tonight, a man convicted of a notorious bay area kidnaping, now tied to a similar crime in a different county. what happened and how investigators cracked that case. and today, america's democracy stood. vice president kamala harris certifies the election results. four years after the january 6th riot at

the capitol. we're talking to a bay area congresswoman, zoe lofgren, about what she remembers about that day and how she feels about president elect trump's promise to pardon at least some of the people who have already been convicted. plus, thousands of veterans still feeling the fallout of anti-gay policies in the military. the harm. don't ask, don't tell is still causing them. and the legal victory they just won. and then later dungeness season crab season finally open. you may want to have a hard time getting your hands on local crab. we'll explain. good evening. this is nbc bay area news tonight, and i'm jessica aguirre. we start with new charges tonight for a notorious bay area kidnaper. he's now being tied to another kidnaping in the bay area. and the police chief of seaside is being credited with helping to crack that case. matthew muller was convicted in the 2015 so-called gone girl kidnaping in

vallejo. the details at that time were so astonishing that police initially accused the victim, denise huskins, of making the entire story up with her boyfriend. muller was ultimately linked to the crimes and arrested. he's currently serving 40 years. now, last month, he was charged with two other home invasions in the south bay. that happened before the gone girl case that were very similar. and now he's been linked to yet another kidnaping in the east bay. authorities say muller held three people at a home in san ramon i in april of 2015, demanding one of them withdraw tens of thousands of dollars from their bank. police say after he got that money, he let them go. investigators claim muller confessed to those new crimes last year during letters he exchanged with seaside's police chief. okay, let's go over it again. here are the cases that authorities are tying to. muller. there's that home invasion in mountain view in september of 2009. then in october, another home invasion

in palo alto. in march of 2015, that's the vallejo gone girl kidnaping of denise huskins. and tonight we're learning charges have been filed against mueller for a kidnap for ransom in san ramon. just one month later in april. and then in june, a home invasion in dublin. a lot to follow there, but there will be a news conference tomorrow in seaside in monterey county. investigators are expected to announce new information related to the charges against mueller, and we will be there to bring you the very latest. okay, another headline we're watching tonight, will longtime east bay congresswoman barbara lee run for oakland mayor? today, she offered a major hint about her intentions. lee officially opened a campaign finance account today. it is one of the first steps that a potential candidate takes to raise money for a campaign. this move comes just days after lee left the u.s. house of representatives, where she served for 28 years. a rep for lee wouldn't comment on today's filing, but they did say

that lee plans to make an announcement on whether she will run later this week. the special election will be held in april, and there's been a monthslong grassroots push to get her to run. okay. oakland will also have a temporary new mayor until that election takes place. council member kevin jenkins will now serve as oakland's interim mayor. he's replacing former councilwoman nikki fortunato bas, who was elected to the alameda county of supervisors. he and the other new council members sworn in today faced some serious and immediate challenges. that includes how to make up $129 billion shortfall. that's already triggered massive cuts. we have issues. we have our challenges. but this is a resilient city and we have a new council that's going to work hard to restore the trust in the city and restore the trust in this government. oakland firefighters gathered before today's swearing in to call on the city to overturn that decision to temporarily close two fire stations to help

balance the budget. those closures started today. now, the transition of power is also underway in washington, d.c. today, congress officially certified president elect donald trump's election victory. that certification comes exactly four years after a mob of mr. trump supporters attacked the capitol in an attempt to block the certification of the 2020 election results. and joe biden today, no such violence. donald j. trump of the state of florida has received 312 votes. vice president harris presided over this morning's joint session of congress certifying the election she lost to president elect trump. speaker of the house mike johnson joined democrats in giving harris a standing ovation right after the certification. now, harris did speak briefly to reporters, saying she performed her duties, her constitutional duty. today i did what i have done my entire career, which is take seriously the oath that i

have taken many times to support and defend the constitution of the united states. i do believe very strongly that america's democracy is only as strong as our williness to fight for it. every single person, their willingness to fight for and respect the importance of our democracy. otherwise, it is very fragile and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. and today, america's democracy stood. now that very calm and procedural certification today, in stark contrast to the january 6th attack, we spoke with representative zoe lofgren, who was in the capitol, both in 2021 and today, about how she feels four years later. i've been thinking a lot about the police officers who stood up to the mob really courageously. many of them were severely injured, and

th saved my life, and they saved the democracy. and i'm very grateful to them. the then president knew that he'd lost the election. we did discover that in our january 6th investigation. he lied about it, and he convinced a lot of his followers that he had won, even though he'd lost. he was willing to overturn the constitution, essentially engage in a coup d'etat. what is your reaction? i guess that he has said now that he he may pardon those who stormed the capitol, freeing people who viciously assaulted with weapons police officers is despicable. but then so is he. and soo he has the capacity to o that. i think it's a real slap in the face of the police here at the capitol. and really the rule of law overall. well, you just heard her say it there. president elect trump has said he plans to pardon at least some of those arrested. and zoe

lofgren says that move is despicable. also tonight they served our country, but they can't get the benefits for it. we're talking about thousands of veterans discharged under the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. but now a groundbreaking new settlement could finally change that. it's very concerning because at the end of the day, what we have here is a population of vets who are not getting benefits that they are ultimately entitled to. it's an issue that our investigative unit first exposed more than a year ago. for years in america, being lgbtq could get you thrown out of the service under the military's homosexual conduct policy, and many of those terans were kicked out for what's called less than honorable condition, which prevented them from collecting some military benefits. back in 2023, a group of veterans joioid a class action lawsuit against the department of defense, and that included lilly stefanidis, a non-binary navy vet discharged

in 1989. today's settlement in that lawsuit is expected to crea an easier path for vets like lilly to finally access their benefits. well, i feel like like like some shackles just came off of me. i feel like i've been been shackled to this, to this discharge for 30 years. you know, i joined when i was 19 and i'm 55 today. and this is i waited a long time on the inside. now i feel like i feel whole. joining me now is lori rivkin from the impact fund. she's one of the lead attorneys on this class action case. so thank you very much for being with us. don't ask, don't tell were rescinded in 2011. we're now in 2025. why is this just happening now? why has it taken so long? well, the department of defense has basically acknowledged that when don't ask, don't tell was rescinded. no one gave much thought at the time to all of the people who had been kicked out under don't

ask, don't tell and decades of discriminatory policies eararlir and the long lasting impacts that this had. they say your discharge record is the most important record you carry with yo for the rest of your life. but people who were kicked out based on their sexual orientation couldn't use their discharge record to prove their service to the country, to get the health care benefits, the education benefits, and the dignity and respect that they deserved. yeah, let's talk about those benefits, because these are not just willy nilly. these are crucial benefits. we're talking about health care, which is a huge thing for veterans in this country. what other benefits would this impact? this impacted the ability to get assistance with housing, which of course is also very crucial for veterans, the ability to get military education paidd for the gi bill, the ability to receive things that are really meaningful to people who served like a military funeral. and so they have the whole range of being able to provide crucial services and supports to veterans, many of whom, as we

know, suffer from disabilities and injuries as a result of their service. and all of these veterans were denied access to those services. so, lori, tell me a little bit about the settlement, the scope of the settlement. when will it start helping people, and what does it specifically say in terms of like someone like lilly? what will lilly receive as a result of this? all right. so the first thing to know is that today we filed in federal court in san francisco for the first step in approval of the settlement, because when you have a class action on behalf of a group of people, a federal court has to look at that and make sure that it's fair. so we need that to happen and for the court to approve it. and hopefully we expect the settlement to go into full effect by this summer. when it goes into effect, it has the potential to help more than 35,000 veterans discharged based on sexual orientation, who are still carrying this badge of shame, basically on their discharge papers and what it

does before the process, all the burden was on the veteran to request their files, which could take years from the military, and then to put together a petition with evidence to try to prove to a board that they were unjustly discharged, that most often too the help of lawyers. again, that entire process could take 3 to 5 years. now, under these processes, the burden is no longer on the veterans if they want to be able to change their dd214. all they have to say is i was discharged under this policy, and then they can access one of two routes, depending on their specific service discharge. they can either get an administrative change, removing sexual orientation or homosexuality from their dd214, or the military will gather their records and submit group applications to the boards of corrections for them to be considered to receive the honorable discharge that they deserve. so just a little while ago, we had an interview with lilly, a former navy vet, that

said that this now makes them feel whole. is that the feeling that you're getting from the other benefits of the other veterans that you're representing and long term? what kind of an impact do you think this could have on veterans in e future? we hear this over and over from our clients, not just the actual benefits, but being subjected to these witch hunts, to the interrogations being threatened. this left a mark on people for the rest of their lives. it led to a suicide attempts, drug and alcohol use. people have carried around this physical and emotional burden with them for decades in many cases, and we have heard from our clients that this feels like they are finally getting a release, that they are finally can look and be a part of the veteran community. they're finally being acknowledged. and we've we've heard, like lilly said, it is like shackles being

removed. and the plaintiffs who brought this case on behalf of their other veteran, the other veterans like lilly, are so happy that other people won't have to go through a years long process in order to finally get the relief that they did and the acknowledgment for their service as well. all right. thank you very much. thank you very much. up next. bay area firefighters heading to southern california ahead of high fire danger. what they're going to do when they get there. plus, the crabbing season finally opened, but local fishermen say they've hit some snagsgain. you a'r

are heading that way to help. national weather service says strong santa ana winds will pick up starting tomorrow in parts of santa barbara, los angeles and ventura counties. those gusts forecasted to be up to 90 miles an hour and may last for a few days. now, by this time of the year, fire danger in southern california is usually winding down, but the area hasn't had measurable rainfall in several months, so that combination of high wind and very dry conditions means extreme fire danger. tonight, at least six bay area cal fire engines headed to the south to help be part of strike teams that will be ready to react if a wildfire does indeed start. okay. joining me now is brant pascua. he's a cal

fire battalion chief who's down in southern california right now. thank you for being with me. so tell me a little bit me a little bit more about these conditions. now, how unusual is it that you're caught like this? i mean, fire season now seems to go year round. and how bad are you expecting it to o get?ight. you're you're absolutely correct. fire season is year round. it's a fire year. so down in southern california we get these santa ana's. we haven't got much rain or precipitation. so now we're sitting in a dangerous spot when the santa ana's come the temperatures warm, the humidities are low and the winds, you know, like you said, they're predicted up to 90 miles an hour. that can create a very dangerous predicament. very, very dangerous. so i know you guys are gearing up, and then you have crews coming from our area to help. what do you do exactly to prepare for something like this? are you just staging people in different areas so that you're ready? if s somethig does break out? that's right.

we've got extra crews from san luis obispo all the way down to san diego county. so we're ready in case anything starts. we bring extra crews in. we also have all of our units down here in san diego, riverside, san bernardino that have staffing patterns. no one's going home. we're staffing all our extra engines. it's all hands on deck for this wind event. yeah. s southern california, you haven't gotten a lot of rain, but these santa ana winds, we have seen how vicious these santa ana winds can be in the past. but this year, in this situation, it's a triple threat because of the situation with no rain. and the fact, you know, that you guys are in a situation here where these winds are really going to pick up, right? right. and like we saw in november and december in ventura and malibu, we haven't had any rain since those conditions. so those fires burned hot and fast. and you know, we got to make sure that we if anything starts we keep them small. yeah that's a good, good goal. all right. thank you

brant, thanks for being with us. and thanks, jessica. and stay safe. thank you. all right. california's commercial crabbing season finally opened this weekend after a multiple month delay. that means today it wi be the first day that it will be on the menu at san francisco restaurants. but there's always a. but, as nbc bay area's sergio quintana tells us, the price of crab is higher than it's been for a few seasons. well, the good news is that because the crabbing season has officially started yesterday, people who have been waiting for crab for the last couple of months can finally get their hands on it. the bad news is that it's likely not going to come down in price any time soon. we're here at alioto lazio. you can see that they've got a couple of tanks here that are full of crab, that are ready to get shipped out across the country, and to some local customers as well. one of the reasons why, or a couple of the reasons why the price is not going to be coming down anytime soon is because there are still crabbing restrictions along most of the rest of the pacific coast. that's oregon and

washington state. and so there's still restriction on that. and there's also restriction on california crabbers and how much it can actually haul in. they can only use about 50% of the equipment that they have. and then finally, the report from the crabbers who are coming in is that they are not finding the crab where they usually do. so there is a limited supply still for the local people, obviously, who want to have crab, but then also customers across the country and around the world as well. in san francisco, i'm sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. okay. thank you senthil. all right. let's take you outside, give you a live look at our san jose cara.me

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and tom holland engaged a red carpet moment at the golden globes, sparking wedding rumors about the oakland native. she wore a diamond ring on her left hand during the awards show and ducked the question when asked about it. tmz, though, is reporting that the pair got engaged over the holiday at home. as you know, the two costarred in the three spider-man movies and have been a confirmed couple since 2021 so far. nbc news has not independently confirmed their engagement, but of course, access hollywood will talk about it just coming up now. all right. we heard me talk about those santa ana winds going down in southern california, making the situation there very dangerous. our winds here, the they're called diablo winds right now, but we don't expect

to see any of the fire danger like what they're going to see down there. no. you know, we've had some recent rains. the winds will be dry coming out of the north and the east, but not gusting nearly as high. and the weather setup we have right now is high pressure over the pacific, low pressure in socal. and this is basically going to pull air from high pressure to low pressure. so where that storm is centered we're going to see the gusty winds. and that's going to be down here towards southern california. we're talking winds ranging anywhere from 30 to 100mph here in southern california. they're terming this a particularly dangerous situation by the national weather service. so everyone on high alert. let me get you more details on our wind back here across the bay area, and how gusty it will get. and we should also say in southern california. another side note, they're not expecting any kind of rainfall in the next two weeks. so that's what really makes this so dangerous here. if a fire starts it's going to be hard to get that out. so wind gusts here 15 to 30mph. as we

head through tomorrow morning. we'd stay with the same situation here through the evening. across the lower elevations, some of our mountains could get up to about 45. and then by the time we head into wednesday morning, we're done with any kind of wind gusts. but again, for us, it's going to be some on and off gusts. so i think we'll be able to get through that. temperatures here for tomorrow morning in the 40s and 50s and daytime highs in the 60s. warming up a little bit with those on and off gusts on the 7-day forecast. we're dry here through the next seven days. towards the end of the month, we could see some rain chances increase here. so fortunately we've had some rainfall recently. but bad news in southern california. yeah for sure. we're so lucky that we got that rain. all right. thank you jeff. well, as we wrap up, mario lopez is getting started with access hollywood. here he is. all right. so tonight, it's all about hollywood's biggest party of the year, the golden globes. and we had so many big moments with the winners, including a great laugh with demi moore over this photo of her in the substance. you're going to love what she's sharing about her flirtation with fellow globe winner colin farrell, too, but

it's officially way beyond a flirtation for zendaya when it comes to tom holland, because she surprised everyone by showing up with an enormous engagement ring on her finger. add to that our backstage party with all the winners and a bit of pre-gaming for the red carpet arrivals, which ended up with kieran culkin giving me a pretty cool shout out in his acceptance speech. and like i said, it is a party and it is all just moments away on access hollywood. back to you. it's always a party with you, mario. okay, here's what's coming up tonight in prime time on nbc. brilliant minds marathon starting at eight. three all new episodes of the hit medical drama. then we hope you'll stick around for nbc bay area news at 11. that's it for us here at seven. we'll be back a little bit later.

also has more golden globe moments then access hollywood, and it starts now.