Calls this russia investigation a witchhunt invented by democrats. But the department of justice has now sent a strong message that the American People deserve a truly nonpartisan probe. Robert muller is universally respcted. Has an unblemished reputation. And now hes the person in charge. The investigation into possible collusion between the Trump Campaign and russia has taken an unexpectedtwist the appointment of a special prosecutor. In a statement, Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein wrote. Special counsel is necessary in order for the American People to have full confidence in the outcome. Reaction from capitol hill was swift espcially from democrats who had insisted on a special prosecutor ever since fbi director james comey was fired last week. Rep. Jackie speier D Intelligence Committee everyone in this country should breathe a sigh of relief. Sen. Richard blumenthal d Judiciary Committee a very solid and significant steprosenstein who recommended firing comey has appointed Robert Mueller to lead the russian investigation. Mueller is a former marine and doj official who served as fbi director until 2013 after serving 12 years. Jeffrey toobin cnn senior legal analyst this is the single most respected figure in american Law Enforcement. this is someone who really embodies the best of the american criminal Justice System and the chips are going to fall where they may. The news comes the same day President Trump interviews candidates to replace comey. The white house has said the need for a special counsel in the russian probe is unecessary. In a statement President Trump wrote a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. grant the deciscion to appoint mueller is being applauded by some if not most republicans. And democrats certainly are on board. But San Franciscos nancy pelosi. The House Minority leader. Tweeted this. Hedging a bit. Mueller is a good first step but cant take the place of an independent Commission Free from trumps meddling. Length of investigation. Mueller worked with comey comey testifying . steve and now a closer look into who Robert Mueller is. And his connection to San Francisco. Kron 4s Hermela Aregawi spoke to a former fbi agent familiar with mueller the man and the professional. She joins us live in San Francisco with more on that. Skip george tells me mueller by all accounts is a top notch professional. He describes him as one of the best directors the fbi has had. And says hes an excellent choice for special counsel Robert Mueller became director of the fbi during one of the toughest times in modern u. S. History it was the summer before 9 11. George w. Bush former u. S. President it is my honor to nominate robert s. Mueller of california to become the director of the federal bureau of investigations. A day after the attacks. Robert mueller former fbi director. The first objective is to determine, identify the high jackers on each of the planes, each of the planes. Having identified the high jackers on each of the planes we then have sought to identify any of the associates remaining in the united states. Skip george a 25 year veteran of the fbi says muellers handling of the attacks illustrated his commitment to the law. Skip george former fbi special agent he had to reestablish the types of investigations that were done in the fbi. He set up how the fbi fought terrorism. He was a tremendous leader and he was a good boss and i think he was one of the better directors that the fbi has had. Mueller is known for taking a stand against the patriot act which increased domestic surveillance after the attacks. The Justice Department had determined it was against the law. One of the pivotal moments of integrity that earned him respect in the intelligence community. Skip george former fbi special agent he was outstanding as a director. I think hes excellent choice if youre going to have a special counsel, i think hes an excellent choice. A good leader, a top notch investigator. A vietnam vet. Then a litigator and then eventually a federal prosecutor. Mueller served as fbi director for 12 years and two president s. Torbarack obama former u. S. President i want to thank your outstanding director Robert Mueller not just for the introduction because bob has led the bureau during incredibly challenging times the 72year old has also served as federal prosecutor in boston and San Francisco. He will be leaving his job as partner at a private firm. And as a professor at stanford for his new special counsel role. hermel aregawi skip george says james comey also has a strong reputation. But the difference is that comey got unfairly caught up in the last with the reporting live in San Francisco. Aregawi, kron 4 news. steve stocks had their worst day since september. Investors worried the investors september. Investors worried the washington turmoil will stymie the president s probusiness agenda. The dow fell 372 ponts. The nasdaq was down 158 points. The sandp 500 was off by 43. pam tonight the suspect invovled in a series of car fires out of the east bay. Has been identified. Now investigators are concerned he may be responsible for dozens of other arson fires. Kron fours alecia reid is live in Contra Costa County. With what we are learning about the suspect tonight. Since this arson suspect has been arrested, Officials Say car fires in Contra Costa County have dropped dramatically. Pkgjames bishop iii describes himself as a struggling artist, who needed help getting his books published. But investigators call him a serial arsonist. Sot we are very confident that we have the person responsible for the series of firesthe 36 year old is being charged with over two dozen counts of arson. That includes vehicles and buildings with people inside. Sot where the fire in a vehicle spread to a structure is a different crime the uptick in vehicle fires across Contra Costa County started back in april. And after careful investigation, authorities noticed a similarity between all of them. Sot we were able to tie them together due to commonalities like using an accelerant on the outside of the vehicles. Law enforcement also realized those types of vehicle fires extended to the beginning of the year. Sot right now were investigating fires in 2017 but part of the investigation is outside of that time frame. Nearby surveillance cameras at a number of the fire locations. Captured images of bishops toyota rav 4. Which investigators say tied bishop to the fires. The vehicles were torched in a number of cities in the east bay. Including lafayette jp , brentwood hm , walnut creek hm , and Pleasant Hill ha . Sot as the occurences increased in frequency, and became more dangerous, we assembled a task force with partners in Law Enforcement and the district attorneys officebishops go fund me page says hes been down on his luck for last 10 years. There hasnt been a single donation since he created the page in december. And investigators say he has a prior record. Sot the priors that are listed include some Sexual Assault chargesstandup if you live in the area where any suspicious fires occurred, and have information or surveillance that can help, youre urged to call the fire district. Reporting live from concord. steve a family is mourning the loss of a 6 yearold boy who has died after contracting meningitis. The young san jose boy fell ill several weeks ago but wasnt diagnosed with meningitis until last week and by then it was too late. He passed away on tuesday. Kron 4s Charles Clifford spoke with the devastated family. By all accounts, 6yearold Jayden Brizuela was a wonderful little boy. His aunt, monica aguilar, says he was an only child and the light of his mothers life. Sot but last month, jayden fell ill and his mom took him to the doctor. Sot over the next few weeks jayden was in and out of multiple hospitals, urgent cares and doctors offices. He would get worse then get better and then worse again. Last friday jayden loudly complained of a severe headache and his mother took him to an emergency room. A check of his spinal fluid revealed jayden had bacterial meningitis, a very serious infection that kills about 500 people nationwide every year. Standup permission, doctors tested to see if jayden could breathe on his own. He could not, and thats when the young boy died. We reached out to Valley Medical Center for comment, but citing federal patient privacy rules they declined to elaborate they did say that county Health Officials were informed of the meningitis. Jaydens illness appears to be an isolated case. Jaydens devastated family is now left with more questions than answers. They dont know how he contracted the meningitis and theyre frustrated that it took so long to get a correct diagnosis. While they are happy with the care jayden eventually received at Valley Medical Center, they are troubled that so many doctors and nurses couldnt find the problem sooner. Sot breezy onshore flow will persist today along with mostly sunny skies. A more robust warming trend will take place through late week and into the upcoming weekend as High Pressure builds along the coast. pam tens of thousands of u2 fans came out to santa clara tonight. The band held a big concert at levis stadium with mumford and sons. But there were some concerns going in. Including the citys noise ordinance. Which kicks in at 10pm. Kron4s jeff bush is monitoring the situation jeff did the concert end before the curfew . pam coming up new at ten thousands of registered sex offenders are living in the bay area. But not all are listed on the megans law website. Tonight we look at how many are under the radar in your community. steve then terrifying video showing the moments an out of control suv hits a child on a bike. Tonight here from the boy who walked away with just a few scratches. pam and next the new push to find the person who mutiliated as many as a dozen dogs and dumped them on a walking trail. Whoa youre not taking these. Hey, hey, hey youre not taking those. Whoa, whoa youre not taking that. Come with me. Youre not taking that. Youre not taking that. Youre not taking that. Mom, im taking the subaru. Dont be late. Even when were not there to keep them safe, our Subaru Outback will be. vo love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Tonight, a ten thousand dollar reward is now being offered. To help catch a dog killer. As many a dozen dogs were found mutilated and dumped in vallejo recently. Kron4s Philippe Djegal shows us. How Animal Rescue groups are teaming up. To solve this case. philippe three months after the initial discovery. Julia orr jarr i mean, the sadness is overwhelming. Some remains of dead dogs still rest in the bark off columbus parkway near lake herman road in vallejo. Julia orr jarr yeah, the smell it hits you immediately. Julia orr speaks for jameson Animal Rescue ranch in the napa valley or jarr. A Nonprofit Organization deeply concerned by this case. Julia orr jarr we definitely have a concern that theres a serial animal killer out here. The initial reward offered in this case was two thousand dollars. Then, it went up to four and a half thousand dollars. Now, its up to ten thousand dollars. And, julia says its possible even that amount can increase. Carine peters discovered dogs someone knows something, someone saw something um, its time to get some answers. Carine peters is the one who first called Animal Services back in february about as many as a dozen dismembered dogs left on the side of the road. She still walks past the site on a weekly basis. Carine peters discovered dogs some people have sent me pictures to look and see if i can identify and possibly, um, put their mind at ease that their dog was or was not in this particular find. Jarr, norcal bully breed rescue and the center of Animal Rescue and education in Solano County. Have teamed to offer the 10thousand dollar reward. Call any of those groups with information that could eventually help solve this case. Julia orr jarr we felt this case was so important and so egregious, that we had to do something. Carine peters discovered dogs those dogs will be engrained in my mind probably, until the day i die. The Solano CountySheriffs Office manages Animal Services in vallejo. And, a sheriffs spokesperson says this case is still open. In vallejo, Philippe Djegal, kron four news. steve emotional testimony. And a possible drawback for the prosecution today. As the penalty phase of the sierra lamar murder trial. Continues in san jose. New information surfaced during the trial today. And it could have reperussions for the prosecutions case. The defense is now suggesting. There could be evidence of what is termed as lingering doubt about the guilt of convicted murderer Antolin Garcia torres. The defense informed the court. Away from the jury, about detective herman leon. Detective leon oversaw much of the sierra lamar investigation. Last week, a judge found that leon gave false testimony in another case. pam if the information about the detectives false testimony is not permitted in the penalty phase, legal experts say, it could be part of an appeal. Meantime, the prosecution will call more wtinesses tomorrow, including sierras mother and father. pam lets take a live look outside tonight. Looking out over the San Francisco bay. A chilly night. steve but a warm thursday ahead. Brittney has details. Breezy onshore flow will persist today along with mostly sunny skies. A more robust warming trend will take place through late week and into the upcoming weekend as High Pressure builds along the coast. pam still ahead new at ten. A parent claims a simple haircut turned into a nightmare. What the mom says happened. After a barber allegedly used dirty tools on her sons head. steve and next before you buy something on craigslist. The new way to feel safe when meeting a seller you find online. steve buyers and sellers who use craigslist or other similar websites. Now a safe place to meet in the east bay and make your exchanges in person. It is happening in the town of danville. And it is something knows as an Exchange Zone. And it is helping prevent potential crime. With more and more people turning to internet sites like craigslist to buy things directly from private sellers. The Exchange Zone which is in the Police Parking lot, now serves as a safe place to buy and sell things. steve even though the Exchange Zone is in the danville Police Parking lot. City employees say they will not act as witnesses to any transactions, nor give any legal advice or settle any disputes that may arise during or after any exchange pam in the north bay disbelief and shock. After the discovery of two people found dead inside their home. It happened around 8 30 this morning. At a home off of atherton avenue in novato. Family members who were visiting the elderly couple found the two dead inside their home. And called police. Sheriffs deputies say, the two people died from gunshot wounds and they are investigating this case as a possible murder suicide. Detectives are trying to figure out exactly what happened. The couples names have not yet been released. steve coming up how a Alameda County deputy killed on the way home after working an overtime shift was honored today. pam then a young teen hit by an out of control su v. Tongiht we have the frantic 911 call another driver made before trying to stop the suspects himself. steve and next not all sex offenders are visible on the megans law website. Tonight we go undercover with law enforcmen. Trackign these hidden offenders in local communities. Theres a place like no other. Where a walk down main street. Where a walk down main street. Blah blah blah. Hey the names rocket and i need your help the collector has trapped my friends, the guardians of the galaxy in this weird. Freakshow. Check it out. This is the joint were in. And we need you to help us break out got it . Good. Now move it . I gotta go . Here there is magic for days steve sex offenders have been required to register for life with california Law Enforcement since the 1940s. pam since then, that registry has swelled to more than 100 thousand people. pam the majority can be found on the publicly accessible megans law website. But tonight, in depth. Kron 4s Maureen Kelley reveals, there are thousands of others who are known only to Law Enforcement. Minding the molestors part threesex offenders not on megans lawthe