>> it is breaking news out of berkeley. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm marla tellez in for jon kelley. berkeley firefighters are at the scene of a deadly two-alarm fire. this is a home burning near shattuck and ashby avenue. stephanie chuang is there live with an update. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this fire coming in around 2:30 this morning, unfortunately it did claim the life of one young woman. this is the house. the three-story small victorian home and one person was not able to make it out and pronounced here at the scene by firefighters responding. again, happening at 2:30 this morning.

there were eight people sleeping inside at the time. five who live there and three visiting actually. right now firefighters are allowing the house to vent before they go in but right now we're going to be joined by the next door neighbor, bob, who was here in all of the action. you woke up and you smelled something. >> yeah. it smelled like paper burning. so i said well, maybe i better investigate. i went down stairs to see if anything was burning in the kitchen and looked out and saw flames. >> the back of the house. tell me more about what happened. you tried to go and save the people inside? >> well, i came out and there were people outside and i asked if everybody was accounted for and there was some debate and finally somebody said no, my girlfriend's still up there. so we went inside to see if we could help.

and i got back to the back of the living room there and there was too much smoke, couldn't see anything. couldn't even see the stairs to go upstairs so i came back out. >> reporter: you lived here 11 years. these people as far as you know were renting, several different people, correct? >> yes. >> reporter: anything else you can tell us about what happened, the fire department you said responded quickly. >> they were fast. and i was surprised at how quickly the fire spread. when i saw it there were flames out the back window. in no time it seemed like there were flames several feet out of the roof. >> reporter: thank you so much, bob. appreciate you joining us. so again, 2:30, early morning fire has claimed the life of a young woman who lived in the back of this house. there were two people with injuries, one with some burns and the other for smoke inhalation. they are being treated.

firefighters letting the building vent before they check for hot spots. that is the latest. live in south berkeley, stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." >> tragic ending. thank you. santa clara county firefighters made quick work after two-alarm house fire that broke out at a home near highway 6. crews were called out about 3:00 a.m., they had the fire out in about an hour. because of the terrain and brush there were fears of the fire spreading but firefighters had it extinguished pretty quickly. no one was inside. >> investigators will focus on pier 29 today looking for the cause after four-alarm fire that badly damaged the historic building. flames spread in the roof after 2:00 wednesday afternoon. the facade gave way and fell. it took firefighters almost six hours to put out the flames and the busy embarcadero was closed to traffic late into the night.

a neighborhood group who fought to preserve the nearly 100-year-old building are saddened to see it severely damaged. >> one of the reasons the pier has been so precious, not just that it represents history but it's in great shape. this one until this fire is one of the more sturdy. >> investigators say the fire does not appear to be suspicious. pier 29 as you can see there is part of the headquarters for next year's america's cup yacht race. organizers say based on information available at this time we do not anticipate that this will have any impact on our plans for the site and we look forward to moving ahead 20 the future construction of the america's cup village at pier 27 and 29. >> an east bay fire is getting more attention. the national response team of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms will continue sifting through the debris of an unfinished senior complex in

oakland. it's the scene of the fire that crippled b.a.r.t. last week. yesterday the group of agents began investigating what could be arson. >> testimony continues today in the trial after south bay man accused of beating a priest. prosecutors portray him as a vigilante. they say he and his brother were raped by the reverend at a summer camp decades ago. lindner denies the alleges and denied them on the stand wednesday. despite a settlement reached by the catholic church. prosecutors are asking jurors to focus on the beating. some say the priest should be held accountable. >> by the time we finish this trial i'm going to request that they file perjury charges, i'm going to start a campaign from not only his supporters but also this county, we're going to make sure that father lindner is

charged with perjury in this case. >> lindner's own niece who says she was also an abuse victim is willing to testify. >> a warning for students on a quiet campus. the student says she was attacked near santa clara university last week. police investigators say one of two men grabbed her but she wrestled herself free. the incident has made some students rethink walking home alone. >> it's really scary she was assaulted right where everyone walks every single day. >> the university sent out an e-mail to students hours after the alleged attack no. arrests have been made. >> the city of berkeley has a wrongful death claim on its hands. the family of a man bludgeoned to death outside his home filed the claim against the city. 67-year-old peter sukor was beaten and killed by a schizophrenic man.

sukor called police but the family says no officers responded because of an ongoing occupy protest. the family plans on suing the city if the claim is rejected. >> 4:37. san francisco's castro district is coming together to help find a killer trying to piece together the death after man found dead in his home. volunteers from neighborhood watch passed out flyers wednesday with a photo of eric eskalan. they are looking for any one who may have seen someone carrying a flat screen tv on the night of the murder. >> it's surprising what a small piece of information can do. we work cases similar to this in the past and sometimes one small piece of information is the thing that the police need to put together all of the other pieces up to that point ain't connected. >> the sfpd has an anonymous tip

line for any one with information. also this morning san francisco's d.a. talking about charges filed against a cyclist who hit and killed an elderly district. chris pled not guilty to charges. he hit and killed a 71-year-old man in the crosswalk at market and castro and allegedly wrote on a blog that he couldn't stop in time. prosecutors say he was trying to beat a personal speed record through the city. the district attorney is expected to discuss the case at a press conference. >> backers for a proposed ferry site are hoping the public will get on board. officials are holding a meeting today on the project. a new ferry route would connect richmond to san francisco. officials want to hear what the public thinks. the meeting will be at the marina bay yacht harbor at 4:30. >> yesterday we were celebrating

the first day of summer. today a cooldown. >> good morning. a cooldown that lasts into the weekend and beyond. in fact, i have to take the temperatures down for the weekend. we could only hit the low 70s inland. i'm talking about san jose, barely breaking 72 degrees saturday and sunday. so a significant cooldown. the first week of summer will feel more like spring or fall. 53 degrees in san mateo, good morning to you there. 58 to start out in sunnyvale. 57 degrees this morning here in san jose. throughout this afternoon, temperatures are going to climb. by noon only 60 in fremont, at 59 degrees, as you break for lunch in san mateo and san jose, only ending up in the 70s. fairfield hit 98. you'll hit 75 so. over a 20-degree drop in highs between yesterday and today. now, we do have a cooler weather on the way for the weekend, maybe even rain. we'll get to the forecast coming up.

4:39 first are there problems out there? >> nothing quite as severe as the swing in temperatures. we'll look at road work down from four lanes to just one southbound 101 as you pass by marsh road. also the on ramp at marsh blocked for construction. you see no slowing because of the light volume southbound 101 can maintain the flow. we have crews on the dumbarton bridge and newark but no major problems. let's get a look at oakland 880 on the other side of the bay. smooth drive from the coliseum up to the toll plaza with no major slowing despite some construction we show on the maps, northbound up toward the 23rd and to 980 and southbound we have construction on either side but just one or two lanes. we do follow that berkeley fire, the fatal one that stephanie continues to follow just north

of ashby. there may be traffic control but shattuck, the north-south road is unaffected. back to you. >> 4:41. it may be the most famous kiss in american history. today an iconic image from the end of world war ii will be on display. a 6-foot tall sculpture with the kiss on the final leg after five-week long cross country tour. the statue is a replica of a sculpture. it will be on display starting at noon. at 3:00 the statue will be moved to the care center for a reception and a slide show. >> that's pretty cool. might want to check it out. >> let's go. >> still ahead, the final hours of jerry sandusky's trial. wye experts say one side has an edge. >> plus t geniuses are getting a pay raise. what's behind the move to give store workers a bigger paycheck.

>> a fight over a small statue. why officials say the buddha may be creating a public nuisance. >> check us out on facebook. searchbc bay area.

>> welcome back everyone. a good thursday morning to you. taking a live look outside. city by the bay, san francisco this morning. cooler temperatures will prevail. we'll check the forecast with christina, 4:45. >> closing arguments begin in the jerry sandusky abuse trial. the former penn state football coach did not take the stand yesterday. more than a dozen witnesses were called in to vouch for sandusky's character. legal analysts say the prosecution brought a lot more to the table than the defense. >> all of these character witnesses did was to provide sort of a smaterring of community support. there are well respected people in the community who still stand by jerry. that's really all they did. and i don't think that will overcome the testimony of the eight victims who came and testified. >> sandusky is charged with abusing nearly a dozen boys during the 15-year period. if found guilty, he faces up to life in prison. >> 4:45. there is a partisan battle

brewing on capitol hill this morning. eric holder could become the first attorney general in history to be held in contempt. house committee voted to hold holder in contempt of congress for failing to turn over documents related to a mexican gun running investigation known as operation fast and furious. house republicans claim the attorney general is involved in the cover-up and wants more documents released about the operation. holder has handed over 8,000 documents and president obama says no more will be released, citing executive privilege. >> there was never any claim of executive privilege there, and so why does it happen, what are they hiding? >> shouldn't be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president in an election year. >> 23 republicans voted to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt. it would take a vote of the full house to find him in contempt. it's not clear yet if house

leaders are willing to go that far. >> time to get a check of the markets early before the bell. we turn to jackie deangelis. good morning. >> good morning. futures slightly higher this morning after stocks finished mostly in the red yesterday. the fed decided to extend its bond buying program called operation swift to boost the economy by keeping interest rates low. the fed cut the growth forecast and ben bernanke says he is prepared to do more if needed. he says that the job market has lost steam and europe's debt crisis is affecting the u.s. economy. the asian and european markets in the red and in the u.s. some data this morning on unemployment, manufacturing and existing home sales. we saw the dow fall to 12,824, nasdaq up to 2930. apple geniuses bill get a fatter paycheck. store employees are due for

raises up to 25% following a review. apple employs 36,000 people at 350 stores, two-thirds are in the u.s. workers typically get $9-15 an hour, $30 for tech support. >> thank you, jackee. >> it is one of the bay area's popular fund-raisers of the year, root beer float night at the coliseum. thousands showed up to grab a free root beer float at the a's game. our own christina loren was there along with rob mayeda. the a's brought in $24,000 for the cause. >> all right. i think i've been banned. it used to be a little for you, for me. >> giving out as many scoops as i could jam into a cup. >> until you find that guy who doesn't want that much ice

cream. he likes more root beer. so you can't please all of the people all the time. i know that work in the weather department. today some people will be unhappy with the big change that's going to last into the weekend. we've got some major drop-offs in temperatures, we're bringing in the cloud cover. and today san francisco, you'll see peeks of sunshine. that's just about it. we're talking about mostly cloudy conditions, june gloom for the final days of the month. 58 in concord. the good news is we're nice and mild to start. 57 degrees in san jose, 53 in san francisco. and 55 degrees in santa cruz. we head throughout the afternoon, temperatures are on the mild side. 20-degree difference between yesterday's highs and today. colder conditions, that foggy breeze will develop throughout this afternoon. and then we might get some rare june showers so let's take to the your futurecast. we see we have mostly cloudy conditions through 1:00 p.m.

oakland, a dreary day. cool air moving into the bay area, it's still going to break into the 70s, even in san jose. as we head to 11:00 p.m., the fog t marine layer deepens, rolls back in so we're talking about another mostly cloudy day. at the coast, for your final day of the week. friday tomorrow, you excited. 74 in san jose. throughout the next couple days temperatures drop off even more so into the low 70s over the course of the weekend. that means that is great news if you're waking up inland. get the kids outdoors. on the cool side, not a lot of sunshine at the coast and by the bay. so ladies, take that as you make those weekend plans as we're all doing. back to you. >> thank you very much. a small statue causing a problem in an oakland neighborhood. residents claim it's an important part of the landscape. the city doesn't see it that way. the median an 11th avenue used to be a dumping site. so a neighbor decided to dress

it up with this buddha. dan and his wife are not du buddhaists. others responded. >> there is no garbage dump now, no graffiti. it's a lot of people just respect the area. >> he is always like an oasis, all the people who come by, whether they understand the buddha or not is not important. >> but a complaint sent out a city inspector who claims it's a potential safety issue because visitors are now in the street. the council member hope as compromise can be reached. >> the giants trying to get back on track against the angels but just could not hit their stride. we have the highlights next. >> and they're not getting

punched. >> looking at the dmv licensees and there is a smooth drive to the north bay, a little trns i' show you what's up for the east bay. ll

>> hello. good morn. giving you a live look. hard to make it out but that is san francisco, much different forecast expected today than yesterday. the first day of summer. so we'll check the forecast with

christina in a bit. your time is 4:54. >> let's talk baseball. giants hope to change their fortunes last night against the angels bringing in ryan vogelsong but it wasn't to be. the angels score a home run off of vogelsong in the second inning. that hurt. then in the fifth, angels single to left, sending another runner home. giants went on to lose it, 6-0. vogue ool song picked up his first loss on the mound since may 3. >> from the diamond to the greens, the bird man from the u.s. open is looking for fellow birdies. san drew dudley was nabbed by police officers after pulling this stunt here during the trophy presentation on sunday. webb simpson trying to get his trophy. he says he did it for deforestation. he has something else to celebrate. today is his birthday.

he tells nbc he is heading to union square and wants people to do the bird call with him. how easy it is to get exposure. >> 4:56. let's turn to the morning commute out there. >> people crow about this. it's moving this smoothly. we do have construction, but it is eastbound, it's closed right there at love ridge. the same connector so no big slowing. another 15 extra seconds. a few minutes ago that registered 50 so speeds are jumping around. not enough to cause considerable slowing. we have construction still san ramon valley, 680 both directions between alcosta, we have the construction off of the roadway, we're looking at also

isabelle with construction crew there is through livermore for a few minutes and the south bay, 85, construction but no slowing. back to you. >> 4:57. ashton kutcher's production company is suing the dmv for breach of contract. it says the dmv pulled out of a reality show that kutcher was producing t show was picked up for at least four episodes by true tv. it was going to be a look at what life is like on the other side of the dvm counter. the dmv says it's no longer in the agency's best interests. >> still ahead on "today in the bay" we continue to follow a fire in berkeley. we learned at least one person has been killed. we'll bring you the the latest. >> second day of southwest coming up. we'll have the latest. really big news. .with some it's b-i-g, big. high speed internet from at&t at home...

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