for patrol in 30 years. he will be in his 90s. he is appealing his conviction. thanks for watching. >> from all of us here at "20/20" and abc news, good night. of the toughest ordinances around to crack down on where the homeless camp. how advocacy groups are pushing back. >> and new developments tonight with the suspects. and a disturbing case out of the east bay where a dog was kicked and sent airborne. >> standing up for science. bay area residents take on the trump administration's attempt to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of research funding, and they get a nobel assist. >> always live abc seven news

starts right now. >> good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. thanks for joining us. fremont recently passed one of the toughest and most controversial ordinances to deal with homelessness. >> it bans camping in public spaces. as we reported earlier this week, the city is being sued over the ordinance. >> and tonight, we're hearing from the groups behind the lawsuit. abc seven news reporter lauren martinez with the new developments. >> what we're doing here, it already has national attention. >> a coalition of homeless advocates are suing the city of fremont. the goal to stop the city's new ban on camping and aiding homeless encampments. >> there's approximately 75 cities in the state of california that are either considering, or have already enacted ordinances similar. >> attorney anthony prince with california homeless union legal experts and other plaintiffs held a virtual press conference on friday evening. >> we will go forward with our lawsuit, and we will go forward with our motion to seek a restraining order, and that will then be before the court.

>> the 62 page lawsuit includes roughly 25 unions from up and down the state. the suit points out, in the ordinance to camp is defined so broadly that it includes not only placing, pitching or occupying tents, but the act of living outdoors. >> i bring out tents to people and blankets. so in many places in in many places, that's becoming illegal. >> robbie neilsons organization is one of the plaintiffs in the case based in the north bay. poulsen is an unhoused advocate and said housing insecurity has always affected him personally. in 2023, he had a court victory against the city of san rafael to stop the planned eviction of campers. he said fremont's ordinance is a public health emergency. >> fundamentally, when you're unhoused, that's about the laws that protect you. that's the laws that protect the human body. because when you're unhoused, that's what you really

have, is you're just your humanity. and you're not protected by ownership of property. >> a spokesperson with the city of fremont says they cannot comment on pending litigation. city council will review changes to the ordinance on march 18th. in the south bay, lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> new developments tonight involving two women accused in a dog kicking incident in pittsburg. today, the contra costa county district attorney's office announced both of them are being charged with cruelty to an animal. they were arrested late last week in oakland after an extensive search. police launched their investigation after this video surfaced of the incident on february 19th. surveillance video showed the two women confronting a neighbor and the three getting into an argument. police say one of the women pulled out a fake gun, causing the homeowner to back away and pick up one of the dogs with him, as you can see. investigators say one of the women then told the other to kick the dog on the ground, which she did. as you saw,

sending that dog airborne. now they're facing charges. tonight, the national women's soccer league says it has opened an investigation of bay fc's coaching staff. according to the chronicle, two former players prompted this investigation. describing the culture under head coach albertin montoya as toxic. he's also been accused of bullying. the accusations come after bay fc's head scout resigned last month after abuse allegations from when he was the coach at the university of oregon, an abuse and misconduct scandal rocked the nwsl in 2021, leading to a number of coaches resigning or being fired. >> in the east bay, the corruption probe that's led to the indictment of former oakland mayor sheng tao has spread to san leandro. our media partners at the bay area news group report federal officials have asked the city to hand over numerous records that name the duong family. the family is at the center of the investigation of a pay to play scheme. san leandro is linked to the case became public in january, when

the home of city council member brian azevedo was raided. azevedo did go on a trip to vietnam in 2023 that was sponsored by david duong. he has refused to comment on the fbi raid in the south bay. public transit in silicon valley could shut down on monday if vta workers go forward with the planned strike. negotiations have broken down between management and the union, representing 1500 public transit operators, maintenance staff and customer service workers. vta is offering a 9% wage increase over three years with no service cuts. the union wants double that amount. should workers walk out, there will be no bus or light rail service in santa clara county. vta paratransit will not be impacted. >> all right, let's turn to the weather now. beautiful friday night in the bay area. so what about the weekend? meteorologist sandhya patel is here with your 24 hour accuweather forecast. sandhya, for anyone who likes their weekend weather. fabulous. this is their forecast. >> this is indeed dan. this is a weekend for the outdoors. it is

going to be bright and sunny, so definitely a good idea to get outside. let me show you a live picture right now from our exploratorium camera. san francisco in the clear. much of the bay area clear skies right now. tomorrow morning you'll feel that chill. 30s and 40s, bright and sunny at noontime, and it's going to be feeling like spring with upper 50s to upper 60s by 4 p.m, clear and breezy later on in the evening. a sampling of your high temperatures. how about 68? in san jose and walnut creek, 62 in the city, 65 degrees. in oakland. it's going to be sunny and mild. i'll be back to let you know how the second half of your weekend is looking, and when rain is back in the forecast. dan. >> excellent, sandhya, thanks a lot. see you in a moment. people in the bay area are standing up for science, along with other concerned citizens all across the country. >> scientists united will never be defeated. >> there were a number of rallies after the trump administration aimed to cut back on federal funding for medical research and treatments. the proposals include taking away millions of dollars for research

into alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease and other illnesses from the national institutes of health. it's work being done at bay area universities like cal and stanford. >> we need to be very active in speaking out, whether it's to our families, our friends, our kids, our grandparents, our neighbors. they need to know why we do science and why it's so incredibly important to support it. with taxpayer funding in this country. >> a federal judge has temporarily blocked the nih cuts. the trump administration has canceled $400 million in grants to columbia university in new york city. in a statement, the white house says the university has not been doing enough to fight harassment of jewish people on campus. columbia was just one of the universities nationwide where pro-palestinian rallies took place following the hamas terror attack on israel in october of 2023. education secretary linda mcmahon says she has met with

the university's interim president and called that chat productive. >> former vice president kamala harris may be getting closer to deciding if she will run for california governor. sources close to harris say she will make a decision by the end of this summer, a year before the state's open primary in june of 2026. current lieutenant governor eleni kounalakis already announced her candidacy. so has republican riverside county sheriff chad bianco. others considering a run are former assemblyman antonio villaraigosa and former congresswoman katie porter. a poll last month shows harris leading the pack. the california public employees retirement system is ignoring governor newsom's order that state employees have to return to the office four days a week. calpers is telling its workers the agency will continue its policy that allows two days of remote work a week, starting july 1st. state employees in other departments will be expected to work in person four out of five days. unions are challenging the governor's order. >> news tonight about the death of gene hackman. he died of cardiovascular disease and

complications from alzheimer's. his wife died of hantavirus. those new details were released today. the actor and his wife were found dead in their new mexico home in santa fe last week. carbon monoxide had been ruled out, but the deaths remained a mystery until today. abc news reporter jacqueline lee has the story. >> new details in the deaths of actor gene hackman and his wife after their slightly mummified bodies were found inside their santa fe home. authorities are holding a press conference this afternoon. >> it is unprecedented for the office of the medical investigator to make public statements about death investigations. however, the circumstances surrounding these two deaths require accurate dissemination of important information. >> the couple's mysterious deaths, prompting questions of when and how. authorities confirming betsy hackman died of hantavirus days before gene hackman died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease with

alzheimer's disease around february 18th. >> autopsy examination and a full body postmortem ct examination demonstrated no acute findings of internal or external trauma. >> authorities conducting autopsies and toxicology reports. the new mexico gas company confirmed extensive testing at the home. no traces of carbon monoxide and a minuscule gas leak in the stove below a lethal amount. authorities also clarifying the dog, initially identified as one of the german shepherds, now identified as an australian kelpie mix. there are two other german shepherds survived. authorities are also analyzing the couple's cell phones and monthly planner. hackman was recently honored at the 97th academy awards ceremony for his contributions to the film industry. jacqueline lee, abc news, los angeles. >> seven on your side investigates scammers pretending to be a local refrigerator repair company. how they're leaving customers out in the cold. >> mystery solved. the answer to

what happened to an oregon family nearly 70 years ago may have been found at the bottom of a river. >> if you build it, they will come. we will take you to the opening of the largest costco in california. >> it's huge. >> all of that's coming up. but first, here's a look at what's ahead tonight on jimmy kimmel live! right after abc seven news at 11. jimmy. >> thanks, stan. and tonight, we are offering two talk show hosts for the price of one. i get paid in shrimp here. you didn't know that. i know, i'm like a squid. you were tossing. >> it in the air and going rah ra ra ra ra ra.

and to honor oakland music great d'wayne wiggins, who helped establish the r&b band tony,

tony, tony. he passed away from bladder cancer. wiggins 1993 album sons of soul reached double platinum. he also inspired other music stars, including zendaya. her and destiny's child. wiggins was 64. >> a bay area appliance repair company is sending out a warning claiming someone is impersonating them, swindling their customers out of thousands of dollars and not actually fixing their appliances in the seven on your side investigation. abc seven news reporter melanie woodrow spoke with one victim, who said he thought he called the right company but ended up with repair. despair. >> you know. >> in november, ben phillips was in need of a fix before his thanksgiving feast. this 22 year old sub-zero refrigerator had a leak. >> get the refrigerator done and make my wife happy. >> he had used box appliance back in 2019 for repair, but this time when he called and a technician came out, not only was he upsold on replacing the compressor, but the leak

remained despite multiple visits. >> he was angry. >> and that was just the start. phillips spent close to $4,000 attempting to fix this refrigerator he called box appliance again. >> i went back online and i go, oh, there's two box appliances. i go, i've been taken here. >> this time, an actual box appliance technician came out and told phillips his refrigerator couldn't be repaired. >> he goes, yeah, we wouldn't have even started on it. and i go, that would have saved me. >> box appliance is aware that someone is pretending to be them. >> it's really hard explaining to these customers that they were swindled. basically. >> it all comes down to google search results. box appliance president ryan bourgault. >> these other companies purchased domain names that are very similar to us. they use sponsored ads to move them up higher in the list of google. >> customers call and the other company books the appointments. >> my technicians all show up in vans with sub-zero logos on them. box appliance. >> but those other technicians are showing up in unmarked

vehicles. >> we've seen pictures where some of these technicians actually have box appliance on a shirt that they had made, so they're doing everything they can. maybe they're doing some legit service work, but i don't know that for sure. all i hear about is when it goes bad. >> virgo and his team have attempted to get the other sites taken down. >> it's like playing whack a mole. we take one down and another one goes right back up. >> some victims have filed reports with law enforcement. the santa clara county sheriff's office is one of the agencies now investigating. >> we're trying to track down who is posting these fake sites. we're seeing this not only in the bay area, but across the state. >> in the meantime, box appliances warning customers to make sure they're on the right site, not the wrong ones. >> they would have like box appliances with an s at the end. dot co or box dash appliance. >> and calling the correct number. as for ben phillips, he's created his own temporary

solution a shower pan under the refrigerator and some paper towels to collect the water. >> so yeah, i replace that anywhere from 2 to 3 times a day. so yeah, i just stuff it in there like that and it'll be ready to be replaced tonight. >> a soggy situation leaving phillips feeling like he got hosed. >> i can't believe i fell for it. >> the santa clara county sheriff's office says they want to hear from any other victims in their county who have been impacted. i also reached out to the bureau of household goods and services. you can verify the license of any appliance repair company you're hiring on their website for seven. on your side investigates melanie woodrow, abc seven news. and as she said, seven on your side investigates. and we have a team of journalists who can assist you. head to abc seven news.com/7 on your side. >> it's been a mystery for 66 years. a submerged car from the 1950s may belong to a missing oregon family. today, a crane pulled a ford station wagon from the columbia river after two days of dredging. this diving

video shows the body of the car in the water covered with silt and shells. after all of this time. officials believe it belonged to a family that disappeared when they went to collect christmas greenery in 1958. the bodies of two of the family's children were found in the river five months later. folks in san diego are still stunned after a heavy rainstorm last night. san diego fire crews rescued at least six people from flooded roads. take a look at some of this video. you can see cars and trucks just completely swamped in water, with emergency lights reflecting off the water. according to authorities, no one was injured. that's the good news. the skies cleared today in san diego, but the cleanup will be extensive. >> a kickoff to saint patrick's day week celebrations at san francisco city hall today. celtic dancing followed a festive ceremony where mayor daniel lurie raised the flag of

ireland from his balcony. it's an annual tradition. the first time mayor lori presided over the celebration. today was the kickoff to a week of celebrations, culminating with the saint patrick's day parade on saturday, march 15th. >> all right. good place to shop in the east bay. costco held a grand opening for its new box store in the east bay this morning. >> yes, the massive crowd waiting to get in made it look more like something you'd expect during the holiday season. the stores in brentwood and it's now the largest costco store in california. >> and with some rare limited items available for the grand opening, it brought out people from all across northern california. some started lining up as early as 10 a.m. on thursday. yesterday, justin came all the way from oakland specifically for the whiskey. >> meeting people and just talk about the different bourbons and how where everybody is from. i'm happy with with this one right here. so planters. >> it's a really big deal for us. the economic boost and the jobs. we were just talking to people who said 400 jobs, local jobs. that's fantastic.

>> brentwood officials say they are hopeful the store's opening will lead to even more growth across the city. >> and that costco is putting the big in big box. >> yes it is. absolutely. all right. big weekend. coming up. if you've got plans outside weather, going to cooperate. >> if you have plans i think sandhya a okay. right. >> yeah. it is just going to be a spectacular weekend this one day to get outside. let me show you why you might want to get outside as well. daylight saving time begins sunday at 2 a.m. you're going to spring forward one hour. change your batteries. don't forget about that. but as you spring forward one hour, you get to enjoy an extra hour of sunlight. tomorrow's sunset is at 6:10 p.m. sunday. it's going to go to 7:11 p.m. and may 1st we're going to go all the way to 8:00. high pressure is controlling our weather. today's high temperatures anywhere from the mid 50s to the low 70s. we're going to do it all over again with that mild weather for your saturday and your sunday. right now skies are clear, but there's a little patch of fog

that has formed right near half moon bay. a lot like this morning. temperatures at this hour in the 40s and the 50s. here's a look at what you can expect out the door at 8 a.m. inland areas will be clear mid 40s, but look at how quickly you jump up into the 60s as you look at the bayside communities. mostly sunny to start. upper 40s and then coming up into the low to upper 60s right near the coastline. there will be a couple of patches of fog from the mid 40s to the upper 50s, and just a light breeze to start the day. a lovely view from emeryville camera right now. this weekend, mild and soaked in sun. time changes sunday. set your clocks forward one hour saturday night before going to bed and the middle of next week. our wet weather is going to return, so enjoy the sun, but know that there are some wet days ahead next week. it is going to be chilly tomorrow mornin again, we're looking at 30s and 40s, so definitely pile on the layers. but later in the afternoon it's short sleeve weather and shorts if you want to go with that. 68 in the south bay and gilroy, san

jose, los gatos 66. milpitas on the peninsula, you're looking at mid 60s from mountain view to redwood city. 58 half moon bay. bright skies in san francisco, 62 degrees. about where you should be for this time of year. north bay numbers mid 60s san rafael, vallejo, 67, in santa rosa. heading into the east bay. berkeley oakland 64 to 65 degrees inland areas. 68 livermore 67 degrees in concord. now let's look ahead to next week monday. system is not going to make it. it's going towards southern california. but on wednesday we get that wet weather with a weak atmospheric river. it's going to bring us gusty winds, sierra snow continuing into thursday. and then one more system on friday. when you count wednesday through friday, the rainfall projections will be about an inch to two and a third of an inch in ukiah. so we'll take it. the accuweather seven day forecast mild with sunshine this upcoming weekend. don't forget clocks forward one hour sunday morning. daylight saving time begins and it's a dry start to your monday. your

tuesday is fine. a little cooler and then level two for wednesday, a level one for thursday and friday. certainly cooler weather then as well. so ama and dan got a little variety going. >> okay. to maintenance anything, so it's very scary for me because i have everything i love in this home. so, we've now implemented drone technology. how is that safe for me? it enhances the inspection, so it allows us to see things faster. your safety is the most important, and if you're feeling unsafe, that's not okay. it doesn't feel like that in our hearts. i mean, it's worrisome. [dog barks]

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headed to north beach to

celebrate first fridays. he toured the area with supervisor danny suter, meeting small business owners all along the way, shaking some hands on the first friday of each month, more than a dozen north beach galleries, museums, bars and restaurants stay open late. they host special events to showcase art collections, along with musicians to entertain everyone. the next one is on april 4th. nice night for that. >> and across the bay. there was a big turnout for tonight's first friday's lead off event of the year in oakland. music took center stage at the downtown arts and community festival. it's back along telegraph avenue between 22nd and 27th streets, just in time for international women's month. organizers say the event honors and celebrates the women who inspire and shape the community. this month's this month. it is called her story, her story in the making and featured women creators and entrepreneurs. that's great. yeah. >> all right, well, after a week and a half on the road, the warriors are back home tonight. >> sports director larry beil is here with sports. larry.

>> dan, not only are the warriors home, their next seven games are all at chase center. can steph curry go for 40 again? there's only one team in the league which has held him under 40. and that's tomorrow's opponent the pistons next at

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all of sports resumes tomorrow night. the warriors hosting detroit pistons, the only team in the nba to hold steph curry under 40 points in all of their 24 previous meetings. now, the list used to include the nets, but curry took care of that thursday night in brooklyn. the half court, half time heave on the way to exactly 40 points. draymond green, well aware of that 40 point plateau. >> that's what he did. >> there's one more team left. he hasn't dropped 40 on. and you play the next. i saw that. what do you think about. you think that's happening next game. >> that's not the pistons off. >> fair enough. >> obviously it's on my mind. so you won't shy away from it. but you don't sabotage a game just to score 40. try to win no matter what it takes. >> go for 50. uh- acc women's quarters. cal trying to upset

number six notre dame. the bears turned it over 19 times in just the first half, but still only down three at the break. bears head coach darren smith. please, please, please stop turning it over. third quarter. cal will take the lead on a pair of lulu twydell threes. she led the bears with 16. they were up six in the third. then notre dame turned on the jets. the bears. they finished with 28 turnovers. basically handed this game over. hannah hidalgo led the irish with 25. bears fall 7364, but will make the ncaa tournament selection. sunday is in a week. nhl trade deadline day. we knew the sharks would make deals, but the fan base is kind of confused. they traded away two of their promising pieces defenseman jake walman, who was on their top power play unit, and fabian zetterlund, who was one of their top offensive players this year. they got back some decent players and draft picks that should help in the future, but this could extend their rebuild. gm mike greer says this should be the last deadline where team teal is getting rid of players.

>> you know, that's kind of the idea that this kind of phase of phase is hopefully, for the most part, over of just, you know, sell, sell, sell. now it's time to start building. i'm sure, you know, we'll still have some decisions to make down the road on on players. but, you know, now the hope is to really use some of these assets and start building. >> surprising in the nfl. the seahawks trading quarterback geno smith to the raiders. he'll reunite with marin native pete carroll, who revived his career in seattle. and the reports are seattle will pursue ex niners sam darnold, who of course is coming off a very good year in minnesota. sports on abc seven sponsored by river rock

for sandhya patel, larry beil, all of us. we appreciate you >> lou: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- conan o'brien and rege-jean page. with cleto and the cletones. and now, jimmy kimmel!