>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. >> the the the the the the on what happened. >> it is unfortunate that he took the case into his own hands rather than waiting on the criminal justice system. ama: dozens of supporters, for a former ufc champion as he made his first court appearance in the south bay. tonight we are learning why he may have opened fire on a pickup truck in the middle of the commute. dan: you are watching abc seven news at 5:00. he is accused of attempted murder. many of his supporters say he was only trying to defend his family. reporter dustin dorsey was in court and explains the possible motivation behind the shooting. reporter: former ufc champion

cain velasquez made his first court appearance today. these photos captured the moment he stood before the judge, accused of attempted murder in a car chase and shooting monday afternoon in south san jose. a large crowd of supporters wearing free cain shirts in the courtroom. >> is a good person. everybody knows it. especially the guys were close to him. we just know he would never have done such a thing if the person didn't cross the line. reporter: arraignment was postponed until next monday at the request of his legal team. alaska's will continue to be held without bail due to the severity of the charges. the judge approved three restraining orders for the people in the cart he is accused of following. >> his actions on february 28 were reckless. reporter: prosecutor say he shot

into a truck in which 40-year-old harry goularte tate was riding with his mother and stepfather. during a high-speed chase from his home in san martin, he is accused of molesting velasquez's four-year-old relative. he was charged and released last week and was on his way to get an ankle monitor at the time of the shooting. >> our office requested that defendant be detained as well. we believe he was a risk to public safety. the court disagreed and a great he could be released without bail. reporter: the godfather at the stepfather -- the gunfire hit the stepfather. the mother operates daycare center. the daycare center is currently not operating. >> it is unfortunate that he took the case into his own hands

rather than waiting on the criminal justice system. reporter: velasquez was arrested monday without resistance and booked into santa clara county jail. the semi automatic handgun was legally permitted by velasquez. the charges include attempted murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and assault with a firearm. ama: oakland police are on the scene of what the chief is calling a tragic incident. sky 7 was overhead as firefighters extinguished the planes -- flames inside of an that appears show crash. in east oakland. the incident began two miles away when officers pulled the van over. it had been reported stolen. >> officers tried to resist engaging in a pursuit. we used stop strips to prevent the band from moving. as officers attempted to make contact with that band, took off. tires were punctured. ama: chief armstrong says tires

on the van caught fire and ignited the cheerios inside the vehicle, killing the person inside. she says is officers did not chase the van, it was being tracked by police helicopter. driver's identity has not been released. dan: let's turn to the war in ukraine. the mayor of the southern city of kherson say russian forces have taken control of his city. it appears the russians are escalating their indiscriminate attacks on civilians. >> where looking closely at what is happening in ukraine right now. including what is happening to civilians. we are taking account of it. documenting it. ama: the ukrainian president claims almost 9000 russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the invasion. abc news has learned russia at's 40 law -- 40 mile long, white heading toward kyiv has stalled.

several stinger aircraft missiles were delivered to ukrainian military. additional shipments are anticipated. at an emergency meeting of the u.n. general assembly, an overwhelming number of patients denounced russia for its deadly attacks. dan: there's a california-based nonprofit that is helping ukrainians with disabilities flee to neighboring countries. abc seven news reporter luz pena has more on that volunteers putting their lives at risk to help some of the most vulnerable refugees. reporter: it is a daring rescue that requires trips into the war zone. >> on the ninth floor -- there is this alarm that there can be a bombing. you don't have time to go downstairs. reporter: she is leading the critical efforts for the california-based organization

disability center. her husband enlisted to fight for their country. she is helping stranded ukrainians with disabilities. about 24 hours ago, on the zoom call, she called the ceo -- shared with the ceo of the nonprofit how they helped evacuate people with disabilities. >> people who have paraplegia, or are in wheelchairs. we had 11 people in wheelchairs and for kids. reporter: according to the ukrainian government, there are over 2.6 million people disabilities in their country. the international disability center is gearing up to begin their second mission. >> in eastern ukraine, where care facilities and orphanages where we have heard, that the staff are abandoning some of these individuals. reporter: he is a well-known disability advocates of the nonprofit provides aid to the

community around the globe. their focus now is ukraine. >> where is your team finding people with disabilities? are they knocking on doors? going to hospitals? how are they finding them? >> we are working through our best network of churches, nonprofit institutions, most of these people are sequestered away on the fifth or sixth floors of apartment buildings. reporter: these volunteers these ukrainians with disabilities or now the netherlands. >> we start with the local government. we feel relaxed that this group of people is safe. ama: a localal ballplayer has a direct connection with work in ukraine. he is from there and his father is there defending their land. he plays for the usf dons. his mom is a nurse, escaped to

lithuania with his younger sister. his father is a police officer and still in ukraine. today, he talked about how he is coping. >> i will be honest with you, it is hard to focus. on routine things, homework, basketball. basketball helps a lot. when you are on the port, you forget everything for two hours. ama: distraction. abc 7 talked with his father this morning and said the families doing well considering the circumstances. dan: a small group is gathering outside san francisco city hall to show support for ukraine. this is a live picture from sky 7. this rally just started at the top of the hour. according to a facebook post about the events of the group is making three demands. they want a no-fly zone for ukraine. they want to embargo all russian oil and gas imports and are demanding increased military and financial aid to ukraine. ama: the war in ukraine is a

difficult topic. if you want to learn more about how to talk to kids about it or lend support, we have resources to help. just go to abc7news.com/take action. dan: the white house released a sweeping new 96 page strategy for fighting covid today. it includes more rapid tests, antiviral pills, and vaccine doses, as long as congress approves my forte. ama: federal data shows the omicron subvariant is doubling every week in the u.s.. strain made up 8% of new cases last week. dan: google plans to launch a hybrid workweek when u.s. employees return next month. most employees will be at the office three days a week and two days wherever they work best. ama: liberty union school district is dropping its glow mask mandate more than a week and a half before the state. you can see the schools impacted on the map. reporter: at liberty high

school, assigned requiring face coverings before stepping foot on campus. students will no longer be punished if they don't wear one. liberty union high school district voted this week to local -- no longer in force mask wearing inside. comes two weeks before the statewide mandate expires. >> we are not going to remove these kids from the classroom a more. reporter: the board president says before this week, students who refuse to wear masks would be removed from the class and sent home. >> we were removing kids from the classroom. having a parents can pick them up. shortly after that, some parents refuse to pick them up. reporter: the school board president says he does not see the point in waiting two weeks while enforcing something that involves removing kids from class. the teachers union says this puts them in a legal bind. >> the resolution the board has passed is basically compelled us to break the law and not enforce

the students to wear their masks indoors. reporter: she is the president of the liberty education association and teaches at liberty high school. she says teachers are now in a difficult spot. >> what the union is opposing is this action on the board to compel the teachers to do something illegal. reporter: he says he understands the concern from teachers, but says the goal is to do what is best for the students. >> probably puts them in an uncomfortable position, i would not disagree. reporter: she doesn't know why the board couldn't have waited two weeks. >> wait until the mandate was lifted so we could lawfully have the option of masks or no masks in the school. dan: still had, could tiktok be violating consumer protection laws and playing children at risk? the nationwide investigation just launched into that social media platform. ama: dozens of reports from

around the world of people being burned and injured. now up popular fitness tracking watch

to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want. and need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. women are living longer than ever before with kisqali when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. 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. dan: tiktok is under investigation in several states for harm it may be causing children. today, california attorney general announced plans to look at how the social media platform for months itself to kids and young adults and whether the company is violating state consumer protection laws. investigators will look at the techniques used by tiktok to boost young user engagement. ama: it is been eight years since the 7 on your side investigation led to the recall of it popular fit but -- it fitness tracker. dan: users should gruesome burns on their arms said fitbit announced it is recalling one million of its iconic smart

watches, because of dozens of reports of burns. michael finney is here with the latest on the problem. reporter: a lot has changed since i first fitbit recall in 2014. back then, fitbit rashes were never fully explained. now, the company is on by google and google says the battery on its fitbit ionic can overheat and cause burns. fitbit is recalling 1.7 millions of the smart watches. they burned at least 78 users in the u.s., including two with third-degree burns. the company also had problems in 2014, when the fitbit force tracker caused these mysterious, severe rashes. >> i want to know what has happened to all of us.

>> i wasn't sure why i was getting a rash. >> this big, red, itchy spot on my wrist. reporter: at the time fitbit said it was likely an allergic reaction, those with severe rashes were not convinced. >> there's nothing that explains what the chemical was that we were exposed to. reporter: our reports led to the recall of the fitbit force in 2014. today's recall affects only the fitbit ionic, which they quit making two years ago. fitbit said out of the abundance of caution, we are conducting a voluntary recall. the burn incidents are rare. reporter: fitbit is offering a full refund for anyone who still has the ionic, as well as a 40% discount on another fitbit. i posted all the information you need on our website. dan: thank you. ama: still ahead, with the state drought worsening and the snowcapped coming less reliable, one california community could

be closer to producing its own water supply. the latest on nowadays, mediocre wifi just won't cut it. but xfinity has wifi faster than a gig to power a house full of connected devices. it can handle all this all at the same time. oh! can your internet do that? i've been meaning to catch up on this. uh, that was my chair. get $200 back when you get gig speed internet or get started with xfinity internet for $19.99 a month for tweleve months. switch today.

ama: this spring could mark a turning point in the way california battles our ongoing trout. -- drought. dan: abc seven news meteorologist has an update on plans to expand the footprint of a desalination effort to an area near los angeles. reporter: as the pressure on california's water supply begins to jump the summer, at least one community could begin the process of reducing -- producing their own. the california coastal commission is set to about this spring on what would be the estate's second major coastal desalination plant in huntington beach. >> i think folks are starting to recognize that there are uncertain sources of supply. the our water supply and --

snowpack are becoming less reliable. it is time to start support -- exploring alternative plans. reporter: they fully opened the largest desalination plant in the san francisco area. the cross but plant has burning capacity. >> it represents 10% of the san diego water supply. it provides the reliability they need. reporter: the licensing process for huntington beach has stretched for more than a decade. concerns have ranged from potential impact on sensitive marine life to the cost of the facility. an estimated $1.4 billion. heather cooley is director of research at the pacific institute in oakland. >> our research finds that seawater desalination remains among the most expensive water supply option. we still have cheaper options. water conservation and efficiency.

reporter: the company signed a nonbinding agreement to address another criticism, the carbon footprint. it is the result of the energy required for the desalination process. in the agreement, poseidon pledges to work toward using 100% renewable energy. >> i think renewables would be a better strategy than using electricity from the grade, which includes some fossil fuels . i think a better strategy is to avoid that energy use in the first place. reporter: supporters argue the cost and technical challenges are just part of the price california will have to pay them forward in the face of climate change and worsening drought cycles. >> there's no cheap water supplies sitting out there that water managers haven't scooped up a long time ago. the next supplies expensive. ama: the final vote is scheduled

in a matter of weeks but has been pushed back to mate to give the company time to work with the coastal commission on its mitigation plan. dan: time to turn our attention to the weather. ama: a lot of fog this morning. sandhya: it was hard to find your way through the fog. i hope you get a chance to find your umbrellas. we have some showers coming our way. i want to show you alive you. you're going to pan around, courtesy of our transmission director. you can see how much fog there is. it is not quite as dense as it was earlier. definitely out there. now we are watching for some showers. what weather in the pacific northwest. we have one system just west of san francisco and another just west of vancouver. the two will be impacting our weather beginning tomorrow. continuing through saturday. right now, a combination of fog and high clouds. you can't even see the top of that golden gate bridge. 57 in san francisco, 60 in oakland. 67 san jose.

because of the fog, some areas pulled off today. temperatures low 60's to low 70's. if you get done toward gail right, it was the upper 70's. from our sin has a camera, filtered sunshine. mid 60's for fairfield and napa. 60 seven and livermore. you can see the clouds and fog stacked up. areas of dense fog and spotty showers in the morning. unsettled friday and saturday, west street and pulled her and there is the possibility of high elevation snow. this level 1 system tomorrow through saturday. you're expecting a combination of things. tomorrow is our thunder and shower chance with hail. so chance going into saturday, down to 2500 feet. matt hamilton, little drizzle tomorrow morning, 8:00, light to moderate rain in the northern end of our viewing area. as we head toward noons, it starts to move toward san francisco. we have to wait until later in

the day. the system is going to play tag with the coast, unfortunate for us, not all of us will get rain. we will still see some showers going into friday, spotty in nature. as we had to saturday, this is our best opportunity for snout shows up. you will notice that over matt hamilton, also so chance to the north. that is taking you through saturday morning as we look at the rainfall projections. anywhere from 0.01 inches in -- isolated areas could become more. winds will pick up. it is going to be gusty, 40 to 50 mile-per-hour winds. saturday still on the breezy side in the mountains. this is going to turn to snow. winter weather advisory friday to saturday above try 500 feet. the snow level coming down to 1500 feet. up to 13 inches for the peaks. morning temperatures, 40's and 50's. grab the umbrellas, you might need them. fuller weather in the

accuweather seven-day forecast. one for the next three days, combination of winter weather and drying out and warming up as we head toward the early part of next week. dan: that is nice to see. ama: except i read sporty wintry mix. dan: it is spotty. ama: g

dan: the giants will make beer history when we see major league baseball again. ama: the team recently announced it will be selling craft beers made by mad reverberate, owned by the yurok tribe in humboldt county. it is the first of its kind between a tribal brewery in mlb franchise. the deal signifies the team's commitment to continuing to share its with diverse partners and elevate awareness for and celebrate the accomplishments of the native american community. i love that. dan: that is fantastic, what a clever idea. another reason hope they spell returns at some point in the near future. world news tonight is next. we appreciate your time. ama: for all of us here, thank

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tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. reports coming in now, the first large city in ukraine to fall to the russians. we'll go live. meantime, newly obtained video posted online showing a massive explosion in eastern ukraine. also online, images showing another powerful blast outside kharkiv. there is fierce fighting under way in ukraine's second-largest city. tonight, five major cities now surrounded by russian forces. for the first time since launching its invasion, russia now revealing losses. nearly 500 russian troops killed, they say. nearly 1,600 wounded. but ukraine tonight saying that number is far higher. and tonight, news, that massive russian convoy is now about 17 miles outside kyiv. images showing hundreds of ukrainians blocking russian forces as they try to seize the