Good afternoon, everyone. Im janelle wang welcome to nbc bay area news. We are talking to investigators and will tell us about a reward tied to this case and we are tracking other stories on this monday including new details in a crash that killed three members of the same family waiting at a bus stop in San Francisco. The driver now under arrest and what she is being charged with. Working to cut down on crime, the steps that oakland leaders are taking a mini string of complaints from businesses it to the oakland airport. What happened inside of a san jose home . The family members accuse of the exorcism death of a toddler are back in court where new evidence is revealed. Ian cull was in the courtroom for all of todays developments. An extreme case of animal cruelty. San jose police are looking for the person who shot a German Shepherd. The good news . The dog is alive. Lets bring in marianne who has been tracking the case all day. Please tell us what happened here. Reporter well this all happened on january 11. The owner of the dog heard a gunfire and then she woke up and saw her injured dog running toward her off of mckee road. Marlee who is a German Shepherd just under ayearold was shot in the head. The bullet went through her muzzle , enter her jaw and came out in her path. Because of that, she lost a total because it had to be amputated. But she did get care and shes doing much better now. Police are looking for suspects and they have been since mid january but so far they have no strong leads so they arasking for the he ofhe public. They are also offering a 1000 reward for any information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects. The man was last seen wearing a Yellow Jacket and is in his mid 20s. Do we know whats the reason behind this . Will marlee make a full recovery . Marlee got attention at San Jose Animal Care Services right away and her injuries were so severe that her jaw needed so much work that she had to have specialized surgery at Uc Davis Veterinary School and that would cost thousands of dollars. The Community Stepped up and donated more than 25,000 in order for marlee to get that jaw surgery. Now she is recovering in san jose with her foster family and i am told she is in good spirits and playing again which is wonderful news. What are people there telling you . A lot of neighbors we spoke to said that they were not even aware that this shooting had happened. Some of them have pets and they were concerned for their own pets but were very surprised to learn that a dog had been shot in their neighborhood. The woman who hit and killed three people in San Francisco has been booked for vehicular manslaughter. It happened at a bus stop on saturday. Friends of the victim tonight and Pedestrian Safety advocates are holding a memorial at the crash site where the people were hit. Three members of the same family killed including a child. And infant survived but is in the hospital. Since the crash people have been coming by the corner of the intersection adding mementos to the growing memorial of flowers, shoes, and a stroller. One of the witnesses waiting for the bus on saturday said it was a violent crash. A White Mercedes suv came careening onto the sidewalk smashing into the wall of the library and then slammed into what used to be a bus shelter. The brazilian consulate has confirmed one of the adult victims is a Brazilian National named diego but they would not release any details about his family. The woman is now facing vehicular manslaughter charges and is 78yearold Mary Fong Lau a San Francisco. Some people who stopped by the memorial were surprised to learn about her. An older lady, she shouldnt have been driving alone or shouldnt have been driving period. You know how a lot of people are driving when they shouldnt be driving. According to the San Francisco sheriffs department, she is in custody at a local hospital. Working together for a safer oakland is the message from city leaders working to improve Public Safety near the oakland airport. The hagan berger corridor is called the gateway of oakland and more than 10 Million People travel in and out of the airport which is why the city supported oakland and are partnering on an initiative to reduce crime in that area. This year the area has been hit hard by crime and has forced some businesses to leave or only allowing drivethrough service. The dining areas are closed and restaurants say they just dont feel safe in that area and its not safe for workers or their customers. Today city leaders say the new focus is working and this is just beginning, of the improvements they expect to see. Crime rates are trending downwards and i can see that this is only going to improve and continue to trend downwards because we are continuously working together. What we are seeing right now today shows the very beginning work of something beautiful. Initiatives that leaders claim are working include increased Police Patrol seven days a week, safety ambassadors providing outreach and services, additional security cameras, and partnering with chp. They say Oakland PoliceDepartment Data shows a 63 drop in burglaries, a decrease in theft and 7 reduction in robberies since october. The young girl killed in what police are calling an exorcism like ritual in san jose and today her family including her mother faced a judge as they heard from investigators in a key step that will decide if they will face a jury. Ian cull was the only reporter in the courtroom who joins us live. Take us through what happened today in court. The threeyearold girls mother, uncle and grandfather are all facing charges of felony child abuse leading to death as prosecutors began laying out the evidence that they have against them. A hearing in this case finally getting underway in the case of the young girl killed and what police described as an exorcism like ritual in 2021 and the victim is only identified as dough. It happened inside of the Backyard Church the family used to run. One of the lead investigators took the stand to describe his interviews. Cameras were not allowed in court but we have pictures from past hearings who said that the mother of the girl Claudia Hernandez told her god had taken her child because aureli was possessed with the demon and telling the uncle everything will be okay and we will not be found guilty for what we did. Allegedly saying in that interview that she killed her daughter but did not mean to. The investigator also says the grandfather told them the three yearold was acting like the girl in the movie the exorcist but denied it was an actual exorcism. The family was in court today but did not want to comment and attorneys for all sides say they cannot talk about this until its over. This is a probable cause hearing. How long is it expected to last and what are the next steps after this . I was speaking with a legal analyst who said it could take days because theres a lot of evidence and testimony and said she expects that this will last through next tuesday. Hes not connected to this case but is familiar with it and is an attorney. Since there are three defendants, prosecutors will lay out what role each of them had in the death. He also believes the attorneys may argue that religious freedom could be used as a defense. From the point of view of the da they see this as a horrific act that needs to be punished with life in prison and at the same time the defendants are saying that we were wellintentioned. We thought we were doing the right thing. We thought this child was possessed. So it will be an interesting dynamic how that plays out in court. Defense attorneys will have the chance to crossexamine the judge and meanwhile it is expected we will find out if it is expected to continue in trial next week. We are going to go over to the east bay where students returned to class today despite the small gym at Amador Valley high school catching fire last night. Sky ranger flew over the school and you could see what it did to the roof of the 100yearold building. The rest of the school was able to open this morning. The fire started in the small gym around 8 00 last night and luckily firefighters were able to stop it from spreading. Right now, still no word on what started this fire. Yet another issue for united when a plane had to return to its gate this afternoon. The flight headed for japan taxied on the runway for more than an hour before it was grounded with engine issues and meanwhile the ceo is trying to reassure travelers that after a series of recent issues, any of them tied to sfo, an email was sent saying in part quote, safety is our highest priority and at the center of everything we do. Unfortunately in the past few weeks our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety. He went on to say united are working with employees while the faa investigates each of these mishaps. None of the incidents are related, he says. Last friday a piece of an airplane fell in Southern Oregon and workers did not discover the missing panel until the plane landed. You may remember this one. Two weeks ago a transpacific united airplane lost a wheel during takeoff and the airplane had to reroute and land safely at lax. Still to come a surprising move by the San Francisco giants. Why you will be hearing a new pa voice at oracle park the season. With all the rain, is it safe to say that we are out of a drought moving forward . Rob mayeda is crunching the numbers and has the answer for us. We want to know though what trending story you would like to see later in the newscast. Its a tight race and you still have some time to vote for one of these stories. Joann fabrics filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Dominoes march madness and a dominoes march madness and a new study from stanford. I have type 2 diabetes, but i manage it well jardiance its a little pill with a big story to tell i take oncedaily jardiance at each days start as time went on it was easy to see im lowering my a1c jardiance works twentyfour seven in your body to flush out some sugar. And for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. Serious side effects may include ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. A rare, lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction. You may have an increased risk for lower limb loss. Call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of infection in your legs or feet. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Jardiance is really swell the little pill with a big story to tell [alarm rings] [alarm rings] get exclusive offers on select new volvo models. Contact your volvo retailer to learn more. Blue skies, green hills and a welcome sight around the bay area but with warming temperatures of late, they are a reminder that drier months are ahead as we move forward into spring. In todays climate and crisis coverage we are taking a closer look at something you have not heard much of recently, the Drought Monitor and how it may change in a warmer climate moving forward. Meteorologist and science instructor rob mayeda joins us with a look at where we stand today. Is the news mostly good . Right when you had all this snow, you take a look at the graphics and where we are right now, virtually untouched by anything moderate to severe drought. Better view than what we had this time last year with the drought starting to recede and we did have some areas that had drought areas two years ago that were much worse than the conditions that we have right now. That was how things looked about a year ago. Two years ago we were still in the middle of extreme drought across the state. Where we are today, things are much improved and some of the factors that go into making this Drought Monitor map and how one big storm this year may have tipped the scales in our favor moving forward toward summer. And we had the really big blizzard which lasted for days or even longer in some places that brought the snowpack to all the sudden we are now near or above average for most of the sierra in terms of snowpack. That storm was a game changer in terms of adding snow and water and water supply into the mountains. As we know for our region, one, two, three of those storms in a year can make a difference between a drought year or not a drought year. A lot of weight is placed on how much water supply is in the reservoirs. We know that they are full right now across most of the state. Full or if not full, above average for this time of year. They are just going to get more water as they head into the snow melt. From a water supply perspective and what we see on the Drought Monitor we are likely not going to see big changes quickly. That is good news. Good news heading into the summer but we usually go through these cycles in california with a warming climate in general. What does that mean for our future . Less snowpack impacts us two ways. First, it can act like a mirror reflecting a lot of the solar energy. When that is removed the ground below can dry out faster and also stay warmer which also means that Drought Conditions can be more persistent into winter. Another factor is storms bringing a lot more rain and do not lot less snow which could lead to new challenges for the sierra and the state moving forward because of climate change. More of it falls in rain as winter and snow and managing the water supply. California and nearly all of the western us, the water supply is built around the snowpack and being the natural reservoir and then slowly melting off through the spring and summer and filling those reservoirs at a pace that could be handled. The big challenge there is if precipitation doesnt change much but the form of precipitation changes to mostly rain, thats going to leave water managers with a big task of figuring out how to hold onto that water. You saw the releases a month ago. Will the seymour flash flood warnings and less winter storm warnings . Tomorrow we are talking about the central sierra snow labs and how winters are changing especially the big snow months of december and january. More rain could lead to more problems going forward. How the climate is impacting snowpack directly. Some important insight. Thank you. We will check on the weather a little bit later. If you are looking for a sign of spring, this is it. It is peak Cherry Blossom season. The National Park service just declared it yesterday and much earlier than expected. Cherry blossom season peaks 170 of flowers have bloomed which normally happens late march or early april. Park Service Credits a warm winter with early blooms and this is the second earliest peak. They peaked two days earlier back in 1990. Less than two weeks before the start of baseball season and the giants are suddenly saying farewell to their longtime public address announcer. Batting sixth, first baseman number 9, brandon bell. The giants say Renel Brooks Moon will not return to the team this season after 24 years behind the microphone. Her first year coincided with the giants first year at their new ballpark in south beach and she has been there ever since, through more than 2000 games. The team calls it a mutual agreement after a new contract could not be reached. The team plans to honor her with a booth renaming after her sometime this season at a home game. So far the team is not indicating who will replace her. 35 years is a lot of time, how long the program has been around. Washington shows us that the need for help is just as great as its ever been. This march, an organization dedicated to helping people with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities marks a major milestone. Best buddies celebrating its 35th anniversary and the nonprofit with programs here in the bay area and through the rest of the country helps people establish one to one friendship, develop leadership skills and find jobs. Telling us sadly, nationally, unemployment rates among people with idd is extremely high. We are talking as much as 80 according to a report last august. Often times i find that once you find someone in the job, everything shifts. The culture is different, its more inclusive, and people within that Company Really see the value of having someone with disability work alongside them. A participant in volunteer, i feel much better and more confident in meeting new people and making new friends. Not only at a best buddies event but also at social events including Networking Events and parties thanks to the friendship and leadership program. If you know someone who would benefit you can learn more on the website. You can get stories like this early and all you have to do is join us on today on the bay. You can watch nbc bay area news whenever you want. Marcus washington. Back to you. Still to come, the top trending story as voted by you on my Instagram Stories pull. Also, Strong Enough to create some shaking. The spots where taylor swifts concert left for the first time in the history of this newscast we had a tie in our whats trending polling question. 30 30 for Joann Fabrics and my producer broke the tie and voted on dominoes because its march madness season and dominoes is giving College Basketball fans and assist during march madness. The chain is offering customers have priced pizzas for the first weekend of the mens and womens ncaa tournament. The deal runs from monday through sunday and applies to online orders only. March has been a big month for dominoes in the past and the company said they made enough pizza dough during 2023 to match the weight of more than 22 million basketballs. Very popular today. As always i will post links to the other stories that youve voted for on my Instagram Stories and will do that in the next half hour. To taylor swift news she is making more than just waves with her music. Shes also causing socalled swift quakes. Swift earthquakes. Last august scientists with the California Institute of technology set up seismic sensors near sofi stadium during her concerts and thousands of fans were jumping and dancing so much that it recorded as earthquake tremors on the sensors. The biggest bang came during shake it off which registered close to a 2. 0 magnitude earthquake. That is a lot of dancing going on. Lets get to rob. It was a gorgeous weekend, so perfect to be outside and it seems like its continuing right now. Probably the warmest day of the week. Tomorrow will be mild as we officially get into spring tomorrow at 8 06 in the evening, mild temperatures for midweek but weve got changes coming up as we approach another weekend forecast. Lets show you how things are looking as we head into tomorrow morning. Kind of a summer pattern but low clouds, patchy fog, coastal clouds during the day and as we watch temperatures we will see them come climbing from the 40s and 50s and moving nicely around lunch time. 63 degrees in san jose by noon and we should manage some mid 70s. Low 70s for the trivalley but cooler 60s bayside. One item to watch, isolated thunderstorms and a possibility, no impact locally, that we see buildups on the coastal mountains. No big rain chances just yet. It looks like that will hold off to about friday and you can see the pattern moving forward into the weekend. Winter weather advisories or winter storm watches can be showing up this weekend. It looks like more in the way of rain early saturday with some showers as we roll into sunday. Springing forward tomorrow temperature wise with 70s, cooler changes around the corner as we head into the weekend and this time of year we often flipflop between spring and winter patterns in the 70 forecast. Quite the change in one week. Thank you so much. That will do it for us at 4 30. That will do it for us at 4 30. Walking onto the set you made a cow actually its a piggy bank. My inspiration to start saving. How about a more solid way to save . Im listening. Well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. Both cash reward . And theres a cash bonus when you open a new Checking Account to get you started. Wow. Anything you cant do . mugs. Bmo right now at 5 00, a vigil mourning the loss of a family hit and killed at a San Francisco bus stop. Now, a 78yearold woman is under arrest for causing that crash. We are at the vigil in a live report. It has become a notorious area of oakland taking advantage of visitors traveling in and out of town. What the city is doing to step up and crackdown on crime. Good news for downtown san jose. A major conference underway, will it bring big tech money to businesses that need it . The news at 5 00 starts right now. Thank you for joining us. A 78yearold woman has been booked for vehicular manslaughter. Police say that she was driving when her car hit a family waiting at a San Francisco bus stop on saturday. Three family members, two adults and one young child were killed. Tonight, friends of those victims and Pedestrian Safety advocates are holding a memorial at the crash site in the west portal neighborhood of the city. Thats where we find nbc bay area Sergio Quintana where the vigil is about to begin. Reporter