Im dan ashley. Investigators answered some questions about the gunman, 19yearold nikolas cruz. Cruz made his First Court Appearance this morning, charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. A judge denied him bail. Investigators say cruz took an uber to the school and went to an mcdonalds before he was arrested. A White Nationalist group today said cruz had done paramilitary drills with the organization. Tonight, thousands attended a vigil at parkland, florida, just one of a dozen or so planned to honor the victims. The victims include 14yearold Alex Schachter who won a state championship for playing trombone in the School Marching Band last year. His dad called him a sweetheart of a kid. 14yearold alaina petty was a Church Volunteer who helped the victims of Hurricane Irma last year. 15yearold luke hoyer was described by his cousin as an amazing individual with a contagious smile. Other students among the victims, 18yearold meadow pollack, 17yearold helena ramsey, 15yearold peter wang, and 14yearold cara loughran. Senator Kamala Harris tweeted about victim football coach aaron feis. The 37yearold jumped in front of his students to protect them from the shooter and lost his life. Also killed was the schools collecting director, 49yearold christopher hixon, seen here, as well as a 35yearold teacher, scott beigel. The accused killer has reportedly confessed. Investigators pieced together exactly why and how this happened. Reporter Stephanie Ramos is in parkland, florida where the shooting took place. Reporter the former student, suspected of gunning down 17 people and injuring 15 others, steps into court for the first time this afternoon. Are you Nicholas Jacob cruz . Yes, maam. Reporter 19yearold nikolas cruz is facing 17 counts of premeditated murder. Youre going to be held without bond until further order of the court. Reporter police say cruz opened fire at his former high school, Marjory Stoneman douglas, in parkland, florida. It was about 2 00 p. M. When the gunshots started outside the school wednesday. Terrified students hiding in classrooms behind desks like junior lexi, who tells us shell never forget what she saw. Honestly, im in shock still. Im an emotional wreck. I just dont know how to take this. And im just im thankful to be here. But at the same time im so hurt to know that a lot of people i know are gone. Reporter cruz eventually caught a few miles away from the deadly scene by this officer from a neighboring department. I pulled my vehicle over immediately, engaged the suspect. Reporter authorities are now learning more about the suspect, described as a loner and crazy by neighbors and other students. He was always what he was. He was always weird, like violent, aggressive. Were looking into his social media posts, his movements, his conversations leading up to the shooting. Reporter some families left in absolute anguish. Friends, strangers, coming together to remember the victims of one of the deadliest scoot shootings in the u. S. Where do we go . Who do we talk to . How do we find the strength . Reporter Stephanie Ramos, parkland, florida. The president spoke this morning. No child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an american school. No parent should ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when they kiss them goodbye in the morning. A parent of one murdered child had a strong response when interviewed by cnn. She addressed the president directly. President trump, you say what can you do. Getting into these childrens hands. Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools. What can you do . You can do a lot. This is not fair to our families and our children go to school and have to get killed. Shes distraught, obviously, and understandably. Her 14yearold daughter alissa was among the victims who did not survive. She says she spent hours making funeral arrangements. The president talked about metal health this morning. We continue our Live Team Coverage in the newsroom with lyanne melendez. We looked at president trumps budget in 2019 and his proposed 2018 budget and found he hasnt been that generous when it comes to Mental Health care funding. During his speech to the nation the president gave no specifics on how he would confront the issue of Mental Health in the country. Looking at his proposed 2019 budget, mr. Trump called for an additional 10 billion in discretionary funding to address the Opioid Epidemic and serious mental illness. But the president also wants lawmakers to cut entitlement programs like medicare and medicaid, which would unavoidably affect access to health care. This psychiatrist has seen the numbers. Cuts to medicaid funding would jeopardize the services which are essential for individuals who are homeless, marginally housed and are otherwise unable to afford psychiatric services. Reporter but today we may have seen a president willing to shift somewhat when it comes to metal health spending. It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like were making a difference. We must actually make that difference. Reporter today u. S. Attorney general Jeff Sessions also suggested spending money to study the socalled intersection of Mental Health and criminality. Its just too often the case that the perpetrators have given signals in advance. Reporter still, neither one mentioned the issue of gun control. And here we are, the democrats are already asking for tighter gun control measures, and today republican senator marco rubio from florida said he hoped the people already talking about gun control would reserve judgment. Weve been here before. In the newsroom, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. A gofundme page has been established for the victims of the shooting. A lot of people have contributed. You can see right now theyve hit 558,000 of its 700,000 goal. You can show your support. We do have a link on our website, abc7news. Com. Happening now, a vigil for a daughter killed in a car crash in berkeley. 27yearold Kelly Zachary was on her way to work one week ago when her car collided with an ac transit bus, then a house, claiming her life. Berkeley Police Believe she may have run a stop sign. Abc 7 news has learned new details about tuesdays engine problem that led to an Emergency Landing on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to honolulu. The National Transportation safety board says the engine suffered whats called a compressor stall, and surge, moments before parts of it broke off over the pacific. Investigators spent today at the Honolulu Airport looking at the engine and the plane. Flight data recorders have been sent to washington, d. C. For review. The united flight landed safely with no injuries after the mishap. Only on 7, for the first time tonight were hearing from the mother of daniel gross, one of the murder suspects accused of stabbing and killing a 19yearold girl and living her to die on tesla road in livermore. Were also hearing from a former girlfriend of gross with whom he has a child. Abc 7 News ReporterMelanie Woodrow has the story. He threw his whole life away for nothing. Reporter his mother tracy says she cant believe she didnt intervene before lizette questions thats murder. She says he and his girlfriend were talking about. She said were going to tie up [ bleep ] and stab her. Reporter according to grosss mother, leonardo went on to say the plan was off because gross didnt want to do it. And i didnt put two and two together. If i had, that girl would probably still be alive. Reporter gross and leonardo are facing murder charges. According to charging documents, the couple stabbed questiocuest left her to die on tesla road. Cuesta was able to tell investigators before she passed away. Grosss mother calls leonardo the mastermind behind the murder. I know if it was for her, he wouldnt have done it. Shes scared and frightened by all of this. This is a terrible situation for her. Reporter in addition to leonardos baby on the way, grosss exgirlfriend Jacqueline Bowman has a 10monthold baby with him named eli. Was he a violent person . At times he could be. And at times he wasnt. Reporter bowman says she reported gross once when he went to hit her but ultimately didnt. She said she saw markings on him that led her to believe he cut himself. You just dont know where hes going to take his anger towards, if hes trying to harm himself. I am in shock because when i saw that on the news, i tld hav daughter. Reporter the bowmans and gross mother say their hearts go out to the victims family. Melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. We are still in the midst of flu season. There are still ways to prevent yourself from getting sick. Next, new numbers on just how effective the influence vaccine is and what else you can do for your health. Im Spencer Christian. Ill have a look at rising temperatures. Then a sharp drop. It will feel like winter. Ill have the forecast coming up. Reporter im Wayne Freedman in the napa valley where growers are dealing with a phenomenon. The earliest bud break in three decades. With cold weather coming next week, theyre concerned. This morning, traders held a moment of silence at the new york stock exchange. They paused to honor the victims of yesterdays shooting in florida which, as you know, claimed 17 lives. Now, we want you to join this conversaton, an important conversation. Cast your vote in our instant poll. Should social sites be accountable to identified threats . Well have the details of the suspects digital past at 6 30. But right now you can go online to abc7news. Com vote and share your opinion. You can do this by phone. You dont have to sign up, log in, or register. Right now you can see people are kind of split. Yes, people are saying, 20 . And 20 say no. Most people are in the middle, saying in some cases. Go to abc7news. Com vote and let us know what you think. You can see the results appearing live on your screen right now. Well keep the voting open for the rest of the newscast. Lets move on. After so much back and forth over the effectiveness of this years flu vaccine, the cdc released its findings. The numbers come as no surprise to experts who have been tracking this tough season. Despite this, Officials Say the flu shot is still the best defense for you. Abc 7 News Reporter chris nguyen has the story. Reporter medical providers say it will be a while before well be in the clear. Still, for the next one to three months, we recommend taking precautions, hand hygiene, cough etiquette. Reporter the battle here in the bay area to stay healthy has been a tough one. Chills. I had a fever. I was also having runny nose. My vision was also kind of blurry. Reporter according to the centers for disease control, this years flu vaccine is only 35 effective. Despite the low figure, experts say the flu shot remains essential and has been helpful among children. The flu shot helps prime the immune system. It may not be perfect in preventing the disease but certainly reduces your risk of death if you were to get it. Reporter this doctor says theres been an overall decrease in the number of patients admitted with flulike stomacym over the last month. Santa Clara Medical center has seen the same. A total of seven people under the age of 65 since the season began. Officials throughout the region are taking the matter seriously, including the San Jose Unified School district. Our custodians and operations people are diligently going school to school to clean classrooms where children have influenza symptoms. Reporter with multiple flu strains, some are hoping for the best. Once you get the flu, you cant function as well. Its difficult. Reporter officials are still urging the public toet vaccinated. It may not be perfect in preventing the disease but it certainly reduces your risk of death if you get it. Reporter in the south bay, chris nguyen, abc 7 news news. New at 6 00, trying to stop the removal of potential evidence in wildfires. Officials are trying to prevent Energy Companies from removing power poles. Utility equipment is suspected of sparking the flames of the thomas fire which burned 282,000 acres and more than 1,000 buildings. Californias Drought Conditions are getting worse. Take a look at the changes in just a few months from december until now. These maps are from the u. S. Drought monitor. The bay area is an environmentally conscious place. And now san jose is embarking on an ambitious plan to become a Global Leader to reduce Carbon Emissions without support from washington. Abc 7 News Reporter david louie has the details. Reporter the countrys tenth largest city is kicking off an ambitious plan to transform itself into a model of sustainable, switching to Renewal Energy and setting goals to cut carbon emission along the lines set by the paris agreement. We need to ensure that everybody in this city is part of the solution and benefits from that solution. Reporter the city wants to cut Carbon Emissions by 1 million tons a year by 2030, produce 1 gigawatt of solar power by 2040, and cut per capita water consumption by 30 by 2030. That could translate to savings for residents and the city. If we can get residents to less water, their bill goes down and we dont have to build a desalinization plant. Reporter the goal is to create a happier place where more people can bike and walk and perhaps spend less time in traffic, spending that time instead with family and friends. Implementing the plan will be costly, estimated at 264 billion, to build more housing near mass transit, to electrify buses and transit systems. Transportation will be the biggest challenge. They say we have to electrify our transportation. Electric cars are just getting going, buses and trains. We all know the headache of moving around the bay area. Reporter but its hoped that eventually new jobs and other economic benefits will result in 5 billion in savings from the city. Without help from washington, san jose will need to step up on its own. It is up to the cities and states to take the lead and show the world that we are serious about reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions and improving our climate sustainability. Reporter in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news news. Abc 7 news weather anchor Spencer Christian is here with the forecast. Boy, we need rain. I was getting excited yesterday because our models for the next seven to ten days why showing a chance for rain next wednesday. Now that chance seems to be fading. So more of the same. Live doppler 7 shows clear skies mainly across the bay area right now. Weve had a few thin, high clouds around, not much to those clouds. Lets move along and take a look at the 24hour temperature change. Thats important. It got warmer today, in fact four degrees warmer right now in most bay area locations than at this hour yesterday. Warmer in San Francisco, novato, san jose. The warming trend has begun. It wont last very long. Sutro tower looking over San Francisco. Its 55 in San Francisco and across the bay. San jose, 59. Gilroy, 55. A beautiful sky from emeryville. 59 in santa rosa, 56 at livermore. Looking at out over the embarcadero from our rooftop camera, clear and chilly overnight. Well see warmer days tomorrow and saturday. But then well have a sharp cooldown on sunday. It will be blustery as well. It will really feel like winter then. Overnight it will feel wintry as well, as temperatures drop into the mid to upper 30s in most inland locations and mainly load to mid40s around the bay. Tomorrows highs will range from low 60s at the coast to about 63 in San Francisco, 64 in oakland, 66 in fremont. San jose, a high of 68 expected. In the north bay, milder as well with a high of 68 in santa rosa, 66 in napa. 69 at concord, 68 at livermore. On we go to a look at the sevenday High Temperature trend for san jose. This is indicative of what much of the bay area will experience in terms of a trend, not the exact temperatures. A high of 72 on saturday, dropping sharply to only 59 on sunday and 57 on monday. In fact all of the bay area will see a sharp drop in temperatures beginning on sunday. The accuweather sevenday forecast, it will be a 10 to 12degree drop or more in many locations on sunday. It will be very chilly in the morning hours, early morning, overnight and early morning, monday and tuesday, with temperatures not only below average but below freezing in some spots. Big changes coming our way. But no rain. Okay. Thanks, spencer. Coming up next, were live at the premier tonight of the black panther. Its expected to be and here you have a banh mi inspired Fried Chicken sandwich. Youd never find this at a Fast Food Restaurant its a good thing. Is that right, martha . Why dont you try my asian Fried Chicken sandwich . Its made with crispy Fried Chicken strips, crunchy asian slaw and a Gochujang Mayo all on a toasted baguette. Security get him you afraid of a little competition . You want to