more. he will be back in court in june. prosecutors say they know he's solely responsible for this massive fire. >> we have charged him with aggravated arson. seven counts of grand theft. and three counts of petty theft. the maximum sentence for these crimes is 14 years to life in prison. >> reporter: no one can forget these images from april 9th. today, the santa clara county d.a. says in the two weeks since then, a team of fire, police, and atf investigators gathered enough evidence to track down and arrest the person they think started it, 27-year-old dilan cruz. the devastating fire caused an estimated $17 million in damage to the home depot store on blossom hill road. and we have new details how it happened. >> the evidence shows that the suspect, who had earlier that

day stolen items from a nearby bass pro shop, lit the fire in the home depot and tried to leave the store with a cart containing stolen tools. he was stopped by a home depot employee, and fled in another person's car. >> reporter: investigators refused to elaborate on that getaway driver, but believe he was the only fire starter. during today's press conference, the mayor and police chief praised the team effort in battling the fire and finding the suspect. >> i am grateful it is only an arson. and theft investigation. >> there's no doubt that because of everyone's efforts, that this suspect will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. >> reporter: and he will be back in court here june 1st. reporting live in san jose, i'm sharon katsuda, nbc bay area news. >> our investigative unit has been looking into the suspect and he does have a criminal history.

during the past two months, he was charged with two petty thefts. those cases are still pending. in march, he pled no contest to a different theft charge and being under the influence of a controlled substance. he was given one year probation. and in march of last year, he was charged with battery on a person and that case is also still active. we'll continue to follow this developing story. just go to nbcbayarea.com. click on the link in the trending bar and you'll get all the latest details in one place. within the past few hours, the justice department announced plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling that invalidated the national mask mandate on public transit. the ruling and now appeal have left dozens of transit agencies to decide on their own whether to require masks. most airlines and airports say

that masks are optional. the results, a lot of confusion. and sergio quintana is in san francisco where riders are just trying to sort it all out. >> reporter: on the day after the judge's ruling striking down that cdc order requiring masking on planes, trains, and automobiles, passengers are still trying to figure out exactly what the rules are. here in san francisco, the signs and displays remind passengers that masks are still required on board the trains. and cal train conductors are still enforcing the mask on board rule. most passengers here on b.a.r.t. and muni say they didn't need a mandate to help make their decision. >> it makes sense to wear a mask even if there wasn't a pandemic. now that i'm used to wearing it, i will probably always wear it on the train. >> i probably want to protect myself more so. so i'm not worried about what

anybody else is doing, more so protecting myself so i don't bring anything home to my family. >> reporter: one man has long opposed the mandates, but he's not putting away his. >> i wear mine as a courtesy to other people. >> reporter: uber and lyft have raised some concerns from drivers who now worry about their health and safety in their own vehicles. at sfo, some travelers breathed a sigh of relief as they learned masks are optional. >> we were surprised to hear it. we hadn't heard the news when we flew out of tampa, and then united said they had lifted the ordinance. this is a longer flight to california. >> reporter: the u.s. department of justice has announced it will appeal the judge's ruling, but is not asking for a stay of the order, remaining it will remain in effect. dr. walker had been pushing for an appeal. >> we need to have federal agencies filled with experts and public health have the ability

to make us do things every now and then when doing things puts ourselves at risk and more importantly puts other people at risk. >> reporter: in san francisco, sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. let's keep in mind, nationwide cases are ticking upward, within the last two weeks, cases across the u.s. have gone up by 43%. here in california, similar trend. the positivity rate has been climbing in the last few days. today, our state positivity rate is at 2.6%. a month ago, it was at 1.2%. so definitely it's risen. this mandate will impact air travel. here's where the global shot pots are. you can see canada is seeing a spike, as well as australia and parts of europe, including italy, finland, greece and germany. and we are constantly updating our streaming app with the latest covid news on your roku, apple tv, or amazon fire. just search for nbc bay area, download our apps and find the

latest news under our covid play list. a big shakeup inside san francisco's police department. chief bill scott announced the arrest of two current police officers and one former officer. this comes after two separate internal affairs investigations. the crimes were not related. retired officer mark williams is accused of possessing an illegal machine gun and embedlement. the santa clara county sheriff's department released a 1993 crime scene photo. that's where a victim of the so-called happy face killier was found. as we showed you yesterday, it took years of dna research to identify the woman as patricia skiple of oregon. the happy faced killer admitted to strangling her and is now in prison in oregon.

>> the family, they were so grateful to be able to know what had happened to their sister, to their mom, and be able to really have some of their questions answered that they have just been longing for a long time. >> genealogy is often used to find suspects. but this marks the first time the sheriff's department has used it to identify a victim. the family of a man shot and killed in a walmart by a police officer is now suing the city and police department. this is body cam footage of the encounter with the now retired officer jason fletcher. less than a minute after entering the store, he tased and then shot taylor. >> we're looking forward to justice being served.

we're looking forward to things beginning to change in the city. we're looking forward to things happening for the mental ill. >> taylor's family says he was suffering from a mental health crisis. officer fletcher has pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges. the battle for ukraine's donbas region has started. russia's new offensive involved assaults on key areas, including the port city of mariupol. this new phase comes weeks after russia failed to take the capital of kyiv. today, tens of thousands of russian troops formed a new front. that's 300 miles long. meanwhile, tuesday joe biden and european allies recommitting their support for ukraine. the white house says it's preparing to announce another large military aid package for ukraine and new sanctions against russia. >> are you sending more artillery to ukraine? >> yes. >> the incredible speed and

scale to which materiel is getting over there. in recent memory and history, truly unprecedented. and that is not an exaggeration. >> russia's assaults are creating catastrophic refugee crisis, prompting a meeting of the u.n. security council. the u.n. estimates nearly 5 million ukrainians have pled to neighboring countries to seek refuge since the invasion began. back in our area, theranos machines used to draw blood took stage in the trial today. a worker at walgreen's said he worked closely with balwani and elizabeth holmes. he wrote, we didn't tell them about switching machines. scott budman is tracking the trial for us in san jose. a lot of new information coming from the trial today, scott. >> reporter: good evening. that information, along with the

testimony, was used today by the prosecutors to try to convince the jury that sunny balwani was not just an investor but a major decision maker. today felt like the prosecution bringing out the big guns, having a former walgreen's executive testify that ball wanni had a big role into bringing machines into walgreen's. >> as somebody serving as the chief operations officer, he was absolutely intimately involved in the walgreen's relationship and all the major relationships that theranos had. >> reporter: those machines not only gave some walgreen's customers inaccurate results, but turned out to use third party equipment for much of the actual testing instead of theranos technology. part of the testimony being used by the prosecution to convince

jurors of balwani's role. >> how devious theranos was with both walgreen's and customers and how potentially fatal and damaging, not only to theranos as a company and brand, but more importantly to all the patients. >> reporter: the prosecution also introduced new text messages between balwani and elizabeth holmes today. we saw texts where he admitted to holmes that he did not inform wall green's that theranos switched the machines. more testimony tomorrow morning. live here in san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. >> scott budman has been following theranos since the very beginning. so make sure to follow him on twitter. you'll get updates from inside the courtroom and the latest tech news. contested race in san francisco will be decided by voters today. we're talking about the special election to fill the assembly

district 17 seat. it's been quite a fight between the candidates. both have accused the other of deceptive campaign tactics. among the hottest issues on this campaign trail is housing. the assembly seat is open since david shu resigned in the fall to become city attorney. he's a former city supervisor, vice chair of the democratic party and chief of staff to the district attorney. still to come, a bizarre case of a mummified body in the wall of the kaiser convention center. the reason investigators say they do not suspect foul play. we're all adults and we're having a hard time understanding all this and figuring this out. >> helping kids understand our climate in crisis. one woman's new project that

will make you bay area proud. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. another storm system on the way bringing some impressive totals for april. i'll show you how much rain and snow and what it means for the weekend.

welcome back. we have an update on the mummified remains found in the wall of the oakland's kaiser convention center. investigators have identified those remains. the alameda county coroner's office confirmed the body is that of 42-year-old joseph edwards. according to state officials, he was last seen alive in august of 2020. investigators believe his death was an accident, and that he got

trapped in the wall of the crumbling building, which has been empty since 2005. his body was discovered back in march when a construction worker was helping restore that building. closing the digital divide with help from a roof top. the board of supervisors approved a pilot project that would lease space on roof tops of county owned buildings to internet service providers. that would provide broad band service to roughly 70,000 people in the county. some of the places being discussed are reed hill view airport, st. louis hospital, and valley medical center. well, this is earth week, and when it comes to our changing climate, bigger and more frequent wildfires are something all of us in california have to learn to live with. and that means everyone regardless of age. we share the story of one woman looking to get the mess am out to the youngest among us.

>> reporter: missy nightly spent most of her life thinking she was an ocean person. living close to the beach always her goal. but in 2016, she loved to the santa cruz mountains and realized she wasn't who she thought she was. >> my whole life really until i moved here, i thought i was an ocean person. this is my view in the morning. what better view could you have? >> reporter: but the fact that she loved mountain life as much as she did wasn't her only surprise. the other one came a few years later. >> september 2020. that's when it hit me. >> reporter: september 2020 you may recall is when a complex of wildfires ripped through the bay area decimating communities just like hers. missy and many of her neighbors have been scrambling since to learn all they can about preparing and protecting themselves and their property. something of a crash course, you could say. >> we're all adults, and we're

having a hard time understanding all this and figuring this out. you know, how are kids are going to understand? >> reporter: that question has led to this children's book. wildfire! this is the first book she's ever written. the first half tells the story of two friend twhos must prepare for and deal with the consequences of a devastating wildfire. the second half is filled with information, resources, and games for children and their families to learn even more. missy wrote the book she says, in part, because she couldn't find one like it anywhere. >> my book is very realistic. and my book teaches. >> reporter: it may be a shame that the situation is to a point a book like hers needed to be written. but it might be a bigger shame

for some people down the road if it weren't. garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> garvin, thank you. too much of a good thing, you decide. you're looking at video of snow falling in the sierra. this is from the uc berkeley sierra snow lab. they received more than five feet of snow just this morning. they're expecting even more snow today followed by another larger storm later this week, and just before the break, you said we are expecting impress sich totals. >> a few weeks ago, we got the final sierra snow survey that was dismal. so this is a nice last boost for us. as we bring you into your microclimate forecast, i'll continue our climate and earth week coverage tomorrow and look at coral reefing. we know about the coral reefs out near australia, the great barrier reef. but i will take a look at why

all of us should be caring about what's happening right now and what they provide all of us. coral reefs coming up tomorrow on earth week and our climate. okay, let's move it into that forecast tomorrow morning. i still think we'll stay with dry weather. cool to start, lots of 40s. even a mix of sun and clouds over the south bay and trivalley. plenty of overcast to start through the east bay, san francisco, and the north bay, as our next storm system approaches. yes, next storm system. this is just incredible news for us, considering how dry it was to start the year off. so as we move through tomorrow, i am seeing showers beginning to develop by the afternoon, continuing into the evening. so that will keep our numbers on the cool side. 61 in napa. a little warmer towards the south bay and east bay. so storm system starts to arrive as we roll through tomorrow. it will be a slow-moving storm. so at this point, it will hang

out into friday morning. it looks like there's enough instability for lightning, small hail, wind gusts at 15 to 35 miles per hour. tomorrow afternoon, i see the north bay get thing first with areas of rainfall around 1:30. through the evening, chances of rain move more off to the south. we'll keep that chance of rain as we roll into thursday's forecast, with some widespread coverage. so that means those numbers will be pretty healthy across the bay area. we're good for about a half to one inch up to the north bay. around a half to three quarters of an inch for the east bay. a quarter to half inch through the peninsula, and the south bay at a quarter to half inch. sierra snow, we just saw that video that picked up at the uc berkeley snow lab. look what we add to it. 23 inches. 12 south lake tahoe. and the snow starting right there. so my seven-day forecast, we'll keep the chances of rain

wednesday night, thursday and friday. we'll clear it out this weekend. up to 66 on sunday in san francisco. the inland valleys coming in with an amazing weekend forecast. 73 on saturday. 79 on sunday and 70s next week. so good stuff here coming up as we head through the next few days. >> you weren't kidding about those impressive totals. >> it's what we should have gotten back in january and february. >> at least it's coming now. jeff, thanks so much. still ahead, it could be one solution to rescue our climate in crisis. is seawater the answer to fix california's mega drought? the one way scientists are trying to tackle the problem.

is your bathroom over 10 years old? i'm mike holmes, here with ivan from agm renovations america's number one kitchen and bathroom renovators thanks mike! bathrooms over 10 years old cause major water damage, flooding, and mold. [mike] ivan, i've seen a lot of this. homeowners often don't realize what's behind the walls. agm are the only bathroom renovation specialists i recommend. visit agmrenovations.com today, and renovate before it's too late! and remember - we do kitchens too! ♪ agmrenovations.com ♪ i'm dan o'dowd and remember - we do kitchens too! and i approved this message. you are watching actual videos of the tesla full self driving technology as recorded by the drivers. from turning too tightly and hitting a pylon... [ expletive ] to swerving toward a pole.

jesus. watch the bicyclist on the right almost get hit before the driver takes over. sometimes it seems the tesla doesn't want the driver to take over. i'm trying. this driver had to hit the brakes when the tesla didn't understand a detour sign. ok. here it almost hit a truck. obviously, i had to take over. and here it swerves into an oncoming lane. look at that! often, the tesla doesn't know what it wants to do. what is it doing? or just doesn't know how to turn. jesus, oh my god! tesla's full self driving software for drivers and pedestrians, it's unsafe at any speed. tell congress to shut it down.

it's a startling number that illustrates our climate in crisis. 74% of california is classified in an exceptional drought. that's the highest emergency tier possible. one way experts are trying to alleviate our water problems is through desal nation. that removes salt and minerals from seawater, converting it to drinkable water. a plant in carlsbad has been producing 50 million gallons of watt ear day for san diego county. so why aren't there more plants in the state converting ocean water to purified water? >> the challenge of that is it's highly energy intensive and very expensive. >> another major problem, once purified, a double amount of salt is sent back to the ocean.

that affects marine life. you can learn more about this issue, including how long the whole purifying process takes on our channel 11-5 over the air or 185 on xfinty. still ahead, another sign we are turning to normal. who will be headlining this year?

are you heard, another stellar lineup for this year's outside lands. the festival just released headliners and featured acts. the big names are green day, as well as post malone. other acts are jack carlo, weezer, millennium, disclosure, polo and so much more we're told. the 14th annual outside lands is set for august 5 through the 7th. tickets go on sale tomorrow. >> i know have of those acts. >> have you ever been? >> never. maybe this year. >> i've they have been. i want to one day.

now president abidance nounces his next move. >> silence the guns. plus a new study on kids and omicron. what most of the children who got the coronavirus had in common. and it could be a sign the message about climate change is finally being heard. >> it's my major -- major worry, major source of anxiety. >> how climate change is coming up more than ever before on the couch of therapists across the country. the news at 5:30 starts right now. thanks for joining us. >> things are getting uglier and bloodier. major assaults by russian forces are under way in key areas of ukraine. as