news starts right now. >> investigators say they have new evidence that links the suspect in a shooting death of unitedhealthcare ceo to the crime. good afternoon, i'm kristen z. the suspect, luigi mangione, is fighting extradition to new york, where he faces several charges, including murder. he's in

custody in pennsylvania after a judge denied bail earlier today. meanwhile, investigators are detailing new evidence they say links him to the killing of unitedhealthcare ceo ryan thompson. abc news reporter reena roy is following the developments. >> new forensic evidence potentially linking 26 year old luigi mangione to the new york city crime scene, where unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson was gunned down one week ago. police saying fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and granola bar found at the scene matched the fingerprints taken from mangione in altoona, pennsylvania, where he was arrested monday. the gun police say they found on mangione, also linking him to the scene. >> we were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in midtown at the scene of the homicide. >> a judge denying bail. mangione fighting extradition to new york, where he faces second degree murder charges. mangione's defense attorney says he plans to plead not guilty to those charges.

>> we've seen no evidence. that's one of the many reasons why we're challenging the extradition at this point, so we can see some evidence and get a little more detailed information about the charges against luigi. >> law enforcement officials telling abc news when mangione was arrested, he had a spiral notebook with writings about planning to kill thompson, writing in part, what do you do? you whack the ceo of the annual parasitic bean counter convention, seemingly referring to the investor's conference. thompson was walking into when he was shot. sources say detectives are still examining mangione's writings, but are considering the contents of the notebook to represent a possible confession. pennsylvania investigators have also started interviewing members of mangione's family, who he seemed to have been estranged from his mother filing a missing persons report last month, according to law enforcement sources. since the killing, corporate executives have faced increased threats of doxing, targeted harassment and violence, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by abc news.

the document includes a photo of this banner draped on a highway overpass that includes the words deny, defend, depose. the same words police said were found on shell casings at the scene of thompson's murder. new york's governor says she'll sign the governor's warrant from the manhattan district attorney in an effort to force extradition from pennsylvania to new york. reena roy, abc news, new york. >> we'll continue to follow the case in luigi mangione's bay area ties. you can find the latest on abc seven news.com and our abc seven bay area app. and coming up in about ten minutes, we'll talk with the doctor about how this case has exposed the frustration that americans have with the health insurance industry. a destructive wildfire in malibu has grown to more than 4000 acres. firefighters say at least seven structures have been destroyed. the fire started monday near pepperdine university, prompting evacuations amid dangerous fire conditions due to santa ana winds and low humidity. the flames are only about 7% contained. abc news reporter

melissa don has the latest. >> santa ana winds helping to fuel the massive wildfire in malibu, california, known as the franklin fire. those winds at times exceeding 90 miles an hour. >> the winds coming straight down malibu canyon like a blowtorch. >> more than 3900 acres have already been scorched. >> this is a 39% increase in acreage overnight. 1532 fire personnel are assigned to the incident, and crews are working tirelessly around the clock to establish containment lines and defend structures. >> firefighters battling the fire on the ground and from above. more than 12,000 people under evacuation orders, including actor dick van dike and music icon cher. another 7300 under evacuation warnings. the blaze only about 7% contained. the flames jumping across roads and canyons.

multiple roads in the area are closed. >> this is not to inconvenience you. it is for your safety, and we need to make sure that the ingress and egress of all the fire equipment that is going in and out of these areas, affected areas can get through there. >> students at pepperdine university told to shelter in place the fast moving flames visible from the school's library. >> the smoke has like tripled in size, and it looks you can start seeing like the actual flames. >> firefighters were able to eventually lift that order while the strongest wind gusts have started to calm down, conditions still remain very dry. there is, however, a storm system off in the pacific that could help bring some rain and also increase the humidity. melissa don, abc news, malibu, california. >> in the east bay, oakland unified school board is set to make a final decision on a plan to merge nearly a dozen schools. district leaders say the change is needed to address a growing budget crisis, but many are upset. the district is facing a

projected $95 million budget deficit in the next school year, and it needs to cut costs. part of the problem is declining enrollment. usc also blames increased salaries and the added cost of repairing old infrastructure. the plan, up for a vote today, would merge ten schools that are already sharing campuses. it would save up to $3 million annually. it's a hazy day with moderate to unhealthy air quality in the bay area, but rain is on the way to clear it all up. here is abc seven news meteorologist drew tuma with the forecast. >> a lot of high clouds across california still have that red flag warning in effect across the franklin fire, where winds are light but relative humidity is still very, very low. that will recover over the next 24 hours. starting to see hints of rain on radar. here's our storm system. this will move through here pretty fast, late tonight into first thing tomorrow morning. so for the rest of today, during the daylight hours, we're dry. it's just hazy sunshine. temperatures slowly getting to the 60s and a lot of

spots. then tonight you can see future weather painting that wet picture. not nearly as chilly tonight as we were last night. temperatures pretty much in the upper 40s to the lower 50s. the abc seven storm impact scale. it is a level one here tonight into tomorrow for showers. a few downpours and it is breezy from time to time. here's future weather later on tonight. here's 9 p.m. the rain beginning to arrive in the north bay. then early thursday morning. here's 1 a.m. don't be surprised if you wake up to a downpour knocking on your window at that hour, but it's fast by 5 a.m. as you get those early commuters underway. the heaviest rain is out of here. just some isolated showers tomorrow morning and then likely another band of light rain moving in throughout the afternoon and throughout the evening. so that does mean if you are heading to levi's stadium for the niners game tomorrow, we do have scattered showers around. kickoff at 515 tomorrow evening, so definitely bring the ponchos will lighten up the showers. we'll keep the clouds by the fourth quarter. temperatures mainly in the 50s throughout the game. then a

stronger storm is set to arrive here on saturday. future weather showing you heavier rain, stronger winds. and on the heels of this storm, another one on monday. so a pretty progressive pattern is coming our way. look at some of these wind speeds on saturday. we are almost certainly going to get a wind advisory here. we're talking winds 40 to 50mph as the storm system moves through. so a good idea. if you have anything outdoors, make sure it's inside or it is secure. here's a look at the rainfall totals over the next seven days. 1 to 2in of rain coming our way for the bay shoreline in the north bay, northern portions of sonoma county, lake and mendocino county could see 3 to 5in of rain. so here's the accuweather seven day forecast showing you rain returns tonight with scattered showers tomorrow. there's that stronger storm on saturday with gusty winds, heavy rain at times and more rain on the way early next week. >> kristen, we now know when the fillmore safeway in san francisco will close. safeway released a statement saying the store on webster street will

close around february 7th. it was originally going to close earlier this year, but public pressure kept the doors open for 11 more months. all employees will be reassigned to other safeway locations in the san francisco area. pharmacy customers can have their accounts moved to another safeway of their choice. hundreds of hotel workers are planning another rally and march through downtown san francisco. it's set to start in about one hour. they've been on strike for nearly three months over health care benefits at marriott, hilton and hyatt hotels. workers are asking to keep their current union health care plan, but they say the hotels are threatening to eliminate it. the strike includes about 2500 housekeepers, servers, cooks, bellhops and more. the bay area toll authority is meeting today to discuss a toll hike. tolls on all state owned bridges in the bay area. that's all. but the golden gate bridge would start at 850 and increase by $0.50 each year for five years through 2030, and it would also include

a change to the carpool lane policy, establishing a uniform three person requirement at all seven bridges. that will be for half price tolls during weekday commute periods. if approved, the changes would start in january 2026. last week's fatal shooting of unitedhealthcare ceo has created an opportunity for people to vent about their struggles with insurance companies. the suspect is being defended and even celebrated by some americans who share his outrage. up next, we get and talk with an er doctor's insight into the

the unitedhealthcare ceo has shined a spotlight on americans

frustration with the health insurance industry and corporate ceos in general. look at these wanted posters of other ceos that have been put up in new york city. this kind of threat has the new york city police department warning ceos should all act like they have targets on their backs, someone who understands not the violence, but the frustration over insurance is an e.r. doctor and associate professor at columbia university who wrote an op ed in today's new york times. it's titled what doctors like me know about americans health care anger. joining us live right now, doctor helen owyang. doctor owyang, thanks for your time today. >> thanks for having me on. >> curious, why did you want to write your op ed? >> well, when the shooting first happened and i saw the reaction across the internet, the horrifying glee that people had about this man being killed, i knew had unmuted something very deep inside the american psyche.

and i turned to myself and my own experiences working in the emergency room and with patients. and i recognize some of the anger that these people had. >> can you tell us about some of the situations and patients you've encountered, the situations that perhaps points to this anger that's been building up? >> yeah. so i work in the emergency room. people come in and they're often very sick. it can often be a life threatening situation. and i just remember this one man who he is not the only patient that i've had in this situation, but he was very sick and he should have been resting. and as i admitted him to the hospital, he needed to stay overnight. and when i told him he had to stay in the hospital, his question for me was not am i going to be okay or do i need surgery? but instead he asked me, is my insurance going to pay for all of my stay? and that was just really shocking for me because i didn't know how to answer him. >> because you're there to treat him. you're not there to answer.

you know the questions. i guess part of the problem is our insurance system is quite complex, right? so i guess, what do you do in that kind of situation? >> exactly. our insurance system is so complex. so when he asked me that question, he thought i would know the answer. which, you know, i'm part of the healthcare system. everyone would think that i would know, but i don't. so i needed him to say he's really sick. so i sort of hedged. and i said, i'm sure your insurance will pay. you're very sick. don't think about your insurance right now. and trying to convince him to stay, even though frankly, i had no idea what his health plan was. >> right. and i guess from the doctor's standpoint. right. how does this change the way you relate to your patients, or do you think it builds any distrust or issues with the way patients view you? >> yeah, it's extremely challenging because, you know, patients think i should know and i don't know. and then when i give an answer that's not very convincing and i'm hedging a little bit, you know, i think it

undermines the trust that i'm supposed to have with my patients. >> so just, you know, for those who are not sure what goes on in other countries, are we unique or is this kind of just the way it is? >> i think in a lot of other countries, they have a national health system, a single payer system, and it's a lot more straightforward here. we have so many different insurance companies with so many different health plans, and they all have different policies. it's impossible to keep track. and, you know, even if they say they're going to cover something, even if it says it in black and white, they can end up denying it. and that could just send you around and around in circles trying to get coverage. >> i've encountered that myself. but you say that as a pet owner, you've encountered a different system that seems much simpler and more transparent. >> yeah, the summer my dog, norman, he needed surgery. it wasn't life threatening, but it would have improved. his quality of life was an orthopedic surgery. first of all, the

surgery was, you know, not done very often. so they wanted an mri, which for people that requires prior authorization. but he got that and then he got the surgery. and then i submitted the doctor's note and my claim. and then a few days later, 80%, which is what the plan i signed him up for was deposited directly into my bank account. i thought they would question me. i thought they would at least call me, ask for more notes. but they didn't. it was like i met the deductible and that was the end of it. >> that's a lot of people would say that's probably the way it should be. so, doctor yang, what do you think the solution is without us becoming a single payer system, which i know there are advocates for it, but the political forces around it seem impossible right now. and our structure. so what could we do within the structure that we do have to make it more transparent? >> yeah. i mean, i think we need to take some of these health plans and these policies out of the hands of these companies where profits are the priority. you know, everything needs to be

a lot clearer. everything can't be up to whether you have the exact billing code correct or the exact diagnosis correct. and if you're off by a word that nothing is going to be covered and everything left up to the patient, who, by the way, is very sick to have to, you know, get on the phone and haggle. >> right now, sometimes i hear the insurance industry side saying, hey, there is an actual cost because who's going to pay for it? and doctors can't just prescribe the most expensive treatment for everybody if that level isn't necessarily needed to save the patient or treat the patient. what do you think about their perspective on that? >> i understand that, but, you know, i think at the end of the day, almost all doctors, i hope all doctors just want what's best for the patient. so, you know, there are studies out there. and if they're if we're recommending a certain treatment or certain drug and there's a note that can back it up and studies that back it up, that should be enough. it shouldn't

be this back and forth over and over, especially when a lot of these things are supposed to be covered. >> well, this incident certainly has triggered these conversations. my apologies, no pun intended, but and we appreciate you stopping by to talk to us about your op ed doctor. helen ouyang, columbia university associate professor in e.r. doctor, thank you. >> thanks so much for having me. >> we're going to shift gears coming up to luxury real estate brokers and their brothers face charges in a sex trafficking scheme accused of baiting, drugging and sexually assaulting women. prosecutors in the case claim the crime spanned decades back to the

luxury real estate agents in new york city are accused of sexually assaulting and raping dozens of women. this morning, real estate agents tal and oren alexander and their brother alon were arrested in miami on

federal charges out of manhattan. prosecutors say the three men's long running sex trafficking scheme began in 2010 and relied on deception, fraud and coercion. investigators say the brothers flaunted their wealth to induce women to attend parties, events and trips, where they were then attacked on numerous occasions. >> one or more of the defendants drugged and raped or sexually assaulted women they encountered by chance at bars and nightclubs, social events, and dating apps. these assaults allegedly had many of the same hallmarks as the rapes that occurred at group events. isolated locations, drugged victims force, and physical restraint. >> the indictment says the alexander brothers also obtained drugs, including ghb and cocaine, and would sometimes spike women's drinks before assaulting them. prosecutors accused the alexanders of raping women since they were in high school. new details macy's has concluded its investigation into an employee accused of

intentionally hiding more than $150 million in expenses. the retailer said a single unnamed accounting employee entered erroneous accounting accrual figures to hide delivery expenses over nearly three years. macy's discovered the bad data last month. the revelation forced macy's to delay its quarterly earnings report by a couple of weeks. macy's says it's tightened its controls to avoid a repeat of the issue. a popular spot to enjoy nature in the east bay is back open today. a landslide closed down part of the lafayette-moraga regional trail several years ago. now it's back open for people to enjoy. abc7 news reporter gloria rodriguez attended a reopening celebration this morning. >> this trail was dedicated in 1976 and it means so much to the community. one person at today's event says this trail connects people with nature. this morning, an event to celebrate the reopening of the lafayette-moraga regional trail in moraga. local leaders are speaking about the project,

which was a partnership between east bay regional park district, east bay municipal utility district and the town of moraga. the trail section has been closed since 2016 because of a landslide. the project included stabilizing the slope and reconstructing the trail. one woman who lives near the trail tells me it would have been nice for it to open sooner, but she's just glad it's finally open. >> moraga lafayette trail. having grown up here, it's always been the space that we connect, you know? we just keep on going through. the moraga lafayette bike trail is beautiful and amazing, and that one just keeps on going to canyon. so it's a nice place to not have to stop at a gate to turn around. and it's really nice to see that it just they did the work, you know, it didn't just stop and say, okay, no more. so it's been awesome. >> this trail was basically wiped out and was threatening homes here. and so it had to be totally rebuilt from the creek up. and so it was a huge, huge endeavor. and thanks to the engineers and the contractors that built this.

>> the project cost at least $3 million. and we've already seen people utilizing the trail today in moraga. gloria rodriguez, abc seven news. >> fbi director chris wray says he will resign given donald trump's stated desire to fire him. how the relationship

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rolling out a new program to help domestic violence survivors and their children. the county will give $1,000 to 20 eligible people. the income is guaranteed for one year. program leaders say that the income and financial freedom could help many get out of bad situations. the program will start in january and is planned to go

through june 30th, 2026. fbi director christopher wray says he will resign before president trump takes the oath of office next month. wray made the announcement at an fbi town hall. this is the second fbi director trump has forced out. trump actually handpicked wray to replace james comey after he was fired. here's abc news reporter perry russom with more from washington. >> today, fbi director christopher wray says he will resign in january at the end of president biden's term. wray making the announcement at an fbi town hall, saying he loves the mission and the people, but did not want to drag the bureau deeper into the fray. wray has led the agency since 2017. >> if i am given the honor of leading this agency, i will never allow the fbi's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice. period. >> wray has three more years to serve in his ten year term, but will resign before president

elect trump takes the oath of office. trump once called wray a model of integrity, but the words of praise soured in 2021. wray labeling the january 6th attack at the capitol as domestic terrorism. that attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple. >> and it's behavior that we, the fbi, view as domestic terrorism. >> in march, trump accusing the fbi of being weaponized against him during the investigation into his handling of classified documents. >> this is all weaponization of doj and fbi. they raided my house in violation of a thing called the fourth amendment. >> trump was charged with 40 counts related to mishandling classified documents. he pleaded not guilty. the charges dropped after he won the election due to a long standing justice department policy to not prosecute a sitting president. trump has signaled he wants a change to the bureau, naming kash patel, a trump loyalist, to be the new director. patel, promising to go after trump's political opponents. patel yesterday and today making rounds on capitol hill, meeting

with lawmakers. >> how aggressive are you going to be, mr. patel? >> trump says this is a great day for america. he says patel is the most qualified nominee to lead the fbi in the agency's history. a major question that still remains is who will oversee the fbi in the time between wray resigns and a new director takes over? perry russom, abc news, washington. >> and that's going to do it for now. thank you for joining us. world news tonight with david muir starts now. and i'll see you back here at four. tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the new turn tonight. what the nypd has now discovered involving the suspect in the murder of that ceo. tonight, what we've learned involving evidence. what the nypd now says about the murder weapon and another a notebook full of writings. also, the suspect's friends from high school. when the suspect's mother reached out to police. and what we've learned about the