Now to the developing story out of ukraine. New information surfacing on that midair attack on the Malaysian Airlines flight 17. Tonight the pentagon says it does not believe prorussian militants in ukraine are capable of shooting down the boeing 777 on their own. They believe militants would have needed help from the russians. So far no one is taking responsibility for the deaths of 298 people onboard that plane. Another question the world is asking tonight, is where are the black boxes . Russian rebels say they found them and turned them over to moscow, but russia is denying that. Meanwhile, International Investigators from many agencies around the world have arrived at the crash site, but many are not being granted full access to the debris or the bodies. Among the nearly 300 victims, at least one of them was american and he has bay area ties. We have Team Coverage for you this evening. Mark matthews spoke with bay area scientists about a big loss for their community, but we begin with more on that american who was onboard. Yeah, jessica, just 19 years old, Quinn Schansman was born here in the states, lived in new york for a little while, also the bay area. Hes been going to school in amsterdam, his Facebook Page filled with pictures of friends, now dealing with this huge loss. Passengers boarding malaysia Airlines Flight 17, seems like just another day. Passenger is rolling with a cell phone camera and posted this video on instagram before takeoff. The tragic deaths of the 298 people onboard being felt all over the world. This morning the United Nations held a moment of silence for the victims. In moscow, flowers and cards are left in their memory. This note has one message, sorry. Their deaths are a outrage of unspeakable proportions. We know at least one american citizen, quinn lucas schansman, was killed. Reporter 19yearold Quinn Schansman is described as a likable guy. He lived in the bay area for awhile as a kid when his dad worked for the Dutch Embassy in San Francisco. Today his grandfather is devastated. You go through all the phases of mourning. At the moment its just mourning. Reporter quinn was on his way to bali to meet his family for summer vacation. Instead, they are planning a funeral. Of course, its anger you see why it didnt need to be happened. Reporter another passenger with american connections, she called the netherlands home but went to school at Indiana University and spent a lot of time on the water with the rowing team. She was always so positive and willing and hard working. Carlene just 25 years old. She was studying chemistry. She was on the plane with her boyfriend. Jessica, back to you. Okay, thank you, michelle. We want to show you a candlelight vigil at the international aids conference. Some of the passengers onboard that flight were headed to this conference in melbourne, australia. One of them is the former president of the International Aids Society and a world leader in the fight against that disease. Nbc bay area Mark Matthews at San Francisco general, where many in the aids Research Program there are mourning his loss, as well, mark. Reporter they are. Dr. Diane hadler is on a plane right now on the way to the aids conference in melbourne, but before she left she sat down with me this afternoon to talk about a colleague in the fight against aids whos also a very close friend. A devastating loss for the aids community. Reporter diane describes him as a visionary, a man who pushed the boundaries in aids research and treatment. Right now, he is by my side, by all of us, saying we can end the aids epidemic. Reporter she met him more than 20 years ago at the outset of the epidemic. He came to this hospital, to San Francisco general, to see how was San Francisco responding, so he could help lead the response in amsterdam. Reporter he wound up leading the aids fight around the world, especially in subsaharan africa. A scientist, wonderful physician, crusader, troublemaker, wonderful father to four girls and a boy. Reporter in the 1980s, he pushed the world to provide aids treatment to the third world long before it became a caused celeb. As one of my colleagues said, he always spoke the truth and sometimes the truth is hard to hear. Reporter today president barack obama asked the world to remember the aids doctors and researchers who died on flight 17. People are focused on how they can help people that theyve never met, people who define themselves not by what makes them different from other people, but by the humanity that we hold in common. Reporter the president said that we should lift them up, hold their examples, and try and heed their examples. Reporting from San Francisco general, Mark Matthews, nbc bay area news. A great loss, both professionally and personally. So many families are grieving, but one is trying to understand how this could happen to them twice. Back in march, this australian family lost two of their loved ones when Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared during a flight. Her brother and sisterinlaw were on that flight and that wreckage has yet to be found, and now this, her step daughter was on Airlines Flight 17 yesterday when it was shot down. Also onboard, the step daughters husband. A total of four people from one family killed in four months. Relatives say despite that, they dont hone anything against Malaysian Airlines. There are concerns about other International Flights in or near this air space. This flight tracker website shows how virtually every flight is now avoiding the wartorn area. As we first reported yesterday, airlines were warned of the danger months ago, but tonight, malaysian leaders who are on the defensive explaining why flight 17 took that fateful path. Many, many have flown into it, so i think it is safe and thats the reason why we are taking these routes. Meanwhile, the fight isnt letting up in ukraine. 60 miles from the crash site, about 20 civilians were killed as prorussian separatists battled with the ukrainian army. Brian williams continues our coverage of the story in 5 30, about 20 minutes from now on nightly news. We have a reporter in kuala lumpur about other victims on this flight. To another crisis out of the middle east, significant expansion, that is the promise from israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu for the Ground Invasion of gaza. More flares and explosions in gaza city. The military objective is to destroy border tunnels dug by hamas and the rocketlaunching sites. The new phase of operation left more than 20 people dead since last night, three unfortunately children. U. N. Officials say the number of people seeking refuge in u. N. Buildings has doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 in one night. Now to a follow up on the robbery of an 8yearold girl from San Francisco. The woman accused of robbing and assaulting the child has been arrested. This Surveillance Video shows the woman at a convenience store. The little girl was outside of that store on monday selling candy. Police say the suspect twisted the girls arm until she dropped the money she had made that day. Police took 46yearold Ladonna Christian of San Francisco into custody last night. She faces seconddegree robbery and assault charges. The sunnyvale man in jail tonight, the 29yearold is already facing three felony counts of possessing obscene material and annoying or molesting children. He allegedly posed as the father of several teenagers and tried to trick them into sending him revealing photographs. A bail hearing is set for next friday. The d. A. s office wants to raise the bail from the current 50,000 to 150,000. Doors are closing tonight at medical marijuana pot clubs throughout san jose as tough new restrictions go into effect. People who want to keep the doors open or open new stores stood in line today to fill out the required paperwork. A third of the pot shops are ordered closed, shut down today. More shutdowns expected in the coming months, as well. One pot shop owner is optimistic he can stay open for business. Is it easy to come ply . No, but with hard work you can find it. We find an ideal location, registering with the city, first in line, absolutely excited about making the transition. Supporters of the pot clubs are reviewing the thousands of signatures they collected to keep the doors open. They hope they have enough to get the issue on the november ballot. Still ahead here at 5 00, caught in the crossfire, what the family of the hostage killed during that gun battle with police wants officers to do. Also thousands of dead fish washing up on a state beach. Im scott budman in watsonville. Coming up, looking into the mystery of why they are here. And good afternoon, im meteorologist jeff ranieri, thick fog continues to roll across San Francisco right now. We have more on the way for saturday. Well let you know what this fog will mean for your weekend forecast coming up and where some of the best weather is expected in just a few minutes. Then at 6 00, earthquake hot spots. We live in earthquake country, and its wise to be educated and informed. The places in the bay area with the greater risk than previously thought. Thats new at 6 00. An update now on several wildfires burning in washington state. Fires have destroyed as many as 100 homes and is moving fast on more. The fire is burning in North Central part of the state. Lightning sparked four different fires monday night and now because of dry, windy conditions, they cover about 28 square miles. A town, as well as nearby hospital evacuated last night. The children of an innocent woman killed in that stockton gun battle spoke emotionally today about the pain of losing their mother. I wake up and im hoping that its a dream and that my moms going to be there, but shes not. I want to thank everyone whos been there and it means a lot. And i love you, mom. The kids and you saw the father there in the blue shirt in the background, the family of misty holtsingh held a News Conference asking for answers about what happened on wednesday. The three Bank Robbery Suspects grabbed three hostages and triggered a lengthy police chase that ended in a shootout. Holtsingh died along with two suspects. The familys attorney is asking for documents, dispatch logs, and other evidence. We look forward to a full, open, and transparent investigation that is informative to the family, as well as the citizens of stockton. Also today, authorities released the names and mugshots of the two gang members killed in that shootout. The other suspect, 19yearold jamie ramos, is in police custody. He did not suffer any major injuries. We now know the name of the suspect shot and killed by an Alameda County sheriffs deputy. Andre milton is a repeat offender previously convicted on charges, including assaulting a police officer. Milton died yesterday when a Motorcycle Police officer responded to a domestic disturbance call. Deputies say milton was attacking a woman and then used his car to try to run over the officer when that officer arrived on the scene. New at 5 00, a mystery tonight, how and why two tons of fish ended up on a watsonville beach inmen res sa state beach. We sent scott budman to investigate. Scott, got any answers . Reporter we got some answers, but ill tell you, jessica, this is still a mystery. I want to show you some of what washed up with the tide. Thousands and thousands of white croakers washing up here this morning on manresa beach in watsonville. The fish have been here all day. They are not all that close to where people tend to sit and play on the beach, but many beach goers who walk their dogs or go exploring found themselves walking among a stream of dead fish and so far theres no explanation why. Weve never, ever, ever seen this before, and when we came down here, shocked, we couldnt believe we saw these fish down here. I dont even know what kind of fish they are, but never have we ever seen them before. Its very unusual. Reporter now, while we were here, the department of fish and wildlife started to investigate the scene, taking samples to evaluate back in the lab. They say its actually not all that unusual for groups of fish to end up beached like this, but they admit that this is a really big group of fish. They say their best guess so far is a fishing boat may have caught them and let them go, either accidently or on purpose. Either way, they say from here they are going to let the tides bring the croakers back into the sea. Reporting live from watsonville, scott budman, nbc bay area news. Quite a sight, thank you, scott. Another Mountain Lion sighting on the peninsula. Someone in san mateo spotted a Mountain Lion last night not far from 101. It walked towards berkshire drive and then disappeared. This is the latest sighting in san mateo county. There have been at least three other sightings this month alone. Officials say Mountain Lions are solitary and normally avoid humans but they could be coming out to chase deer or find other sources of food. A new hightech Water Treatment plant went on line this week in the silicon valley. Heres a look inside. The plant takes waste water and puts it through several processes, resulting in 8 million gallons a day that can be used for landscaping, golf courses, and car washes. The water, of course, is a welcome addition in the middle of our historic drought. Very fortunately in some respect, because we hadnt planned on a drought, obviously, but preparing for a drought, but this had been planned for a number of years and were extremely fortunate that it coincides with the drought to reenforce the importance of seeking out new supplies to meet customers needs. Eventually, not right now, but eventually, this water could be good enough to drink. The plant is the largest of its kind here in northern california. Lets turn things over to jeff ranieri. Jeff, today it depended whether you needed shorts or a sweater depended where you were. Most certainly. It was all over the board and it has to do with the typical fog pattern moving in. You can see the temperature contrasts were pretty dramatic. Valley at 87. Some of the areas that were farthest away from that sea breeze did see it heat up the most, like the valley, san jose closer to the ocean breeze, 83 degrees there, then you can see paolo alto at 80, San Francisco 69, and point reyes at 61. 5 18, that cooler westerly wind is so strong its winning out across all areas of the bay. Even while we did heat up for a couple of hours, temperatures already beginning to drop off. Averaging 73 in the north bay, winds out of the south at 15, fog moving throughout the Golden Gate Bridge and the good news around the east shore, check out that humidity, 76 . Some increased moisture coming in with the fog, thats some good news. Some of the best weather no doubt at this hour across the south bay with plenty of blue sky, unlimited visibility. Weekend forecast, it is going to be another mixed bag here for both saturday and sunday. The thing that were following is the fact that the fog pattern is going to stay put at the immediate coastline. Very aggressive and strong moving in from the west, so that will mean at the coastline patchy areas of drizzle expected in the mix. Now on top of the pattern of fog in the morning hours, sun by the afternoon, again, that wide temperature spread. Mainly 80s for the interior valleys and 60s right up against the coastline. Lets go ahead and take you into that microclimate forecast throughout saturday. You can see some of the best weather also for tomorrow and the most sunshine, no doubt, is going to be right down here across the south bay. San jose really going to win out. Check it out, 84 degrees for the daytime high. Out in the sun its going to feel like the upper 80s. You can see here across the peninsula, its going to stay cloudy and on the cooler side with 65. Palo alto steady at 80 degrees. And San Francisco, again, the window of sunshine from about 1 00 to 3 00 p. M. Expected for tomorrow, but temperatures remaining in the upper 60s and mid 60s throughout the marina. North bay, east bay, trivalley, very comfortable in napa with 84 degrees. Knocking the temperatures down by 14 degrees to a high of 70 and for the trivalley, 85 and sunny in danville and some of the best weather across pleasanton, 84 degrees for tomorrow. Its all about the south bay and trivalley tomorrow if you want the most sunshine. On the weekend forecast, steady over the weekend. You can see no 100s our way for the trivalley. 85 on saturday, 84 expected on sunday. If youre looking for something to do, weve got you covered. Check it out here across the peninsula, the menlo park connoisseurs festival. I have never been, but this could be the weekend to go, raj and jess . I think you are a connoisseur on the peninsula. Trying to be an expert. Well, ahead, the mystery surrounding this man, a patient at a Bay Area Hospital and why the hospital say it needs your help tonight. Also a date with the first lady. How a bay area girl won a seat at the white house dinner table. It turns out none of the five people involved in a deadly crash in sunnyvale overnight were wearing seat belts. Also, the driver was arrested for dui. The crash happened at 101 after the man driving the car lost control of the car and then it veered off into a ditch. A female passenger died. The driver and three others were hurt. Investigators say the group had been celebrating one of the passengers 23rd birthday. Officers in palo alto are searching for a man who shot photos of a woman in a public restroom yesterday at the cuberley community center. The photographer hid inside an empty stall, the woman yelled at him when he caught him holding his cell phone under the dividing wall. He ran off. San francisco general is asking for the publics help in identifying a patient that has no identity. Heres a look at him. He was brought to the hospital last month, june 17th, after being found on bay shore avenue in the citys visitation neighborhood. No i. D. On him. All they know, hes about 50, 510, 213 pounds, and suffers from confusion. Here comes another 10 million. The federal government is swinging into action when it comes to our deepening drought. The u. S. Agriculture secretary announced nearly 10 million in aid is on its way. Much of the money will assist those whose wells and other water sources are going dry. The Obama Administration is already pitched in more than 50 million to help us deal with this threeyear drought. More than 80 of california is currently experiencing extreme drought conditions. Coming up, why a bay area kid got to break bread with the first lady. Thats next. [ heart beating ] [ female announcer ] the internet gets more exciting the faster it goes. Thats why, coming soon, xfinity will double the Internet Speed on two of our most popular plans. Xfinity continues to innovate, bringing you the fastest, most reliable internet, period. [ heart beating ] xfinity internet from comcast. Double the speed. [ heart beats ] were going to be back in a half an hour. Coming up at 6 00, uber claims to be the cheapest ride in town, but is it marketing or is it the truth . We take the rides to find out. How about this, a bay area girl is among some of americas top chefs of the future and won her a trip to the white house. The winners from across the country submitted healthy, affordable recipes using all food groups. Now, a 10yearold from menlo park submitted an ethiopian dish and got the chance to dine with the first lady. I feel so happy. I never thought i would have this chance. A big honor to see her and shake hands with her. She is excited. That dinners going to be great. The contest is part of mrs. Obamas lets move initiative. All the winning recipes are available for free. You can download them from our website, nbcbayarea. Com. All right. Sounds good. Perfect eating weather, jeff. I know. Kids came up with the recipes . They did. Unreal. Got to stay up with the little ones these days, thats crazy. Live look outside and its been hard. Weve been trying to stay with this fog today. We did get some clearing out here, a lot of sunshine across parts of the east bay, also the south bay, but already the marine layer at 2,000 to 3,000 feet. That is going to have an impact on your weekend. No major fluctuations in temperatures as we head throughout saturday and sundays forecast, you can see compared to today, were going to see relatively similar conditions for both days with, again, no major heat expected this weekend. Smooth sailing. Thats perfect way to go into the weekend. Thanks for joining us. On our broadcast tonight, whos to blame for the shootdown of a commercial jetliner . Tonight, who the evidence is starting to point to. Also, the people who perished on board including an american, an Indiana University student, and a team of the worlds top aids researchers. Plus, the Ground Invasion moves deeper into gaza now, and the death toll is rising. Our own Richard Engel is there. Homes burning more than 100 now. Evacuations underway amid a very dangerous situation. Wildfires exploding tonight in the west