and breaking news on the afternoon edition. the former mayor of oakland is indicted on federal corruption charges. good afternoon. i'm ryan yamamoto. federal officials

released a lot of new information in just the past few hours. within the past hour. the recalled mayor of oakland, xiang tao, was arraigned in federal court where she pleaded not guilty. our cameras were there this morning as she turned herself in ahead of the announcement from the federal prosecutors. they accused her of a bribery scheme that includes her longtime partner, andre jones, and the prominent duong family. this was a multiyear investigation by the fbi. last june, the agents raided the oakland home of then mayor tao and andre jones, as well as the properties connected to the dea wong's and a recycling company. tao's attorney addressed the allegations outside the courthouse just minutes ago. >the united states department of justice's justice manual requires the government to look carefully at its prosecutions to ensure that the actions that they take are not actions that are taking to take into effect the outcomes of elections and the timing of the investigative steps by the

government in this case, including the unsealing of the indictment today, has called all of that into question. the mayor looks forward to defending herself against these charges, showing that there is, in fact, no evidence to support. will look. >well. until this morning, the investigation was shrouded in secrecy of wilson. walker is live at the federal building in san francisco. with what we learned so far, wilson. >yeah. ryan. a lot going on this morning. all of those defendants at a courthouse over in oakland. they have all pleaded not guilty. we're here in san francisco, where federal prosecutors really showed us their work. as you said, we've been waiting for months for this. and i think maybe the top bullet point here is that what we heard today from prosecutors, what is in this indictment tracks very much along with what we've been hearing since last june. right. and maybe more importantly,

things we have been able to report since june. right. it's an alleged conspiracy with tao and her partner andre jones, along with two businesses and two members of the huang family, to allegedly peddle some kind of influence at city hall. that is what we had been hearing for all of these months. today, we heard it from prosecutors themselves. >examples of promises allegedly made by tao include her agreement to purchase housing units from a company owned by the duong family, her agreement to ensure the extension of a contract for recycling services that the city of oakland had with one of david and andy duong's companies, and her agreement to use influence to help appoint a high level city official to benefit the duong's business interests. >all right. now, in exchange for that, the duong's allegedly provided various payments. one

was a $75,000 mailer campaign on behalf of tao during that election. that, of course, is something we have previously reported. but today we heard a new allegation and that is $95,000 in payments towards a promised sum of some $300,000 in return for this influence at city hall. now, of course, everyone will remember mayor tao coming out and offering an impassioned denial of all of these charges. several days after those raids across the east bay. here is a bit of her press conference from back in june, >and i want to be crystal clear. i have done nothing wrong. i can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me. i have not been charged with a crime and i am confident that i will not be charged with a crime because i

am innocent. >all right then, mayor tao issued that defiant denial of these allegations in the days after her home was raided. but the indictment released today, describes her as being very much involved with this alleged scheme. there are text messages that are quoted which appear to direct various players to take certain actions, while jones, that is, that is her partner, is said to have collected the payments, which were allegedly attached to a no show job for him at the housing company that is in question. here is the irs special agent in charge. >chen tao, committed to extend the contract of the recycling company and buying housing units from business owned by the youngs, while andre jones received these payments. >all right. now, we mentioned that the defendants are all over in oakland making their way through court. now, we have received a statement

from an attorney representing at least one of the songs that reads our client and friend, andy duong is innocent of these charges. we have kept quiet despite the media frenzy of the past months, in hopes that the government would correctly come to see through objective investigation that the allegations are baseless and being fanned by nothing more than gossip and supposition. so i guess to recap, the real highlight here is that what is now officially alleged by prosecutors does track with what we have heard since june, what we have reported in large part since june. now it really is in the courtrooms. we're waiting to hear, as we said, maybe more from from everyone involved here. as the proceedings wind down over in oakland, as all those defendants make their way through the courthouse. and i don't know. it it you know, there was there was a moment, brian, you know, last year where we all wondered, you know, when would we learn about

this? it is not unheard of to see investigations like this produce no charges. that has happened even in oakland before. but but here we are. the indictment is in and the gears will turn further. now we will be hearing, of course, more from everyone in oakland later. and coming up tonight at five six, we will have more of what is in that indictment, more of those text messages, excuse me messages, more of the specifics surrounding this case. but again, brian, it tracks largely with what we have been hearing. >okay. wilson walker breaking it down for us live in san francisco. well, not long after the fbi raid at tao's home, i did have a chance to speak with her live on our newscast, asking her about this very investigation. >i am not the subject of the investigation, and i have done nothing wrong, and i expect that there will be an opportunity for us to say more. but, you know, not at this time. i am also fully cooperating with the investigation, and i look forward to the opportunity to vindicate.

>so let's break this down. xiang tao was elected mayor of oakland in november of 2022, becoming the first hmong american to lead a major city. she faced criticism for her firing of a popular police chief and for the city's struggles with public safety, homelessness, and the budget. in june of 2024, as we mentioned in wilson's story, the fbi raided the home she shares with her boyfriend andre jones. this past november, tao was recalled by oakland voters, and today, the fbi handing down this indictment on federal corruption charges. we spoke with cbs news legal analyst jessica levinson about how the legal process may play out. >now. everything is going to the clock is going to start for things inside the courtroom. there will be aggressive. something called motion practice, where, you know, the attorneys will file a motion. obviously, her attorneys will try and get this indictment thrown out. i frankly don't see that happening. and then we will start the process of marching towards trial. a reminder for everybody that

most cases. corruption case when it comes to indictment to trial, oftentimes that can be years. >and we'll continue to follow this case and the latest developments on air online at kpix.com and the free cbs news 24 seven app. and another high profile case, matthew mueller, the man convicted of kidnaping and the subject of netflix's american nightmare series, has pleaded guilty to two charges related to two home invasions and sexual assaults in mountain view and palo alto. back in 2009, mueller was already serving time for kidnaping and ... a vallejo woman. in 2015, in a case initially called a hoax. the latest charges he faces life in prison when he's sentenced on february 21st. well, one of the largest lithium battery plants in the world continues to burn this afternoon after a massive fire broke out yesterday. this is at

the moss landing facility. this is new video from this morning taking you from our chopper over the plant just a few moments ago. you can see that large plume of smoke still stretching far up into the sky. when they do zoom in, you can see those flames still actively burning as well. that plant is located about 90 miles south of san francisco in monterey county. the fire began burning yesterday afternoon, sending toxic smoke and flames into the air and prompting the evacuations of close to 1500 people from their homes. firefighters say they plan on letting that fire burn itself out, and thankfully this morning there have been no reports of any injuries or deaths related to the fire or smoke. the fire has also shut down a section of highway one for hours, as hundreds of emergency workers rushed to the scene. here's a time lapse video showing the burning of the lithium battery storage facility operated by texas based vistra energy. county officials say a battery storage plant on that property, owned by pg and e and equipped with

tesla megapack battery packs, was not impacted by the fire. fire crews on site are now monitoring the conditions on the ground and in the air using drones. they tell us the winds have been fairly calm, allowing the smoke from the fire to go up and out of the area. the county supervisor for the area says he hopes the company will use this as an opportunity to improve safety across the industry. >there must be accountability for this and there will be accountability. this is really a lot more than just a fire. it's really a wake up call for this industry. and if we're going to be moving ahead with sustainable energy, we need to have a safe battery systems in place. >well, cause of the fire has not been determined just yet. the last time a fire happened at the moss landing power plant was back in 2022 at the tesla power storage facility. okay, let's give you a live look outside toward the south bay. a little hazy out there right now, but let's check in with jessica burch with a look at our forecast for the weekend. hey, jess. >well, there was lots to

break apart right there. of course, those community members closer to moss landing, they're still dealing with poor air quality, and we monitor that closely for them just based off that chemical compound that's currently in their air. now back here in the bay, let's take a quick look at what's happening for us. behind me. you see that live look. it's a little cloudy and a little hazy out there as we head out the door today. it's just around 1211 right now and we're seeing light winds mostly moving onshore now, anywhere up to around 5 to 10 mile per hour. winds are expected as we head into the next couple of hours. a little bit breezier near san francisco at times, but it's relatively light as we dive into this weekend. another thing to mention too, though, heading into this weekend, we're going to be sitting in that moderate air quality alert all throughout the bay area as we head into saturday, sunday, and monday of next week. i think that's important to note, but here's some big changes in the forecast for us as we take a look at our rainfall outlook for the next 6 to 10 days. it's still showing drier than normal conditions for us here locally, so not a drop of rain in sight for now, but that could change right around the corner and i'll have more on that coming up in a bit for now. over to you, ryan.

>all right. thanks, jess. well, the death toll from the firestorm in southern california now at 27 people, up from 25, with that number expected to rise, fire crews are gaining more ground with the palisades fire in the malibu area now 31% contained the eaton fire in the palisades pasadena area. that's 65% contained. but as they make progress, there is a new concern. >the infrastructure under thousands of homes have been compromised. it hadn't really sunk in yet that our whole entire community would be wiped off. wiped off the map. >officials from the u.s. geological survey say the threat of landslides and debris flows in the area will loom for years. they released a map of the palisades fire burn area yesterday, showing the places most at risk and in need of reinforcements and barricades. they are still working on a map for the eaton fire, and still ahead at noon and streaming on cbs news bay area. the supreme court weighs in on the fate of tiktok and the ban set to take

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the most powerful clean in any universe, tide. lookin good. thank you. [bus arrives] well at least it's on time. see captain america: brave new world. well, the supreme court has cleared the way for a ban on tiktok in the united states is set to take effect in two days. but that doesn't necessarily mean that come sunday, users will be blocked from accessing the app. as erika brown reports, enforcement of the ban will then fall to president elect donald trump. >supreme court justices ruled a law labeling tiktok as a national security risk does not violate the first amendment rights of its users. in the ruling, justices said tiktok has special characteristics a foreign adversary's ability to

leverage its control over the platform to collect vast amounts of personal data from 170 million u.s. users that justify this differential treatment. >our supreme court has rightly decided to uphold. the requirement that tiktok be sold. >the law gave tiktok's parent company bytedance, until january 19th to sell off the social media site or be banned. tiktok users have flocked to the platform, expressing outrage. >tiktok is getting banned officially. do you guys not realize the impact that this will have on the economy and to the u.s. government? i've never forgiven you for this. >the app is unlikely to go dark on sunday. instead, the government is expected to order app stores to remove it, meaning new users will not be able to sign up. the action is viewed as a delay tactic to give the incoming trump administration time to decide how to proceed. >when he comes into office, he needs to have his whole national security team as well as his legal team, the department of justice, develop

a strategy to ensure that our data is safe. our privacy is secure across all threats. >trump filed a brief with the court in december, urging the justices to temporarily pause the law. >the irony in all this was donald trump was the first guy to point out this problem. matter of fact, his administration had to convince me they did a great job of convincing me and the overwhelming members of congress. >the president elect said he spoke with china's xi jinping today about a host of issues, including tiktok. tiktok ceo xiao xue has been invited to attend trump's inauguration monday, >and trump released a statement on social media saying that his decision on tiktok will be made in the not too distant future, end quote, but asked for more time to review that situation in the inauguration of president elect, trump will move indoors on monday because of the intense cold weather in the forecast in dc. the swearing in will take place inside the capitol rotunda. outgoing president joe biden,

members of congress and other dignitaries and guests will be able to view the ceremony from inside the capitol. the last time the inauguration was moved indoors, that was back in 1985, when president ronald reagan began his second term. you can watch donald trump's inauguration right here on cbs news. bay area coverage starts at 6 a.m. on monday. okay, back to our first alert weather right now, giving you a live look outside toward the golden gate bridge. and yes, it's a little hazy and cloudy. pretty chilly this >morning. it's cloudy. it's chilly. i kind of like it, though. this is where we're supposed to be in the month of january, right? here's what's happening as we head outside today, our daytime highs are going to warm all the way up to the low 60s. warm emphasis on that right now as we make our way all the way down into the santa clara valley, it is a little bit warmer compared to some of us near the peninsula. we're expecting upper 60s today near fremont, all the way down into san jose too, with these cloudy skies still holding on tight to us throughout the afternoon hours today and tomorrow as we head into this weekend's forecast. but another thing to mention too it's going to be a

beautiful, mild weekend ahead of us. not a lot of changes in the forecast. we have light winds pushing in from offshore. that's what's delivering this cloudy and higher relative humidity set up. we're going to continue to watch wind gusts max off close to around ten miles per hour into the overnight hours tonight. early morning hours tomorrow. pushing a little bit offshore at times to kind of going back and forth. but they're not that breezy. another thing to mention to our air quality. we talked about this earlier. it's still sitting in the water category as we dive into this weekend and early next week, which is important to note, if you are sensitive to that pollutant matter like i am, it's a good idea to kind of limit your time outside if you are, or at least continue to hydrate throughout the day too. now, heading into the next couple of days, here's what we're gearing up for. daytime highs are going to be flirting in the upper 50s and lower 60s, not only this weekend, but into early next week as well. it's going to be a cloudier and cooler start to the week, next week for monday and tuesday for our inland areas. but if you live closer to the bay, it's going to be a cloudy one for us pretty much all all weekend long. we're talking about saturday and sunday, dipping down all the way into the upper 50s. we'll get a little bit of a midweek warm up next week

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(♪♪) >well, san francisco's blackjack bakery is coming up with a sweet way to help victims of the southern california wildfires. they are selling special. i love la coconut cakes. the money raised from them will go to benefit restaurant cares, that is a nonprofit that helps food and beverage workers impacted by the fires. another way you can also help victims of the wildfires is go to redcross.org, slash cbs to donate. you can also call one 800 red cross or text red cross to 90999 to make a $10 donation. we'll be right back.

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12 hours of uninterrupted joint pain relief. aleve. strength to last 12 hours. more on that breaking news. the former oakland mayor charged with multiple counts of bribery. we will dig a take a deep dive into the allegations against tao and the influential duong family. that story. much more coming up at 430. and before we go tonight is the tip off for the new, much anticipated women's basketball league called unrivaled. it features 36 wnba players across six teams competing, three on three. it was founded by all star players napheesa collier and breanna stewart. it will also feature players to supplement their income right here in the us during the off season, the average salary for the players will be $220,000. well, that's it for the afternoon edition. remember, we're streaming 24 over seven on the free cbs news app. our next newscast is at 430. i'll

see you back here at five. have a great afternoon.

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