good afternoon, everybody, i'm larry beil. >> that breaking news happening now in richmond. a city -- people are reporting a strong smell of natural gas and authorities are now testing the air to determine the source of the smell. >> abc 7 news reporter laura anthony joins us now with the latest. laura? >> i'm on fred jackson way this, health center behind me self he vac waited for a time. they smelled this odor after 2:00. they were one of 50 calls that the fire department got here about this odor smelling like propane or gas. when we arrived hazmat was here and che checked the area and cannot find the source of it at this point. the cloud is seemed to have dissipated. here is what hazmat's greg

wallor told us. >> they told us odor was worse out side. pg&e reported about 90 bem are searching from it. it may intrn a ship. hard to speculate but the--it blew with the wind and went that way. it's gone. >> and again, hazmat could not find the source. residents here concerned this is cynthia newton who lives here. what was it like? >> it was suddenly similar to a rotten egg smell to me. something too familiar with chevron. >> chevron says it's not -- they're not the source of it. and the county seems to think that that is correct. could it come from a ship?

are you taking precautions? >> yes. i'm taking recautions. my health res pritory. i'm glad it's not chevron. and that it's dissipated. >> situation seems back to normal here. evacuated folks have gone back in. schools have let their students go home. >> in san francisco a 57-year-old woman reported missing from her room two and a half weeks ago has been found dead at the hospital. abc 7 news confirmed the body of lynn spaulding was discovered in a rarely used stairwell on the fourth floor. >> the stairwell being treated as a crime scene by the sheriff's department. wayne freedman tweeted this photograph of that scene. spaulding was last seen the morning of saturday, september

21. >> the mother of four was being treated for an infection but disappeared in between 15 minute checks by staff. family members and friends were concerned because spaulding was thin, frail, and on medication and was very confused when last seen. the cause of the death is under investigation. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman will have a live report coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00. >> police have arrested an oakland man suspectedded of attacking a store manager at this safeway. surveillance video shows the attacker asking the manager something and then, suddenly hitting him in the head. police arrested the suspect on friday, they say viewers called in tips after seeing the video on television. >> president obama turning up pressure on republicans to vote on bills to raise the debt ceiling and end the shut down. the president spoke today with reporters and says he is willing to negotiate on ending

shut down and only after republicans increased nation's borrowing ability and reopened the federal government with no conditions. >> let's stop excuses and take a vote in the house. and let's people sh -- put people back to work. >> republicans are demanding any bill to end the shut down include changes as well as spending cuts. >> if there is unseasonal surrender he'll talk to us. that is not the way our government works. >> the nation is set to reach the debt ceiling on october 17th today the international monetary fund says if if the u.s. is forced to default it could damage the global economy. >> many federal workers have to work during the shut down but they're in the getting paid from it you'll hear from

one employee in the east bay. they explain the down side of being a so called essential employee. >> a teacher is facing allegations under allegations he molested an under aged student. david williams arrested on friday. a parent claims williams touched the girl inappropriately wnt past few weeks. the school district placed him on paid leave. he's set to appear in court next month. police are asking for information about any other possible incidents. >> police arrested a man in a child care facility operated inside of a home. investigators say the abuse happened on south wolf road. police say a 68-year-old was living at the home and is a relative of the owner. he was charged with sexually abusing two children. officials now looking into whether there may be

additional victims. >> death of a baby boy brought to san francisco general hospital considered sus spishus. police say the 7-month-old's mother and family member brought him to the hospital around 12:30 this morning. the baby died at the hospital. >> firefighters keeping watch on hot spots after a raging fire this morning, flames burned several buildings and brought down power lines as well. the yard located on monterey road. matt keller has the story. >> the call to firefighters came after 7:45 this morning. flames erupted on monterey road in the inincorporated part of jant clara county. -- santa clara county. biggest changer -- danger for firefighters was live power lines. >> all electrocution because lines are in the way and

they're live there is nothing we can do until pg&e shuts down the line. >> firefighters faced another obstacle. no water hydrants this, area lacks a good built in water system. so the call offered water tenders. what looks like giant kiddie pools were popped open and the tanks emptied into them, making water available in the fire engines and firefighters. they then leave to fill up again no. one was injured and despite the fire being at a lumber yard, very little lumber was burned. two cars were destroyed and another building described as an historical bunk house was damaged. firefighters did save this large barn. >> this is the old train depot. built in 1870. these are on the historical registry. they're old, historical buildings. a fire took place here

last summer, neighbors say people start fires in the area to stay warm. firefighters say they're still investigating what caused this fire. matt keller abc 7 news police want to talk with the owner of a car found engulfed in flames. investigators say the two-door bmw went over an enbankment then caught fire, nobody was found in the car and a search of the area including reservoir turned up nothing. the car's owner was confirm add if by the family but the car was in the reported stolen. >> bart employees could walk off the job if no contract is in place that is when a cooling off period ends. two union as announced they're not ready to give the strike notice but the unions can strike any time after 11:59 on

thursday. the two sides are still discussing salary and health insurance. >> bay area counsel says a strike co-would have massive consequences and would be worse than the one in july when many people were on vacation. that group is urging employers to be flexible if trains do stop running. >> so for employers were asked that you allow employees to telecommute or allow to telecommute more often or he ree quest them to do that. if telecommuting doesn't work we asked you relax policies about core work hours. >> a poll taken by the bay area council highlights the reason why there is such concern about a possible bart strike. 50% said they would switch to cars. 17% work from home, 13% carpool or ride share.

>> now, stay with us for the latest on the bart talks. we have a range of resources for you in case of a strike including how gs agencies plan to handle extra passengers you'll find our waze traffic app and follow us on twitter for breaking news updates. >> we have a pleasant day here, that there are high clouds, it's mainly sunny now looking towards the golden gate and up north. current temperatures 59 degrees near san francisco. 73 across the bay in oakland. another live view of a beautiful sky over the bay from our camera. 76 santa rosa. 77 novato. 79 fairfield and livermore. 76 and one more live view from

our camera looking west out over the bay. and this is our first forecast. we'll see high clouds that are morning, sunny skies, bright sunshine. chilly in spots. low temperatures into mid to upper 40s in some of the north bay valley locations and looking at mainly sunny skies and a slight chance of showers. more on that later. >> spencer, thank you. >> still head on abc 7 news at 4:00 learning about that salmonela outbreak linked to raw chicken from california. >> your own personal bartender? a device that may have you saying bottoms up in your living room. >> some american heroes get a place to stay to afford to get the help they need in the bay area. >> at 4:11 a check of traffic this, is a live look at san mateo bridge.

moving smoothly. traffic heavier as is the case at this time that. is heading back to the east bay. stay with us.

we're learning more today about that salmonela outbreak linked to raw chicken from the central valley involves multiple antibiotic resistant strains of salmonela. mostly here in california, 42% of them need to be treated in the hospital. the usda says the chicken

prepared at three foster farms facilities. just last night, abc 7 news found the chicken still being sold by several bay area grocery stores. food inspectors are searching for the source of the contamination. they've not yet issued a recall. the numbers of the packages with the numbers that may be the cause. p 6137, p 6137 a and p >> breaking news as well, president obama expected to nominate fed vice chair january yet yellen to replace ben bernancke as chairman of the federal reserve. >> they she taught at uc berkeley. we're live now with the rest of the news. >> good afternoon. samsung failed to convince president obama to overturn an import ban on certain devices

meaning the company must stop importing older smart phone that's were found to infringe on two apple patents by u.s. international trade commission. samsung argued ban should be overturned especially since president obama tossed out a ban on certain apple devices in august. google unveiled a chrome book notebook today. the lap top made by hewlett-packard and called hp chrome book 11 running on google chrome operating system he was less than two and a half bounds a price tag of $279. it goes on sale today at google play store and select retailers. >> apple is planning to broaden it's radio reach, bloomberg news learn that had recently, launched i tunes radio will be soon available in more english speaking countries including uk, canada and australia as well as new zealand.

the expansion set to begin next year. >> well, u.s. stocks ended the day down with a deadlock that could lead to a government default. the bloomberg silicon valley ended the day lower by shares of google. and finally zulily is going public, filing today to raise $100 million in an initial offering in the united states. goldman sacks and city group are managing the sale. zuliliy plans to list on the nasdaq under the ticker zu. in san francisco, i'm emily chang, larry, carolyn, back to you. >> thank you. >> and an 11-year-old colorado boy turning beer making into a historic achievement. he conducted an experiment to see if the process used to make beer can work in micro gravity.

the idea impressed nasa he was chosen as the student state flight competition. >> i didn't expect this. i was just determined to get a good grade. this is going to be my greatest moment of life so far. >> astronauts will determine if beer can be made in space and they hope the alcohol can be used to clean dangerous bacteria. >> that is the plan, right? >> some astronaut wants to be the first guy to have a beer. >> from that to georgia tech grads that build a robot bartender. >> it serves virtually any type of cocktail. the machine learns the person's preferences. a smart phone app allows people to order from across the room and also tracks alcohol consumption and alerts

people if the blood alcohol content may be too high and them helps them then get a cab. only question is whether it gets installed in sports, or whether department? >> never leave home without it. >> take a look at weather. it's cooler than yesterday, but nice. you can see we have sunny skies, high clouds around. but not the threatening type. not the one that's are precipitation on us. 24 hour change shows it's cooler around the bay area at this hour than this hour, yesterday, 11 degrees cooler at sfo. still, nice and ples yachblt a live view from our camera is looking westward mainely clear and breezy overnight.

slight chance of showers in the south bay mountains but there will be snow. first, satellite radar shows a cold low dipping south going to have an influence over the next 48 hours or so. 24 hours, i should say. forecast at 7:00 this evening, and this is a reason we may have spotty showers in the mount hamilton area, just a slight chance. not likely populated areas will see showers tomorrow. a winter weather advisory in effect and there is a likelihood of seeing snow south of highway 50. about two to five inches of snow. there could with some slippery

roads there. chilly but not cold enough for snow. mainly low 50s everywhere else. mainly sunny with a few high clouds in the south bay. could be isolated showers. peninsula, partly cloudy tomorrow, breezy and pleasantly mild on the coast. high nootz low 60s tomorrow, mid-70s up in the north bay valleys. and east bay, highs around 70 degrees. a uniform range inland east bay we'll have a mild pattern friday. saturday, through tuesday, actually inland highs into upper 70s to near 80. mid 80 -- 70s around the bay.

mid-60s on the coast. >> thank you. >> coming up next life changing disease actor tom hanks says he's battling. >> then after 4:30 cor -- coarsits for a

to those who've been waiting welcome to covered california. the place to find quality, affordable coverage, and nobody can be denied because of a pre-existing condition. enroll today at coveredca.com.

actor tom hampkz has been diagnosed with type two diabetes. revealing he has been battling high blood sugar since he was 36. his doctors told him he would be perfectly healthy if he got to his high school weight. he went to skyline high school in oakland. doctors say the fact he lost and gained a lot of weight from movie roles probably contributed to the diagnosis. hampkz will talk about his health coming up on world news with diane sawyer at 5:30. >> another week, another elimination on "dancing with the stars". >> yes

it's not about me. not about me. you talk me out of valerie harper, best performances of the night valerie harper. i didn't notice her dress. bruno called her a bewitching fantasy creature fueled by desire z guest judge julianne hough says she got chills watching. also with stop hip-hop stuff. >> smoldering. >> yes. >> have you heard anything i've said? as i was saying, oh, my. look away, carolyn. look away. this guy has many injuries they lost lifts out of his

routine when he took off the shirt the crowd went crazy. only 21 points and she danced the judges were teary eyed but she made a lot of mistakes and was let go. next week, i'm thinking brant. >> injured brant? >> they're going to put him out of his misery. >> still ahead new free service for veteran autos jimmy carter back at work. you'll hear from the couple benefiting from it. >> and a swim from cuba to florida, also... >> students at washington high in san francisco learn why you shouldn't text and drive. while

yes honey? dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart, is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. [ dad ] jan? ♪

to those who'v to those whoworried...... poked and prodded... taken risks... and lived in a state of "what if?"... welcome to a new state... of health. welcome to covered california. the place to find quality, affordable coverage. financial help for those in need. and nobody can be denied because of a pre-existing condition. enroll now at coveredca.com or call 1-800-752-6631.

the federal government shut down drags into day eight veteran's administration stepping up with a home away from home for vets. >> the state of the art hotel opened today on miranda avenue just off foothill expressway.

there are five star hotels in the area but this is free. >> the ribbon cutting held today and vic lee joins us live are wth story from the hotel. vic? >> this is a good story in light of the shut down. this hotel physically is all finished but l is still a lot of work to be done like the landscaping for instance. so they won't start accepting guests until january but when they do, this will be the biggest free hotel for veterans undergoing treatment at va hospital s around the country. it took seven years for today. billed of nothing short of a five-star hotel. 53 suites has state of the art accommodations. each suite has two queen beds one for the patient, another for a care giver.

not far away the va hospital which serves veterans from around the western united states and pacific rim. a hospital survey found that 11,000 patients had to find temporary housing and many had to drive 50 miles while waiting for treatment. others simply gave up. >> the hotels in this area are expensive. some might have chosen not to come or perhaps would have been sleeping in the koor cindy being treated forp cancer at va hospital. >> any time i tried to book a hotel there, they had always booked up. there is never room to stay. very chemo, too. i'm happy this is opening up for guests it's free. the $17 million project is a public private partnership between department of vet transaffairs and chairitable

donors. retired colonel chairs pentagon credit union foundation. >> we don't want you have to worry about the costs here, you shouldn't have to pay for accommodations. >> they say it's a way of thanking our veterans and wounded warriors. >> back to the shut douchblt not all workers are on furlough. thousands are required to work as they process claims. but they're not getting a paycheck dpor now. they can't take time off cure during this shut down. they can be docked pay if calling in sick. >> you can take time off if you want to call these workers

they'll get will be only 60% of the regular pay once congress passes a budget. >> new york police say one of the bikers involved in the road rage incident is an under cover cop and he turned himself in. on september 29th a group of motorcyclists attacked a man in an suv in front of his wife and 2-year-old daughter. the picture was of an injured biker. police say a biker is a seven year police veteran. internal affairs is leading the investigation and has not been charged. four bikers have been arraigned including one today, police are looking for several more suspects. >> record-setting swimmer diana niad is back in the water. the 64-year-old jumped into a pool.

her goal to raise money to help victims of super storm sandy. >> most people around the world hurricane sandy? was than the years ago? who cares about that anymore? those people care. thousands of them are still homeless. we're going to put awareness back on the map. these people need us. >> last month the native new yorker was confirmed to have made the swim from cuba to florida without the use of a shark cage. a construction worker showed up with unusual qaul figures. he's a furniture maker, an engineer by training and a pormer president of the united states. jimmy carter working to help fulfill a dream from a couple from ethiopia. the 39th president of the united states arrived with tools prepared to work, he turned 89 last week. for 30 years and he rossa lynn

carter donated one week of their time this, video shows him volunteering 15 years ago. mr. carter focused on creating a new front door frame but his labor was inrupted when the couple who live live here arrive. the wife is a nurse's assistant. the husband, a machinist. they flif a one bedroom apartment its hard to buy a house in san jose. it's expensive. bur we're blessing just, i want to say thank you, habitat and thank you, jimmy carter. >> the couple can't believe this home will be their autos this is a dream. i don't believe it's true. >> their dream come true. many others are still struggling. i got to sit down with mr. carter asking if the government shut down and problems are making it difficult for low income families to achieve homeownership. >> the first ones get hit hard, i would say democrat and republican members of congress don't have lobbyists and don't

have big money to pay during the campaign. so average person in trouble is one that gets hurt. >> the banks donate some repossessed homes habitat will build or rehab a record 100,000 homes this year. >> a small crowd attended an 80th birthday part where he for coit tower. on this date it was completed. built thanks to generosity of lilly hitchcock coit who left a third of her estate to beauty the city. family members say more needs to be done to keep it around for decades still to come. >> it needs museum status. hopefully, that work will come. in and that will happen. >> coit tower listed on the

national registry of historic places in 2008. last year there was a ballot measure aimed at protecting murals inside of the to you year coming up at 4:00 why you should think about how often you say the word "i". >> what has summer customers terrified and running? this is a hysterical video. you've got to see i. >> i am spencer christian. we're looking over the bay now how long will this last. is there rain in the forecast? the accu-weather forecast coming up. >> taking a look at traffic now this is the guadalupe park way. highway 87 running between 101 there is a sharks game at home tonight traffic very light right now. speaking of sports we love seeing a's pride a's trailing

tigers in the 8th inning. we'll update that and we can invite to you e mail your photos to us on

a tiny pronounce can say more about you than realized. researchers say people who

often say "i" are less powerful saying they're self reflective but may be self conscious, or just trying to please others. the study published in the stud study of language. >> i think you're going to like this. but i'm not sure. a team of pranksters turned a coffee shop into a horror show to scare customers. >> do you know what? get away. just get away. >> take a look at a special affects team rigged a series of wires pullies and furniture then an actress pretended to to freak out. >> i love that. they moved chairs out of the way. everybody freaking out. books flying off the wall this, was created to publicize remake of steven king's "cary".

-- carrie" because people were freaking out. >> i like that. >> michael finney with us and you'll be hearing more from him in just a moment. >> i got it under control now. >> that is funny. here is a time lapse view. take a look at the clouds. the sky becomes blue over the bay area. you can see it's still sunny with some thunderstorm activity around mid atlantic, dry up north, showery along the south coast. snow showers likely over sierra tomorrow. here in the bay area tomorrow, we'll have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. maybe isolated showers in the south bay mountains. high temperatures low 60s

along the coast to near 70s around the bay. low to mid-70s inland and milder or warmer weather coming our way at the end of the week. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> that is perfect. >> still ahead at 4:00 workday at hewlett-packard could change for employees with flex hours. >> plus, corsets to cinch your waist. dangers of cinching that thing up new state law raising utility bills for smrks lowering them for others. what you can expect if you

to those whoworried...... poked and prodded... taken risks... and lived in a state of "what if?"... welcome to a new state... of health. welcome to covered california. the place to find quality, affordable coverage. financial help for those in need. and nobody can be denied because of a pre-existing condition. enroll now at coveredca.com or call 1-800-752-6631.

drug maker glaxo smith klein says a vaccine against malaria could be introduced in 2015 ai. trial found it cut the number of cases nearly in half. in newborns cases were reduce bid more than a quarter pro. tex from the mosquito-borne illness lasted only about 18 months. more than 660,000 people die

from mallayera, mostly children. >> hp has begun a policy of requiring employees to work from the office. you'll recall yahoo ceo banned working from home back in june. but now, 0,000 employees work from home because hp doesn't have desk space for them. meg whitman expected to discuss the changes tomorrow. >> a trend known as corset shaping has been coming back into fashion. doctors warning of dangerous consequences. it insolves wearing a corset like device worn four hours to start then made tighter in increments. experts say it can move ribs lower making the waist small yes, bun expert says this could lead to weakened muscles

and constipation. >> joint movement isn't going to be as normal. lungs can't inflate as they should. if there are women wearing witness heart conditions, that would be a red flag. >> they cost about 150s skpdz should be worn under medical supervision. >> millions of california electricity users could see changes in bills in the next couple years. >> this is bill waives the way to overhaul it's energy rate structure, those living in hotter communities may see will heer bills, those living in cooler coastal communities can see their rates rise. any new rate would affect energy for three major utilitis. pg&e, so cal edison.

>> it's going to re-examine rates for 75% of the energy comes from. >> legislation aimed at encouraging people to use alta tiff sources such as solar energy increasing a number of people who can get credit for excess energy they generate from solar panels. >> a forecast indicates we'll be paying more to heat homes this winter. a lot more. 13% higher than last year, homes heated using electricity will only pay 2% more. adding to worries federal funding to assist low income families to pay bills has been reduced $2 billion. 16,000 people have turned in completed april politics for subsidized health insurance through covered california.

astatistics show yorj 27,000 have been partially completed. many reported difficulty getting into the program web site we told you about that. the web site covered ca.com. a lot able to get on and nearly a million logged on in just the first week. another 60,000 called the hot line. now coming up, can chips are healthy and tasty? putting pop chips to the test. it will be a pop quiz. >> coming up important lesson these high school students learned today. >> two homes go up in flames. >> and how this tunnel will

keep water supplies safe for millions of us. larry and carolyn will

to thosuffered in silence... hoped... and lived in a state of fear... welcome to a new state... of health. welcome to covered california. the place to find quality, affordable coverage. financial help for those in need. and nobody can be denied because of a pre-existing condition. enroll now at coveredca.com or call 800-675-2607.

tonight, agents of shield airs at 8:00. and join us for abc 7 news at 11:00. >> weird heard this one. do not text and drive. a group of students got the message getting behind the wheel. kind oof yes. >> call that a narrow miss. students drove a simulateor learn yg they shouldn't text and drive. while driving they received random text messages for this

experiment they had to respond to. >> what does that say. >> hey, it's mom, when will you be home? >> average text message takes about 4.6 seconds to look down and which is 55 miles per hour is proved to be the length of a football field. >> hey jenny... >> at and t and behind the simulator to show students consequences of doing both. >> some other guy can cause to you do something you're not ready for. >> that is what happened to this stud yechblt a driver in another direction loses control but because the student looks down he's not able to react quickly enough. >> the school principal could not do both safely. but this is not real.

so students were shown a video showing real people whose lives have been affect bid those who text and drive. >> don't text and drive. it can wait. a kbrair liesed boy, three dead people among victims. >> texting and driving you can change lives so it's good that we can interact show them that it's about them making choice autos this is what some of them said they learned from today's lesson. >> not when driving, definitely not. >> not at all. not at all. >> a promise they hope to keep. >> important message. thanks for joining us at 4:00. >> e.. >> thank you. an unbelievable answer. a search fr a woman, how could the body turn up in the hospital where she disappeared

weeks ago? >> and a salmonela outbreak turns out more dangerous than we first thought. >> it's cooler i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. we have more than falling temperatures in the forecast. details coming up. >> a bay area woman missing for weeks is found, dead. her body found in the same place she was last seen. >> thanks for joining us. she'd been missing two and a half weeks and she was right there. abc 7 news reporter is live in san francisco fen ral hospital. a lot of question that's need answers there. >> this feels like a drama on television, all the hospital will confirm is that there is a missing woman ask a body. the woman has been missing 17

days. the body found at 10:00 a.m. this morning. abc 7 news learned from a reliable source that the victim's name is lynn spaulding. the 56-year-old mother of four checked in for treatment of an inspection then disappeared from her room. she has been missing for two weeks and three days. here is a hospital spokesperson. >> it's very concerning this bod yes was found. we don't know what happened. that is our top pray ti to, find that out. >> the fem and friends of lynn spaulding called the hospital. david perry is a family friend already disappointed at how for 10 days the hospital would not release a statement about the mystery. >> we have been dismayed and frustrated not only by the lack of information but lack of a sense of urgency. >> can you tell us how long

that bod body had been in the stair sfwhel. >> can i not. >> did it fall? >> i don't have anymore information about the cause of death, length of time that. is all what is being investigate bid the sheriff with asis sfrants police and med yal cal examiner will provide more information. >> that is where the case stands now. no comment about how koit lose a patient or how a body could wind up in the stairwell. no explanation yits taking so long. all day to fill in details of the mystery. >> well, there have been kplints about a strong gas odor in the city of richmond this afternoon. some buildings were evacuated. calls started to come in about 2:00. abc 7 news joins us live now with the latest. laura?