4:30 within. thanks for joining us i'm eric thomas. and i'm kristen sze -- breaking news out of syria. top government official may have been kill overnight in a suicide attack. >> katie marzullo is live in our breaking news center with the latest. >> reporter: this is just coming from syria's state-run tv that the country's defense minister has been killed in a suicide blast in the capital. reuters is reporting the bomber worked as a bodyguard in the president's inner circle. right now we are not seeing video from this strike. the capital has seen four straight days of clashes. this is video from yesterday

in hmos. this morning this morning's attack hit the billing in damascus during a meeting. some of those officials were seriously wounded. the fighting is an unprecedented challenge to president bashar assad. rebels are trying to bring down the regime by force. activists say more than 17,000 people have been kill since the uprising against assad began in march. 2011. today the u.n. security council is expected to vote on a new resolution to end this 17 month long civil war. 4:32 now. later today a key player will take center stage before the panel deciding fate of ross mirkarimi. his wife traveled up from her native venezuela to testify about allegations that he assaulted her. terry mcsweeney is live at city hall.

>> reporter: without question eliana lopez the star witness in the hearing that continues today. she back from venezuela with their son theo. take a look at her, it was an argument over her going to venezuela with her son that lead to mirkarimi's troubles and the argument that resulted in her having a bruised arm and his charges. she to be in front of the ethics commission today. the commission deciding whether to recommend the removing of mirkarimi from the sheriff's office for a domestic violence incident that happened new year's eve. he pled guilty to a reduced charge. in our i-team report with dan noyes who interviewed lopez in may. >> maybe i will get divorced with ross. but i'm very close with him in this fight this is about justice.

>> reporter: attorneys for mirkarimi are accuse mayor ed lee of perjury for allegedly consulting with supervisors before suspending mirkarimi and then lying about it under oath. no supervisor has come forward to corroborate those accusations. today we have a hearing. eliana lopez is going to be here. according to a report she can only be here for a couple of days she has a movie shoot to continue in venezuela. and she has another movie starting in september down there. she doesn't seem to have any plans to come back here on a permanent basis any time soon that accusation against mayor lee is going to be taken up by the ethics commission thursday. terry mcsweeney, abc7 news. a few hours from now, governor brown will sign the eight billion dollar high speed rail funding bill in los angeles. the bill narrowly passed nearly two weeks ago it funds

the start of construction for the first segment of the train. in addition, caltrain will receive nearly 600 million dollars to modernize its system. the project still faces several lawsuits as well as questions about where the financing to complete the 68 billion dollar project will come from this morning uc students and workers are planning to protest a meeting in san francisco where the board will discuss a possible 20% tuition hike. today the regents are scheduled to vote on a proposal to freeze ungraduate tuition. and they plan to endorse the governor's measure to increase taxes if it passes the uc system would receive an extra 125 million dollars. however, if it measure fails uc leaders say students will see that hike. amy hollyfield will have a live report in our next half hour. despite protests three new cal-state university

presidents will get salary increases. leslie wong who takes over at san francisco state will earn $324,000 to lead the campus, a 9% raise. two others are receiving maximum 10% increases, including diane harrison at csu northridge, $24,500: it is the first use of cal-state's controversial executive compensation policy the board adopt it after strong criticism over boosting presidents' pay. a neighborhood group in san francisco's chinatown intends to file a lawsuit hoping to overturn a law that bans sale and distribution of shark fins. the neighborhood association says the law discriminates against chinese-americans.

critics say millions of sharks are killed each year for fins to make shark fin soup. the neighborhood group say those claims are false and misleading and say merchants have lost 40 million dollars since the ban went into effect. today the district attorney is planning to announce charges against suspected bike thief. police arrested 47-year-old old brett major in may for stealing a bike from a bart station. they say he was acting suspiciously and was tracked. after his arrest police found more bikes at his home more than 100 stolen bikes could be from bart. hayward jury has awarded children of convicted killer hans reiser, 60 million dollars in damages for the loss of their mother more than twice the amount the chirp sued for. a previous jury found him guilty of the 2008 murder of his wife. the jury award each child 25

million dollars for pain and suffering, plus 10 million dollars in punitive damages. reiser was a noted computer programming -- programmer and ran his own company. the verdict will cover any future money he might make. progress on the fire lines in the goal country. some evacuated residents will be an -- allowed to go home. as of this morning the fire has more than 200 acres and 60% contained. 2,000 firefighters continue to battle the flames. cooler weather is allowing them to make progress. 4:38. cooler weather, but none of the drizzle we saw yesterday. >> that is probably good for news for travelers into sfo. i see clouds starting to roll in from the bay area from the coast hope they don't get too far towards sfo. we'll keep an eye on for you.

quieter than yesterday showing how much drier it is outside that area of low pressure spinning around eureka, area of low pressure from the south we'll start with clouds low in the atmosphere this morning and then will replace those with high clouds in the afternoon. partly cloudy is what we are going to say for the better part of today. upper 40s in santa rosa, napa the rest of us in the low to mid 50s through 7:00. lunch quickly clouds low ones pull back to the coast 50s there into san francisco, 60s and 70s around the bay shore low to mid 70s inland. 4:00, high clouds roll in most temperatures in the 60s along the coast, san francisco and oakland, 70s for everybody else. by 7:00 decent evening with 60s and 70s most of the clouds at the coast. let's find out what is going to happen tomorrow back to

average friday, by saturday low 90s inland, 80 around with the bay low 60s at the coast. time for traffic. new accident just cleared, was in lane number two, 24 westbound at broadway crews on the scene tow truck got the accident out of lanes and so once again, you will find a little slowing past the area until they get it completely cleared. westbound 80 san pablo dam road a car went down the embankment tow truck and crews are blocking that off-ramp that should be picked up quickly. live look at the toll plaza, bay bridge light coming into san francisco on the upper deck, incline section smooth sailing so far. southbound 680 through walnut creek towards the 24 junction, everything moving well further in the san ramon valley towards 580 and 680 in the livermore and pleasanton area.

so far, so good. 4:40 a war in the boxing ring meets warriors who come back from the battlefield. next, inspiring encounter at a veterans hospital. >> discovery that -- that is warning residents to put on mosquito repellent before going out.3q every day, an average of 5,000 people switch from cascade to finish dishwasher detergent. that's about 150,000 a month, over 2 million people so far. with finish quantum you get incredibly clean, sparkling dishes without having to rinse them first. now see for yourself why millions have switched to finish.

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that's why lysol partners with schools to help teach healthy habits, habits you can reinforce by adding lysol wipes and no-touch hand soap to your back to school list. learn more at lysol.com/schools . >> good morning. 4:43 on the abc7 morning news wednesday morning you are looking live from our high-definition roof kampf san francisco no sign of the drizzle -- drizzle we saw yesterday morning at this time, clouds rolling in mike will have more in a couple of minutes. vector control warning residents to wear mosquito repellent to ward off west nile following the discovering

of two birds with the disease. residents are being asked to make sure there is no sitting water where mosquitoes might breed especially neglected pools. residents are being asked to report them to authorities. east bay boxing champion andre ward made a visit to the va hospital in palo alto to listen to the stories of vets firsthand. yesterday he visited injured war veterans from iraq and afghanistan to thank them for their service. it can be difficult for to keep up their morale. ward says the experience was humling. >> i just want to encourage you to keep fighting, a day at a time, keep fighting. almost feels strange they are thanking me, i'm supposed to be thanking them. >> of the soldiers say getting back to their units is the best therapy. 4:44. grass fire comes dangerously

close to some homes on the peninsula. next, why witnesses suggest that people may be to blame. plus, billion dollar boost president obama wants to give science and math teachers in u.s.. trying to lose weight? remarkable new diet drug approved by the back to school time means back to school germs.

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you can try finish quantum for free. visit us on facebook. welcome back. low clouds giving way to high clouds this afternoon. the slightly warmer weather comes in mid to upper 60s half moon bay, san mateo, san francisco and oakland everybody else in the 70s. across the country hot 103 phoenix, 106 phoenix, near 100 d.c. mid 90s new york and boston. seattle and portland 72 seattle, 78 portland severe possible northeast flight departure delays in newark now everybody else in the lower 48 on time even out here in

california. abc7news.com our flight tracker at bottom of every page. witnesses tell abc7 news that people playing with fire are responsible for setting off a grass fire in east palo alto. sky 7 hd was over the scene as firefighters tackled the last of the flames yesterday. firefighters had it contained an hour later flames crept up to the back fence of homes. luckily no damage. several homeless tents were in the area at the edge of the fire. officials have not issued an official cause of the blaze. no changes to san francisco's rank choice voting system. the board of supervisors kill the proposal yesterday that would have eliminated rank choice for all city offices step for the mayor's race. opponents of the voting system say it is confusion. supporters say it works west voters twoeupbl select top three choices for each office.

new poll out shows president obama may get no more than an average grade for running his reelection campaign. that beats his likely republican challenger mitt romney who is seen more negatively by the public. 46% view president obama's campaign efforts as favorable. 45% view him you ever favorably. only 38% view romney favorably. 49% view him unfavorly after a week in which romney has struggled to counter questions about his tax records and tenure at bain capital. president obama set to unveil plans to create an elite corp of master teachers. the one billion dollar program will reward hyper forming stevers with salary stipends to encourage education in high demand areas that key to future economic growth starting with 2500 teachers

with the goal of producing 100,000 additional teachers over the next 10 years. boy scouts of america reaffirmed its ban on gays from joining or holding leadership roles in the organization. the decision came after a confidential policy resue -- review. the panel represented by diversity of opinions began studying the issue in 2010 and agreed to keep the ban in place. critics call the plan disappointing and questioned the integrity of the committee. [ inaudible ] extreme heat and devastating drought continues to grip a large portion of the country. 15 states unheat advisories with blistering temperatures blanketing big cities again today. >> reporter: the signs are everywhere rivers running low to city highrises running out of water from the corn fields

to the kitchen sink. this sizzling summer is take a toll across america. 80% of the country is unusually dry. this year's drought already the largest natural disaster in u.s. history keeps spreading and heat records keep falling in chicago 101 tuesday, transformer overheated leaving people in this 29 story building to struggle with no ac or water and only one running elevator. in burlington, vermont blistering 93° farmers scrambled to save crops. what people are thinking about the price of food down the road. adding to the worry many rivers are at their lowest level in years. the mississippi was 23 feet higher in baton rouge this time last year. the lack of water is posing a threat to crucial shipping routes. rob nelson, abc news, new york. of course we are unusually cool the way it goes.

absolutely as least we don't have drizzle. good morning. another cooler than average day around the bay area we'll get our warmth over the weekend. a couple of days to look forward for that. from sutro tower hazy, marine layer trying to reestablish itself pushing clouds back in not organized or thick now. doppler is showing how clear of a start you are going to have for your morning commute, drizzle is gone. as you step out 49 in santa rosa, 60 in mountain view and san jose the rest of us in the 50s. monterey bay mid to upper 50s inland to gilroy, 61 in salinas. this afternoon biggest jump in temperatures inland especially north bay the most clouds yesterday, santa rosa only made it to 64, 74 today, concord up to 76, fremont will make it to 72.

oakland and san francisco 69 and 66 the same as yesterday san jose 74. here's a look at low pressure sitting and spinning, did you have that toy growing up the sit and spin? that's what it is doing. high clouds during the afternoon they don't do enough to dim sun nor stop warming. free air conditioning again east bay shore, upper 60s berkeley and oakland, low 70s for everybody else, hercules at 73, south bay low to mid 70s, cupertino and san jose 74, peninsula upper 60s to low 70 except redwood city at 73, sun along the coast today, low to mid 60s for you mid 60s downtown south san francisco to sausalito, packets of sun north bay. low to mid -- pockets of sun north bay. 71 santa cruz mid to upper 70s

inland. if you are talking about going around the state today we have a chance of showers up near eureka, 63, tahoe 72, chance of rain and thunderstorm around san diego and l.a. and mid 70s. day game coliseum mostly sunny 12:31st pitch. -- 1231 first pitch. good morning sue. update for this accident in the east bay area oakland area 24 westbound broadway cleared out of lanes traffic flowing at the limit past the scene. getting up and out this early wednesday morning drive times. east shore freeway carquinez bridge to the maze still under 20 minutes highway 4 good drive antioch towards concord altamont pass good motorcycle helmet in lanes up and over

the altamont pass that hopefully has been cleared. live shot san rafael southbound past lucas valley road, a few cars everything moving smoothly into central marin on to the golden gate bridge. 80 east shore freeway we saw the drive time from the carquinez showing you past golden guy field berkeley emeryville into the macarthur maze no delays at the toll plaza. 4:55 now. a bomb has destroyed 22 nato supply vehicles in northern afghanistan. the blast ignited several fuel trucks and resulting inferno destroyed other vehicles the trucks were part of a convoy which was stopped for the driver so he could get rest. no one was hurt in the fire. earlier this week three nato supply trucks were destroyed in the southern part of the country. >> the fda has approved a new weight management drug developed by mountain view-based company, vivus.

qsymia suppresses the appetite for borderline obese adults. doctors say it is not supposed to be a quick fix miracle pill patients need to exercise and reduce calories. this latest drug follows a long line of pill fast caused health problems most notably fen-phen pulled 15 years ago for damaging heart valves. >> more than a decade without any useful medications for obesity. this combination drug i think gives us some additional hope that at least part of obesity can be treated with medication. qsymia comes with some health risks, including memory loss, confuse, increased health rates in birth defects. critics argue the risks are too high. breaking news out of the mideast suicide bomber has

kill syria's defense minister. katie marzullo is following this from our breaking news center. she will have the latest. why police officers from mexico will be doing a ride along with oakland police this morning. >> san jose's mineta international airport gets a boost from washington. what a couple accused of killing the man they say was prostituting their daughter will ask from a judge.