putting term limits on congress, about washington insiders went crazy. they said term limits are bad, that they'll break government. what a joke! congress is working fine for politicians and corporations, but it's not doing anything for real people on climate, health care or gun safety. the only way we get new ideas is electing new people, including a president willing to shake-up washington. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. right now at 7:00. >> bizarre testimony from a suspect in a brutal bart murder. >> and it's a nasty side effect of the coronavirus outbreak. the bay area businesses on life support tonight. >> some east bay tenants haven't paid their rent in

months and don't plan to any time soon. the ultimatum they're giving their landlord. >> and heart stopping video of a commuter taking a very risky ride on muni. right now at 7:00 and streaming on cbsn bay area, the man accused of stabbing nia wilson to death on a bart platform tells a jury what he was thinking at the time. good evening i'm elizabeth cook. >> and i'm ken bastida. kpix 5's juliette goodrich reports the suspect's rambling testimony included accusations about aliens. >> reporter: late this afternoon, the defendant threw quite a temper tantrum in the courtroom calling the prosecutor disrespectful, and the prosecution fired back saying the defendant was quote putting on a show. dressed in conservative

clothing, john lee cowell's testimony continued down an unusual path. he claimed the wilson sisters were aliens that kidnapped his grandmother and threatened to assault her. his attorney claims he's not mentally competent for trial. a court appointed psychologist disagreed. >> i don't know what planet he got from from. that's just absurd. no, it doesn't make any sense. we are not aliens. if i'm an alien, you one too! >> reporter: 29-year-old cowell is charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly randomly stabbing nia wilson and her sister at the bart station platform on the way home from a family gathering. he admits to having schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder and drug problems. with wilson's 2 sisters and family in the courtroom, today's testimony was

difficult for them to process. >> very difficult. especially for the girls to sit here and not hear him owning up to what he's done. >> reporter: cowell was couroom last week due to an outburst. he was subdued until late this afternoon when he started acting up. that's when the judge actually stopped him and told him to count to 10 to calm things down. court will resume on thursday. tomorrow is a court holiday. in oakland, juliette goodrich, kpix 5. it looked like graduation day at the river side county air base where over 200 american evacuees from china were held in quarantine. they tossed their face masks into the air as they were released to go home after 2 weeks of confinement. among the evacuees, esther and her daughter from palo alto. her husband picked them up this morning and is now on the

way home. they had no time for long embraces. >> reporter: what was it like to hug him and feel his tough again [ laughter ] >> yeah, so we've been married for many years. we're happy to see each other, but it's not like a movie! [ laughter ] >> thank god, i saw them, they were healthy and smiling. >> reporter: i'm andria borba in oakland's china town where alameda county public health officials are meeting with business and community leaders teaching them safe practices around hygiene and assuaging fears around the coronavirus. tonight alameda county public health officials are trying to assuage fears and teach good hygiene to business owners in oakland's china town where concerns about the coronavirus are hitting hard. >> i think we're seeing impacts all over, not only in china town. >> reporter: in shooting star cafe on webster, business is down over 75 percent, even though there's no confirmed

cases of coronavirus in oakland or san francisco, and only 7 in the entire state. >> you're going to have to answer questions you normally wouldn't have to answer like people would ask ridiculous things like have people died from china town from the coronavirus or do you import your meat from china from that strict, and honestly it's like a laughing matter because there hasn't even been over 30 cases in the entire united states. >> reporter: coowner of shooting star sunny wong says fear over the virus isn't just bleeding into business. >> it's just really saddening to see how much people are trying to avoid our general population right now. >> reporter: carl chan, the president of the china town chamber of commerce says factual information will be the cure for the misinformation hitting china town. >> i think most importantly we want people to understand the true facts about the coronavirus and also, you

know, don't be afraid when you're seeing asians on the street or in the restaurants or anywhere you are. >> reporter: business leaders say businesses will not survive with the current drought continues of customers walking through the front door and spending money. in oakland, andria borba, kpix 5. today we spoke with cbs chief medical correspondents about what u.s. health officials really want people to focus on in the midst of this outbreak. >> i think one message is don't panic. on the other hand in the united states, they're looking at it, the public health officials and the scientists are all over this. they're looking at it very, very carefully, and they're saying look, unless you're in an area that's particularly high risk, there's no reason to wear a mask. >> stay with kpix 5 and cbsn bay area for continuing comp. you can also find all our reporting on kpix.com.

santa clara county says it's cleared a backlog of more than 250 untested rape kits, and it's turning around new cases faster than ever before. since december the ngkitsin just over 2 weeks. it used to average more than 3 weeks. earlier this month investigators were able to make an arrest within 72 hours of a sexual assault on super bowl sunday. >> a dna profile was developed and put into the national database, and by wednesday afternoon there was a hit. hit. >> last year the county approved funding for extra technicians to speed up the testing process. meanwhile in oakland a group of tenants are on strike to protest rent hikes and living conditions. half the residents at this apartment complex on 29th avenue stopped paying their rent 4 months ago, and they're pressuring the landlords to sell the property. the group hopes the nonprofit oakland community land trust

will take over the property so the tenants can work out a deal to continue renting or even buy their homes. >> i'm going to have to look somewhere under the freeway or bridge, and there's no more place for us. all them places are already full of people. >> the more than $3 million raised to purchase the building for the land trust so far, the property owners have rejected the offer but did agree to meet with the tenants in the future. tonight twitter is taking a step away from san francisco. ceo jack dorsey told business insider the company will begin hiring more people outside the bay area to work remotely. twitter told us today san francisco will continue to be its home base, but added quote there's incredible talent around the world, and we have to be able to work in a way that supports them as employees, regardless of where they live. especially when they want to build careers in their own communities. well, looks like new hampshire was the final stop

for a pair of presidential hopefuls. >> the 2 democrats who are out as the primary results roll in. >> plus a new twist in the jussie smollett saga. the indictment just handed down to the actor. >> a major refresh for a local river. the project that could really pay off for one city in particular. >> and think it was windy here this weekend? check this storm in scotland out. it's got a water fall running in reverse. >> wow. we can't beat that, but we beat some high temperature records in the bay area today which probably isn't a surprise. we'll have the forecast in a minute. >> and don't forget we're streaming now on cbsn bay area, you can find us on kpix.com, the cbs news app, or your favorite platform. hadn't received an education for 30 years. mike said, "those are the kids i want to give an opportunity".

he increased teacher's salaries. he increased the graduatio by he made schools safer all over this country. children aren't getting a quality education. thesge. mike is going to fight for all the children.

a lot of cash could soon be flowing into the city of

petaluma right along the fit time in 17 years. >> reporter: in river hasn't had any real maintenance down to it for almost 2 decades which has left it essentially economically dead. but the core of engineers says this year that's going to change. near downtown petaluma, the river hasn't been dredged since 2003, 17 years ago. silt and mud is choking commercial docks that once allowed barges to load rock and gravel. these barges have been grounded for years, and recreational boat traffic disappeared too. the mayor says folks are excited to hear the mud is finally going away. >> i just took my walk this morning, and i was stopped by probably 20 people or people just shouted out yea, so glad we're getting dredged! so everybody is very excited. >> reporter: the project will cost $9.7 million, and is expected to start this summer. it will reconnect petaluma to

san francisco bay. a local businessman says it will be a big boost to the city. >> the boating community that calls us on a daily basis can we come up, and we have to tell them i wouldn't, we can now put the open for business sign up, and that's what we intend to do. >> reporter: the fire assistant chief kelly says the dredging has other benefit too. >> it will alleviate flooding been descr as shovel ready. >> it will be quick. it's just a matter of getting it done. the permitting and permissions are all in place, but we're talkwes and perhaps maybe a month or two at the most. >> reporter: in petaluma, don ford, kpix 5. some incredible video out of scotland. you have to look at this. the wind is blowing so hard it's actually pushing this water fall in reverse. this is the work of the

powerful storm tiara sweeping across europe. >> that's just wild looking. >> isn't that something? well, it's an amazing world. >> that's true, and we are very lucky to live here because compared to other parts -- >> water still flows downhill. >> but the temperatures keep going up here in february. >> yeah, we don't need up. >> yeah, got up to 81? 81 that broke an all time record for santa rosa. but first we look over a spectacular view of the city. the numbers today are as much as 20 degrees higher than normal. santa rosa 81, concord 77, san francisco 74, san jose 73. livermore was a record setter. the last time they were this worm was 2006 when they hit 72. low temperatures tonight will

be in the 40s for the most part with starry skies. venus still in the southwest sky. easy thing to see. we get libeghgin r teto relax. we have mostly clear skies for wednesday, and then things change a bit. the strong high gives way and thursday and friday and saturday we get more sooucl dsw mid-60s. tonight mostly clear and cool and lighter winds tonight. tomorrow again plenty of sunshine, a repeat performance in a way except not quite as warm. temperatures will be more than mild, and gradual late week cooling by thursday. and maybe it's just a hint in the models that maybe sunday we could get a drop or two of rain if you remember what that

is. 64 wednesday in san francisco. still 4 degrees above average. same for oakland. san jose tomorrow at 69. that's 8 degrees warmer than usual in san concord 69 as well. looking at the numbers for everybody, palo alto hits 69, coup at 70. 69 at san jose, 67 fremont. over in the east bay, the numbers in the upper 60s wednesday. upper 60s and low 70s in a very nice day. warmer in the north bay. 72 in santa rosa. 72 at petaluma. 70 degrees for sonoma. that's all looking fairly good with ukia a little cooler at 66, but not bad. in the extended forecast we'll be looking for temperatures to moderate a little tomorrow and come back to near seasonal averages with a few clouds on saturday and sunday. then more sunshine coming in monday and tuesday. that's weather. as for the news, here's liz. thank you. here's what you missed if

you're just getting home. a pair of democrats just dropped their presidential bids. andrew yang and michael bennett are out. right now in the new hampshire primary, senator bernie sanders is in the lead followed closely by pete buttigieg and senator amy klobuchar. >> we know that we win by bringing people with us instead of shutting them out. donald trump's worst nightmare is that the people in the middle, the people who have had enough of the name calling and the slinging have someone to vfor in november. actor jussie smollett will face charges after all over a hate crime attack chicago police say he made up. a grand jury indicted him on 6

counts of making false police reports. smollett claimed he was attacked by 2 men because he's black and openly gay. police say he staged the whole thing for publicity which smollett still denies. the stage is set for closing arguments in the harvey weinstein rape trial. the defense rested today without calling the disgraced movie mogul to the stand. his attorneys did cross-examine several of his accusers. the 67-year-old faces life in prison if convicted. the stage is set tonight yingmers m be the iae deal ones that pay in the form of higher prices. california's attorney general tweeted quote even in the face of powerful opposition we won't hesitate to stand up for consumers who deserve choice and fair prices.

we will stand on the side of competition over megamergers every time. meanwhile samsung unveiled its now foldable phone today. it can open at different angles like a laptop and hits stores on friday. the price just under $1,400. thanks elizabeth. still to come, why you may want to watch what you say and do the next time caught on came takes the riskiest muni ride we've seen economically powerfully influenced my values. bernie sanders he's fighting to raise wages. and guarantee health care for all. now, our country is at a turning point. hard working people, betrayed by trump, struggling to survive. in this moment, we need a fighter.

bernie sanders. we know he'll fight for us as president because he always has. i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message.

grand now we have to deal withed us this.rs. climate change is an emergency. that's why i wrote the nation's most progressive climate law. and that's why i'm endorsing tom steyer. because when big oil tried to stop our can air laws, he led us to victory. same with the keystone pipeline.

when tom says we can save the world and do it together believe him. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. >> man, he got somewhere to be. what could possibly go wrong. a twitter user posted this video of a man standing calmly on the back of a light rail car. no word on whether he was cited. meanwhile, southwest airlines is adding something new to its on board safety briefing. >> passengers will now be

asking to report any bad behavior by fellow fliers. it's been added to preflight instructionses to ensure a self-and welcoming environment at all times. still to come, kansas city wins again as house speaker nancy pelosi makes good on her super bowl bet. we made usaa insurance for members like kate.

a so whecagot hihec, made of the flexibit heta a. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa othroughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. vo: leadership in action. mayor bloomberg and president obama worked together in the fight for gun safety laws, to improve education, and to develop innovative ways to help teens gain the skills needed to find good jobs. obama: at a time when washington is divided in old ideological battles he shows us what can be achieved when we bring people together to seek pragmatic solutions. bloomberg: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. and now make those pancakes all you can eat for a buck. that's where the duper comes in. the all new super duper slam just seven ninety nine. see you at denny's.

house speaker nancy pelosi says the final score wasn't the only thing that left her disappointed after super bowl 54. >> i was sad i wouldn't be enjoying some kansas city barbecue. >> that's what she would have won, kansas city barbecue, had the niners won the game. instead she had to settle up today with kansas city's congressman as the winner of their friendly wager he'll

enjoy a selection of see's candies, chocolates, california almonds, and pistachios. and there was no wine because neither of them drink. >> still a good prize though. all that chocolate. >> i'd still rather have the barbecue. >> thanks for watching the news, we continue streaming on cbsn bay area. tom steyer: listen, every democrathe white house.criminan we all have progressive plans to address the big challenges facing our country. what makes me different, is i've been working

for ten years outside of washington, to end the corporate takeover of our democracy, and to return power to the american people. i started need to impeach to hold this lawless president accountable. i'm proposing big reforms like term limits... ...a national referendum... ...and ending corporate money in politics. as president, i'll declare climate change an emergency on day 1. and, use those powers to finally address the climate crisis. and, i've spent 30 years building a successful international business. so, i can take on donald trump on the economy - and beat him. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message -eamerica. announcer: it's time to play "family feud." give it up for steve harvey. [captioning made possible by