in september, mayor tao declined to comment today on the pending litigation.ever, she did comment on the governor's order to send 120 more california highway patrol officers into the east bay. a large majority in oakland to cut down on retail crime. >> having the help of chp is going to actually create a safer oakland for all communities across the spectrum. you know, this is not, you know, pulling people over for no probable cause. this is hyper focus on those criminals, the gangs and groups under our ceasefire strategy to ensure that we are taking this small group of people off of our streets. >> mayor tao turned down the three finalists for a police chief replacement. the names of three more candidates are due to her by the oakland police commission in early march. >> all right, let's turn to sunday. the festivities in las vegas ramping up as we get closer to the super bowl. >> yeah, this is live. look at allegiant stadium, where the 40 niners will face the kansas city chiefs on sunday. >> and tonight, folks from across the nfl came together to send a messa

he says that he's now suing the city of oakland and mayor xiang tao. abc seven news reporter lena howland is here with the details. good morning. >> good morning. amanda armstrong's lawsuit claims he was illegally terminated in retaliation for criticizing a federal monitor. the monitor, robert warshaw, questioned armstrong's response to an officer misconduct accusation in late 2022. because of that, he was placed on leave and eventually fired. months later, an independent audit cleared armstrong of any wrongdoing. the lawsuit claims mayor martel voiced to others she felt pressured by the monitor to fire armstrong. >> she was involved, and he made the decision and she underscored in describing that hasty decision to terminate him that the reasons were retaliatory. >> she, at an event wednesday morning, mayor tao did clined to comment. >> you know, it's an active litigation and so i'm going to refer that to the city attorney's office. >> the lawsuit also highlights warshaw's involvement in the investigation that led to the termination of armstrong's pred

tao has not commented on the recall. it is sad that our city has become has gotten into the state. >> it is. i care about oakland. i am out here because i care about oakland and because oakland deserves so much better, so much than what this mayor is telling us that we should accept . mhm. >> the organization has until july 22nd to collect about 25,000 signatures to initiate the recall. that's about 10% of oakland's registered voters. democrat katie porter is picking up a key endorsement in california's senate election today. the san francisco chronicle endorsed porter in next month's primary. the paper picked porter over 11 other candidates in the race, including congress members adam schiff and barbara lee. in giving its endorsement, the chronicle's editorial board called porter the most impressive of the candidates they interviewed and said she was overflowing with ideas and energy while demonstrating deep policy knowledge. investigators remain on the scene of a deadly explosion in virginia. when we come back, the sea

recall xiang tao protesters clashed with some of the mayor's supporters. >> it was harrowing. it was terrifying. um, no one should go through it. and this better not happen again. the tension getting so bad at one point that seneca scott, a pro-recall protester, says he was physically assaulted. i was pushed several times before i was punched. that wasn't the first time i was, uh, touch. i was aggressively shoved from behind the news conference. >> eventually moving farther down the road while the pandemonium continued nearby. the mayor, taking a moment to respond to the craziness. >> i just want to say i love every single one of you. you all with signs. you all here standing behind us. this is our democracy. >> the new grant is a $3.5 million investment in collaboration with oakland based organization family bridges, which runs a safety ambassador program in chinatown. the new money will be used to expand the program into other areas. >> it's important because, um, things are a little bit out of control right now. um, there's a shortage of policing. there's a shortage of qual

and that tao bowed to pressure from the monitor. armstrong accused warshaw repeatedly finding problems with the department in order to benefit financially and stay in his role. the suit says, in part as long as warshaw opines that opd has leadership problems, warshaw can argue his continued supervision at great expense to oakland and its taxpayers remains necessary. >> the consent process in oakland, not everywhere but in oakland, was adulterated. >> reform ann kirkpatrick, armstrong's predecessor as chief . received $1.5 million from oakland after jury found she was wrongfully fired. you've seen a whole lot of police chiefs tumble under him, and i think that federal judge needs to take a very close look at his federal monitor. >> now that federal judge has said he has full confidence in the monitor. the monitor, for his part, does not speak to the media. the city today declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying they have not yet been served. a final note the oakland police commission has restarted its search for the next chief afte

thursday, marking one year since the firing of oakland police chief leronne armstrong by mayor xiang tao and giovanni vincente. far from the only one questioning the city's search for a successor. my thoughts are i don't know why it's taking so long. >> i don't know why we can't get a good chief of police, but this have been expedited. >> does it need to take this long? >> it does not. and um, i squarely put a great deal of responsibility. be on the police commission. >> former oakland police chief anne kirkpatrick now chief of new orleans, accusing the commission of playing politics with the process after submitting armstrong name as a candidate to the mayor in december. others saying both sides are to blame. >> it just seems to be, uh, the way things are here in oakland and nothing gets done. >> everyone is threw the ball to each other. >> in the meantime, kirkpatrick says, the city is suffering without a permanent chief. >> it's extremely disruptive. it is, uh, disturbing rising not only internally, but if you destabilize your police department and you destabilize your community and t

that's yet to happen, but kirkpatrick says it likely should have, allowing tao to expedite the process or name a chief herself. that's what major cities do. >> major cities just say, i want this person to be my next chief, and they do it. um, oakland, i would have thought, would be a major city, but they're not. they're not acting that way. >> and mayor tao unavailable for an interview today due to a death in the family. but her office says her plan is to continue to work collaboratively with the police commission to find a new police chief. as for what's next, the police commission expected to submit three new candidates to her next month in oakland, zac sos. ktvu fox two news. >> a federal judge is now holding the bureau of prisons in contempt of court after a ktvu story this week about alleged retaliation against an inmate, rhonda fleming testified before the judge last month about ongoing sexual abuse of women at the federal prison in dublin. fleming was put in a special housing unit and then moved to the metropolitan detention center in los angeles shortly afterward. while the jud

with this lawsuit. >> former oakland police chief laurent armstrong is suing the city and mayor sheng tao, saying he was wrongfully fired. it's important that we filed this lawsuit to restore the chief's reputation. billy winter, an attorney for armstrong, says the lawsuit is bolstered by the fact that a neutral arbitrator ruled in the ex-top cop's favor, finding that the city should not have fired him. >> we believe that the case we brought has merit that the hearing officer has, um, confirmed that the criticisms against the chief were unfounded. >> the suit says he was fired because he had the courage to speak out about alleged misconduct by the federal monitor, robert warshaw. warshaw had commissioned a report that said the chief failed to hold a sergeant responsive for two alleged cover ups. i caught up with the mayor, who referred me to the city attorney's office, but i asked her about the search for the next chief. >> i believe that, you know, getting having a chief just be named chief is not good enough. we need a chief who understands the intricacies of being under the federal ove

the oakland mayor, shang tao, said in a statement. i agree with mayor goodman 100. keeping the a's in oakland is what's best for everyone, including las vegas. she also says her door is open to john fisher and anyone else who wants to purchase the a's and keep them here, and there is no word yet on whether the a's will play after, where the a's will play after their lease is up in the coliseum, which is at the end of this upcoming season. and of course, that site in vegas won't be ready until 2020. yeah, there's still a long way to go between now and then, but it really was, you know, kind of shocking to hear the las vegas mayor say, no, no, no, no, no. >> the team probably should stay here in oakland. she said that there was something odd about about the deal in vegas. >> yes, she did. she said it doesn't make sense. >> okay. to be continued. all right. crystal bailey. thank you. all right. staying here in the east bay, governor newsom sending about 120 chp officers to oakland and the east bay as part of a crime crackdown. this new surge will help police in a city

reject voted by oakland mayor shane tao, civil rights attorney jim shannon telling us it's going to be a hard sell unless pridgen chief pridgen has been cleared of his charges. >> in this case, it's going to be very difficult to see why the commission put pridgen up there. when the mayor has already rejected. him. now shannon would not elaborate, but said he's surprised the commission did not select an internal candidate to be on that short list. >> the four candidates will now appear at a police chief candidate community forum thursday night at 630 at city hall, a spokesperson for mayor shengtao said this evening. mayor tao looks forward to receiving the list of finalists and conducting her due diligence in reviewing the candidates. and for more coverage on the search for a new oakland police chief, you can download the ktvu, fox local app. it's a free download for your smart tv. >> macy's flagship store in union square is closing the iconic department store is one of 150 locations nationwide that will shutter by 2026, after the company posted a fourth quarter loss and saw a declining

the lawsuit claims mayor tao voiced to others she felt pressured by the monitor to fire armstrong if she was involved. >> he made the decision and she underscored in describing that hasty decision to terminate him that the reasons were retaliatory. >> that wednesday morning, mayor tao declined to comment. >> you know, it's an active litigation, and so i'm going to refer that to the city attorney's office much of the lawsuit focuses on warshaw's oversight, claiming he was incentivized to find a systematic problems and leadership failures because the monitor personally benefits by requiring further supervision under the monitors. >> welcome gaze, we reached out to warshaw's office and are still waiting to hear back. armstrong's lawyers say the goal of this is to not only shed light on the federal monitor, but to reinstate him as chief. live in studio lena howland, abc seven news >> thank you so much, lena. and we'll ask mayor shengtao about this lawsuit later today on midday l s'll join us live during our 1130 half hour. you can watch it here on abc seven and wherever you stream. >> to

tao's absence from this discussion reflects her mismanaged point and accomplishment of making oakland a national embarrassment point. >> new at ten republican presidential candidate nikki haley is raising money right here in the bay area, according to the palo alto daily post. venture capitalist tim draper hosted a fundraiser for the former south carolina governor tonight in atherton from sky fox this evening. you can see the nikki sign there and lights in the yard. haley is also set to appear at a rally in los angeles tomorrow night. >> well, tonight, nikki haley has lost the gop primary in nevada despite being the only major candidate on the state ballot this year. nevada has dueling gop nominating contests, with the state holding the primary along with a caucus later this week. haley was on today's primary ballot, while former president trump is taking part in thursday's caucus in 2021, nevada passed a law replacing the caucus with a primary. despite that, the nevada republican party has decided to hold a caucus as well and intends to give all of its delegates to the caucus winner.

now mayor tao says she looks forward to officially receiving the list of finalists next month. tonight's forum starts at 630 at oakland city hall. anyone can attend or zoom in to watch that hearing. dave >> okay, andre. thank you. time now, 716. we're going to get you to where you need to go this morning. sal you've been busy. is it busy on the roads now? >> it is busy. dave and gasia, good morning to you both. southbound 680 sonoma. we see slowing getting down from pleasanton. there was a crash just after the sunol exit and there's a longer line than usual. 880 is not as slow as it might be. i think that maybe some people are taking the advice. in case you didn't hear it, leave the door open to taking public transportation today. don't rule it out because even though it's dry right now, it may be wet. it will be wet later on. you don't want to be driving in the rain, do you? so, yeah. uh, maybe you can work from home. do something. this is a look at the bay bridge toll plaza. it's dry there right now. there was some wet weather on the richmond bridge, so some commutes are alre

according to the letter, tao says a public forum does not help recruit the best candidates. a forum identifying candidates places those individuals at unnecessary risk with their current employers. it may also force oakland to enter into a premature bidding war with an individuals current employer. the meet the candidates forum starts at 630 tonight at oakland city hall. however, all candidates will be appearing on zoom instead of in person. live in studio lena howland, abc seven news. >> all right, thank you so much, lena. now to the closure of the macy's flagship store in union square. while there are questions about what will take its place, some believe union square may be on the verge of redefining shopping for the next generation retail experts say stores that are successful online no longer need brick and mortars. many are shifting to smaller footprints. luxury brands that traditionally have small stores are thriving and expanding. we're told that reality is bringing a mix of emotions, so it's very sad because this is, um, where we would come to go shopping at christm

got to be incredibly special , unique, charismatic, great with the community. >> chronicle reports tao courted two people in law enforcement for the vacancy. one is a current police chief and the other is a former police chief. both from mid-sized cities. now, each person passed when they heard about this forum, she said. the police commission submitted these four names to the mayor. all of whom have red flags. assistant city cincinnati police chief lisa davis. reports indicate she has repeatedly been passed over for cincinnati chief. former lubbock, texas, police chief floyd mitchell. he left after his department was accused of not answering 911 calls. luis molina is an assistant deputy mayor for public safety in new york city. he's accused of failing to improve city jail conditions, and former san leandro police chief abdul. excuse me. pridgen who was accused of violating department policy and who tao rejected when he was on the commission's first candidate list. tonight's police commission meeting is open to the public. people can also participate through zoom. it starts at 630. >>

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that's when oakland mayor xiang tao fired. then police chief lauren armstrong. city then tasked the police commission with finding a replacement for him. then, on december 14th of last year, ten months after armstrong was fired, the commission submitted three candidates to the mayor for consideration, including the chief who was fired, lauren armstrong and assistant chief from tucson, arizona, and a candidate from the san leandro police department. less than two weeks later, on december 27th, the mayor denied all of those options. former oakland police chief anne kirkpatrick, who was also fired from her role, believes that the police commission is playing politics with the mayor's office, and i squarely put a great deal of responsibility on the police commission, on they, um, i think politically they advanced three names that they knew who they were trying to buttonhole, trying to get chief armstrong put in that position. >> uh, the mayor did not take that bait. and so they played, uh, games and that should never have occurred. >> so the question many are asking

at one point, edward escobar, who supports tao being recalled, called oakland police, saying scott was being attacked. >> some of the bodyguards here for the mayor attacked community members. >> we are community members. >> officers arrived and kept the peace but made no arrests. >> grants like this is what's going to help bring that healing. many business owners welcome the safety grant, which city officials say will provide much needed resources. >> it's exciting to be announcing that we are expanding our work around comprehensive community safety by expanding a mediator program. last fall, oakland made headlines for losing out on millions by missing the deadline to apply for an organized retail theft grant. >> officials made clear that won't be the case here. >> really, our effort is at the city level is really identifying additional funding. so that we can complement and expand these efforts to really support all the public safety. overall. >> wednesday was the mayor's first day back at work after her mother died, so it was quite a busy first day for the oakland mayor, who says she

the department's alleged mishandling of two officer misconduct cases, and then a month later, mayor tao fired armstrong, making him the 12th chief to leave the city of oakland. over the last 20 years. for more now on this lawsuit, we're joined by former oakland police chief anne kirkpatrick. chief, always a pleasure to see you. i want to first get your reaction. are you surprised at all that lauren armstrong has filed this lawsuit ? >> yes. i was aware that he was probably going to do it. and i've had an opportunity to read it a little bit. >> and what do you make of it? >> well, he's making two claims, i think that the retaliation lawsuit, he probably has a good case there with respect to first amendment free speech. i learned in my own lawsuit that that's going to be a bigger challenge. police chiefs do not have the same level of free speech that others do. >> and what about this idea of proving that he was fired in a retaliatory fashion? how tough is that going to be to lay out? well well, as in my own case, you are going to have to be able to make a nexus between, uh, when my situat

now, this lawsuit also says tao was, quote, intimidated by warsaw and bowed to his pressure. instead of standing up for oakland, tao fired armstrong a year ago, and the city has been without a permanent chief since then. now, we caught up with the mayor this morning. she referred us to the city attorney's office, but i asked her about the search for the next chief. >> i believe that, you know, getting having a chief just be named chief is not good enough. we need a chief who understands the intricacies of being under the federal oversight. the intricacies of ensuring that, you know, the progress that we've made here in oakland, that it keeps pace. >> now, moments ago, the city attorney's office says it has not yet been served with this lawsuit. and so it cannot comment on this complaint. now, the oakland police commission has restarted its search for the next chief after the mayor rejected its shortlist. three candidates, which included armstrong, these new names are expected in march. gasia henry lee. >> thank you. let's swing back to the bay area weather here. something we'

claims mayor tao voiced to others she felt pressured by the monitor to fire armstrong. months later. an independent audit later cleared him of any wrongdoing. >> she was involved. he made the decision in and, and she underscored in describing that hasty decision to terminate him that the reasons were retaliatory. >> three at an event wednesday morning, mayor tao declined to comment. >> it's an active litigation, and so i'm going to refer that to the city attorney's office. >> much of the lawsuit focuses on warshaw's oversight, claiming he was incentivized to find systemic problems in leadership failures because the monitor personally benefits from requiring further supervision under the monitors are well compensated gaze. it also highlights warshaw's involvement in the investigation that led to the termination of armstrong's predecessor, chief ann kirkpatrick. she was also eventually cleared and sued the city for wrongful termination. >> the other goal, and among others, are to reveal continue to reveal and shed light on the improper purpose behind the monitor, continui

oakland united to recall xiang tao, or oust, held its kickoff rally today in jack london square. the organization has until july 22nd to collect about 25,000 signatures to initiate the recall, or 10% of oakland's register voters. judge brenda harbin forte, the lead proponent of the recall, says the city has declined under tao's watch. it is sad that our city has become has gotten into the state. >> it is. i care about oakland. i am out here because i care about oakland and because oakland deserves so much better, so much than what this mayor is telling us that we should accept . mhm. >> earlier this month, governor newsom deployed 120 chp officers to address the rising crime in the area. parish leaders of the first african methodist episcopal church in oakland marked the first anniversary of the fire that burned the original building to the ground. the church held an up from the ashes community day to celebrate the rebuilding of the congregation. the festivities included food trucks and games, as well as health, education and employment opportunity for the community. >> the churc

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mayor tao says she looks forward to officially receiving the list of finalists next month . in to watch that hearing. dave. >> all right. andre thank you. time now. 607 happening today. the third snow survey of the season, conducted by the california water resource department. they're going to do it in the sierra at the phillips station off highway 50. and the last survey back on january 30th showed snow was 29in deep with a snow water content of ten inches, an increase from the first survey of the season, showing three inches of water content. the sierra snowpack makes up about a third of california's water supply, and people who live in the sierra are just stocking up on supplies for this weekend. and grocery and hardware stores are busy with customers. they're buying food, warm clothes, winter boots, snow shovels, batteries and more in truckee, the owners of and the workers at mountain hardware and sports are helping the locals and the visitors get ready for the coming storm. >> it's the gamut. so we're, uh, shovels, tire chains, uh, ice melt generators, lanterns, flashli

. >> on tuesday, mayor tao sent this letter to the city's police commission informing them she won'te attending thursday's public forum to help select a new chief. according to the letter, tao states a public forum does not help recruit the best candidate s a form identifying candidates places those individuals at unnecessary risk with their current employers. it may also force oakland to enter into a premature bidding war with an individual's current employer. the i-team has confirmed at least one officer recently left opd to work next door in alameda . police chief nishant joshi has an attractive offer. >> our salaries are very competitive. this hiring incentive is the highest in the country. >> if you combine the starting salary with the one time hiring bonus, an officer with no experience in alameda is making $188,000 in year one. in oakland , it's around $106,000. we will have the entire patrol division fully staffed by summer of this year. the neighboring city, a stark contrast of success less as oakland faces hundreds of resignations for the i-team. stephanie sierra, abc seven

major taos mayor taos rather chief of staff , told the chronicle that, quote, if a three year extension then our expectation is that the city of oakland would retain an mlb team tonight. >> pinole police are trying to track down a man who they say shot and killed the mother of his child. ktvu is joey horta, has the latest on this tragic case of suspected domestic violence. on a close knit cul de sac in pinole. >> tragedy has struck. >> it's incredibly startling and unnerving. so um, everyone here is really, really shaken up. >> pinole police say a woman was shot and killed friday in her basement apartment in this home on summit drive. >> it just sad that this happened in our neighborhood. you never think it's going to happen in your neighborhood. and it does. >> police say 36 year old jeremy kendall broke in through a window and attacked the woman. when officers arrived around 845 friday morning and found her with at least one gunshot wound already dead. her toddler son was home at the time from a child. she shares with kendall. >> this is a tragic case of domestic violence and investig

that his termination was based upon, and then in december, mayor tao rejected a short list of candidates for police chief, and armstrong was on that list. ktvu crime reporter henry lee explains what's now at stake with the lawsuit. >> former oakland police chief laurent armstrong is suing the city and mayor xiang tao, saying he was wrongfully fired. it's important that we file this lawsuit to restore the chief's reputation, billy winter, an attorney for armstrong, says the lawsuit is bolstered by the fact that a neutral arbitrator ruled in the ex-top cop's favor, finding that the city should not have fired him. >> we believe that the case we brought has merit that the hearing officer has, um, confirmed that the criticisms against the chief were unfounded. >> the suit says he was fired because he had the courage to speak out about alleged misconduct by the federal monitor, robert warshaw. warshaw had commissioned a report that said the chief failed to hold a sergeant responsible for two alleged cover ups. i caught up with the mayor, who referred me to the city attorney's office, but i ask

mayor tao looks forward to receiving the list of finalists and conducting her due diligence in reviewing the candidates new at ten a vigil was held tonight in downtown san jose for an active duty member of the air force who died this week after he set himself on fire to protest the war in gaza. >> that incident happened outside of the israeli embassy in washington, dc. ktvu south bay reporter lamonica peters live tonight in san jose at the mlk library with more on tonight's vigil. lamonica. >> claudine, there are still a few people left from tonight's vigil, and they say that aaron bushnell gave his life to have peace in gaza, and they continue to call for an end to the war. dozens of people gathered on the steps of the mlk library in downtown san jose to remember the 25 year old aaron bushnell bushnell, a member of the us air force, set himself on fire sunday to protest the war in gaza near the israeli embassy in dc. it was excruciating to watch , he says. >> um, the pain that i'm going to burn myself if compare with the palestinian people in gaza, it's i mean, there's no comparison. >>

and former san leandro police chief abdul pridgen was rejected by tao when he was on the commission's first list of finalists. >> he was sustained for repeated acts of dishonesty, and now he's vying for the police chief in oakland. this is shameful, ktvu has learned that pridgen was put on leave after he allegedly falsely claimed that a candidate for a lieutenant's job at san leandro pd had withdrawn from consideration. >> pridgen allegedly favored a certain woman for that position. he left the department last week. >> vallejo police are asking for the public's help in identifying an arson suspect who caused more than $3 million in damages inside of a target store. the man is wanted on suspicion of starting that large fire in the target on admiral callahan lane, near the gateway plaza mall. this was on saturday at about 3 p.m. authorities say that fire threatened the safety of people in the building and resulted in a significant loss of merchandise. the store is closed until sunday at the earliest. >> a man trapped for days after swerving off the edge of a cliff near big sur. after th

a spokesperson for mayor tao told ktvu. mayor tao looks forward to receiving the list of finalists and conducting her due diligence in reviewing the candidates. >> san francisco has issued an apology to its black residents for decades of systemic discrimination. the san francisco board of supervisors unanimously approved the apology resolution, which also takes accountability for targeted acts of violence and atrocities committed against the black community. that apology is one of more than 100 recommendations made by the city's african american reparations advisory committee. >> we know that an apology without action rings hollow. um, and i think that's why this must be seen in context as a necessary part of accountability and reparations, not as an end in itself, but it is an important step nonetheless, and is meaningful and lays the groundwork for further commitments to the black community here in our city. >> city leaders are still debating and discussing other reparations recommendations, including whether they should

you us service personnel way killed in the tao 22 buys in jordan. and that was signaled while in advance and most governments in the region and militia groups in the region. and would also understand that there are particular red lines that if they across still be a particular type of response. guess of us service personnel is one of those red lines, or we're saying that playing out at the moment. so i wouldn't necessary characterize that as an escalation, but as an increased response to the death of us service personnel, but still keeping it within the constraints of targets and a constraint and constrain geographically. so it's an increase rather than escalation, even though i that might be a passing woods. it's a, it's still important on the ground. let's talk about iran's role in all of this. roger. many accused a run of pulling the strings behind the scenes when it comes to the militias. what's your assessment on that? well isn't so it's very difficult to tell how the degree of connectivity between run and i particular event or attacked by a mi

and that tao bowed to pressure from the monitor. armstrong accused warshaw repeatedly finding problems with the department in order to benefit financially and stay in his role. the suit says, in part as long as warshaw opines that opd has leadership problems, warshaw can argue his continued supervision at great expense to oakland and its taxpayers remains necessary. >> the consent process in oakland, not everywhere, but in oakland, was adulterating reform and kirkpatrick armstrong's predecessor as chief, received $1.5 million from oakland after a jury found she was wrongfully fired. >> you've seen a whole lot of police chiefs tumble under him and i think that federal judge needs to take a very close look at his federal monitor, the federal judge has said he has full confidence in the monitor. the monitor does not comment to the media. the city declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying they have yet to be served and the oakland police commission hopes to finalize its short list for police chief by march. henry lee ktvu, fox two news

the final crafted volkswagen taos. it's built just right. lisa new 2024 taos.sk for 279 a mont after a $ 0 customer bonus. limited inventory available. welcome back to mornings on two. time is now. 657. the fbi warns of an increase in the number of romance scams here in the bay area. the fbi san francisco division reports victims in our area lost more than $27 million to romance scams last year. the fbi says the scammers first gained the trust of the victim and then persuade them to send money and older adults are the most common targets. what they do is they'll make contact with the victims, pretending to look for romance, just like the victims are doing. they'll initiate that contact and slowly develop that relationship. the one thing that they will not do, though, is meet the victim in person, and that should be a red flag. you know, the fbi says locally, alameda county had the highest amount of losses, $9.4 million last year. santa clara county had the most cases with 102 romance scams reporting. well a lot of people may be wondering what happens to the pre

armstrong has now filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city of oakland and mayor xiang taoand he's demanding that he get his job back. now that lawsuit claims armstrong was fired because he accused a federal monitor of repeatedly finding problems with the oakland police department so that he could keep his role as a monitor and be paid a lot of money. >> we believe that the case we brought has merit, that the hearing officer has, um, confirmed and that the criticisms against the chief were unfounded. >> ron armstrong's lawyer says their lawsuit is bolstered by a neutral arbitrator who said the city should not have fired armstrong. mayor town says she made the right decision and that her focus is on finding the right candidate to lead the police department. i believe that, you know, getting having a chief just be named chief is not good enough. >> we need a chief who understands the intricacies of being under the federal oversight. now the oakland police commission is expected to submit the names of three more candidates for police chief next month. >> after mayor tao reject

last year's tao pleaded not guilty to all charges and remain in custody ever since. prosecutors say they hope the trial will happen this year. but admit that it could be delayed until 2025, we now know the identity of the woman strangled to death on a santa cruz beach. 21 year-old. >> zainab mansour of san ramon was found unresponsive. fat seabright state beach friday. police say her boyfriend, samuel stone, strangled her and they say he was found next to her body. he made his first court appearance yesterday. court documents state. he called 9-1-1 and confessed to the homicide. we know mansour was a student at uc santa cruz and that the suspect still on was a student between the summer of 2021 and last fall, stone was denied bail and is expected to return to court in march for an arraignment. uc berkeley leadership is speaking publicly against a protest that went horribly wrong monday night. the university chancellor says protesters they turned violent and they tried to break into a campus building to try to stop an event that was set to feature and israeli speaker

mayor tao insists she made the right decision and her focus now is on finding the right candidate to lead the department . >> i believe that you know, getting having a chief just be named chief is not good enough. we need a chief who understands the intricacies of being under the federal oversight. >> the oakland police commission is expected to submit three more candidates for police chief next month, after mayor tao rejected their initial list. that initial list included former chief armstrong, our time, now 406, and oakland police officer was fired for making comments that were racist and derogatory on social media. >> the ktvu has learned. the comments were made 12 years ago on her public facebook page. before she worked for the police department. oakland police officials say an internal affairs investigation began immediately, and the police officer was relieved of her duties. >> we cannot have people here who hold racist and hateful views serving our community, and so we give the community our word that we're going to do everything that we can and look deep into our practices t

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the mayor's office says the mayor's mother, chu tao, died yesterday morning. she was born in laos and fled the ethnic persecution there. she met her husband in thailand in a refugee camp, and she emigrated to california. mayor tao is expected to take some personal time off to grieve for her mother, as other top city leaders govern. in her place, the fbi is now joining forces with the colorado police department in hopes of finding a stolen national treasure investigator say someone stole a 200 year old painting of george washington from a storage unit last month. >> the painting of the nation's first president was inked in the early 1800s. it has been in the owner's family for more than 50 years. a $2,000 reward is being offered. >> tom is now 407. the fbi and federal prosecutors are searching for documents from some of the best known wineries in napa. it's not clear why prosecutors want certain documents from the caymus hall, 100 acre and alpha omega wineries. the napa valley register obtained documents that allegedly showed that many of the owners of the wine

. >> the mayor's office says chu tao passed away this morning. she was born in laos and fled ethnic persecution there. she met her husband in a refugee camp in thailand and immigrated to california. she is survived by her husband, ten children and grandchildren. city administrator justin johnson will oversee city operations and deputy mayor kimberly mayfield will stand in for mayor tao at public events while she and her family mourn in. >> pro-palestinian activist take their message to another bridge, this time the golden gate. their demands as the war in gaza drags on. plus, uber drivers, more than 100 of them take their protest to the streets of san francisco right in front of uber headquarters. >> and a new poll shows many san francisco voters are unhappyon s heading. the idea is put forward on next month's ballot this ad? typical. politicians... "he's bad. i'm good." blah, blah. let's shake things up. with katie porter. porter refuses corporate pac money. and leads the fight to ban congressional stock trading. katie porter. taking on big bank

the lawsuit claims mayor tao voiced to others she felt pressured by the monitor to fire armstrong. months later, an independent audit later cleared him of any wrongdoing. >> she was involved. he made the decision and she underscored in describing that hasty decision to terminate him that the reasons were retaliatory. >> at an event wednesday morning , mayor tao declined to comment. it's an active litigation, and so i'm going to refer that to the city attorney's office. much of the lawsuit focuses on warshaw's oversight, claiming he was incentivized to find systemic problems in leadership failures because the monitor personally benefits from requiring further supervision under the monitors well compensated gase, it also highlights warshaw's involvement in the investigation that led to the termination of armstrong's predecessor, chief ann kirkpatrick. she was also eventually cleared and sued the city for wrongful termination. he loved oakland. >> he grew up in oakland. he cared about the community. he served his role proudly. he and he still wants to do that. >> we reached out to war

organizers leading the recall effort of oakland mayor shan tao will start gathering signatures from the community. the group, oakland united, will hold a rally to formally begin the petition at 11 a.m. campaign organizers say they want the mayor removed because she has failed to address violent crime in the city. nearly 25,000 signatures are needed from registered oakland voters in order for the recall to qualify in november's general election, mayor tao missed the deadline to respond to this recall effort. also in oakland, it's been one year since the first african methodist episcopal church suffered a devastating fire, and now they're ready to start rebuilding. the historic church will host a commemorative event this weekend to honor its 160 year legacy and look to the future here. here's abc seven news reporter tim johns. >> monday marks one year to the day that the first african methodist episcopal church in oakland went up in flames. the church, which is commonly called fame oakland, is the east bay's oldest black church and has been a staple in the community for 160 years. this ci

tao refused to comment about this.ey's office, did not return our calls either. it was last january when oakland was hit with a ransomware attack. it paid nothing but more than 600gb of sensitive information were dumped onto the dark web, including home addresses, driver's licenses and social security numbers. the town secured $10 million in funding to strengthen its information systems going forward. now, it turns out cyber criminals raked in a record amount in ransom payments last year, according to a report released today by crypto tracking firm chainalysis. cyber criminals extorted $1.1 billion from organizations around the world last year. ransom payments nearly doubled those in 2022, an increase share increasing share of ransoms paid are reportedly over $1 million to as hackers target rich companies that can afford to pay. but attacks have debilitated schools and governments that simply lack the resources to defend themselves. >> as las vegas gears up for the super bowl, a man was arrested today for climbing the

. >> and the group is unhappy with the performances of oakland mayor xiang tao and alameda county district attorney pam price. they did applaud governor newsom for his order to send additional highway patrol officers and state attorneys to the east bay. now, we do want to make sure you have the full picture of crime where you live with the abc seven neighborhood safety tracker. it shows you a wide range of statistics on public safety over the years for san francisco, oakland and san jose. you'll find it at abc seven news.com. well, coming up next, the countdown to the march primary, the key step that san fransco will start tomorrow you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile. existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds, but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliable 5g network. sure is a lot safer than becoming a stuntman for money. get a free line of unlimited intro for a year when you buy one unlimited l

started yesterday morning when officer tried to serve an arrest warrant on a man wanted for cruelty taoimals. julius james was barricaded inside his home for more than 12 hours before officers were able to take him into custody >> three of our officers were shot today, serving an arrest warrant on someone who was cruel to animals the same type of response that we provide for our officers, we have that same care for animals as well, but i don't want it to be lost on anyone today, that the reason we are here today is because three of our officer have been shot >> all of those officers are in stable condition and are expected to recover. >>> there new developments this morning in the trials of donald trump. special counsel jack smith is asking the supreme court not to delay the former president's criminal trial related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election mr. trump has asked the court for more time, as he appeals a lower court's decision that denied him the ability to claim presidential immunity. smith has asked that arguments begin in this case next month. meanwhile, there is a hearin

. >> in the east bay, demonstrators making their voices heard by interrupting oakland mayor sheng taos press conference today. >> and protesters calling for the mayor's recall. this all happening about a block away from an earlier event hosted by oaklanders who are against the recall. mayor thao responding today saying in her words, this is what democracy looks like. >> well, there's a lot of people out here today and that's i love every single one of you. you always size. if you're standing behind it's about we love people >> mayor thao in downtown oakland today to announce a fresh injection of funds from the state earmarked for public safety and 3 and a half million dollars in grant money will go towards extending the crisis act. it's a pilot program that provides safety and mental health services. 2 residents paying for more safety ambassadors in the chinatown area and downtown oakland. >> following an uproar from small business owners in chinatown on a proposed sober living facility in the neighborhood. progress on the sobriety house that was scheduled. there has been halted. mayor

oakland mayor xiang tao. then police chief lauren armstrong, the city then tasked the police commission with finding a replacement for him. on december 14th of last year was ten months after armstrong was fired. the commission finally submitted three candidates to the mayor, including ing the chief she had just fired, armstrong, an assistant chief in tucson, arizona, and then a third candidate from the san leandro police department. less than two weeks later, on december 27th, the mayor denied all three of those options. now, we asked former oakland police chief anne kirkpatrick, who was fired from her role with the police department, what she believes the feeling inside opd is now more than a year without a chief . >> i squarely put a great deal of responsibility on the police commission. they um, i think political alley. they advanced three names that they knew, uh, they were trying to buttonhole, trying to get chief armstrong put in that position. uh, the mayor did not take that bait. and so they played, u

according to the letter, tao says a public forum does not help recruit the best candidates. a forum identifying candidates places those individuals at unnecessary risk with their current employer. it may also force oakland to enter into a premature bidding war with an individual's current employer. the meet the candidates forum starts at 630 tonight at oakland city hall. however, all candidates will be appearing virtually on zoom instead of in person. live in studio. lena howland abc seven news. >> thanks so much, lena. now to the closure of the macy's flagship store in union square. while there are questions about what will take its place, some believe union square may be on the verge of redefining shopping for the next generation. retail experts say stores that are successful online no longer need big stores. many are shifting to smaller footprints, luxury brands that traditionally have small stores are thriving and expanding, we're told, and that reality is bringing a mix of emotions. >> so it's very sad because this is, um, where we would come to go shopping at christmas

and now also lorenzo here in santa monica as in taos, all across mexico, the faces of the missing hanging, the city center, a constant reminder to anyone who walks by, but especially to government officials of how much this town has last already. over one 100000 people are officially missing in mexico, 4000 of them. and when i want to, their relatives say they must take on the dangerous work of searching themselves. but i am the i still granted, given the large number of disappeared, the institutional indifference, the lack of resources and political will from authorities. it's been the families, these collectives organize to look and fields. clandestine groups officially side volunteer. searchers have been killed in one a while since 2020. the local researchers say there are at least 9 documented cases last the that the perpetrators of these crimes against people searching for the relative send a message of impunity. but also fear and tear to society at large. these crimes name specifically to the mobilize, the search selected on the other members of load is collective, have little faith

garcia, i know you will be speaking with oakland mayor shang tao, so let's send it over to you to get more details about this and other news. ali. >> right to it. we'll go. thank you. this additional focus ali was detailing in oakland comes after two recent high profile business closures there due to crime and the shooting death of an oakland police officer who was killed while responding to a break in at a cannabis business. let us talk about what is happening in oakland by welcoming mayor shengtao to the ninth. thanks for being with us. >> absolutely. thank you for having me. >> what will the chp officers be doing and where will they be concentrated in oakland? >> absolutely. i just want to say, first off, um, partnership ship is going to be key in regards to this regional approach. and i want to thank governor newsom for his hard work in collaborating with the city of oakland. you know, the first thing is we have to work aggressively to focus on prevention, enforcement and accountability. and so we know that this is a criminal. these are criminal groups who are inflicting harm upon

alleges armstrong's firing violated california law and his first amendment rights in connection to mayor taos. decision to fire him last february. >> coming up, why the state of california is working to block 2 giant grocery chains from merging. >> well suits we're following for you tonight. the state of california is suing to block the grocery giant kroger and albertsons from urging state attorney general rob bonta making that announcement this morning. >> lot of consolidation and it's up to us to stand up for everyday folks, for workers, for consumers, for folks who want to pay a fair price. and have quality and options and a high high level services. >> california joins the ftc other states and washington, d.c., and filing today's lawsuit saying it will result in higher prices and reduced customer choice. the lawsuit also says the merger violates federal anti monopoly law. kroger's proposed deal to buy albertsons is valued at 24.6 billion dollars tax company r block is getting hit with a lawsuit by the ftc over claims that it falsely advertised its tax prep product as free and pressured us