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>> federal investigators in the south bay looking into the massive fire at home depot. witnesses sharing what they recall about the evacuation. >> several allegations from women admen that their drinks were tampered with at a bar. details in my story. >> a man behind bars accused of the new york city subway attack. details on what is next and a potential motive. >> tracking three spring storms. timeline coming up. abc seven news at starts now. >> filled in a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >> federal agents joined the investigation into the fire that decimated the south bay home depot. local firefighters say it is protocol for an incident this large. along with the cause, much is

not known about how it all unfolded. thank you for joining us, dan ashley. amanda del castillo spoke with witnesses and shares their first-hand accounts about escaping the flames. >> the atf on the ground in san jose helping the fire department find the cause of saturday's massive blaze that destroyed this home depot on blossom hill road. we spoke with several inside the building when the fire ignited. >> when you see threatening fire, big chunks of burning stuff, it feels like it is going to get you. >> jeff and his wife were in line for paint when an employee alerted them inside the store directing them to evacuate. he said shortly after, a similar announcement went over the pa system. >> there was a panic, no one seemed panic. it might be because there were no fire alarms.

we do not know how serious it was. >> from several witnesses, we heard identical reports there was no sign of active sprinklers and no immediate fire alarm. >> went off three times. done. that is it. by that time, everyone was out. >> we asked about the claims and were told information about the inspections, smoke alarms, and sprinkler systems are under investigation. rick garcia says he was feet from where he believes the fire started. an area with roofing and building material. he is adamant there was no working fire suppression system and said for days, he tried to get information to investigators on scene. he felt compelled to share what he witnessed in his frustrated systems meant to keep customers safe in his eyes failed. >> i had to tell the gentleman

in front of me, spanish speakers, i let them know there is a fire, we need to go. they did not understand what was being said over the pa system. fires going off, it doesn't matter what language. >> everyone got out. i feel i can be more introspective about it. but i do wonder the fire alarm until the fire was already coming off of the ceiling. >> video taken from the scene show the final calls to get the building cleared. in the end, no injuries reported from the raging fire. >> capturing that and showing how quickly the storm went from a normal home depot to an inferno. it was astonishing. >> the atf and san jose fire looking to speak with customers in the home depot when the fire ignited. in san jose, amanda del castillo. >> rain moving into the bay area. let's go to abc7 meteorologist

sandhya patel on when you can expect showers where you live. >> most showers tomorrow. i want to show you where on live doppler 7 the moisture is coming in. the north bay street-level radar. and annapolis road, c ranch, old state road. some wet weather. that is where we have seen showers. level one storm on the storm impact scale. timing it out for you, give yourself extra time. the commute will be wet. especially for the northern end of the viewing area and central bay. i want to turn your attention to the typhoon south of tokyo. watch the moisture plume. leftovers of the typhoon will get entrained. one system after another moving towards us. the pacific northwest and a northern california expecting the highest rain totals. encouraging to see in the middle of spring. i will let you know about two

more storms, coming up. >> in the north bay, an investigation at a healdsburg's bar. several reports of possible drink tampering at duke's spirited cocktails. j.r. stone was there and spoke with bar management. >> police confirmed they are looking into allegations from several bar patrons at duke's spirited cocktails. they say their drinks were tampered with over the past year. >> in this situation, what we saw on social media is people jumping to discredit those who claimed to be victims. it is a really unfortunate situation. >> the mayor says a woman posted online last week saying she believes she was roofies at duke's. when kelly spoke of that, the women and men came forward, citing instances at the same location. >> i had several folks contact

me saying i was victimized, i hadn't reported, what should i do? >> those at duke are concerned and working to help police in any way they can. >> preemptively, we went to the police department wants the allegations went on social media and turned over our video footage of the night in question. >> meg jabbar hasn't seen any concrete evidence showing tampering. she's aware of police looking into civil allegations and is very much concerned. going so far as to increase staff training so they might be able to keep patrons safe. she assured us her staff has no part in any wrongdoing. >> it is ludicrous our bar staff would be participating in this. we want to take the focus off of us, who we know are innocent, and if something is happening, there is a culprit and we need to get to the base of this. >> no arrests made. officers looking through video

evidence, interviewing witnesses, and performing drug tests. police say there's no evidence of any attempted sex assault as a result of the possible drink tampering. j.r. stone, abc7 news. >> the man suspected of shooting 10 people on a new york city subway yesterday has been arrested following a citywide manhunt. tim johns has been tracking this story's latest developments. he's in the newsroom with more. >> earlier today, police arrested a 62-year-old frank james in the neighborhood. he had his initial court appearance tomorrow. >> new york city breathing a sigh of relief. a suspect under arrest after an attack left 29 subway riders injured, 10 with gunshot wounds on tuesday. on wednesday afternoon, police arrested frank james. believing he's responsible for

setting up smoke grenades and firing a handgun 33 times on a crowded brooklyn subway car. in a bizarre twist, law enforcement believing he may have tipped police often sell, calling into a crime stoppers tip line to say he had seen his picture on the news and telling them he at a nearby mcdonald's. >> we were able to shrink the world quickly. nowhere left for him to run. >> people walking through the busy neighborhood snapping photos. some of the learning police after recognizing his face. >> i see the police walking from over there. this is the guy. >> in the bay area, rick smith telling abc7 news he doesn't think a copycat is likely. that authorities will still be on the lookout. >> police will have to respond by a couple of things putting more cops on the subway. maybe with the help of other law enforcement agencies. >> despite how many times they have heard it before, reminding everyone to remember if they see

something, say something. >> you have to report things that are suspicious, out of place. law enforcement looks for that. don't be hesitant to do it. >> police have not uncovered a motive behind the actions, but they are going through his online activities trying to piece together just that. reporting live, tim johns. >> a surprising announcement from the principle of lowell high school. he emails parents to say he will step down as principal at the end of the school year. they will outline a plan to find his replacement in the coming weeks. in the letter to the school community, dominguez was critical of the school district, saying his decision to leave was solely based on my desire to apply my passion for education. in a district that values its students and staff from well organized systems, physical response ability, and sound instructional practices towards equity.

his resignation comes as the school board votes to replace merit-based admission system with one that is lottery based. >> we can focus on one or two things with the staff and we had. something has got to give. >> one on one with san francisco's police chief plans to deal with a massive officer shortage. new images after a suspected drunk driver plows through a cemetery. a stunning turn in a case that captivated california. a woman admitting she faced her own kidnapping. the reaction from investigators. all of that ahead. a look at what is coming up tonight after abc7 news at 11:00. >> this show can turn your life around. >> everything in the world looks fantastic. i think you and i should go to coachella this week. ♪

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>> as crime continues to rise, staffing within the san francisco police department continues to shrink. the impact hitting every neighborhood across the city. what is the chief and san francisco police department doing to deal with the staffing shortage? how long will it take to solve the problem? stephanie sierra spoke one-on-one with chief bill scott. >> staffing shortages within the police department have hit a new low. the department struggling with declining retention rates as nearly 600 officers short. >> officers are leaving for better pay. >> they released this report indicating staffing levels steadily declining over the past three years. to put it in perspective, on average, 100 officers either

retiring, resigning, or terminated from the department each year. it has gotten so bad, the department is implement in a new retention unit designed to keep officers on the force read things like offering better training, equipment, and most important, salaries. >> there is a time when san francisco had the most competitive salary. those times aren't anymore. we have cities with better salaries, bonuses, incentives. they are getting traction. >> as the department struggles to stay competitive, the impact hits all of us. crimes like larceny, theft up 29%. car break-ins up 32%. 911 response times are increasing. tracy mcgrady, the president in the police officers association told us last week the problems would be facing the city for the next decade. >> that is giving you the awesome answer. >> a grim outlook the chief

agrees with. do you think the reality of crime in san francisco is here to stay? >> i agree. we know that officers matter. we can focus on one or two things with the staffing we had. you can focus on everything. >> where officers patrolled major course is gone, at least for now. a declining number of graduates exacerbating the problem. compounded with a fact of 25% of recruits don't make it. >> some drop on their own, some backgrounds. they don't meet certain qualifications. >> which is why two of the top officers say it is a long road ahead until we see real change. >> something has got to give. that is where we are right now. >> stephanie sierra, abc7 news. >> stunning admission from the shasta county mother who claimed she was kidnapped in 2016. she's agreed to plead guilty to lying to federal agents about the case, admitting the whole

thing was a charade. in a statement, she said she was deeply ashamed and apologized for the pain she caused. for more than five years, she insisted she was kidnapped at gunpoint, beaten, and tortured by hispanic women. the development stunned the lead investigator. >> she went as far as a person would -- was willing to emulate -- was willing to mutilate herself, and went at the time she was going to be put on trial and all of the information to be let out. >> she will appear before a judge on monday to formally enter a plea. she could be sentenced to 25 years in prison. police say more than a dozen headstones damaged when a drunk driver flipped a car in a cemetery this morning. it happened at hollister and san benito county. he had a blood alcohol level of .18. police arrested the suspect, saying the driver turned hillcrest cemetery into a

racetrack. they urge people who have loved ones buried there to make sure their grief markers do not need repairs. turning your attention to tonight's covid headlights. the biden administration extended a federal transportation mask mandate another 15 days. mask will be required on planes, buses, trains, and other modes of transport through may 3. howard university and washington, d.c. switching to virtual learning tomorrow. because of a sharp rise in covid cases. the virtual learning period will last for a week. johns hopkins university data shows 500 million coronavirus cases all around the world. experts say the number is likely significantly undercounted. abc7 is dedicated to building a better bay area for everyone. today, san mateo county broke ground on a new effort to end homelessness and put people into transitional housing. it is san mateo county's first navigation center.

the project will be multistory, a complex on 2.5 acres in redwood city. the short-term complex will provide social services to help people get back on their feet. >> when people see it is a warm, non-stigmatizing environment, welcoming, people will move in and out of their encampments. >> 57 million dollar project largely funded by california's home key program. rain coming to the bay area once again. sandhya patel is tracking it. really like to see it late in the season. >> any storms we can get around this time is good. checking out live doppler 7. our first in a series is coming through. the first one bringing light showers to thunderosa. also street-level radar here. north state street, south state street. golden gate bridge is still dry. look how much has fallen in the north bay. 200 in santa rosa.

point 900 in sevastopol. use caution tomorrow morning. slippery roadways. pockets of low visibility. you might want to leave earlier to get where you need to go. if you are working, keep it in mind. in the sierra, we see snow on live doppler 7. winter until 11:00 p.m. tomorrow. above 5500 feet. expect eight to 14 inches of snow. expect delays and chain controls. it is coming down. from zephyr cove. more winter with the snow falling. traveling to tahoe, windy with snow. tomorrow not a good day to go. chance of snow showers. heaviest saturday morning. good to go after that. especially sunday. it will be bright and dry. 40's and 50's, five to 10 degrees above 24 hours ago. it is stopped in from the camera. wet in the morning. two more rounds of rain into

next week. sunnier and mild weather for easter. level one on the storm impact scale. spotty showers on the north bay. rain in the morning. slippery roads the biggest concern. hour-by-hour, 7:00 tomorrow morning, the focus on the north bay. drizzle elsewhere. by noon, scattered showers across the region. the evening commute featuring wet roadways. winding down. rainfall totals ranging from one out to the inland east bay, nearly one third of an inch around half moon bay. and pick up more around napa. in terms of temperatures, nowhere near how chilly it was. 40's and 50's thanks to the cloud cover. afternoon highs on the cooler than normal side. mid-50's to the low 60's. keep the umbrellas handy into friday night. rain develops in the north bay. saturday across the entire bay area. sierra gets more snow.

that snow will add up. the third system into early next week. close to three feet. donner, almost two feet. the accuweather 7 day forecast. spring showers, storm. chance friday on the north bay. saturday wet in the morning. easter is dry. milder. the last system coming in monday night

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>> a candy maker in utah is super sizing easter. the bluebird candy factory is serving up eight pound chocolate bunnies. the candy will set you back about $130. they are available in milk, dark, and white chocolate. if they don't sell, they will be melted down into smaller group -- candice. that is an easter bunny right there. encouraging news about steph curry. larry beil has that as we continue. >> we have been waiting and wondering if steph curry will be healthy enough to take the court for game one of the playoffs. video from practice suggests video from practice suggests thin

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>> that is our report. for all of us, i'm dan ashley. >> lou: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- bill maher. michelle yeoh. and alec benjamin, with cleto and the cletones. and now, jimmy kimmel! >> jimmy: thank you. hello, everybody. very nice. look at this. i'm jimmy. i'm the host of the show. thank you for watching. how many are traveling, spending your spring break here. thank you for joining us here in sunny los angeles, california.