yosemite national park, a car carrying secret service agents collided with another, killing three people. what went wrong? who was responsible? hidden in this photograph was the clue to the mystery. >>> in 1983, yosemite national park in california was selected to be the site of a royal visit by the heads of the british monarchy. queen elizabeth ii and prince philip were scheduled to tour the park following a visit with president reagan at his california home. don schneider, a photographer and reporter for a local radio station, monitored the preparations for her arrival on his shortwave radio. >> in advance of that, there were three carloads of secret service agents that were going to yosemite to provide security at that location for her. they were not directly involved in her transport, but were supposed to be preceding her and have things ready up there in the park. >> three cars carrying secret service agents traveled along highway 132, a two-lane road that snaked its way through the foothills of the sierra nevada. there were three agents in the second car. the driver was george laba

yoament yosemite national park. low hello and welcome. i'm phil torres, here to talk about innovations that can change lives. we are doing this in a unique way, this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core in other words. marita davidson, is on the front lines of a devastating wildfire. and crystal dilworth is a molecular neuroscientist, how police work could stop crime before it happens. lindsay moran, shows us how mushrooms may replace polystyrene packaging. i'm phil torres, that's our team of scientists, now let's do some science. ♪ ♪ >> it has been another fantastic week of science on the road. we've got crystal, lindsay and marita here. marita, you were basically a very high tech firefighter for a week. tell me about this. >> i was on a story to tell us how we fight the rim fire in yosemite. here it is. this is a very unusual piece of technology. it almost looks like an alien insect. they've got it in a hangar and they're going to fly it up to yosemite and going to be eyes in the sky to generate a

yosemite national park, a car carrying secret service agents collided with another, killing three people. what went wrong? who was responsible? hidden in this photograph was the clue to the mystery. >>> in 1983, yosemite national park in california was selected to be the site of a royal visit by the heads of the british monarchy. queen elizabeth ii and prince philip were scheduled to tou

if you plan to ascend the yosemite national park half dome this year, now is the time for permits. climb the steep granite shoulder. 4800 feet and it's dangerous when wet. it was three years ago that park officials instituted a permit lottery in an effort to increase safety. >>> san rafael police ramp up their search for a 93-year-old man missing since wednesday. robert davis was last seen from the restaurant in davis is 5'7". 139 pounds with gray hairs and gray eyes. >> it was raining wednesday night and on and off throughout the week. he could be just lost and confused looking to find his way home. >> reporter: he was driving a gray 2001 toyota camry, 4sey056 was the license plate. >>> developing now in ukraine. russia's foreign minister said troops in ukraine's crimea region are there and say it's military invasion orchestrated by russian president vladimir putin. the u.s. and other western nations explore nonmilitary methods to pull forces out of ukraine. western nations suspended preparations for an economic summit scheduled for sochi, russia, in june. >> every one of our alli

yoament yosemite national park. low hello and welcome.i'm phil torres, here to talk about innovations that can change lives. we are doing this in a unique

. >>> a parking ban in yosemite national park where vehicles are no longer allowed in an effort to protect parts of the famous landscape . >>> >>> safeway presents real big deals of the week. or how to find big savings on the things you need. just make a straight line to safeway. your club card gets you deals you can't find anywhere else. right now, fresh driscoll's strawberries are just $1.99. make it an extra scoop. breyers ice cream is only $2.88. and arrowhead water is just $3.29 a case. real big deals this week and every week. only at safeway. ingredients for life. >>> construction crews put up fences today is san francisco's dolores park where renovation project is about to get underway. the temporary barriers is being used to close half of that part between 18th street and the park denver walkway. as part of the renovation area will get new tennis and basketball courts, pathways and restaurant restaurants. it's expected to be wrapped up by spring of next year. >>> san francisco city leaders join community members in the castro district to celebrate changes to the area. the project a

yoament yosemite national park. low hello and welcome. i'm phil torres, here to talk about innovations that can change lives. we are doing this in a unique

huge restoration plan is about to get under way at yosemite national park with big changes for visitors. park managers released the final plan yesterday for the project. it calls for the restoration of native habitats along with all relocation. it also includes new trails, upgraded campgrounds, elimination of street parking along the river and new parking lots. >>> president obama is hosting the irish prime minister at the white house today. president obama and prime minister will start the day with a meeting in the oval office. they all attend the traditional st. patrick's day lunch at the capitol and in the evening they will host a st. patrick's day reception at the white house. >>> coming up next in our 5:00 hour cuts coming to the air force. the huge impacts california bases could see from a hearing that gets under way in just a few hours. >>> and happening right now san francisco students camping out in protest. the tense confrontation the group had with police just 12 hours ago that ended with two people behind bars. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ get your taste of the season, at raley's, bel air, and

. >>> the elimination of road side parking at yosemite national park. d the plan today for the $55 million project. it calls for the restoration of native habitats with the relocof all development from within 100 feet of the river. and includes mew parking lots, trails and upgrades to existing campground. approval of the plan is expected in 30 days. >>> u.s. attorney general eric holder endorsed a plan to reduce prison sentences for drug traffickers. the idea is similar to san francisco to reduce from felonies to misdemeanors. today u.s. attorney general eric holder said shortening sentences would cut down the prison population and reign in federal prison spending. >> by reserving severe penalties we could better promote public safety and rehabilitation while saving billions of dollars. >> opponents argue it would undermine policies meant to detour criminals. the justice department said the average prison sentence would shrink by one year. >>> asking manufacturers to make three products safer consumers. they are children's foam pads containing tdcpp, pai

. >>> huge restoration plan is about to get under way at yosemite national park.gers released the final plan yesterday for the $55 million project. it calls for the restoration of native habitats along with a relocation of all development within 100 feet of the river. it also includes new trails and upgraded campgrounds and street parking along the river and new parking lots. final approval is expected in 30 days. >>> san francisco fort mason center went to the dogs last night at an event benefiting the spca. the annual bark and wine ball featured dancing, silent auction, and a chance to meet 49ers corner back chris kohl very. he was presented with a award for his foundation work promoting animal welfare. all proceeds benefited the cinderella fund which helps animals that are not only homeless but sick and injured. >>> jonathan martin says he has just received a new lease on life. >> a team that is ready to get to the top of the mountain. that is what coach harbaugh said to me. we are right there. we are that close. >> martin says the 49ers and old stanford coach

. >>> yosemite national park has a new long-range plan to protect the area around tuolumne river. ing areas will be built out of view. the plan removes unofficial foot trails and replaces campsites. the work will be done in 10 to 15 years at a cost of $55 million. >>> some developing news out in new york city this morning. police say at least one person still unaccounted for at the scene of the devastating gas explosion. workers searching the rubble are still holding out the possibility of finding survivors. the blast happened wednesday and brought down two apartment buildings in harlem and killed at least eight people. crews are using sound devices to probe for voices and telescopic cameras to view into some of the smaller areas of the rubble. >>> and there's a bizarre new development in the search for the missing malaysia airlines plane. as susan mcginnis reports, there are signs the disappearance may have been intentional. >> reporter: investigators are focusing today on the possibility that the disappearance of a missing malaysia airlines jet was deliberate. sources say two com

national parks. coming your way. >> even worse than stealing candy from a baby, an 8-year- old punched for his ipad. how apple is coming his aid. ,, ,, river. in coming years... visitors >>> yosemiteational park has a new long range plan to protect the area around tuolumne river. in coming years, visitors will not be allowed to leave their cars along the road while exploring the river and surrounding meadows. the plan also removes unofficial foot trails and replaces campsites. the work will be done in the next 10 to 15 years at a cost of about $55 million. >>> there's a minor setback for efforts to restore lake tahoe to its previous clarity. an annual report by an environmental research center shows last year's clarity was about 70 feet. that's 5 feet less tha 2012 researchers say despite that, the long- term effort is on track. it's still the best place. >> it's gorgeous. >> beautiful. >>> 5:43. let's check the roads with elizabeth. >> also beautiful "friday light." we have not seen too many incidents on the roads so far so great start to the morning drive. traffic flowing well from richmond to berkeley. at the bay bridge toll plaza, slight delays in some of the outer cash lanes.

park goers should expect partial closures through completion in spring of 2015. >>> hiking'son in yosemite is just around the corner and this weekend the national park began its preseasoor permits. 14-mile round trip to the iconic piece of granite is the most popular of yosemite's hikes. 225 permits expected from late may to the middle of october. if you apply now you can request permits for up to six people and up to seven dates. >>> up next on the abc 7 sunday morning news the wild weather isn't just here in california. ice, snow and freezing temperatures the problems they're causing across the country. >>> the official afterparty for the academy awards, what the stars will be enjoying after the oscars have been one of the besia is that millions of people will qualify for financial assistance. it's important to remember that the lower your annual income, the greater financial assistance you will receive. enroll today at coveredca.com. >>> good morning. we're starting this half hour with a quick look at the weather. here's meteorologist lisa argen on the roof of the abc 7 broadcast center. any showers right now happening, lisa? >> no. it feels like it wants to rain.

. >>> hiking season in yosemite is just around the corpser. this week the national parkhis preseason lottery for half dome permits. 14-mile round trip to the iconic piece of granite is by far the most popular of yosemite's hikes. may to the middle of october. if you apply now you can request permits for up to six people and up to seven dates. >>> up next on the abc 7 sunday morning news the wild weather isn't just here in california. the problems ice, snow and freezing temperatures are causing across the country. >>> the official afterparty for the academy awards, what the stars will be enjoying after the oscars have been handed out. >>> good morning. thanks for joining us. we're starting this half hour with a quick look at the weather. here's meteorologist lisa argen and we're still seeing showers in the south bay, lisa? >> yes, we are that moist onshore flow with us throughout the day today. live donor it 7 hd showing the cloud cover and the green representing the light showers that are pushing through the santa cruz mountains and ending up on the other side in parts o

yosemite is running into opposition. a bill would change the name to jesse benton fremont. she chronicled her husband's expeditions. nation park service saying jesse fremont has no link to the mountain but the mountain is named mammoth because of its size. >> whatever you call it, it's a nice day to be outside today. >> cooler, gorgeous >> yes. it's beautiful here. breezy at we do have warmth coming though. clear skies right now, and we take a look at our view from our camera, high thin clouds into upper 50s to low 70s. 70 degrees in santa rosa. and here is a view from lake ta who camera clear, breezy tonight. sunny and warmer next few days spring starts thursday morning at 9:57. here is a cold front came through didn't do a lot for us we did have drizzle this morning. breezy conditions and high pressure building in. we're looking at storm track so a quiet pattern this week. if you're thinking about how about spring showers, we can see any? we'll take a look. ten day outlook shows a next chance of rain march 26, '27. it's nine to owe days away. tomorrow morning bundle up. upper poos to low 40s. it will be breezy along the coas

the idea of national parks started with yellowstone and there are now about 1200 such natural areas in more than 100 countries. >>> for those hoping to hike yosemite half-dome's this summer, permits are birch out through a lottery system with only 300 hikers allowed to use the cable system each day. if you are interested in getting a permit you need to make a request on the recreation.gov website between now and the end of march. those who are choosen will be notified next month. >>> the harsh winter weather has taken a toll on airlines. just the first two months of this year, united airline was forced to cancel 22,500 flights. that is four times the number of canceled flights cared to the same time the year before. the world's second largest airline says the cancellations are expected to affect tess bottom line and while unite was hit the hardest because it has major hubs in cold weather cities, such as chicago and newark. >> a bay area park that is closing for a year and the work that will be done before it re- opens! three people rescued after being trapped by a rare avalanche and what may have caused the dangerous slide. >>> the best of the be

nation and it is right here. figures give the golden gate park the top honor. 14.3million people visited last year. other top spots, the great smoky mountains, the grand canyon and yosemite. >>> the attorney general calls it a public health crisis, the concern over heroin and the fight against. and a boy posed a simple question and gets a big answer from nasa. why it has thousands of views now. >> 2 investigates a camp run by a child predator. the men under arrest tried to recruit her son and how the weather could bring b.a.r.t. to the south bay. these stories and more coming up new at 6:00 p.m. first. >>> california law makers are considering legislation for state over site of the medical marijuana industry. our state was the first to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. to this date no one is tracking the are growers, doctors or patients. southern california senator introduced a law. >>> heroin making headlines in washington, d.c. today. u.s. attorney general eric holder called the drug an urgent public health crisis. >> adiction to heroin and other -- addiction to heroin and other pain killers is impacting the lives of americans in every state, and from every backgroun