. this is the latest mountain lion incident on the peninsula belmont specifically last august aligned was spotted walking across a driveway on mazes avenue a mile and a half from today's location and just last week we reported a sighting in a daily city backyard. still ahead here friends and family of a traveling nurse are asking the public for help finding him where he was last seen and the search effort now underway plus major changes coming to san francisco's iconic castro theater, but it means it will be closed for months. you can expect when it reopens abc 7 n

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was last seen at stanford hospital are making an urgent plea tonight for help in their quest to find him michael o'dell was last seen yesterday morning abruptly leaving his night shift. his car was found in an emergency lane of the dumbarton bridge near the toll plaza the chp police and odell's friends who are also nurses search for him today at a nearby wildlife preserve odell's friends also started a facebook page find michael o'dell they say they noticed nothing unusual before his disappearance. i mean nothing was like a red flag, like nothing. i mean just seemed like another no more day, you know, just sleep wake up, you know go to work. odell's friends say despite their nursing jobs being significantly more stressful during the pandemic. they were each other's support system. there are new developments on the pandemic as we continue to track how california and the nation are progressing. let's take a look at some of today's headlines, california is

reporting nearly 100,000 new cases today, but the test positivity rate is declining. it's now 20.9 percent down more than two percent from a week ago state lawmakers have announced the formation of a vaccine work group. it's being created to develop evidence-based policies to help stop the spread of covid and san jose police department is being hit hard by infections voluntary over. i'm shifts are being used to fill nearly 50 absences caused by the omicron surge. we want to give you a look now at a new art exhibit that is opening this weekend. very interesting. the art was all done during the most uncertain days of the pandemic when most of us were sheltering in place you're looking at some of the street art on many businesses that boarded up around the bay area all of the pieces were done by local artists who ventured out during the shelter in place order to transform drab plywood signs of hope. the art will be displayed for two weekends this month highlighting the artists who went out to beautify their neighborhoods during one of the most challenging periods of the pandemic.

owners of these storefronts their whole hopes their dreams their livelihoods were shut down. so we definitely don't want to see these go back up on any of the original businesses, but we're hoping to find other placements for them some are for sale. the exhibit opens saturday at pier 70 in san francisco's dog patch neighborhood, san francisco's legendary castro theater is set to undergo a major makeover as it celebrates 100 years it will turn into a live events venue featuring music comedy and more another planet entertainment is taking over the theaters programming the berkeley-based promotion company has signed a long-term contract that includes a grand reopening next year castro theater will still screen select films like it has for decades. still ahead here improved high school graduation rates for one bay area's school district, what students and school officials say is

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kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. schools by the omicron variant san francisco unified school district has some encouraging

news the district's 2020-2021. graduation rate is on increase even with students staying at home during the pandemic abc 7 news senior education reporter liam melendez tells us what contributed to that increase the high school graduation numbers were released by the state department of education san francisco unified reported that 88% of the class of 2020-21 graduated and improvement from 84.4% in 2016-17. the graduation rate is measured within four years of starting ninth grade derek lindsay a mission high school graduate is now a freshman at langston university in oklahoma. it could be stressful. you make it but i feel like it it only is what you make it even in the midst of a pandemic and with the often dreaded online learning the graduation rate for that class. grew african american students. saw the greatest gains what's different the school district has been tracking students from

the eighth grade through graduation going all the way back to middle school to figure out which of our students are already set up to be successful. that's gpa. that's attendance. that's suspension. and that's call high school readiness indicator with that information. they know who needs academic support and intervention. thanks to federal state and local funding and grants. the school district has added several year-round programs. one of them is called black star rising offered in the summer derek started the program in eighth grade. they made the classes in school way easier because we already went through it in advance. and it wasn't as difficult. it was like learning the second time and if you go learn the second time you're gonna be easier after summer program blacks are rising as an example. we stay with that student. we check in we have a cohort of colleagues or peers that they're with right. we have tutoring that we offer them. we're looking at their grades. we're engaging their families, san francisco's graduation rates surpassed. the state's numbers by nearly

five percentage points in san francisco leanne melendez abc 7 news. all right, let's move on. about the midweek and getting closer to the weekend forecast alma which looks pretty nice. yes. let's get to meteorologist sandhya patel for the details sandia. yeah, as long as you can get used to the fog, dan and alma we're good to go. let me show you a live picture tonight. it is a very socked-in golden gate bridge you remember this from earlier this morning. we had some thick fog around and it's back so drive carefully temperatures right now santa rosa 60. it's in the mid 60s around fairfield petaluma. 56 livermore is 60 degrees. most areas actually warmed up today once the sun came out but some places like napa only in the 50s held down by the fog kgo roof camera, you can see the haze lack of winds here 53 in the city 55 in oakland in the upper 50s for san jose mountain view santa clara. you're at 61 degrees. so let's check out the fog forecast. not only near the coast, but we'll have the chili fog from the central valley spilling in tomorrow morning across parts of

the delta. so definitely out even at 10 am we're going to have fog around near the coast and bay and all so for the valleys as we head into the some of that fog. gurnee or the coast going into the evening? it's there tonight and visibility is dropping down to five miles and half moon bay something you will need to watch out for at commute time. high pressure is overhead diverting all the storms well to our north so this dry pattern is going to continue for the next seven possibly 10 days high pressure with the offshore winds circulation around the high bringing 30 mile an hour winds to mount diablo right now, and those winds are going to start to ramp up. so as we head towards friday notice. us over the higher terrain 25 to 30 miles an hour here locally and that continues into friday night. that'll push those temperatures up. look at this beautiful view from our san jose camera right now the setting setting sun areas of dense fog overnight. gusty winds in the hills the warmest days will be friday and saturday with above average temperatures through the weekend air quality is suffering

moderate for parts of the bay shoreline and the south bay right now air quality will get a little bit better with those offshore winds around the north bay and coast and central bay on friday. it'll be good for the rest of you you're looking at. moderate air quality even into the weekend so morning temperatures 30s 40s once again, watch out for the fog near the beaches and also for the valleys afternoon highs will look like this in the low to mid 60s so pretty nice looking day mix of sun and high clouds and if you're looking for rain, unfortunately, nothing showing up everything is going into the pacific northwest taking you all the way through the end of january possibility of some changes in early, february accuweather 7-day forecast. it's morning. fog a mild afternoon. gusty winds will lead to warmer weather you're looking at near 70 degrees inland and around the bay heading into the first half of your weekend the warmth eases on sunday, and then it's cooler and closer to average early to middle part of next week. amen, dan. all right.

thank you, sandia. all right getting ready to ring in the lunar new year. we're going to tell you about preparations underway to welcome in the

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on jeopardy with last night's victory. she's won 35 games in a row and more than 1.1 million. dollars in the process. she's topped james holzhousers consecutive win streak and is now looking to top matt emodio's streak of 38 wins and tonight ashley chao a lawyer from santa clara will try to beach schneider. it's all good stuff, isn't it? you can watch jeopardy at 7pm right here on abc 7 a new exhibit opened in san francisco today paying tribute to chinese railroad workers who connected the united states from east to west the exhibit is titled silent spikes. in the footprints of chinese railroad workers. it's at san francisco's main library on larkin street. the workers' story is told through historical pictures including many from beijing-based photographer lee ju the images highlight the tremendous undertaking to build the western portion of the transcontinental railroad. this is part of our chinatown chinese history. i think the important the world

to learn more about it, especially for our youngster for our next generation. it's estimated as many as 20,000 chinese workers helped build the railroad. the exhibit will be on display through may 22nd. all right, let's bring in the lunar new year with a roar. yes to mark the year of the tiger six larger than life tiger sculptures are now on display across san francisco all were designed by local. artists and inspired by cultural themes that highlight the traditions and celebratory messages of the chinese new year. the city will celebrate with the traditional parade on february 19th the first since 2020 a woman who leads the creation of all the parade floats says it's a labor of love. there's so much that i love about this. i love that i get to spend my day making beautiful things working with talented artists making things that bring joy and happiness to the world, especially in these difficult times. legend says the colors of green and blue will bring good luck and fortune for tigers in 2022.

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tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. president biden holding a marathon news conference. what he told the american people late today on covid in the u.s. and on inflation, what to expect. on voting rights, with the debate under way at the capitol tonight. also, the president's new promise for his second year. the breaking headline on what he's now willing to do on his domestic agenda. that major bill with universal pre-k, child care, climate. and his message on vladimir putin tonight already making global headlines. mary bruce at the white house, rachel scott on the hill, ian pannell in ukraine. tonight, the coronavirus. how to get those free at-home test kits. tens of millions of americans already ordering theirs. also, what dr. fauci said about children under 5 and vaccines. and there is news tonight from