kpix5's john ramos on her story and her greatest hope. >> today is national rare disease day.and if you didn't know that, count yourself lucky. >> it's just devastating. >> reporter: two years ago we told you about doug douley's taughter iris. diagnose with a rare diagnostic disease that's always fatal in children. but the condition is so rare that doug and his wife christine wagner found there wasn't a lot of help out there for them. >> at first it's very lonely but if you go out there and fight the fight, you find you know friend. >> reporter: the couple both worked for pixar and using their communication skills created an online network that's raised nearly $2 million. they need it because researchers had developed a remarkable gene therapy that with one treatment has cured cats with the disease. but because there's very little market for the cure, drug companies haven't been very interested. so families have to raise funds themselves for the human trials that could save their children's lives. >> i expect us to ward on the past of all those affected. >> reporter: that's wh

kpix 5's john ramos explains they want someone who could relate to what the dog is going through. >> reporter: may be a weird name for a dog but her life has been anything but normal. >> broken leg when she came into the shelter. we tried to do what we could to save the leg. >> reporter: the dog had been hit by a car but her injury never healed and in december they had to amputate. the operation cost $2,000. but a rescue group called umbrella of hope got an anonymous grant for the surgery with one interesting condition. >> be placed with someone that has -- is an amputee. a child, an adult, a veteran. >> reporter: they had a number of unusual pairings. we told you about a burned and abused dog the group placed with a burn survivor. they are hoping to do the same. and veteran,s say -- veterans, say dogs -- veterinarians say dogs deal with an amputation better than humans do. >> i am fine. let's go play. >> reporter: by pairing her they believe her spirit could be a much needed inspiration. >> a kid or an adult that sees an animal doing so well, with that circumstance, we realize they

kpix 5's john ramos on the -- better. kpix 5's john ramos with more on the effort. >> reporter: inviting meme to celebrate meant -- people to celebrate meant somebody was happy about something. >> we thought it would never go through. >> one -- yeah. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: the city cut the ripen on a new bridge -- ribbon on a new bridge. they are calling it the path to transit. bay front boulevard will become a transportation center connecting bus service to commuter rail lines and possibly ferry service to the large work centers. hercules is excited about this because a city's fortune can ride on the ability to get people where they are going. >> this is the catalyst. this is our future. >> reporter: buses to san francisco will soon be operating from here and they are hoping amtrak could open in three years, shuttling workers to sacramento or b.a.r.t. or oakland. that would make it an attractb police to -- attractive place to live. funding isn't all there yet but caltrans is a big supporter of the project.

kpix 5 reporter john ramos shows us some tattoo artists don't want their teaching traditions disruptedbuzz ] >> reporter: for years, oakland has been a mecca for quality tattoo art but matt decker has a plan that's getting under a lot of people's skin. >> what we did is we developed a way to train artists that we are then going to intern and hire. >> reporter: decker owns premium tattoo, and intends to new artists out of his shop. he says eight students will get hands on instruction and when certified, a job in one of the five shops his company owns. but that runs against the individual apprenticeship system that oakland's tattoo community is used to. >> we want to be able to give them education without using them as free labor. that's the way things have been done. >> they want the money per student. it's a big chunk of change what i have been told. >> reporter: the co-owner of sacred tattoo downtown says the school will flood an already tight market with new artists making it harder for everyone to make a living. and he says tattooing is a trade that takes years of one- on-one mentor

in santa clara, john ramos, kpix 5. ♪[ music ] >>> new best friends.e had some rain this morning, sunshine in the afternoon. you want to do that again? mother nature says, i'm ready. and find out which day of the week is going to be the wettest where most of us will get another inch of rain. that's next. >> and coming up all new at 6:00 tonight, teetering on the edge. east bay homes at risk of crumbling into a creek. the dramatic new damage after the rain and the fears with more storms on the way. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, jack: most other combos come with a wimpy, kid-sized burger. jack: at my place, you get the double jack combo with one jack: of the biggest burgers on my menu. double the beef, double jack: the cheese, plus hot and salty fries and a refreshing drink for jack: just $4.99. yup, i took the combo and made it a bigger jack: deal. like how ben franklin made flying kites a bigger deal. jack: or how astronauts made a sunday drive a bigger deal. jack: or how egyptians made triangles a bigger deal. sfx: back-up warning beep jack: so, if you want to go bi

in santa clara, john ramos, kpix 5. >>> you know of red light cameras. how about speed cameras? coming up, a new way you might get caught redhanded. >> santa clara water district leaders under fire for failing to tell flood victims of the rising water last month. what they plan to tell them tonight. ♪[ music ] ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and i'm kenny choi. let's start with a live look outside... tch -- with >>> good morning, it is wednesday, march 22. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm kenny choi. let's start with a live look idthis morning. we are on storm watch with another wet commute in store. on the left we have sfo and on the right, a live look. delays on some arriving flights flights. >>> there are some tough driving conditions around san francisco this morning. this is what the drive looked like not too long ago on franklin street. wet commute. >> you want to go slow and windshield wipers. >> roberta says this is one of the worst commutes she has ever had. >> in 21 years. let me tell you two things this morning. as an aspirin and a massage are needed! we have difficulties when we head o

john ramos, kpix 5. >> they charge nothing for their services. if you would like to donate or volunteer there is a link on www.cbs5.com. afcouple had their -- >>> couple had a breathless encounter with a mountain lion. look. >> oh, my god, he is huge. look at this guy. >> they were hiking in the hills friday afternoon when they spotted the big cat 15 yards away. >> we just stayed quiet and maybe move a little bit so they recognize us. we don't look like a deer ore a turk -- or a turkey. >> he did walk away. people should never approach mountain lions. they avoid confrontation as long as they are given a way out. >>> california fishermen have a whale of a tale after this adventurer. fishing off san diego when they crossed paths with a pod of gray whales. they got so close you could downtown barnacles on them -- count the barnacles on them. >> we would go couple hundred yards and they would follow us there and hang out under the boat. we have never seen this happen before. >> experience. while this is rare, seeing whales from a distance is not rare

kpix 5's john ramos explains the gift comes with a big bureaucratic catch. >> reporter: john muir once lived in this house in martinez. the founding father of the national park system slept in this room and wrote at this desk. but it is in the hills beyond his backyard that he found inspiration. >> and he reflected on his journey to the sierra. he reflected on the special places that we now call national parks, but it was just an idea when john muir was here. >> reporter: so the national park service preserved the land nearby including mount wanted wanda and a creek named after his father-in-law and a group wants to add more space to the place. >> donating 44 acres to the original 325, for people who enjoy in the spirit of john muir. >> reporter: but there is one obstacle. because the donation is larger than 10% of the original site, the law says the park service cannot accept the gift without literally getting an act of congress. and last time they tried, the bill died in the senate. >> it will be as i said, donated to the national park service. it's everybody's land. it has money to

kpix 5's john ramos has her story. >> reporter: president trump recently admitted that the subject of healthcare was really complicated. and that's probably because of people like this woman. >> i feel certain that the affordable care act will be repealed. and, um, it's hard to imagine what that's going to look like for me. >> reporter: four years ago, hill was working part time at a sacramento nonprofit and doing some modeling when she began developing an incurable form of arthritis that also caused her father's spine to fuse into a rigid crooked bone. but it was the affordable care act that gave her the insurance she needed to get treatment for the pre-existing condition. >> because of the subsidies available, i could have, um, a better health insurance plan that covered more things that i needed. >> reporter: now, permanently disabled with her savings dwindling she lives in constant pain. her drug treatments only slow progression of the disease. but still, she is terrified by talks that changes to the law would eliminate the only help available to her. >> this isn't just a, like, i

kpix 5's john ramos shows us the woman behind the campaign and what inspired them to promote antiharassment>> reporter: one thing you can say about bart, it really brings people closer together. whether they like it or not. but shortly after the election, [indiscernible name] of albany heard about a female muslim passenger being harassed and told to go back to her own country. >> i just couldn't believe it happened on bart. and that there were people there and then i began thinking, like, all right if i'm there what would i do. >> reporter: so she and neighbors took action. they opened a "go fund me" page to raise money to place this ad on bart. the cartoon graphic advises people who want to help to quietly step in and begin chatting with the victim and totally ignores the aggressor. the harasser will usually walk away because, well, it's hard to fight with someone who isn't paying any attention to you. >> by getting a reaction, that's probably a large part of why they're doing it. >> i thought, well, this could work not just for islamophobia, this could work for all different situations. >

. >> kpix 5's john ramos shows us the declining fortunes of one spot in richmond. >> reporter: hilltop mall in richmond was quiet this morning. some say too quiet. just last week, j.c. penney announced that the store here would close in june. and now sears, that icon of american retail, says it is in deep trouble, as well. >> to think that a store that stable, you know, and it was just like -- it was here forever, and that's having trouble? >> reporter: last night sears told federal stock regulators that the company's performance indicates, quote, substantial doubt exists related to the company's ability to continue as a going concern. sears cites increasing competition from online sales as a factor and says it hasn't turned a profit since 2011. >> nobody in here. nobody around. >> reporter: it's gotten so bad that people across the country are posting online video tours showing how empty their local stores are. >> everything is changing, you know, i'm a little bit old- fashioned guy maybe i don't know what's going tonight next -- little bit scary of course. >> reporter: it seems like

john ramos on how they are linking money to morals. >> reporter: in the small town of hollister, acrosshe street from an advertisement of the wages of sin, is a startup company with an unusual goal. >> we see ourselves as the chik- fil-a of investments, right? >> reporter: robert is an investment capitalist but also a devout christian who just yesterday launched inspire investing, two stock funds concentrating on companies that follow biblical teachings. >> overall, the socially responsible investing impact investing community has a very strong liberal tilt and very much focuses on more liberal issues. but there's been nothing there for those conservatives investors. >> reporter: the fundies qualifies investment in any company that involves abortion, gambling, alcohol, pornography, human rights violations and one that should rile the bay area, the so-called lgbt lifestyle. >> we exclude companies that again that choose to take a hard-line activist stance on any issue that is outside of moral fabric. >> reporter: but jesus said judge not lest ye be judged so a computer program does the j

in hercules john ramos kpix 5. >> they believe hercules will become a major destination once everything is in place. >>> pretty soon you could be able to dislike something on facebook. but it's not where you would expect it. ,,,,,,,,,,,, across the country because of a fire risk. the recall covers certain models of c-class.. e-class.. c-l-a cars.. and g-l-a and g-l-c s-u-v's. the german automaker >>> 50,000 mercedes benz cars and suv are being recalled across the united states. owners should make an appointment with the dealers to get that fixed. >>> facebook is testing a dislike button in the shape of a thumbs down emoji. the elusive thumbs down is being tested on the messenger app. >>> when it comes to penny's. making money costs more than it's worth. the 2016 report says the per coin cost to make and distribute a penny is 1.5 cents each. >> try to do all the math there. >> yes yeah it's a little early for that. >>> this is not a lot. it's america's favorite cookie. of course it deserves its own day. >> it's national oreo cookie day. nabisco baked its first oreo in 1912. and now dozen

john ramos on the final farewell to a piece of the bay area history. >> reporter: we're here to say goodbye to the old bay bridge. when workers geared up this morning to remove the final trussel section. it brought to mind the saying that it's always easier to tear down than to build up. but whoever said that was not part of this project. >> deconstructing the cantelever was more difficult than constructing it. >> reporter: the bay bridge was considered an engineering marvel but it was constructed with antiquated methods and world war i era steel and concrete. so taking it apart became a big research project. >> you have to go back to the library and say what did they have. and then what did they think they had. >> reporter: it hasn't been easy but engineers are proud that this part of the job was finished safely and a full two years ahead of schedule. but as the final truss headed across to oakland for recycling it was hard not to be a little nostalgic until you remembered why it was being taken down in the first place. >> there's going to be an earthquake. >>> caltrans is now targeting sa

kpix 5's john ramos sat down with this year's repeat champ. today at chaboya middle school in san >>> and over the weekend is scripps national spelling bee took place. >> reporter: when i sat down with gandoswksi he seemed a little puzzled by my first question. >> give me your name and spelling. >> that's ironic because this kid can spell almost anything. he was a finalist in last year's scripps national spelling bee. having won the cbs bay area hosted at kpix studios. that was no fluke because saturday he did it again. >> o-m-o-b-y-n-i-a. omobynia. >> and we do have a winner. >> i guess we thought it would be hard to win for two years in a row but it's not impossible if you study enough. >> he studies a lot. and it helps that chaboya has such a strong academic culture. the squad area is decorated with algebriac symbols and each day the school stops everything and reads for 20 minutes. everything has to at least give it a try. >> we gauge in value, learning and they take it. we want to build lifelong learners. >> reporter: the regional competi

. >>> kpix 5 john ramos on a weekend basketball tournament that is much more than just a game. >> reporter: in this coast guard gymnasium, a basketball tournament was held where players had a lot more to overcome than just numbers on a scoreboard. this is wheelchair basketball. sort of a nascar version of the game, where no one ever stays in their own lane. >> this is like purposeville bumping into each other, every single second. >> reporter: the bay area outreach, and recreational program hosted 8 club level teams from northern california and nevada in the competition. >> one of the things the players get out of it isn't just a sport. >> reporter: a tough situation, sure, but anyone looking for sympathy here has come to the wrong gymnasium. >> let's live life differently. let's live life happily. >> reporter: the games are physically competitive. a player was ejected for giving the ref a little too much grief, a la draymond green. if someone takes a fall, no one from the sidelines rolls in to help. >> you've got to push yourself up. maybe someone will help you at some point, but yeah, yo

dijo, dijeron que busca ramos una carretera y caminamos y por ahÍ pasarÍa la inmigraciÓn >>> pero ahora crece la prciÓn luego que el secretario de seguridad de estados unidos, johneparar a los niÑos de sus padres cuando crucen en la frontera >>> es terrible porque hay personas que pueden lastimar a estos niÑos, es nuestra responsabilidad asegurar que estÉn bien >>> de llevarse a cabo estos cambios, segÚn el secretario de seguridad nacional john kelly frenarÍa a personas que lleguen a la frontera y antes que inicien su travesÍa antes de venir a estados unidos. autoridades piden volver a su paÍs de origen. >>> si ellos deciden venir a este paÍs lo harÁn >>> el secretario de seguridad nacional dicen que los padres exponen a los niÑos que sean explotados y que pierdan la vida, vÍctor hugo rodriguez noticias telemundo >>> un dolor inmenso para las madres y una crueldad para los niÑos, diversas organizaciones califican la iniciativa como una violaciÓn a los derechos humanos y preparan acciones para detenerla. edgar muÑoz amplia. >>> con el corazÓn partido, rosa re cine califica de cruel e inhumano que castiguen a los padres por cruzar a sus hijos >>> que no me quiten

ramos abc news. >> and "action news" will have continuing coverage of today's developments. john rawlins will be live at 5 o'clock with what representatives go through and the intense pressure being put on them by the white house and their constituents. we'll hear from speak paul ryan live in just moments and of course constant updates posted on 6abc.com. >> to other news this afternoon, a gruesome crime is under investigation in maple shade burlington county where a mother and her young son were stabbed to death. the homicide unraveled inside their home last night. bob brooks is live at the fox meadow apartment complex with the details. bob. >> reporter: alicia, somebody out there has done something very horrific. a mother and her son, again that son just six years old brutally stabbed to death. it happened in their apartment just behind us here right next to that tall bush you can see. the initial investigation it just wrapped up and had been going on since 9 o'clock last night when that discovery was first made. it's a crime that neighbors at the fox meadow apartments in maple