Of course its going to be difficult but maybe god he can help us. So i only put it on the hands of god. Police are patrolling the flooded areas to prevent any looting. On monday, School Resumes and the overnight shelters at those locations will soon move. One of the questions people are asking is why didnt we know the flooding would be this bad . Jonathan bloom is live in san jose. For the first time today, the usgs has some answers to that question. Reporter well, as residents work to dig through the rubble and pg e works to restore power, the u. S. Geological survey has been out doing science. This is still a swollen creek. In fact, its higher than its ever been before. One of the reasons that the Evacuation Order came so late is because we didnt know what would happen when the water got this high. Now they are crunching the numbers to make sure they know what will happen if this ever occurs again. 20 . 20. Dangling over a cable of the russian water, surveyors are gathering data in literally what are unchartered waters. We might have known that the river was going to get as high as it was and they might have made a different decision. Reporter thats because coyote creek has never been this high. When all of that water led to flooding downstream, Emergency Managers say they were caught off guard. We werent expecting to have issues at rock springs for many, many hours and we werent expecting it to be the first place we had issues. Reporter the biggest flood before this was 20 years ago. In 1997, the water came right here where my feet are, and this year water came up one, two, three, four, five steps. Reporter patrick is a former waterboard member who teaches Civil Engineering at san jose state. He says a careful look at a flood map should have given city leaders a clue. I moved my chickens on sunday. I knew this was going to happen. They could have ordered everyone to vacate. At least pack. Reporter one of the problems was all of the debris taking up room in the creek. Every couple years, it washes that away. Five years of drought, its built up over time. Now its a real problem. Reporter the flooding did clear some of that debris and they say this new data will help city leaders make better calls next time. In san jose, jonathan bloom, abc7 news. Some san jose residents are coming home to homes they dont recognize. Matt keller spoke to people getting a first look today. Reporter coyote creek dropped below flood stage this morning, but that doesnt mean there arent flooded neighborhoods. Its all flooded. Reporter this street continues to sit under water as the city is trying to get a u pumping station that was flooded back up and running again. Residents near east Williams Street were evacuated. The worst part we were able to see the water coming and we couldnt stop it. You feel so powerless. Reporter peter showed us these photos from tuesday night. His partner, gary johnson and a friend, tried to save what they could. It happened to fast. We managed to get back here and get the dogs and medications and passports. Everything else stayed. Reporter what was left behind ended up soaking in seven inches of a mix of water, sewage and chemicals. Yeah, thats the water level. Reporter in the basement, the water has nowhere to go, creating a costly toxic soup. Clothing and extra supplies, you know, food pantry was down there. Also, a furnace and air conditioning system. Its all underneath the house. So its all gone. Reporter the Insurance Company has told peter it could take up to 300,000 to do all the repairs. They will have to remove the flooring, the remove the walls, drywalls and everything and, you know, the house is not inhabitable. They a they advise not to stay here because of the contamination. One woman asked me where is the help from the city. I saw a command post with the fire department, pg e and the city of san jose. They will send out building inspectors hoping to help these residents. Matt keller, abc7 news. Lets take another live look in the rock springs area where theres been all of that flooding. You can see people at least able to walk down the street now but you can tell how much water was there. Look at the cars. Thats what i was going to say. All of the mud on the cars and it must be surreal. Weve seen people with their phones taking pictures and just a really tough situation for those folks. Like matt was talking about, that one gentleman, had he Flood Insurance. Yeah, but his neighbors so many people probably did not. As Michael Finney told me a few days ago, your Car Insurance will probably cover the vehicle damage but the homes, i dont even know how you begin to repair and replace. So the question is, what if you or somebody you know is facing a similar situation . How do you know what to do when it comes to your own house . 7 on your side Michael Finney is here to help. Coming up at 4 45, im going to sit down with amy from the united policyholders who will talk about coverage concerns when it comes to policies like this. If you have a specific question youd like me to address, contact me right now on my Facebook Page but through abc7news. Com. Im sure theres a lot of people asking questions because this is a disaster. Thank you, michael. See you at 4 45. Were getting a spaceage view of how these big winter storms have affected california. These are Satellite Photos from nas s nasas observatory. Part of the pictures look brown and teal because sediment has been pushed into the ocean. Brown indicates sedimentrich areas. The tealish color means sediment mixed with salt water. Today, crews slowed the water being released from or row vision to 50,000 per second cubic feet. The water level is now 50 feet below capacity after rising slightly yesterday. Its been two weeks since nearly 250,000 people were ordered to leave their homes over concerns that the spillway would collapse. An Evacuation Order put in place last week remains in place. All right. Beautiful day today. Gorgeous, blue skies, puffy clouds. Yeah. But more rain is coming. I know. Spencer christian is here with a look ahead and how long our break is going to last. At least one more day, ama, of dry weather. Heres live doppler 7. Mainly sunny skies but lets move up north where we still have a Flood Warning in effect for the clearlake area until 2 00 p. M. Sunday and a Winter Weather advisory for all of mendocino. Meanwhile, here in the bay area, a dose of the chill as well. A cold morning this morning and by 10 00 tonight, temperatures will drop into the 30s already in some inland areas. 7 00 tomorrow morning, the day gets off to a chilly start with temperatures in the low to mid30s. Heres the forecast, 7 00 tomorrow morning, skies are bright. They remain that way for most of the day. Late tomorrow night, moisture moves in on saturday and we get rain and our highlights for the weekend, with cold air arriving, cold showers with snow levels in the bay area down to 3,000 feet. Possibility of snow in our bay area peaks and maybe some hail. A closer look at the forecast in a few minutes. Larry and ama . Thank you, spencer. An east bay father who dedicated his life to empowering atrisk youth has also died from violence. The suspect made his first court appearance. Elissa harrington spoke with grieving Family Members. Its horrible. Reporter Johnny Dempsey says it feels like his family is reliving 2004 all over again. Thats when this football star Terrance Kelly was shot to death. Now terrances father was also killed due to violence. He founded a Foundation Empowering atrisk students and helping them stay out of trouble. He was out there doing the work. Its the one thing that kept him going, kept him alive, was keeping his son alive. Reporter police say 48yearold landron was hurt on a fight february 11th and died in the hospital a few days later. This happened at the 700 block of virginia street. Kelly got knocked to the ground and witnesses withheld that information. They told paramedics he simply fell. Dempsey, however, says landron was attacked. He got sucker punched. His back was turned and he got sucker punched. Police arrested 49yearold Kevin Jackson for his murder. Sadly, thats one of his oldest friends. Hes not sure why he hit him. The familys focus is now getting justice and also keeping la landron and terrances memory alive. Elissa harrington, abc7 news. A memorial tribute to a fallen officer at the chp academy in West Sacramento for 31yearold officer lucas chellew. He crashed his motorcycle after a highspeed chase. He leaves behind a wife and son and daughter. The 1500 foot section of highway 37 between 101 and atherton avenue reopened beca. E it was closed because of flooding. They replaced the pipes. Crews will continue to work during offpeek hours into meanwhile, cal trans crews are taking advantage of good weather today on highway 24 in oakland. This is going to be a mammoth job. Thousands of carjarring potholes opened up because of the rain. Its going to take months to get them filled. The city of santa clara is taking on the Trump Administration. If we dont take a stand now against this unlawful power grab by President Trump, theres no telling what he might do next. The legal showdown over sanctuary cities. Plus, the fight over transgender rights. The battle thats heating up in washington as the conservative Political Action conference gets under way. And we take you live to arizona where spring training is getting under way this weekend. Santa clara county is leading the fight and have some highprofile law firms working pro bono on the sanctuary city case. If we dont take a stance now, theres no telling what President Trump will do next. Reporter Santa Clara County is in a legal showdown with the Trump Administration after the president s executive order threatening to withhold funding for sanctuary cities and counties. The Supreme Court over and over again has made clear that you cannot use federal funding as a weapon to withhold funds on unrelated programs in order to coerce changes and local policies. Reporter the countys motion filed today asked a federal judge to stop the order. A move university of San Francisco law professor bill hing calls proactive and political. They could have waited for trump to actually try to withhold money. This isnt a liberal or conservative issue. This isnt even mainly about immigration. This lawsuit is about preserving local control for every town, city and county in the united states. Reporter billions are at stake. Valley Medical Center used as an example. If we were going to lose all of our funding, it would create a Public Health crisis in the county. Reporter arguments are likely to be heard by a federal judge in early april. County attorneys will argue constitutionality. Fundamentally, the president , number one, doesnt have the power to withhold funding. Congress has Spending Authority under our constitution. Reporter he expects them to rework the order or push for legislation in Republicancontrolled Congress and house. Katie utehs, abc7 news. Santa clara county Officials Say they feel deceived. The new investigation now under way. There is a flurry of activity on hollywood boulevard as we close in on oscar night this coming sunday. Part of the red carpet was rolled out last night but today was the official ceremonial rollout. Crews say they are on schedule for sundays big night and they are covered just in case it rains. Well, you might not think spring training in arizona is the place to talk about the oscars but mike shumann found a man. Hey, shu. Reporter well, i was snooping around the as clubhouse. I said, whos the expert. They all pointed to the pitcher. I said, lets go. Were going to make our oscar picks. Its early in the morning. You havent looked at everything. Lets start with supporting actress. This is a shoe in for viola davis. What do you think . Im locked in with you right there. Should win, will win. Supporting act store, im going to go with ali in moonlight. What about yourself . I have the same pick. I saw it. I loved it. Probably my favorite film of the year and hes definitely my choice. Reporter best actress, i think the favorite is emma stone of la la land. I think that is very true. The favorite being emma stone, i think, but i think emma stone has been kind of ruling the land so far, you know, to use their a little bit of a pun with their own movie title. This is where it gets interesting. I thought Casey Affleck was amazing in manchester by the sea. Yes, im going to do the same. I think its a should and will win for Casey Affleck but its tough when Denzel Washington wins the s. A. G. Award. Its 11 years in a row that the s. A. G. Has won the academy award. Im going to pick lion in the upset. Im going to go for moonlight. Its my favorite and i think it should win. What i think will win is la la land. Before i let you go, hows the arm . Going great. Spring training just starting up. Reporter i had to do one baseball question. I appreciate your time. All right. John and i hope our picks stand tall this sunday at the oscars. Of course, you can see it only right here on abc7. Mike shumann, abc7 news. Shu does fantastic. Youre up on it. Im with you on lion. Its fantastic. See you on sunday. Thank you, shu. Spencer, what about you . I barely have time for the forecast. Ill get right into it. We have light rain coming our way. Not enough to elevate flooding concerns. What may be more important is the cold air hanging around. Heres a live look at doppler 7. Sunny skies right now. A few high clouds. A few puffy clouds around that arent high at all. They are at the middle level of the atmosphere. Here a look going eastward. Scattered cumulus in the sky. 52 in San Francisco. 55 in oakland. Low to mid50s in Mountain View and san jose and gill rroy. A beautiful blue sky over the bay with low clouds around. 55 degrees in santa rosa. Low to mid50s in napa, novato and fairfield. And looking across the embarcadero out over the bay, its a lovely thursday afternoon. It will be a cold and frosty friday morning tomorrow. Chilly and frosty for the weekend. Sounds like a menu item. Sunnier and milder next week. Overnight lows, its going to be cold with inland areas, virtually all of our inland areas having temperatures dropping down near the freezing mark. 30 degrees below in some areas. Napa, santa rosa. Upper 40s around the bay and near the coast. Looking ahead, heres a threeday preview of the weekend. Tomorrow will be a sunny day. A cold start in the earlymorning hours but pleasant and sunny in the afternoon. But we get some showers over the weekend with the cold air hanging around. Both days we rank our shower activity 1 on the storm impact scale and it will be cold enough that snow level drops down to 3,000 feet so that it could be peaks. Heres the storm impact scale. Saturday and sunday is ranked as a 1. Light intensity producing light showers with possibly up to a third of an inch of rainfall. Most areas will not see that much rain. Heres our forecast animation. 8 00, saturday morning, dry conditions. Little bit of light rain develops later in the day and into the evening hours. It expands overnight into sunday morning. Sunday morning may be the wettest period on the weekend but rain moves out rather quickly with a few trailing showers behind and very cold air. Once again, chance of snow in the higher bay area peaks. Rainfall totals by sunday night, 11 00, we protect to be only a few hundredths of an inch in a few locations. Chilly on saturday and showers and maybe even snow in the higher elevations. Increasing sunshine on monday. And then middle of next week, we get a warmup with highs in the midto upper 60s. Wow. I cant wait for next thursday. Exactly right. Mark the calendar. Thanks, spencer. Well, theres a lot of buzz about the oscars this week. Some bay area kids are making movies from their hospital beds. Just really want it to turn out the way im envisioning it in my head. Their powerful stories that are just as award worthy. And Denzel Washington talking about his costar viola davis and why he says being an sure, you could buy this. But why miss out on this . Its baking season. Warm up with pillsbury. Protein. Protein proteiny protein. Proteiny protein . Protein proteiny protein. At least 14 grams of protein. 100 calories. New greek 100 protein. From yoplait. So i was in new orleans. Yes, you were. There was the allstar game and mardi gras. There is one easy way to celebrate right here in the bay area. There is. Abc7 mornings has details from hoodline. Head over to street food park, a parade of food trucks will serve up creole and cajun. The live jazz and funk, whether youre a mardi gras veteran, proceeds benefit San Francisco school of the arts. Or you could start your weekend off with a dose of cuteness. A few days left to visit the popup center in the financial district. Im at cocoa and claires. Stop by for puppy hour. Adoption specialists are on site. And you can enjoy a premium pedicure in russian hill. Its a unique wine and nail experience. Cheers. Check out the details for these events and more at abc7news. Com. Just head over to the hoodline section. Have a great weekend. All right. Backlash today to the Trump Administration rolling back transgender rights. And this isnt about an interpretation of the law. This is about being cruel to children. And what the Trump Administration is saying is that the conservative Political Action conference gets under way. And the growing anger in southern weyour most extraordinarybut withmoments happenses when you feel small. When youre completely outnumbered, overshadowed, and outshined. So what if you dared to explore this great big beautiful pond. What if you dared to feel small. Celebrate our princess anniversary sale with Award Winning itineraries. 7 day fares from 799. Visit your travel agent or princess. Com. Princess cruises. Come back new. Tomorrows the day besides video games. Every day is a gift. Especially for people with Heart Failure. But today theres entresto. A breakthrough medicine that can help make more tomorrows possible. Tomorrow, i want to see teddy bait his first hook. In the largest Heart Failure study ever, entresto was proven to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading Heart Failure medicine. Women who are pregnant must not take entresto. It can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. If youve had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, dont take entresto. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. Tomorrow, im gonna step out with my favorite girl. Ask your doctor about entresto. And help make the gift of tomorrow possible. And here are the stories making headlines at 4 30 in San Jose City crews are power washing, sweeping and scraping all of the mud that was left by devastating flooding near coyote creek. The mandatory evacuation zone dropped from 14,000 to 3800 people. In the rock springs area, those being let back into their homes cannot use their sinks or flush the toilets and police are patrolling the flooded areas to prevent any possible looting. David louie tweeted this picture of the big job ahead in three specific parts of the city and hell be live from rock springs at 5 00. Also at 5 00, Lyanne Melendez in San Francisco as House Minority leader met with advocacy groups about the battles heating up because of President Trumps policies. Mr. Trumps reversal of Public Schools allowing transgender students is getting plenty of attention. Were live in washington with that story. Maggie . Larry, the president s decision to roll that back for transgender citizens rolled back a response. This isnt about the law. And this isnt about an interpretation of the law. This is about being cruel to children. Reporter immediately backlash from civil Rights Groups over President Trumps decision to roll back obama era federal guidelines that require Public Schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. This issue was a very huge example of president obamas overreach. Reporter using todays conservative Political Action conference to make his case. Hes even leaving bathrooms alone. Thats a refreshing thing for people as well. And its a state issue. Reporter transgendered students arent willing to take that risk. Often when you leave decisions of civil rights up to states, it happens for a very long time, people dont have civil rights. Reporter transgendered teen sued the school for not allowing them to use the boys bathroom no student should ever have to feel that they are unsafe and cannot use the bathroom while trying to get an education. Reporter while awaiting the decision in the Supreme Court, another group is asking for answers. Jackies sister is transgender and tweets, you gave me the honor to everybody at your inauguration. Please give me and my sister a chance to meet with you to talk about transgender rights. Today, white house Spokesman Sean Spicer said the Obama Administration rushed that guidance and did not follow the proper procedure. In washington, maggie rulli, abc7 news. What do you see from different states . We dont have any laws about students using transgender restrooms. The policies could vary dramatically. We heard from new york, philadelphia and boston who all said their current policies that protect transgender rights in schools will stay in place. Larry . Maggie rulli live in washington, thank you. The head of california schools say the rights of students will be protected. State superintendent Tom Torlakson says california will continue to work to provide that environment for our lgbtq students. Several dozen dakota protesters were arrested today. Cleanup will cost taxpayers over a million dollars. They need to move before spring floods begin. Last august, thousands of protesters moved into that area as a way of defying the oil pipeline construction. They say it will contaminate the water on an indian reservation. Police arrested a 14yearold boy arrested after an altercation with an offduty Police Officer. At least 24 people were arrested after they broke windows and vandalized home. The demonstration was sparked by this video youre seeing, seeing the offduty Police Officer confronting and firing a shot at a group of teenagers he claims had repeatedly cut across his property. [ bleep ]. Im only like freaking 13. [ gunfire ] you heard that shot. No one was hit by it. The officer claims he fired when he heard one of the teens say im going to shoot you. The boy claims he said im going to sue you. The officer is now on paid leave while the pd investigates. There is concern over the video and urge people not to rush to judgment. A former jail has been transformed in San Franciscos latest jewel. Abc7 news was there at the new visitor center. The building was once a jail. The inside was totally redone. Lots of interactive displays for the Golden Gate Bridge and parklands and crissy field. A public celebration will be held on saturday. Getting back to work on a mudslide in the east bay. And the warning from chp officers to drivers heading to the sierra. Im spencer christian. Mainly blue skies over the bay area. That lasts about one more day before cold showers arrive over the weekend. Ill have the accuweather forecast coming right up. And in honor of black history month, were using our bay area instagram feed to recognize people who have made history where you live. The victory salute statue at San Jose State University recognizes former spartan student athletes tommy smith and tom carlos. They stood on the podium and accepted their gold and bronze medals and raised their fists in silent protest. At at t, we believe in access. The opportunity for everyone to explore a digital world. Connecting with the things that matter most. And because nothing keeps us more connected than the internet, weve created access from at t. California households with at least one resident who receives snap or ssi benefits may qualify for Home Internet at a discounted rate of 10 a month. No commitment, deposit, or installation fee. Visit att. Com accessnow to learn more. You said you wanted to feel better about your cereal. General mills big g cereals hear you. Thats why we say yes to whole grains as our first ingredient. And no way to high fructose corn syrup. In every honey nut o. Every lucky charms spoonful. And every cinnamon toast crunch square. You can feel good about General Mills big g cereals. Pg e continues to monitor a landslide at the bottom of one of its transmission towers. Workers tell us they are still stabilizing the area and getting supplies out there but the actual work on a permanent fix hasnt started yet. Meanwhile, briggs park has impacted the commute with lane closures and slowing down traffic. Chp officers near tahoe are warning drivers to Pay Attention to the roads closed signs. This driver had to be shoveled out of this. Look at all of that snow, first of all, after he bypassed a sign. They included the text. I guess its more of a suggestion. Theres more snow on the way. Drivers should be more careful this weekend. Im spencer christian. Weve got cold air coming our way. Heres a look at live doppler 7. Skies are clear and remain clear. They have just been revised downward. Look at santa rosa and napa dropping to the up upper 30s. Morgan hill, all around the inland areas, lows are near or below the freezing line. Light storm coming in. The storm ranks 1 and produces mainly light showers. The rainfall totals raise from. 01 and 11 00 tomorrow night, taking this into saturday morning, at that point we see pockets of light rainfall pushing into the bay area and showers push onshore and beginning to push inland by the afternoon and evening hours. It will be wet over the weekend. Heres the accuweather sevenday forecast. Let me focus on the cold air again for tomorrow morning. If youre going to be out early, you may need to bundle up. Think about that. Quite a chill coming our way. It lasts into the weekend, which is the reason the snow levels in the bay area will drop down to 2500 feet. So both days saturday and sunday we expect chilly showers and maybe some snow on the bay area peaks. Next week, sunny skies and warmer weather. We need that. Thanks, spencer. The long road to recovery for residents in san jose. Next, how those still not allowed back in their homes can get Important Services from around the city. Im 7 on your side Michael Finney. No one ever plans on being the city of san jose is trying to get as many residents as possible who were affected by this weeks flooding back into their homes but officials tell us it could be weeks or months until some people can go home again. Abc7 news was at the citys Emergency Operations center in san jose. The city is working with the state office of Emergency Services to try to expedite disaster damage claims. Officials acknowledge in this housing market, finding places for everybody to stay in the short term may be really difficult. Its always been a challenge. So this compounds the challenge for our entire community. Were committed to working with our residents who have been displaced by this flood to help them find solutions and plug them in to resources that might be available. On saturday, the city is opening a local assistant center on lakresha avenue. Affected residents can speak with state emergecy personnel. 7 on your side Michael Finney has been looking out for our viewers. Today he has help for those affected and what you need to know before a disaster takes place. Mike . You guys have some questions so we have the expert here to get some answers. This is amy bach, executive director of united policyholders, a group that helps you deal with your Insurance Company. So lets kind of begin at the beginning with evacuation. It always looks like its this rowdy affair. Yeah, i think this main thing is, if you have a cell phone with a camera, take a bunch of pictures of the water, where its touching your home before you evacuate so youve got some of that proof. So when youre grabbing the photographs to take with you, grab pictures so you have proof of exactly what happened to you . Exactly. Of course, people want to grab their essentials, you know, documents, passports, things that are really hard to recreate. Now, we see all of these people, very few of them have Flood Insurance. Ill get to that in a moment. But lets start with what does your Homeowners Insurance cover. Well, in the case of a flood, very little to nothing. You know, there are creative arguments that you can make, maybe some scenarios but where its a straightforward, you know, innone dags, the water rose up, Homeowners Insurance does not cover that. So you have to have a sewer plugged up or or a tree falling and blocking the drain or that kind of thing. Okay. Now lets talk about Flood Insurance for the very few that have actually bought it. Whats that process like . Do they actually pay . Well, if you have Flood Insurance or your house has been damaged, then you should get coverage for a pretty good chunk of the damage if not all of it depending on how well you document your losses. How many people actually have Flood Insurance . Not enough. Very few. And, you know, its generally unless your Mortgage Company forced you to buy it because your house was located in an officially zoned flood risk area, you dont buy it. Like nobody does unless they are in that. Weve seen cars just covered with mud. They are basically not good anymore. Right. Does your Auto Insurance cover that . Yes, if you have comprehensive coverage, which hopefully people do. And that way most of the time its going to be a total loss and then youre just going to negotiate it over the value of the car and then the adjuster should cut you a check. One little cautionary note because youre a consumer advocate in the bay area, in the coming months, people in the market for used cars, you want to really be careful not to buy a car that was flooded because flooded cars tend to just have problems for the rest of their lives. And theyre going to be out there, right . Amy, thank you very much. Well make sure we get her website up so you can contact her if you need some help or want some information. Heres a reminder. Ill be in san jose tomorrow to help flood survivors deal with the questions that come after Something Like this. Like how to file claims, find a contractor. Basically, just move on. Ill be at James Lick High School in san jose tomorrow from noon till 7 00. Ill be there with a team of consumer experts. We will be able to answer your questions. Now, if you cant make it out there, you can also ask questions for yourself or on behalf of a friend or Family Member on social media. Just remember, use the askfinney. Ama, larry . Great information. Thank you, michael. Well, there are several ways to help flood victims. Text the words red cross to 90999 and youll make a 10 donation. It will show up on your phone bill. You can also volunteer through the red cross into the city has also set up the san jose flood victims relief fund. It will support nonprofit organizations providing immediate and longterm recovery to victims. Weve posted a link at abc7news. Com. Abc7 stars recognizes people doing extraordinary things. Jessica castro introduces us to a fearless teenager coping with her illness in a creative way. Reporter alex gomez suffers from crohns, a lifelong disease affecting millions of americans. But thats not why weve stopped by. Look closer. Shes actually writing, editing and starring in her own documentary, all from her hospital bed. Its really tedious work. I just really want it to turn out the way im envisioning it in my head. Reporter alex became a filmmaker through bay kids studios, volunteers often from silicon valleys Biggest Tech Companies have helped more than 5,000 hospitalized kids learn the art of filmmaking as a way to cope with their illnesses. So when this opportunity came up, im like, this is exactly what ive been looking for. The experience usually lasts a day but some kids like alex discover a passion. Shes now learning every part of the moviemaking process. Its empowered her. You know, i think its something they take control of their illness but this is something that theyre able to control and do. Reporter her full documentary is still a work in progress but her trailer was honored in a bay kids event thats much like the oscars. Its been really difficult. Crohns is a very debilitating disease and not many people know about it. Not many people know how serious it can be. When you look inside her hospital room, its easy to miss signs of a budding george lucas. Her smile and optimism are infectious. But outward appearances dont tell a persons full story and thats what her movie will be about. I want to raise awareness for it. I want to show awareness and show people that it really is a serious disease. Its not, you know, anything simple to deal with. Alex is just 19 years old. Shes into the typical teenage girl stuff but her poise and fearlessness in the face of a debilitating disease is more than many adults can muster and its what makes her an abc7 star. Alex, thank you. Documentaries like yours will help countless other kids traveling the same path after you. And we cant wait for the premier. Thanks, jessica. If youd like to help bay kids studios or nominate somebody to be an abc7 star, find all of the information at abc7news. Com. Denzel washington says he knows the key to success and its not stardom. Being a movie star, i dont even know what that means. What he says about his oscar nomination and working with how to get away with murder star viola davis. Dan has a look at what is next at 5 00. Thanks, larry, ama. Forcibly removed. What happened on the state senate floor that has republican lawmakers so angry. And the early works of monet on display in San Francisco. The exhibit that is being called once in a lifetime. Those stories and a lot more coming up at 5 00. Mmmmm psst. Yoplait custards back. The family favorite. Protein. Protein proteiny protein. Proteiny protein . Protein proteiny protein. At least 14 grams of protein. 100 calories. New greek 100 protein. From yoplait. It is tgit night. Greys anatomy followed by two hours of how to get away with murder and then the abc7 news at 11 00. How to get away with murders star viola davis starred in the oscarnominated movie fences with Denzel Washington. How come you never like me. Like . Whole hell says i have to like you. Reporter in fences, its the 1950s and Denzel Washington plays a man getting by trying to raise his family. It was written by the late August Wilson and its material that denzel knows well. He won a tony for the same material on broadway and directed this movie. August wilson goes deep and you have to go back to it, even in this film, go back to it. Because its more than you think. Its not easy for me to admit that ive been standing in the same place for 18 years. Well, ive been standing with you. Ive got a life, too. Dont you think i had dreams and hopes . What about my life . What about me . We have to infuse as much love for each other as we can, especially viola and i. You have to believe that these people love each other. Reporter viola is up for best supporting actress. They started off in the broadway production and also won a tony. Denzel has long been an admirer of her work. By the way, i cast viola davis 16 years ago in antwan fisher. I knew how great she was then. Im not surprised. Denzel won his first oscar for his supporting role in 1989s glory. He took the best actor role. If theres a key to show business, its this. Keep working with your craft and keep growing with your craft. Being a movie star, i dont even know what that means. Movie star is something they call you. Celebrity is something that they call you. Im a human being. Abc7 news. Hes fantastic. You can watch the oscars live only on abc7 this sunday. Live coverage at 2 00. Jimmy kimmel hosting the oscars for the first time at 5 30. Kristen sze will be live at the oscars on the red carpet bringing us live coverage starting tomorrow. Thank you for joining us. Im larry beil. Abc7 news at 5 00 starts right now. How disappointed we are by the betrayal of the department of Homeland Security. Tough talk. A gang raid. More evacuations lifted in san jose. The cleanup under way right now as the floodwaters continue to recede. And some there are wondering why they didnt have more notice to evacuate. What the u. S. Geological survey is now doing in hopes of better predictions in the future. We begin tonight with an apology from a police chief. Good evening and thank you for joining us. Im ama daetz in for kristen sze. And im dan ashley. Many are saying that their community got a raw deal, all fallout from a Homeland Security raid that led to deportations. Melanie woodrow is in the newsroom with the story. Melanie . Dan and ama, San Jose Police also assisted the department of Homeland Security with the raid. One of the Big Questions tonight is whether officials in that city shared the same sentiment as those in santa cruz. A lieutenant with the Daly City Police department say they executed a search warrant here on rio verde street after department of Homeland Security asked them to help them. Approximately 12 people were located inside a residence of interest. The investigation was then turned over to the department of Homeland Security. Meantime, in santa cruz, the police chief slammed the department of Homeland Security, saying that the arrests in that city were part of an i. C. E