the contra costa board of supervisors expected to get an oral report of what has been learned so far about the chevron refinery fire. we'll have that plus the latest on the investigation. >> is it safe? state officials hearing from caltrans on the safety of the new bay bridge span. we'll let you know why they are concerned. >> a war of words side by side. president obama and paul ryan face off 18 key battleground state to argue their views on the economy. the message they are sending. >> we take you out live over san francisco, that is the bay bridge on an early morning shot. this is tuesday, august 14th, this is "today in the bay."

>> good morning everybody. the time 4:31. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to. let's check the forecast first with meteorologist christina loren. good morning. >> hey, good morning, jon and laura. good morning to you at home. it's already 69 degrees in concord and livermore. you just dropped off. it was 70 when i walked in this morning at about 4:00. so what i can tell you, we have another hot day ahead. there is a cooldown in the near future and we have rain in the forecast so we'll sort that out. we want to point out california has issued a flex alert so if you don't have to use power today you want to go ahead and keep it off the grid. we'll talk about that coming up. first we'll check your drive. >> this is a dark shot of sunol. there are reports of a deer may be still in lanes. other than that a light flow so

we'll show that next coming up. >> thank you, mike. >> we should learn more about possible long lasting effects from the chevron refinery fire and how it may affect people's health. >> supervisors will get a briefing. christie smith is live with a look at what's ahead. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the board of supervisors in contra costa county expected to get an oral report from the head of the health department from the county but also the head of hazardous materials on what they learned about the impacts of the refinery fire in richmond from last week. now, that happening at 9:00. the u.s. chemical safety board continues its investigation into what caused the leak that led to the massive fire on monday, still focusing on an 8-inch pipe. the chronicle reporting that chevron deemed the pipe that failed as possibly needing replacement but cleared it for service. the federal agency looking into

why the pipe ignited, now looking also into how long it was broken. also, scientists at the bay area quality management district are analyzing air samples. so far the results aren't in but they found some higher than normal levels. >> acrolin is a byproduct of the burning of fuel sow get it from cooking at home, from when you smoke a cigarette, any time there is a burning it can be a byproduct. >> reporter: that's a compound found in the air when something burns. it can cause eye and throat irritation, you may recall that's something quite a few people reported after the fire in the richmond area. meantime, the area around the leak site considered unsafe and off limits to investigators and we're told that could continue for the next couple of days. reporting live, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> this morning shell says it's looking into the cause of yesterday's fire at its

refinery. large gray plume of smoke was visible around 2:00 in the afternoon. officials at the refinery say it was out 15 minutes later. no one was hurt in yesterday's incident and no shelter in place was ordered. the air quality management district says it's keeping tabs on the five refineries in contra costa county. >> we have an inspector assigned to each facility. we have air quality monitoring in some stacks. >> the five bay area refineries in richmond, rodeo, benicia and martinez. >> firefighters finally getting the upper hand on two wild fires in lake county. so far the wye fire and the smaller walker fire now about 25% contained. both have been burning since sunday afternoon, about 6,000 acres have been scorched and hundreds of homes were threatened. evacuations in most areas have

been lifted. no word on what caused the fire. >> a fire forced the closure of a stretch of highway 4 overnight. the highway is closed near cottage springs. the fire is only about 10% contained and burned nearly 700 acres. as of now no evacuations are in order. investigators blame a camp fire for starting that fire on saturday. >> a sword attack and two shootings within hours of each other have san jose police admitting they do not have enough manpower. two people were killed, one in critical condition here, the first shooting happened yesterday afternoon on oakland road and charles street. two hours later police were called to a second shooting on denar avenue and then a woman was killed in what appears to be a sword on carlos street. >> i seen the dude start hitting her with a sword and he slit her throat and ran off.

he comes back and starts stabbing her more. >> there was so much activity police were forced to call in officers from home. we're also learning there were close to 50 calls coming in but because the department was stretched so thin officers could not get to calls right away. so far no arrests have been made in the shootings or sword attack. >> 4:36. a new span of the bay bridge will be the focus of a meeting today. the committee will hear from caltrans and construction experts over reports of falsified safety tests on several spans including the new bay bridge. sacramento bee is reporting caltrans modified test data on the span. it's blasting the article saying the bridge is safe. we'll have a live report coming up in our next half hour. >> san francisco port officials will give an update on their response to the fire that badly damaged the historic pier 29 back in june. the city's port commission will

also provide an update on the fire damage. investigators say welders were attaching a ladder to a wall when a spark ignited that fire. it caused more than $2 million damage to the two-story building along the embarcadero. crews had been preparing the building for next year's america's cup. >> a bill that would ban agencies from disrupting cell phone service without a courted so awaiting the governor's approval. the practice prompted a protest in oakland. dozens marching from the b.a.r.t. station to b.a.r.t. headquarters were marking the first anniversary of a b.a.r.t. order to shut down cell service at stations in san francisco. b.a.r.t.'s goal was to disrupt a planned protest over the death of charles hill who was shot by b.a.r.t. police. >> new details in a major earthquake that struck near russian island overnight. the quake has been upgraded to

7.7 magnitude from an original 7.3. the epicenter was 400 miles deep off russia's coast line felt as far as northern japan. no reports of injuries or damage. no threat of a tsunami. >> christina loren is telling us it's going to be a hot start to the week. today more of the same. >> near record heat, only the difference between yesterday and today a touch cooler, we still have the state-issued flex alert with the hot day ahead for the entire state. especially in southern california. we're taking the temperatures down 1 or 2 degree but look how hot it was yesterday. think about going without ac in livermore at 103. 102 in danville. 99 in lafayette, san ramon and morgan hill. throughout the next couple days temperatures will drop off but it's going to be a scorcher. one of the reasons why, we're starting out so mild. we're at 69 in concord and

livermore. 55 degrees in san francisco, and in san jose we're at 62. your day part forecast works out like this. it's going to be hot. 88 degrees again inland at noon. you'll round out the day at 100 as opposed to 102. what does it mean when it comes to the wye fire? we'll talk about that, also we have rain in the forecast. so stay tuned. my 7 day reveals when and where. from sizzle to drizzle in a few days. >> sizzle to drizzle. awesome. reminds me of mike breakfast bacon. everything reminds me of bacon in the morning. some construction through oakland and no slowing. bay bridge toll plaza, an easy drive down the east shore freeway. another look outside, let's see, foster city, over on the peninsula side. getting off of the san mateo bridge in toward san mateo and 101. easy drive here as well. no delays for the peninsula. 101 up in the north bay we have

a nice flow of traffic heading toward us with the headlights, easy drive here as well but in the same area we're scanning reports of a tire in lanes, i haven't seen anybody swerving, i haven't seen flashing lights. keep that in mind heading south to san pedro. they may have had something that slowed them down north because they are coming all together there. fremont, southbound here with the headlights fast truck scales, down toward mission boulevard. the nimitz is incident-free. good stuff for this morning commute but it's only 4:40. >> it's only 4:40. perfect time to grab a bagel. hot again today as christina loren mentioned, there is also a state issued flex alert for the second time in less than a week everybody being asked to conserve power to try to avoid outages. the alert is today starting at 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. >> cal state cools turning away california students. what is behind the move and how school staff is reacting.

>> plus, bring on the battle ground states. president obama and mitt romney and his running mate holding duelling rallies. we'll have the details in minutes. >> for your news, weather, and traffic check us out on facebook. search nbc bay area.

welcome back everyone. what a lonely toll plaza this morning. it is still early, though. we'll keep checking the morning commute for you tuesday morning. it is 4:44. well, the race for the white house entered a new phase this morning. now that it's two on two, both campaigns are taking the divide and conquer route heading to key battle ground states in an effort to win votes. claire has the latest from washington. >> four more years. >> reporter: it was a face-off in the hawkeye state. with duelling campaigns trying to paint the other guy as bad for the middle class and the economy. >> if you happen to see congressman ryan tell him how important this farm bill is to iowa and our rural communities. >> reporter: the president won

iowa in 2008 but the latest poll shows it's up for grabs this time. that's why he's crisscrossing the state two more days. paul ryan on his first solo campaign stop since being added to the romney ticket was met by a small group of hecklers at the iowa state fair. >> if you see the president come through, you might -- >> reporter: mitt romney on his own in florida played up his plan versus ryan. >> my plan for medicare is similar to his plan for medicare which is do not change the program for current retirees or near retirees but do not do what the president has done, to cut $700 billion out of the current program. >> reporter: the medicare portion of ryan's budget has come under heavy fire from democrats who say he is proposing a voucher system that could mean higher costs for seniors. even the first lady on a two-day

fundraising swing through l.a. weighed in on the paul ryan v.p. pick on "the tonight show" with lay leno. she says she welcomes him to the race because, quote, it's a privilege. claire laka, washington. >> it's 4:46. business news. groupon investors not getting the deal. the stock tumbling 20% due to what investors call a disappointing forecast for the coming months. sales rising 45% over the year to about $568 million still $5 million short of what analysts expect. because of that stock clogs at just above $6 a share in the after hours trading. social media still a tough sell. let's get a check on the markets and how things are looking. for that and more let's turn it over to courtney reagan.

good morning. >> good morning. futures now mostly higher after we had this down day yesterday because this miserable monday cycle that we're in. return for the dow, the dow has closed down 14 of the past 16 mondays. trading volume was light, many traders may be on vacation. asian and european markets are higher. we're waiting on data for retail sales. inflation and a number of earnings. we've gotten some from home depot. we're waiting on sacks. the dow dropped to 13,169, the nasdaq up 1 to 3022. data out today shows most midsize luxury cars didn't do so well in new frontal crash tests. the tests by the insurance institute for highway safety says what happens if a car hit as fixed object.

of the 11 cars tested only the acura and the involve vo earned good ratings. rain and cooler temperatures in the midwest may have slowed crops from deteriorating further but may not make much difference at this point. in 18 states that grow corn, 51% of the crop is in poor or very poor condition due to the severe drought. about 38% of the soybean crops are in poor condition. pay attention to the food prices. they could go up. back to you. >> we shall do that. thank you. >> like everything else including the temperatures. want to check the forecast. >> headed out to carmel, you can get 10 corn for $1. organic as well. just saying. you can find deals if you look. we're looking good out there. make sure that you find that water bottle before you head out. today temperatures are going to soar, not as high as yesterday but just about. and when it hits 100 it doesn't

matter the difference between 103 and 100 not that significant if you're in it. 69 in livermore, 69 in concord. 56 degrees around the bay and at the coast. however, because you're starting out at about 70 inland it's going to be another summer scorcher. and high pressure is amplified. this is going to keep the state of california very hot. they are talking 110, 115 in southern california and to our north where the fire is burning around clear lake they expect 107 degrees as the high today. so, the good news is we do have slight cooling on the way as of tomorrow. we'll get more of an onshore flow and that will be the case all the way through the weekend so. the cooldown continues. then very, very rare chance but we're going to get late august showers it looks like in the north bay. 101 in fairfield. 100 in livermore. 87 degrees in redwood city. if you can bear the heat we have a cooldown on the way. starting on friday, saturday,

sunday, temperatures falling back to the 80s. if we do see showers, going to be a tropical feel. on saturday highs are going to be in the upper 80s inland. upper 70s bay side and mid-60s at the coast. nonetheless certainly possible and watching the system, very impressive for this time of year. we'll talk about that. back to you guys. >> a little humidity coming our way. thank you. cal state says it will start turning away california students that are residents interested in graduate studies starting this january. school leaders say budget cuts make it too difficult for the system to afford in-state residents heavily discounted education. instead out of state students have preference because they pay more. some professors are upset over the decision saying excludeing california students goes against the mission of csu. >> tough all the way around. still ahead, the one that did not get away. we'll show you a fisherman's 800-pound catch. >> got to see it to believe it.

plus, first time gold medalist now world record holder. the feat maggie steffens accomplished. >> wow. more than i did even now. we're looking to san mateo bridge.

>> still feeling that olympic magic. the olympic athlete from the bay area making us proud in the

"guiness book of world records" made it official that a local sensation maggie steffens is a world record holder. >> the danville native tied for most individual golds in olympic water polo with seven golds during a win over hungary. that helped push the water polo team to win a gold medal. >> now she heads to stanford. and marti malloy is home along with her bronze medal after the flight from london you think she might have a little rest. marti is attending a dinner at her alma mater san jose state so they can give her the big love. >> supported that and mike inouye emceed for that dinner. >> it was the annual fund-raiser for the judo program, the winningest in all of collegiate sports. the coach was there and marti was there. i got a picture with marti, the bronze medal. and then me as well. we had a great time.

she is a treat. i mean, she's going to have a huge career. >> i think she is adorable. >> her personality is so magnetic. i tried that and i got tackled by seven guys. >> did she have the medal? >> she had. it's pretty heavy. then don't bite it. >> germs on that thing. >> it is quite heavy. we have nbc medallions as well. they are lighter. >> we're looking at 101 where i drove a few hours ago. it's looking like an easy flow right now. we'll get to the maps, one thing in orinda, construction and an accident on opposite sides of the freeway, westbound your commute has an accident out of the orinda area toward the caldecott tunnel and we have an accident that sounds like it's out of lanes but i'm going to track it. a car might be on its side.

we have construction which remains here for sunol southbound 680 around the bend, a lot of folks need this repair work. there are huge pot holes but that's going on for the next half hour. good stuff. >> staying up late, getting up early. >> on an olympic high. >> an olympic story, not officially but the big fish story, we have a shark tale from a southern california man. >> he caught a huge shark weighing an estimated 800 pounds. >> how big? >> 800 pounds. lance mcgee fishing off the coast he says for 40 years and always dreamed of catching the big one. i bext look at that, his dream came true during a trip with three friends. he hooked a 10-foot shark. >> that's good eating. >> it was too big to reel in himself. >> he handed it off to a young man who did an excellent job and another man took it after him

who also did an excellent job. >> how long it took? two hours. that's a lot. >> that's a workout. >> four men ended up pulling it up. he got the shark tale he wanted to tell. >> you have to add a massive line not to snap. >> 4:57. still ahead, outmanned and outgunned. a violent day on the streets of san jose and police say there's not enough manpower to try and stop it. officers responded to three attacks hours apart. >> a new casino isn't popular with its neighbors. why one property owner says she is losing business while the casino profits.

>> reporter: new this morning another day of hard core crime in san jose serve as another reminder of just how understaffed the police department is. good morning. i'm marla tellez with that story