potomac involving that helicopter and plane. >> abc seven news anchor karina nova is here in shefs. the latest for us tonight. >> karina and julian this afternoon, the black boxes from the american airlines plane were recovered from the potomac river. they will now be analyzed at the ntsb lab and could offer important clues as to what happened. this investigation is in the very early stages, an american airlines plane just minutes from landing at reagan national airport was hit by a black hawk helicopter on a training mission. dive teams have recovered the bodies of 40 of the 67 victims. others may not be recovered until the plane's wreckage is lifted out of the water. the ntsb is on the scene and says it will have a preliminary report in 30 days. and earlier, a board member delivered this emotional statement. >> a loss of life in an aviation accident is very unusual in the united states, and our heartfelt sorrow goes out to everyone that's affected. it affects us. it affects everyone around us. there are a

lot of people hurting today. we will help find out what happened. we will do it factually and we will do it accurately. >> that comment, likely in response to president trump saying, without providing evidence that diversity in hiring somehow caused then disaster. one part of the investigation is going to focus on the helicopter and the height it was flying. abc news aviation expert john nance explained the significance. >> if the helicopter was in the wrong altitude, and we don't know yet that that's the case, but if they were uh, then obviously it had a bearing on the accident because it might have if they had been lower. missed the jetliner altogether. but there was more than one cause here. there always is. >> this satellite image shows the aftermath of the crash. the debris field stretches miles of the river. we've also learned the runway where the flight was supposed to land will be closed until at least february 7th. ama. >> all right, karina, thank you. >> of course, we were covering the breaking news last night

here at 6:00. and tonight, the grim reality of the crash. nobody survived. not all of the bodies have been found. and not all of the victims have been publicly identified just yet. but we do know some of them. 53 year old ian epstein was one of the two flight attendants on board that plane. a statement from his family reads, quote, he loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people. samuel lilly was the first officer the copilot. the 28 year old had recently become engaged. lilly died on the same flight path his father flew for years. his father was an army blackhawk pilot who transported passengers over the potomac river from a base in virginia. and there were three army personnel on board that blackhawk helicopter that crashed, including cadet ryan o'hara, a crew chief member. he leaves behind a wife and a one year old son. >> the airplane took off from wichita, kansas, which had just hosted a training camp and the national championships for figure skating. many victims are from the skating community sons,

daughters, mothers and coaches. former olympic figure skater polina edmunds now lives in san jose and knows many of then san people who died. >> a lot of these kids that were on the flight, i've worked with them in these figure skating camps. i've done classes, they've all taken my classes. so seeing their names and seeing photos of them, of course, i recognize these faces. and it is it's just heartbreaking. >> six of the victims were from the skating club of boston. figure skating legend nancy kerrigan knew some of them. >> but i just i feel for the athletes, the skaters and their families. but anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it's just such a tragic event. >> other athletes we've heard from say they are planning to honor the lives lost at the world figure skating championships in boston in march. and as we learn more about the crash and the people involved, we will post updates on our website, abc seven

news.com and the abc seven bay area app. >> well, back here at home, we are dusting off the exclusive abc seven news storm impact scale because rain will be in the bay area tomorrow morning for a level one light storm. then we're bumping it up to a level two storm on saturday. >> we're dusting it off and bringing it back quite often. sandhya. >> yeah, and you know what? we need it. next seven days we are expecting that wet weather. so, julianna, let's take a look at live doppler seven right now. friday. as julian just mentioned, it is a one. and then saturday it is a two. it has a lot of moisture to work with. it's an atmospheric river. and so the concern is flooding. so solano county is going under a flood watch tomorrow afternoon to sunday night. as a matter of fact, the entire bay area is highlighted at a as a higher risk of seeing flooding this weekend. and that is as that atmospheric river moves in, there will be heavier downpours. so let's start with tomorrow morning, 7:00. you're getting the wet weather moving in by 11 a.m. most of you are getting light to moderate rain. it turns over to scattered

showers for the evening hours. and then here comes the soaker on saturday in the morning. and that continues for much of saturday morning. so it's a level one for tomorrow. widespread rain to start the morning and then scattered showers with slick roads. breezy conditions. here's the atmospheric river due in here on saturday. that moisture trap is stretching all the way to the hawaiian islands. and trust me, when you start to look at the rainfall projections, especially parts of northern california, i mean, look at that. susanville, over eight inches of rain over the next seven days, over five inches in santa rosa. you're looking at more than four inches in san francisco, about a half a foot even higher in some places, like ukiah. we have snow coming to the sierra as well. i'll be back with a full look at the forecast, including that weekend timeline coming up. julian. >> okay, we definitely want to hear that timeline. thank you sandhya. of course, you can follow along as the forecast changes with the abc seven bay area app. it will give you access to the same live doppler seven our weather team uses. will also

send out alerts with important updates. >> new at six officers with homeland security investigation conducted a raid in union city. union cy police say homeland security was serving a search warrant on dow avenue, just off alvarado niles road, for what they described as a, quote, non immigration investigation. neighbors say they were there around six this morning. our camera crew saw officers on the scene from the dea, high intensity drug trafficking areas program. our team also saw federal agents leave the house with bags of guns as well as ammo. three santa clara county inmates are charged with attempted murder after nearly beating another man to death at elmwood jail. as abc seven news reporter dustin dorsey explains, this incident emphasizes thety's calls for criminal justice reform. >> a man is on life support after being attacked by other incarcerated men at santa ■clara county's elmwood jail. sheriff's office deputies found the victim in his bed during a routine welfare check. unconscious and suffering from severe life threatening injuries. william armelin with the san jose

silicon valley naacp, says this attack lasted around 20 minutes. >> which is an eternity. i mean, 20 minutes on camera, in the full view and in a public dormitory setting in the jail again, is an eternity for something like this to occur. >> the victim was allegedly mistaken as a rival gang member before being brutally beaten. three men have been charged with attempted murder and torture and transferred to the main jail in san jose. santa clara county supervisor susan ellenberg says the details are horrific. >> the attack was well and carefully planned during the transition of folks in and out of the barracks to lunch. i have been told that the assault began in the bathroom where there are no cameras, and then continued. >> out into a large dormitory style setting that's unique to elmwood jail compared to the more secure main county jail setting. >> we try to provide an open

environment for individuals to recover and recuperate. that type of open bay living is suitable only for individuals who have proven to be not related to these type of potential gangs. >> this is not the first incident of violence at elmwood and across santa clara county. in-custody deaths doubled. armelin says this highlights the need for criminal justice reform. >> there is a clear pattern at elmwood and in our just in general county jail facilities of people being beaten, harmed, abused, of there being a lack of response or slow response or no response. >> the naacp is demanding change, so this never happens again in santa clara county. dustin dorsey, abc7 news. >> the oakland police department has seen a violent january compared to last year. abc seven news reporter anser hassan has a look at the numbers and why police still say they're making progress. >> at a thursday afternoon press conference, the oakland police department continued to praise

the drop in homicides last year. >> in 2020, for the city of oakland investigated 86 homicides, the lowest number since the pandemic. we owe a debt of gratitude to our community for their assistance, as we had a clearance rate of nearly 70%. >> deputy chief frederick chavez, with opd bureau of investigation, says a 70% clearance rate means suspects were charged in 70. >> we'll work on getting you that full report from anser hassan. you can find it on abc seven news.com. you can also get detailed information about public safety, where you live with our abc seven neighborhood safety tracker. again, you can find that at abc seven news.com or inside of the abc seven news mobile app. >> we're following the story of a deadly shootout last year in pleasant hill, because the suspect is now in custody. police arrested 20 year old amir shah of richmond on murder

charges on tuesday in connection with the shooting death of 63 year old peter popovich. this is video of the scene from last march. police say shah and three others tried to rob popovich just as he returned home from his job selling cannabis package materials, according to investigators. popovich, who had a concealed carry permit, resisted. shots were fired. popovich and one of the suspects was also killed. two other men arrested in the case are awaiting trial. >> coming up, who's in the tower? why? there's a fight to keep a controller at san carlos airport. and what it means for the safety of airlines flying into the airspace near sfo. plus. >> i would do it again today. >> what former oakland mayor libby schaaf did caught the attention of the first trump administration. not in a good way. now she's talking only to abc seven news about the tension of that time and advice she has with the way that pg&e handled the wildfires. yeah. yeah. i totally, totally understand. we're adding a ton of sensors.

as soon as something comes in contact with the power line, it'll turn off so that there's not a risk that it's gonna fall to the ground and start a fire. okay. and i want you to be able to feel the improvements. we've been able to reduce wildfire risk from our equipment by over 90%. that's something i want to believe. [skateboard sounds]

minutes ago about violence in oakland and why police say it's getting better. here's abc seven news reporter anser hassan with the full story. >> at a thursday afternoon press conference, the oakland police department continued to praise the drop in homicides last year. >> in 2024, the city of oakland investigated 86 homicides, the lowest number since the pandemic. we owe a debt of gratitude to our community for their assistance, as we had a clearance rate of nearly 70%. >> deputy chief frederick chavis, with opd's bureau of investigation, says a 70% clearance rate means suspects were charged in 70% of the homicide cases. he ss part of that can be attributed to violence prevention. >> we were able to communicate

with individuals that we believed could possibly be involved in violent crime, and we were able to try to get ahead of retaliatory retaliatory shootings. >> that type of community assistance also helped officers make an arrest in the fatal shooting of ponciano tule bernal. he was shot and killed the day after christmas in front of his 14 year old son. after confronting suspects who stole the son's scooter. >> again, with the help of the community and the work of our investigators, we were able to identify three suspects, and on january 1st, we arrested a 15 year old juvenile who has since been charged with the murder of ponciano. >> but opd admits 2025 has had a violent start, with 12 homicides so far this year. >> we're definitely concerned. >> opd also discussed the increase in ram and rob incidents, where suspects used stolen vehicles to ram into buildings to rob businesses. several convenience stores were hit last week in west oakland, and on wednesday, the brother of rapper too short was killed in a

botched robbery. >> we're investigating whether or not it was a cannabis cultivation operation and whether or not it was legal or illegal. we are. we are investigating whether or not there was more than one shooter. >> deputy chief says opd has made progress in their investigations into the recent ram, and rob says he hopes to have an update in the coming weeks. in oaklan, anser hassan abc seven news. >> all right. we have been preparing for days. >> yeah, the countdown is on for rain to finally return to the forecast. we check back in now with sandhya. >> yeah, and julian and ama. you know when? most of this month. which is supposed to be one of our wettest winter months. we have received hardly anything. when we see this, take a look at this graphic. we love it. we need it. our area is parched. look at the rain chances. they're pretty much going up starting tomorrow, all the way through wednesday and even beyond wednesday, we still have rain chances into thursday. so looking at live doppler seven, i wanted to show you what's going on. se do have this storm that initially starts out as a level

one. this is the storm system that is moving in our direction. it will bring us rain tomorrow. look at the moisture. it stretches all the way back towards the hawaiian islands. all of this moisture is moving towards california, and as it does in the pacific northwest, we are going to get soaked with an atmospheric river on saturday. so initially starts out as a one and then it goes to a two. right now we have clouds on live doppler seven that will get replaced by rain come tomorrow morning. temperatures at this hour. 40s and 50s. a live view from our san jose camera right now. it is dry out there. tomorrow. rain starts in the morning. it is going to be breezy. level two for saturday. atmospheric river arrives and then sunday through next week. this wet pattern is going to continue. it is a one on our storm impact scale. it's a light system for tomorrow. widespread morning rain, scattered afternoon evening showers. it will be breezy and there will be slick roads, so plan accordingly. it goes to a level two, which is a moderate strength

storm for saturday as we do get a drenching downpours, gusty winds, flooding on the roadways and smaller streams and creeks. expected 7:00 in the morning tomorrow. light to moderate rain is in the north bay. it starts to spread by 11 a.m. it's across the entire region. 5 p.m. we have scattered showers. look at saturday as some heavier rain comes in around 10:00 in the morning. you're going to notice that we are getting soaked here and then it's scattered showers going into your sunday. so that's just kind of giving you an idea of what you can expect this weekend. rainfall projections through sunday morning right now look like this. about an inch and a third in san francisco. more than that in oakland, over two inches santa rosa, ukiah. you get into the rain shadow of the santa cruz mountains, places like san jose, 4000/600 half an inch in brentwood, livermore 8907 inch. the winds are going to come up. it's going to get a little breezy tomorrow afternoon evening, and the gusty winds are going to be with us going into saturday and even sunday. so if you

do have any unsecured items you might want to just tie m down. we don't have any wind advisories right now. winter storm is going to be moving into the mountains. it's a winter weather advisory shaded in purple for the west slope of the sierra above 6500ft tomorrow morning to sunday morning, up to two feet for the peaks. with those gusty winds, there will be chain controls and slippery roadways. 30s and 40s. on your morning temperatures, make sure you have your rain gear because you may not need it right away when you first head out the door, but you will eventually. and then the scattered showers continue for the afternoon. it is going to be in the 50s and 60s. now, keep in mind, because this is a warmer storm, those temperatures are going to go up over the weekend. you can clearly see it. so here's the accuweather seven day forecast, something we have not seen in weeks. a storm impact scale every single day for the next seven days. one tomorrow, a two on saturday. that's when we're expecting those downpours. sunday a one monday is a one

tuesday. we have another level two coming in with some heavy rain and windy weather. it's a level one for wednesday and thursday, so really i think everybody just needs to prepare, get ready, you know, for what'so come online. julian. >> yeah, get that umbrella. find it. yep. dig it out from the back of the closet. all of that stuff. >> all of that stuff. absolutely. >> appreciate it. thank you. sandy. >> well, a small local airport may be at risk of losing its air traffic controllers. san carlos airport, which is about ten miles away from sfo, was set to have no one to take care of the control tower starting this weekend. it's because of a pay dispute, but abc seven news reporter tim johns found out a last minute deal is in the works. >> just miles away from sfo. the air traffic control tower at the smaller san carlos airport is set to go dark this saturday, the airport making the announcement in a press release earlier this week. the small airport's air traffic control team all resigning after a contract dispute over pay with the private company that employs them.

>> it was significantly less than what the previous circle company was offering them, so the controllers declined the package. >> the prospect of having no air traffic controllers has alarmed many people, especially givened the fatal collision that happened in washington, dc. that includes san mateo county supervisor ray mueller, whose district includes the airport. >> you just cannot have an airport. san carlos airport, functioning in close proximity to an airport that sees the type of traffic that san francisco airport has. >> aviation consultant and former sfo supervisor mike mccarran says small airports can still operate without air traffic control staff. however, he says having that extra layer of safety is better for everyone. >> it's still safe to fly in an uncontrolled airfield. it's done every day around the across the nation. there's hundreds of uncontrolled airfields. but when you're operating in a congested airspace such as the bay area, it just helps more to have people in the tower.

>> mccarran says most airports air traffic control staff are employed directly by the faa, which offers a cost of living adjustment for employees who work in expensive metropolitan areas. he tells me he hopes the company that runs the san carlos airport tower will do the same as of thursday. airport staff say they believe a deal will soon be reached, but they have a contingency plan in place to make sure the tower remains staffed. >> we're confident that come saturday, either the present controllers will still be working, or some new controllers will be standing by to take over and run the control tower. >> in san carlos, tim johns abc seven news. >> coming up next, google geography and global politics

contesting the legitimacy of a name change to the gulf of mexico. in. let's see. yes, google maps users in the united states will see the gulf of america instead of the gulf of mexico. the tech company made the change to comply with president trump's executive order renaming the body of water. mexico's president says the u.s. can't legally change the gulf's name because it is shared with mexico and cuba. >> meanwhile, cuba is fighting back against one of president trump's newest executive orders, which would use guantanamo bay as a facility to hold up to 30,000 migrants. cuba says it

rejects that decision, calling it a, quote, irresponsible use of the military installation. the foreign ministry says it could destabilize and threaten the peace. today, the senate easily confirmed doug burgum as the secretary of the interior by a vote of 79 to 18. and today, robert f kennedy jr. s second day of his senate confirmation hearing for the role of health secretary. there was shouting, one senator was in tears, and rfk jr defended his stance on vaccines. today, the confirmation hearing started for trump's pick for fbi director kash patel. california senator adam schiff had a heated exchange with patel when questionings support of the quote. january 6th choir. at one point, schiff told patel to address the capitol police inside of that room. >> if you have the courage to look them in the eye, mr. patel, and tell them you're proud of what you did, tell them you're proud that you raised money off of people that that assaulted their colleagues, that pepper

sprayed them, that beat them with poles. tell them how proud you are. >> that's an abject lie, and you know it. i've never, never, ever accepted violence against law enforcement. >> patel also declined to say that former president joe biden won the 2020 election, which of course, we know he did. tulsi gabbard also started her confirmation hearing today as trump's pick for the director of national intelligence. she can afford to lose the votes of only three republicans, and her confirmation vote is expected to be a close one. gabbard was asked about her past support of edward snowden, but stirred frustration when she repeatedly refused to answer directly. >> senator, as someone who has served in yes or no, is edward snowden a traitor to the united states of america? as someone who has worn our uniform in combat. >> gabbard also faces doubt over her lack of significant experience in national security.

well, as you know, there are many changes happening in the early days of the trumpin the administration. we're keeping track of the first 100 days. you can too. it's all up on our website, abc seven news.com, and inside of the abc seven news mobile app. >> coming up next only on abc seven news, former oakland mayor libby schaaf talks about tension with the first trump administration. >> were you ever scared? yeah. >> i was scared. i think any normal person should be scared. >> tonight we'll hear her

on america's worst air disaster since 2009. as you know, now, 67 people are dead following that crash last night between an american airlines plane and a military blackhawk helicopter in washington, dc. officials say they've recovered 40 bodies so far. others are trapped in the wreckage tonight. officials said operations to salvage the aircraft and its components will begin tomorrow. the black boxes have been recovered today from the american airlines plane, and will be examined at an ntsb lab.

>> so we will look at all the humans that were involved in this accident. again, we will look at the aircraft. we will look at the helicopter. we will look at the environment in which they were operating in. that is part of that is standard in any part of our investigation. >> the ntsb says it will release its preliminary report in 30 days. the final report could take many months to complete. we continue to monitor every development about this deadly mid-air collision in washington, dc. you can find the latest on our website, abc seven news.com, or inside of the abc seven news bay area app. >> and now to a story you'll see only on abc seven news tonight involving former oakland mayor libby schaaf. she found herself in the spotlight during the first trump administration. >> abc seven news political reporter monica madden sat down with her to look back on her decision to warn the community about an imminent ice raid. >> i would do it again today. >> seven years ago, former oakland mayor libby schaaf unintentionally became the face of a national debate when she

warned her city of forthcoming federal immigration raids. >> just when you thought the dust had settled, the acting chief of ice has once again accused the mayor of oakland of putting the public in danger. >> it was not intended to panic people. it never advised people to break the law. it simply informed them what their rights were, their responsibilities. >> she didn't expect what quickly followed. >> what the mayor of oakland did the other day was a disgrace. >> wrath from the commander in chief. >> oakland, you have a mayor. and she told people that we're going to be captured in a big raid, that there's going to be a raid. can't do it. you can't do it, folks. >> president donald trump accused schaaf of thwarting federal immigration laws and asked his then attorney general, jeff sessions, to prosecute her. >> i would recommend that you look into obstruction of justice for the mayor of oakland, california. jeff. >> it is my understanding that the investigation was active. it was being

pursued. but because i did not tell anyone to break the law, i did not do anything to endanger law enforcement. that is what kept me out of jail. >> while she never faced charges, there was blowback. the city of oakland fought off clawbacks of federal funding in retaliation. a congressman tried to pass a law that would create penalties for other mayors that did the same. and schaaf says she faced death threats. were you ever scared? >> yeah, i was scared. i think any normal person should be scared. >> this time, she doesn't feel other mayors will have the same outcome. >> when you look at the energy that they put into prosecuting me, into hurting oakland, even though they were not successful, it is true that there are more weapons in place with this trump administration than even before. >> it's a shame we have other governors and other ms who are right out of the gate who say they're going to push back on president trump and what

we're trying to do, especially for interior enforcement. let me be clear. there is going to be a mass deportation. >> trump's border czar, tom homan, has threatened to put elected leaders in jail if they get in the way of federal immigration enforcement, which he says is a felony. >> knowing tom homan, you know, and his history, he wasn't kidding around. and he does have that power. >> david troc is an la based attorney in support of trump's immigration policies. he says the law is clear. >> if they actually try to use force to interfere with ice agents or any federal agents trying to enforce immigration law, yes, they are subject to prosecution for obstruction. and they very well may land in jail. >> troc says he can't speak to the specifics of what schaaf did, but doubts a move like that would work today. >> i think they do a lot of chest bumping for their elected, but i very much doubt we're going to see it because as the trump administration has shown in just its first week, they're not messing around this time. >> as bay area sanctuary cities reaffirm their support for

undocumented immigrants. >> we will stand up and fight back. >> schaaf has advice for other leaders. >> i hope the fact that i stood up and survived shows that others can do that too. as long as we stick with the rule of law, the truth, and our values, we should get through this together. >> in oakland, monica madden, abc seven news. >> coming up, the s.o.s at sonoma state university, the cry to save our sports and more from budget cuts. also ahead. >> if i pursue this young lady and she really does have cancer, it's not going to go well. >> see how a retired san jose police detective helped uncover a scam? it's the story of

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that will bring the 2025 chinese new year parade to you live on saturday, february 15th. watch it here or wherever you stream. abc seven. and we are just days away from hearing the lineup for this year's cinequest film and creativity festival. more than 100 u.s. and world premieres

will be featured at the annual independent film festival. >> it's exciting. this festival means so much to san jose and as a filmmaker in the bay area, you always want to come out and support the people that support you and that welcome the community out to share these special experiences. >> the 2025 cinequest festival will be held at three theaters in downtown san jose, march 11th through 23rd. >> in the north bay. hundreds of students and faculty at sonoma state university rallied today to protest deep budget cuts to academic and athletic programs. as abc seven news reporter cornell bernard shows us, the rally came ahead of a virtual town hall meeting and administrators. they got a pretty frosty welcome. >> students are under attac. what do we do? >> fight back. hundreds of sonoma state students and faculty packing seawolf plaza to protest nearly $24 million in budget cuts, which are putting dozens of faculty members out of jobs, like professor don romesburg, who

wore this resume on his academic robe. >> we're losing four full tenured professors who have between us almost a hundred of years of experience. >> i coached here for 36 years, and i got fired by email. >> all athletic programs on campus have been eliminated, too. >> we're trying to save athletics, but we're also trying to save the university. we're trying to save the faculty. we're trying to save the staff. >> this rally, happening minutes before a virtual town hall meeting with interim president doctor emily cutrer, who didn't get a warm welcome from those watching on a big screen. >> doctor emily cutrer. >> doctor cutrer reading a statement from csu's chancellor. >> this is an extraordinarily difficult and painful moment for sonoma state. and we share your pain. but as painful as these actions are, they are indeed necessary. >> says sonoma state is facing decreased enrollment. the governor ordering all csus to reduce their budgets, but some students weren't buying it.

>> i have to say that i'm appalled and disgusted by the actions taken by our president. emily kutcher, you have come into this community as a hired gun, made no or little effort to get involved with the campus and the community, yet make a decision that will affect thousands. >> this town hall was supposed to be an in-person event, but administration changed it to a zoom meeting earlier this week, fearing it would exceed capacity inside the student center. >> this, over the zoom town hall meeting is cowardly. >> i signed the petition to oppose the cuts. >> students and faculty signing an online petition demanding the university reverse its decision. they say this story isn't over. >> we're going to keep fighting, trying to get to the power sources and try and lobby to help this university come back. >> in rohnert park. cornell, bernard. abc seven news. >> all right, get ready. ran will be back in the bay area. forecast for your morning commute. sandhya helps you plan for tomorrow. and also the stronger

amanda, a south bay woman who uses an elaborate fake cancer battle to get donations and sympathy. abc seven news reporter zach fuentes spoke with two of the investigators whose

work led to that woman's conviction. >> this is amanda c riley, a mom, wife and friend beloved by so many in her san jose church community and beyond. that community rallied around her when amanda told them of a stage three cancer battle starting in 2012. she documented the journey she said she was going through in a blog. for years. she shared detailed stories, posted pictures of herself in treatment attached to tubes and devices.nt all of it was fake. all the while, amanda spoke regularly at her san jose megachurch, getting countless cash, electronic and in-kind donations from people and organizations. but as convincing as the scheme was to many, she did have skeptics. one of them reaching out to an investigative producer, nancy muscatello, who investigated for five years. she got jose martinez involved. a san jose police detective who has since retired. martinez now had the task of finding proof he could possibly bring to a court that amanda was, in fact, lying and scamming people out of money. >> if i pursue this young lady

and she really does have cancer, it's not going to go well. >> but because amanda had posted so much on the blog, martinez was able to check facts. >> there were things that weren't lining up, like doctors, associated, particular hospitals. but not all of those doctors were were named as employees of those hospitals. >> patient confidentiality laws led to difficulties, but a breakthrough finally came. one of the hospitals amanda claimed to have visited finally responded to martinez. >> they said, no, she's never been here. she doesn't have any future appointments. she never was here. >> from there, more breakthroughs came. but amanda had been traveling coast to coast for what she claimed were cancer treatments, meaning the case was bigger than martinez's reach. enter irs special agent arlette lyons, based in oakland. lyons had also been in touch with the investigative producer who tipped off martinez. and with lyons now on the case, amanda was now under federal investigation for wire fraud.

>> we knew she was using a website, and we knew people were paying her electronically, and we knew that she was telling people that she had cancer and she did not. >> the investigative work of both martinez and lyons eventually led to amanda c riley pleading guilty in federal riley court, admitting to scheming more than $100,000 in donations. the judge sentenced her to five years and restitution. the work muscatello, martinez and lyons did now setting a precedent for any future cases, something meaningful for them all. >> so my twin sister had cancer the whole time during this. the day of the search. >> warrant, my mom was having surgery for breast cancer. >> lyons sister, kristen kane, passed away in november of 2023. >> this is what i was able to do my little fight for, you know, in her name. >> for his part, martinez hopes that this empowers organizations meant to help those with cancer to ask tough questions. >> as an example of why they need to ask you for your

doctor's information. it's not to create more damage to you. who person who who is sick, but to keep people who are faking it and taking away resources from you who aren't sick. >> and this is just scratching the surface. just how did amanda c riley manage to get away with this scam for so long? who else could have been involved? who were some of her victims? you can find all of that out in the abc news studios docuseries scamanda on abc and hulu. in san jose, zach fuentes, abc seven news. >> what a wild, wild story. amanda premieres at 9 p.m. right here on abc seven. >> also tonight, the hulu docu series about sherri papini. she's the reading mom who faked her own kidnaping back in 2016, only to reappear three weeks later. she claimed she had been kidnaped. turned out to be a hoax. perfect wife the mysterious disappearance of sherri papini airs at 10:00 tonight after scamanda. and of course, stay with us for abc seven news at 11. >> well, hopefully you remember how to drive in the

rain, because we got to getd to it over the next few days for sure. >> if you don't catch on quick. sandhya. it's coming. >> yeah, it sure is. and julian, you definitely want to give yourself extra time as we are going to start to see the rain as early as tomorrow morning. look at this gorgeous view from our sky star camera as we look from fisherman's wharf. from that skystar wheel. pretty cool view. it's dry right now, but that changes tomorrow morning. the rain moves in. you will notice that the storm intensifies as we head into saturday morning with that atmospheric river. and really, the rain will turn over to showers sunday. you get a little brief respite and then monday, here comes more rain. this pattern continues into tuesday and even into wednesday. and then we have a few more showers going into thursday. so this is what we've been waiting for. the sierra is going to pick up snow. let's talk about that snow over the next seven days. we're talking 84in at donner, 40in kyburz, south lake tahoe 39 kirkwood, 67in of snow, high snow levels. initially it's a rain snow mix, but by wednesday of next week or so, it's going to be just

all heavy snow. live doppler seven showing you the cloud cover right now. tomorrow afternoon it is going to be a wet one. 50s and 60s breezy conditions as well. and looking ahead to the next seven days, there are some computer models that are showing over a half a foot of rain in places like ukiah, chico, redding. some models are even going as high as 10 to 15in in seven days. here in the bay area, we're talking about several inches, and that means the potential is there by this weekend for some minor roadway flooding and creeks and streams. accuweather seven day. it's a one tomorrow and most of the days, two for saturday and tuesday. julian and emma. >> wow. all right, it's coming. thanks, sandhya. >> larry beil is here with sports. now to golf. >> i mean, it's a big week. pebble beach got a couple of aces to show you from round one. at pebble, you'll see them. plus a little cooking advice for you. julian, want to write this down? why? you should never use a wine glass to make your ravioli. okay,

proem was focused on the celebrities like bill murray, the clown prince of golf, who, flinging fans around the bunker didn't work out very well for this woman right there. but that was then, and this is now in 2025, much more of an emphasis on the golf itself, with the winner hauling in $3.6 million on sunday. round one today at

pebble. a little gray, but not bad. rory mcilroy making his season debut. this is the par three 15th. flies it in for an ace slam dunk. he's at minus six and tied for eighth at two. back on the seventh hole. you won't see another hole in one. you're going to. shane lowry with an ace. tied for eighth. lowry from ireland mcilroy. northern ireland. luck of the irish today. drinks on them. have you ever seen a seven footer putt. that's two time nba champion pau gasol from the lakers. one of the few celebs who still gets an invite. your leader is russell henley. minus eight one ahead of a group of six. world number one scottie scheffler made his season debut today at pebble five under 67, had four birdies on his last nine holes, tied for 15th. scheffler's debut was delayed because he injured his hand. christmas day he's trying to make ravioli using a wine glass. yeah, and the glass broke in his hand, cutting him earlier this week. scheffler talked about that incident.

>> like it's truly i can't live in a bubble like, you know, got to live my life and accidents happen. and you know, it could have been a lot worse. >> and i guess you ruined the raviolis too. >> no, they were good. they they weren't that good. but they were. they were pretty good. >> not whole in your hand. good ravioli. but you know. okay. our the warriors came up with their best win of the season last night. taking down the best in the west. the okc thunder raising the question to the dubs. still feel like they need to make a trade to bolster their roster. trade deadline next week. andrew wiggins led the warriors in scoring last night 27 points including the clutch buzzer beater before the half. steph curry added 21, including a deep three late in the fourth quarter as the dubs kept fighting off the thunder. and gary payton the second. the exclamation point. the hammer with authority on isaiah hartenstein to seal the deal. this is what steph curry has been looking for from his squad since the first month of the season. >> we expected to win every game when we were in that 12 and three situation and now, like the vibe is a little different.

you're just trying to search for consistency, but we still have belief that we can win any given night and we played like it tonight. >> we've struggled to play with that bounce and that confidence here the last month or so. so it's great to see us fight through that and then kind of reach that state in the second half where like you could see the belief. you could see the energy and felt like we captured that again and now we've got to sustain it. >> obviously. kevin durant coming to town tomorrow with the suns nba all star game in san francisco in two weeks, reserves announced today featuring several players with bay area ties, including oakland's own damian lillard. santa clara product jaylen williams was just here. he'll be making his all star game debut, and former cal star jaylen brown from the nba, defending champion boston celtics, plus second year sensation victor wembanyama. all seven, four of them from the san antonio spurs. he is unbelievable. all right, so let me let me explain here. our

producer alex producer slash ravioli expert explains that that scotty was was trying to roll the dough. okay. he was in a rental house so he didn't have the proper tools. so, you know, here's the glass and boom. and that's that's. you see how that happens? so don't mix your ravioli with a wine glass. that's that's today's cooking. cooking lesson. >> cooking with bill. >> yeah. there could be a new show. >> hey, let's make it happen. sounds like a streaming opportunity. >> all right. thanks, larry. tonight on abc seven at eight. extreme makeover home edition, starting at nine. catch. the premiere of scamanda, followed by perfect wife the mysterious disappearance of sherri papini. then stay with us for abc seven news at 11. that is it for now. thank you for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm julian glover for sandhya patel, larry cook and bill, the entire abc seven news team. have a great night. we'll see you at 11. >> who says no julian to that? >> i'm reggie aqui.

>> i'm lyanne melendez. i'm luz pena i'm tara campbell. >> i'm j.r stone. >> at abc seven news. we deliver local. >> stories with real ♪ dreams begin here. welcome to the goodnight club. dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. dreams begin here. five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet. five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business.

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