california senators had for comey today. >> first though to washington and caroline shively with more on today's testimony. >> reporter: hi there, frank and julie. in this absolutely extraordinary testimony, james comey said flat out the president of the united states is a liar. but he stopped short of calling his actions obstruction of justice. >> i remember thinking this is a very disturbing development. >> reporter: uneasy in their first meeting, james comey told lawmakers he decided to start making written notes after each encounter he had with president trump. >> i was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting and so i thought it really important to document. >> reporter: from those notes comey recalled the president pressing for loyalty. he also revealed details of a private oval office meeting in which the president said he hoped investigators would go easy on mike flynn, the national security advisor, who had resigned the day before amid allegations he misled the

vice president about contact he had with a russian government official. >> i took it as a direction. i mean this is the president of the united states with me alone saying i hope this. i took it as this is what he wants me to do. >> reporter: testimony damaging to the president but damaging to comey, too. at one point the former director admitted passing along information to a friend he knew would leak it to the press in order to provoke the justice department to appoint a special counsel. >> we will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated, along with all the others that are being investigated. >> reporter: the hear covering today, of course. the members of the senate intelligence committee say they will keep at this investigation for as long as it takes. frank and julie, back to you. >> caroline shively live in washington, d.c., thank you. now to ktvu's frank mallicoat in our newsroom. both of california's senators took part in the hearing. >> they were both part of the

board. senator dianne feinstein asked some key questions including a tough one asking comey why he didn't rebuff the president's comments about loyalty and dropping the investigation into michael flynn. >> now, here's the question. you're birks you're strong. i know the oval office, and i know what happens to people when they walk in. there is a certain amount of intimidation. but why didn't you stop and say, mr. president, this is wrong, i cannot discuss this with you? >> that's a great question. maybe if i were stronger, i would have. i was so stunned by the conversation that i just took it in, and the only thing i could think to say, because i was playing in my mind, remember every word he said, i was playing in my mind, what should my response be, and a that's yi very carefully chose the words. i have seen the tweet about

tapes. lordy i hope there are tapes. >> kamala harris focused on attorney general jeff sessions and his recusal from the russia probe. >> in your written testimony you indicate that after you were left alone with the president you mentioned that it was inappropriate and should never happen again to the attorney general. and apparently he did not reply and you write that he did not reply. what did he do? if anything. did he just look at you? was there a pause for a moment? what happened? >> i don't remember real clearly. i have a recollection of him just kind of looking at me, and there's a danger here i'm projecting on to him so this may be a faulty memory, but his body language gave me the sense of, what am i going to do. >> later on twitter senator harris said she is pushing deputy attorney general ron rosenstein to commit in writing that robert mueller will have full independence as special

counsel. she is concerned that there could be that question now that sessions has recused himself. chuck schumer called on the president to release any white house tapes if they exist of his conversations with james comey. >> after hearing mr. comey's testimony today, america is stunned. the cloud hanging over this administration has just gotten a whole lot darker. president trump, if you disagree with anything the director said today, play the tapes for all of america to hear, or admit that there were no tapes. >> in regard to the tapes the white house spokeswoman said today she has no idea whether they exist but would, quote, try to look under the couch.

president trump so far has made no comment on the hearing leaving the response to his personal attorney. >> mr. president, any reaction to comey's testimony? >> thank you very much. >> do you think he told the truth? >> during an infrastructure event at the white house today the president did not respond to questions. he also stayed quiet on twitter. >> joining us now on the set james taylor professor of political science. thanks for being with us. one of the senators set comes down to who you believe, comey or the president. what do you think on that? >> it comes down to credibility. he was under sworn testimony and a he is a lawyer as with the legal background. donald trump again has the reputation that donald trump has, and it is a question of he says/he says. so until we have some neutral corroborating evidence we have to go with that. >> you just don't hear people accusing the president of the united states of lying every day. and that's exactly what james comey did today and said the president lied. >> yeah, and i think this is a real problem for donald trump

in terms of his credibility, in terms of everything that's going on with the russia investigations and his real intentions in this particular interaction with james comey. again the question will be, what was donald trump's intent. there's this whole legal standard called the guilty mind that has to be satisfied. mens rhea, as i was taught in graduated school. that has to be established. did donald trump, with all of his actions as they line up, show intefnlt and that's what i think the prosecution -- >> well, the intent in this case to say stop the investigation. >> that would be the crime leading towards an impeachable crime of obstruction of justice. we're not there yet, and i don't want to suggest that we're there yet, but that's the possibility with where we are now. >> because we were talking about that earlier. you don't know what's in his mind. he could have said stop this because i'm afraid that you are going to find something about me, or he could have said, stop this because it's a cloud

hanging over my administration and i can't get any work done. >> and given the irony, the word of hope is something that donald trump is hanging on now is ironic, because he literally makes good out of this by use of the word hope. i hope that you will look into the flynn case is different than as was implied i want you as a directive, intentionally -- right now it's sort of who do you believe, based on the wording that trump used. he carefully gave himsufficiently enough wiggle room that good lawyers will say hope is very different. >> just to follow up, at this point what we heard today do you think anything rises to the level of obstruction of justice, and with the republican controlled congress do you think they would pursuit? >> politically i don't think the republicans will pursuit until donald trump's numbers continue to fall, and they are falling. i don't think there's enough evidence yet except again in the totality of things if you connect this to russia and to donald trump's subsequent

actions, if robert mueller is convinced that all of the actions are prosecutable, then we are in -- confronting a new presidential and constitutional crisis. >> james, millions of americans are concerned about jobs, their paychecks, their healthcare, and terrorism. what does all of this do to the president's plans to come through on campaign pledges that he made to take care of some of those issues? >> it makes it very difficult for the president to carry out his acknowledge generalda. what's really interesting, you look at paul ryan and the republicans, they're carrying out their acknowledge generalda. if you look at today, the finance reform issues put in place as a result of the 2008 crash, while we're focusing on donald trump, paul ryan will distance himself to the extent that donald trump and his numbers continue to fall. that's when the republicans will take a step back and that's when donald trump becomes more politically and legally vulnerable to whatever comes next. >> so much to sort through. i wish we had more time to sort

through it. james, thank you for being with us. it turned into something of a sporting event in local bars. in san francisco gino and carlo's opened early. people started showing up at 6:30 this morning, if you can believe that, to hear what james comey had to say. >> i'm actually not surprised at all. a i think people are pretty glued into politics, and that's important. we have a lot of work to do, no matter which side you fall. >> there were several of these watch parties in the bay area and around the country. this one took place at a beer garden in houston. organizers promoted it as a washington super bowl. stay with ktvu for continuing coverage of comey's congressional hearing. at ktvu.com you will find the full text of his opening statement and a photo gallery from today's testimony. coming up, a string of early morning fires in the south bay. now arson investigators are involved. at 6:30 a lock at surveillance

video that could help lead to an arrest. it's good that my neighbor saw him when he did because it could have been a lot worse. and we've got sprinkles out there this morning. up to a half inch in places. and the bay area weekend. a weather system is going to impact the weekend. >> but first, new developments on the developments of the ghost ship warehouse fire as one suspect makes his appearance in court and the second arrives at a jail in the east bay.

one of the two men charged with manslaughter for the deadly ghost ship warehouse fire has just arrived at alameda county's santa rita jail. this is a new booking photo we just received of max harris. he was booked this afternoon after being arrested in los angeles earlier in the week. this comes as the other suspect facing 36 counts of manslaughter, master tenant derick almena, faced a judge for the first time today. ktvu's crime reporter henry lee has more. >> with both men back in alameda county this case can move forward. today derick almena showed no emotion in court. his attorney called the case a distraction from the housing issue. almena was dressed in a red jail jump suit. he didn't say anything and did not appear to acknowledge relatives of some of the ghost

ship victims sitting in the gal real. almena did not enter a plea to 36 felony counts to involuntary manslaughter, one count for each of the victims who died in december in the building he leased. >> this case is one of the most profound tragedies to strike the bay area in living memory. despite the strong emotions, we do not feel that the public goodwill be served by prosecuting our client. >> outside court, one of almena's three attorneys said the city of oakland and the rental market shoulder some blame for the tragedy and said the prosecution is misguided. >> this creates a distraction so that the local government doesn't have to address the fundamental issues of housing inequality and fire safety that will continue to be a problem in this community. they have not addressed their failings. >> attorneys asked the judge to delay the hearing until next week when almena will be joined in court by the second defendant, ghostship creative director max harris. harris faces the same 36 felony counts. the d.a. said both men allowed the

warehouse to be filled from floor to ceiling with flammable materials. the only exit was an unstable staircase. the defense attorneys and almena's wife plan to address the media friday at a news conference in san francisco. they say they will discuss, quote, the circumstances that lend themselves to our clients' innocence. i went to santa rita jail in dublin and was face to face with almena hoping to speak with him but he physically turned away from the glass separating us and declined to answer questions. both are being held at the jail on more than a million dollars bail. frank and julie. >> henry, thank you. now to emeryville where investigators are asking for help in identifying an arsonist in connection with a five-alarm fire that destroyed a residential complex under construction last month. police released photos today from surveillance footage. the images show a suspect

dressed in black riding a bike and appearing to case the site before the fire on may 13th. it was the second time in a year that the project was destroyed by fire. officials wouldn't say if the same person is behind both fires but they do say there are similarities. >> in both fires, the stage of completion of the building was around the same. the completion of the building was around 50%, and it was -- the building had been framed but drywall had not been hung yet. >> for each of the two fires the atf is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. and the building developer is offering a $50,000 reward. a 15-year-old boy died today in what an a tie okay police are calling a a tragic accident involving a pellet gun. it happened about 10:00 this morning on palomar drive. police say officers arrived to find the victim unresponsive with a small wound to his chest near his heart. emergency crews took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. police say the victim's 15-year-

old friend accidentally shot him once with a pellet rifle. they also say that the incident is currently under investigation. concerns tonight at a fremont school where several students face medical testing. they were pricked by another student with a diabetic lancet that was apparently found on the ground. ktvu's jesse gary with reaction from parents and officials. >> when this happened i really -- i need to go to school right away. >> reporter: that's what you thought? >> i already do that. >> reporter: the anxiety for parents attending cabrillo elementary school. the boy told the school he poked at least one student. it is unsure who discarded it. >> i know the boy who did it. i don't think he was aware of the danger he was putting himself or the other kids in. >> reporter: parents and the school nurse were notified and an investigation launched.

it was determined a dozen students had been poked by the device. tensions escalated with the school notifying all 450 parents. >> a little scary. kids are kids. they're going to find something they think is fun to play with and they're going to play with it. >> as soon as the school became aware that anybody had been poked they contacted the parents immediately, contacted nursing services, really tried to make sure that the families were informed. >> reporter: o'connor hospital pediatrician dr. albert chen says the risk of contamination is low. >> chances are for any organism to survive a period of time beyond minutes, hours, maybe in the worst-case scenario, hepatitis b, no more than a week, it's very unlikely. >> reporter: 12 students have been tested. chen says additional testing should be done in two to three months to be absolutely certain

no one has contracted a disease. the student who found the lancet has been disciplined. parents say this provides an opportunity for education. >> just talked to my son. >> be very cautious, anything sharp, anything that you might come incontact with, you need to tell an adult immediately. >> reporter: a teachable moment for adults, too. the proper disposal of medical items, officials say you should put them in a medical container. if you don't have that at home a clear glass jar, seal the top with a cap, and then take to the a nearby hospital for disposal, but don't just throw it on the ground near a school. in fremont, jesse gary, ktvu fox 2 news. a few sprinkles out there today. most of that activity was in the north bay. we got up to a half inch in some places. .55 in is he bass in

sebastapol. that's significant. further south, just a trace, and in some areas nothing. so there goes the. it is going to leave behind some very cool air. and that cool air is going to have an impact on your bay area friday, saturday, and sunday. so the cool air, it's not going to be cold, it's just not going to be hot. here we are in june, and would you expect 80s and maybe low 90s, and you are not going to see that. really tomorrow, through the weekend. maybe an 80-degree reading in modesto, but most areas are going to be on the mild side. outside sprinkles still possible. radar is not picking up anything but there might be a scattered shower tonight. and a then tomorrow we set up with this pressure system, this cool system that's going to stay put right over the top of us. and that keeps temperatures on friday, saturday, and sunday on the mild side. so when i get back we will take

it through each day and each city and decide what you can expect for your neighborhood friday, saturday, and sunday. i will see you back here. >> some parts of the bay area got a pretty good drenching from today's rain. i want to show you what it looked like this afternoon along panoramic highway in marin. the rain was coming down pretty hard and may have helped bring down a large fir tree. county crews were out with their heavy equipment to try to remove that tree. a suspected serial package thief now under arrest. >> reporter: dozens of packages stolen from homes in alameda. details on that arrest and the search for potential victims. the warriors worked out in cleveland today, just one win away from a championship. and they can now talk about a topic that up until now had been kind of taboo. marc will have that later in sports. and on ktvu news at 6:30 a bay area company accused of racial discrimination now facing lawsuit by a former

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a man accused of stealing dozens of packages off porches of dozens of homes is now behind bars. >> cristina rendon is in alameda with more on the story. cristina. >> reporter: frank, julie,

police have identified at least 15 potential victims, and they are searching for more. here, homes were particularly hit hard, all by the same man. alameda police have recovered 41 packages that were stolen across the city between march and may including electronics, clothes, costume jewelry and toys. >> i saw a flyer where i lived. >> reporter: what did the flyer say? >> just heads up, some of these people are stealing these packages. >> reporter: a woman who didn't want to be identified had her package returned to her by police. >> we ordered an item, it came, i saw the tracking that it had been delivered, and when i got there, there was no package. >> reporter: police say a 45- year-old transient is behind the theft. a source gave police info that he was allegedly keeping the stolen packages inside a storage unit. he was arrested in may when investigators searched a locker under his name and found him and the packages there. they identified him as a man

caught on video stealing packages from homes on bay farm island. >> it makes me concerned to not have packages delivered here. we already make arrangements to have packages delivered elsewhere. >> reporter: police say they believe the man was trying to resell the packages on craigslist and ebay. in one case a victim reported the last known location as being left at the post office but they somehow ended up in the man's possession. the stolen property is now being returned to the rightful owners. >> i'm glad they caught him, but i'm not really concerned about it going forward. i feel like we live in a safe place. >> reporter: the man made a court appearance this morning on felony possession of stolen property charges. alameda police are asking min who believes they may be a victim to contact them. we also spoke with a local homeowner's association that's asking its residents to be vigilant. live in al immediate darks cristina rendon, ktvu fox 2

news. ktvu fox 2 news at 6:30 is up next with a string of suspicious fires in the south bay. up next, the investigation now underway and a look at surveillance video that could help lead to an arrest. plus, thousands of jobs on the chopping block as verizon prepares to merge with yahoo. the plan to lay off 15% of yahoo's workforce. they're not only on our roadways. a look at the chp and what they are doing from the sky as well. stay with us. ktvu fox 2 news at 6:30 is next. you know what i could go for right now? hmmm some sweet barbeque. ...or spicy! crave van! here, try my new barbeque bacon cheeseburger and chicken sandwich with your choice of sweet or spicy barbeque sauce. you crave it, we serve it. crave van!

pg&e learned a tragic lesson we can never forget. this gas pipeline ruptured in san bruno. the explosion and fire killed eight people. pg&e was convicted of six felony charges including five violations of the u.s. pipeline safety act and obstructing an ntsb investigation. pg&e was fined, placed under an outside monitor, given five years of probation, and required to perform 10,000 hours of community service. we are deeply sorry. we failed our customers in san bruno. while an apology alone will never be enough, actions can make pg&e safer.

and that's why we've replaced hundreds of miles of gas pipeline, adopted new leak detection technology that is one-thousand times more sensitive, and built a state-of-the-art gas operations center. we can never forget what happened in san bruno. that's why we're working every day to make pg&e the safest energy company in the nation. you know what i could go for right hmmm some sweet barbeque. ...or spicy! crave van!

here, try my new barbeque bacon cheeseburger and chicken sandwich with your choice of sweet or spicy barbeque sauce. you crave it, we serve it. crave van! now to today's top stories. former fbi director james comey told the senate intelligence committee under oath that ebels the president fired him because of the ongoing russia investigation. comey also accused the president of lying about the reason why james comey was fired. and he said president trump asked for his loyalty in exchange for keeping his job at the fbi, something the president's personal attorney later denied. one of two men charged in the ghost ship warehouse fire made his first court appearance today. cameras were not allowed as derick almena appeared before a judge. he did not enter a plea to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. next week he will be joined in court by the second